Extermination works. At first. This is the terrible lesson of history. If Israel is not stopped — and no outside power appears willing to halt the genocide in Gaza or the destruction of Lebanon — it will achieve its goals of depopulating and annexing northern Gaza and turning southern Gaza into a charnel house where Palestinians are burned alive, decimated by bombs and die from starvation and infectious diseases, until they are driven out. It will achieve its goal of destroying Lebanon — 2,255 people have been killed and over one million Lebanese have been displaced — in an attempt to turn it into a failed state. And, it may soon realize its long cherished dream of forcing the United States into war with Iran. Israeli leaders are publicly salivating over proposals to assassinate Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei and carry out airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear installations and oil facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet, like those driving Middle East policy in the White House — Antony Blinken, raised in a staunch Zionist family, Brett McGurk, Amos Hochstein, who was born in Israel and served in the Israeli military, and Jake Sullivan — are true believers in the doctrine that violence can mold the world to fit their demented vision. That this doctrine has been a spectacular failure in Israel’s occupied territories, and did not work in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya, and a generation earlier in Vietnam, does not deter them. This time, they assure us, it will succeed.   

In the short term they are right. This is not good news for Palestinians or the Lebanese. The U.S. and Israel will continue to use their arsenal of industrial weapons to kill huge numbers of people and turn cities into rubble. But in the long term, this indiscriminate violence sows dragon’s teeth. It creates adversaries that, sometimes a generation later, outdo in savagery — we call it terrorism — what was done to those slain in the previous generation. 

Hate and a lust of vengeance, as I learned covering the war in the former Yugoslavia, are passed down like a poisonous elixir from one generation to the next. Our disastrous interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen, along with Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which created Hezbollah, should have taught us this. 

Those of us who covered the Middle East were stunned that the Bush administration imagined it would be greeted as liberators in Iraq when the U.S. had spent over a decade imposing sanctions that resulted in severe shortages of food and medicine, causing the deaths of at least one million Iraqis, including 500,000 children. Denis Halliday, the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, resigned in 1998 over U.S.-imposed sanctions, calling them “genocidal” because they represented “a deliberate policy to destroy the people of Iraq.”

Israel’s occupation of Palestine and its saturation bombing of Lebanon in 1982, were the catalyst for Osama bin Laden’s attack on the Twin Towers in New York City in 2001, along with U.S. support for attacks on Muslims in Somalia, Chechnya, Kashmir and the South of the Philippines, U.S. military assistance to Israel and the sanctions on Iraq.

Will the international community continue to stand by passively and allow Israel to carry out a mass extermination campaign? Will there ever be limits? Or will war with Lebanon and Iran provide a smokescreen — Israel’s worst campaigns of ethnic cleansing and mass murder have always been done under the cover of war — to turn what is happening in Palestine into an updated version of the Armenian genocide?

I fear, given that the Israel lobby has bought and paid for Congress and the two ruling parties, as well as cowed the media and universities, the rivers of blood will continue to swell. There is money to be made in war. A lot of it. And the influence of the war industry, buttressed by hundreds of millions of dollars spent on political campaigns by the Zionists, will be a formidable barrier to peace, not to mention sanity. 

Unless, as Chalmers Johnson writes in “Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic,” “we abolish the CIA, restore intelligence gathering to the State Department, and remove all but purely military functions from the Pentagon” we will “never again know peace, nor in all probability survive very long as a nation.”

Genocide is done by attrition. Once a targeted group is stripped of its rights the next steps are the displacement of the population, destruction of the infrastructure and the wholesale killing of civilians. Israel is also attacking and killing international monitors, human rights organizations, aid workers and United Nations staff, a feature of most genocides. Foreign journalists are being arrested and accused of “aiding the enemy,” while Palestinian journalists are being assassinated and their families wiped out. Israel carries out continuous assaults in Gaza on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), where two-thirds of its facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and 223 of its staff have been killed. It has attacked the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), where peacekeepers have been fired upon, tear gassed and wounded. This tactic replicates the Bosnian Serb attacks in July 1995, which I covered, on the U.N. Protection Force outposts in Srebrenica. The Serbs, who had cut off food deliveries to the Bosnian enclave, resulting in severe malnutrition and starvation, overran the U.N. outposts and took 30 U.N. troops hostage before massacring more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys. 

These initial phases are complete in Gaza. The final stage is mass death, not only from bullets and bombs, but famine and disease. No food has entered northern Gaza since the beginning of this month. 

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Water shortage in Gaza (Source)

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Israel has been dropping leaflets demanding everyone in the north evacuate. 400,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza must leave or die. It has ordered the evacuation of hospitals — Israel is also targeting hospitals in Lebanon — deployed drones to fire indiscriminately on civilians, including those attempting to take the wounded for treatment, bombed schools that serve as shelters and turned the Jabaliya refugee camp into a free fire zone. As usual, Israel continues to target journalists, including Al Jazeera’s Fadi Al-Wahidi, who was shot in the neck and remains in critical condition. At least 175 journalists and media workers are estimated to have been killed by Israeli troops in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warns that aid shipments to all of Gaza are at their lowest level in months. “People have run out of ways to cope, food systems have collapsed, and the risk of famine persists,” it notes.

The total siege imposed on northern Gaza will, in the next stage, be imposed on southern Gaza. Incremental death. And the primary weapon, as in the north, will be famine. 

Egypt and the other Arab states have refused to consider accepting Palestinian refugees. But Israel is banking on creating a humanitarian disaster of such catastrophic proportions that these countries, or other countries, will relent so they can depopulate Gaza and turn their attention to ethnically cleansing the West Bank. That is the plan, although no one, including Israel, knows if it will work.

Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich, in August complained openly that international pressure is preventing Israel from starving the Palestinians, “even though it might be justified and moral, until our hostages are returned.” 

What is happening in Gaza is not unprecedented. Indonesia’s military, backed by the U.S., carried out a year-long campaign in 1965 to exterminate those accused of being communist leaders, functionaries, party members and sympathizers. The bloodbath — much of it carried out by rogue death squads and paramilitary gangs — decimated the labor union movement along with the intellectual and artistic class, opposition parties, university student leaders, journalists and ethnic Chinese. A million people were slaughtered. Many of the bodies were dumped into rivers, hastily buried or left to rot on roadsides.

This campaign of mass murder is today mythologized in Indonesia, as it will be in Israel. It is portrayed as an epic battle against the forces of evil, just as Israel equates the Palestinians with Nazis. 

The killers in the Indonesian war against “communism” are cheered at political rallies. They are lionized for saving the country. They are interviewed on television about their “heroic” battles. The three-million-strong Pancasila Youth — Indonesia’s equivalent of the “Brownshirts” or the Hitler Youth — in 1965, joined in the genocidal mayhem and are held up as the pillars of the nation. 

Image source

Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary “The Act of Killing,” which took eight years to make, exposes the dark psychology of a society that engages in genocide and venerates mass murderers. 

We are as depraved as the killers in Indonesia and Israel. We mythologize our genocide of Native Americans, romanticizing our killers, gunmen, outlaws, militias and cavalry units. We, like Israel, fetishize the military.

Our mass killing in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq – what the sociologist James William Gibson calls “technowar”— defines Israel’s assault on Gaza and Lebanon. Technowar is centered on the concept of “overkill.” Overkill, with its intentionally large numbers of civilian casualties, is justified as an effective form of deterrence.

We, like Israel, as Nick Turse points out in “Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam” deliberately maimed, abused, beat, tortured, raped, wounded and killed hundreds of thousands of unarmed civilians, including children. 

The slaughters, Turse writes, “were the inevitable outcome of deliberate policies, dictated at the highest levels of the military.” 

Many of the Vietnamese — like Palestinians — who were murdered, Turse relates, were first subjected to degrading forms of public abuse. They were, Turse writes, when first detained “confined to tiny barbed wire ‘cow cages’ and sometimes jabbed with sharpened bamboo sticks while inside them.” Other detainees “were placed in large drums filled with water; the containers were then struck with great force, which caused internal injuries but left no scars.” Some were “suspended by ropes for hours on end or hung upside down and beaten, a practice called ‘the plane ride.’” They were subjected to electric shocks from crank-operated field telephones, battery-powered devices, or even cattle prods.” Soles of feet were beaten. Fingers were dismembered. Detainees were slashed with knives, “suffocated, burned by cigarettes, or beaten with truncheons, clubs, sticks, bamboo flails, baseball bats, and other objects. Many were threatened with death or even subjected to mock executions.” Turse found — again like Israel — that “detained civilians and captured guerrillas were often used as human mine detectors and regularly died in the process.” And while soldiers and Marines were engaged in daily acts of brutality and murder, the CIA “organized, coordinated, and paid for” a clandestine program of targeted assassinations “of specific individuals without any attempt to capture them alive or any thought of a legal trial.” 

Image source

Kill Anything That Moves

“After the war,” Turse concludes, “most scholars wrote off the accounts of widespread war crimes that recur throughout Vietnamese revolutionary publications and American antiwar literature as merely so much propaganda. Few academic historians even thought to cite such sources, and almost none did so extensively. Meanwhile, My Lai came to stand for — and thus blot out — all other American atrocities. Vietnam War bookshelves are now filled with big-picture histories, sober studies of diplomacy and military tactics, and combat memoirs told from the soldiers’ perspective. Buried in forgotten U.S. government archives, locked away in the memories of atrocity survivors, the real American war in Vietnam has all but vanished from public consciousness.”

There is no difference between us and Israel. This is why we do not halt the genocide. Israel is doing exactly what we would do in its place. Israel’s bloodlust is our own. As ProPublica reported, “Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Two Government Bodies Concluded. Antony Blinken Rejected Them.” 

U.S. law requires the government to suspend weapons shipments to countries that prevent the delivery of U.S.-backed humanitarian aid.

Historical amnesia is a vital part of extermination campaigns once they end, at least for the victors. But for the victims, the memory of genocide, along with a yearning for retribution, is a sacred calling. The vanquished reappear in ways the genocidal killers cannot predict, fueling new conflicts and new animosities. The physical eradication of all Palestinians, the only way genocide works, is an impossibility given that six million Palestinians alone live in the diaspora. Over five million live in Gaza and the West Bank.

Israel’s genocide has enraged the 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide, as well as most of the Global South. It has discredited and weakened the corrupt and fragile regimes of the dictatorships and monarchies in the Arab world, home to 456 million Muslims, who collaborate with the U.S. and Israel. It has fueled the ranks of the Palestinian resistance. And it has turned Israel and the U.S. into despised pariahs.

Israel and the U.S. will probably win this round. But ultimately, they have signed their own death warrants. 

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who was a foreign correspondent for fifteen years for The New York Times, where he served as the Middle East Bureau Chief and Balkan Bureau Chief for the paper. He previously worked overseas for The Dallas Morning News, The Christian Science Monitor, and NPR. He is the host of show The Chris Hedges Report.

Featured image: Extermination Nation – by Mr. Fish

Hillary Clinton is continuing her global efforts to get countries, including the United States, to crackdown on opposing views. Clinton went on CNN to lament the continued resistance to censorship and to call upon Congress to limit free speech. In pushing her latest book, “Something Lost and Something Gained,” Clinton amplified on her warnings about the dangers of free speech. What is clear is that the gain of greater power for leaders like Clinton would be the loss of free speech for ordinary citizens.

Clinton heralded the growing anti-free speech movement and noted that “there are people who are championing it, but it’s been a long and difficult road to getting anything done.” She is right, of course. As I discuss in my book, the challenge for anti-free speech champions like Clinton is that it is not easy to convince a free people to give up their freedom.

That is why figures like Clinton are going “old school” and turning to government or corporations to simply crackdown on citizens. One of the lowest moments came after Elon Musk bought Twitter on a pledge to restore free speech protections, Clinton called upon European officials to force Elon Musk to censor American citizens under the infamous Digital Services Act (DSA). This is a former democratic presidential nominee calling upon Europeans to force the censorship of Americans.

She was joined recently by another former democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, who called for government crackdowns on free speech.

Other democrats have praised Brazil for banning X. For her part, Clinton praised the anti-free speech efforts in California and New York and called for the rest of the country to replicate the approach of those states.

Clinton added a particularly illuminating line that said the quiet part out loud. This is all about power and the fear that she and others will “lose control” over speech:

“Whether it’s Facebook or Twitter or X or Instagram or TikTok, whatever they are, if they don’t moderate and monitor the content we lose total control and it’s not just the social and psychological effects it’s real harm, it’s child porn and threats of violence, things that are terribly dangerous.”

Clinton continues to offer a textbook example of the anti-free speech narrative. While seeking sweeping censorship for anything deemed disinformation, Clinton cites specific examples that are already barred under federal law like child porn.

Despite the amplified message on sites like CNN, most citizens may not be as aggrieved as Clinton that she and her allies could “lose total control” over the Internet. The greater fear is that she and her allies could regain control of social media. The Internet is the single greatest invention for free speech since the printing press. That is precisely why figures like Clinton are panicked over the inability to control it.

If citizens remain true to their values and this indispensable right, Clinton will hopefully continue to face “a long and difficult road to getting anything done” in limiting the free speech of her fellow citizens.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Featured image: Clinton in 2015 (Licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Larry Lowe says his life changed after he got the Pfizer Covid booster on December 15, 2021.

Then 54-years-old and fit running 10km most days, Mr Lowe says his life changed after getting the vaccination.

The Omagh man told the BBC that within days he developed numbness in the right side of his face and started experiencing pain.

“I had lost all the feeling in my face, teeth, nose, tongue, eye, that whole side of my head,” he said.

These symptoms have spread through his body and intensified over the years, with doctors across the UK saying the vaccine is to blame.

Mr Lowe’s admission comes as hundreds gathered in Belfast on Saturday to make a stand against potential new laws to deal with another public health emergency like Covid-19.

Concerns have been raised that the assembly is planning to introduce mandatory vaccinations and forced quarantine as part of any new legislation.

DUP MLA Diane Dodds said the proposals “represent a huge overreach and must be rejected” and called for the consultation to be scrapped.

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Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. .

Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. Photo: Presseye

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Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. .

Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. Photo: Presseye

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Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. .

Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. Photo: Presseye

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Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. .

Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. Photo: Presseye

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Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill.

Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. Photo: Presseye

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Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. .

Protestors pictured at Belfast City Hall against the NI Public Health Bill. Photo: Presseye

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Featured image is from News Letter


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

Reviews

This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon

In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia

In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig 

Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac

A reading of  Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late.  You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

You may also access the online version of the e-Book by clicking here.

We encourage you to support the eBook project by making a donation through Global Research’s DonorBox “Worldwide Corona Crisis” Campaign Page

Nothing illustrates the malfeasance of the mass media like the vast disparity between how they’re covering the killing of four 19 year-old IDF soldiers by Hezbollah versus their complete lack of interest in a 19 year-old hospital patient who was burned alive by the IDF in Gaza.

A shockingly horrible headline appeared in Sky News on Monday reading, “Israel names teenage soldiers killed in Hezbollah drone attack — as ‘23 die’ in Gaza school strike.” It opens with the even more horrid paragraph “Israel has named the four teenage victims of a Hezbollah drone strike on a military base — as at least 23 people were reportedly killed in an attack on a central Gaza school.”

Notice the scare quotes and passive language in Sky’s use of “23 die”, and the way these active duty combatants are being framed as innocent little children who were the “victims” of an unprovoked attack which “killed” them. The killings in Gaza are always framed by the mainstream press as “deaths” which passively happen, always couched in doubtful language like “reportedly” and “according to the Hamas-run health ministry,” whereas Israelis are always “victims” who are “killed”.

The western media’s propagandistic use of language to frame Israel in a sympathetic light and Palestinians in an unsympathetic light is widespread, and has been extensively documented. All the way back in January, The Intercept published a study showing that outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times used wildly different language to describe the killings of Israelis on October 7 than the killings of Palestinians in the months since, with inflammatory words like “slaughter”, “horrific” and “massacre” used consistently with the former and never with the latter. Another report by The Intercept this past April revealed that this is not an accident; a leaked internal memo from The New York Times reveals the outlet’s staff receiving explicit instructions to avoid specific language that harms Israeli information interests.

Look at the way Sky News names the armed Israeli soldiers killed in battle while framing them as innocent little babies who were slaughtered by monsters, and contrast this with the fact that you’re not seeing the name Sha’ban al-Dalou anywhere in the mainstream press.

Sha’ban al-Dalou was also 19 years old when he died, but unlike those Israeli soldiers, he was a civilian lying in a hospital bed, and he died a much more painful and horrific death than them. 

If you’ve been on social media at all recently, you may have seen the gut-wrenching footage of al-Dalou burning to death in a hospital bed while still connected to his IV after an Israeli airstrike on the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, desperately crying out for help in a blazing inferno. 

As of this writing, al-Dalou’s name appears exactly one time in any article I can find on Google News, and it’s from Middle East Eye

The Middle East Eye write-up reads as follows:

“Sha’ban al-Dalou, a 19-year-old software engineering student at Al-Azhar University in Gaza and a memoriser of the Quran, was burned alive after an Israeli air strike hit Al-Aqsa Hospital which killed three others.

“Sha’ban, who was forcefully displaced last year after Israeli forces destroyed his home, had just started his university studies in September 2023.

“Last week, Sha’ban miraculously survived an Israeli strike on a mosque that claimed 20 lives.

“Sha’ban and his mother perished in a fire after Israel attacked the hospital engulfing the tent camp for displaced civilians in Gaza.”

Any mentions I can find of al-Dalou’s death in the mainstream press do not name him, referring to him only as a “man” or a “person” (not a “teenager”) who died in a fire.

“Videos from the scene appeared to show one man being burned alive as bystanders could do little but watch,” The Washington Post reports.

“In multiple videos shared on social media and verified by NBC News, at least one person could be seen reaching their hands out from the flames as they were burned alive,” reports NBC News.

Contrast this with the solemn, reverent way Sky News reads out the names of the four IDF soldiers in its segment on their deaths, repeatedly emphasizing the fact that “all four were just 19 years old.”

Sky News, which Rupert Murdoch sold to Comcast in 2018, has been working overtime to spin Israel’s surging criminality in a positive light these last couple of days. Its Sunday evening report on the Hezbollah attack which killed the four soldiers made not one single mention of the fact that the attack was on a military base throughout the entire segment, leaving the audience with the impression that Hezbollah had attacked an Israeli shopping center or something. A Sky News write-up on London’s response to Iran’s missile strikes on Israel came under fire for using a photo of the burning medical center in Gaza where al-Dalou was killed as its feature image, implying that the burning building was caused by Iran and not Israel.

The massive disparity between the way the mainstream press report on Israeli deaths versus Palestinian deaths is evidence that the mainstream press are propaganda services for the US-centralized power alliance. But it is also evidence that Palestinians are not viewed as human beings by the western political-media class. 

As Lebanese writer Lina Mounzer recently wrote,

“Ask any Arab what the most painful realization of the last year has been and it is this: that we have discovered the extent of our dehumanization to such a degree that it’s impossible to function in the world in the same way.”

As Aaron Bushnell said before he himself burned to death, “This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Featured image is a screenshot from Sky News via Caitlin Johnstone

Western-supported proxies: Zionists in occupied Palestine, and sectarian terrorists (ISIS, al Qaeda and affiliates) in Syria, murder children as policy.

In a 2018 interview, Israeli Brigadier-General (Reserve) Zvika Fogel admitted:

“I know how these orders are given. I know how a sniper does the shooting. I know how many authorizations he needs before he receives an authorization to open fire. It is not the whim of one or the other sniper who identifies the small body of a child now and decides he’ll shoot. Someone marks the target for him very well and tells him exactly why one has to shoot and what the threat is from that individual. And to my great sorrow, sometimes when you shoot at a small body and you intended to hit his arm or shoulder, it goes even higher.” (1)

More recently, Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an orthopedic surgeon from North Carolina who has worked in Gaza, described how Zionist snipers shoot children, saying, “No toddler gets shot twice by mistake by ‘the world’s best sniper.’” His observations are echoed by fellow surgeons, thus contradicting any notion that the children were somehow killed by mistake.

Transcript

Reporter: When were you in Gaza?

Dr Mark Perlmutter: End of April, for the first couple of weeks of May.

R: Dr. Mark Perlmutter, an Orthopaedic Surgeon from North Carolina and Vice President of the International College of Surgeons, volunteered in Gaza.

R: So, of all the disaster zones you’ve seen, how does Gaza compare?

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: All of the disasters I have seen combined, combined, 40 mission trips, 30 years, Ground Zero, earthquakes, all of that combined, doesn’t equal the level of carnage that I saw against civilians, in just my first week in Gaza.

R: And when you say civilians, is it mostly children?

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: Almost exclusively children. I’ve never seen that before. Never seen that. I ’ve seen more incinerated children than I’ve ever seen in my entire life combined. I have seen more shredded children in just the first week.

R: Shredded.

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: Shredded.

R: What do you mean?

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: Missing body parts, being crushed by buildings, the greatest majority, or bomb explosions, the next greatest majority. We’ve taken shrapnel as big as my thumb out of eight-year-olds. And then there’s sniper bullets. I have children that were shot twice.

R: Wait, you’re saying that children in Gaza are being shot by snipers?

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: Definitively. I have two children that I have photographs of that were shot so perfectly in the chest, I couldn’t put my stethoscope over their heart more accurately, and directly on the side of the head, in the same child. No toddler gets shot twice by mistake by the world’s best sniper. And they’re dead-center shots.

R: In fact, more than 20 doctors recently in Gaza also told Sunday Morning about gunshot wounds to children. One American doctor told us he even reviewed CT scans to confirm what he saw because he, quote, “didn’t believe that this many children could be admitted to a single hospital with gunshot wounds to the head.”

Some shootings have been captured on video. The Israel Defense Forces declined our requests for an on-camera interview. But in an email, a spokesperson told CBS news, quote, “The IDF has never, and will never deliberately target children”, adding, quote, “remaining in an active combat zone has inherent risks”.

And the IDF stressed that it calls for the evacuation of civilians from combat zones.

The UN reports that to date, more than 80% of Gaza’s population has been displaced and the majority of its buildings destroyed. A reality which has taken its own toll on the well-being of children.

R: What about the emotional wounds?

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: How can you measure that? I can’t measure my own. How do you be an orphan watching your family, you know melted in front of you and shredded in front of you, how do you fix that, ever fix that?

R: In fact, so many Palestinian children have had family members killed, that doctors created a shorthand term, WCNSF, Wounded Child, No Surviving Family.

Last month speaking in Washington D.C., (American Physicians Eyewitness Account from Gaza) other American doctors echoed Dr. Perlmutter’s calls for help.

Dr. Feroze Sidhwa: We’ve described it as a catastrophe, a nightmare, a hell on earth, its all of these and worse.

Dr. Zena Saleh: We didn’t even have hand sanitizer or alcohol or soap most of the time.

Dr. Adam Hamawy: And while we we’re there we’re listening to, aid is getting in, we’re taking care of civilians, they’re not being targeted and yet we’re witnessing a completely different story.

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: For dozens of miles, we saw 18-wheelers parked bumper to bumper, engines off, outside of Gaza. food or health care could not get in.

R: How many kids are in danger of starvation in Gaza?

Dr. Mark Perlmutter: All of them, absolutely all of them.

R: United Nations experts have accused Israel of carrying out a targeted starvation campaign, but Israeli officials say they’ve allowed the delivery of more than 600,000 tons of food and supplies, quote, “with the goal of bringing as much aid into the Gaza strip as possible”.

Western proxies in Syria, too, have a long history of targeting and murdering children.  Why do these terrorists commit such barbarous crimes?

In a recent interview with Basma Qaddour, Syrian political researcher and author Housam Taleb explained that,

“The terrorist groups’  criminal act is similar to what the Israeli occupation is doing in the occupied Palestine. The Israeli enemy targets children and women  to terrify people and displace them with the aim of making certain areas free of population either through killing them or  forcing them to leave their homes. There is a link between the policy being adopted by terrorists groups in Syria and Israeli enemy in Palestine and Lebanon. They have the same terrorist mind.” (2)

The horror that is the current Western/Zionist perpetrated genocide in occupied Palestine is a continuum of the horror that the West and its proxies have been inflicting on prey countries such as Syria for years. The “mechanisms of terror” are the same.

The targeting and slaughter of civilians, including children, is a Western/Zionist military policy designed to displace and annihilate prey populations.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Research Assistance by Basma Qaddour

Mark Taliano is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) and the author of Voices from Syria, Global Research Publishers, 2017. He writes on his website where this article was originally published.

Notes

(1) Ali Abunimah, “Snipers ordered to shoot children, Israeli general confirms.” Electronic Intifada, 22 April, 2018. (Snipers ordered to shoot children, Israeli general confirms | The Electronic Intifada) Accessed 14 October, 2014.

See also: “Everyday Children Were Shot In The Head” NYT Details Israeli War Crimes Against Children (youtube.com)

(2) Basma Qaddour, “Interview with Syrian Researcher Housam Taleb.” 14 October, 2024, Voices from Syria. (Interview with Syrian Researcher Housam Taleb/ By Basma Qaddour – Mark Taliano (marktanliano.net)) Accessed 14 October, 2024.

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Order Mark Taliano’s Book “Voices from Syria” directly from Global Research.

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DMSO Could Save Millions from Brain and Spinal Injury

October 15th, 2024 by A Midwestern Doctor

DMSO is a remarkably safe chemical that protects cells from otherwise fatal stressors (e.g., freezing, burning, shockwaves, ischemia)

Since the heart, brain, and spinal cord are particularly vulnerable to injury, DMSO can produce miraculous results when those injuries happen

Despite decades of research, many serious shortcomings exist with how we treat strokes (including brain bleeds), heart attacks, and spinal cord injuries

As I will show here, had the FDA not sabotaged DMSO’s adoption, in addition to countless lives being saved, millions could have been protected from a lifetime of disability or paralysis

*

If I were stranded on a desert island or knew the world was ending and I could only bring a few therapies with me, one of them, without a doubt, would be DMSO. This is because:

  • It effectively addresses acute injuries (e.g., sprains) and chronic musculoskeletal disorders (e.g., arthritis).
  • It’s one of the most effective pain killers in existence.
  • It treats severe, often incurable illnesses and prevents long-term disability.
  • It’s one of the safest medically active substances available.

Yet, despite it taking the world by storm in the 1960s and thousands of studies being performed that corroborated its benefits, outside of it being a laboratory chemical or an alternative therapy some people use for joint pain, few are even aware of DMSO’s existence.

This was due to the FDA waging a multi-decade long war against DMSO (despite widespread outcry from Congress and the public).

What Is DMSO?

Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) exists throughout nature1 and has two breakdown products within the body.

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what is dmso

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Most of it is oxidized to methylsulfonylmethane (MSM — a commonly used joint healing supplement), while a small amount is reduced to DMS and gives rise to DMSO’s characteristic “side effect” a distinctive garlic or clam-like odor that is excreted through the mouth and skin for a few hours that some individuals have difficulty tolerating.

Note: Individuals with insufficient oxidation (who are in a state of reductive stress) are more likely to produce DMS. In turn, when this is addressed, their “DMSO odor” often disappears.

Due to its unique chemistry, DMSO has two remarkable properties:

  • It acts as a near-universal solvent (e.g., it interacts with a vast range of biomolecules).2,3
  • It’s able to pass through biological membranes without damaging them (something to my knowledge, nothing else can do).4

Because of this, DMSO will rapidly enter the body (including the brain) regardless of its route of administration (e.g., within 5 minutes after going on the skin it can be found in the blood,5 and within an hour it can be found within the bones6), but simultaneously does not accumulate within the body.7

DMSO, in turn, has an almost endless number of uses as it can be applied in almost any manner. Almost any drug or substance can be combined with it and administered through the skin (e.g., steroids, NSAIDs, vitamin C, or hydrogen peroxide). In many cases, the effect of those drugs is enhanced, and simultaneously, their toxicity is reduced (although, in some cases, the toxicity increases).

Cellular Protection

DMSO’s ability to spread throughout the body (including into the brain) initially seems concerning — however rather than be toxic to cells, DMSO heals them and protects them from damage from many otherwise lethal stressors (e.g., heat, blood loss, radiation, sonic shockwaves).

For example, since DMSO does not expand when it freezes and greatly lowers the freezing point of cells, it was a revolutionary substance for preserving frozen cells,8 and likewise, many cases exist of DMSO saving the fingers or toes that otherwise would have required amputation.

Note: Due to the intense scrutiny DMSO received, thousands of papers have been published on its biological effects (including numerous animal safety studies and one where humans were exposed to 3 to 30 times the typical dose for 90 days9) — all of which did not report any significant side effects from DMSO.

In turn, those studies found the most common side effect (affecting 50% to 75% of users) is (reversible) irritation at the site when 70% DMSO is applied topically on the skin (which can be easily mitigated) and the most significant was an allergic reaction in approximately 1 out of every 2000 people (which can easily be screened for).

Circulatory Disorders

DMSO is remarkably effective in managing circulatory disorders, effectively protecting tissues and enhancing blood flow by removing excess fluid, improving circulation, and dissolving clots. Its benefits are particularly evident in conditions like Raynaud’s syndrome, where it eliminated symptoms in 50% of patients,10 and in diabetic circulatory issues, with studies showing over a 94% success11 rate in treating diabetic ulcers.

DMSO also works wonders for varicose veins, often providing noticeable improvements within minutes by strengthening vessel walls and enhancing capillary circulation. In a study of 67 patients with varicose ulcers,12 remarkable responses were documented, even in chronic cases. Additionally, DMSO has been shown to help many other circulatory disorders:13,14

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dmso condition

dmso conditions

Key mechanisms behind DMSO’s effectiveness include:

  • Heart function — It can increase or decrease heart contractions without affecting rhythm, enhancing cardiac output and simultaneously dilates critical blood vessels.15
  • Anticlotting properties — DMSO prevents blood clot formation in the body, reduces clot promoting prostaglandins, and is a powerful platelet deaggregator.16,17,18 Its ability to safely block platelet bonding, scavenge harmful radicals, and inhibit tissue factor expression makes DMSO a standout in circulatory health.19

Heart Attacks

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cardiac actions

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Given all of these protective and circulatory enhancing properties, DMSO is an immensely promising treatment for heart attacks and heart attack recovery,20 and this benefit has been demonstrated in numerous animal studies.21,22 Likewise, I and colleagues have had a few situations arise where DMSO was administered to someone having a heart attack and successfully treated it.

Note: We’ve also had some success treating heart attacks by rapidly restoring someone’s physiologic zeta potential.

DMSO and Strokes

Roughly 3.1% of adult Americans have experienced a stroke23 (a figure we expect to rise from the COVID-19 vaccines). Each year, this translates to about 800,000 people in the United States having a stroke, in 2022, 165,393 dying and between 20% to 40% of survivors experiencing long term disability.24

Because of the harm strokes pose to society, and the rate at which brain tissue deteriorates once its blood supply is lost, the medical system prioritizes treating strokes as soon as possible.

Strokes come in two main types: ischemic (caused by clots blocking blood flow) and hemorrhagic (due to ruptured blood vessels). The standard treatment for ischemic strokes is tPA,25 a clot-busting drug. However, administering tPA can be deadly if the stroke is hemorrhagic, so patients must first wait for a CT scan before receiving it.

Furthermore, tPA is only effective within a limited time frame (up to 3 to 4.5 hours26), and only a small percentage of patients (1.8% to 8.5%) actually receive it. Among those who do, only 13%27 see significant improvement. Additionally, tPA can cause serious bleeding complications28 (e.g., 6.4% risk29 of a symptomatic brain bleed) and can’t eliminate larger clots.

In short, strokes remain a leading cause of death and disability worldwide.30 This highlights the need for a better treatment that can safely:

  • Effectively treat ischemic strokes
  • Could easily be taken at home, and more importantly, be quickly given on ambulances
  • Prevented reperfusion injuries
  • Has no risk of worsening a hemorrhagic stroke
  • Protected brain tissue from dying
  • Healed damaged brain tissue after a stroke

DMSO has been known for over 50 years to do just that. For example, a 2002 trial with DMSO combined with fructose diphosphate (FDP — a source of cellular energy) indicated that 63% of elderly patients experienced improved neurological status when treated within 12 hours of a stroke, compared to only 20% with standard care.31

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dmso fdp

dmso angiogram

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One of the most important aspects of this trial was that while DMSO is the most helpful when given immediately after a stroke, the trial showed DMSO could save the neurons long after the stroke had happened.32

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dmso stroke

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Given the existing options for strokes, a trial like this should have been immediately replicated by premier institutions around the world — but instead almost no one even knows it happened.

Note: Numerous animal studies (listed here) have also demonstrated DMSO’s effectiveness in treating ischemic strokes. Sadly this revolutionary medical treatment remains a forgotten side of medicine.

After I learned how unconscionable the FDA’s prohibition against DMSO was, I made a point to begin telling people I felt were at risk of a stroke to stock DMSO at home, and since then, I’ve had instances where someone (or their caretaker) called me up, described a stroke, I gave them instructions on what to do (since they already had DMSO at home), and by the time they got to the ER, the stroke was “resolved.”

Note: In my opinion, IV DMSO would have been ideal (and more effective) in those situations, but in each case, it was not feasible to implement.

Likewise, many compelling cases have been recorded33 of individuals who treated their strokes with DMSO:

“A Los Angeles school teacher suffered a major stroke just after Christmas, found unconscious at home. Immediately, she was treated with DMSO: first applied topically to her head and then given by intramuscular injection — all without ever going to the hospital, thanks to a family friend’s advice.

Remarkably, she regained consciousness later that day and continued daily DMSO treatments. By the time school resumed in January, she was back teaching, fully recovered and without any mention of her ordeal. She continued her teaching career until retirement, healthy and free of disability.”

In another case, a woman in a coma for three months after a stroke showed no signs of life. Daily topical DMSO treatment was started, and within a month, her brain began to respond. After four months, she returned home and began a regimen of daily DMSO in water alongside topical applications. Three years later, she was living a normal life with only a slight speech defect, claiming her memory was sharper than her husband’s.

Note: There are also many reported cases of individuals who took DMSO for musculoskeletal or pain disorders (by far the most common use of DMSO) who then experienced a permanent improvement of stroke symptoms.

Hemorrhagic Strokes and Traumatic Brain Injuries

While ischemic strokes are difficult to treat, hemorrhagic ones (and other traumatic brain injuries) are even more challenging, and after decades, there has been surprisingly little progress in neurologic intensive care, particularly in preventing long-term paralysis and disability.34

“It was, as if the hand of God had somehow touched the [experimental] animal’s forehead. ‘I don’t believe it,’ I stammered. But it was true. I felt a tingling in my spine because this reawakening of a virtually dead animal had all the markings of a medical breakthrough.

Instead, the discovery, the potential for saving lives and the continued research that should have uncovered other uses for dimethyl sulfoxide and similar agents was quietly laid to rest in the coffers of forgotten medicine.”

Note: Dr. Jack de la Torre’s observations were partly based on the fact he saw numerous animals with flatlined EEGs (which typically precede brain death and then actual death) have the EEGs come back within 10 minutes of receiving DMSO.

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dmso eeg

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In cases of severe brain bleeds, key challenges like increased intracranial pressure (ICP) and inflammation can severely damage brain tissue. Common treatments often fail, leading to further complications (e.g., the most commonly used ICP lowering agents like mannitol can create a “rebound ICP” which is higher than it was at the start).

Remarkably, DMSO35 effectively lowers ICP36 without the rebound effect seen with other agents, while enhancing cerebral blood flow and reducing inflammation.

Research shows DMSO can significantly improve outcomes in traumatic brain injuries. In several studies, patients with elevated ICP experienced rapid decreases in pressure and improved neurological function after DMSO treatment. For instance, one study demonstrated a drop in ICP within 30 minutes for patients with closed head trauma, leading to long-term neurological improvement.37

Additionally, DMSO also addresses many other critical aspects of traumatic brain injuries and brain bleeds (which under conventional care requires many different drugs):

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dmso pathologic event

Animal studies further support these findings, showing DMSO’s ability to reduce brain swelling and improve survival rates in models of brain injury. Its unique properties make it a standout option in neurocritical care, addressing multiple challenges associated with brain injuries.38 To put all of this into context:

“A January 11, 1981, a news report39 in the Ocala Star Banner [page 6], carried the headline: ‘DOCTOR CLAIMS DMSO SAVED 11.’ The story read:

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A doctor at the University of San Diego credits the controversial drug DMSO with saving the lives of 11 people who suffered severe head injuries. Dr. Perry E. Camp, a UCSD Medical School neurosurgeon, said Friday that dimethyl sulfoxide was effective for 11 of 30 people judged near death and for which other lifesaving methods have proved useless.

‘To take patients like that and have even one out of 10 survive is phenomenal,’ Camp said. ‘The fact that we have any survivorship at all … doesn’t sound like much, but it is extremely encouraging,’ Camp said.”

Sadly, however, despite the immense amount of research conducted and these results being dramatically better than what the standard of care can offer, this remains an almost completely forgotten side of medicine.

Note: Many of the same principles hold true for concussions, and the pioneers of DMSO felt it was an essential treatment for athletes after they experienced one — particularly since unhealed concussions can predispose the athlete to long-term cognitive issues (e.g., both boxers and professional football players have a threefold risk of dementia).40,41

Spinal Cord Injuries

“We used to think that the damage caused at the moment of injury in a severe head or spinal cord injury was irreversible. But now there are animal studies and a handful of clinical cases that tell us something different. There is still a little bit of time before the injured cells die.

Based on what we’ve seen in animal studies and a handful of human situations, we think that if you can treat a head injury victim within a few hours of the injury, or a spinal cord victim within one hour, there is a good chance of preventing death or the paralysis that would otherwise occur.” — Dr. Jack de la Torre

As much of the same pathology that causes permanent damage in the brain also occurs in the spinal cord (the loss of blood flow and compressive post-traumatic swelling), DMSO can produce miraculous results.42 Despite decades of research, steroids remain the standard treatment, even though they’re largely ineffective and come with significant side effects.43 In fact, spinal surgeons often use steroids simply to avoid lawsuits.44

The greatest success comes when DMSO is administered intravenously within 90 minutes of injury.45 For example, dogs that were expected to be paralyzed after spinal cord trauma regained nearly normal function after DMSO treatment.

Numerous other animal studies have also shown46 DMSO prevents spinal cord injuries from causing paralysis, and in humans numerous miraculous stories exist, such as a 16-year-old quadriplegic girl gradually regained organ function and eventually walked after a year of DMSO therapy. Even older injuries see results — one man, paralyzed for 12 years, regained some feeling and movement after using a DMSO lotion.

Cognitive Impairment and Dementia

Since many neurological disorders are linked to poor blood flow to the brain, previous traumas (e.g., concussions or microstrokes), the accumulation of misfolded proteins or an autoimmune process (all things DMSO is also remarkably effective at treating), it stands to reason that many cognitive disorders would respond to DMSO.

In turn, we find that much in the same way DMSO reverses many other complications of aging (e.g., skin issue, hair loss, poor organ function) IV DMSO is one of the most effective antiaging therapies for the brain (along with ultraviolet blood irradiation or improving the physiologic zeta potential).

Likewise, IV DMSO is one of the only therapies I know of which can help challenging neurological diseases like Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and ALS. Likewise, I periodically come across anecdotes of DMSO consuming centenarians who have no cognitive impairment despite their age. Numerous animal and human studies demonstrate this. For example:

  • 18 patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease47 were treated with DMSO and tested regularly for nine months, with great improvements being noted after only three months of treatment, and becoming especially noticeable after six months of treatment. Areas of improvement included memory, concentration, and communication alongside a significant decrease of disorientation in time and space.
  • 100 patients with cerebrovascular diseases48 (e.g., a previous stroke, cerebral embolism, or a hardening of the arteries of the brain), many of whom were senile received DMSO orally and through intramuscular injections over the course of 50 days. In addition to their coronary heart disease (i.e., atherosclerosis) and high blood pressure improving in 96.12% of them, the observing neurologist noted that their cognition, mood and behavior improved.
  • A study of49 104 elderly adults with a disease process causing impaired cognition found DMSO was highly favorable for both their cognitive and psychiatric function.

Note: Since many psychiatric conditions are neurological in nature, DMSO has also been shown to be remarkably effectively here (e.g., a study50 found it had a 100% success rate in treating acute schizophrenia, and an excellent effect on psychosis from manic-depression or alcoholism, chronic schizophrenia, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder).

Conclusion

DMSO was discovered during a time when the scientific community was open to exploring unconventional ideas, as science had not yet been handcuffed by a grant system designed to thwart unconventional ideas. In turn, thousands of studies were published on its potential, thanks to dedicated researchers with strong institutional support.

However, despite this promising research, the FDA suppressed its development, consigning years of scientific effort and countless animal sacrifices to the dustbin of history.

This is particularly tragic given the immense suffering caused by conditions that DMSO could potentially alleviate. Decades of research and billions of dollars later, conventional medicine still struggles to treat many of these disorders effectively. Dr. Pierre Kory, after reviewing this article, shared my sentiments:

“In over 15 years of running ICUs and treating brain injuries, strokes, and bleeds, it saddens and infuriates me to know an intervention like DMSO could’ve helped so many. The treatments I relied on were often limited or came with major risks.”

My goal in presenting this work is to give DMSO another chance to flourish and help those in need. I sincerely thank you for your attention and allowing me to do this!

[Author’s note: This is an abridged version of a longer article about the remarkable utility of DMSO which goes into greater detail on the points mentioned here (e.g., stroke recovery and spinal cord paralysis or how DMSO protects tissues from a variety of stressors), others not covered (e.g., the wealth of evidence DMSO can treat immensely challenging conditions like amyloidosis and Down Syndrome), and the protocols for internal DMSO use.

That article and its additional references can be read here (along with a companion article discussing DMSO’s remarkable utility for a variety of musculoskeletal injuries and chronic pain conditions).]

*

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Notes

1 Nature. 1963 Nov 30:200:885. doi: 10.1038/200885a0

2 Biosci Rep. 1994 Dec;14(6):259-81. doi: 10.1007/BF01199051

3, 4, 5 Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Jan 27:243:20-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb25340.x

6 Annals of NYAOS, March 1967, Volume 141, Issue 1, Pages 85-95

7 J Clin Oncol. 1998 Feb;16(2):610-5. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1998.16.2.610

8 Cryobiology. 1987 Feb;24(1):11-6. doi: 10.1016/0011-2240(87)90003-4

9 The Human Toxicology of Dimethyl Sulfoxide, August 25, 2011 (Archived)

10 DMSO, The True Story of a Remarkable Pain-Killing Drug, January 1981 (Archived)

11 Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Jan 27:243:408-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb25383.x

12 Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Jan 27:243:395-402. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb25381.x

13 Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Jan 27:243:403-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb25382.x

14 Annals of NYAOS, March 1967, Volume 141, Issue 1, Pages 586-598

15, 16 Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Jan 27:243:110-21. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb25350.x

17, 19, 46 The Forgotten Side of Medicine, September 16, 2024

18 Prostaglandins. 1976 Apr;11(4):599-607. doi: 10.1016/0090-6980(76)90063-0

20, 35 Pharmacological Reports, 2009, 61, Pages 225-235 (Archived)

21 J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2010 Jan;55(1):106-9. doi: 10.1097/FJC.0b013e3181c87a65

22 Amazon, The Persecuted Drug: The Story of DMSO

23 CDC, Cerebrovascular Disease or Stroke

24 Brain Neurorehabil. 2022 Mar; 15(1): e5

25 NINDS, Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Acute Ischemic Stroke (Alteplase, Activase®)

26 Stroke, Volume 40, Number 6, doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.108.544171

27 Arch Neurol. 2008;65(11):1429-1433. doi: 10.1001/archneur.65.11.1429

28, 29 Neurohospitalist. 2011 Jul; 1(3): 138–147

30 Journal of the American Heart Association, Volume 11, Number 21, doi: 10.1161/JAHA.122.027044

31 Neurol Res 2002; 24: 73-80

32 Neurol Res. 2002 Jan;24(1):73-80. doi: 10.1179/016164102101199567

33 Amazon, The DMSO Handbook for Doctors

34 Ciba Found Symp. 1975:(34):3-21. doi: 10.1002/9780470720165.ch2

36 Neurosurgery. 1981 Jul;9(1):28-33. doi: 10.1227/00006123-198107000-00005

37 Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1991;40(1):113-4. doi: 10.1007/BF00315149

38 J Neurosurg. 1980 Jul;53(1):58-62. doi: 10.3171/jns.1980.53.1.0058

39 Google News, Ocala Star Banner, January 11, 1981

40, 41 eClinicalMedicine. 2023 Jul; 61: 102056

42 Surg Neurol. 1973 Jan;1(1):16-22

43 Korean J Neurotrauma. 2022 Apr; 18(1): 22–30

44 Can J Neurol Sci. 2008 Mar;35(1):41-5. doi: 10.1017/s031716710000754x

45 Amazon, Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) in Trauma and Disease

47 Medical University, Kisheinev

48 Rev. Hosp. San Fco. De Borja, 1970

49 Rev. Hosp. Psiquiátrico (Santiago), 1970

50 Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1967 Mar 15;141(1):655-67

Featured image source

Introduction by Peter Koenig

13 October 2024 will be the first anniversary of Reiner Fuellmich’s pre-trial prison custody. His conditions, especially for someone who has not committed and is not suspected of a criminal act of violence are, to say it benignly, horrendous, bordering on torture.

Let me remind you, Dr. Reiner Fuellmich in 2020 founded the Corona Investigative Committee (CIC) in Germany, investigating the worldwide corona fraud. In a CIC internal strife, probably instigated from outside forces and secret services, he was unjustly accused of embezzlement. The CIC collapsed. Dr. Fuellmich attempted to return to California, where he had a license to practice law and where he also owned a house.

For some “bureaucratic” formalities (cooperation secret services Germany-US), he was “temporarily” refused entry to the US. He then settled with his wife in Mexico, where he created the International Crimes Investigative Committee (ICIC), and continued investigating crimes committed by the covid scam, as well as related social and economic misconducts by those who dictated the “rules-based order”, overriding all international, national and local laws.

In March 2023, the German Government issued an arrest warrant for Dr. Fuellmich. Since he had not committed a violent crime, an extradition order has no value outside of the EU / Schengen countries. 

Therefore, the German Government – through their secret agents – lured him to a German representation in Mexico, where they kidnapped him on 12 October 2023, took him immediately – as is, without a change of clothes, or even a toothbrush – to the airport, and flew him between two German guards to Frankfurt, where he was immediately arrested on 13 October 2023. Ever since, Reiner has been in pre-trial custody, under the most inhumane conditions, in the Göttingen high-security prison in Rosdorf.

Pretrial custody is on average six months in Germany, at most 11 months. He is detained in solitary confinement, cannot see and talk to anyone, not to his fellow prisoners, must walk alone for his daily hour of exercise in the prison yard, and can have contact by phone or visits by his family for no more than three hours a month.

For every court appearance, Reiner is body-searched, then handcuffed, tightly foot-shackled, and accompanied by two fully machine-gun armed prison guards with bulletproof vests – as if he was a mass murderer.

He is shackled and body-searched, naked, every time the court interrupts, and he is led to an isolated basement room of the court to wait.

This deeply dehumanizing humiliation reminds of German concentration camps during Hitler’s Third Reich regime over 80 years back. 

One would think that humanity has learned from the horrors of WWII, but nada, zilch, nothing.

Humanity is led by the same inhumane monsters; except much worse today. 

Then, the Third Reich was confined to Europe and North Africa; today, the New World Order or One World Order –  one that wants to become One World Government, for which Germany is again playing a leading role, spans the entire globe, all 193 UN member countries.

There is seemingly no way to escape. 

But as history has shown time and time again, any system of excesses, be it injustice no end, war atrocities, abhorrent dehumanization with torture, corruption and genocide no limits, will fall. There is no doubt that the diabolical Cult that allows Germany to hold an honest citizen in such atrocious prison conditions, wants to scare and shut up any others that may speak up against the crimes committed, and are still being committed, by the German Government, and by association, other western governments. 

Dr. Reiner Fuellmich is a western world political prisoner.

Reiner’s description, illustrations and photos speak for themselves.

*

Reiner Fuellmich – A Political Prisoner in the Federal Republic of Germany

A report by Dr. Reiner Fuellmich on his conditions of detention in the Göttingen high-security prison in Rosdorf, in response to the author Kerstin Heusinger, Germany correspondent for the French-language online publication BAM! With exclusive photos from the courtroom and sketches.

7:00 a.m., court date for the civil rights activist and lawyer Dr. Reiner Fuellmich:

“Heavily armed officers with pistols and submachine guns equipped with bulletproof vests are there to greet me. They try to persuade me to put on a bulletproof vest, which I consistently refuse. They then make me sign a waiver releasing them from liability if I am injured or killed by gunfire.

One of the officers searches my body and then, as always, forces me to kneel on a stool while he puts ankle cuffs on me.

He ties a wide leather belt around my waist and then puts handcuffs on me, which are attached to the belt with chains that are in turn secured with a large padlock.

The ankle cuffs force me to take very small steps, making it difficult to get in and out of the transport vehicle. If I were to trip while cuffed like this, I would not be able to stop or soften my fall and would likely break my wrists.

Prison officials told me that they had never seen a defendant held in pre-trial custody for more than 11 months for a simple offense (and not for a serious crime or an act of terrorism), kept in solitary confinement, and, above all, brought to court hearings handcuffed at the hands and feet.

In court, I was taken to the basement, to a tiled cell with a simple wooden bench. Another strip-search. Then I had to wait to be handcuffed and led into the courtroom. Each time the proceedings were interrupted, I was handcuffed again and taken back to the “basement”.

Each time I returned from court, I was stripped naked in a transit room to undergo a thorough body search.

Harassment, humiliation, punishment

Mr. D., the deputy director responsible for pre-trial detention, ordered my complete isolation on the grounds that my legal advice to other detainees could incite them to revolt.

The Rosdorf prison is divided into two sections: the penal section (400 detainees) and the pre-trial detention section (80 detainees), where I have been detained since October 13, 2023.

The pre-trial detainees are spread over 4 levels. Those considered to be particularly dangerous or vulnerable are isolated on level A0, where security is increased and additional restrictions are imposed. I was placed there.

Like the other inmates on level A0, I am strictly forbidden to talk to any other inmate.

For 11 months I have had no internet access, no computer, and no cell phone. I am only allowed to watch TV. My only contact with the outside world is my lawyer and the 3 hours per month for visits or phone calls with my family. Yes, a total of 3 hours per month.

My isolation goes so far that even my daily walk in the courtyard must be done alone. This one-hour walk is suspended if I am caught communicating with another inmate, even if it is only a hand signal. Yes, if I exchange a greeting with a fellow inmate through the bars of a window, even if I just nod my head – he and I will be punished immediately.

All disciplinary measures are imposed without stating reasons and without the possibility of appeal.

Everyone is guilty!

The treatment of pre-trial detainees is particularly poor and borders on torture. Mr. D., who administers pre-trial detention, and also works as a social worker, makes no secret of his convictions: he believes that if you are in pre-trial detention, you are guilty.

His disregard for the presumption of innocence is the main reason why I was placed in solitary confinement.

He has committed serious and intentional breaches of duty, which I have witnessed. These violations were covered up by the prison management. With two exceptions, the security officers carry out the orders they receive without compunction, like robots.

On August 8, 2024, I asked to speak to the deputy director of the penal institution. I informed her that personal belongings and documents had disappeared from my cell during my absence for court hearings. The cells are normally searched regularly according to strict rules. These thefts occurred outside of the official inspections, which are recorded.

Persecution: Dr. Reiner Fuellmich refers to the case of Redzep [another, former case of unjustly incarcerating a man for murder which he did not commit, and the court knew it]

“The seriousness of the situation is demonstrated by the attacks on a pre-trial detainee, Kevin Redzep, who was seriously injured. He has allowed me to publish his name and story. He comes from Montenegro and although he is intelligent and speaks several languages, he cannot write or read German fluently. He was placed in a department where there were several violent inmates or those accused of premeditated murder. He was called a “gypsy” by his fellow inmates, threatened, and asked for help from Mr. D., who refused to take him to the high-risk inmates. The next day, Kevin Redzep was attacked by three fellow inmates during a walk. He was hit over the head with a glass bottle so severely that the zygomatic bone above his left eye was crushed and his vision was at risk.

On July 9, 2024, Kevin Redzep had to undergo surgery before returning to Rosdorf Prison, even before he had recovered. He was involved in another physical altercation with five or six prison officers who threw him to the ground and injured him again in the head. Mr. D. then ordered the isolation of Kevin Redzep, who was already severely traumatized.

Kevin Redzep, who wanted to sue Mr. D, the penal institution, and the state of Lower Saxony for assault, asked me for help. When Mr. D. learned that I had advised this inmate and provided him with a lawyer, Kevin Redzep disappeared. It is assumed that he was transferred to another prison. Since then, Ms. Wörmer, my lawyer, has been trying in vain to find him, hoping that he is still alive.

A glimmer of hope.

Despite the disciplinary punishments they face, the pre-trial detainees show solidarity with me. They encourage me. They shout to me, for example, “Don’t give up, keep going.”

Some prison officials have seen through the pandemic scam and know that my trial is a sham staged by the secret services. They let me know and wish me well.

What helps me most is the enormous support from the international public.

I receive a large number of letters that are no longer read by the prison administration. I read all the letters and I am deeply touched by the affection they show. I try to respond as best I can.

Sometimes I see the pickets and the people who greet me, while I’m sitting in the transport vehicle to court.

I feel the remarkably strong connection to all those who support me. It is this connection that allows us to overcome adversity together.

I have to go to the medical service twice a week to be examined because I refused to give blood. I argued that any medical act, especially any invasive medical act, constitutes a violation of physical integrity if the patient does not voluntarily give consent. I am therefore regularly examined because a prisoner suffering from tuberculosis could potentially have infected people with whom he has been in contact.

One of the prison doctors expressed sympathy for my work. He also told me that the medical staff believe that the health of many detainees is incompatible with detention. However, the prison management prefers to ignore this fact.

After having personally witnessed what happens in pre-trial detention – the suspension of the fundamental rights of the accused, their difficulties in accessing a defense that really cares about their fate – I am convinced that prisons only benefit those who profit from them, with pre-trial detention being more lucrative than post-sentencing detention.

I have not met a defendant who I would describe as “evil”. I have met many, many remand prisoners who appear innocent to me, or who, above all, need therapeutic treatment, as a prison doctor admitted.

If we did not need a few prisons for a few sociopaths, for example those responsible for the pandemic, the wars, the massacres like in Gaza and for the corrupt of the system, I would be in favor of abolishing prisons.”

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

 

This statement was recorded by Dr. Reiner Fuellmich on the phone of his lawyer, Katja Wörmer.

It was translated into French by Kerstin Heusinger; and translated into English by Peter Koenig via Deepl.com

Photos and sketches: Kerstin Heusinger

Plan of his cell: Dr. Reiner Fuellmich

Concept and design of the original article: Michel Caulea and Karo

Click here to read the original German version.

This report first appeared (in French) on BAM! NEWS.

All illustrations can be seen in the original German article.

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

Featured image is by Kerstin Heusinger

Berlin has spurned two key demands that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried to “sell” during his European tour to promote his so-called Victory Plan: getting the green light for deep strikes into Russian territory (which would require German Taurus missiles, among others) and speeding up Ukraine’s accession to NATO, German media reported.

According to Bild, Zelensky had a packed itinerary that included a whirlwind tour of the UK, France, Italy, and Germany in a bid to garner Western support for his “Victory Plan.” However, the outlet emphasised that although German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not give a categorical “no”, he did not respond positively to the Ukrainian requests.

Moreover, Bild said the chancellor’s talk about the promised “billions in aid for Ukraine” at a press conference with Zelensky was nothing more than a farce. This package does not include any new weapons since the amount and projects mentioned were, in fact, “already approved and financed last year.”

The outlet said Kiev’s hopes of obtaining more Leopard 2 tanks had been dashed despite the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) still having around 300 of the main battle tanks in its inventory. The same applies to infantry fighting vehicles and armoured howitzers. The decision comes as the German Defence Ministry does not believe that Kiev will be able to carry out a new counteroffensive in the near future, the sources told the newspaper.

“By the end of the year, with the support of Belgium, Denmark and Norway, we will deliver another package to Ukraine worth €1.4 billion,” Scholz announced on October 11.

According to him, the package includes IRIS-T and Skynex air defence systems, Gepard anti-aircraft guns, self-propelled artillery systems, armoured vehicles, combat drones and radars.

Germany, Ukraine’s second-largest military donor after the US, has so far provided (or planned) military assistance worth approximately €28 billion. However, according to the draft budget, it has halved its military aid to Ukraine for 2025 compared to this year.

Although Zelensky has long insisted that there can be no peace negotiations with the Kremlin and that Russian forces must be driven back to its pre-2014 borders, officials in Kiev reportedly realise this position is unrealistic. The leadership of the current Ukrainian administration is beginning to discuss the handover of territories claimed by Ukraine as part of a peace agreement with Russia, a high-ranking Ukrainian official admitted to a German magazine.

The unnamed source also expressed concern that Washington will cut its previously generous support for Ukraine no matter who wins next month’s US presidential election. The prospects of losing foreign military aid, which has prolonged the conflict so far, coupled with growing discontent in Ukrainian society, may explain Kiev’s shift in position from refusing to negotiate with Russia and its other irreducible demands.

However, the magazine warned that powerful figures in Ukraine still remain staunchly opposed to peace talks.

Kiev’s insistence on joining NATO is a major obstacle to efforts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict through diplomacy. In addition to recognising the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, Russia insists that Ukraine must remain neutral, non-nuclear and unaligned with any military bloc. The Kiev regime, which cancelled elections scheduled for this year and remains in power without being re-elected, is losing Western support and has been considering negotiating with Russia because of this.

At the same time as the German reports, government sources in Berlin said US President Joe Biden will visit Germany this week after cancelling a planned trip last week due to Hurricane Milton.

Senior German officials who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed media reports that Biden would most likely travel to Berlin within the week but declined to provide further details. According to German media, Biden will meet the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Berlin on Friday for talks on Ukraine and the Middle East.

The original trip was cancelled, upending plans for a summit of the Ramstein group of countries providing weapons to Ukraine. The meeting at the US airbase of the same name would have discussed possible new aid commitments to Ukraine.

With Biden only after some weeks left in power before handing over the White House to Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, Ukraine has become a less important topic for the outgoing president as he instead aims to ensure that the Democrats remain in power. Coupled with German industry devastated due to anti-Russia sanctions boomeranging, it is easy to see why Ukraine has become a lessened priority for the country’s two largest donors, a projectory that will continue until the war finally concludes.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Olaf Scholz, federal chancellor of Germany, meets Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, in Kiev, Feb. 14, 2022. (President of Ukraine)

Following the foreseeable Israeli attack on Iranian oil and nuclear infrastructures and the Iranian counter-response, the CIA and the Israeli Mossad would prepare false flag attacks in the Persian Gulf similar to the 1848 battleship Maine. And after attributing its authorship to the Iranians, the US Congress would declare a state of war against Iran with the dual objective of drying up China’s energy sources and setting up the cartography of the New Middle East.

Israel and the Media’s Spiral of Silence

The alleged Israeli security breach by belittling Egyptian reports that 10 days earlier warned that Hamas was preparing a major offensive would be the trap designed by Mossad to declare a state of war and raze Gaza, Lebanon and Iran in order to implement the Greater Israel.

Israeli military offensives against Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon would be covered by the “spiral of silence” of the world’s major mass media controlled by the transnational Zionist lobby, theory formulated by the German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann in her book “The spiral of silence. Public opinion: our social skin” (1977).

This thesis would symbolize “the cognitive overlap formula that instigates censorship through a deliberate and suffocating accumulation of single-sign messages”, which would produce a spiral process or positive feedback loop and the consequent manipulation of world public opinion by the transnational Zionist lobby (the Palestinians and Lebanese are terrorists and Israel has the right to defend itself).

However, the asymmetrical punishment of the Israeli regime over the Gaza Strip with more than 42,000 civilian casualties, 10,000 dead buried under rubble and 90 per cent of civilian infrastructure destroyed, has unleashed a wave of worldwide support for the Gaza civilian population massacred by Israel.

Lebanon, the Next Phase of Greater Israel

Following the decision of the International Criminal Court to seek arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for “crimes against humanity”, Netanyahu is aware that once the asymmetric war against Hamas is over, he risks an international criminal prosecution. So, Joe Biden, in an interview published by Time magazine, admitted that

“Netanyahu, would be prolonging the war for political reasons and to maintain power at the head of a complex coalition government”.

Thus, after the end of the Gaza campaign, and despite Israel not getting the response it expected in the form of an attack from Hezbollah, Netanyahu with the blessings of the United States, would have decided to invade South Lebanon in the hope of gaining time until the foreseeable victory in November of a Donald Trump, in the certainty that he will be able to count on his blessings to exonerate him from all guilt before the International Criminal Court.

The agreement reached between Biden and Netanyahu would also include the sending of 2,000-kilogram bombs to Israel to raze South Lebanon and move its 400,000 inhabitants across the Litani River, create a ring of security for Israeli settlements.

False Flag Attacks from the Mossad?

The assassination in Beirut of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah would be a new trap to involve Iran in the escalation of war and start its destabilization with US help.

Israel considers Iran “the largest exporter of terror and human rights violations in the world while continuing to enrich uranium and dangerously close to obtaining a nuclear bomb that it could achieve in the coming weeks”. However, following approval by the US Congress and Senate of a statement prepared by Lindsey Graham and Robert Menéndez that “if Israel is forced to defend itself and take action (against Iran), the US will be on its side to support it militarily and diplomatically”, we would be witnessing the increase of pressure from the pro-Israeli U.S. lobby (AIPAC) to destabilize Iran by expeditious means.

Thus, following the foreseeable Israeli attack on Iranian oil and nuclear infrastructures and the Iranian counter-attack, the CIA and the Israeli Mossad would prepare false flag attacks in the Persian Gulf similar to the 1898 battleship Maine, and after attributing its authorship to the Iranians, the US Congress would declare a state of war. This process is known as “statutory authorization” and is a prerequisite for President Biden to implement the War Powers Act of 1973, which authorizes him to send troops abroad.

Consequently, taking advantage of the fact that Russia is occupied with Ukraine, China surrounded by the AUKUS nuclear crisis arc to protect Taiwan and that the US strategic reserves are at maximum, the Pentagon will use Iran’s response to start a new Middle East War with the dual objective of drying up China’s energy sources and setting up the mapping of the New Middle East.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

German Gorraiz Lopez is a political analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

“Theater Iran Near Term” (TIRANNT). The Ongoing Planning of War Against Iran

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky, October 12, 2024

In recent developments, there have been numerous statements to the effect that Israel is at war with Iran. Israel is an instrument of the Pentagon. Netanyahu is a proxy. Israel does not act without the consent of  US-NATO.

Middle Eastern and Global Crises: Who Are the Perpetrators?

By Peter Koenig and Daniel Estulin, October 14, 2024

All the industrialists and big corporations – especially the Tech Corporations, Big Finance, Big Pharma, and of course, the Military / War Industrial Complex and others — have already signed up for Agenda 2030 / The WEF’s Great Reset and the WEF’s 4th Industrial Revolution, an all-digitized slave land or Gulag.

7 October” Plan: Iran in Sights. “False Flag.” The 9/11 of the Middle East

By Manlio Dinucci, October 14, 2024

The plan carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023 had been known for a year to Israel’s leaders, who were not surprised by the attack but facilitated it. This is confirmed by testimonies published in recent days by the Wall Street Journal of young female Israeli soldiers in charge of the electronic barrier around Gaza.

The Biden Regime Has Just Issued a Very Suspicious Directive Permitting Military Intervention in US Domestic Affairs. Dr. Paul C. Roberts

By Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, October 14, 2024

The Department of Homeland Security has flagged individuals questioning COVID-19 origins, vaccine efficacy, and election integrity as potential domestic terrorism threats. Is a coup being set in place?

How Significant Is the US’ THAAD Deployment to Israel?

By Andrew Korybko, October 14, 2024

The Pentagon confirmed that it’ll dispatch nearly 100 troops to Israel to operate one of its premier air defense systems, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), of which it only has seven in total. This comes ahead of Israel’s expected retaliation to Iran’s latest missile strike on the first of the month that it carried out to restore deterrence after the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.

If Israel Attacks Iran, Russia Is Not Going to Stay on the Sideline.

By Mike Whitney, October 14, 2024

On Saturday, more than 10 articles appeared on Google News with the exact same byline: “Israel has narrowed down what they will target.” The impression this mantra is supposed to create is that Israel’s blatant act of aggression is actually a measured and thoughtful act of self-defense.

Israel Takes Aim at the United Nations in Brazen Attack in Lebanon

By Steven Sahiounie, October 14, 2024

The International community was united in strong condemnation of the Israeli breach of international law. Israel was aware of the location of the UNIFIL watchtower in Naqoura, and that the UN personnel are to remain safe from attacks. The Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, explained that there was no mistake, and they preferred that the UN get out of the way.

On October 10, an Israeli Mekava tank attacked the UNIFIL headquarters in southern Lebanon, injuring two Indonesian peacekeepers who are recovering in hospital, although Israel is also bombing hospitals and killing paramedics in Lebanon. Indonesia, a steadfast supporter of Palestine, and critic of Israel, has about 1,232 personnel currently deployed with UNIFIL in Lebanon. The International community was united in strong condemnation of the Israeli breach of international law. Israel was aware of the location of the UNIFIL watchtower in Naqoura, and that the UN personnel are to remain safe from attacks. The Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, explained that there was no mistake, and they preferred that the UN get out of the way.

UNIFIL stated any attack on peacekeepers is a “grave violation of international humanitarian law”. The peacekeeping organization, established in 1978, consists of about 10,000 peacekeepers from 50 countries. The group said Israeli forces had deliberately fired at its positions along the border previously since the outset of current Israeli military escalation in Lebanon beginning September 23.

Those voicing condemnation of the attack on UNIFIL are the following:

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN undersecretary general for peace operations, said the “safety and security” of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon is “increasingly in jeopardy”.

Indonesia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, said “Attacking UN personnel and property is a major violation of International Humanitarian Law.”

The US stated, “While they undertake these operations, it is critical that they not threaten UN peacekeepers’ safety and security.”

The European Union’s Foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the attack is an “inadmissible act, for which there is no justification”.

Italy’s Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto said, “It could constitute a war crime and represented a very serious violation of international military law.

”France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs condemned any attack on the security of UNIFIL.

Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the attack a “grave violation of international law”.

Ireland’s leader, Simon Harris, condemned the attack and said that “any firing in the vicinity of UNIFIL troops or facilities is reckless and must stop”.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “Israel’s attack on UN forces, following its massacres against civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon is a manifestation of its perception that its crimes go unpunished.”

The Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Simon Harris was in Washington, DC. when the Israeli strike on UNIFIL took place. Standing in the country which shields Israel, and enables Israel to carry out war crimes, genocide, apartheid and crimes against international law, he commented on Israel’s request that the UNIFIL peacekeepers withdraw from Southern Lebanon, but Harris rejected that, and said “We cannot have a situation where aggression can force a peacekeeping mission to leave.” Ireland is one of several European countries that has recognized the state of Palestine, but the US is against that recognition.

Israel has always been above the law, and has refused to comply with any UN resolution, while brazenly invading Lebanon in order to enforce a UN resolution upon Beirut. In an ultimate display of hypocrisy, Israel wants to force the UN 1701 resolution.

UN Security Council resolution 1701 gives UNIFIL a mandate to assist the Lebanese army as they seek to keep the southern border free of weapons or armed fighters other than those of the Lebanese state. But, when did Israel ever comply with any UN resolution, or International Court of Justice order? Israel has never complied with any UN resolution and has never been held to account for their crimes. The US, UK and France have shielded Israel from all criticism.

In fact, if any group protests the breach of international law, or human rights carried out by Israel, the US and its allies defend genocide and war crimes by calling the criticism ‘anti-Semitism’, thus enabling Israel to get away with murder. America and its western European allies are enablers. They can be compared to the protective parents who buys drugs for their addicted child, for fear the child might be arrested or come to harm by drug dealers.

Instead of confronting the addiction, and seeking treatment for the addiction, the enabler will allow the addict to continue, but in an allusion of safety.Israel’s inhumanity to Palestinians, and its breaking of thousands of international laws is only possible because Israel is never held accountable for its crimes.

While protests raged across the US and the globe, Washington, London and France were silent on any sanctions against Israel, such as the halt of military supplies to be used in a genocide against a civilian population, evidenced by the fact that the majority of the 42,000 dead in Gaza are mainly women and children.

When the Merkava tank operator took aim and fired at a known UNIFIL watchtower, Israel was not making a mistake. This was a message from Tel Aviv to get out of the way, or face death.

The Merkava tank operator was demonstrating the Israeli disdain at everything called the United Nations. Israel has a UN Ambassador, but does not demonstrate that they are part of an international body having the mission of keeping the peace through the use of diplomacy, so as to not resort to armed conflicts.

Since the formation of Israeli in 1948, Israel has failed to abide by any UN resolutions on Palestine and the occupied territories, regardless of those passed by the General Assembly, or the Security Council.

The resolutions passed by the Security Council are legally binding, with penalties ranging from sanctions to armed interventions.

The dozens of resolutions calling for the Palestinian right to self-determination and restoration of human rights have gone completely ignored, and with no penalties on Israel.

The UN has failed deliver the implementation of numerous resolutions against Israel because of being shackled by the veto power held by the US, UK and France. Those western centers of freedom and democracy stand with Israel and provide it the impunity to violate international laws without any possibility of penalties or accountability.

The core American value of freedom and independence was fought for by Americans in 1776. Patrick Henry said, “Give me liberty, or give me death” as the Patriots fought the British colonizers for freedom. Why do Americans enjoy freedom, and pay their tax-dollars to prevent the freedom of the Palestinian people?The French have a motto, “Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood.” Why are those words cherished in Paris, and denied in Gaza and Bethlehem?

A great awakening is underway as countries are aware of the crimes committed by Israel, and are demanding accountability and justice.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was taken from Mideast Discourse.

Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from MD

I don’t think there is an implicit obligation for the United States to follow like a stupid mule whatever the Israelis do. If they decide to start a war, simply on the assumption that we’ll automatically be drawn into it, I think it is the obligation of friendship to say, ‘you’re not going to be making a national decision for us.’ I think that the United States has the right to have its own national security policy.”Zbigniew Brzezinski

The US foreign policy establishment used to include men who were capable of strategic thinking. No more. What passes for strategic thinking now is the endless reiteration of Israeli talking points uttered by retired generals who are owned by the weapons industry and the Israeli lobby. These men—who represent the views of an infinitesimal percentage of the overall population—are an essential part of the larger machine that prepares the public for intervention, escalation and war. Their current assignment is to convince the American people that Israel’s impending attack on Iran serves America’s national security interests which, of course, it doesn’t. In fact, the country is being boondoggled into a bloody conflagration that will, in all probability, precipitate a sharp decline in US global power followed by a swift end to the so-called American Century.

All of this was forecast by one of America’s most scholarly foreign policy analysts, Zbigniew Brzezinski, who delivered a warning on the topic of Iran more than a decade ago in an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. Here’s what he said:

….an attack on Iran would be an act of political folly, setting in motion a progressive upheaval in world affairs. With the U.S. increasingly the object of widespread hostility, the era of American preponderance could even come to a premature end. Although the United States is clearly dominant in the world at the moment, it has neither the power nor the domestic inclination to impose and then to sustain its will in the face of protracted and costly resistance….

It is therefore high time for the administration to sober up and think strategically, with a historic perspective and the U.S…. It’s time to cool the rhetoric. The United States should not be guided by emotions or a sense of a religiously inspired mission… our choice is either to be stampeded into a reckless adventure profoundly damaging to long-term U.S. national interests or to become serious about giving negotiations with Iran a genuine chance…..

Treating Iran with respect and within a historical perspective would help to advance that objective. American policy should not be swayed by the current contrived atmosphere of urgency ominously reminiscent of what preceded the misguided intervention in Iraq. Been there, done that, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Los Angeles Times

Well-said. One can only wish that the lamebrain pundits on cable news would circulate the article among themselves.

Like him or hate him, Brzezinski provided a coherent, well-researched analysis that dispassionately evaluated whether the costs of a particular operation were greater than the benefits. In this case, there is simply no comparison. The US is rushing towards a conflict that serves no national interest, that it can’t win, and that will have a catastrophic impact on the nation’s future. Here’s Brzezinski again:

We do not need to increase the scale of the conflict in the region because an increase in that conflict involving the Iranians …would likely reignite the conflict in Iraq, would set the Persian Gulf ablaze, would increase the price of oil 2-fold, 3-fold, 4-fold...Europe would become even more dependent on Russia for its energy…. So, what is the benefit to us?

All I know as an analyst of international politics is (a war with Iran) this would be a disaster. And, frankly, I think it will be a disaster for us more than for Israel because, as a result of the war…. we will be forced out of the region... because of the dynamic hatred that develops. And, have no illusions about it, if the conflict spreads, we’re going to be alone… And if we are driven out, how much would you bet on the survival of Israel for more than five or ten years? Zbigniew Brzezinski, Real News Network, 2:15 min

So, it would not just be disastrous for the United States, but disastrous for Israel as well, which—absent Washington’s “unconditional” support—would wither on the vine in 5 or 10 years. Perhaps, there are some who would disagree with this analysis? Perhaps there are some who think that a tiny belligerent colony at the heart of the Arab world—that has made every effort to make itself a damned nuisance for the last 75 years—could survive without US assistance?

It’s possible, I suppose. But not likely. This is from an article at NBC News on Saturday:

U.S. officials believe Israel has narrowed down what they will target in their response to Iran’s attack, which these officials describe as Iranian military and energy infrastructure.

There is no indication that Israel will target nuclear facilities or carry out assassinations, but U.S. officials stressed that the Israelis have not made a final decision about how and when to act….

The U.S. does not know when Israel’s response could come but officials said the Israeli military is poised and ready to go at any time once the order is given….U.S. and Israeli officials said a response could come during the Yom Kippur holiday. ..

The U.S. is poised to defend its assets in the region from any immediate counterattack from Iran but is not likely to provide direct military support to the operation.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, last night and they discussed broad strokes about an Israeli response. However, it’s not clear that Gallant provided any concrete details. NBC News

On Saturday, more than 10 articles appeared on Google News with the exact same byline: “Israel has narrowed down what they will target.” The impression this mantra is supposed to create is that Israel’s blatant act of aggression is actually a measured and thoughtful act of self-defense. What a joke; and what a humiliation for the Biden administration who are not even informed as to how their bombs, their jets, their refueling aircraft, and their logistical support are going to be used. When did the US become such a spineless patsy that allows itself to be pushed around by the gangsters in Tel Aviv? It’s shocking.

What’s lost in the hullabaloo surrounding Israel’s upcoming attack on Iran, is the fact that Russia has been stealthily conducting its own diplomatic campaign aimed at strengthening Iran’s defenses and preparing for the hostilities ahead.

On Friday, Putin met with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan to discuss the deteriorating situation in the Middle East and the probability of a regional war. The carefully choreographed meeting was intended to show that Russia regards Iran as both a friend and ally who can depend on Russia’s support if hostilities break out. Hours earlier, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued an ominous warning that an Israeli strike on Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities would constitute a “serious provocation.”

Speaking at a news conference in Laos, Lavrov emphasized that—according to the International Atomic Energy Agency—Iran has remained compliant with current regulations and has not diverted any nuclear material to banned weapons programs. (Israel’s spurious claims on this matter are pure propaganda.)

If any plans or threats to attack the Islamic Republic of Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities are realized, it would indeed be a very serious provocation.

Between Lavrov’s comments and Putin’s meeting, there’s little doubt that Moscow supports Iran in its clash with Israel although it is not possible to know whether Russia will actively intervene if war breaks out. (We should also remember that Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Tehran just two days before Iran launched its ballistic missile attack on Israel. This suggests that Iran got the green light from Moscow to take action that corresponds with Putin’s idea of a “proportionate response.”)

The point we’re making, is that Russia is following developments very closely and has moved military assets to within range of the prospective battlespace. It is logical to assume that Russia will engage Iran’s enemies if that is what the situation requires. Military analyst Will Schryver summed it up like this:

I cannot understand how more people do not fully appreciate that fighting alongside Iran against the empire is not a choice for Russia, but an existential imperative. It is also something for which the Russians have feverishly prepared since no later than the summer of 2022. —Will Schryver

Keep in mind, Russia and Iran have significantly strengthened their military ties over the last few years to the point they are openly committed to each other’s security. Here’s Schryver again:

Russia, China, and Iran have now formed a de facto military and economic alliance — what they prefer to call a “partnership”. In the case of Russia and China, a comprehensive full-spectrum partnership has emerged: military, economic, and monetary….

Russia, China, and Iran conduct regular joint exercises in the Arabian Sea. Those exercises have increased in both scope and frequency in recent years.

Both Russia and China are investing vast sums of capital in Iran, much of it in the energy sector and in ambitious transportation projects aiming to construct fast and efficient trade corridors linking China, Iran, and Russia as primary nodes of Eurasian commerce…Arms and technology transfers between the three countries have reached unprecedented levels….

It is increasingly evident that Russia, China, and Iran recognize that an attack against any one of them would constitute an existential threat to them all. The strategic interests of all three countries are now inextricably intertwined. Most importantly, they are united in a single overriding strategic objective: to dismantle the dominion of the long-reigning Anglo-American empire….

In a putative war between the United States and Iran, both Russia and China would actively support Iran… Iran would simply be supplemented with arms and other logistical necessities from both its partners — and quite possibly taken under their nuclear umbrella in an explicit act of deterrence.

To the extent Russia, China, and Iran are determined to act all for one and one for all, they represent a combination of global military and economic power that cannot be defeated. All for One and One for All, Will Schryver, Twitter

Schryver’s view is shared by a great many analysts who (naturally) are banned from sharing their opinions in the major media. But that doesn’t change the underlying fact that Russia and Iran are strategic allies that will intervene militarily if they find themselves in peril.

It’s worth noting, that Iran provides China with 15 percent of its oil (China’s top oil producer), is an active participant in the International North–South Transport Corridor (which is a 4500 mile long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.), and is “situated at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and the Arab states of the Middle East.” Iran’s strategic positioning and its vast natural resources make it a critical part of the emerging multipolar world order that is fast replacing Washington’s threadbare rules-based system. Neither Russia nor China can allow Iran to be decimated or its government to be ousted. Here’s more background from author Dr Digby James Wren on Substack:

Russia’s president has authorized the signing of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement with Iran. This follows a Tehran visit by the secretary of the Russian Security Council, preceded by a trip to St. Petersburg by the Iranian national security advisor…. Putin …. reportedly describing it as “expedient” and to be signed “at the highest level.“…

According to Iranian media, Putin hailed the “strategic” relations between Tehran and Moscow, which he said had grown stronger in recent years…. Relations between Moscow and Tehran have deepened considerably since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb. 2022.

Cooperation between the two countries has become particularly pronounced in the military domain. Iran has supplied drones to Russia, which have reportedly been deployed against Ukraine. Additionally, Iran is believed to be supporting Russia’s efforts to localize drone production….

“Relations with Iran are a priority for us,” Putin told Pezeshkian...

Reports also emerged in August about alleged Russian arms shipments being delivered to Iran. The New York Times cited Iranian officials at the time as saying that Russia had begun to transfer advanced radar and air defense equipment to Tehran following a request made to the Kremlin. Persian Fire, Dr Digby James Wren, Substack

In other words, Putin anticipated the crisis that is unfolding today and began vigorously shoring up Iran’s defenses. Now, they are ready to go. Check it out:

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in the Middle East and… set tasks that could only be discussed face to face. …. We will monitor the development of events; the army is combat ready, (and) the initiative is on our side… Victory will be ours, maybe not quickly, but we will definitely win. ⁃ Andrey Gurulev, Russian Lieutenant General @DD_Geopolitics

What we should expect now, is an Israeli attack on Iran’s vital infrastructure amplified by a decapitation operation aimed at its political and military leaders. The attack will have to exceed what US advisors have suggested in order to increase the chances of an exaggerated retaliation from Iran that will prompt Washington’s entry into the war. (which is Israel’s main objective) Iran’s response will be shaped in part by Russia who will emphasize a ‘proportionate response’. Putin will give Israel and the United States every opportunity to ‘lower the temperature’ and deescalate, but if they decide to intensify their attacks, we should expect the worst-case scenario.

There’s no way the United States comes out of a war with Iran unscathed. These are momentous times in which the cornerstone upon which the old order rests, is disintegrating before our eyes.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on The Unz Review.

Michael Whitney is a renowned geopolitical and social analyst based in Washington State. He initiated his career as an independent citizen-journalist in 2002 with a commitment to honest journalism, social justice and World peace.

He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).  

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WWIII ScenarioTowards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War” 

by Michel Chossudovsky

Available to order from Global Research! 

ISBN Number: 978-0-9737147-5-3
Year: 2012
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Michel Chossudovsky is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), which hosts the critically acclaimed website www.globalresearch.ca . He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica. His writings have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Reviews

“This book is a ‘must’ resource – a richly documented and systematic diagnosis of the supremely pathological geo-strategic planning of US wars since ‘9-11’ against non-nuclear countries to seize their oil fields and resources under cover of ‘freedom and democracy’.”
John McMurtry, Professor of Philosophy, Guelph University

“In a world where engineered, pre-emptive, or more fashionably “humanitarian” wars of aggression have become the norm, this challenging book may be our final wake-up call.”
-Denis Halliday, Former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations

Michel Chossudovsky exposes the insanity of our privatized war machine. Iran is being targeted with nuclear weapons as part of a war agenda built on distortions and lies for the purpose of private profit. The real aims are oil, financial hegemony and global control. The price could be nuclear holocaust. When weapons become the hottest export of the world’s only superpower, and diplomats work as salesmen for the defense industry, the whole world is recklessly endangered. If we must have a military, it belongs entirely in the public sector. No one should profit from mass death and destruction.
Ellen Brown, author of ‘Web of Debt’ and president of the Public Banking Institute   

How Significant Is the US’ THAAD Deployment to Israel?

October 14th, 2024 by Andrew Korybko

Something big is coming, and whatever it is, there’s now a heightened chance that the US will become directly involved.

The Pentagon confirmed that it’ll dispatch nearly 100 troops to Israel to operate one of its premier air defense systems, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), of which it only has seven in total. This comes ahead of Israel’s expected retaliation to Iran’s latest missile strike on the first of the month that it carried out to restore deterrence after the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Here’s what this latest US move signifies:

1. Israel Is Probably Planning Something Big

Rumors have abounded about what exactly Israel is planning, but it’s probably something big and will provoke at least proportional retaliation from Iran, hence why the self-professed Jewish State requested that the US deploy one of its few THAADs to help defend it afterwards. THAAD specializes in intercepting ballistic missiles so it can be intuited that Israel and the US expect Iran to respond through these means. THAAD only carries 48 interceptors, however, so it could be overwhelmed if there’s a saturation strike.  

2. The Iron Dome Needs All The Help It Can Get

Many observers assessed that Iran’s latest missile strike exposed the limits of Israel’s famous Iron Dome. The footage that they saw and Israel’s panicked reaction afterwards in trying to cover up the damage, including by detaining Grayzone journalist Jeremy Loffredo and then investigating him for “aiding the enemy in a time of war” by reporting on it, leave little doubt that this is the case. Accordingly, the Iron Dome needs all the help it can get, hence why Israel requested that the US deploy THAAD to assist.

3. The US Risks Getting Caught In Mission Creep

Biden previously promised that “No US boots will be on the ground” in the West Asian conflict zone, yet he just went back on his word after his administration approved this latest deployment. The US thus risks getting caught in mission creep since hawkish policymakers might now argue that it’s worth scaling this deployment in pursuit of perceived national interests after this psychological line was just crossed. They might not succeed, and this could be all that’s sent, but more deployments also can’t be ruled out either.

4. The THAAD Team Is An Escalation Tripwire

Building upon the above, the THAAD team is an escalation tripwire since any harm that might befall them while attempting to intercept Iran’s expected retaliation to Israel’s presumably forthcoming attack could serve as the pretext for the US to strike Iran and/or deploy more troops to the conflict zone. While this move is being sold to the public as “defending Israel” and “deterring Iran”, policymakers nonetheless keenly understand what’s really at stake, yet they’re downplaying the dangers to avoid public outcry.

5. Israel-US Ties Remain Strong Despite Problems

And finally, the US’ THAAD deployment shows that inter-state ties remain strong despite the well-known Bibi-Biden rivalry, which saw Biden endorse Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for regime change against Bibi last spring. Whether one attributes this to the US’ permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies (“deep state”) still appreciating their perceived mutual geostrategic interests or to the power of the Israel lobby, the point is that it testifies to the resilience of their ties.

*

The US’ THAAD deployment to Israel is a worrying step because it suggests that that something big is coming, and whatever it is, there’s now a heightened chance that the US will become directly involved. Whether its role remains defensive or evolves into an offensive one remains to be seen, but this team of nearly 100 operators essentially serves as an escalation tripwire. Hawkish policymakers want a larger war, and it’ll take self-restraint on Iran’s side and a little bit of luck to avoid that worst-case scenario.

*

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on the author’s Substack, Andrew Korybko’s Newsletter.

Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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First published on November 15, 2015, this incisive report was among Global Research’s most popular articles. As a result of media censorship it is no longer featured by the search engines.
 
.

Introductory Note by Michel Chossudovsky

Let us put this in a historical perspective: the commemoration of the War to End All Wars  acknowledges that 15 million lives were lost in the course of World War I (1914-18).

The loss of life in the second World War (1939-1945) was on a much large scale, when compared to World War I: 60 million lives both military and civilian were lost during World War II. (Four times those killed during World War I).

The largest WWII casualties  were China and the Soviet Union: 

  • 26 million in the Soviet Union,  
  • China estimates its losses at approximately 20 million deaths.

Ironically, these two countries (allies of the US during WWII) which lost a large share of their population during WWII are now under the Biden-Harris administration categorized as “enemies of America”, which are threatening the Western World.

Germany and Austria lost approximately 8 million people during WWII, Japan lost more than 2.5 million people. The US and Britain respectively lost more than 400,000 lives. 

This carefully researched article by James A. Lucas  documents the more than 20 million lives lost resulting from US led wars, military coups and intelligence ops carried out in the wake of WWII, in what is euphemistically called the “post-war era” (1945- ).

The extensive loss of life in Lebanon,  Syria, Yemen, Ukraine and Libya, Palestine is not included in this study.

Nor are the millions of deaths resulting from extreme poverty.

Acts of Economic Warfare 

In the post Cold War era, “shock and awe” IMF “economic medicine” applied in countries of the Global South as well as in Eastern Europe has resulted in mass poverty and an unprecedented process of economic and social destruction, under the helm of of the so-called Washington Consensus.

In the course of the last four years, 190 countries, member States of the United Nations have been subjected to the Covid 19 Lockdown which has resulted in extreme poverty and unemployment. In many regards this is an act of economic and social warfare against sovereign nation states.  

In turn, in response to a non-existent pandemic the Covid-19 “Vaccine” which was launched in mid-December 2020 has resulted in millions of deaths Worldwide.

Yes, It’s a killer vaccine. That message should be loud and clear. This is happening all over the world: children and adolescents are dying.

Crimes against humanity, crimes against our children.

Continuous US led warfare (1945- ): there was no “post-war era”.

And now, a World War III scenario is contemplated by US-NATO, in alliance with Israel.

A genocide is ongoing against the people of Palestine with the full support of Western countries.

NATO-US Forces are at Russia’s Doorstep. A so-called “preemptive nuclear war” against China, Russia and Iran is on the drawing board of the Pentagon. 

At no point since the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, has humanity been closer to the unthinkable. 

All the safeguards of the Cold War era, which categorized the nuclear bomb as “a weapon of last resort”, have been scrapped.

The Dangers of Nuclear War are Real. They are “Profit Driven”. 

Under Joe Biden, public funds allocated to nuclear weapons are slated to increase to 2 trillion by 2030 allegedly as a means to safeguarding peace and national security at taxpayers expense. (How many schools and hospitals could you finance with 2 trillion dollars?).

 

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research,  Hiroshima Day, August 6, 2023, October 13, 2024

***

The U.S. Has Killed More Than 20 Million People in 37 “Victim Nations” Since World War II

by James  A. Lucas

 

After the catastrophic attacks of September 11 2001 monumental sorrow and a feeling of desperate and understandable anger began to permeate the American psyche. A few people at that time attempted to promote a balanced perspective by pointing out that the United States had also been responsible for causing those same feelings in people in other nations, but they produced hardly a ripple. Although Americans understand in the abstract the wisdom of people around the world empathizing with the suffering of one another, such a reminder of wrongs committed by our nation got little hearing and was soon overshadowed by an accelerated “war on terrorism.”

But we must continue our efforts to develop understanding and compassion in the world. Hopefully, this article will assist in doing that by addressing the question “How many September 11ths has the United States caused in other nations since WWII?” This theme is developed in this report which contains an estimated numbers of such deaths in 37 nations as well as brief explanations of why the U.S. is considered culpable.

The causes of wars are complex. In some instances nations other than the U.S. may have been responsible for more deaths, but if the involvement of our nation appeared to have been a necessary cause of a war or conflict it was considered responsible for the deaths in it. In other words they probably would not have taken place if the U.S. had not used the heavy hand of its power. The military and economic power of the United States was crucial.

This study reveals that U.S. military forces were directly responsible for about 10 to 15 million deaths during the Korean and Vietnam Wars and the two Iraq Wars. The Korean War also includes Chinese deaths while the Vietnam War also includes fatalities in Cambodia and Laos.

The American public probably is not aware of these numbers and knows even less about the proxy wars for which the United States is also responsible. In the latter wars there were between nine and 14 million deaths in Afghanistan, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Guatemala, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sudan.

But the victims are not just from big nations or one part of the world. The remaining deaths were in smaller ones which constitute over half the total number of nations. Virtually all parts of the world have been the target of U.S. intervention.

The overall conclusion reached is that the United States most likely has been responsible since WWII for the deaths of between 20 and 30 million people in wars and conflicts scattered over the world.

To the families and friends of these victims it makes little difference whether the causes were U.S. military action, proxy military forces, the provision of U.S. military supplies or advisors, or other ways, such as economic pressures applied by our nation. They had to make decisions about other things such as finding lost loved ones, whether to become refugees, and how to survive.

And the pain and anger is spread even further. Some authorities estimate that there are as many as 10 wounded for each person who dies in wars. Their visible, continued suffering is a continuing reminder to their fellow countrymen.

It is essential that Americans learn more about this topic so that they can begin to understand the pain that others feel. Someone once observed that the Germans during WWII “chose not to know.” We cannot allow history to say this about our country. The question posed above was “How many September 11ths has the United States caused in other nations since WWII?” The answer is: possibly 10,000.

Comments on Gathering These Numbers

Generally speaking, the much smaller number of Americans who have died is not included in this study, not because they are not important, but because this report focuses on the impact of U.S. actions on its adversaries.

An accurate count of the number of deaths is not easy to achieve, and this collection of data was undertaken with full realization of this fact. These estimates will probably be revised later either upward or downward by the reader and the author. But undoubtedly the total will remain in the millions.

The difficulty of gathering reliable information is shown by two estimates in this context. For several years I heard statements on radio that three million Cambodians had been killed under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. However, in recent years the figure I heard was one million. Another example is that the number of persons estimated to have died in Iraq due to sanctions after the first U.S. Iraq War was over 1 million, but in more recent years, based on a more recent study, a lower estimate of around a half a million has emerged.

Often information about wars is revealed only much later when someone decides to speak out, when more secret information is revealed due to persistent efforts of a few, or after special congressional committees make reports

Both victorious and defeated nations may have their own reasons for underreporting the number of deaths. Further, in recent wars involving the United States it was not uncommon to hear statements like “we do not do body counts” and references to “collateral damage” as a euphemism for dead and wounded. Life is cheap for some, especially those who manipulate people on the battlefield as if it were a chessboard.

To say that it is difficult to get exact figures is not to say that we should not try. Effort was needed to arrive at the figures of six million Jews killed during WWII, but knowledge of that number now is widespread and it has fueled the determination to prevent future holocausts. That struggle continues.

The author can be contacted at [email protected]

37 VICTIM NATIONS

Afghanistan

The U.S. is responsible for between 1 and 1.8 million deaths during the war between the Soviet Union and Afghanistan, by luring the Soviet Union into invading that nation. (1,2,3,4)

The Soviet Union had friendly relations its neighbor, Afghanistan, which had a secular government. The Soviets feared that if that government became fundamentalist this change could spill over into the Soviet Union.

In 1998, in an interview with the Parisian publication Le Novel Observateur, Zbigniew Brzezinski, adviser to President Carter, admitted that he had been responsible for instigating aid to the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan which caused the Soviets to invade. In his own words:

According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahadeen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan on 24 December 1979. But the reality, secretly guarded until now, is completely otherwise. Indeed, it was July 3, 1979 that President Carter signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. And that very day, I wrote a note to the President in which I explained to him that in my opinion this aid was going to induce a Soviet military intervention. (5,1,6)

Brzezinski justified laying this trap, since he said it gave the Soviet Union its Vietnam and caused the breakup of the Soviet Union. “Regret what?” he said. “That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it?” (7)

The CIA spent 5 to 6 billion dollars on its operation in Afghanistan in order to bleed the Soviet Union. (1,2,3) When that 10-year war ended over a million people were dead and Afghan heroin had captured 60% of the U.S. market. (4)

The U.S. has been responsible directly for about 12,000 deaths in Afghanistan many of which resulted from bombing in retaliation for the attacks on U.S. property on September 11, 2001. Subsequently U.S. troops invaded that country. (4)

Angola

An indigenous armed struggle against Portuguese rule in Angola began in 1961. In 1977 an Angolan government was recognized by the U.N., although the U.S. was one of the few nations that opposed this action. In 1986 Uncle Sam approved material assistance to UNITA, a group that was trying to overthrow the government. Even today this struggle, which has involved many nations at times, continues.

U.S. intervention was justified to the U.S. public as a reaction to the intervention of 50,000 Cuban troops in Angola. However, according to Piero Gleijeses, a history professor at Johns Hopkins University the reverse was true. The Cuban intervention came as a result of a CIA – financed covert invasion via neighboring Zaire and a drive on the Angolan capital by the U.S. ally, South Africa1,2,3). (Three estimates of deaths range from 300,000 to 750,000 (4,5,6)

Argentina: See South America: Operation Condor

Bangladesh: See Pakistan

Bolivia

Hugo Banzer was the leader of a repressive regime in Bolivia in the 1970s. The U.S. had been disturbed when a previous leader nationalized the tin mines and distributed land to Indian peasants. Later that action to benefit the poor was reversed.

Banzer, who was trained at the U.S.-operated School of the Americas in Panama and later at Fort Hood, Texas, came back from exile frequently to confer with U.S. Air Force Major Robert Lundin. In 1971 he staged a successful coup with the help of the U.S. Air Force radio system. In the first years of his dictatorship he received twice as military assistance from the U.S. as in the previous dozen years together.

A few years later the Catholic Church denounced an army massacre of striking tin workers in 1975, Banzer, assisted by information provided by the CIA, was able to target and locate leftist priests and nuns. His anti-clergy strategy, known as the Banzer Plan, was adopted by nine other Latin American dictatorships in 1977. (2) He has been accused of being responsible for 400 deaths during his tenure. (1)

Also see: See South America: Operation Condor

Brazil: See South America: Operation Condor

Cambodia

U.S. bombing of Cambodia had already been underway for several years in secret under the Johnson and Nixon administrations, but when President Nixon openly began bombing in preparation for a land assault on Cambodia it caused major protests in the U.S. against the Vietnam War.

There is little awareness today of the scope of these bombings and the human suffering involved.

Immense damage was done to the villages and cities of Cambodia, causing refugees and internal displacement of the population. This unstable situation enabled the Khmer Rouge, a small political party led by Pol Pot, to assume power. Over the years we have repeatedly heard about the Khmer Rouge’s role in the deaths of millions in Cambodia without any acknowledgement being made this mass killing was made possible by the the U.S. bombing of that nation which destabilized it by death , injuries, hunger and dislocation of its people.

So the U.S. bears responsibility not only for the deaths from the bombings but also for those resulting from the activities of the Khmer Rouge – a total of about 2.5 million people. Even when Vietnam latrer invaded Cambodia in 1979 the CIA was still supporting the Khmer Rouge. (1,2,3)

Also see Vietnam

Chad

An estimated 40,000 people in Chad were killed and as many as 200,000 tortured by a government, headed by Hissen Habre who was brought to power in June, 1982 with the help of CIA money and arms. He remained in power for eight years. (1,2)

Human Rights Watch claimed that Habre was responsible for thousands of killings. In 2001, while living in Senegal, he was almost tried for crimes committed by him in Chad. However, a court there blocked these proceedings. Then human rights people decided to pursue the case in Belgium, because some of Habre’s torture victims lived there. The U.S., in June 2003, told Belgium that it risked losing its status as host to NATO’s headquarters if it allowed such a legal proceeding to happen. So the result was that the law that allowed victims to file complaints in Belgium for atrocities committed abroad was repealed. However, two months later a new law was passed which made special provision for the continuation of the case against Habre.

Chile

The CIA intervened in Chile’s 1958 and 1964 elections. In 1970 a socialist candidate, Salvador Allende, was elected president. The CIA wanted to incite a military coup to prevent his inauguration, but the Chilean army’s chief of staff, General Rene Schneider, opposed this action. The CIA then planned, along with some people in the Chilean military, to assassinate Schneider. This plot failed and Allende took office. President Nixon was not to be dissuaded and he ordered the CIA to create a coup climate: “Make the economy scream,” he said.

What followed were guerilla warfare, arson, bombing, sabotage and terror. ITT and other U.S. corporations with Chilean holdings sponsored demonstrations and strikes. Finally, on September 11, 1973 Allende died either by suicide or by assassination. At that time Henry Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State, said the following regarding Chile: “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist because of the irresponsibility of its own people.” (1)

During 17 years of terror under Allende’s successor, General Augusto Pinochet, an estimated 3,000 Chileans were killed and many others were tortured or “disappeared.” (2,3,4,5)

Also see South America: Operation Condor

China An estimated 900,000 Chinese died during the Korean War.

For more information, See: Korea.

Colombia

One estimate is that 67,000 deaths have occurred from the 1960s to recent years due to support by the U.S. of Colombian state terrorism. (1)

According to a 1994 Amnesty International report, more than 20,000 people were killed for political reasons in Colombia since 1986, mainly by the military and its paramilitary allies. Amnesty alleged that “U.S.- supplied military equipment, ostensibly delivered for use against narcotics traffickers, was being used by the Colombian military to commit abuses in the name of “counter-insurgency.” (2) In 2002 another estimate was made that 3,500 people die each year in a U.S. funded civilian war in Colombia. (3)

In 1996 Human Rights Watch issued a report “Assassination Squads in Colombia” which revealed that CIA agents went to Colombia in 1991 to help the military to train undercover agents in anti-subversive activity. (4,5)

In recent years the U.S. government has provided assistance under Plan Colombia. The Colombian government has been charged with using most of the funds for destruction of crops and support of the paramilitary group.

Cuba

In the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba on April 18, 1961 which ended after 3 days, 114 of the invading force were killed, 1,189 were taken prisoners and a few escaped to waiting U.S. ships. (1) The captured exiles were quickly tried, a few executed and the rest sentenced to thirty years in prison for treason. These exiles were released after 20 months in exchange for $53 million in food and medicine.

Some people estimate that the number of Cuban forces killed range from 2,000, to 4,000. Another estimate is that 1,800 Cuban forces were killed on an open highway by napalm. This appears to have been a precursor of the Highway of Death in Iraq in 1991 when U.S. forces mercilessly annihilated large numbers of Iraqis on a highway. (2)

Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire)

The beginning of massive violence was instigated in this country in 1879 by its colonizer King Leopold of Belgium. The Congo’s population was reduced by 10 million people over a period of 20 years which some have referred to as “Leopold’s Genocide.” (1) The U.S. has been responsible for about a third of that many deaths in that nation in the more recent past. (2)

In 1960 the Congo became an independent state with Patrice Lumumba being its first prime minister. He was assassinated with the CIA being implicated, although some say that his murder was actually the responsibility of Belgium. (3) But nevertheless, the CIA was planning to kill him. (4) Before his assassination the CIA sent one of its scientists, Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, to the Congo carrying “lethal biological material” intended for use in Lumumba’s assassination. This virus would have been able to produce a fatal disease indigenous to the Congo area of Africa and was transported in a diplomatic pouch.

Much of the time in recent years there has been a civil war within the Democratic Republic of Congo, fomented often by the U.S. and other nations, including neighboring nations. (5)

In April 1977, Newsday reported that the CIA was secretly supporting efforts to recruit several hundred mercenaries in the U.S. and Great Britain to serve alongside Zaire’s army. In that same year the U.S. provided $15 million of military supplies to the Zairian President Mobutu to fend off an invasion by a rival group operating in Angola. (6)

In May 1979, the U.S. sent several million dollars of aid to Mobutu who had been condemned 3 months earlier by the U.S. State Department for human rights violations. (7) During the Cold War the U.S. funneled over 300 million dollars in weapons into Zaire (8,9) $100 million in military training was provided to him. (2) In 2001 it was reported to a U.S. congressional committee that American companies, including one linked to former President George Bush Sr., were stoking the Congo for monetary gains. There is an international battle over resources in that country with over 125 companies and individuals being implicated. One of these substances is coltan, which is used in the manufacture of cell phones. (2)

Dominican Republic

In 1962, Juan Bosch became president of the Dominican Republic. He advocated such programs as land reform and public works programs. This did not bode well for his future relationship with the U.S., and after only 7 months in office, he was deposed by a CIA coup. In 1965 when a group was trying to reinstall him to his office President Johnson said, “This Bosch is no good.” Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Mann replied “He’s no good at all. If we don’t get a decent government in there, Mr. President, we get another Bosch. It’s just going to be another sinkhole.” Two days later a U.S. invasion started and 22,000 soldiers and marines entered the Dominican Republic and about 3,000 Dominicans died during the fighting. The cover excuse for doing this was that this was done to protect foreigners there. (1,2,3,4)

East Timor

In December 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor. This incursion was launched the day after U.S. President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had left Indonesia where they had given President Suharto permission to use American arms, which under U.S. law, could not be used for aggression. Daniel Moynihan, U.S. ambassador to the UN. said that the U.S. wanted “things to turn out as they did.” (1,2) The result was an estimated 200,000 dead out of a population of 700,000. (1,2)

Sixteen years later, on November 12, 1991, two hundred and seventeen East Timorese protesters in Dili, many of them children, marching from a memorial service, were gunned down by Indonesian Kopassus shock troops who were headed by U.S.- trained commanders Prabowo Subianto (son in law of General Suharto) and Kiki Syahnakri. Trucks were seen dumping bodies into the sea. (5)

El Salvador

The civil war from 1981 to1992 in El Salvador was financed by $6 billion in U.S. aid given to support the government in its efforts to crush a movement to bring social justice to the people in that nation of about 8 million people. (1)
During that time U.S. military advisers demonstrated methods of torture on teenage prisoners, according to an interview with a deserter from the Salvadoran army published in the New York Times. This former member of the Salvadoran National Guard testified that he was a member of a squad of twelve who found people who they were told were guerillas and tortured them. Part of the training he received was in torture at a U.S. location somewhere in Panama. (2)

About 900 villagers were massacred in the village of El Mozote in 1981. Ten of the twelve El Salvadoran government soldiers cited as participating in this act were graduates of the School of the Americas operated by the U.S. (2) They were only a small part of about 75,000 people killed during that civil war. (1)

According to a 1993 United Nations’ Truth Commission report, over 96 % of the human rights violations carried out during the war were committed by the Salvadoran army or the paramilitary deaths squads associated with the Salvadoran army. (3)

That commission linked graduates of the School of the Americas to many notorious killings. The New York Times and the Washington Post followed with scathing articles. In 1996, the White House Oversight Board issued a report that supported many of the charges against that school made by Rev. Roy Bourgeois, head of the School of the Americas Watch. That same year the Pentagon released formerly classified reports indicating that graduates were trained in killing, extortion, and physical abuse for interrogations, false imprisonment and other methods of control. (4)

Grenada

The CIA began to destabilize Grenada in 1979 after Maurice Bishop became president, partially because he refused to join the quarantine of Cuba. The campaign against him resulted in his overthrow and the invasion by the U.S. of Grenada on October 25, 1983, with about 277 people dying. (1,2) It was fallaciously charged that an airport was being built in Grenada that could be used to attack the U.S. and it was also erroneously claimed that the lives of American medical students on that island were in danger.

Guatemala

In 1951 Jacobo Arbenz was elected president of Guatemala. He appropriated some unused land operated by the United Fruit Company and compensated the company. (1,2) That company then started a campaign to paint Arbenz as a tool of an international conspiracy and hired about 300 mercenaries who sabotaged oil supplies and trains. (3) In 1954 a CIA-orchestrated coup put him out of office and he left the country. During the next 40 years various regimes killed thousands of people.

In 1999 the Washington Post reported that an Historical Clarification Commission concluded that over 200,000 people had been killed during the civil war and that there had been 42,000 individual human rights violations, 29,000 of them fatal, 92% of which were committed by the army. The commission further reported that the U.S. government and the CIA had pressured the Guatemalan government into suppressing the guerilla movement by ruthless means. (4,5)

According to the Commission between 1981 and 1983 the military government of Guatemala – financed and supported by the U.S. government – destroyed some four hundred Mayan villages in a campaign of genocide. (4)
One of the documents made available to the commission was a 1966 memo from a U.S. State Department official, which described how a “safe house” was set up in the palace for use by Guatemalan security agents and their U.S. contacts. This was the headquarters for the Guatemalan “dirty war” against leftist insurgents and suspected allies. (2)

Haiti

From 1957 to 1986 Haiti was ruled by Papa Doc Duvalier and later by his son. During that time their private terrorist force killed between 30,000 and 100,000 people. (1) Millions of dollars in CIA subsidies flowed into Haiti during that time, mainly to suppress popular movements, (2) although most American military aid to the country, according to William Blum, was covertly channeled through Israel.

Reportedly, governments after the second Duvalier reign were responsible for an even larger number of fatalities, and the influence on Haiti by the U.S., particularly through the CIA, has continued. The U.S. later forced out of the presidential office a black Catholic priest, Jean Bertrand Aristide, even though he was elected with 67% of the vote in the early 1990s. The wealthy white class in Haiti opposed him in this predominantly black nation, because of his social programs designed to help the poor and end corruption. (3) Later he returned to office, but that did not last long. He was forced by the U.S. to leave office and now lives in South Africa.

Honduras

In the 1980s the CIA supported Battalion 316 in Honduras, which kidnapped, tortured and killed hundreds of its citizens. Torture equipment and manuals were provided by CIA Argentinean personnel who worked with U.S. agents in the training of the Hondurans. Approximately 400 people lost their lives. (1,2) This is another instance of torture in the world sponsored by the U.S. (3)

Battalion 316 used shock and suffocation devices in interrogations in the 1980s. Prisoners often were kept naked and, when no longer useful, killed and buried in unmarked graves. Declassified documents and other sources show that the CIA and the U.S. Embassy knew of numerous crimes, including murder and torture, yet continued to support Battalion 316 and collaborate with its leaders.” (4)

Honduras was a staging ground in the early 1980s for the Contras who were trying to overthrow the socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. John D. Negroponte, currently Deputy Secretary of State, was our embassador when our military aid to Honduras rose from $4 million to $77.4 million per year. Negroponte denies having had any knowledge of these atrocities during his tenure. However, his predecessor in that position, Jack R. Binns, had reported in 1981 that he was deeply concerned at increasing evidence of officially sponsored/sanctioned assassinations. (5)

Hungary

In 1956 Hungary, a Soviet satellite nation, revolted against the Soviet Union. During the uprising broadcasts by the U.S. Radio Free Europe into Hungary sometimes took on an aggressive tone, encouraging the rebels to believe that Western support was imminent, and even giving tactical advice on how to fight the Soviets. Their hopes were raised then dashed by these broadcasts which cast an even darker shadow over the Hungarian tragedy.“ (1) The Hungarian and Soviet death toll was about 3,000 and the revolution was crushed. (2)

Indonesia

In 1965, in Indonesia, a coup replaced General Sukarno with General Suharto as leader. The U.S. played a role in that change of government. Robert Martens,a former officer in the U.S. embassy in Indonesia, described how U.S. diplomats and CIA officers provided up to 5,000 names to Indonesian Army death squads in 1965 and checked them off as they were killed or captured. Martens admitted that “I probably have a lot of blood on my hands, but that’s not all bad. There’s a time when you have to strike hard at a decisive moment.” (1,2,3) Estimates of the number of deaths range from 500,000 to 3 million. (4,5,6)
From 1993 to 1997 the U.S. provided Jakarta with almost $400 million in economic aid and sold tens of million of dollars of weaponry to that nation. U.S. Green Berets provided training for the Indonesia’s elite force which was responsible for many of atrocities in East Timor. (3)

Iran

Iran lost about 262,000 people in the war against Iraq from 1980 to 1988. (1) See Iraq for more information about that war.

On July 3, 1988 the U.S. Navy ship, the Vincennes, was operating withing Iranian waters providing military support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. During a battle against Iranian gunboats it fired two missiles at an Iranian Airbus, which was on a routine civilian flight. All 290 civilian on board were killed. (2,3)

Iraq

A. The Iraq-Iran War lasted from 1980 to 1988 and during that time there were about 105,000 Iraqi deaths according to the Washington Post. (1,2)

According to Howard Teicher, a former National Security Council official, the U.S. provided the Iraqis with billions of dollars in credits and helped Iraq in other ways such as making sure that Iraq had military equipment including biological agents This surge of help for Iraq came as Iran seemed to be winning the war and was close to Basra. (1) The U.S. was not adverse to both countries weakening themselves as a result of the war, but it did not appear to want either side to win.

B: The U.S.-Iraq War and the Sanctions Against Iraq extended from 1990 to 2003.

Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990 and the U.S. responded by demanding that Iraq withdraw, and four days later the U.N. levied international sanctions.

Iraq had reason to believe that the U.S. would not object to its invasion of Kuwait, since U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie, had told Saddam Hussein that the U.S. had no position on the dispute that his country had with Kuwait. So the green light was given, but it seemed to be more of a trap.

As a part of the public relations strategy to energize the American public into supporting an attack against Iraq the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S. falsely testified before Congress that Iraqi troops were pulling the plugs on incubators in Iraqi hospitals. (1) This contributed to a war frenzy in the U.S.

The U.S. air assault started on January 17, 1991 and it lasted for 42 days. On February 23 President H.W. Bush ordered the U.S. ground assault to begin. The invasion took place with much needless killing of Iraqi military personnel. Only about 150 American military personnel died compared to about 200,000 Iraqis. Some of the Iraqis were mercilessly killed on the Highway of Death and about 400 tons of depleted uranium were left in that nation by the U.S. (2,3)

Other deaths later were from delayed deaths due to wounds, civilians killed, those killed by effects of damage of the Iraqi water treatment facilities and other aspects of its damaged infrastructure and by the sanctions.

In 1995 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. reported that U.N sanctions against on Iraq had been responsible for the deaths of more than 560,000 children since 1990. (5)

Leslie Stahl on the TV Program 60 Minutes in 1996 mentioned to Madeleine Albright, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. “We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And – and you know, is the price worth it?” Albright replied “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price – we think is worth it.” (4)

In 1999 UNICEF reported that 5,000 children died each month as a result of the sanction and the War with the U.S. (6)

Richard Garfield later estimated that the more likely number of excess deaths among children under five years of age from 1990 through March 1998 to be 227,000 – double those of the previous decade. Garfield estimated that the numbers to be 350,000 through 2000 (based in part on result of another study). (7)

However, there are limitations to his study. His figures were not updated for the remaining three years of the sanctions. Also, two other somewhat vulnerable age groups were not studied: young children above the age of five and the elderly.

All of these reports were considerable indicators of massive numbers of deaths which the U.S. was aware of and which was a part of its strategy to cause enough pain and terror among Iraqis to cause them to revolt against their government.

C: Iraq-U.S. War started in 2003 and has not been concluded

Just as the end of the Cold War emboldened the U.S. to attack Iraq in 1991 so the attacks of September 11, 2001 laid the groundwork for the U.S. to launch the current war against Iraq. While in some other wars we learned much later about the lies that were used to deceive us, some of the deceptions that were used to get us into this war became known almost as soon as they were uttered. There were no weapons of mass destruction, we were not trying to promote democracy, we were not trying to save the Iraqi people from a dictator.

The total number of Iraqi deaths that are a result of our current Iraq against Iraq War is 654,000, of which 600,000 are attributed to acts of violence, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. (1,2)

Since these deaths are a result of the U.S. invasion, our leaders must accept responsibility for them.

Israeli-Palestinian War

About 100,000 to 200,000 Israelis and Palestinians, but mostly the latter, have been killed in the struggle between those two groups. The U.S. has been a strong supporter of Israel, providing billions of dollars in aid and supporting its possession of nuclear weapons. (1,2)

Korea, North and South

The Korean War started in 1950 when, according to the Truman administration, North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25th. However, since then another explanation has emerged which maintains that the attack by North Korea came during a time of many border incursions by both sides. South Korea initiated most of the border clashes with North Korea beginning in 1948. The North Korea government claimed that by 1949 the South Korean army committed 2,617 armed incursions. It was a myth that the Soviet Union ordered North Korea to attack South Korea. (1,2)

The U.S. started its attack before a U.N. resolution was passed supporting our nation’s intervention, and our military forces added to the mayhem in the war by introducing the use of napalm. (1)

During the war the bulk of the deaths were South Koreans, North Koreans and Chinese. Four sources give deaths counts ranging from 1.8 to 4.5 million. (3,4,5,6) Another source gives a total of 4 million but does not identify to which nation they belonged. (7)

John H. Kim, a U.S. Army veteran and the Chair of the Korea Committee of Veterans for Peace, stated in an article that during the Korean War “the U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy were directly involved in the killing of about three million civilians – both South and North Koreans – at many locations throughout Korea…It is reported that the U.S. dropped some 650,000 tons of bombs, including 43,000 tons of napalm bombs, during the Korean War.” It is presumed that this total does not include Chinese casualties.

Another source states a total of about 500,000 who were Koreans and presumably only military. (8,9)

Laos

From 1965 to 1973 during the Vietnam War the U.S. dropped over two million tons of bombs on Laos – more than was dropped in WWII by both sides. Over a quarter of the population became refugees. This was later called a “secret war,” since it occurred at the same time as the Vietnam War, but got little press. Hundreds of thousands were killed. Branfman make the only estimate that I am aware of , stating that hundreds of thousands died. This can be interpeted to mean that at least 200,000 died. (1,2,3)

U.S. military intervention in Laos actually began much earlier. A civil war started in the 1950s when the U.S. recruited a force of 40,000 Laotians to oppose the Pathet Lao, a leftist political party that ultimately took power in 1975.

Also See Vietnam

Nepal

Between 8,000 and 12,000 Nepalese have died since a civil war broke out in 1996. The death rate, according to Foreign Policy in Focus, sharply increased with the arrival of almost 8,400 American M-16 submachine guns (950 rpm) and U.S. advisers. Nepal is 85 percent rural and badly in need of land reform. Not surprisingly 42 % of its people live below the poverty level. (1,2)

In 2002, after another civil war erupted, President George W. Bush pushed a bill through Congress authorizing $20 million in military aid to the Nepalese government. (3)

Nicaragua

In 1981 the Sandinistas overthrew the Somoza government in Nicaragua, (1) and until 1990 about 25,000 Nicaraguans were killed in an armed struggle between the Sandinista government and Contra rebels who were formed from the remnants of Somoza’s national government. The use of assassination manuals by the Contras surfaced in 1984. (2,3)

The U.S. supported the victorious government regime by providing covert military aid to the Contras (anti-communist guerillas) starting in November, 1981. But when Congress discovered that the CIA had supervised acts of sabotage in Nicaragua without notifying Congress, it passed the Boland Amendment in 1983 which prohibited the CIA, Defense Department and any other government agency from providing any further covert military assistance. (4)

But ways were found to get around this prohibition. The National Security Council, which was not explicitly covered by the law, raised private and foreign funds for the Contras. In addition, arms were sold to Iran and the proceeds were diverted from those sales to the Contras engaged in the insurgency against the Sandinista government. (5) Finally, the Sandinistas were voted out of office in 1990 by voters who thought that a change in leadership would placate the U.S., which was causing misery to Nicaragua’s citizenry by it support of the Contras.

Pakistan

In 1971 West Pakistan, an authoritarian state supported by the U.S., brutally invaded East Pakistan. The war ended after India, whose economy was staggering after admitting about 10 million refugees, invaded East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and defeated the West Pakistani forces. (1)

Millions of people died during that brutal struggle, referred to by some as genocide committed by West Pakistan. That country had long been an ally of the U.S., starting with $411 million provided to establish its armed forces which spent 80% of its budget on its military. $15 million in arms flowed into W. Pakistan during the war. (2,3,4)

Three sources estimate that 3 million people died and (5,2,6) one source estimates 1.5 million. (3)

Panama

In December, 1989 U.S. troops invaded Panama, ostensibly to arrest Manuel Noriega, that nation’s president. This was an example of the U.S. view that it is the master of the world and can arrest anyone it wants to. For a number of years before that he had worked for the CIA, but fell out of favor partially because he was not an opponent of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. (1) It has been estimated that between 500 and 4,000 people died. (2,3,4)

Paraguay: See South America: Operation Condor

Philippines

The Philippines were under the control of the U.S. for over a hundred years. In about the last 50 to 60 years the U.S. has funded and otherwise helped various Philippine governments which sought to suppress the activities of groups working for the welfare of its people. In 1969 the Symington Committee in the U.S. Congress revealed how war material was sent there for a counter-insurgency campaign. U.S. Special Forces and Marines were active in some combat operations. The estimated number of persons that were executed and disappeared under President Fernando Marcos was over 100,000. (1,2)

South America: Operation Condor

This was a joint operation of 6 despotic South American governments (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay) to share information about their political opponents. An estimated 13,000 people were killed under this plan. (1)

It was established on November 25, 1975 in Chile by an act of the Interamerican Reunion on Military Intelligence. According to U.S. embassy political officer, John Tipton, the CIA and the Chilean Secret Police were working together, although the CIA did not set up the operation to make this collaboration work. Reportedly, it ended in 1983. (2)

On March 6, 2001 the New York Times reported the existence of a recently declassified State Department document revealing that the United States facilitated communications for Operation Condor. (3)

Sudan

Since 1955, when it gained its independence, Sudan has been involved most of the time in a civil war. Until about 2003 approximately 2 million people had been killed. It not known if the death toll in Darfur is part of that total.

Human rights groups have complained that U.S. policies have helped to prolong the Sudanese civil war by supporting efforts to overthrow the central government in Khartoum. In 1999 U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met with the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) who said that she offered him food supplies if he would reject a peace plan sponsored by Egypt and Libya.

In 1978 the vastness of Sudan’s oil reservers was discovered and within two years it became the sixth largest recipient of U.S, military aid. It’s reasonable to assume that if the U.S. aid a government to come to power it will feel obligated to give the U.S. part of the oil pie.

A British group, Christian Aid, has accused foreign oil companies of complicity in the depopulation of villages. These companies – not American – receive government protection and in turn allow the government use of its airstrips and roads.

In August 1998 the U.S. bombed Khartoum, Sudan with 75 cruise míssiles. Our government said that the target was a chemical weapons factory owned by Osama bin Laden. Actually, bin Laden was no longer the owner, and the plant had been the sole supplier of pharmaceutical supplies for that poor nation. As a result of the bombing tens of thousands may have died because of the lack of medicines to treat malaria, tuberculosis and other diseases. The U.S. settled a lawsuit filed by the factory’s owner. (1,2)

Uruguay: See South America: Operation Condor

Vietnam

In Vietnam, under an agreement several decades ago, there was supposed to be an election for a unified North and South Vietnam. The U.S. opposed this and supported the Diem government in South Vietnam. In August, 1964 the CIA and others helped fabricate a phony Vietnamese attack on a U.S. ship in the Gulf of Tonkin and this was used as a pretext for greater U.S. involvement in Vietnam. (1)

During that war an American assassination operation,called Operation Phoenix, terrorized the South Vietnamese people, and during the war American troops were responsible in 1968 for the mass slaughter of the people in the village of My Lai.

According to a Vietnamese government statement in 1995 the number of deaths of civilians and military personnel during the Vietnam War was 5.1 million. (2)

Since deaths in Cambodia and Laos were about 2.7 million (See Cambodia and Laos) the estimated total for the Vietnam War is 7.8 million.

The Virtual Truth Commission provides a total for the war of 5 million, (3) and Robert McNamara, former Secretary Defense, according to the New York Times Magazine says that the number of Vietnamese dead is 3.4 million. (4,5)

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was a socialist federation of several republics. Since it refused to be closely tied to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, it gained some suport from the U.S. But when the Soviet Union dissolved, Yugoslavia’s usefulness to the U.S. ended, and the U.S and Germany worked to convert its socialist economy to a capitalist one by a process primarily of dividing and conquering. There were ethnic and religious differences between various parts of Yugoslavia which were manipulated by the U.S. to cause several wars which resulted in the dissolution of that country.

From the early 1990s until now Yugoslavia split into several independent nations whose lowered income, along with CIA connivance, has made it a pawn in the hands of capitalist countries. (1) The dissolution of Yugoslavia was caused primarily by the U.S. (2)

Here are estimates of some, if not all, of the internal wars in Yugoslavia. All wars: 107,000; (3,4)

Bosnia and Krajina: 250,000; (5) Bosnia: 20,000 to 30,000; (5) Croatia: 15,000; (6) and

Kosovo: 500 to 5,000. (7)

NOTES

Afghanistan

1.Mark Zepezauer, Boomerang (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2003), p.135.

2.Chronology of American State Terrorism
http://www.intellnet.org/resources/american_
terrorism/ChronologyofTerror.html

3.Soviet War in Afghanistan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan

4.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994), p.76

5.U.S Involvement in Afghanistan, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in Afghanistan)

6.The CIA’s Intervention in Afghanistan, Interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Le Nouvel Observateur, Paris, 15-21 January 1998, Posted at globalresearch.ca 15 October 2001, http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BRZ110A.html

7.William Blum, Rogue State (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2000), p.5

8.Unknown News, http://www.unknownnews.net/casualtiesw.html

Angola

1.Howard W. French “From Old Files, a New Story of the U.S. Role in the Angolan War” New York Times 3/31/02

2.Angolan Update, American Friends Service Committee FS, 11/1/99 flyer.

3.Norman Solomon, War Made Easy, (John Wiley & Sons, 2005) p. 82-83.

4.Lance Selfa, U.S. Imperialism, A Century of Slaughter, International Socialist Review Issue 7, Spring 1999 (as appears in Third world Traveler www. thirdworldtraveler.com/American_Empire/Century_Imperialism.html)

5. Jeffress Ramsay, Africa , (Dushkin/McGraw Hill Guilford Connecticut), 1997, p. 144-145.

6.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994), p.54.

Argentina : See South America: Operation Condor

Bolivia

1. Phil Gunson, Guardian, 5/6/02,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/archive /article/0,4273,41-07884,00.html

2.Jerry Meldon, Return of Bolilvia’s Drug – Stained Dictator, Consortium,www.consortiumnews.com/archives/story40.html.

Brazil See South America: Operation Condor

Cambodia

1.Virtual Truth Commissiion http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/ .

2.David Model, President Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and the Bombing of Cambodia excerpted from the book Lying for Empire How to Commit War Crimes With A Straight Face, Common Courage Press, 2005, paperhttp://thirdworldtraveler.com/American_Empire/Nixon_Cambodia_LFE.html.

3.Noam Chomsky, Chomsky on Cambodia under Pol Pot, etc.,http//zmag.org/forums/chomcambodforum.htm.

Chad

1.William Blum, Rogue State (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2000), p. 151-152 .

2.Richard Keeble, Crimes Against Humanity in Chad, Znet/Activism 12/4/06http://www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=11560&sectionID=1).

Chile

1.Parenti, Michael, The Sword and the Dollar (New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1989) p. 56.

2.William Blum, Rogue State (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2000), p. 142-143.

3.Moreorless: Heroes and Killers of the 20th Century, Augusto Pinochet Ugarte,

http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/pinochet.html

4.Associated Press,Pincohet on 91st Birthday, Takes Responsibility for Regimes’s Abuses, Dayton Daily News 11/26/06

5.Chalmers Johnson, Blowback, The Costs and Consequences of American Empire (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2000), p. 18.

China: See Korea

Colombia

1.Chronology of American State Terrorism, p.2

http://www.intellnet.org/resources/american_terrorism/ChronologyofTerror.html).

2.William Blum, Rogue State (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2000), p. 163.

3.Millions Killed by Imperialism Washington Post May 6, 2002)http://www.etext.org./Politics/MIM/rail/impkills.html

4.Gabriella Gamini, CIA Set Up Death Squads in Colombia Times Newspapers Limited, Dec. 5, 1996,www.edu/CommunicationsStudies/ben/news/cia/961205.death.html).

5.Virtual Truth Commission, 1991

Human Rights Watch Report: Colombia’s Killer Networks–The Military-Paramilitary Partnership).

Cuba

1.St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture – on Bay of Pigs Invasionhttp://bookrags.com/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion.

2.Wikipedia http://bookrags.com/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion#Casualties.

Democratic Republic of Congo (Formerly Zaire)

1.F. Jeffress Ramsey, Africa (Guilford Connecticut, 1997), p. 85

2. Anup Shaw The Democratic Republic of Congo, 10/31/2003)http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/Africa/DRC.asp)

3.Kevin Whitelaw, A Killing in Congo, U. S. News and World Reporthttp://www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/mysteries/patrice.htm

4.William Blum, Killing Hope (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995), p 158-159.

5.Ibid.,p. 260

6.Ibid.,p. 259

7.Ibid.,p.262

8.David Pickering, “World War in Africa, 6/26/02,
www.9-11peace.org/bulletin.php3

9.William D. Hartung and Bridget Moix, Deadly Legacy; U.S. Arms to Africa and the Congo War, Arms Trade Resource Center, January , 2000www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/congo.htm

Dominican Republic

1.Norman Solomon, (untitled) Baltimore Sun April 26, 2005
http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/history/2005/0426spincycle.htm
Intervention Spin Cycle

2.Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Power_Pack

3.William Blum, Killing Hope (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995), p. 175.

4.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994), p.26-27.

East Timor

1.Virtual Truth Commission, http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/date4.htm

2.Matthew Jardine, Unraveling Indonesia, Nonviolent Activist, 1997)

3.Chronology of American State Terrorismhttp://www.intellnet.org/resources/american_terrorism/ChronologyofTerror.html

4.William Blum, Killing Hope (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995), p. 197.

5.US trained butchers of Timor, The Guardian, London. Cited by The Drudge Report, September 19, 1999. http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/indon.htm

El Salvador

1.Robert T. Buckman, Latin America 2003, (Stryker-Post Publications Baltimore 2003) p. 152-153.

2.William Blum, Rogue State (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2000), p. 54-55.

3.El Salvador, Wikipediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Salvador#The_20th_century_and_beyond)

4.Virtual Truth Commissiion http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/.

Grenada

1.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994), p. 66-67.

2.Stephen Zunes, The U.S. Invasion of Grenada,http://wwwfpif.org/papers/grenada2003.html .

Guatemala

1.Virtual Truth Commissiion http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/

2.Ibid.

3.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994), p.2-13.

4.Robert T. Buckman, Latin America 2003 (Stryker-Post Publications Baltimore 2003) p. 162.

5.Douglas Farah, Papers Show U.S. Role in Guatemalan Abuses, Washington Post Foreign Service, March 11, 1999, A 26

Haiti

1.Francois Duvalier,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_Duvalier#Reign_of_terror).

2.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994), p 87.

3.William Blum, Haiti 1986-1994: Who Will Rid Me of This Turbulent Priest,http://www.doublestandards.org/blum8.html

Honduras

1.William Blum, Rogue State (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2000), p. 55.

2.Reports by Country: Honduras, Virtual Truth Commissionhttp://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/honduras.htm

3.James A. Lucas, Torture Gets The Silence Treatment, Countercurrents, July 26, 2004.

4.Gary Cohn and Ginger Thompson, Unearthed: Fatal Secrets, Baltimore Sun, reprint of a series that appeared June 11-18, 1995 in Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, School of Assassins, p. 46 Orbis Books 2001.

5.Michael Dobbs, Negroponte’s Time in Honduras at Issue, Washington Post, March 21, 2005

Hungary

1.Edited by Malcolm Byrne, The 1956 Hungarian Revoluiton: A history in Documents November 4, 2002http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB76/index2.htm

2.Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia,
http://www.answers.com/topic/hungarian-revolution-of-1956

Indonesia

1.Virtual Truth Commission http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/.

2.Editorial, Indonesia’s Killers, The Nation, March 30, 1998.

3.Matthew Jardine, Indonesia Unraveling, Non Violent Activist Sept–Oct, 1997 (Amnesty) 2/7/07.

4.Sison, Jose Maria, Reflections on the 1965 Massacre in Indonesia, p. 5.http://qc.indymedia.org/mail.php?id=5602;

5.Annie Pohlman, Women and the Indonesian Killings of 1965-1966: Gender Variables and Possible Direction for Research, p.4,http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/ASAA/biennial-conference/2004/Pohlman-A-ASAA.pdf

6.Peter Dale Scott, The United States and the Overthrow of Sukarno, 1965-1967, Pacific Affairs, 58, Summer 1985, pages 239-264.http://www.namebase.org/scott.

7.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994), p.30.

Iran

1.Geoff Simons, Iraq from Sumer to Saddam, 1996, St. Martins Press, NY p. 317.

2.Chronology of American State Terrorismhttp://www.intellnet.org/resources/american_terrorism/ChronologyofTerror.html.

3.BBC 1988: US Warship Shoots Down Iranian Airlinerhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/default.stm )

Iraq

Iran-Iraq War

1.Michael Dobbs, U.S. Had Key role in Iraq Buildup, Washington Post December 30, 2002, p A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A52241-2002Dec29?language=printer

2.Global Security.Org , Iran Iraq War (1980-1980)globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/iran-iraq.htm.

U.S. Iraq War and Sanctions

1.Ramsey Clark, The Fire This Time (New York, Thunder’s Mouth), 1994, p.31-32

2.Ibid., p. 52-54

3.Ibid., p. 43

4.Anthony Arnove, Iraq Under Siege, (South End Press Cambridge MA 2000). p. 175.

5.Food and Agricultural Organizaiton, The Children are Dying, 1995 World View Forum, Internationa Action Center, International Relief Association, p. 78

6.Anthony Arnove, Iraq Under Siege, South End Press Cambridge MA 2000. p. 61.

7.David Cortright, A Hard Look at Iraq Sanctions December 3, 2001, The Nation.

U.S-Iraq War 2003-?

1.Jonathan Bor 654,000 Deaths Tied to Iraq War Baltimore Sun , October 11,2006

2.News http://www.unknownnews.net/casualties.html

Israeli-Palestinian War

1.Post-1967 Palestinian & Israeli Deaths from Occupation & Violence May 16, 2006 http://globalavoidablemortality.blogspot.com/2006/05/post-1967-palestinian-israeli-deaths.html)

2.Chronology of American State Terrorism

http://www.intellnet.org/resources/american_terrorism/ChronologyofTerror.html

Korea

1.James I. Matray Revisiting Korea: Exposing Myths of the Forgotten War, Korean War Teachers Conference: The Korean War, February 9, 2001http://www.truman/library.org/Korea/matray1.htm

2.William Blum, Killing Hope (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995), p. 46

3.Kanako Tokuno, Chinese Winter Offensive in Korean War – the Debacle of American Strategy, ICE Case Studies Number 186, May, 2006http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/chosin.htm.

4.John G. Stroessinger, Why Nations go to War, (New York; St. Martin’s Press), p. 99)

5.Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, as reported in Answers.comhttp://www.answers.com/topic/Korean-war

6.Exploring the Environment: Korean Enigmawww.cet.edu/ete/modules/korea/kwar.html)

7.S. Brian Wilson, Who are the Real Terrorists? Virtual Truth Commissonhttp://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/

8.Korean War Casualty Statistics www.century china.com/history/krwarcost.html)

9.S. Brian Wilson, Documenting U.S. War Crimes in North Korea (Veterans for Peace Newsletter) Spring, 2002) http://www.veteransforpeace.org/

Laos

1.William Blum Rogue State (Maine, Common Cause Press) p. 136

2.Chronology of American State Terrorismhttp://www.intellnet.org/resources/american_terrorism/ChronologyofTerror.html

3.Fred Branfman, War Crimes in Indochina and our Troubled National Soul

www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/08/00_branfman_us-warcrimes-indochina.htm).

Nepal

1.Conn Hallinan, Nepal & the Bush Administration: Into Thin Air, February 3, 2004

fpif.org/commentary/2004/0402nepal.html.

2.Human Rights Watch, Nepal’s Civil War: the Conflict Resumes, March 2006 )

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/03/28/nepal13078.htm.

3.Wayne Madsen, Possible CIA Hand in the Murder of the Nepal Royal Family, India Independent Media Center, September 25, 2001http://india.indymedia.org/en/2002/09/2190.shtml.

Nicaragua

1.Virtual Truth Commission
http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/.

2.Timeline Nicaragua
www.stanford.edu/group/arts/nicaragua/discovery_eng/timeline/).

3.Chronology of American State Terrorism,
http://www.intellnet.org/resources/american_terrorism/ChronologyofTerror.html.

4.William Blum, Nicaragua 1981-1990 Destabilization in Slow Motion

www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blum/Nicaragua_KH.html.

5.Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-Contra_Affair.

Pakistan

1.John G. Stoessinger, Why Nations Go to War, (New York: St. Martin’s Press), 1974 pp 157-172.

2.Asad Ismi, A U.S. – Financed Military Dictatorship, The CCPA Monitor, June 2002, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives http://www.policyaltematives.ca)www.ckln.fm/~asadismi/pakistan.html

3.Mark Zepezauer, Boomerang (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2003), p.123, 124.

4.Arjum Niaz ,When America Look the Other Way by,

www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=2821&sectionID=1

5.Leo Kuper, Genocide (Yale University Press, 1981), p. 79.

6.Bangladesh Liberation War , Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Liberation_War#USA_and_USSR)

Panama

1.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’s Greatest Hits, (Odonian Press 1998) p. 83.

2.William Blum, Rogue State (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2000), p.154.

3.U.S. Military Charged with Mass Murder, The Winds 9/96,www.apfn.org/thewinds/archive/war/a102896b.html

4.Mark Zepezauer, CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994), p.83.

Paraguay See South America: Operation Condor

Philippines

1.Romeo T. Capulong, A Century of Crimes Against the Filipino People, Presentation, Public Interest Law Center, World Tribunal for Iraq Trial in New York City on August 25,2004.
http://www.peoplejudgebush.org/files/RomeoCapulong.pdf).

2.Roland B. Simbulan The CIA in Manila – Covert Operations and the CIA’s Hidden Hisotry in the Philippines Equipo Nizkor Information – Derechos, derechos.org/nizkor/filipinas/doc/cia.

South America: Operation Condor

1.John Dinges, Pulling Back the Veil on Condor, The Nation, July 24, 2000.

2.Virtual Truth Commission, Telling the Truth for a Better Americawww.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/condor.htm)

3.Operation Condorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor#US_involvement).

Sudan

1.Mark Zepezauer, Boomerang, (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press, 2003), p. 30, 32,34,36.

2.The Black Commentator, Africa Action The Tale of Two Genocides: The Failed US Response to Rwanda and Darfur, 11 August 2006http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091706X.shtml.

Uruguay See South America: Operation Condor

Vietnam

1.Mark Zepezauer, The CIA’S Greatest Hits (Monroe, Maine:Common Courage Press,1994), p 24

2.Casualties – US vs NVA/VC,
http://www.rjsmith.com/kia_tbl.html.

3.Brian Wilson, Virtual Truth Commission
http://www.geocities.com/~virtualtruth/

4.Fred Branfman, U.S. War Crimes in Indochiona and our Duty to Truth August 26, 2004

www.zmag.org/content/print_article.cfm?itemID=6105&sectionID=1

5.David K Shipler, Robert McNamara and the Ghosts of Vietnamnytimes.com/library/world/asia/081097vietnam-mcnamara.html

Yugoslavia

1.Sara Flounders, Bosnia Tragedy:The Unknown Role of the Pentagon in NATO in the Balkans (New York: International Action Center) p. 47-75

2.James A. Lucas, Media Disinformation on the War in Yugoslavia: The Dayton Peace Accords Revisited, Global Research, September 7, 2005 http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=
viewArticle&code=LUC20050907&articleId=899

3.Yugoslav Wars in 1990s
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_wars.

4.George Kenney, The Bosnia Calculation: How Many Have Died? Not nearly as many as some would have you think., NY Times Magazine, April 23, 1995

http://www.balkan-archive.org.yu/politics/
war_crimes/srebrenica/bosnia_numbers.html
)

5.Chronology of American State Terrorism

http://www.intellnet.org/resources/american_terrorism/
ChronologyofTerror.html.

6.Croatian War of Independence, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_War_of_Independence

7.Human Rights Watch, New Figures on Civilian Deaths in Kosovo War, (February 7, 2000) http://www.hrw.org/press/2000/02/nato207.htm.

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The Department of Homeland Security has flagged individuals questioning COVID-19 origins, vaccine efficacy, and election integrity as potential domestic terrorism threats.

Is a coup being set in place?

A new Department of Defense directive 5240.01 issued September 27, 2024, just prior to the November presidential election allows the US military to use lethal force against American citizens in assisting police authorities in domestic disturbances.

A report on this development lists these civil liberties concerns:

  • Right to protest: There are fears that expanded authority could suppress legitimate protests.
  • Privacy rights: Increased military involvement in domestic intelligence gathering could infringe on privacy.
  • Due process: The military’s role in law enforcement could bypass standard due process protections.
  • Freedom of speech: The broad definition of “national security threats” could target individuals for their political beliefs.
  • Civilian control: The expanded military role could erode civilian oversight of the military.

Here are some Constitutional concerns:

  • Challenging the Posse Comitatus Act: This Act traditionally limits the powers of the federal government in using military personnel for domestic law enforcement. The new DoD directive, by permitting the use of lethal force through military assistance in civilian law enforcement, may push the boundaries of these limitations.
  • Potential First Amendment Concerns: Natural health advocates and others exercising their First Amendment rights, such as questioning the government’s response to COVID-19 or the integrity of elections, have been labeled as potential domestic extremists and/or terrorists by some agencies. This directive could expand those classifications into scenarios involving lethal force interventions, potentially chilling free speech under the guise of national security.
  • Fourth Amendment Considerations: This directive also allows intelligence sharing between military and law enforcement under emergency conditions, raising questions about the right to privacy and the potential for expanded surveillance.
  • Due Process Implications (Fifth Amendment): The possibility of military use of lethal force in domestic scenarios introduces concerns about how due process protections might be maintained before potentially life-altering decisions are made.

Why these ominous changes one month before the election? Is something in the works? Why is there no reporting and no debate on this change in policy?

Here is the Directive. (Suggest you read Section 1, pp. 3-6)

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Here is the report.

Ever since the CIA used the Washington Post and the media to cover up the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the term, “conspiracy theory,” introduced by the CIA, has been used by the presstitutes and government to demonize truth and those who speak truth, and to protect official narratives, such as “Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.”

Unless Trump cuts a deal with Democrats not to hold them accountable and also a deal with the Ruling Elite not to interfere with their control, I can see no way that either will permit Trump to be President.

The Biden regime and the Trump Justice (sic) Department and FBI are criminal operations. I can see indictments and arrests for those who have weaponized law enforcement. The Ruling Elite and leading Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and John Kerry can all be arrested, honestly unlike Trump and his supporters, for insurrection as they have openly called for the overthrow of the United States by demanding the overthrow of the First Amendment of the US Constitution. No fooling, this is treason. The US is the Constitution. Advocating the overthrow of the Constitution is advocating the overthrow of the United States.

This is a major issue of our time, and it is not mentioned — which displays the control the elite have over what can be an issue subject to notice and discussion.

That one month prior to the presidential election the corrupt Biden regime issued a directive that permits the US military, purged of its patriotic officers, to use lethal force against American citizens is an indication that something is afoot. Why is such a directive suddenly needed, a directive that goes against all previous policy?

Here is a possible scenario: If despite the media’s assault on Trump and the in-place legalized election theft procedures in the swing states, the Democrats and Ruling Elite conclude that the election can neither be won nor stolen, an orchestrated false flag insurrection is staged that activates Department of Defense directive 5240.01 issued September 27, 2024. Trump, his supporters, the Republican Party, probably sparing the RINOs as a fake opposition party will be needed to carry on the illusion of democracy under one-party rule, will be arrested as insurrectionists. The courts will be helpless as they have no enforcement powers, and any intervention against the coup will be misrepresented as “siding with insurrectionists.”

Absurd! Extreme! Nutcase! No, I am none of these. Just think of all the violations of US law and international law by Democrat officials. They are subject to arrest nationally and internationally. Trump, unless he cuts the deals I mentioned, is a threat to the Ruling Establishment as he can put most of them in prison. How can the Democrats and the Ruling Elite let a man and a movement this dangerous to them become President? They cannot.

Unless Trump sells out, he is in a fight to the death. Elon Musk knows it. Musk wondered on Tucker Carlson how long his prison sentence would be if Trump loses the election. Most Americans, however, are too insouciant to realize that if Trump loses the election, or it is stolen from him, or prevented from happening, there will never again be an election in the United States of America. A Stalin type election, perhaps, where 99.9% of the votes are taken by the ruling personage.

A country whose government, intellectuals, and Ruling Elite do not believe in the Constitution do not believe in the country.

A country whose government, intellectuals, and Ruling Elite do not believe in family, borders, evil, that uses education to indoctrinate white people against themselves as racists, misogynists, domestic terrorists, that uses censorship to prevent the emergence of challenges to official narratives which are lies, has an agenda that it knows the American people will not accept. So the agenda is left unstated and forced on the people by controlling the explanations.

Over the course of my life I have watched the collapse of spiritual life and sexual morality. Female modesty and female chastity no longer exist. Mothers have 12 year old daughters on birth control pills. College girls maintain themselves with porn sites where they copulate for all the world to see. Who wants to marry a public whore?

The Democrats have raised hatred as their banner. The hated are white heterosexuals who have a traditional moral code.

The white heterosexuals are going to lose, because to them it is just a conspiracy theory.

John Kerry calls for a Ministry of Truth: “The First Amendment stands as a major roadblock for us right now.”

Hillary Says the First Amendment means “We Lose Total Control”

Fearful of the Public, Western Leaders Turn to Censorship

Wall Street Journal Editor Emma Tucker said: “We owned the news. We were the gatekeepers, and we very much owned the facts as well.”

She added that people are learning that they cannot trust the whore media and that, consequently, the presstitutes are having a difficult time protecting the official narratives, which are lies that permit a handful of corrupt elites to impose their agendas.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Paul Craig Roberts is a renowned author and academic, chairman of The Institute for Political Economy where this article was originally published. Dr. Roberts was previously associate editor and columnist for The Wall Street Journal. He was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy during the Reagan Administration. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it was filing a lawsuit against the “State of Virginia, Virginia State Board of Elections and Virginia Commissioner of Elections” over the state’s enforcement of a 2006 law, removing non-citizens from voter lists.

In a press release on Friday, the DOJ wrote that the removal of voters from “election rolls” so close to the upcoming presidential election violated “Section 8(c)(2)” of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993, “also known as the Quiet Period Provision.”

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Screenshot from justice.gov

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Under Section 8(c)(2) of the NVRA, states are required “to complete systematic programs” in order to remove “the names of ineligible voters from voter registration lists no later than 90 days before federal elections,” the DOJ added:

Section 8(c)(2) of the NVRA, also known as the Quiet Period Provision, requires states to complete systematic programs aimed at removing the names of ineligible voters from voter registration lists no later than 90 days before federal elections. The Quiet Period Provision applies to certain systematic programs carried out by states that are aimed at striking names from voter registration lists based on a perceived failure to meet initial eligibility requirements — including citizenship — at the time of registration.

The DOJ’s lawsuit comes after Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) issued an Executive Order in August, which required “all registrars” to “cancel the registrations of non-citizens who have registered to vote in a local, state, or federal election by falsely claiming that they are a citizen, including the forging of documentation or any other means of improper registration.”

In Youngkin’s announcement of the Executive Order, he revealed that roughly “79,867 deceased voters” had been removed from voter lists in 2023, and that roughly “6,303 non-citizens” had been taken off of voter lists between January 2022 and July 2024.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke with the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division explained that “by cancelling voter registrations within 90 days” of an election, “qualified voters” in the state were placed at risk “of being removed from the rolls.”

“As the National Voter Registration Act mandates, officials across the country should take heed of the law’s crystal clear and unequivocal restrictions on systematic list maintenance efforts that fall within 90 days of an election,” Clarke said in a statement. “By cancelling voter registrations within 90 days of Election Day, Virginia places qualified voters in jeopardy of being removed from the rolls and creates the risk of confusion for the electorate. Congress adopted the National Voter Registration Act’s quiet period restriction to prevent error-prone, eleventh hour efforts that all too often disenfranchise qualified voters.”

Youngkin responded to the DOJ’s lawsuit in a press release by labeling it as an “unprecedented lawsuit” against him “and the Commonwealth of Virginia, for appropriately enforcing a 2006 law” that was signed by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who previously served as the governor of Virginia.

“Virginians – and Americans – will see this for exactly what it is,” Youngkin added. “A desperate attempt to attack the legitimacy of the elections in the Commonwealth, the very crucible of American Democracy. With the support of our Attorney General, we will defend these commonsense steps, that we are legally required to take, with every resource available to us.”

Youngkin added that the state’s election would be “secure and fair,” and stated he would “not stand idly by as this politically motivated action tries to interfere in our elections.”

*

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Featured image is licensed under CC BY 2.0

This is a loose transcript of the interview of Daniel Estulin and Peter Koenig.

Daniel Estulin (DE): What are your overall views on the Middle East Crisis?

Peter Koenig (PK): Let me start with a quote from the great late spiritual philosopher and teacher, Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar:

“No movement in this universe is possible without encountering opposition. Wherever there is movement, there is opposition also. The result of struggle against this opposition is called progress.

The more one desires to proceed vigorously to the goal, the more one is to struggle against the opposition. Thus, those who are averse to struggle can never progress. They lag behind, not to speak of progress.

That’s why struggle is the essence of life. Those who abhor struggle, who misconstrue struggle as violence, have no place in this world.”

We both, Daniel – and thanks God many more and ever-more – are of the struggling kind.

If I may, as a prelude to the overall question and before going specifically to the Middle East and the ongoing killer-agenda, please allow me to make some reflections.

It goes into the direction of – who runs the world?

When we know that, it may be easier to assess the Middle East and the rest of the world.

Image source

What I see is the UN Pact for the World of the Future, ratified by non-objection (NOT by vote) on 22 September 2024. All 193 member countries nodded. Again, not by vote, but on a non-objection basis. That is why it is a Pact. Some say it is not really legally binding. But somewhat binding nevertheless, if it is a Pact. Agreements under a Pact are to be respected.

That all 193 UN members, including Russia and China, have gone along with this Pact, without objection, raises a Big Red Flag in my mind.

Are they all committed to the Globalist Agenda? The UN Agenda 2030? The WEF’s Great Reset? 

And their game of adversaries of East against West is just a game?

A wanted deception of the People?

Looks like the thousands of years old axiom of divide to reign and conquer is alive and well in the 21st century. 

In which case, so would be the atrocious killing in the Middle East, and in Ukraine and Russia – and all the conflicts and wars in the world – currently some 20 to 25. Just a game, mad games, killing games – allowed to happen by those pretending to run the world, and it is not Washington, Moscow, or Beijing.

Killing conflicts as a game to divide the people.

All the industrialists and big corporations – especially the Tech Corporations, Big Finance, Big Pharma, and of course, the Military / War Industrial Complex and others — have already signed up for Agenda 2030 / The WEF’s Great Reset and the WEF’s 4th Industrial Revolution, an all-digitized slave land or Gulag.

A digitized world – with full electronic money control – where “In 2030 – you own nothing but will be happy”, you might add because if you have survived so far, the Plandemics, mandated Vaxxing, and Climate Change fraud, you have become a trans-human, a robotized “human”.

Because number one objective, or wish, of the Globalist diabolical Cult, is massive population reduction.

How?

By the poisonous vaxxes mandated first after the fake Covid plandemic.

Second, by 5G, with the tens of thousands of Elon Musk’s low flying satellites beaming at the earthly 5G antennas spanning literally the entire globe, having transformed your graphite-charged bloodstream and brain to be remote-controlled.

Third, by famine, drought, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, all caused by geoengineered weaponized weather and climate, falsely presented as man- and industry-made climate change.

All that while, We the People, are sleeping or betting for the BRICS, for Russia and China, to help and save us, or while, alternatively, we are stampeding with the US hegemon to conquer the world. Two different camps, one against the other – divided into a multitude of smaller little camps, called pluralism, fighting, or arguing with each other, deviating from seeing the Big Picture.

This small elite that pretends to control 8 billion people has already agreed that the WHO will be the GESTAPO of the new fascist world under the UN Pact for a New World, the WEF will be the policy gnome, and the UN political body will be the new One World Government.

And behind them all with funding no end, is this huge invisible evil Cult with seemingly mega-power – Big-Big Finance, Big Tech, Big Pharma, and, yes, not least, Big War / Military Industrial Complex. They have the media on their side. They largely act as private entities not answerable to any state, but calling governments to do their bidding, or else…

Image source

The introduction of a one-world digital, all-controlling currency would then be just a matter of time. A digital currency that could be withheld, blocked, canceled in full or partially, would be the endgame of full-enslavement.

But let us pause here – although they may aim at this horrendous future, they will not reach it. Life is not linear, thus not digital, but dynamic. Therefore, an all-digital system will eventually self-destruct.

For me – it is a hard shock, and not easy to believe, that all 193 UN member countries are in cahoots. But when I saw the non-objection to the UN Pact, no matter how much it had been watered-down (once its approved, you can always strengthen it, little by little, – the salami tactic in reverse – to bring it back to the original level, with non, or little consultation of the member countries) – when I saw this Pact waved through, this tremendous Red Flag popped up.

DE: Who are the key players for the current Zionist-Israel led war against Palestine and now Lebanon?

PK: They are the same as those behind the Ukraine-Russia War.

Again, Washington and its European vassal Union (or rather non-union), are just following orders, ruining their economies, committing socioeconomic suicide by depleting their budgets and monetary reserves, sending billions and billions in cash, loans, or weaponry to Ukraine and Israel, to fight futile criminal killer-wars – no end. And killing and killing – destroying families, motherhoods, and fatherhoods – and infrastructure galore.

Those who mandate the killing know it is futile and it is a crime against humanity.

But these fake leaders (sic) execute the orders in Washington and Brussels and Frankfurt, knowing too that these wars are futile. And the same fake leaders hope to get a seat at the table of the Last Supper – and save their skin.

But they will not.

What the inhuman globalists cannot see, is that their digital revolution that is supposed to conquer the world, is not going to work, because, again, life is not linear but dynamic. Everything digital, including artificial intelligence (AI) is LINEAR.

There is our chance.

We unite spiritually – and evoke non-linear dynamism – and what is behind this unseen spiritual force of change is quantum physics. The power of quantum science is unbeatable by the elite, no matter how rich and digitally powerful they think they are.

But we, the People, or a large majority of us, must be prepared.

We must think on a different level, not as partisans for the one or the other, nor with hate and despise, but with love and light.
We can do it.

Together we can.

DE: The big picture: will Israel survive – and if so, how and where?

PK: Given the forces at play – and the run for a One World Order and Government – it is irrelevant whether Israel survives. At present Israel is committing suicide. A slow suicide.

Israel is taking a huge economic beating. Official Israel and western mainstream media do not admit it, but Israelis in the street know it – and clearly say, they have no trust in the future of their country, Israel.

Western mainstream, of course, also obscures these people’s reality.

The logical question is: Those who are behind this – and other wars – they must know it. So, the downfall of Israel is planned. It is part of the unwritten globalist pact – to eliminate the Zionists dream to create a “Greater Israel” for the Chosen People – for themselves.

The Ashkenazi Zionists’ dream of a Greater Israel, with the world at their feet, does not fit into the agenda of the tiny elite – the evil Cult – pretending to run the entire world.

Independent of a potentially deliberate effort to do away with Israel, when dynamics and quantum physics will take over – Israel will be gone; Palestine returns to be Palestine – the historic sovereign Palestine.

Jews and Israelis may peacefully live together with Palestinians, as they have for centuries before the onset of the belligerent, Zionist-Israeli violent domineering of entire Palestine.

This cannot happen if justice – a human justice of light and human rights – is to prevail.

And human justice will prevail – it is the nature of Mother Earth’s system of justice.

DE: How are the Ukraine crisis and the Middle East war connected?

PK: In short, because the same diabolical Cult drives them.

With wars and the constant threat of the war and conflicts running out of control and becoming nuclear – the end of the world – creates fear; and fear is their strongest weapon to control the people.

Fearful people are submissive, and will go along with orders.

Fear of the people is food and energy for the diabolical Cult. They need the people’s fear to thrive on it.

The ruling elite does not want a nuclear conflict – it could hit them too.

Because they see the risk, some of them, especially Tech czars – built already their deep luxury bunkers, many of them in New Zealand, considered safe, yet civilized – and far away from everything.

But there is weapon much stronger, more reliable than a nuclear bon. It is called Weather and climate engineering, creating hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons — floods, droughts, famine, diseases – and more. Plus, these weather phenomena are called “climate change”. And until the bulk of the people catch on to this lie of biblical proportions, they continue with the scam.

Wars are also good for population reduction. Let us not forget, those powers behind the UN, the WEF and WHO, are all eugenists. They are the inventors and the engines of the Club of Rome, the official initiator with their 1972 “Limits to Growth” report – and later with the “First Global Revolution” (1991) – are also behind the fake Climate Change agenda which has been indoctrinated on three generations – so, you tell most people the truth about “climate change”, they won’t believe you, to the contrary they despise you, because you dare attempting breaking down their lie-based believes.

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In Conclusion

We – a few of us – have been lucky, having had the opportunity to travel the world, meet with so-called officials, and especially with the people of all kinds of cultures and creeds, see the world through the kaleidoscope and variety of people’s eyes, from the inside of the UN system, and otherwise worldly organizations pretending to be on top of the universe.

I am forever thankful for having been given this opportunity. It was and still is a tremendous eye-opener.

It brings with it a moral obligation and commitment – namely that we share this eye-opening experience, with other people, as many as we can reach – as we all share the license to live on this beautiful planet equally – in the hope to bring more people along into a different, non-belligerent, but peaceful thinking – and hopefully help opening the way, leading the world into a dynamism of Peace and Light.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis” (Clarity Press – November 1, 2020).

Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.

Introduction

One of the most epochal events in entertainment history took place just after the turn of the 21st century with the release of the film version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring was released on December 19, 2001. The Two Towers was released on December 18, 2002, and The Return of the King was released on December 17, 2003.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) was a British writer and academic, born in South Africa, who spent his teaching career at Oxford University. He was steeped in the ancient languages and folklore of Northern Europe, even inventing his own linguistic recreations of old tongues. Scholars and researchers continue to look to the legendary history of that part of the world as disclosing mysterious cultural elements that recede into the distant past of humanity’s earliest strivings in a world still believed to be populated by mythological creatures like fairies, elves, dwarves, and superhuman sages and wizards. Also emerging from this history are human “culture heroes” whose striving and bravery brought order out of chaos and laid the groundwork for later civilization.

But what is the “civilization” we find today? Clearly it’s a disaster, with nations trying to destroy each other, fabulous wealth interlaced with the most degrading poverty, rampant genocide, and personal morality sliding into an abyss.

Tolkien began his Ring saga with The Hobbit, published in 1937. Besides his own extensive reading and prior publishing, Tolkien had an educated British and American public to work with that was familiar with the legends of a Ring of Power also drawn upon by German composer Richard Wagner’s celebrated and long-performed four-part Ring of the Nibelung.

The basic idea was that somewhere in the world was a golden Ring with magical powers that would allow the bearer to exercise dominion over all life on earth. Competition for control of that Ring became an epic battle.

Lord of the Rings, both the books, and later the films, cast the diminutive Hobbits, just ordinary folk like you and me, in the unlikely role of saviors of the world.

But did the Ring have a deeper significance in the troubled world of the 1930s? Clearly the saga was about good vs. evil, but what is good and what is evil is a topic not entirely settled in our troubled times, to say the least.

It’s reminiscent, in a way, of the Wizard of Oz and the other Oz legends created in an earlier generation by American author L. Frank Baum. Coincidentally, the movie Wizard of Oz came out in 1936, just after The Hobbit was published.

Of course, many commentators in subsequent decades claimed that the evils these master story-tellers were tapping into were such easy targets as Nazi Germany or “communism,” with the “good guys” being, as always, “us.” But that’s hard to believe any more, particularly as “revisionist” history shows “us” as being far from having clean hands in world events, back then, and even more so, today.

So I want to share with readers my own interpretation of The Lord of the Rings. I first published this essay in 2008-2009 in my book We Hold These Truths: The Hope of Monetary Reform See here. I think it’s just as pertinent today as it was fifteen years ago, so here it is again (slightly edited) for today’s generation of readers and seekers.

A Monetary Reformer’s Interpretation of The Lord of the Rings

The film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, produced by Peter Jackson of New Zealand, ranked with Star Wars as one of the most popular cinematic events of all time. Perhaps its appeal derived from its faithfulness to the letter and spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary masterpiece.

Not the least of the fascination of both the books and their film depiction was not only the contrast between the forces of good and evil but also how they were presented.

Image is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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The disembodied Eye of Sauron, aided by the traitorous wizard Saruman and the legions of cruel and hideous orcs, threatened to destroy Middle Earth. The task of averting catastrophe lay with a gentle hobbit, bearing to the demon’s lair a ridiculously small token of power, a single golden Ring. Of course, men and Hobbits had helpers, including the angel-like elves, plus the incorruptible wizard Gandalf, every-loyal to the forces of light and good.

Tolkien never said exactly what the story was supposed to mean. But such reticence is expected in symbolic art. The force of the genre lies in the use of representation to transmit the psychic energy and racial memories from what Jung called the collective unconscious.

Generations of students and scholars have been guessing at the meaning of The Lord of the Rings. Jackson had too much integrity to try to explain it, except in general terms. Besides, the meaning of art can often be understood with the heart and soul, even where the mind draws a blank. Often the feeling a reader or viewer is left with is nostalgia, though for what defies explanation.

Regardless, everyone senses that The Lord of the Rings is a parable of our times, where the twin forces of creativity and destruction are both extremely powerful. The jury is still out on whether we can harness the forces of science and technology for human good, or whether we will destroy ourselves through warfare, disease, economic collapse, or totalitarian repression.

There have been countless predictions of worldwide catastrophe in recent decades. Many believe that today’s wars in the Middle East prefigure an Armageddon, nuclear or otherwise. Whether or not The Lord of the Rings parallels events of years past or today, it has secured its own place in the “end times” literature of our age.

One thing that is clear about The Lord of the Rings is that among the virtues most highly prized are loyalty toward companions and courage in the face of death. Time and again the cause seems lost. Time and again, men, wizards, elves, dwarves, and Hobbits must summon their courage and choose to move forward in the face of seeming defeat. Time and again, fate intervenes at the last possible moment, until Frodo Baggins succeeds in passing the final test and the golden ring is swallowed up in the cauldron of fire deep within Mount Doom.

Then, deprived of its minuscule but never-explained linchpin of power, the entire world of evil instantly self-destructs and Middle Earth is saved. We see at the end, that life at its core is good, and evil is merely a shadow.

I am a monetary reformer, so I will assert my author’s prerogative, as have so many others, of putting forth a theory of “what it means,” leaving the reader to decide, of course, whether my interpretation is plausible or not. My interpretation of The Lord of the Rings may recall that many believed L. Frank Baum’s masterpiece, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, was a monetary parable.

According to this interpretation, the evil spell over Oz symbolized the control of gold (measured in ounces=oz.) by the world’s banking oligarchy, which they abused to constrict the currency during the depression of the 1890s when many farmers and merchants were forced into foreclosure or bankruptcy.

The Cowardly Lion was viewed as representing William Jennings Bryan. Bryan, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate that year, had made a speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where he exclaimed, “You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold!” But he was criticized for doing little of a practical nature to implement the progressives’ monetary reform agenda.

Later, Baum’s book was made into the most famous motion picture of all time, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland. The film appeared in 1939 toward the end of the Great Depression, which was another American tragedy with monetary causes. Due to lack of a circulating medium of exchange, men stood in soup lines unable to find work while the factories that might have employed them had shut down.

Today people are starting to realize that again we have an economy in crisis and that again the causes are monetary. We have stagnating incomes, rapidly increasing control of wealth by the rich [that was exacerbated by the Covid lockdowns], a middle class under severe stress, growing poverty, collapse of our manufacturing job base, a bursting housing bubble, resurgent commodity [and consumer price] inflation, soaring but shaky stock prices, and capital markets dominated by predatory equity and hedge funds. Increasingly, China and other foreign nations are purchasing U.S. business assets.

It’s all capped by a gigantic private and public debt burden that is growing exponentially. Debt is threatening to bring the entire system down in a crash that not only could exceed the Great Depression but has been likened to the downfall of another debt-ridden behemoth—the Roman Empire. Every day it becomes more clear that the trouble stems from a rotten financial system that enriches the financial elite [and other billionaires] at the expense of everyone else.

The crisis has been brewing for decades. After the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gained enough control over money and credit for the U.S. economy to limp along, but he never carried out full-scale monetary reform. It was only World War II that restored employment.

From the 1950s on, the banking system maneuvered to tear itself away from the controls—and low interest rates—imposed on it by FDR’s New Deal. What we have today is the result of that long-term victory of the bankers over the producing economy.

A key event was the 1979-83 recession. The Federal Reserve crashed the economy with interest rates over 20 percent, wrecking our public and private infrastructure. It was to combat inflation, they said. Was it that, or was it the hidden plan of the cabal that today we associate with David Rockefeller’s Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group, and other front organizations for the globalists’ New World Order?

By the end of the decade of the 1980s, the Reagan/Bush administrations had left us with a brief “recovery” ending in another recession, an unregulated financial sector, destruction of the savings and loan industry, the era of junk bonds and leveraged buyouts, and the anemic “service” economy which continues today.

The economic story of the Clinton administration which came next was largely one of enormous bank-driven investment and currency attacks on foreign countries and the rise and collapse of the dot.com bubble. [Next, under George W. Bush, came the crash of the housing bubble, Obama’s multi-trillion dollar bank bailouts, the Great Recession, and the temporary rescue of the economy by the Federal Reserve’s purchases of huge amounts of federal government debt and shaky mortgage loans, a practice that continues today.]

Throughout these disasters, we should be looking hard for the footprints and fingerprints of the Federal Reserve which has been the creature of private financial interests since it was created in 1913. It was then that the U.S. Congress ceded its constitutional authority to “coin money and regulate the value therof” to the private financiers who are the real powers behind the monetary throne.

In fact, the whole system of institutionalized debt oppression may be deeply unconstitutional. The preamble to our Constitution stipulates a system of law that will “promote the general welfare.” Banking laws that have the opposite effect—one of promoting the benefit of the few over the well-being of the many—should be subject to court review and overthrown if warranted. [The American Monetary Institute as estimated that 1 percent of loan value is sufficient to pay all the expenses of the financial system.]

So should the presumed authority of the Federal Reserve to destroy property and income values through interest rate policies that enhance bank profits while disrupting commercial activities. Interest rate increases carried out by the Federal Reserve are often implemented to fight the inflation originally created by financier investment bubbles, as with the housing bubble [and today’s stock market bubble]. The last unlucky home purchaser to hold property, before the Fed pulled the carpet from under the economy, was the one stuck with an overpriced asset and an unpayable mortgage.

Moreover, the fifth and fourteenth amendments provide that neither the federal government nor the states may deprive a person of “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” This language should also prompt the courts to review legislation that undermines economic democracy, makes it impossible for much of our population to earn a decent living, and subjects debtors to unreasonable conditions, forcing them to declare bankruptcy. The provision in the 2005 bankruptcy “reform” legislation that makes it impossible ever to write off student loan debt, for example, should be declared unconstitutional.

We are now paying the price of neglect as much of our population sinks toward the status of what the Roman Empire institutionalized as debt slavery. We are still looking for a William Jennings Bryan to declare that mankind shall not be destroyed by being cast into the abyss of debt.

Perhaps we are looking in the wrong places. Maybe the one we should be seeking is a hobbit.

Here’s how I see today’s crisis reflected in The Lord of the Rings:

The evil disembodied all-seeing Eye of Sauron: Whatever devils sit atop and rule the international financial system which is profiting from the financial crisis.

Mordor, the realm of Sauron: The international banking and financial system in all its aspects and the world of war, oppression, and economic ruin it has created over the last few centuries, when hundreds of millions have been slain through useless wars and upheavals over power, ideology, money, gratification, and control of resources.

The Ring of power: The ability of credit to grow exponentially when lent at compound interest, aided over time by fractional reserve banking, so that debt now threatens to devour the entire world of the producing economy.

Mount Doom: where the Dark Lord’s Ring of power was forged: Any bank, brokerage house, or other financial institution where money is lent at usury.

Sauron’s ally, the evil wizard Saruman: The talented and highly-educated economists, scholars, authors, journalists, and broadcasters who have sold their souls in the service of the monetary elite.

Isengard, the tower where Sauron resides: The economic departments of many universities, the business and editorial sections of most major newspapers, and the many “think tanks” which favor the dominance of the monetary overseers.

The orcs: The hideous foot soldiers who perpetrate and enforce the power of the monetary controllers, including some of the current leaders of the U.S. government.

King Aragorn: Leader of the humans against evil: unique ability of a man, through self-sacrifice, to act in human life as an impartial combatant in fighting for good.

The dwarves working as miners and craftsmen in the mountains: The owners, managers, and employees of legitimate businesses, the cream of whose labor is skimmed by usury finance.

The elves: The artists and poets of the world who behold, dumbfounded, man’s inhumanity to man through financial oppression.

Gandalf: The small number of enlightened people who have helped mankind evolve toward a higher monetary vision such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and C.H. Douglas (1879-1952), founder o the Social Credit monetary reform movement.

The Hobbits: The ordinary, unknown people (us!) who just want to live and let live and who have guessed the secret of the Ring of compound interest and fractional reserve banking. They realize that once the Ring is dropped into the fire of understanding, the oppressive system that is destroying mankind will collapse, allowing a new age of humanity to begin.

In making these comparisons, I realize that when Tolkien sat down to write he did not necessarily set out to call the world banking system on the carpet. In fact, his own father was a banker. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892, where his family resided because his father Arthur was engaged in starting a branch for the home bank in London.

Still, Britain has been home to a monetary reform movement for over a century. One early figure was the writer G.K. Chesterton, whose brother A.K. published a magazine named Candour to which Tolien subscribed. According to Stephen Goodson, a South African monetary reformer who inherited Tolkien’s copies of Candour from a relative, Tolkien had underlined the following passage in red ink:

There should only be one source of money: one fountainhead from which flows the nation’s blood to vitalize commerce and industry, ensure economic equity and justice, and safeguard the welfare of the people.…In other words, it has always been and still is our contention that the prerogative of creating and issuing the money of the nation should be restored to the State.

Tolkien was a visionary. As a poet and writer he was attuned to the enormous clash of forces of 20th century history. There has been virtually non-stop war on a worldwide scale since 1914 as nations and ideologies have fought for dominance, with the monetary elite usually financing both sides. But embedded within this history is a deeper struggle for human freedom within all ideological systems where individuals true to themselves have faced the overwhelming organize might that seeks to destroy them.

In my opinion, it is the conflict between economic democracy on the one hand, and the domination of worldwide usury finance enforced by political and military power on the other, that most reflects the struggle for human freedom today, and that will determine the survival of any human civilization that is worth having.

Perhaps the recurring clash of the forces of individual freedom vs. organized repression also had some bearing on producing the psychic atmosphere which became, through Tolkien and Peter Jackson, an epic of men, dwarves, elves, wizards, demons—and Hobbits.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on Three Sages.

Richard C. Cook is co-founder and lead investigator for the American Geopolitical Institute.  Mr. Cook is a retired U.S. federal analyst with extensive experience across various government agencies, including the U.S. Civil Service Commission, FDA, the Carter White House, NASA, and the U.S. Treasury. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. As a whistleblower at the time of the Challenger disaster, he exposed the flawed O-ring joints that destroyed the Space Shuttle, documenting his story in the book “Challenger Revealed.” After serving at Treasury, he became a vocal critic of the private finance-controlled monetary system, detailing his concerns in “We Hold These Truths: The Hope of Monetary Reform.” He served as an adviser to the American Monetary Institute and worked with Congressman Dennis Kucinich to advocate for replacing the Federal Reserve with a genuine national currency. See his new book, Our Country, Then and Now, Clarity Press, 2023. Also see his Three Sages Substack at https://montanarcc.substack.com/publish/posts and his American Geopolitical Institute articles at https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/category/agi/. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. 

Every human enterprise must serve life, must seek to enrich existence on earth, lest man become enslaved where he seeks to establish his dominion!” Bô Yin Râ (Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken, 1876-1943), translation by Posthumus Projects Amsterdam, 2014. Also download the Kober Press edition of The Book on the Living God here.

Featured image is licensed under Fair Use


World War III Is “On” But the Empire Has Already Lost. An American Civil War Looms. Spiritual Transformation Is the Only Way to Prevent Extinction.

By Richard C. Cook

From the assassination of JFK and the meeting between Peccei and Rockefeller, there is a straight line that marks the trajectory of the catastrophe that I characterize in this eBook as the start of World War III and possibly the American Civil War II. 

I have been a close-up witness to that trajectory, including 32 years as a federal government analyst and the years of writing I have done since then. It’s what I have witnessed that this eBook is about. 

Click here to read the eBook.

Israeli defense officials told Haaretz on Sunday that the Israeli government is not seeking to revive ceasefire talks with Hamas and is now pushing for the gradual annexation of large portions of the Gaza Strip.

The report came about a week after Israel ordered Palestinians living in northern Gaza to evacuate to areas south of the Netzarim corridor, a strip of land controlled by the Israeli military. With the evacuation order came a major escalation in Israeli military operations in the north focused on the Jabalia refugee camp, which has been under complete siege.

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Screenshot from Haaretz

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The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has reported that Israeli forces in Jabalia are carrying out a “scaled-down” version of the “general’s plan,” an outline for the complete ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza and the killing of any Palestinians who choose to stay, whether by military action or starvation. The UN’s World Food Program said Saturday that no food aid has entered northern Gaza since October 1.

Israeli Army commanders told Haaretz that the assault on northern Gaza was ordered without much preparation and that it appeared the primary purpose of the military operations was to pressure Palestinian residents to flee to the south. Many Palestinians have refused to leave northern Gaza since there’s nowhere they can go where their safety can be guaranteed. Israel has bombed so-called “safe zones” repeatedly over the past year.

The Haaretz report said Israeli troops were ordered to launch the assault on Jabalia “even though there was no intelligence to justify the move” and that some members of the Israeli security establishment didn’t support the operation, saying it would endanger the lives of Israeli hostages.

If Israel is successful in cleansing northern Gaza of its Palestinian population, it would pave the way for the establishment of Jewish-only settlements in the area, an idea openly supported by many Israeli ministers and Knesset members. The general’s plan calls for the tactics to be used in other parts of the Strip once the north is cleansed.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Featured image source

America’s Midas Touch. Scott Ritter

October 14th, 2024 by Scott Ritter

America today believes that when it comes to foreign policy, we are possessed with the “Midas Touch”—everything we do turns to gold. But the reality is, just like King Midas of old, everything we touch dies.

King Midas was a Phrygian King believed to rule in the 2nd Millenium BC, whose territory encompassed the area of what is modern day Anatolian Plateau around the present-day city of Ankara.

Publius Ovidius Naso, the Roman poet better known as Ovid, told the tale of King Midas in volume 11 of his 15-book anthology of Greek logical narrative, Metamorphoses. There, Midas befriended the satyr Silenus who, as a reward for Midas’ hospitality, granted the Phrygian King a wish. Midas wished that everything he touched turned to gold. The wish was granted, and soon Midas was overjoyed by his ability to instantly create wealth. However, the fulfilled wish soon became a curse, for when Midas tried to eat food or drink, he could not do so, because it turned to gold at his touch. When his daughter tried to console him, he touched her, turning her into gold, thereby killing her. Midas finished his life alone, parched and starved.

There is no better analogy for America’s self-anointed role as global hegemon than that of King Midas.

We hold a privileged position, and yet we want more, so much so that our insatiable greed for power and wealth leaves us blind to their consequence.

We call the “American Midas Touch” by many names—we are the exceptional nation, the indispensable nation, the guardian of the rules based international order we ourselves wrote.

Democracy is our “gold,” and we seek to reach out and “touch” as many nations as possible with the wonderful “gift.”

Click here to read the full article on Scott Ritter Extra.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Featured image is from the author

Below is an excerpt from Euronews:

Captain İlçehin Pehlivan died mid-flight from Istanbul to Seattle. He had been with the airline since 2007.

A Turkish Airlines captain died after suddenly falling ill during an Istanbul-Seattle flight, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in New York, the company’s spokesman said on Wednesday.

“İlçehin Pehlivan, the captain of our Airbus 350 aircraft with TC-LGR tail registration, which was operating the flight number TK204 between Seattle and Istanbul, fainted during the flight,” Yahya Üstün said in a post on X.

Here is an excerpt from a report on CTV News on the death of Captain Pehlivan:

Pehlivan had worked at Turkish Airlines since 2007, Üstün said. A routine health check in March showed no health problems that would have prevented him from working, he said.

“As Turkish Airlines, we deeply feel the loss of our captain and extend our sincerest condolences to his bereaved family, colleagues, and all his loved ones,” Üstün said.

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Pilot incapacitations inflight in 2024 (nine so far):

Oct. 9, 2024 – Turkish Airlines Flight TK204 (SEA-IST) from Istanbul to Seattle, Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan, age 59, died mid-flight

Aug. 19, 2024 – Wizz Air Flight W6-1451 (WAW-LCA) from Warsaw (Poland) to Larnaca (Cyprus), pilot became incapacitated, plane forced to return to Warsaw, incident identified as serious

Jul. 22, 2024 – Edelweiss Flight WK-5 (TPA-ZRH) from Tampa, FL, USA to Zurich, Switzerland, pilot suffered a medical condition and was incapacitated

Jun. 12, 2024 – Nesma Airlines Flight NE-130 (CAI-TIF) Cairo, Egypt to Taif (Saudi Arabia) – pilot Captain Hassan Youssef Adas in his late 30s collapsed and died from a presumed heart attack

Jun. 4, 2024 – Aeromexico Flight AM-34 (MTY-MAD) from Monterrey (Mexico ) to Madrid (Spain), first officer became unwell, had a medical problem, flight diverted to Mexico City.

Mar. 14, 2024 – British Airways BA-2272 (JFK-LGW) New York to London-Gatwickone of the pilots became incapacitated, plane forced to divert to St.John’s, NL, Canada.

Feb. 17, 2024 – Lufthansa Flight LH-1140 (FRA-SVQ) Frankfurt to Seville on Feb.17, 2024 – First Officer Incapacitated, plane turned around back to Madrid

Feb. 16, 2024 – DELTA – NYC – 58 year old Capt Geoffrey John Brock died unexpectedly on Feb.16, 2024 during a layover in Honolulu, HI

Jan. 16, 2024 – LATAM Brasil Flight LA-3744 (BSB-JPA) Brasilia to Joao Pessoa on Jan.16, 2024 – Pilot Incapacitated, plane diverted to Salvador for safe landing

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.  

Featured image is from Turkish Airlines


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

Reviews

This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon

In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia

In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig 

Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac

A reading of  Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late.  You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

You may also access the online version of the e-Book by clicking here.

We encourage you to support the eBook project by making a donation through Global Research’s DonorBox “Worldwide Corona Crisis” Campaign Page

Britain’s Struggle Against Nazi Germany

October 14th, 2024 by Shane Quinn

The author discusses the challenges and strategies of Nazi Germany’s planned invasion of Britain in 1940, highlighting the logistical difficulties, military preparations, and the potential impact of the campaign amid Britain’s defensive efforts.

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Britain’s future as a state was in plenty of doubt following the fall of France in June 1940 to the Wehrmacht’s troops. That June on the whole island of Britain, there were only 2 British divisions fully equipped and ready for fighting. The Royal Air Force was outnumbered by the Luftwaffe and, while the Royal Navy was close to full strength, the British admiralty was not confident their warships could prevent the Germans from landing military forces on British soil.

In mid-1940 Italy had somewhat tentatively entered the war on the Germans’ side while, in the Far East, Japan was on the rise and not friendly to the British. Though it would soon change there was no immediate prospect of substantial American aid arriving in Britain. The United States was not prepared to directly enter the conflict in 1940, and its politicians like Joseph Kennedy, the US ambassador to Britain since 1938, believed the Germans had gained an impregnable position by 1940. Kennedy was overlooking the inevitable future conflict between the Third Reich and the Soviet Union, of which there was no guarantee the Nazis would win.

By overcoming the French in the middle of 1940 the Germans could establish air and naval bases in northern and western France, a close distance from England. This provided more options for striking at the British, in the waters surrounding Britain, while enabling the Germans when they pleased to enter the nearby Atlantic with U-boats (submarines) and warships.

British Preparations and Diplomatic Efforts

From July 1940, the British hurriedly fortified their country against a Nazi amphibious invasion. They put in place gun batteries, mines, obstacles, and barriers on their coastlines, particularly in southern and eastern England. From mid-June to mid-August 1940, talks took place between British and German representatives with the apparent hope of attaining peace. The Germans thought it possible that politicians like Lloyd George and Lord Halifax would recognize the futility of continuing the war; that they could topple Winston Churchill and form a government prepared to negotiate a peace deal with Nazi Germany.

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Photographs of King Edward VIII giving a Nazi salute go up at auction on Anglesey (Image: Morgan Evans Antiques Auctions)

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There were persistent rumors in mid-1940 that the Duke of Windsor, a Nazi sympathizer who had been the British king in 1936 (as Edward VIII), was to be reinstalled as the monarch of Britain, with his American wife at his side, Wallis Simpson, who was likewise sympathetic to the Nazis. She for example had a relationship with Joachim von Ribbentrop in 1936 when he was German ambassador to Britain. The Duke of Windsor visited Nazi Germany with his wife in October 1937, and the Duke was seen giving the Nazi salute on more than one occasion during his trip there while he also met the country’s leader, Adolf Hitler.

The previously mentioned peace discussions went nowhere between British and German officials. There is the possibility the British used those talks in order to distract the Germans, and so stall an invasion of Britain while they strengthened their coastal defenses and built up their forces. Time was ticking for the Germans if they were to conquer Britain. Had the Nazi hierarchy made prior preparations, amphibious landings in England could have been launched in July 1940 when the British were badly prepared to meet the threat.

German Strategic Challenges

The English Channel, a body of water that separates southern England from northern France, was always a daunting challenge for the Germans to overcome if they were to ship ground forces to England. Had the English Channel not existed, with land between France and Britain, the Wehrmacht would have defeated the British Army as the recent fighting in France had shown.

German naval commanders viewed with pessimism and dread the launching of an amphibious attack against Britain. They were aware the English Channel’s tides are variable, its waters choppy and unpredictable. Much more serious than this was that the German Navy had suffered heavy losses in the first months of the war, especially in the Wehrmacht’s otherwise successful campaign in Norway during the spring of 1940.

When the offensive in Norway was reaching its end, all that remained of the German warship fleet was 1 heavy cruiser, 2 light cruisers, and 4 destroyers. Nor could a Nazi landing in Britain receive much assistance from their U-boats. In March 1940 there were 43 U-boats in operation, whereas in September 1939 there had been 50 U-boats. At the time, the Germans were losing U-boats to enemy attack at a rate greater than they were building them.

German admirals like Karl Dönitz were despondent about this. Dönitz believed that a fleet of 300 U-boats in 1939 would have been enough on its own to defeat Britain by 1941, a resource-poor island nation reliant on imports from sea. Years after the war Dönitz, an inmate in Spandau Prison, was still complaining about the German Navy’s inadequate U-boat fleet in 1939, as the former Nazi henchman Albert Speer wrote, himself also a prisoner at Spandau.

Alternative Strategies and Final Preparations

In the early 1940s there was, at least on paper, another option open for the Nazis to finish off Britain. The Wehrmacht could have advanced south through France into the territory of its ally Spain, from there take Gibraltar, then enter North Africa to capture Egypt and the Suez Canal, cut off India, and wipe out all British interests in the Middle East. General Franco of Spain was unwilling to be involved in such a grandiose scheme, which in any event would have stretched German resources to breaking point.

It was above all the German Navy’s weakness which made it unlikely that an invasion of Britain itself could succeed. In an attempt to reinforce their understrength navy, the Germans from July 1940 gathered together vessels of various types in the ports under their control for an attack on Britain. Among them were steamers, barges, motorboats, tugboats, and fishing trawlers. It was hardly a sight to encourage the German soldiers who, if the invasion went ahead, would step foot in these craft, some of which had different speeds and levels of safety.

The Royal Air Force tried to bomb the above vessels but their warplanes suffered losses and failed to inflict enough damage. The Germans managed to accumulate enough vessels, however much a mixed bag they were, for landings in Britain to be attempted. The German Army, specifically some of its high command, was confident that a successful invasion of Britain could be achieved. The victory over France had created a sense of infallibility within the German Army, leading to a reckless overconfidence.

The Invasion Plan

The Germans expected to land 100,000 of their troops in the opening phase of the invasion between Dover, on the south-eastern English coast, and Lyme Bay, about 200 miles westward from Dover along the south coast of England. Ominously from a British viewpoint, the town of Dover is just 70 miles from London, and the enemy forces were to be strengthened with another 160,000 soldiers to eventually arrive in the following landings.

The opening wave of German troops sent across the English Channel was to consist of 9 divisions, supported by airborne units. It would have entailed an initial Nazi force entering England which was nearly twice the size of the force which the Western Allies landed initially in Normandy, France, in June 1944.

The next German units to be sent over, on the biggest boats available, were to include 4 heavily equipped panzer divisions. These formations once they had secured their positions on the beaches were expected to advance into England, provide support to the German infantry who had demined the beaches, and inflict severe losses on the British troops.

After a period of 6 weeks following the first landing, the entire German force in England was to amount to 23 divisions. They would be assisted by the Luftwaffe which was expected to gain aerial superiority over the English Channel and coastal areas, crucial for the German invasion to proceed.

Overall Objectives and Potential Outcomes

The 23 divisions earmarked to conquer Britain were to be part of 3 armies, under the overall command of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, one of the Wehrmacht’s most experienced officers. The German 16th Army would set sail from ports located between Rotterdam, in the southern Netherlands, and Boulogne, in northern France, and was to arrive between the towns of Hythe and Eastbourne in south-eastern England.

The German 9th Army was to depart from ports located between Boulogne and Le Havre, both in northern France, and was to land between the towns of Brighton and Worthing in southern England.

The German 6th Army, often considered the Wehrmacht’s strongest fighting force, was to set sail from the Cherbourg peninsula in northern France and would enter an area between Portsmouth and Weymouth, the latter town in south-western England. The 6th Army might have been used partly also to bolster the positions held by the German 16th and 9th armies in southern England.

Conclusion: The Feasibility of the Invasion

In the first week of the invasion, the Germans were to establish a line about 80 miles wide between the towns of Canterbury and Arundel. The next objective was to advance further inland, and create another line stretching around 90 miles south-westward from Gravesend to Reigate to Portsmouth; with Gravesend and Reigate situated only 20 miles from London to the east and south.

The ultimate goal of the Nazi war plan was to advance on London, a vast city containing millions of people, resulting in the expected fall of England’s capital to the invaders. The Germans were not to assail London in a frontal attack with their soldiers penetrating into the city center; but instead they were to encircle and cut off London, which is located close to the sea, from the remainder of England.

If they felt it necessary the Germans would launch air raids and artillery strikes against London, particularly in light of how British warplanes had very recently started bombing German cities including the capital Berlin. The German armies may have attempted an advance deeper into London’s outskirts and suburban areas, possibly with the panzer divisions at the forefront, in an effort to tighten the ring on the English capital.

Despite the British Army being understrength, it would still have ranked as a significant achievement on the part of the German forces to have reached London’s outskirts, as it is for any army that makes it to the edges of a great city wherever it may be. Whether the German forces in southern England, even with the involvement of the 6th Army, were of sufficient strength to compel London to capitulate is doubtful. A siege against a city of London’s size would entail risks and could have taken many months to successfully accomplish. It might have weakened the Wehrmacht to a major extent.

The prolonged absence of the 6th Army in mainland Europe would have been felt by Nazi divisions there. If Britain was defeated it would be necessary to garrison large numbers of German troops on British terrain, when they could have been needed elsewhere. The German admiralty outlined that England’s south coast was the only feasible area to attempt an amphibious landing. The British high command, not aware of how weakened the German Navy was, believed in July 1940 that the east coast of England was the most likely landing point for the Nazis, which would have meant a longer and harder journey for German vessels carrying the troops.

Britain’s chiefs of staff did not rule out the possibility the Germans would land in the West Country, an area of south-western England, departing from the Nazi-controlled Bay of Biscay off western France. They also felt it possible that the Germans could sail from Norway, across the North Sea, and land in Scotland.

On 10 July 1940, the Germans recommenced U-boat and air attacks on British merchant convoys in the English Channel. The plan for the Nazi invasion of Britain, titled Operation Sea Lion, was formally issued on 16 July 1940, and it stated that all preparations for the landings were to be completed by the next month, in mid-August. Due to further delays in preparations, at the end of July 1940 the invasion date was pushed back to 15 September. A further postponement resulted in a new invasion date of 21 September, because of requests made by the German Navy on 30 August. With the navy not satisfied on 11 September the invasion was postponed again to 24 September.

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Operations: A German Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111 bomber flying over Wapping and the Isle of Dogs in the East End of London at the start of the Luftwaffe’s evening raids of 7 September 1940. Copy negative of part of an aerial photograph taken from a German aircraft at 1848 hrs German time. (From the Public Domain)

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By mid-September 1940 the soldiers that were to defend England had been hastily increased and consisted of 34 British divisions, some of which were not fully equipped. Yet 16 of these divisions, among them 3 armored divisions, would be sent to the beaches in order to meet the initial German assault force of 9 divisions along with airborne personnel. Now into the autumn, the British high command had developed a better understanding of where the Nazis wished to land.

Needing time to secure their positions on the English beaches and lacking resupply, while still without aerial superiority, the German invasion in all likelihood would have failed, had it gone ahead. The plan for Operation Sea Lion was akin to the Schlieffen Plan and the Ludendorff offensives of the First World War, and the later Operation Barbarossa. Each plan was too ambitious to succeed.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on Global Village Space.

Shane Quinn obtained an honors journalism degree. He is interested in writing primarily on foreign affairs, having been inspired by authors like Noam Chomsky. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Featured image is from History/GVS

A year ago, based on a series of facts that proved the existence of a plan similar to the one that served to unleash the “global war on terrorism”, and led to the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq by the United States and NATO on September 11, 2001, Grandangolo ran with the headline “The 9/11 of the Middle East”.

The plan carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023 had been known for a year to Israel’s leaders, who were not surprised by the attack but facilitated it. This is confirmed by testimonies published in recent days by the Wall Street Journal of young female Israeli soldiers in charge of the electronic barrier around Gaza. The WSJ reports:

“For months, they had repeatedly warned their superiors that the militant Islamic group Hamas appeared to be preparing a major attack “.


Was the Hamas Attack a “False Flag”? 

“I served in the IDF 25 years ago, in the intelligence forces. There’s no way Israel did not know of what’s coming.

A cat moving alongside the fence is triggering all forces. So this??

What happened to the “strongest army in the world”?

How come border crossings were wide open?? Something is VERY WRONG HERE, something is very strange, this chain of events is very unusual and not typical for the Israeli defense system.

To me this suprise attack seems like a planned operation. On all fronts. 

If I was a conspiracy theorist I would say that this feels like the work of the Deep State.

It feels like the people of Israel and the people of Palestine have been sold, once again, to the higher powers that be. 

(Statement by Efrat Fenigson, former IDF intelligence,  October 7, 2023, emphasis added)

Ironically, the media (NBC) is now contending that the “Hamas attack bears hallmarks of Iranian involvement”

For details see:

Is the Gaza-Israel Fighting “A False Flag”? They Let It Happen? Their Objective Is “to Wipe Gaza Off the Map”?

By Philip Giraldi and Prof Michel Chossudovsky, October 14, 2024


Their concerns were ignored. At the time of the attack, the women issued urgent warnings to troops on the ground. They desperately called for help as more than 150 militants entered their base, about half a mile from Gaza. None came. The end result was the death of 15 female soldiers from this base and the transfer of seven to Gaza as hostages. From this and many other pieces of evidence, the “7 October” plan emerges: to make Israel appear surprised and thus forced to retaliate, to present as “defensive” the war of extermination with which Israel is destroying Gaza and the West Bank to wipe out the Palestinian state, with which it is attacking Lebanon, Yemen, Syria.

Indeed, Israel is the spearhead with which the United States and the European powers are trying to maintain their dominance by war in the Middle East, where they are losing ground.

The main target in their sights is Iran, which has become a strategic junction of the North-South transport corridor to India and beyond, with which Russia is thwarting the blockade imposed by NATO and the EU, and at the same time a strategic junction of the New Silk Road from China to Europe.

The consequences of attacking Iran, which Israel is preparing to do with the full military support of the USA and NATO, would be very serious. An attack on Iran’s oil installations would be the cause of a worldwide oil shock. Even more dangerous for the spread of radioactivity would be an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, which are under UN control because Iran has joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Israel, the only nuclear power in the region, has not and is therefore out of control.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published in Italian on Grandangolo, Byoblu TV.

Manlio Dinucci, award winning author, geopolitical analyst and geographer, Pisa, Italy. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Featured image: Photo released by the Israeli military from the events of October 7, 2023. (Photo: Israeli Defense Forces) 


WWIII ScenarioTowards a World War III Scenario: The Dangers of Nuclear War” 

by Michel Chossudovsky

Available to order from Global Research! 

ISBN Number: 978-0-9737147-5-3
Year: 2012
Pages: 102

PDF Edition:  $6.50 (sent directly to your email account!)

Michel Chossudovsky is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), which hosts the critically acclaimed website www.globalresearch.ca . He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica. His writings have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Reviews

“This book is a ‘must’ resource – a richly documented and systematic diagnosis of the supremely pathological geo-strategic planning of US wars since ‘9-11’ against non-nuclear countries to seize their oil fields and resources under cover of ‘freedom and democracy’.”
John McMurtry, Professor of Philosophy, Guelph University

“In a world where engineered, pre-emptive, or more fashionably “humanitarian” wars of aggression have become the norm, this challenging book may be our final wake-up call.”
-Denis Halliday, Former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations

Michel Chossudovsky exposes the insanity of our privatized war machine. Iran is being targeted with nuclear weapons as part of a war agenda built on distortions and lies for the purpose of private profit. The real aims are oil, financial hegemony and global control. The price could be nuclear holocaust. When weapons become the hottest export of the world’s only superpower, and diplomats work as salesmen for the defense industry, the whole world is recklessly endangered. If we must have a military, it belongs entirely in the public sector. No one should profit from mass death and destruction.
Ellen Brown, author of ‘Web of Debt’ and president of the Public Banking Institute   

Plano “7 de outubro”: Irã na mira

October 12th, 2024 by Manlio Dinucci

“Há um ano, Grandangolo [Grande Angular] publicou a manchete ‘O 11 de setembro do Oriente Médio’, com base em uma série de fatos que comprovavam a existência de um plano semelhante ao que, em 11 de setembro de 2001, serviu para desencadear a ‘guerra global contra o terror’ que levou à invasão do Afeganistão e do Iraque pelos EUA e pela OTAN. O plano implementado pelo Hamas em 7 de outubro de 2023 era conhecido há um ano pelos líderes de Israel, que não foram pegos de surpresa pelo ataque, mas o facilitaram. Isso é confirmado pelos testemunhos, publicados nos últimos dias pelo Wall Street Journal, de jovens soldados israelenses designados para a vigilância da barreira eletrônica ao redor de Gaza. Durante meses”, relata o WSJ, ”elas avisaram repetidamente seus superiores que o grupo militante islâmico Hamas parecia estar preparando um grande ataque.

Suas preocupações foram ignoradas. No momento do ataque, as mulheres emitiram avisos urgentes para as tropas no local. Quando mais de 150 militantes invadiram sua base, a cerca de 800 metros de Gaza, elas começaram a pedir ajuda freneticamente. Ninguém veio. No final, 15 mulheres soldados dessa base foram mortas e sete foram levadas como reféns para Gaza.” A partir dessa e de várias outras evidências, surge o plano “7 de outubro”: fazer com que Israel pareça ter sido atacado de surpresa e, portanto, forçado a retaliar, fazendo passar como “defensiva” a guerra de extermínio com a qual Israel está destruindo Gaza e a Cisjordânia para acabar com o Estado palestino, com a qual está atacando o Líbano, o Iêmen e a Síria. Israel é, na verdade, a ponta de lança com a qual os Estados Unidos e as potências europeias estão tentando manter seu domínio no Oriente Médio, onde estão perdendo terreno, por meio da guerra.

O principal alvo na mira deles é o Irã, que se tornou um entroncamento estratégico do Corredor de Transporte Norte-Sul para a Índia e além, com o qual a Rússia está frustrando o bloqueio implementado pela OTAN e pela UE e, ao mesmo tempo, um entroncamento estratégico da Nova Rota da Seda da China para a Europa. As consequências do ataque ao Irã que Israel está preparando com o total apoio militar dos EUA e da OTAN seriam muito graves. Um ataque às instalações de petróleo do Irã causaria um choque global de petróleo. Ainda mais perigoso para a disseminação da radioatividade seria um ataque às instalações nucleares do Irã, que estão sob controle da ONU porque o Irã aderiu ao Tratado de Não Proliferação Nuclear, enquanto Israel, a única potência nuclear da região, não o fez e, portanto, está fora de controle.

Manlio Dinucci

 

Breve resumo da análise da imprensa internacional do Grandangolo na sexta-feira, 11 de Outubro de 2024, no canal de TV italiano Byoblu:

https://www.byoblu.com/2024/10/11/piano-7-ottobre-liran-nel-mirino-grandangolo-pangea/

Tradução : Mondialisation.ca 

VIDEO (em italiano) :

 

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Manlio Dinucci é geógrafo e jornalista, e ex-diretor executivo italiano da International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, que recebeu o Prêmio Nobel da Paz em 1985. Porta-voz do Comitato no Guerra no Nato (Itália) e pesquisador associado do Centre de recherche sur la Mondialisation (Canadá). Vencedor do Prêmio Internacional de Jornalismo 2019 para Análise Geoestratégica do Club de Periodistas de México.

After Russia launched the special military operation (SMO) to end the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict, it was common for Western politicians and public figures to met up with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev or for him to join video conferences and even travel to the countries of the political West. This was a way to “show support” for the latest “beacon of democracy” fighting the “evil Russian oppressors”.

The mainstream propaganda machine and the so-called “Big Tech” were also engaged in the lionization of Zelensky, with his war propaganda team determined to present him as if he were in the trenches, stopping Russian tanks with his bare hands (hence the fatigues he keeps wearing, but in reality, the Kiev regime frontman had other plans). However, this wasn’t enough, so Zelensky and his overlords needed to create the illusion that the Neo-Nazi junta has “universal support” from the so-called “international community”.

Thus, in the last two and a half years, he pitched a number of “peace” plans, formulas, platforms and whatnot.

Last year, the so-called Crimea Platform was all the rage, with the United States pressuring numerous countries to join this effectively void initiative. Then came the so-called “peace summits” in Switzerland, with Zelensky insisting everyone should come except the one country that actually matters – Russia. Supported by the US/EU/NATO, he kept pushing until many countries started signaling that such events are pointless and a waste of everyone’s time. By mid-July, the Kiev regime realized it would lose even the formal “support” that Washington DC and Brussels gathered through “diplomacy” (i.e. blackmail, coercion and arm-twisting). As the battlefield situation kept deteriorating, Zelensky suddenly became “open to the idea” of Russia attending the next “peace summit”.

However, Moscow barely held its laughter at the very idea of these ludicrous “peace deals” that essentially boil down to its capitulation at a time when the Neo-Nazi junta’s losses are around 10:1 (and that’s the conservative estimate). Not to mention the steady gains of its troops across the frontline, particularly in the Donbass, by far the most heavily contested region in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict.

In order to shift attention away from its collapsing defenses, the Kiev regime even resorted to its most daring PR stunt yet – the Kursk oblast (region) incursion. Expectedly, this also turned out to be a disaster, with the political West itself frustrated by the way the Neo-Nazi junta forces keep wasting precious resources while their defenses in the Donbass failed to stop Russia’s advance. Zelensky’s PR team was now essentially out of new phrases/tropes and realized there won’t be any “peace summits” with Moscow.

Thus, the Kiev regime finally decided to recycle the old one – “winning the war”. All of a sudden, the word “peace” was replaced and now we got a “victory plan” once again. Obviously, such “grand schemes” require more money, so Zelensky traveled to the US and spent around a week there in late September, formally pitching the latest “victory plan” to the troubled Biden administration. Many pro-Trump Americans were frustrated by this and even argued that he was engaged in election meddling by visiting Pennsylvania, the top swing state. On September 26, Zelensky was in the White House, where Biden happily announced that the Neo-Nazi junta would immediately get $400 million, while the US pledged another $8 billion in so-called “aid”. Apparently, Zelensky was frustrated as Washington DC refused to allow the use of NATO-sourced long-range weapons, so he was given all those billions to “lighten up”.

However, the vaunted “victory plan” failed to impress anyone with two half-functioning brain cells (it’s yet to be publicly revealed, but we can already assume its (in)viability). Still, the PR segment of the Kiev regime’s strategy (by far the most important for Zelensky and his entourage) was still there. Now, remember those “peace summits”? Well, one was supposed to be held just before or around the time of the US presidential election. However, German state-run media reported that the event won’t take place.

According to dpa (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Germany’s national press agency), the Presidential Office, headed by the infamous Andriy Yermak, which is responsible for preparing such gatherings, confirmed there won’t be a summit, neither this month nor the next. The German outlet’s report quotes an adviser to Yermak, who stated that the plan was simply “no longer feasible”.

“Initially, Ukraine had hoped for the second such conference to be held ahead of the November 5 election in the US, which could see the return of Republican Donald Trump to the White House, but an adviser to Yermak said on Tuesday that the plan was no longer feasible,” dpa outlined.

According to Zero Hedge, it was “tentatively scheduled for October 30 and October 31, or also possibly the start of November, but now the Ukraine presidency’s office has announced that ‘the question of a date for the second peace summit will be decided after the thematic conferences have been concluded,’ in reference to prior smaller conferences”. Other Neo-Nazi junta officials were more direct and bluntly stated that the vaunted “peace summit” was definitely canceled.

“The Second Peace Summit will not take place in November,” senior Ukrainian presidential aide Darya Zarivna separately confirmed.

The countries invited to the summit are certainly aware of its futility, as Russia wasn’t invited, just like in the case of all previous conferences. Perhaps Zelensky was trying to appease Biden, (in)famous for his tendency to interact with invisible (or perhaps “multidimensional”) entities, including by trying to shake hands with them.

However, while Biden’s behavior is largely inconsequential (unless we don’t count opinion polls, that is), it’s impossible to have any kind of “peace deals” with someone who’s just not there. Not to mention the fact that, as previously mentioned, the Kremlin has absolutely no reason to negotiate with the Kiev regime from a position of the losing side, as the latter insists. Quite the contrary, it’s Moscow that can dictate the terms, particularly as the Neo-Nazi junta already broke a signed peace deal back in March 2022. As a result, Russia has zero reasons to trust either NATO or its puppets.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from the Public Domain

Below is an excerpt from an article on Le Parisien by Nicolas BerrodVéronique Hunsinger and Elsa Mari:

“I can continue to do my job.” This is how Didier Raoult reacted to Le Parisien in December 2021, after the simple reprimand inflicted by the disciplinary chamber of the Order of Physicians . The controversial microbiologist will not be able to say the same this time. He is in fact prohibited from practicing medicine for two years from February 1, according to the decision taken on appeal by the national disciplinary chamber, which we reveal this Thursday.

The reprimand imposed at first instance was a sanction “too lenient in view of the failings found”, considered Dr Gilles Munier, representative of the Order of Physicians, during the appeal hearing held last June in Paris. Didier Raoult was himself physically present that day, with his lawyer Me Fabrice Di Vizio.

But what exactly is the former head of the IHU of Marseille accused of? Of having violated numerous articles of the public health code. And first of all, of having promoted hydroxychloroquine as a treatment against Covid… even though the scientific community did not recommend it, due to a lack of solid data.

“Wild” clinical trial

Thus, Didier Raoult “did not base his public positions on confirmed data, did not exercise caution and promoted an insufficiently tested treatment”, we read in the decision that we obtained.

On the other hand, he did not “put any unjustified risk” on the patients to whom he prescribed hydroxychloroquine because he “knowingly excluded from treatment those who presented the highest risk factors”, believes the president of the national disciplinary chamber.

Click here to read the full article in English posted on COVID Intel.

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My Take… 

The persecutions from corrupt medical boards continue.

There is really only one logical reason why these medical boards are going insane on doctors who dissent:

they intend to force doctors to take new vaccines in the near future and need to ensure 100% compliance, as the doctors who stayed silent, will be expected to push new vaccines on all their patients.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.  

Featured image is from COVID Intel


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

Reviews

This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon

In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia

In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig 

Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac

A reading of  Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late.  You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

You may also access the online version of the e-Book by clicking here.

We encourage you to support the eBook project by making a donation through Global Research’s DonorBox “Worldwide Corona Crisis” Campaign Page

Piano “7 Ottobre”: L’Iran nel Mirino

October 12th, 2024 by Manlio Dinucci

“Un anno fa Grandangolo titolava “L’11 Settembre del Medioriente”, in base a una serie di fatti che dimostravano l’esistenza di un piano analogo a quello che, l’11 Settembre 2001, era servito a scatenare la “guerra globale al terrorismo” che aveva portato all’invasione dell’Afghanistan e dell’Iraq da parte degli Stati Uniti e della NATO. Il piano attuato da Hamas il 7 Ottobre 2023 era noto da un anno ai capi di Israele, che non sono stati colti di sorpresa dall’attacco ma lo hanno agevolato. Lo confermano le testimonianze, pubblicate in questi giorni dal Wall Street Journal, di giovani soldatesse israeliane addette alla sorveglianza della barriera elettronica attorno a Gaza. “Per mesi – riporta il WSJ – esse avevano avvertito i loro superiori ripetutamente che il gruppo militante islamico Hamas sembrava stesse preparando un grande attacco.

Le loro preoccupazioni erano state ignorate. Al momento dell’attacco le donne hanno lanciato avvertimenti urgenti alle truppe sul campo. Quando più di 150 militanti hanno invaso la loro base, a circa mezzo miglio da Gaza, hanno iniziato a chiamare freneticamente aiuto. Nessuno è arrivato. Alla fine, 15 soldatesse di questa base sono state uccise e 7 portate come ostaggi a Gaza.” Da queste e numerose altre prove emerge il Piano “7 Ottobre”: far apparire Israele come aggredito di sorpresa e quindi costretto a reagire, facendo passare come “difensiva” la guerra di sterminio con cui Israele sta distruggendo Gaza e Cisgiordania per cancellare lo Stato Palestinese, con cui sta attaccando il Libano, lo Yemen, la Siria. Israele è in realtà la punta di lancia con cui gli Stati Uniti e le potenze europee cercano di conservare con la guerra il predominio in Medioriente, dove stanno perdendo terreno.

Principale obiettivo nel loro mirino è l’Iran, divenuto snodo strategico del Corridoio di trasporto Nord-Sud fino in India e oltre, con cui la Russia sta vanificando il blocco attuato da NATO e UE, e allo stesso tempo snodo strategico della Nuova Via della Seta dalla Cina all’Europa. Le conseguenze dell’attacco all’Iran che Israele sta preparando col pieno sostegno militare di Stati Uniti e Nato sarebbero gravissime. Un attacco agli impianti petroliferi iraniani provocherebbe uno shock petrolifero globale. Ancora più pericoloso per la diffusione di radioattività sarebbe un attacco agli impianti nucleari iraniani, sotto controllo ONU perché l’Iran ha aderito al Trattato di non-proliferazione nucleare, mentre Israele, unica potenza nucleare della regione, non lo ha fatto ed è quindi fuori controllo.

Manlio Dinucci

VIDEO:

Onde está a livre concorrência?

October 11th, 2024 by Eduardo Vasco

No começo de setembro, as grandes companhias siderúrgicas dos Estados Unidos exigiram de seu governo o retorno de tarifas antidumping sobre a importação de aço laminado plano resistente à corrosão do Brasil.

O governo americano revogou o direito antidumping (de sobretaxa das importações), no início do ano, sobre tubos soldados de aço do Brasil, que vigorava desde 1992.

Uma nova sobretaxa afetaria todos os exportadores brasileiros de aço galvanizado, uma vez que essa é uma das categorias primordiais de aço que nós exportamos e que os EUA são o nosso principal importador desse aço. O produto é usado no setor automotivo, da construção civil e de eletrodomésticos.

Os principais empresários do setor nos EUA citam, no documento entregue ao governo americano, as companhias brasileiras CSN, Usiminas, ArcelorMittal, Aço Cearense, Tuper Indústria Metalúrgica e Armco do Brasil (esta, subsidiária da matriz americana), além da Vale, que não fabrica aço desde 2022. Segundo o jornal O Estado de S. Paulo, a CSN seria a maior afetada, sendo a principal exportadora brasileira de aço galvanizado para os EUA.

No primeiro semestre deste ano, o Brasil exportou 135,6 mil toneladas desse tipo de aço para os EUA, um aumento de 17,7% em comparação ao mesmo período de 2023.

Além do Brasil, os conglomerados do aço estadunidense exigem medidas governamentais contra as importações provenientes do México, Canadá, Holanda, Turquia, África do Sul, Emirados Árabes, Vietnã, Taiwan e Austrália.

Mas os Estados Unidos já impõem sérias ações antidumping contra os produtos brasileiros, independentemente do resultado do pedido das siderúrgicas locais. De acordo com o Valor Econômico, em 2023 os EUA importaram cerca de US$ 233 milhões em produtos brasileiros sujeitos a essas medidas, sendo o país com mais medidas protecionistas contra o Brasil.

Do valor total de importações sujeitas a medidas antidumping e compensatórias, 71% são de produtos da indústria de transformação e 29% da agropecuária. A Fiesp avalia que 83% das exportações afetadas por essa política em 2023 estão concentradas nos produtos de fio máquina carbono e cercas ligadas de aço, mel natural e folhas de alumínio. O setor mais afetado é precisamente a siderurgia, seguida pelo de alumínio.

O caso das medidas antidumping contra o Brasil é apenas um exemplo da política cada vez mais protecionista adotada pelo governo Biden. A China tem sido, de longe, o país mais afetado, mas isso revela a pressão interna dos gigantescos conglomerados industriais dos Estados Unidos por uma mudança de política econômica diante do desastre neoliberal de proporções bíblicas que acometeu a maior parte da indústria americana nas últimas décadas. Donald Trump, que pode ser o próximo presidente, é conhecido justamente por defender uma prática comercial extremamente protecionista.

Aliás, Trump já havia imposto uma tarifa de 25% à importação do aço brasileiro, em 2018, acusando os nossos exportadores de serem uma “ameaça à segurança nacional dos EUA”. Na verdade, parece que a própria existência de alguns países ou empresas é uma “ameaça à segurança nacional”, na visão dos pobres americanos. Barack Obama utilizou essa mesma fraseologia como desculpa para impor as criminosas sanções econômicas contra a Venezuela, em 2015 – causa principal da crise que se abateu em seguida sobre o país caribenho. Na mesma época, os EUA roubaram (essa é a expressão mais exata para a ação dos EUA) a CITGO, subsidiária da PDVSA venezuelana na América do Norte.

Claro que os EUA sempre estão sendo ameaçados, coitadinhos. Eles, por outro lado, são santos que nunca ameaçam ninguém. Invadem países e fazem guerras para se protegerem, ainda que a “ameaça” seja um pequeno país do outro lado do mundo, como a Coreia, o Vietnã, a Palestina ou o Irã.

Os EUA organizaram e patrocinaram o golpe de Estado em 2016, que destruiu as maiores empresas nacionais em áreas chave como petróleo, gás, construção civil e alimentação e abriu o mercado brasileiro para o saque das empresas americanas, concorrentes das brasileiras. Talvez ele também tenha sido descrito em algum documento secreto a ser revelado algum dia como uma defesa contra a “ameaça à segurança nacional dos EUA”.

A destruição da indústria nacional, que hoje representa menos de 10% do nosso PIB (o índice mais baixo em quase 80 anos) proporcionada pela Operação Lava Jato, que tirou mais de R$ 172 bilhões em investimentos do nosso país, foi apenas um episódio corriqueiro, não é? Natural. Afinal, os Estados Unidos nos fazem de colônia há cem anos.

Washington também promoveu o golpe de 2016 para, além de eliminar a concorrência das empresas e produtos brasileiros, minar os seus rivais chineses, que vinham firmando importantíssimas parcerias comerciais com o Brasil, de benefício mútuo. Quem se lembra das pressões sufocantes e desleais para que o Brasil trocasse o 5G da Huawei pelas companhias dos EUA, pouco depois do golpe?

As grandes potências imperialistas sempre foram adeptas da mais profunda hipocrisia. O seu próprio crescimento industrial, que as fez grandes nações imperialistas, só foi possível por meio de intensa política protecionista, ao mesmo tempo em que abriam mercados pela força dos canhões, como na Guerra do Ópio contra a China, para escoar sua produção.

Tais medidas que estão sendo tomadas pelos EUA são extremamente prejudiciais ao Brasil. A guerra na Ucrânia havia feito com que a União Europeia aumentasse em 830% a importação do aço brasileiro. Em 2021, o Brasil representava apenas 2% das importações de aço da UE e em 2022 esse índice subiu para 15%. Agora, ainda segundo a Fiesp, a sobretaxa nas tarifas executada pelos EUA pode forçar a redução dos preços das exportações brasileiras.

Essa é a velha política imperialista, aproveitando-se de seu predomínio sobre o Brasil – graças à imposição a nós do “livre mercado”!

Mas o que fazer, já que os Estados Unidos são o principal importador de aço galvanizado do Brasil? Pois é, a situação de exploração é tal que a semicolônia não tem muito para onde fugir. Uma alternativa seria aprofundar as parcerias com outros países importadores.

Isso teria um importante peso geopolítico. Sete dos 10 países que mais importam esse tipo de aço do Brasil estão na América Latina e no Caribe e um outro (os Emirados Árabes) agora é membro dos BRICS.

Diante de mais uma expressão do jugo ao qual o Brasil está submetido pelos EUA, cabe ao país que pretende se libertar minimamente adotar uma postura soberana e procurar quem tenha interesse em fazer negócios conosco ao invés de nos subjugar. Ou seja, cabe buscar verdadeiros parceiros comerciais, cuja parceria contribua para o desenvolvimento da indústria nacional em vez de significar uma subordinação que causa mais danos do que benefícios.

Eduardo Vasco

The Preposterous Nature of “Reality”: Digital Madness, Spying on Americans, Massive Drug Use, “No Peace Movement as War Rages”. Edward Curtin

By Edward Curtin, October 11, 2024

Weirdness and Chaos are today’s celebrity couple, as people are subjected to, and subject themselves to, smoke and mirrors and mind control through an addiction to cell phones, the perfect propaganda tool. Just put your hand in your pocket wherever you are and “they” are with you, in your hand, in your head, your constant companion, corrupting your mind and soul.

Who Is in Charge of US Foreign Policy?

By Philip Giraldi, October 11, 2024

So what is the truth and what are the lies and who in Washington and/or Tel Aviv is calling the shots in the Middle East? And what do they really intend and how do they see it all ending?

Welcome to Tariff Land: The Retreat of Free Trade

By Dr. Binoy Kampmark, October 11, 2024

Under the Biden administration, Trump’s tariff legacy remained in place, though some suspensions were made.  (These were subsequently reimposed.)  This enabled President Joe Biden to sharpen the focus on specific categories: electric vehicles (EVs), semiconductors, lithium ion batteries.   Tariffs on Chinese semiconductors spiked to 50%, while Chinese EVs received a bruising 100% increase.

15 Minutes with Dr. William Makis: Threats Against My Family by the College. Visit to Edmonton Police Service Today

By Dr. William Makis, October 11, 2024

We stand in solidarity with Dr. William Makis in his commitment to humanity. To his commitment to the Truth. Listen carefully to his testimony. The Covid 19 “Vaccine” from the very outset in January 2021 has been conducive to a Worldwide Upward Movement in Mortality.

North Korea Enhancing Strategic Arsenal, Building First Nuclear-powered Submarine, Allied with Russia

By Drago Bosnic, October 10, 2024

There aren’t many countries in the world that have been subjected to as much ridicule as North Korea. The mainstream propaganda machine regularly presents it as a supposedly “backward society”, particularly in terms of technological development. And yet, in reality, Pyongyang is ahead of the entire political West (the United States included) in critical technologies such as hypersonic weapons.

If Tehran Is Turned “Into a Parking Lot”, Israel Will be Soon to Follow

‘By Mike Whitney, October 10, 2024

For Israel to achieve its regional ambitions, it must lure the US into a war with Iran. In order to accomplish that feat, Israel must strike Iran with enough force to provoke a violent and destructive retaliation. As soon as it looks like Israel is in trouble, the US will ride to the rescue with “guns blazing”.

French Troops in Romania to Train for War with Russia. Is “the Troubled Macron Government Risking War with Russia”?

By Drago Bosnic, October 10, 2024

Namely, thousands of French soldiers will be deployed to Romania in May and train for a major war. According to Politico, 2025 will be “crucial for the French army, which has undergone a major transformation in recent years to prepare for a possible conflict with Russia”.

The Medical Council of New Zealand: Facade Crumbling. Reprisals Against Doctors, COVID Vaccine…

By Dr. Emanuel Garcia, October 10, 2024

For quite some time I have been writing and speaking about the witch hunts conducted by the Medical Council of New Zealand against good doctors who spoke out against their upending of foundational medical principles — principles such as informed consent, which they strongly promoted but hypocritically disavowed.

Welcome to Tariff Land: The Retreat of Free Trade

October 11th, 2024 by Dr. Binoy Kampmark

Free markets?  Free trade?  The modern economic world has little time for these erroneous, misdirected terms.  More evident are the feelings of resentment, prejudice and indignant parochialism more accurately called My Country First, and Everyone Else Last.  Back your industries; hobble the competitors.  And everyone is doing it, except certain ideologues who, childishly, cling to the view that there ever was such a thing as a true laissez-faire world.

Free trade remains, in general, a fantasy, dangerous for the naïve who feel that by embracing it, they are somehow enlarging their appeal and standing.  Often, countries extolling its value are only those desiring exclusive or privileged access to a market.  From 2016 onwards, the free traders have been pummeled.  With Donald Trump in the White House, America First meant imposing, among other things, tariffs of 25% on US$50 billion on Chinese goods under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.  More rises followed.

Under the Biden administration, Trump’s tariff legacy remained in place, though some suspensions were made.  (These were subsequently reimposed.)  This enabled President Joe Biden to sharpen the focus on specific categories: electric vehicles (EVs), semiconductors, lithium ion batteries.   Tariffs on Chinese semiconductors spiked to 50%, while Chinese EVs received a bruising 100% increase.

In April last year, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan delivered an address to the Brookings Institution tearing the free-market consensus to shreds with what he called the “new Washington consensus”.  China was the convenient excuse for doing so, a country that had subsidised “at a massive scale both traditional industrial sectors, like steel, as well as key industries in the future, like clean energy, digital infrastructure, and advanced biotechnologies.”  US competitiveness had, as a result, been eroded.

The response from foreign affairs pulpit huggers such as Walter Russell Mead was excoriating. Sullivan’s position represented a wish to “return to the system of relatively closed and highly regulated national economies that characterised the immediate post-Second World War era.”

Even those on the consultancy front are proclaiming the end of free trade. The Boston Consulting Group, for instance, declared in May that global free trade, an era “spanning the late 20th and early 21st centuries, has ended, and a new geopolitical landscape has emerged: a multipolar world characterized by distinct economic and political blocs.”

Little wonder, then, that the stomp on a forced, generally fictional notion has also appealed to European Union officials who have now made their entry into the thorny undergrowth of Tariff Land.  On October 4, the European Union voted to place tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles after a yearlong investigation into the role played by Chinese subsidies and export dumping practices.  The vote was split: ten EU states agreed to the measure, while five voted against it, with twelve abstentions.

The European Commission had already imposed provisional duties in July.  The move prompted China to file a request with the World Trade Organisation in August requesting consultations with the EU over alleged protectionist measures arising out of the provisional countervailing duties on EVs.

This has left the European Union in an interesting situation.  For one, they are not exactly unflinching on the exercise.  The Commission has more than hinted that a negotiated settlement is tenable.  Were Chinese EV companies to propose an acceptable minimal minimum price for their vehicles, the tariffs would be lifted.

The reasoning on that score is clear enough: the EU has, ideologically and foolishly, imperilled itself to a free trade agenda that has enabled Beijing to make considerable inroads into the European market regarding EV technology.  While the United States huffs and struts in imposing 100% tariffs on Chinese EVs, such a policy can be pursued with assurance.  The US market was only ever going to suffer negligible losses, there being negligible Chinese EV imports to begin with.  For the European Union, up to 25% of all EVs sold this year will have a Chinese origin.

It is little wonder that there is no true European consensus on how to euthanize the free trade patient.  Germany, as one of the countries voting against the imposition of tariffs (a third of new German cars are sold annually in China), failed to exert sufficient influence on the final vote, hardly surprising given disagreements within its own political ranks. “Germany and European industry can no longer convince the Commission to be reasonable,” lamented Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.  “But then again, who can?”

How different it was from 2013, when the country, under the stewardship of Angela Merkel, convinced then European Commission president José Manuel Barroso that China should be exempt from tariffs in favour of a minimum price threshold.

If nothing else, the values of Tariff Land are revealing.  The decarbonising program seen as essential to stay a rise in global temperatures has balkanised.  Disputing trade officials, not technological innovators or scientists, dominate the discussions.  The US government is even chewing over banning the use of Chinese technology in autonomous and connected cars, showing how far this will go.

Joseph Webster, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, expresses the sentiment.  “The EU – as well as other US allies, especially Australia – do not appear to be grappling with the real and uncomfortable tensions between decarbonization objectives on the one hand, and the security risks Chinese-linked connected vehicles pose on the other.”  Yet again, the free trade globalists have been shown up, leaving way for the chest beating patriots to take centre stage over the corpse of an idea.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge.  He currently lectures at RMIT University.  He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). Email: [email protected]

Below is an article by Simon Hradecky from The Aviation Herald:

An Edelweiss Airbus A340-300, registration HB-JMF performing flight WK-5 from Tampa,FL (USA) to Zurich (Switzerland), was on approach to Zurich when the crew declared emergency reporting pilot incapacitation. The aircraft landed safely on Zurich’s runway 14 and taxied to the apron.

The airline reported one of the three pilots on board suffered a medical condition about 90 minutes prior to landing. The other two pilots performed the landing in Zurich.

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Pilot incapacitations inflight in 2024 (seven so far): 

Jul. 22, 2024 – Edelweiss Flight WK-5 (TPA-ZRH) from Tampa, FL, USA to Zurich, Switzerland, pilot suffered a medical condition and was incapacitated

Jun. 12, 2024 – Nesma Airlines Flight NE-130 (CAI-TIF) Cairo, Egypt to Taif (Saudi Arabia) – pilot Captain Hassan Youssef Adas in his late 30s collapsed and died from a presumed heart attack

Jun. 4, 2024 – Aeromexico Flight AM-34 (MTY-MAD) from Monterrey (Mexico ) to Madrid (Spain), first officer became unwell, had a medical problem, flight diverted to Mexico City.

Mar. 14, 2024 – British Airways BA-2272 (JFK-LGW) New York to London-Gatwickone of the pilots became incapacitated, plane forced to divert to St.John’s, NL, Canada.

Feb. 17, 2024 – Lufthansa Flight LH-1140 (FRA-SVQ) Frankfurt to Seville on Feb.17, 2024 – First Officer Incapacitated, plane turned around back to Madrid

Feb. 16, 2024 – DELTA – NYC – 58 year old Capt Geoffrey John Brock died unexpectedly on Feb.16, 2024 during a layover in Honolulu, HI

Jan. 16, 2024 – LATAM Brasil Flight LA-3744 (BSB-JPA) Brasilia to Joao Pessoa on Jan.16, 2024 – Pilot Incapacitated, plane diverted to Salvador for safe landing

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.  

Featured image is from COVID Intel


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

Reviews

This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon

In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia

In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig 

Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac

A reading of  Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late.  You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

You may also access the online version of the e-Book by clicking here.

We encourage you to support the eBook project by making a donation through Global Research’s DonorBox “Worldwide Corona Crisis” Campaign Page

It’s important for the public to be more aware of this since it helps explain Russian and Israeli policies towards one another in the context of the Ukrainian Conflict and the regional Israeli-Resistance War.

There’s been grassroots pressure on Turkiye to cut off Azerbaijan’s oil exports to Israel via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline ever since what can now be described as the regional Israeli-Resistance War broke out one year ago. Activists believe that this trade literally fuels Israel’s war machine and thus makes all the involved parties indirectly complicit in its alleged war crimes. Regardless of whatever one thinks about this claim, what’s interesting is that there’s no such pressure upon Russia.

The Guardian cited a report from the UK-based Data Desk, which is a tech consultancy firm investigating the fossil fuel industry, to make the following claims in March:

“The data also suggests that at least 600kt of Kazakh/Russian crude oil has been sent to Israel via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline since October 2023. CPC oil is a blend from major offshore oil fields in the Caspian Sea, as well as smaller onshore fields in southern Russia.

Chevron has the largest stake among international oil majors in the CPC, followed by ExxonMobil and Shell. These fossil fuel companies also partly own the oilfields feeding the pipeline. The majority of the CPC supply is produced in Kazakhstan and has not been sanctioned, unlike Russia’s crude.

Russia appears to have also continued regular shipments of vacuum gas oil (VGO), a low-grade fuel oil mostly upgraded into jet fuel and diesel via hydrocracking. Russian VGO is shipped from ports in the Black Sea.

The data also suggests that four shipments carrying more than 120kt of VGO departed Russia for Israel after the ICJ ordered Israel to take all possible measures to prevent genocide. The flow of Russian VGO has been severely affected by a European Union ban that came into force in February 2023.”

They then followed up on this in August when citing a report from the non-profit Oil Change International, which was exclusively shared with The Guardian, to share the following two graphs:

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.

As can clearly be seen, Russia sells processed oil products to Israel and facilitates Kazakh oil exports to it through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, yet few paid much attention to The Guardian’s reports. The reason is because the Mainstream Media (MSM) considers Israel to be the ultimate good and Russia to be the ultimate bad while the Alt-Media Community (AMC) reverses their roles. Neither therefore wants to talk too much about their continued energy ties since it goes against their respective narratives.

Nevertheless, it’s important for the public to be more aware of this since it helps explain Russian and Israeli policies towards one another, which are often mis-portrayed by those two media camps. Israel hasn’t sanctioned Russia for its special operation nor has it armed Ukraine, while Russia hasn’t sanctioned Israel for its campaigns in Gaza and now Lebanon nor has it even symbolically designated it as an “unfriendly country”. These policies respectively upset the MSM and the AMC.

Israel’s can be explained by its reluctance to anger Russia and thus risk creating difficulties for its air force in Syria, which has been allowed to bomb Resistance targets there without direct or indirect interference from Russia (such as electronic jamming or letting Syria use the S-300s) for years already. Likewise, Russia’s can be explained by its reluctance to anger Israel and thus risk it passing along high-tech military equipment (including defensive systems) to Ukraine, which Israel hasn’t yet done.

Having clarified that, it can also no longer be denied that their mutual energy interests play a role in their calculations as well, especially given the present importance of this cooperation for both of them. Israel requires reliable imports of processed oil products and crude given the Houthis’ blockade of the Red Sea, while Russia requires reliable budgetary revenue from resource sales given the Western sanctions. Neither Israel’s US partner nor Russia’s Resistance ones could stop them from cooperating in this way.

Moreover, even in the event that Israel decided to sanction Russia and arm Ukraine, it’s very unlikely that Russia would cut Israel off from its processed oil products and Kazakhstan’s crude. To this day, Russia still supplies energy to the EU in spite of that bloc sanctioning it and arming Ukraine, all because it wants to present itself as a reliable partner in the eyes of the world and also because it require the budgetary revenue. The precedent therefore exists for continuing this trade with Israel in a similar such scenario.  

Russia believes that the energy trade should never be politicized, and it’s spoken out against Western pressure on China and India for their large-scale purchase of its oil since 2022. The West claims that those two are financially fueling Russia’s war machine and are thus indirectly complicit in its alleged war crimes, which is similar to what activists claim about Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkiye, who they accuse of literally fueling Israel’s war machine and thus being indirectly complicit in its alleged war crimes too.

Accordingly, seeing as how Russia rejects Western claims of China and India being indirectly complicit in its alleged war crimes (which it always denies have taken place) just for purchasing its oil, it would also reject activists’ similar such claims against itself for literally fueling Israel’s war machine. The takeaway is that Russia will remain impervious to any such pressure upon it to cut Israel off from its processed oil products and Kazakhstan’s crude, whether this comes from activists, the West, or the Resistance.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on the author’s Substack, Andrew Korybko’s Newsletter.

Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Russian president Vladimir Putin and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2016. The two long-serving leaders have had a close relationship. (Licensed under CC BY 3.0)

After decades of oblivion by the NATO that continues the Cold War mentality, the military bloc is trying to resume its investments in military equipment after the outbreak of the proxy war in Ukraine. According to Bloomberg, Poland and Estonia lead the way in alliance purchases. Slovakia’s president heralded an “emotional moment” when the first newly acquired F-16 fighter jets landed in his country in July, and Bucharest celebrated that US F-35s are being “built for Romania.”

Together, 14 member states have increased defence spending since the start of the Ukrainian conflict to the equivalent of $70 billion this year alone. However, the orders for fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, and missile systems have exposed how much more needs to be done to reach NATO standards at what international observers say is the most dangerous time since the Cold War.

Image: General Daniel Zmeko (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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“After doing almost nothing in this area for 20 years, it’s basically a jump from first or second-generation machines straight to fourth or fifth generation,” said General Daniel Zmeko, chief of staff for Slovakia’s armed forces. “It’s like going from a 386 processor computer to today’s most advanced multi-core network solutions.”

NATO’s eastern flank was initially spurred by increased military spending during the 2014 Crimean crisis. Estonia, for example, has spent more in the past 18 months than it has in the past 30 years, according to the head of the Baltic nation’s defence procurement agency, Magnus-Valdemar Saar.

Some critics say it’s a sign that Eastern European countries are starting to do what they should have done when they joined the alliance in 1999. According to estimates from the military alliance, Eastern European nations currently account for five of the top seven NATO defence spenders as a percentage of Gross Domestic Production this year, with Poland at No. 1, exceeding 4% of GDP.

Among the military equipment orders are dozens of fighter jets, more than 1,300 tanks from South Korea and the United States, and 100 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from Boeing Co., which, at $1 billion, is Poland’s largest acquisition ever. In August, the government signed a $1.2 billion deal with Raytheon Technologies Corp. to produce components for Patriot air defence batteries.

According to military authorities interviewed by the media, the investment is not limited to acquiring equipment but also to new storage facilities, personnel training and expansion, and integration between partners.

Poland, for example, has pledged to more than double the number of professional soldiers to 250,000 by 2035. The military has added about 20,000, bringing the total to 134,000 by the end of 2023. In places like Romania, there is pressure to raise starting salaries from about €500 ($650) a month now to attract young soldiers.

“It’s tough to teach a 40- or 45-year-old how to use these new systems,” Zmeko said. “Ideally, you find an 18-year-old who’s already spent hundreds or even thousands of hours using computers.”

When quizzed whether Europe also has the opportunity to scale up its own arms production, the Slovak said:

“The real question is whether Europe has the will to do it. Will it be willing to tighten its belt and tell its citizens that, for the next few years, or even a decade, the standard of living might not improve because we need to prioritise our security?”

It is recalled that a record 23 of NATO’s 32 member nations reached the Western military alliance’s defence spending target in 2023. The estimated figure represents an almost fourfold increase from 2021 when only six member states achieved the target. 

NATO members agreed last year to allocate at least 2% of their GDP to defence, with the surge in spending reflecting concerns about the war in Ukraine. Defence spending across European allies and Canada was up nearly 18% this year alone, the biggest increase in decades, according to NATO’s estimated figures released on June 17.

Many member countries, Poland and Estonia, fear the possible reelection of former President Donald Trump, who has expressed scepticism about the Atlantic Alliance. Trump has previously characterised many NATO allies as freeloading on US military spending and has stated on the campaign trail that he would not defend NATO members failing to meet defence spending targets.

This contributes to another reason why countries bordering or in proximity to Russia are leading defence spenders as a percentage of GDP, as there is a real possibility that Trump could return to the White House.

At the same time, Poland and the Baltic countries have delusional beliefs that they can challenge Russia’s military power and have NATO backing if they cause any deterioration in relations with Moscow. This is frustrating for these states because the Kremlin has expressed numerous times that Russia wants cordial relations with its neighbours and is not interested in being bogged down in reacting to NATO provocations.

For this reason, Poland and the Baltic states want to militarise further in the vain hope of having dogged defences if they are the cause of military confrontation with Russia, which does not fall under the Article 5 collective defence article.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from Al Mayadeen English

It is not uncommon to be doing something seemingly innocuous when one is flooded with wild thoughts, musings that seem randomly meaningless, leading nowhere. Thoughts that think us. To dismiss them, however, is a mistake. For me, these unbidden guests usually visit me when I am out walking or lying in bed right before sleep.

Recently, as I was again walking across the meandering Housatonic River through the covered wooden bridge in Sheffield, Massachusetts, I found myself waylaid by the thought of the word “preposterous,” which is usually understood to mean absurd, very silly, or foolish. Being happily eccentric and language obsessed, I thought of its etymology, which from the Latin means before-behind or before-after, which makes preposterous an absurd, nonsense word itself, which seemed appropriate to thoughts that were approaching me from the other side as I walked ass-backwards (my behind behind me) toward them. I wanted to see ahead to make sure I wasn’t bushwacked by something more absurd than a word.

For when I exited the bridge, I passed a plaque commemorating a reported UFO sighting by 40 people and an alleged abduction on September 1, 1969 by Thomas Reed, who claims that when he was nine years-old he and his family were taken briefly aboard a disk-shaped flying UFO as they were driving down the dirt road between the corn fields and the marshes that I was approaching. While this strange, fascinating story is not the focus of my reflections, if it interests you, you can read about it here.

I mention it because of what the plaque evoked in me and the seemingly preposterous nature of Reed’s claim and the weirdness of those of the many people who said they saw the same UFO. I am not passing judgment on them, for I believe those 40 people saw something, but what they saw I do not know. I must admit I am glad I was not beamed up on my recent walk, for I wasn’t dressed appropriately for such an encounter.

What intrigues me about their stories is that they happened at a time very similar to today when the world seemed to be spinning out of control.

ImageL Richard Nixon celebrates his victory in the 1968 election. Was he helped by the CIA? [Source: theconversation.com]

In 1969, secular black magic was in the air as the U.S. war against Vietnam raged on, led by the “peace candidate” in the 1968 presidential election, Richard Nixon.

There was the counterculture’s wide use of drugs (the CIA”s introduction of LSD, etc.), its turn to eastern religions and New Age esoterica, and the crisis of traditional religion as pagan practices were revived.

There was the murder of Sharon Tate and others by Charles Manson’s gang (deeply involved with satanism, Nazism, and occultism) in early August that was shortly followed by the Woodstock music mud festival, with both preceded by Apollo 11 to be followed by Seymour Hersh’s revelations about the My Lai massacre.

Throughout the year, and those preceding and following, the FBI’s COINTELPRO, the CIA’s operations CHAOS and MKULTRA were in full force, spying on Americans, creating chaos and mayhem in minds and on the streets, a part of a vast effort at political mind control and disassociation of the personality through the most evil means.

And “ironically,” in December 1969, the U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book – its decades long investigation of UFOs – was officially ended with the conclusion that there was no evidence indicating that sightings categorized as “unidentified” were extraterrestrial vehicles or were in any way beyond the range of modern technological science.

In October, as in before-after, the U.S. Department of Defense’s ARPANET program – Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (now DARPA) – the predecessor of the Internet, made it its first communication between two computers.

Then, as if to culminate a decade of assassinations and absurdity, despite a very vocal peace movement, in December, the Altamont music festival was riven by murder and mayhem, as if to imply, contrary to Don McLean’s 1971 “American Pie,” that this was the day the music died.

The list goes on and on. Let’s just say the times were psychedelic, as if society were on a non-stop bad acid trip and the CIA’s takeover of the country was nearly complete.

Jump ahead a half-century to today.

Now we have the long-planned Internet – ARPANET’s and the Pentagon’s baby –and digital madness with conflicting narratives that are akin to acid-trips. Mental dissociation at its finest.

Nixon is long gone but his successors have carried on his ruthless Vietnam war policies in grand traditional style with the U.S forever wars (El Salvador, Iraq, Serbia, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, etc.), with war against Russia via Ukraine, its backing of the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians and aggressive war against its neighbors, the push for war with China – all leading to the greatest chance of nuclear war since 1962.

The renewed media reports about UFOs (now called “unidentified anomalous phenomena”) and the Pentagon’s denials are kept alive by technologues like Elon Musk in his recent jocular exchange with Tucker Carlson. You know, there are a lot of satellites up there but let’s not discuss Pentagon mind control.

We have Artificial Intelligence (AI) and massive drug use far exceeding that of the 1960s that is officially promoted, as reality evaporates before and behind more and more people’s eyes.

For the massive growth of mental problems, LSD, that old bad-ass standby, is now advocated by the mainstream media as excellent therapy, while the weaponization of disease with Covid propaganda spins along as the world awaits the promulgation of the falling leaf virus and the call to cut down all trees.

Spying on Americans and censorship of free speech is the rule of the day, far deeper and wider than the most inflamed imagination could conjure.

There is an electoral system in shambles that has become a running joke, at least for those who get it.

MKULTRA mind control on a vast scale flourishes, despite all the denials, via the Internet and digital devices meant to confuse, promote doubt, and crazy speculation.

There is the leitmotif that has persisted for 60 years, the continued decline and mockery of traditional religious beliefs together with the promotion of New Age “spirituality” tied to consumerism. Shopping being the real religion now.

And lest I forget, we have the media and educational promotion of sexual and identity confusion under the guise of new definitions, such as the meaning of the word “gender.”

Finally, there is no mass peace movement as wars rage, except for those college students protesting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and a few scattered groups.

You can easily fill in what I have omitted because there is no doubt you feel this disturbing “reality” of living in a society of screen spectacles and scrambled brains.

In other words, social madness, the “after” to  1969’s “before” – absurdity repeating itself, is the rule of the day, or more accurately, has been continuing for the past 55 years.

A preposterous scene.

Weirdness and Chaos are today’s celebrity couple, as people are subjected to, and subject themselves to, smoke and mirrors and mind control through an addiction to cell phones, the perfect propaganda tool. Just put your hand in your pocket wherever you are and “they” are with you, in your hand, in your head, your constant companion, corrupting your mind and soul.

All this juxtaposed history did not occur to me in specifics as I walked down the beautiful dirt road past the UFO plaque; it came to me in more general terms. But in a flash. The particulars here recounted come from my having lived through the 1960s and my knowledge of history, the teaching of which has fallen into desuetude as universities have, in the words of the recently retired Columbia University Professor Rashid Khalidi,

“For some time now, I have been both disgusted and horrified by the way higher education has developed into a cash register – essentially a money-making, MBA, lawyer-run, hedge fund-cum-real estate operation, with a minor sideline in education, where money has determined everything, where respect for pedagogy is at a minimum.”

In his book, Scorched Earth: Beyond the Digital Age to a Post-Capitalist World, Jonathan Crary, sums it up nicely:

“One of the foremost achievements of the so-called knowledge economy is the mass production of ignorance, stupidity, and hatefulness. . . . programmed unintelligibility and duplicity.”

A close relative of mine, a brilliant man, highly skeptical, scientifically inclined, and very logical, a guy who scoffs at wild claims that he subjects to careful analyzes, was recently on a flight into LAX airport. He had a window seat, and as the plane was on its long descent, the plane at approximately 15,000 feet, he saw a quivering disk-shaped object about 150 feet beyond the plane’s wing. Startled beyond belief, he regretted not taking a photo of it before it was gone. As soon as he landed, however, he asked the pilot if he had seen it. The pilot said no, but it was probably a drone, which would make it a very high-flying drone indeed. My relative called me immediately to tell me. He said it was the size of a small car and it quivered like a quarter when dropped on a countertop. He said it looked like no drone he had ever seen, and though amazed, characteristically concluded that he didn’t know what it was.

I mention this because such sightings are not just the wild imaginings of people prone to believe anything. They are part of our current “reality,” seen by many people but shrouded in mystery.  Government authorities dismiss these sightings as figments of people’s imagination or weather balloons, drones, etc. Any evidence to the contrary is dismissed, like so much else, as the conspiracy thinking of nutty people. In other words – preposterous, meaning absurd.  This is part of the game of mind control that has been going on for decades, the effort to create social neurosis and confusion throughout society.

I offer these thoughts because I was waylaid by a word – preposterous – that went to my head. If I have not kept to the subject, whatever it might be or whatever you expected, it is because, as the psychologist Adam Philips puts it, “In this picture digression is secular revelation, keeping to the subject is the best way we have of keeping off the subject.” And so I will end with a few words from the great mystical and political poet, Czeslaw Milosz, a former Polish diplomat, who raises a question that cuts to the heart of our current dilemma.

Most people are ashamed, Milosz has written, to ask themselves certain questions that the seething infinity of modern relativity has bequeathed us. Such relativity is at the heart of our modern spiritual crisis, which is also the political one. Space and time have lost all dimensions; the experience of the collapse of hierarchical space and time is widespread. For those who still call themselves religious believers, “when they fold their hands and lift up their eyes, ‘up’ no longer exists,” Milosz rightly says. The map and the territory are one as all metaphysics are almost lost. And with its loss go our ability to see the advancing banner of the king of hell, to grasp the nature of the battle for the soul of the world that is now underway. Or if you prefer, the struggle for political control.

What is before is behind or what is before is after. It is preposterous but it is true.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on the author’s blog site, Behind the Curtain.

Edward Curtin is a prominent author, researcher and sociologist based in Western Massachusetts. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).  

Featured image: Flying saucer from the National Archives and Records Administration (From the Public Domain)

A United Nations inquiry said on Thursday it found that Israel carried out a concerted policy of destroying Gaza’s healthcare system in the Gaza war, actions amounting to both war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination.

A statement by former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay that accompanied the report accused Israel of “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities” in the war, triggered by Hamas militants’ deadly cross-border attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Children in particular have borne the brunt of these attacks, suffering both directly and indirectly from the collapse of the health system,” said Pillay, whose 24-page report covering the first 10 months of the war will be presented to the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 30.

Israel’s prime minister’s office and its foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Israel says that Gaza’s militants operate from the cover of built-up populated areas including private homes, schools and hospitals and that it will strike them wherever they emerge, while also trying to avoid harming civilians. Hamas denies hiding militants, weapons and command posts among civilians.

Click here to read the full article on Reuters.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Emma Farge reports on the U.N. beat and Swiss news from Geneva since 2019. She has produced a string of exclusives on diplomacy, the environment and global trade and covered Switzerland’s first war crimes trial. Her Reuters career started in 2009 covering oil swaps from London and she has since written about the West African Ebola outbreak, embedded with U.N. troops in north Mali and was the first reporter to enter deposed Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh’s estate. She co-authored a winning story for the Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize on Russia’s diplomatic isolation in 2022 and was also part of a team of journalists nominated in 2012 as Pulitzer finalists in the international reporting category for coverage of the Libyan revolution. She holds a BA from Oxford University (First) and an MSc from the LSE in International Relations. She is currently on the board of the press association for UN correspondents in Geneva (ACANU).

Featured image: Some of the wounded at al-Shifa hospital (Gaza Health Ministry)

Who Is in Charge of US Foreign Policy?

October 11th, 2024 by Philip Giraldi

It probably would surprise no one to learn that there are several viewpoints among critics of the current wars devastating the Middle East regarding who is actually encouraging a growing bloody conflict which might soon involve at least six countries in the region. In simple terms, there is a school of thought that believes that Israel, backed by its various powerful diaspora lobbies, is defying world opinion to continue its slaughter of its indigenous Palestinians and neighboring Lebanese. In other words, it is all about Israel acting maliciously and badly.

However, another viewpoint sees instead a neocon-dominated United States foreign policy exploiting Israeli truculence and its hard right-wing leadership to carry out American national objectives in the region, in a sense using Israel as its proxy and actually encouraging its bad behavior. Meanwhile, a third plausible examination of developments tends to meld the two approaches, suggesting that the US and Israel are in a conspiratorial cooperative relationship and are in full agreement regarding reducing the power of the Jewish state’s neighbors. That would make Israel the preeminent military power dominating the Persia Gulf and beyond to control a large chunk of the world’s energy resources while also benefiting American weapons manufacturers and other political and Wall Street constituencies.

The problem is that there is sufficient carefully selected evidence to support every point of view including an alternative suggestion that American foreign policy is broken, adrift and does not reflect any US national interest at all, witness the recent $8.7 billion aid package sent to a belligerent Israel when Americans were dying in North Carolina in the wake of a devastating hurricane for which FEMA only provided meager assistance because it claimed it had run out of money. The steady flow of money and weapons from the US to Israel suggests that the United States is for some reason supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expansion of the war against Hamas when the White House could have ended the war in a day by cutting off that support. Alternatively, Israel might be seen as continuing its slaughter in spite of perhaps insincere US objections because it presumes that its powerful Lobby in the US will keep Joe Biden in line with an election coming up lest it weigh in heavily to help Donald Trump. And, of course, if the two nations are acting in collusion it could all be Kabuki with Washington and Tel Aviv cynically intending to do whatever it takes reshape the Middle East to Israel’s benefit. Take your choice of which scenario fits best.

One needs to determine what actually justifies the reality of a multiplicity of fronts, to include providing political cover in the UN, where the United States is interacting to support “greatest ally and best friend” Israel while at the same time constantly verbalizing the apparently false claim that it is trying to avoid the conflict’s expanding into a major conflagration that could engulf the entire region and beyond, driving up energy costs dramatically just for starters. Such a managed co-escalation might also increase the risks and costs geometrically as more players get involved, up to and including the possibility that Israel will opt to use its nuclear weapons to “defend” itself or to attack Iran, which is where both Russia and the United States might become involved in a nuclear exchange to defend their respective “friends.”

So what is the truth and what are the lies and who in Washington and/or Tel Aviv is calling the shots in the Middle East? And what do they really intend and how do they see it all ending?

There are four obvious US government players who are on the ground and meeting with the key figures in the nations involved in the fighting as well as with those ostensibly engaged in the what are being called negotiations to put an end to the killing with a ceasefire acceptable to all parties. One must concede that their task is a difficult one at best as all parties to the peace talks recognize that the United States is not an unbiased intermediary given its total commitment to support Israel politically as well as with arms and money while freely labeling the Jewish state’s neighbors and opponents alike as “terrorists” and “autocrats.”

The four would be composed of two obvious officials Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns and Secretary of State Antony Blinken while a third and fourth are not-so-well-known, consisting of special negotiator for the president Amos Hochstein and the White House Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk. Both Burns and Blinken have made numerous trips to the Middle East and Ukraine to convey the views of the president and make their own assessments of the situation on the ground after meeting with local officials.

Image is from The Unz Review

The role is rather unusual for Burns as a CIA Director normally operates behind the scenes and does not get involved in policy making, but Burns is not a typical director in that he has no background in intelligence. He was a highly regarded State Department officer who wound up as the US Ambassador to Russia. He very carefully worked through the nuances of the US-Russian relationship and was highly praised for explaining things from the Kremlin perspective so US planners would be able to understand very clearly the differing perspectives of the two nations. He described, for example, how very sensitive Russia was over the issue of Ukraine becoming part of NATO, a warning which was subsequently ignored by President Biden.

Image is from the Public Domain

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Blinken is, of course, better known as he served as Deputy Secretary of State during the Barack Obama administration and is regarded as a particularly close associate of Joe Biden. As Secretary of State he has been a very active traveler throughout both the Middle East and Ukraine. Blinken is Jewish and is regarded as a protector of Israel, which is, of course, also the President’s frequently enunciated view. After the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah he said that the “World is safer without Nasrallah…” whereas most of the world would quite reasonably prefer to see Benjamin Netanyahu removed. Blinken also appears to favor preemptively attacking Iran to eliminate its nuclear energy program even though there is no evidence that it is weapons-development related. He has recently come under pressure for lying about two State Department reports that indicated very clearly that Israel has been deliberately starving and killing the Gazans by blocking US supplied food and medicine supplies at the border. One large convoy of trucks containing enough food to feed most of the local people who were in danger of dying from starvation was deliberately held up at the border until the food became rotten and had to be destroyed. Blinken lied both to Congress and to the American people about the Israeli policy, saying that blocking food supplies by Israel was not taking place. It was a consequential lie as people died and are continuing to die because of it and Blinken has paid no price for what must surely be considered a major war crime.

Image is from the Public Domain

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The third policy planner is an unusual individual Amos Hochstein, who was born in Israel and served in the Israeli Army. He has been designated as Biden’s personal roving ambassador in the Middle East with a particular brief to work to avoid the expansion of the Gaza fighting into Lebanon against Hezbollah. In that effort, he has obviously failed as both Israel and Lebanon now consider themselves to be at war. It is presumed that Hochstein is the “active arm” in the White House campaign to shield Israel from any harm initiated by its much abused neighbors. Why anyone would select an Israeli who is a product of the Israeli Army as a negotiator of some type among the nations that the Israelis have been victimizing for the past seventy-five years has to be considered an enduring mystery. It is perhaps another gimmick move by Biden to pretend that he is neutral in the conflict while doing everything he can to turn Netanyahu free to destroy or subject all his neighbors.

Image is from the Public Domain

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Which brings us to the fourth likely top planner National Security Council Coordinator for Africa and the Middle East Brett McGurk. McGurk has been a bipartisan fixture floating around the national security and diplomatic communities for a number of years with the reputation of being a “hardliner” particularly when dealing with Arabs, which is not to say that he has learned anything beyond the fact that if one wants to survive in Washington it pays to love Israel. It is interesting to note that the Biden Administration claims that it is working hard to achieve a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza but it continues to cover for Israel politically and provide it with the weapons and money to continue it genocidal activities as well as in support of its plan to occupy southern Lebanon to create a “buffer zone.” Israeli media is already reporting that real estate agents are offering attractive properties for Jewish buyers in what is still Lebanon, just as Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has been peddling exclusive sea front lots in Gaza. In other words, don’t believe anything coming out of the Biden Administration as evidence for anything as it appears that its “policy makers” and press spokesmen have acquired the Israeli tendency to lie about everything.

Politico has a recent piece on both Hochstein and McGurk and it does not make one feel warm and fuzzy about what the Biden administration is up to. The article is entitled: “US officials quietly backed Israel’s military push against Hezbollah -The officials urged caution and stressed the need for diplomacy. But the timing was right for such a military shift, they concluded”. It seems that the guys who are promoted by the Biden administration as peacemakers are anything but. Politico obtained insider information from a number of anonymous sources in both Washington and Israel and learned that Biden’s team has actually agreed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s broad strategy to shift Israel’s military focus to the north against Hezbollah. This tilt, contrary to what the White House has been preaching, produced a reaction from a number of Pentagon, intelligence and State Department officials that such a move would drag the United States into the war, which is really what Netanyahu intended, but the shift in policy was approved anyway. One senior US official noted but dismissed the flaw in a policy of calling for peace while encouraging war as “Both things can be true — the US can want diplomacy and support Israel’s larger goals against Hezbollah. There’s clearly a line that the administration is toeing, it’s just not clear what that line is.”

In spite of concerns from some in the government that a reckless Israel will go too far and ignite a major regional war that could easily spread beyond the Middle East, Politico reports how Hochstein and McGurk worked “behind the scenes” to encourage Israel and they are now describing Israel’s Lebanon operations likely to include a major land invasion as a “history-defining moment” — one that will “reshape the Middle East for the better for years to come.” That would seem to confirm that the United States and Israel are in fact collaborating and the US is fully complicit and de facto supporting the genocidal intention of Netanyahu to make a new Greater Israel largely free of Arabs. For the US, the extra benefit gained from defeating Hezbollah will be that it ultimately weakens Iran, neocon Washington’s perpetual arch enemy, which relies on Hezbollah as a proxy and a resource for projecting power. Of course, it could all go the other way and the joint American-Israeli plan could come to naught. Hezbollah notably routed invading Israeli forces in south Lebanon back in 2006 and it is better trained and equipped now than it was then. And what happens if Israeli army is in trouble and the US is forced to act on its pledge to “defend” the Jewish state, thereby leading a small war to expand and include Iran and Russia? The ball will be in your court Mr. Biden, or possibly Mr. Trump or Ms. Harris. Consider carefully how you will play it but if you really do want a ceasefire, I wouldn’t send Blinken, Hochstein and McGurk around to do the negotiating.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on The Unz Review.

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is [email protected].

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: The Israeli and American flags displayed on the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem (Photo: Yonatan Sindel)

Israel commands the world’s attention now, as it issues threats about a planned attack on Iran in retaliation of an Iranian attack of Israel, which was a retaliation to the Israeli assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and others.

The tit-for-tat strikes now run the risk of Israel hitting Iranian nuclear and oil facilities.

Should that happen, would Iran strike back and hit the Israeli nuclear arsenal at Dimona?

Would Iran shut the strait of Hormuz, effectively shutting off 25% of the world’s tanker-shipped crude oil?

With China buying 90% of the Iranian crude oil, would an attack bring China into a world war with Israel and the US?

Oil prices spiked recently after US President Joe Biden said he was discussing the possible Israeli attack on Iran’s oil industry. Analysts fear the price of a barrel of oil could hit $300 if Israel, backed by the US militarily, were to strike. Europeans and Americans would feel the effect of a conflict in West Asia in which diplomacy and compromise were thrown out the window by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the past year.

Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscourse interviewed Suat Delgen, a former Turkish naval officer who focuses on the defense industry and foreign policy issues. He has extensive knowledge of naval warfare systems, NATO, EU security and defense policy, maritime security, new technologies, and Western Asia.

Steven Sahiounie (SS): According to the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian missiles launched against Israel were not all prevented from hitting their targets, despite Israel having spent billions of dollars of the American tax-payer’s money on air defense systems. In your opinion, does this prove the Iron Dome’s failure?

Suat Delgen (SD): Israel has a layered air defense system. In the layered air defense system low, medium, high altitude air defense systems and ballistic missile defense systems are used together. Israel’s multi-layered air defense system consists of four components; Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow-2, Arrow 3. David’s Sling, Arrow-2, Arrow 3 missiles are used in defense against ballistic missiles. However, considering that Iran attacked with about 200 ballistic missiles in the last attack, it is an expected result that the counter-engagement capability of the defense systems reached saturation and some ballistic missiles could not be shot down. Therefore, it cannot be said that the Israeli air defense system is a complete failure, but rather that it is sometimes saturated and inadequate against large-scale missile attacks. I believe that Israel will make some improvements and updates to its layered air defense missile system, especially after the recent attack, in order to increase the effectiveness of its defense against hypersonic missiles.

SS: According to media reports, Russia has sent a new version of the S-400 to help Iran defend against Israel. In your opinion, if Israel strikes Iran, who will win this war, the F-35 or the S-400?

SD: The S-400 air defense system was not very effective against Sculp and Strom Shadow cruise missiles in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In particular, the S-400 air defense system could not provide an effective defense against the headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol. For this reason, I do not consider the S-400 to be an effective air defense system against the F-35. However, one point should be emphasized here. In the event of a possible Iranian attack, the downing of an F-35 aircraft by the S-400 would give Russia a very serious psychological advantage and prestige. For this reason, I believe that Russia will covertly support Iran against the F-35 fighter jets not only with S-400s, but also with other electronic warfare systems.

SS: Satellite images have shown significant destruction in several Israeli military bases from of the Iranian missiles attack. In your view, was the Iranian attack successful?

SD: The success of a military operation is not measured by the damage it causes. The success of a military operation is measured by the achievement of the political and military goals set during the planning stage. Iran’s goal was not to inflict great damage on Israel. Iran wanted to show Israel that it had the means and capability to inflict damage on itself, if it so chose. Second, Iran had to respond to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. This response should not be so harsh as to draw Iran into an all-out war, but it should be effective enough to show that it can hurt Israel. In this respect, I believe that Iran has achieved its goal.

SS: Israel carried out several assassinations against Hezbollah members, and was behind the attack on pagers and walkie-talkies. In your point of view, what caused this security weakness in Hezbollah?

SD: The Iranian attacks against Hezbollah members and Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon show that Israeli intelligence has a lot of influence within Hezbollah. I think this has led to insecurity within Hezbollah. Without addressing the security weaknesses within Hezbollah, Hezbollah will not be able to make very effective decisions.

SS: Hezbollah has lost a number of military leaders because of the Israeli airstrikes. In your opinion, how much does this weaken Hezbollah?

SD: Hassan Nasrallah was a charismatic leader who analyzed political and military developments very accurately, and ensured that Hezbollah was positioned in the right place. In this regard, thanks to Nasrallah, Hezbollah received support from all segments of Lebanese society. Hezbollah will certainly choose a new leader, but this person will not be able to replace Nasrallah. Moreover, given the influence of Israeli intelligence within Hezbollah, the new leader will not receive the support from all segments of Lebanese society that Nasrallah did, and there will always be suspicions about him.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on Mideast Discourse.

Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from MD

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Dear Global Research Readers,

We stand in solidarity with Dr. William Makis in his commitment to humanity.

To his commitment to the Truth. Listen carefully to his testimony. 

The Covid 19 “Vaccine” from the very outset in January 2021 has been conducive to a Worldwide Upward Movement in Mortality 

What Dr Makis is describing is “the criminalization of justice”.   

The future of humanity is at stake. And we must support and endorse Dr. William Makis in his endeavours.

Click here to access the extensive archive of his articles regarding the Covid mrNA “Vaccine”.

This is happening all over the world: children and adolescents are dying.

 

The Global Research Team

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Click here to watch the video

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.  

There aren’t many countries in the world that have been subjected to as much ridicule as North Korea. The mainstream propaganda machine regularly presents it as a supposedly “backward society”, particularly in terms of technological development. And yet, in reality, Pyongyang is ahead of the entire political West (the United States included) in critical technologies such as hypersonic weapons.

Namely, unlike the US, North Korea actually fields these missiles, while the former is still struggling to conduct a single successful test of a prototype (to say nothing about inducting such weapons into service). However, there are still certain technologies that require decades to master and this includes nuclear-powered submarines. Only a handful of countries operate these vessels: the US, UK, France, Russia, China and India. Australia is in the process of acquiring them from Washington DC, but this still doesn’t mean it mastered the technologies needed to build them.

Nuclear-powered submarines offer a number of strategic advantages over those with conventional propulsion, primarily the ability to stay underwater for months.

They’re by far the most survivable part of any nuclear triad, as it’s an exceedingly difficult task to track and destroy them in case of a thermonuclear confrontation. Russia and the US both have submarines capable of launching their SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) while underwater, making them effectively untouchable before it’s too late.

Thus, if a military power with a global reach wants to ensure deterrence no matter what, it needs nuclear-powered submarines. Due to its size, North Korea is not a country you’d normally describe as a global military power. However, it seems precisely this is the case. Namely, quoting South Korean reports, military sources indicate that Pyongyang is now building its first nuclear-powered submarine, an unprecedented development for a small country.

North Korea has already accumulated significant experience in operating all sorts of submarine types, including conventionally-powered ones, but armed with nuclear-tipped SLBMs. This alone makes it an extremely dangerous opponent, but the fact that it can now build a nuclear-powered submarine enhances its strategic arsenal exponentially.

It’s still unknown if the vessel will be an SSBN (nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine) or SSGN (nuclear-powered guided missile submarine) (image above), with the latter vessel armed with cruise missiles (both conventional and nuclear-tipped).

However, whichever path Pyongyang chooses for its new capability, it’ll be a strategic game changer. This will allow the North Korean military to strike targets anywhere within the range of the submarine’s weapons, be it SLBMs or SLCMs (submarine-launched cruise missiles). Such developments are particularly alarming for Washington DC and its vassals and satellite states.

Namely, the Pentagon’s ability to threaten North Korea’s strategic arsenal will be effectively nullified with the appearance of the latter’s nuclear-powered submarines. What’s more, this also enhances Pyongyang’s ability to strike high-value targets all across the increasingly contested Asia-Pacific region. Worse yet for America, even if North Korean SLBMs have a relatively limited range, it’ll still be in the thousands of kilometers, meaning they can reach targets within the continental US, particularly the western seaboard. This critically important part of the world’s most aggressive thalassocracy is already threatened by Russian and Chinese nuclear-powered submarines, so having North Korean ones is certainly a strategic setback. However, Washington DC’s unprecedented aggression against the entire world is the main reason why this is the case. Unfortunately, the US never even attempted to keep its unrelenting obsession with wars, death and destruction in check.

On the contrary, America has only become worse in this regard, as evidenced by its new nuclear doctrine of attacking everyone at once. This has left the US facing three nuclear-armed opponents in the Pacific – Russia, China and North Korea. Pyongyang is particularly determined to prevent any unprovoked American attacks.

The gruesome war crimes and atrocities committed by the US military during the Korean War [deaths of up 30 percent of the North Korean Population] are still ingrained in the memory of millions of Koreans.

Indiscriminate American bombing of population centers in North Korea left millions dead and wounded, prompting Pyongyang to ensure this never happens again.

Pyongyang 1953

Pyongyang 21st Century

It is worth noting that Russia is building even closer ties with North Korea.

Thus, it’s highly likely that Moscow is providing support to Pyongyang’s efforts to build nuclear-powered submarines, an area in which Russia is one of the world’s leaders, with its own submarines able to destroy any enemy.

This would certainly explain why Kim Jong Un confidently announced that North Korea is a “nuclear military superpower” during a recent speech.

And indeed, while small, it has all the attributes of one.

 

 

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Simpo-Class Submarine, (Source: KCNA/From the Public Domain)

Billions Worldwide Face Micronutrient Deficiencies, Study Finds

October 10th, 2024 by Dr. Joseph Mercola

A balanced diet is important for proper nutrition, but many people fall short on essential micronutrients due to consuming energy-dense but nutrient-poor foods

Micronutrient deficiencies lead to significant health issues like pregnancy complications, weakened immunity and increased risk of diseases

A recent study published in The Lancet Global Health found that over half of the global population is lacking essential micronutrients, with deficiencies varying by age and gender

The researchers found that more than 5 billion people are deficient in iodine (68%), vitamin E (67%) and calcium (66%), while over 4 billion lack iron (65%), riboflavin (55%), folate (54%) and vitamin C (53%)

In the U.S., common nutrient deficiencies include vitamins D, B12, B1, B2, B3, A, C and E, as well as calcium, magnesium and iodine. Tips to address these deficiencies are included below

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Food goes beyond providing energy — it’s essential for proper nutrition. Yet, many people fail to get the essential micronutrients they need. The problem often lies in food quality rather than quantity. People are consuming energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods, setting them up for an excess of omega-6 fats from seed oils as well as added sugars, while missing out on vital micronutrients.

Micronutrient deficiencies are a prevalent form of malnutrition, leading to serious consequences like pregnancy complications, weakened immunity and increased risk of diseases. While past studies have investigated nutrient deficiencies and supplies, there has been no comprehensive global assessment of micronutrient intake inadequacies until now.

A recent study published in The Lancet Global Health1 addresses this gap by evaluating whether current intake levels meet recommended health standards, focusing on deficiencies across different ages and genders. Their findings highlight an alarming trend — over half of the global population is deficient in the necessary micronutrients for optimal health.

Global Study Reveals Alarming Widespread Micronutrient Inadequacies

The study,2 conducted by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), used data from 31 countries to model global nutrient needs. They applied these models to a dataset from 185 countries, estimating nutrient deficiencies for 99.3% of the world’s population. Fifteen essential nutrients, including calcium, B vitamins and vitamin C, were evaluated across different age and gender groups.

“Our study is a big step forward,” said co-lead author Christopher Free, Ph.D., a research professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), in a news release.3 “Not only because it is the first to estimate inadequate micronutrient intakes for 34 age-sex groups in nearly every country, but also because it makes these methods and results easily accessible to researchers and practitioners.” According to the authors:4

“More than 5 billion people do not consume enough iodine (68% of the global population), vitamin E (67%) and calcium (66%). More than 4 billion people do not consume enough iron (65%), riboflavin (55%), folate (54%) and vitamin C (53%).

Within the same country and age groups, estimated inadequate intakes were higher for women than for men for iodine, vitamin B12, iron and selenium and higher for men than for women for magnesium, vitamin B6, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin A, thiamin and niacin.”

These results underscore the widespread nature of micronutrient deficiencies globally, revealing distinct patterns related to sex and geographic location. “We hope this analysis … improves understanding of global micronutrient inadequacy so that public health interventions can more effectively address deficiencies,” the researchers concluded.

Common Nutrient Deficiencies in the US

According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), an estimated 31% of the U.S. population is at risk of developing one or more micronutrient deficiencies.5 The most common nutrient deficiencies include vitamins D, B1, B2, B3 and B12, A, C, E, calcium, magnesium and iodine.

Although the study didn’t include vitamin D since it primarily focused on nutrients obtained through diet, vitamin D deficiency remains a significant concern in the U.S., impacting approximately 35% of the population.6 Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for various physiological functions, including calcium absorption, bone health and immune function.

While it’s found naturally in some foods, your body endogenously produces vitamin D when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet rays from the sun.

However, many factors limit this natural production, including living in northern latitudes, having darker skin, spending most time indoors or using sunscreen. Additionally, as people age, their skin becomes less efficient at producing vitamin D from sun exposure.7

The ideal way to increase your vitamin D levels is through sensible sun exposure. On a typical sunny day,8 your body produces up to 25,000 international units IU of vitamin D. However, it’s important to approach sun exposure with care, especially if your diet is high in seed oils (rich in linoleic acid, or LA).

These oils migrate to your skin and oxidize when exposed to sunlight, causing inflammation and DNA damage, which makes you more prone to sunburn. If you’re on a high-LA diet, I recommend avoiding intense sun exposure until you’ve reduced your seed oil intake for four to six months. As you reduce your LA intake, slowly increase your time outdoors. You’ll eventually be able to enjoy an hour or more during peak sunlight hours.

If you’re unable to get adequate sun exposure, vitamin D3 supplementation is a wise choice. For health and disease prevention, aim for a level between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL. In Europe, the measurements you’re looking for are 150 to 200 nmol/L, respectively.

To determine how much vitamin D3 you need to take, measure your vitamin D level, ideally twice a year. Your ideal dose is whatever it takes to keep you within that 60 ng/mL to 80 ng/mL range. It’s also important to remember that calcium, vitamin D3, magnesium and vitamin K2 must be properly balanced, as these four nutrients work together.

Vitamin B1, B2 and B3

Vitamin B1, also known as thiamine, is used by nearly all your cells and is essential for several functions in the body, including energy production, nerve function, heart health, cognition, digestion and immune function.9

While thiamine deficiency is often the result of alcohol misuse, chronic infections, poor nutrition and/or malabsorption, research suggests vitamin B1 availability has dramatically declined throughout the food chain in recent years,10 and that naturally affects your ability to get sufficient thiamine from your diet.

Adult men and women need 1.2 and 1.1 milligrams (mg), respectively, each day.11 If you have symptoms of thiamine deficiency, you might need higher doses. For tips on how to boost your vitamin B1 levels, I recommend reading my article, “Common Signs of Vitamin B1 Deficiency.”

Similarly, vitamin B2, commonly known as riboflavin, is important for energy production, cellular function and metabolism. As a coenzyme in various redox reactions, riboflavin is essential for converting food into usable energy. It plays a central role in the electron transport chain, where it helps produce ATP, the primary energy source for the body. This makes riboflavin particularly important for overall energy levels and metabolic health.12,13

To increase your riboflavin levels, consume a diet rich in riboflavin sources. Good dietary sources include grass fed dairy products, lean meats like grass fed beef tenderloin, organic low-PUFA eggs, cremini and portabella mushrooms, and green leafy vegetables like spinach and beet greens.

Vitamin B3 exists in two primary forms — niacin (nicotinic acid) and niacinamide (nicotinamide). Both are essential to human health and play important roles in cellular metabolism, converting the food you eat into energy.

These forms of vitamin B3 also serve as precursors for the coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP), which are vital for energy production, DNA repair and cell signaling.

For optimal health, I recommend taking 50 mg of niacinamide three times a day. This dosage has been shown to optimize energy metabolism and boost NAD+ levels.

The problem with taking too much vitamin B3, whether in the form of niacin or niacinamide, is that it might backfire and contribute to cardiovascular disease as demonstrated in a study conducted by the Cleveland Clinic.14 I talked more about this in my article, “Vitamin B3 Boosts Muscle Mass, Improves Glucose Control.” As for food sources, vitamin B3 is found in grass fed beef and beef liver, bananas and mushrooms.15

Vitamin B12

Also known as cobalamin, vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that plays a role in numerous biochemical reactions and neurological functions in your body, including DNA synthesis. Your body can’t make vitamin B12 on its own, so it must be obtained via your diet or supplementation.16

According to NHANES data, about 3.6% of U.S. adults aged 19 and older have a vitamin B12 deficiency, with the rate slightly increasing to 3.7% in those 60 and older. However, vitamin B12 insufficiency is more common, affecting around 12.5% of adults aged 19 and older and 12.3% of those 60 and older. During pregnancy, vitamin B12 levels often decrease, sometimes falling below normal levels.17

Vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal foods, such as grass fed beef and beef liver, lamb, organic eggs and grass fed dairy products. The few plant foods that are sources of B12 are actually B12 analogs that block the uptake of true B12, so do not make the mistake of thinking you can rely on vegan sources for all your B12 needs.

If you rarely eat the foods listed, consider using nutritional yeast. It’s high in B12 and has a cheesy flavor that works well on any number of dishes. One 16-gram serving (just over 2 tablespoons) provides 24 micrograms of natural vitamin B12.18 Advancing age diminishes your body’s ability to absorb B12 from food, so you might want to consider supplementation as you get older.19

Vitamins A and C

An estimated 51% of adults are not consuming enough vitamin A,20 increasing their risk of degenerative diseases like macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the U.S.21 Vitamin A is also responsible for immune system function as well as cellular growth and differentiation.22

Vitamin A is a group of nutrients that falls into two different categories — retinoids found in animal foods and carotenoids found in plant foods. The two are chemically different and provide different health benefits, but both are necessary for optimal health. Plant foods high in beta-carotene include sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe and mangoes. Animal foods rich in vitamin A include liver, egg yolks and grass fed butter.23

Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is known for its potent antioxidant properties and role in numerous bodily functions, including tissue growth and repair, collagen synthesis, iron absorption and immune function.24

A wide variety of foods are high in vitamin C, including red pepper, parsley, broccoli, kiwi, strawberries, guava, tomato and all citrus fruits. You’ll get significant amounts of vitamin C from your diet if you eat these foods on a daily basis.

In addition to dietary sources, I highly recommend keeping liposomal vitamin C in your medicine cabinet, particularly for acute viral illnesses. If I were to become acutely ill, I would take 4 grams of liposomal vitamin C every hour until feeling better, then start decreasing the dosage slowly over a few days once symptoms improve.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin with potent antioxidant properties, protecting your cells from free radical damage. It also supports the production of red blood cells, regulates your body’s use of vitamin K (which is important for heart health) and is involved in your immune function and cell signaling.25 Additionally, it protects your body against damage caused by linoleic acid and estrogen.

In the U.S. alone, approximately 88.5% of the population fails to reach the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin E.26 To increase vitamin E levels, eat foods rich in this nutrient, including spinach, pumpkin, asparagus, red bell peppers, tomatoes, kiwi and mango.27

Some health authorities recommend vegetable oils, seeds and nuts as good sources,28 but these are actually terrible due to their high LA content. Beans — another good source of vitamin E — are also problematic for many due to their high lectin content.

Supplementation is also an option to increase your levels, but it’s important to look for a real vitamin E supplement and not synthetic. What you’re looking for is “d alpha tocopherol.” I go into detail about this in “Vitamin E Helps Decrease Your Cancer Risk.”

Calcium and Magnesium

Over 40% of the U.S. population fails to meet their calcium needs through diet alone, putting them at increased risk of bone-related issues such as osteoporosis and fractures.29 Calcium is also essential for muscle contraction, nerve transmission and blood clotting.30

A deficiency in calcium coupled with excess phosphorus intake due to phosphate additives in processed food poses additional risk, as it disrupts your calcium-to-phosphorus ratio, which leads to calcification of the vascular system and cardiovascular problems.31

Some good dietary sources of calcium to increase your levels include grass fed dairy products like yogurt, milk and cheese made from animal rennet. Some vegetables contain this mineral as well, such as collard greens, spinach, turnip greens, kale, cooked taro root and bok choy.32

Estimates suggest that over half of the U.S. population also aren’t getting enough magnesium from their diet.33 While the minimum amount needed to avoid deficiency is about 150 to 180 milligrams per day, optimal levels are closer to 600 milligrams per day. For reference, the RDA ranges from 310 to 420 milligrams per day, depending on age and sex.34

Some good dietary sources of magnesium include dark chocolate, leafy greens, potatoes (peeled and boiled) and plain organic yogurt, to name a few. Avocados are also commonly recommended as a good source of this mineral, but they’re high in monounsaturated fat (MUFAs), which harms your metabolic function if consumed in excess.

Iodine

Iodine is an essential trace mineral that plays a role in the production of thyroid hormones, which regulate metabolism, growth and development. Adequate iodine intake is vital for maintaining healthy thyroid function and reducing the risk of disorders such as goiter and hypothyroidism. In addition, iodine is important for healthy bone and brain development during pregnancy and infancy.35

Foods that contain higher amounts of iodine include sea vegetables, such as kelp, kombu and wakame.36 Kelp has the highest amount of any food and just one serving gives you four times the recommended daily allowance. Organic, grass fed butter is another good source of iodine. Iodized salt also increases your levels if you don’t avoid eating it in the mistaken belief that it’s bad for your heart.

Will Taking a Multivitamin Help with Nutrient Deficiencies?

A diet rich in whole, nutrient-dense foods is key to avoiding nutrient deficiency. However, multivitamins help address gaps if you’re not eating right or if you suspect you have deficiencies. Research37 from Oregon State University found that older men who took multivitamins showed improved nutritional biomarkers compared to those who took a placebo.

In fact, some participants in the placebo group had decreased nutrition markers, indicating that diet alone might not be sufficient, particularly for maintaining vitamin and carotenoid levels.38Multivitamins also benefit memory in older adults. One study39 found that daily use could improve memory performance comparable to reversing about three years of age-related decline compared to a placebo.

If you’re planning to take multivitamins, it’s generally recommended to take half your daily dose in the morning, with breakfast, and the other half with your main meal. Remember, though, that multivitamins should complement, not replace, a healthy diet.

Dietary supplements are meant to support a balanced lifestyle, not substitute for it. Consider consulting with a holistic health professional to identify specific nutrient deficiencies and tailor your supplement and food choices to address them.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Notes

1, 2, 4 Lancet Glob Health. 2024 Aug 29:S2214-109X(24)00276-6

3 EurekAlert! August 29, 2024

5 The Institute of Functional Medicine, The Hidden Hunger: Micronutrient Deficiencies

6 StatPearls [Internet]. Vitamin D Deficiency

7 Endocrine. 2023; 79(1): 31–44

8 Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2019;189

9 Biosci Rep. 2023 Oct 31;43(10):BSR20230374

10 The Science Times January 31, 2021

11 NIH Thiamin, February 9, 2023

12 NIH ODS, Riboflavin

13 StatPearls [Internet]. Biochemistry, Oxidative Phosphorylation

14 Nature Medicine volume 30, pages 424–434 (2024)

15 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Niacin – Vitamin B3

16 StatPearls [Internet]. Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)

17 Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Riboflavin — Vitamin B2

18 USDA FoodData Central, Nutritional Yeast

19 The New York Times, Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain

20 Oregon State University, Micronutrient Inadequacies, Vitamin A

21 Front Nutr. 2022; 9: 914457

22, 23 NIH ODS, Vitamin A and Carotenoids

24 StatPearls [Internet]. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

25, 28 NIH ODS, Vitamin E

26 USA Today, April 1, 2023

27 HSPH, Vitamin E

29 Oregon State University, Micronutrient Inadequacies in the US Population: an Overview

30 StatPearls [Internet]. Physiology, Calcium

31 Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2024 Mar;44(3):584-602

32 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Food Sources of Calcium

33 Oregon State University, Micronutrient Inadequacies (Magnesium)

34 National Institutes of Health, Magnesium

35, 36 NIH ODS, Iodine

37 Nutrients 2023, 15(12), 2691; doi: 10.3390/nu15122691

38 Oregon State University June 14, 2023

39 The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition July 2023, Volume 118, Issue 1, Pages 273-282, Results

Featured image is from Mercola

France is one of the most deeply involved countries in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict, with its special forces present since the very beginning of the special military operation (SMO). For some inexplicable reason, Paris is simply looking for a fight with Russia, instead of focusing on a plethora of burning issues at home. France’s shameful compliance with virtually all NATO policies has effectively turned it into a vassal of the United States, which only keeps creating more problems for it, even resulting in Moscow’s heightened support for sovereigntist movements in Africa, a move that’s effectively dismantling whatever’s left of the old French (neo)colonial empire on the continent. Paris even went as far as to prepare an invasion of Niger, a possibility that prompted Mali and Burkina Faso to announce readiness to fight alongside their neighbor against any attacker.

This has now gone so far that the three countries formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), effectively a confederation that’s not only deterring US/EU/NATO-backed (neo)colonialism, but is also offering an alternative to the ECOWAS, a Western-led “international” organization that seeks to maintain it. The AES also severed diplomatic ties with the Kiev regime over its support for terrorists in these countries, where it provided intelligence on the movement of “Wagner” PMC, the top ally of African sovereigntists.

There’s no doubt NATO itself was also involved as this has been a common trait of the world’s most vile racketeering cartel for decades, be it the support for Albanian narco-terrorists and other Islamic radicals or unrepentant Neo-Nazis. This also includes direct threats to Russia that the political West will support terrorism within the country if it defeats the NATO-backed Kiev regime in Ukraine.

Russian support for AES and numerous other African countries seeking to remove the shackles of (neo)colonial rule is certainly frustrating for the US-led political West, but especially France, as its fledgling economy (particularly the energy system) is highly dependent on exploiting “former” colonies across Africa. The resulting tensions between Paris and Moscow keep escalating and this is driving the former’s determination to provide further support for the Neo-Nazi junta.

France has already provided numerous weapons and even personnel, although Russian long-range weapons keep finding both. The Kremlin’s world-class capabilities in this field are causing massive casualties for all parties involved in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict, but the French seem to be bearing the brunt of it. This year alone, nearly half a dozen precision strikes obliterated hundreds of personnel from France.

InfoBRICS covered some of them, including in Kharkov back in January. However, instead of learning its lesson, Paris keeps sending more of them, resulting in even higher casualties by August. Things got even worse for NATO in September, with multiple hypersonic strikes on their positions, resulting in hundreds of dead and wounded “tourists” on another failed “Ukrainian war safari”.

Whenever things went too far, European leaders would try to toss the hot potato to each other in an attempt to avoid responsibility (and potential retaliation from Moscow). Macron even tried to disguise French personnel as “advisers”, but was promptly notified that no quarter will be given to any of them. However, France doesn’t seem to understand how all this really works, so it keeps sending troops and is now even training them for a direct confrontation with Russia, a country that can obliterate it with a single missile.

Namely, thousands of French soldiers will be deployed to Romania in May and train for a major war. According to Politico, 2025 will be “crucial for the French army, which has undergone a major transformation in recent years to prepare for a possible conflict with Russia”. The large-scale military exercise, dubbed Dacian Spring 2025, will “assess their ability to swiftly move to NATO’s eastern flank”, supposedly a “key competence should Russian President Vladimir Putin decide to attack an alliance member”.

The report also postulates that the French military started a “profound transformation to be ready for a high-intensity conflict similar to the war in Ukraine” and that it also has “new marching orders from NATO: By 2027 it should be able to deploy a war-ready division in 30 days, including ammunition and supplies”. In NATO, a division has anywhere from 10,000 to as many as 25,000 troops.

In comparison, the Russian military can field up to four million soldiers in case of a direct confrontation with the world’s most vile racketeering cartel, making the viability of the latter’s conventional capabilities against it all the more questionable. Thus, the logical conclusion is that NATO is using this as an excuse to escalate its occupation of Eastern Europe.

Namely, the report by Politico suggests that “the key challenge will be to get to Romania in such a short period of time”, quoting General Pierre-Eric Guillot who said that “there’s still no military Schengen” and that NATO “needs to decisively improve military mobility in Europe”. It should be noted that the so-called “military Schengen” is effectively a militarization of the European Union, which exposed itself as a rather pathetic geopolitical pendant of the world’s most vile racketeering cartel, as the deal essentially boils down to its fusion with NATO.

However, countries in Eastern Europe aren’t exactly thrilled to see these developments. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was nearly assassinated back in May, is decidedly against escalation with Russia. The same can be said for Hungary, which is extremely concerned with the prospect of a direct confrontation with Moscow.

Magyar Nemzet warned that 

Paris is preparing for a world war and that “the pro-war French president has already come up with alarming plans in recent months, which could clearly lead to a war between NATO and Russia”.

The Hungarian news outlet also pointed out that Macron “did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine either”. However, to make matters worse, France is reportedly even sending “Mirage 2000-5” fighter jets to the Neo-Nazi junta.

It’s clear that the troubled Macron government is risking war with Russia, regardless of its true motivation for such moves.

 

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to France, 17 June 2019. (Source: President.gov.ua)

Israel now has its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East. We must act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime. We have the justification. We have the tools. Now that Hezbollah and Hamas are paralyzed, Iran stands exposed. —Naftali Bennett, former Israeli Prime Minister

For Israel to achieve its regional ambitions, it must lure the US into a war with Iran.

In order to accomplish that feat, Israel must strike Iran with enough force to provoke a violent and destructive retaliation.

As soon as it looks like Israel is in trouble, the US will ride to the rescue with “guns blazing”.

But, first, Israel must initiate a provocation big enough to ensure the outcome that it seeks. In short, Israel’s real target is the US because it is the US that must be hoodwinked into fighting Israel’s war.

Regrettably, duping America is what Israel does best.

Americans are under the illusion that the United States will prevail in a war with Iran. But it’s not true. Iran has been preparing for a war with the US for over two decades, and they are ready-to-go. They have developed a missile technology that far exceeds anything currently available in the Pentagon’s arsenal and they are fully prepared to conduct a protracted asymmetrical war that will trigger a cataclysmic disruption of critical supply lines followed by the thundering crash of global markets.

Bottom line: If the US attacks Iran, Washington is going to suffer a withering knockout blow that will end its dominance in the region and perhaps the world.

The top brass in the Pentagon know this as do many in the Intelligence community.

They know that a war with Iran is a bridge too far and a fast-track to the dustbin of history.

That is why Israel has delayed its retaliatory attack on Iran for so long, because Tel Aviv and the Pentagon are not on the same page.

Even so, Netanyahu is charging ahead assuming—quite rightly—that the US will rescue Israel if its survival is seriously threatened by an Iranian missile attack.

But, make no mistake, US generals and military leaders do not want this war, and that is why Israel’s attack on Iran has been delayed.

It’s not merely a matter of selecting the appropriate targets (as the media would like you to believe); it’s a question of whether the United States is prepared to go to war with Iran and (potentially) its allies, Russia and China. (It’s worth noting that Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Tehran just two days before Iran launched its ballistic missile attack on Israel. This suggests that Iran got the green light from Moscow to take action that meets the legal definition of “self defense.”)

Keep in mind, it’s been 9 days since Iran attacked Israel and inflicted severe damage on military bases and a gas platform off the coast of Gaza. Most analysts expected Israel to respond immediately which was what many of the Israeli leaders (including Netanyahu) had promised. But now, more than a week later, nothing has happened; and the reason nothing has happened is because there’s a split between the gung-ho Israeli-firsters at the State Department and the White House and the sober-minded realists at the Pentagon. (The Pentagon does not want a war with Iran.) And while the matter has not yet been settled, it looks like Bibi is about to pull-the-trigger with or without a formal declaration of US support. Once again, Netanyahu assumes that if Israel gets into trouble—as it undoubtedly will—Uncle Sam will join the fight.

The problem, of course, is that the United States cannot win a conventional war with Iran and, if it tries to do so, it’s going to see its military bases, airfields and a sizable number of its servicemen vanish in a pillar of black smoke. Check out this blurb from Scott Ritter who explains what lies ahead:

Let’s remember that when Trump was president, the Iranians shot down a Global Hawk Drone worth over $100 million dollars. ….which enraged Trump. And, he said we need to strike the air-defense sites that took down the Global Hawk. The Pentagon told him that if ‘we do this’ you are going to set into motion a cycle of escalation that will end with Iran destroying every single one of our (military) bases (in the region) and there’s nothing we can do to stop them. …as well as shutting down the Strait of Hormuz and disrupting global oil supplies triggering a collapse of the global economy. And you are going to order us to invade Iran. But we can’t do that right now. ...It would take us months or years to assemble the forces needed to take the action you are talking about, and, even then, there is no guarantee of victory. “Are you sure you want to do this Mr. President”? And Trump said “No”.

That same calculus exists today. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have already been briefed on this reality. Donald Trump is already familiar with it. We cannot defeat Iran in a conventional fight. And here’s the gamechanger: The IRGC came out with a press release saying….”The Islamic faith allows things to change over time if a threat emerges against the Islamic Republic. And, if this threat does manifest itself, Iran will reconsider its stance on nuclear weapons. Iran is literally days away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon. If the US or Israel wants to play nuclear games, Iran is ready to play that game. And this changes everything because Israel can no longer say, “We can nuke you, but you can’t nuke us”. Iran has put all the pieces together, and it would be a matter of days before they have a functioning nuclear device capable of being mounted on a missile that cannot be shot down and that missile will be fired against Israel or American targets in the region.

This is a gamechanger. The days of the United States intimidating Iran are over, passed, finished. And the same with Israel. Israel can be wiped out tomorrow. Iran is prepared to fire 2,000 missiles at Israel in the span of a few hours. These missiles would destroy the entire infrastructure of Israel including every power plant, every water purification plant, everything that deals with modern civilized society will be eliminated because it can’t be defended and because Israel has nothing to fall back upon. They will literally bombed back to the Stone Age, and that’s without using nuclear weapons. Three to five nuclear weapons will wipe Israel off the face of the earth. There will be no Israel. That is the reality facing Israel today. That is the weakness that Benjamin Netanyahu has brought on the Israeli state and the Israeli people. Scott Ritter and Judge Napolitano: The Middle East One year after October 7th 2023, You Tube; 10:15 min

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While Ritter does an excellent job of explaining the potential pitfalls of any conflagration with Iran, other analysts have focused on the basic geography of the battlefield and how it might impact the outcome of the war. Here’s an excerpt from an article that shows just how vulnerable US bases in the region really are.

Many US servicemembers in the Middle East are stationed at bases along the Persian Gulf in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the eastern part of Saudi Arabia. Examples include Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Naval Support Activity Bahrain, and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.

Maintaining a forward military presence in the Persian Gulf is vital to securing American interests, but these bases are squarely within range of Iran’s increasingly formidable arsenal of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. Making matters worse, Iran and its proxies have repeatedly demonstrated in recent years that they are able and willing to use all three of these types of weapons systems to target US and partner forces in the region.

Iran has the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the region, with at least eight types of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), all of which are capable of striking US bases along the Persian Gulf from Iranian territory. Ballistic missiles are particularly dangerous, as their high speed makes them more difficult to intercept compared to cruise missiles or drones (once detected). Most of Iran’s SRBMs employ solid propellants, meaning that they require less time to prep prior to launch and can be fueled and stored for longer periods of time….

But that is not enough. Congress should also press the Pentagon to replicate elsewhere vital military capabilities that currently reside solely or primarily at large, vulnerable bases on the Persian Gulf near Iran, especially at Al Udeid. Alternatives should include a number of smaller bases in the region beyond the range of some Iranian capabilities. Don’t over-concentrate US forces in the Middle East, FDD

Does it sound like the authors are advising US powerbrokers to “get outta Dodge pronto” to avoid an unprecedented catastrophe? Does it sound like US bases and personnel are over-exposed and likely to be obliterated by Iran’s state-of-the-art ballistic missiles? Does it sound like Bibi’s vengeful retaliation could cost American lives and compromise American interests?

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In our last article, we focused on many of the same points we’re emphasizing here. At the risk of being redundant, we’ll include a brief clip from an earlier piece that illustrates the risks to American bases in the region:

“These (US) aircraft are largely based at locations along the southern coast of the Arabian Gulf…an artifact of planning against Russian incursions in the 1970s, and the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns of the early decades of this century. They are close to Iran, which means they have a short trip to the fight…but that is also their great vulnerability. They are so close to Iran that it takes but five minutes or less for missiles launched from Iran to reach their bases.”…

Most damagingly of all:

“These bases are all defended by Patriot and other defensive systems. Unfortunately, at such close range to Iran, the ability of the attacker to mass fires [sic] and overwhelm the defense is very real.”…

In closing his roadmap to Tehran’s victory, McKenzie bitterly laments, “it is hard to escape the conclusion that our current basing structure is poorly postured for the most likely fight that will emerge.” The Empire “will not be able to maintain these bases in a full-throated conflict, because they will be rendered unusable by sustained Iranian attack.” Imperial overreach in West Asia has now fallen victim to “the simple tyranny of geography.”….

“The Iranians can see this problem just as clearly as we do, and that is one of the reasons why they have created their large and highly capable missile and drone force.”..

The question of whether the battlefield primacy of the Resistance in West Asia will finally be comprehended by their adversaries, in light of October 1st, remains an open one. As Russian military strategist Igor Korotchenko once observed, “this Anglo-Saxon breed understands nothing but force.” Collapsing Empire: Iran Throws Down Gauntlet, Kit Klarenberg, Global Delinquents

The Biden team needs to think long-and-hard about the move they are about to make. When an expert tells you that “our current basing structure is poorly postured for the…. fight that will emerge.” What he means is that your bases, your people, and your weapons systems cannot be protected and, therefore, they’re doomed. And when that same expert tells you that you “will not be able to maintain these bases in a… conflict, because they will be rendered unusable by sustained Iranian attack.” What he means is that your enemy is going blow your entire operation to smithereens.

Wouldn’t it be wiser to mull these matters over instead of recklessly issuing another blank check to a genocidal madman who is merely using the US to advance his own ethno-lunatic agenda?

Of course, some will argue that if push-comes-to-shove, the US can always draw from its nuclear arsenal and turn Tehran into a parking lot. This is true, but it is also true that Iran has placed its hypersonic ballistic missiles in locations around the country which means that—if Iran is destined to become a parking lot—then Israel will meet the same exact fate.

In fact, some would call that “poetic justice.”

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BREAKING: Iranian parliament is reportedly drafting a bill to create an official military alliance between all parties of the resistance axis which includes Iran, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Hezbollah, and Hamas.

The bill mentions the creation of a joint operation room and a unified military infrastructure, as well as joint military exercises and an obligation to send military and humanitarian aid in case of any act of aggression by the US or Israel against any one of the parties —Tasnim.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on The Unz Review.

Michael Whitney is a renowned geopolitical and social analyst based in Washington State. He initiated his career as an independent citizen-journalist in 2002 with a commitment to honest journalism, social justice and World peace.

He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).  

Featured image source

For quite some time I have been writing and speaking about the witch hunts conducted by the Medical Council of New Zealand against good doctors who spoke out against their upending of foundational medical principles — principles such as informed consent, which they strongly promoted but hypocritically disavowed.

I and other colleagues have exposed their connection to the Federation of State Medical Boards and its international arm, the International Association of Medical Regulatory Agencies, which appears to be pulling strings across the globe to extirpate ANY challenge to their inconceivably dangerous policies, such as actively working to prohibit early treatment and to push the covid jab as if it were a panacea.

Doctors around the world who did what good doctors should do, namely, treat the ill, do no harm, tailor treatments to individual needs, provide informed consent, and suggest preventive measures, using whatever means they had at their disposal, which may or may not include various medications or supplements, were targeted for reprisals. Licenses were suspended and/or revoked, and they were subjected to ‘show trials’.

Recently New Zealand Doctors Speaking Out with Science (www.nzdsos.com), of which I am a founding member, brought a High Court case to challenge the Medical Council’s covid-19 guidance statement.

I have many times urged friends and colleagues not to put much, if any, faith into the Establishment’s courts for redress or anything approaching justice, yet I am also aware of the value of doing so whatever the outcome.

The case was presented to the High Court in Wellington on 23-24 September, 2024.

A remarkable development occurred during the proceedings: a former Board member of the Medical Council presented the following evidence, which is now in the public domain given that it was read out in court on 24 September. I am quoting the evidence in full, given its importance:

“In September 2021, the first wave of complaints about doctors, Covid, vaccines, and the prescribing of ivermectin came to MCNZ. I was shocked at the different approach council members had toward these complaints, compared with their normal thorough and fair approach. The complaints ranged from a doctor emailing a colleague with doubts about the vaccine, through to doctors advising some patients (e.g. pregnant women and children) not to take the vaccine, to doctors speaking at public meetings against wholesale vaccination of everyone. There was general agreement among most MCNZ members that the Covid vaccine was a zero risk medication, and that doctors who thought the side effect risks were significant were woefully misinformed. The approach from MCNZ staff and most MCNZ members was to rely on the guidance statement, which indicated doctors should promote vaccine benefits not highlight risks. That meant that a doctor talking about the risks associated with vaccination was a reason to take disciplinary action. With the exception of my contributions (with occasional support from one or two others), there was no engagement by the other members of MCNZ with the nature of informed consent, the doctors’ Code of Ethics, or Human Rights more generally. When I asked one other member what they thought about submissions from one doctor’s lawyer, which focused heavily on the Human Rights aspects, they said they hadn’t bothered to read them. I tried to get engagement with these issues during our Council meetings but it was my impression most members’ minds were closed.

The culture change was unreal and disturbing. The chair would introduce these Covid items with “Here we go -it’s flat earth time, get your tin foil hats on – we’ve got another antivaxxer in front of us”. Or “The Vitamin C brigade has arrived”. The majority of the council went along with this dismissive, ridiculing approach, with maybe three people, including myself, not joining in this prejudgement game.

I was on the MCNZ for ‘Covid cases’ that came through from approximately October 2021 through to January 2022. The complaints came from the general public and the medical profession. In general, the doctors complained about had serious questions about the Covid vaccine from an informed consent angle. Some had questions about the nature of the actual Covid risk to health and some were looking for alternative treatment options that had been banned (e.g. Ivermectin, Vit D, zinc etc). Some complaints were trivial, e.g. a GP simply emailing a practice college with doubts about the vaccine. Others were doctors speaking out in public questioning the pandemic policies. Some doctors were openly cautioning their parents to think carefully before agreeing to a Covid vaccination.

What alarmed me at the time was the majority of MCNZ members were aggressive in their response to all these “anti-vax” doctors, calling for harsh, vindictive even, sanctions for even the most minor of cases. The usual detailed discussion of evidence and high-level legal arguments was abandoned. It was clear that most other members of MCNZ’s council considered that any doctor who so much as doubted any of the Covid pandemic directives should be heavily sanctioned and preferably suspended. Most of our meetings were by now conducted on Zoom due to lockdowns.”

This evidence thoroughly supports my supposition of an active and vindictive assault on doctors here. As I write a number of doctors have been ordered to appear in further Tribunals and Courts and remain under active persecutory ‘investigation’. It is a travesty, representing criminality of a high order. And to whom are the Medical Council accountable?

I have urged those in the crosshairs to tell the public about what they are being put through, rather than submit to these kangaroo inquisitions. One doctor in question, who has recently suffered from physical problems in addition to the emotional duress created by these actions, has asked for a postponement of her Tribunal — with supporting letters from her examining physicians — only to be told ‘no’. This amounts to torture.

I urge all readers to share the above, a direct and clear glimpse into the perverted behaviors of a Council charged, ostensibly, with protecting the public weal from rogue practitioners, but instead directly harming the very public whom good doctors serve.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Dr. Garcia is a Philadelphia-born psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who emigrated to New Zealand in 2006. He has authored articles ranging from explorations of psychoanalytic technique, the psychology of creativity in music (Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Delius), and politics. He is also a poet, novelist and theatrical director. He retired from psychiatric practice in 2021 after working in the public sector in New Zealand. Visit his substack at https://newzealanddoc.substack.com/.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.  

Here follow links to related essays and articles and interviews pertaining to the MCNZ, a sort of mini-bibliography:

https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/doctors-investigation-fsmb-attacks-big-pharma/

https://www.globalresearch.ca/subverting-medicine-role-federation-state-medical-boards/5790759

Dr. Bruce Dooley’s interview with Liz Gunn:

https://rumble.com/v1lbjvd-the-dark-truth-of-americas-federation-of-state-medical-boards.html

https://www.globalresearch.ca/covid-19-pandemic-medical-council-new-zealand-operating-according-mafia-principles-dr-emanuel-garcia/5851205

https://www.globalresearch.ca/quiet-evil-destruction-informed-consent/5846718

https://www.globalresearch.ca/intrepid-new-zealand-lawyer-sue-grey-wins-one-against-empire/5827846

https://newzealanddoc.substack.com/p/dr-peter-canaday-medical-hero

https://newzealanddoc.substack.com/p/the-new-zealand-medical-council-and 

Featured image source / Public Domain

Video: Electromagnetic Radiation and Harmful Wireless Technology

October 10th, 2024 by Children’s Health Defense

Through litigation, education and advocacy, we aim to protect our health, environment and privacy from the uncontrolled rollout of harmful wireless technology – including cell towers, small cells, smart meters and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Explore our pages to learn all about how and why we are pushing back against the wireless takeover – and how you can too!

Injured by your smart meter? Apply to be a plaintiff in our upcoming litigation.

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Click here to watch the video

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Featured image source

There’s yet another doctors’ testimony about Israeli forces constantly shooting Palestinian children in the head, this one published in The New York Times.

The report, titled “65 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics: What We Saw in Gaza,” begins as follows:

“I worked as a trauma surgeon in Gaza from March 25 to April 8. I’ve volunteered in Ukraine and Haiti, and I grew up in Flint, Mich. I’ve seen violence and worked in conflict zones. But of the many things that stood out about working in a hospital in Gaza, one got to me: Nearly every day I was there, I saw a new young child who had been shot in the head or the chest, virtually all of whom went on to die. Thirteen in total.

“At the time, I assumed this had to be the work of a particularly sadistic soldier located nearby. But after returning home, I met an emergency medicine physician who had worked in a different hospital in Gaza two months before me. ‘I couldn’t believe the number of kids I saw shot in the head,’ I told him. To my surprise, he responded: ‘Yeah, me, too. Every single day.’”

Numerous named medical staff who worked in Gaza then testify in the report about routine encounters with children who’d been shot in the head and chest by Israeli forces, as well as children and infants suffering from severe malnutrition and easily preventable infections.

Such reports have been coming out all year. Because Israel has not been allowing foreign press into Gaza, medical staff have in many ways become the de facto western journalists on the ground in the enclave — and they are all saying the same thing.

Back in July a group of 45 doctors and nurses who’d been working in Gaza signed an open letter to President Biden testifying that “every single signatory to this letter treated children in Gaza who suffered violence that must have been deliberately directed at them.”

“Specifically, every one of us on a daily basis treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head and chest,” the letter continues.

Also in July, Politico published an article by two American surgeons named Mark Perlmutter and Feroze Sidhwa titled “‘Nothing Prepared Us for What We Saw’: Two Weeks Inside a Gaza Hospital,” which contains the following passage:

“We started seeing a series of children, preteens mostly, who’d been shot in the head. They’d go on to slowly die, only to be replaced by new victims who’d also been shot in the head, and who would also go on to slowly die. Their families told us one of two stories: the children were playing inside when they were shot by Israeli forces, or they were playing in the street when they were shot by Israeli forces.”

In April an article titled “‘Not a normal war’: doctors say children have been targeted by Israeli snipers in Gaza” was published in The Guardian, citing nine doctors who’d worked in Gaza after October 7 who “reported treating a steady stream of children, elderly people and others who were clearly not combatants with single bullet wounds to the head or chest.”

Forensic pathologists were able to identify bullets used by the Israeli military in these attacks on children:

“The Guardian shared descriptions and images of gunshot wounds suffered by eight children with military experts and forensic pathologists. They said it was difficult to conclusively determine the circumstances of the shootings based on the descriptions and photos alone, although in some of the cases they were able to identify ammunition used by the Israeli military.”

In February the Los Angeles Times published an article titled “I’m an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn’t war — it was annihilation”. The author, a reconstructive surgeon named Irfan Galaria, writes as follows:

“On one occasion, a handful of children, all about ages 5 to 8, were carried to the emergency room by their parents. All had single sniper shots to the head. These families were returning to their homes in Khan Yunis, about 2.5 miles away from the hospital, after Israeli tanks had withdrawn. But the snipers apparently stayed behind. None of these children survived.”

So this is happening. The evidence is undeniable, and the sourcing is as solid as it gets. There are mountains upon mountains of rock solid proof that Israeli forces routinely, deliberately shoot Palestinian children in the head in Gaza. 

The only reason this isn’t being treated as an established fact by the western political-media class is because the Israeli military denies it, telling The Guardian in response to the aforementioned report that “The IDF only targets terrorists and military targets. In stark contrast to Hamas’s deliberate attacks on Israeli civilians, including men, women and children, the IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”

“Doctors say otherwise,” The Guardian wrote.

Indeed, there is no longer any fact-based reason to deny that Israel is deliberately targeting children with sniper fire. The facts are in and the case is closed. The only basis anyone can have for denying this established fact is their own personal loyalty to the state of Israel and its military, and/or their own personal disdain for Palestinian lives.

This fact punches holes in so many of the narratives used to defend Israel over the past year. That Israel is conducting itself in a more ethical way than Hamas. That Israel is waging a war against Hamas and not the Palestinian people. That the IDF are “the most moral army in the world” and are taking extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties. That civilians are being killed in Gaza because Hamas uses them as “human shields”. That this is a war fought for Israel’s self-defense, and not a campaign of extermination driven by racism and hate.

There is simply no way to believe any of these things are true when you acknowledge the extensively-documented fact that Israeli forces are routinely shooting children in the head throughout the Gaza Strip.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Featured image is from The Unz Review

Statistics can’t tell the story of civilian suffering in Gaza. Physical pain defies easy quantification. Emotional trauma is far more than a number on a psychological distress scale. Still, numbers can be enlightening — and damning. The Intercept has assembled a short primer and accompanying infographics to offer a glimpse of what a year of relentless Israeli attacks — and U.S. military support for Israel — has meant to the people of Gaza.

The Uncountable Dead

On the night of October 7, 2023, Israel bombed a home in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Eighteen members of one family, including at least five children and four women, were reportedly killed. At least one survivor, 11-year-old Tala Abu Daqqa, was injured. Al Ghad TV, a local television station, reported that around 150 people had been injured in the Abasan area.

The attack, which Israel launched following raids by Hamas militants that killed Israeli civilians earlier that day, reportedly destroyed five residential buildings. “They hit us with two or three barrels of explosives and brought the entire buildings down,” Mohammad Abu Daqqa, a relative of the family, told CNN.

In the year since that strike, Israeli attacks on Gaza have never ceased. More than 2 million other Palestinian civilians have been killed, wounded, or displaced as a result.

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Graphic: Fei Liu

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Israeli attacks have killed almost 42,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 96,000 others in Gaza since last October, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. More than 10,000 Palestinians are thought to be buried under the rubble littering the Gaza Strip.

A group of 99 American health workers who served in Gaza estimate the death toll is no less than three times higher than that current official count. In the appendix to a recent letter sent to the Biden administration, calling for an arms embargo on Israel, they estimated that the death toll is at least 118,908. “It is highly likely that the real number of deaths in Gaza from this conflict is far higher than this most conservative estimate,” they note.

More deaths are sure to come. Researchers, applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths — from causes like disease outbreaks, a lack of medical care, and shortages of food, water, and shelter — per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths that had been reported as of July, wrote in The Lancet that “it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.”

America’s Constant Supply of Weapons

As the death toll has risen, the United States has ramped up its support for Israel.

Late last month, Israel announced it had reached a deal with the U.S. for an $8.7 billion aid package to support its ongoing military efforts. In August, the Biden administration approved five major arms sales to Israel, including 50 F-15 fighter aircraft, tank ammunition, tactical vehicles, air-to-air missiles, and 50,000 mortar rounds, among other equipment totaling more than $20 billion. While technically “sales,” the cost of these weapons is mostly paid by the United States since Israel uses much of the military aid Congress approves to buy U.S.-made weapons.

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel,” said President Joe Biden recently, despite the fact that his administration acknowledged the likelihood that Israel has used U.S. weapons in Gaza in violation of international law.

“In the past year, the United States has sent thousands of bombs to Israel. These are the very same weapons that have killed Palestinian children and wiped out Palestinian families month after month,” John Ramming Chappell, an advocacy and legal fellow at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, also known as CIVIC, told The Intercept. “Israeli military attacks, often using weapons made in the United States, have leveled countless homes, destroyed schools and hospitals, and made Gaza all but unlivable.”

Lost Limbs, Bombed Hospitals

For every person killed by the Israeli military and American bombs, many more are suffering injuries, medical deprivation, and malnutrition. As of July, at least one-quarter of those injured in Gaza were estimated to have life-altering traumatic injuries that will require years of rehabilitation, according to a World Health Organization analysis. The predominant injury, affecting as many as 17,550 people, was severe wounds to limbs.

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Graphic: Fei Liu

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Between 3,105 and 4,050 limb amputations have also been performed, according to WHO. There have also been around 2,000 spinal cord or traumatic brain injuries and about the same number of major burn injuries. Only 41 percent — 5,968 out of 14,469 — of critical patients who submitted requests for medical evacuation have been approved.

Gaza’s health care system had already been battered by years of occupation and blockade, but the decimation of medical and public health infrastructure has hit unprecedented levels since last October. There have reportedly been 492 attacks on health care facilities in Gaza, killing almost 750 people. Every hospital in Gaza has been affected. Only 17 hospitals are partially functional. Nineteen out of 36 hospitals are completely out of service.

The rate of attacks on health care facilities and personnel in Gaza is higher than in any recent conflict, averaging 73 attacks per month, according to an analysis by Save the Children. (The next highest, since 2018, are Ukraine at 67 attacks per month and the Democratic Republic of Congo with an average of 11 per month.)

In April, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported that 350,000 people in the Gaza Strip — including 225,000 high blood pressure patients, 71,000 people with diabetes, 45,000 cardiovascular patients, in addition to those suffering from cancer and kidney failure — are unable to access necessary health care. 

Almost all of the people of Gaza have witnessed or directly experienced unprecedented trauma, including direct violence, repeated displacement, and the loss of family and friends, homes, and belongings, according to a report by ACAPS.

Even before the start of the current war, an estimated 800,000 children in Gaza — about 75 percent of its child population — were already in need of mental health and psychosocial support. The conflict has exposed children in Gaza to severe psychosocial distress and, as a result, UNICEF estimates that more than 1 million children, effectively every child in Gaza, now needs such services.

Cities Turned to Rubble

A year of relentless bombing, bulldozing, and ground invasion has pushed most of the people in Gaza out of their homes, many of which have been destroyed in the process.

At least 1.9 million people (about 9 in 10) across the Gaza Strip have been driven from their homes, including those who have been repeatedly displaced (some up to 10 times or more), according to the United Nations. Around 86 percent of Gaza remains under Israeli-issued evacuation orders, as of early last month. About 1.3 million Gazans need emergency shelter and essential household items. Those in shelters have far less space than the accepted minimum emergency requirements.

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Graphic: Fei Liu

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Compared with other urban areas attacked in the past 100 years, the Gaza Strip is far more densely populated — easily besting Dresden, Germany, in 1945; Quảng Trị in South Vietnam in 1968; and Mariupol, Ukraine in 2022. “When explosive weapons are used in densely populated areas, the vast majority of victims are civilians and the effects are felt for decades to come,” said CIVIC’s Chappell. “Palestinian civilians in Gaza have now endured a year of constant bombardment and unimaginable loss. The Israeli military has left nowhere safe for civilians in Gaza.”

Relentless Israeli attacks have led to unprecedented destruction. At least 128,187 structures in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed, according to a September U.N. satellite analysis. Add in another 35,591 possibly damaged structures, and it represents 66 percent of all buildings in Gaza. Nearly 228,000 housing units have been damaged.

Huge swaths of Gaza resemble post-apocalyptic hellscapes. Israeli bombardment has created more than 84 billion pounds of rubble, according to the U.N. Clearing it may cost as much as $700 million and take around 15 years — a task sure to be complicated by unexploded ordnance. Beyond rubble clearance, making Gaza livable again will be far more expensive. The price tag could exceed $80 billion, according to Daniel Egel, a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, a U.S. military-sired, California-based think tank who also cited the incalculable costs. “You can rebuild a building, but how do you rebuild the lives of a million children?” he told Bloomberg.

Empty Bellies, Salted Fields, Open Sewers

Most Palestinians in Gaza are at risk of starving. More than 2.1 million, virtually the entire population, now face acute food insecurity, including the two most dire levels under universal standards: 745,000 at “emergency” status and 495,000 facing “catastrophic” or famine levels.

More than 96 percent of women and children aged six months to 2 years old are not meeting minimum nutrient requirements due to lack of diet diversity. During the first half of September, an average of only 67 trucks with humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip per day compared with an average of 500 truckloads of supplies per day prior to last October, according to the U.N. More than 1.4 million people did not receive their monthly food rations last month. 

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Graphic: Fei Liu

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The agricultural sector, in particular, has been decimated. Satellite imagery from last month shows that around 68 percent of permanent crop fields in Gaza have seen a “significant decline in health and density,” due to razing, heavy vehicle activity, bombing, and shelling, compared with the average of the previous seven years. In the early spring, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations noted that around 60 to 70 percent of meat and dairy-producing livestock in Gaza had already been either killed or prematurely slaughtered to meet the spiking need for food.

Fishing — which had been a key source of livelihoods and food in Gaza — has also been devastated. Since October 2023, 150 fishermen have been killed and 87 percent of fishing boats have been damaged or destroyed, including 96 motorized boats and 900 unmotorized ones, according to a September report by the Palestinian NGO Network. Gaza’s port and other key fishing infrastructure have also been destroyed.

Since the war began, Gazans have had access to, on average, less than 5 liters of water per day for all uses — drinking, cooking, and washing — according to a July Oxfam report. This represents a 94 percent drop in the amount of water available and falls far below the accepted minimum standard of 15 liters of water per person per day for basic emergency survival. By the end of June, Gaza City had lost nearly all its water production capacity, with 88 percent of its water wells, 100 percent of its brackish water desalination plants, and 100 percent of its seawater desalination plants either damaged or destroyed.

The Palestinian economy is “nearing economic freefall, amidst a historic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip” according to a recent report by the World Bank. Gaza’s economy contracted by 86 percent in the first quarter of 2024, leaving it on “the brink of total collapse” with the overall gross domestic product in the Occupied Palestinian Territories plummeting by 35 percent, “marking its largest economic contraction on record.” Before the current war, 64 percent of Gaza’s population lived in poverty. That number is now functionally 100 percent.  

Even the most basic services have halted. Throughout the Gaza Strip, 395,000 tons of accumulated solid waste are piling up between tents crowded with displaced people and amid the rubble of collapsed buildings. Two central landfills remain inaccessible. By the end of June, the Israeli military had destroyed 70 percent of all sewage pumps and 100 percent of all wastewater treatment plants in Gaza.

The systematic destruction of Gaza’s water and sanitation infrastructure has left hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians crowded into tent camps without clean water or proper disposal of sewage and garbage, sparking a public health catastrophe. There has been, for example, a marked increase in cases of Hepatitis A, a contagious liver disease which is transmitted through ingestion of contaminated food and water. By August, UNRWA shelters and clinics had seen 40,000 cases, compared to only 85 in the same period before the beginning of the war.

Sick Children with Nowhere to Go

In August, the aid group Mercy Corps estimated some 50,000 babies bornsince the war began have not been immunized against polio. That month, health officials in Gaza confirmed the first case of the fatal, highly infectious, paralyzing disease — a 10-month-old child who lost the use of both of his legs — in a quarter-century. A vaccination campaign has stemmed the tide of a wider outbreak, but other diseases have run rampant. The World Health Organization has announced outbreaks of scabies, lice, diarrhea, skin rash, and chickenpox. As of July, there were also nearly 1 million cases of acute respiratory infections and close to 600,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea in Gaza, according to WHO. More than half of the cases of diarrhea are in children under age 5, a rate 23 times higher than in 2022.

The youth of Gaza have been affected in myriad other ways, as well. More than 659,000 children have, for instance, been out of school since the beginning of the war. The ongoing crisis in Gaza will set children’s education back by up to five years and risks creating a lost generation of permanently traumatized Palestinians, according to a new study by the University of Cambridge, the Centre for Lebanese Studies, and UNRWA.

Most school buildings in the Gaza Strip — at least 477 of 564, or 85 percent — have been damaged or destroyed since last October. Many of these buildings have been attacked while serving as shelters for Palestinians already displaced by the war. Rehabilitating or rebuilding them will be an expensive, time-intensive process, meaning it could take years before they are usable again. The value of the damaged educational structures, alone, is estimated at more than $340 million.

Last year, images and video of the survivor of the October 7, 2023, strike in Abasan Al-Kabira, 11-year-old Tala Abu Daqqa, circulated online. In a short video, the young girl — her face peppered with tiny cuts — appears glassy-eyed, broken, shattered. That day, the first of the war, she became one of the now 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza who have witnessed or directly experienced conflict trauma and one of the 1 million children in need of mental health and psychosocial support. Since the attack, at least 138,000 fellow Gazans have been killed or wounded. 

Numbers can’t tell the full story of the suffering of children and adults living under a year of Israeli bombardment. No matter how accurate, figures can’t capture the scope of their sorrow or the depth of their distress. An estimate of how many million tons of rubble Israeli attacks have produced can offer a sense of the scale of destruction, but not the impact of each strike on the lives of those who survived, and the effect on the future of Gaza given how many didn’t.

Numbers are wholly insufficient to explain Tala Abu Daqqa’s anguish. Statistics can’t tell us much about how living through such a catastrophe affects an 11-year-old child. Heartache defies calculation. Psychological distress can’t be reduced to the score on a trauma questionnaire. There is no meaningful way to quantify her loss except, perhaps, by offering up two basic, final numbers that will stay with her forever: two parents and three sisters killed.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

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Unsatisfied with the quantity of abortions currently performed in the Western world, particularly with the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade, Bill Gates’ ex-wife, Melinda Gates, has announced a quarter-billion giveaway to boost numbers.

The world, after all, is not going to depopulate itself.

Via The Guardian (emphasis added):

Women’s health is being neglected worldwide with “maternity care deserts” more common, millions denied abortions and maternal death rates surging, Melinda French Gates has warned as she launches a $250m (£190m) fund to improve women’s physical and mental health globally.

Despite advances in medicine, women experience “unacceptable” inequities across all aspects of their health, spend more years living with ill health and still face barriers to accessing basic care. Women in rich and poor nations are affected and more than 700 are dying in childbirth each day, French Gates said.

Women have also been suffering with the global consequences of the abortion bans enacted in the US after the overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022. French Gates told the Guardian the US election next month would be critical. “There is so much at stake for women and families,” she added.

Today she will launch Action for Women’s Health through her organisation, Pivotal, and direct what will total $250m in new grants to groups around the world working on improving women’s health.”

Let’s take a quick look-see at all that Melinda, who cares deeply about such issues, has done in the past for women and their health, and their babies’ health.

Via ABC News, 2020 (emphasis added):

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new $250 million commitment on Thursday, adding to the foundation’s total investment to $1.75 billion into combating COVID-19 through vaccine development and distribution.

“The plan is coming together to get this vaccine out. So, you know, it’s a tragedy, but there’s a lot of heroes in the process of getting it to end,” said Gates.

Gates, who had invested in the vaccine technology in 2015, emphasized the importance of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines ending this pandemic and potentially ones to come in the future.

Well, your immune system is kind of magic*. If it sees a foreign shape once, then it says, ‘Wow, if I ever see that again, I am going to react very quickly,’ and so that it doesn’t cause a problem,” said Gates.

“With mRNA, we actually give instructions to your cells to make them build part of the virus,” said Gates, who said that the immune system kicks in to help inoculate against the virus.”

*Correction: your immune system was “kind of magic” until Melinda Gates’ mRNA shot literally turned it off.

Via Food and Chemical Toxicology (emphasis added):

“The mRNA SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were brought to market in response to the public health crises of Covid-19. The utilization of mRNA vaccines in the context of infectious disease has no precedent…

The immune response to the vaccine is very different from that to a SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this paper, we present evidence that vaccination induces a profound impairment in type I interferon signaling, which has diverse adverse consequences to human health. Immune cells that have taken up the vaccine nanoparticles release into circulation large numbers of exosomes containing spike protein along with critical microRNAs that induce a signaling response in recipient cells at distant sites. We also identify potential profound disturbances in regulatory control of protein synthesis and cancer surveillance. These disturbances potentially have a causal link to neurodegenerative disease, myocarditis, immune thrombocytopenia, Bell’s palsy, liver disease, impaired adaptive immunity, impaired DNA damage response and tumorigenesis. We show evidence from the VAERS database supporting our hypothesis. We believe a comprehensive risk/benefit assessment of the mRNA vaccines questions them as positive contributors to public health.”

Melinda Gates: “Did we mutilate your immune system and give you cancer and kill your kids in utero? Whoopsie-daisy! Have some cash as a token of my remorse, peasants — well, at least you non-penised ones.”

On video, Melinda makes it clear in 2021 she’s not going to relinquish her death-grip on the economy until all Americans roll up their sleeves for her experimental drug.

And what did all that coerced drugging produce for women’s health?

Via Evie (emphasis added):

Naomi Wolf ran a crowd-sourced analysis project to analyze 300,000 Pfizer documents that were released thanks to a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request. In January, US District Judge Mark Pittman of the Northern District of Texas ruled that the documents be released, and the results found are stunning…

The research found that 44% of women who participated in the Pfizer trial of the coronavirus vaccine lost their baby

This data has never been released to the public before and women have been gaslit to believe that their periods were never actually affected by the coronavirus vaccine (even though it was later revealed that the vaccine does in fact affect menstrual cycles).”

And here we have, buried deep in a study that morphed into a propaganda piece by the New England Journal of Medicine, “Preliminary Findings of mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnant Persons” robust evidence that Melinda’s COVID shots given to pregnant women triggered an 82% spontaneous abortion rate.

Via Natural News:

“A shocking new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reveals that when pregnant women are given covid vaccinations during their first or second trimesters, they suffer an 82% spontaneous abortion rate, killing 4 out of 5 unborn babies.

This stunning finding, explained below, is self-evident from the data published in a new study entitled, “Preliminary Findings of mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine Safety in Pregnant Persons.” Just as disturbing as the data is the fact that the study authors apparently sought to deliberately obfuscate the truth about vaccines causing spontaneous abortions by obfuscating numbers in their own calculations…

Table 4 from the study, shown below, reveals that a total of 827 pregnant women were studied. Out of the 827 women, 700 of them received their first vaccine in their third trimester of pregnancy. This means 127 women (which is 827 – 700) received a vaccine during their first or second trimesters. (You have to read the fine print below the table to see this disclosure.)

Out of the 127 women receiving vaccines during their first or second trimesters, 104 spontaneous abortions occurred before their pregnancies hit the 20-week mark. These are indicated as “spontaneous abortions” in the table.

In simple math, 104 spontaneous abortions (during the first 20 weeks) out of 127 women who received vaccines in their first or second trimesters calculates to an 82% rate of spontaneous abortions among these pregnant women who were vaccinated.

It is important to note that deaths of unborn babies during the third trimester are known as “stillbirths” and not spontaneous abortions. Thus, the spontaneous abortions could not have possibly occurred in women vaccinated during their third trimester, by definition.”

The essence of my job, as I see it, beyond just reporting whatever is happening out there in the world as best I can discern, is to cut through the noise: those were chemical abortions by the pharmaceutical industry, and Melinda funded and promoted them.

There is no inconsistency here between her stated prioritization and bankrolling of abortion lobbying and her relentless shilling of the COVID shots; it’s the same agenda.

Melinda loves abortion. Just like it is for her ex-husband and his Planned Parenthood father before him, it’s a holy sacrament.

And, however they can get the job done — by needle or vacuum — is how they have to do it.

Killing and maiming the most innocent life imaginable — children and especially babies, and most especially babies in the womb — is what they live for. It nourishes their twisted little mortal souls in this physical realm before they are dispatched back to whatever hell they sprang from.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Ben Bartee is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs. Follow his stuff via his Substack where this article was originally published. Also, keep tabs via Twitter.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from BigPharmaNews.com

Yesterday, American journalist Jeremy Loffredo was arrested in Israel two days after publishing an investigative report verifying that Iranian missiles struck near an Israeli Air Force base and less than 1,000 feet from Mossad (Israeli CIA) headquarters.

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LOFFREDO: “Iran fired over 200 ballistic missiles in retaliation for the assassinations of Lebanese and Iranian political and military leadership. Since the missile strikes, Israeli authorities have attempted to downplay the significance of the attacks, censor the locations of missile impacts from media publication, and claim that Iran was targeting Israeli civilians.”

The location of Mossad headquarters is no secret but Israel seeks to keep missile impact locations hidden and bans the publication of such information. Times of Israel reports, “The exact locations of such impacts and damage are barred from publication by the IDF censor.” Loffredo’s report states Israel’s intention is “to downplay the significance of the attacks…and claim that Iran was targeting Israeli civilians.”

Two days before his arrest, Loffredo wrote that he pursued the story “despite the Israeli military censor’s official ban on publishing the locations”.

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LOFFREDO: “While on the ground in Israel, I was able to track down the impact sites of Iranian missiles on key Israeli military and intelligence installations, including Nevatim Airbase and Mossad headquarters, despite the Israeli military censor’s official ban on publishing the locations.”

At the end of his last report, Loffredo documents details that suggest his phone was hacked. As Loffredo left the missile impact site near Mossad headquarters, his phone and his cab driver’s phone both lost GPS functionality, went blank, and then placed their geo-locations in another country. See this video.

LOFFREDO: “As we left the area, an unsettling incident occurred. Our cell phones lost GPS functionality, maps went blank, and then both devices, mine and my taxi drivers suddenly showed we were at Amman Airport in Jordan.”

Yesterday, independent journalist Andrey X reported he’d been “beaten, kidnapped, blindfolded”, “held for 11 hours without charges”, and had his phone “confiscated (stolen)” by Israeli forces. Andrey noted he was with 4 other journalists and “one of us is still in custody”. Today, The Grayzone editor, Max Blumenthal, reported that Loffredo was the journalist who remains in an Israeli jail.

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BLUMENTHAL: “I’ve just learned that @loffredojeremy was among the journalists arrested by the Israeli military and is still in jail. His phone has been confiscated. That is all I’m able to say for now.”

The retweet / re-post button on all of Loffredo’s posts is disabled and his posts are “protected”. I don’t know if this occurred before or after his phone was confiscated by Israeli forces.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

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First published on May 2, 2022

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Introduction

The debate on human rights violations is invariably limited to those committed by  governments and other public institutions.

We seldom discuss human rights violations committed by large corporations, especially multinational corporations (MNCs). Moreover, in many cases, the violation of human rights by host country governments is motivated as a means to cover up MNCs’ human rights abuse.

There is another phenomenon which does not help our resolve to acquire a solution to the issue of corporate human rights abuse; it is the biased attitude of the Western media regarding these corporate violations. 

The media seldom report the incidence of corporate human rights violations, most likely due to the fact that they themselves are owned by large corporations.

Public debate on the issues of corporate human rights violations is vitally important not only in relation of global justice but also for the health of the global economy, especially for the survival of the economies of developing countries.

We need also to conduct an ideology-neutral and unbiased debate on the long-run impact of MNCs’ human rights violations on the developing countries.

This article deals with the following issues.

  1. First, this paper will show how large, rich and powerful the MNCs are and how they can easily abuse human rights, damage the environment and destroy the economies of developing countries.
  2. Second, this paper will discuss the types of human rights violated by MNCs. It will be shown that in many cases, the MNC violates both the economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) and the civil and political rights (CPR).
  3. Third, in this section, this paper will discuss how and why the current national and international judiciary regimes are not equipped for dealing effectively human rights violations by MNCs.

Wealth and Power of MNCs

One of the significant phenomena of the last half a century has been the rise of huge global corporations called, multinational corporations (MNCs), which have impacted deeply not only the global economic system but also the global political dynamics.

The financial assets of 200 largest MNCs is larger than the combined assets of all countries of the world excluding 10 largest economies. According to data of the Amnesty International, of 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations, namely MNCs, while 49 are Nation States.

What is more surprising is the fact that, despite their huge size, they grew fast; their profit rose between 1983 and 1999 by 36% as against the profit of the global economy which rose by 25%.

According to UNCTAD data, MNCs account for 70 % of the world trade.

Given the sheer size of MNCs, it is not difficult to imagine the huge impact of their human rights violations on social and economic justice and the well-being of the people.

This is particularly so in developing countries whose economy is tightly integrated into the global value chain (GVC) controlled by the MNCs.

The Global Value Chain (GVC)

The GVC has created a tightly knit global division of labour. Some countries are specialized in the extraction of raw materials; some countries have comparative advantage in labour intensive industries; some countries are excellent producers of knowledge-intensive products.

The following table provides some ideas about the MNCs

Table. Ten Largest MNC in terms of Revenue (USD billion)

There are value chains for agricultural products;

  • there are value chains for automobiles;
  • there are value chains for IT products;
  • there are value chains for textile products.

In fact, every product has a value chain which can be national, regional or global.

The value chains play crucial role in the world economy. The number of workers hired by the GVC increased from 297 million in 1995 to 453 million in 2013 representing 20% of all workers in the world. In short, the GVC is one of the important devises invented by man.

It is true that GVC has been a major factor of the growth of the global economy and job creation. On the other hand, it is also true that they are the significant human rights violators. 

Typology of Human Rights Violations by MNC

There are three generations of human rights recognized by international covenants.

We have the civil and political rights (CPR) which is the first generation of human rights.

We have the economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR), called as the second generation human rights.

Then, we have the collective rights (CR) known as the third generation human rights. All these human rights are inspired from the Universal Declaration on Human Rights of 1948 (UDHR).

  • The CPR refers to the freedom of thought and actions such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of religion.
  • The ESCR refers to the right to a decent and dignified life such as the rights to housing, foods, clothing, education and public health.
  • The CR refers to the right to differentiated or specialized care rights of the native people, the elders, the women, the children, the disabled and the immigrants.

Violation of ESCR and CPR by MNCs

MNC’s violation of ESCR may be grouped into the violation of labour rights and the environmental rights abuse. In many cases, MNCs violate both labour rights and environmental rights.

In addition, MNCs may violate the CPR, in an indirect way. Suppose that the MNCs violate ESCR. The victims will protest. The host country government may oppress the movements of protest, which is the violation of CPR.

Labour rights include:

  • the right to labour unionization,
  • decent wages, reasonable working hours,
  • no forced labour,
  • absence of discrimination by gender/race and other healthy work conditions needed for decent and dignified living of workers.

Environmental rights include

  • the rights to safe environment and,
  • the right to use natural resources for the benefit of residents.

The following is a list of the cases of violations of ESCR and CPR:

  • According to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) report, of fifty GVCs’ employees, 94% is low wage only 6% represents regular jobs.
  • As much as 60% of jobs under MNC control represents the informal sector of the economy.
  • In 2006, Brazil workers of sugar plants worked 10 to 12 hours a day. More than 10,000 were freed by the Brazilian government from forced labour
  • Child labour is frequent in cobalt mines in Haut Katanga and Lualaba Province of the Republic of Congo and other places.

Notorious Cases of ESCR and CPR Violations

Ali Enterprise Textile: On September 11, 2012, there was disastrous fire at the Ali Enterprise Textile factory in Karachi, Pakistan killing 262 due to the inadequate security measures provided by the head Company, in Germany, KiK. (Violation of ESCR)

Rana Plaza Building: In April 2013, the collapse of the Rana Plaza Building, Dhaka, Bangladesh killed 1,132 and injured 2,500. (Violation of ESCR)

Union Carbide India (UCI): In the Bhopal disaster of 1984, 24,000 died and 16,000 were injured due to the leakage of pesticide. The amount of the settlement was USD 470 million, only USD 40 per victim. The tragedy occurred in Bhopal Madhya Pradesh, India. (Violation of ESCR)

Nestle: In 1970, it introduced a formula of baby food requiring clean water leading to the production of bottled water for which it pumped underground water in many countries. For example, in Serra Da Matiqueira, Brazil, due to the Company’s pumping water, local residents had to suffer from the shortage of water.

Moreover, the Company was accused of hiring children younger than 15 in their Ivory Coast cocoa plantations. (Violation of ESCR)

Screenshot: The Guardian

TTY Corporation Co. Ltd: On January 18, 2012, in Kratie Province, Cambodia, the security guard of the Company shot the protesters. The dispute was about the land use for rubber plantation vs. cassava plantation. The Company wanted to transform the cassava field into rubber plants. The cassava file was the lifeline of the local people. As many as 23 villagers were injured. (Violation of ESCR and CPR)

Timbergreen Co. Ltd (2011.04.26): Chut Wutty, founder/Director of Nature/Resource Protection Group was shot to death, on April 26,2011, in Koh Kong Province, Cambodia, during the protest against the environmental damage caused by the company. (Violation of ESCR and CPR)

Unocal/COSO: The Company was a US gas/oil company operating in partnership with Myanmar military and it was building the Pipeline Yandana in the 1990s, the Myanmar military committed murder, rapes and displacement of a great number of people. (Violation of ESCR and CPR)

Image left: Senior Traditional Owner Yvonne Margarula was “deeply saddened” that uranium from Rio Tinto’s Ranger mine on Mirarr country in the Northern Territory was exported to Japanese nuclear companies including TEPCO. Source: Photo by Dominic O’Brien

Rio Tinto, a mining company: The Company had an agreement with the Papua New Guinea government to operate copper mine in Bougainville Island in East New Guinea. During the Company’s operation in the period, 1972-1988, the Company dumped one billion tons of wastes into the Jaba River causing the environmental damage.

The damage was so bad that the citizens of Bougainville sabotaged the Company’s operation. Huge protest demonstrations took place and 15,000 people were killed and 70,000 people were dislocated. (Violation of ESCR and CPR)

There are numerous unknown cases of human rights violations by MNCs. Nobody knows how widely spread these human rights violations are, because many cases are not reported for various reasons. But, it is possible that the extent of the corporate human rights abuses could be beyond our imagination. 

Framework for the Prosecution of MNCs Which Violate Human Rights

One of the challenges which the world has to devise is a proper judiciary system capable of preventing the MNCs from committing human rights violations and punishing them, when they abuse human rights.

At present, though limited in scope and effectiveness, we have the following mechanisms designed to prevent human rights violations by MNCs and punish them when they do violate human rights.

  • The anti-bribery law
  • The Court Rulings on human rights violations by MNCs
  • The Corporate Social Responsibility Program
  • International Efforts to cope with MNCs Human Rights Violations

The Anti-Bribery Law 

It appears that bribery is an integral part of humanity. It is reported that 25% of humanity has had bribe experiences. In 2011, the amount of bribes paid was as much as 5% of global GDP, or USD 2.6 trillion.

It seems that, due to bribery, many honest and competent companies are excluded from business contracts. Don John State of Anti-Corruption survey with 300 major companies showed that 40% of the respondents lost contracts because of bribes; they did not pay bribes.

There can be many complex determinants of human rights violations by MNCs. But, perhaps, the culture of bribes is the most important determinant. Because of bribes paid by MNCs to the host country leaders, MNCs can abuse easily human rights.

The transaction of bribes takes place within the global value chains which closely integrate the economies of national, especially those of developing countries.

The bribe involves the collusion between MNCs and the government of the host country, which leads to a situation where the host country overlooks the violations of the ESCR by MNCs.

As pointed out above, this invites citizens to undertake demonstration of protests which the host country government oppress because of bribe money received. This is the violation of CPR. Thus, bribes are the roots of violation of both ESCR and CPR.

It is scandalous to see that many of the famous MNCs are involved in bribes transactions.

The following is the list of the most notorious bribe donors. I will identify the MNCs their nationality, and the amount of settlement for the bribery.

As we will see it later, it is more than difficult to make MNCs accountable for their violation of human rights through international judiciary system.

However, it is fortunate that some developed countries have anti-bribery laws which punish corporation which are involved in bribery. In this way, MNCs human rights violations can be discouraged to some extent. Here is the list of bribe givers:

  • Siemens, Germany, (USD 899 million);
  • KBR Halliburton, U.S.A., (USD 539 million);
  • BAE, the UK, (USD 400 million);
  • Total SA, France, (USD398 million);
  • Lucent, France, (USD 137 million);
  • Snamprogetti, the Netherlands, (USD 365million);
  • JCG, Japan, (USD 136 million);
  • Alcatal S.A. France, (USD 95 million).

These MNCs are operating throughout the world.

The amount of court settlement represents the amount of fine imposed on the MNCs which are involved in bribery transactions. The important question is whether or not the host countries which are victims of the corruption are compensated for the social cost caused by the bribery.

The bribery imposes several types of social cost. The bribery may end up with the wrong legislations made for the benefit of MNC at the expense of the interests of the host country. The bribery many produce a situation in which the local citizens suffer from the infrastructure facilities of inferior quality, low wage, long hour of work, misallocation of resources and poor economic development.

It is common sense that the host countries which are targets of bribery should be compensated, but, it is rare that they are compensated. Fortunately, in recent years, there have been some movements for the compensation for the bribery led by the UK, France and the U.S.

For instance, in the past decade, in the UK, Tanzania received €41 million for the damage caused by bribery paid by UK MNCs. The Global Forum for Assets Recovery is promoting the sharing of the court settlement money with the host countries which are the victims of bribery.

In the U.S., under the Foreign Corruption Practice Act (FCPA), Thailand was compensated in 2008 and Haiti in 2009 for corruption practice by American Companies operating in these countries.

I had an occasion of helping a Canadian media agent to solve a case of corruption committed by a Canadian MNC in South Korea. The Canadian MNC had a contract with a suburban town near Seoul City for the construction of light railway connecting the town to Seoul City downtown.

The Canadian company supplied a bribe of millions of dollars to the town mayor and others. One of the conditions of the bribe was, among others, the production of a false project-feasibility study in which the estimation of the demand for the railway-traffic was twice the realistic estimate. It appears that the Company was not punished.

Court Rulings on Violations of Human Rights by MNCs

The great majority of cases of MNC human rights violations do not come from court hearing. Some are ignored; some settle the dispute outside the court. There are reasons for this.

  1. First the court litigation is expensive.
  2. Second, the host governments tend to avoid court battle, because it is often involved in the corruption. Furthermore, their judiciary systems are underdeveloped to handle the case of MNCs’ human rights violations.
  3. Third, the home country of MNCs is also reluctant to bring its MNCs to the court, because it does not want to hurt the profit of its MNCs.
  4. Fourth, it is difficult to prove human rights violations. The human rights violations are committed by subsidiaries of MNCs, but the responsibility to protect human rights belongs to MNCs.
  5. Fifth, the defendant (MNC) can choose the court by virtue of so-called the Forum of Non-Conveniences (FNC). If it finds itself in unfavourable situation; it can choose another court poorly organized in developing countries which are likely to dismiss the case.

Some of the MNCs have several thousand subsidiaries. For example, the Samsung Group has more than 8,000 subsidiaries spread in 80 countries.

Thus, even if the case is brought to the court, the probability of final ruling is low.

According to the EU Parliament, in 2019, there were 35 cases of MNC human rights violations heard at the courts. Of these 35 cases, 12 were dismissed for lack of evidence, 17 were on-going and 4 had extra-judiciary settlements.

Court Hearings

In fact, the following cases have succeeded in having court hearings, but none has led to legal settlement for lack of evidence or for the use of FNC.

Thor Chemical Holding Ltd. UK Company: The plaintiff, Ngcobo sued on November 10, 1995 the Company for being exposed to hazardous mercury vapour in Kuazulu Natal Province, South Africa. Thor was recognized as responsible for its failure of providing proper safety design for the operation.

The plaintiff appealed to US courts. But, the defendant preferred to have it heard in South Africa, where the case was dismissed.

This is another case of the application of the FNC. Thor chose a South African court which was not equipped to handle the case.

Combior Inc. a Quebec Company: The Company belongs to a Quebec company, Omai Gold Mines Ltd of Guyana. Combior Inc, was sued in 2003 by Guyana residents for spilling toxic water polluting the River Essequibo. The Supreme Court of Canada allowed defendant’s use of FNC saying that the Guyana forum (court) is better suited, which was in a state of collapse.

Cape plc, a UK Company: In 2000, the Company was sued by Lubbe for making the plaintiff to be inhaling to asbestos dust causing cancer. The case was heard at a UK court, which found that the parent company had the duty to compensate the victim by virtue of the Tort Law

But, the parent company has too many subsidiaries and it claimed that it was not easy to verify the safety measures taken by all subsidiaries. The case was dismissed.

The Royal Dutch Petroleum, the Netherlands Company: The Company was sued by Wiwa family for Company’s environmental damage. The citizen of the Ogoni region in Nigeria protested. The Nigeria government in complicity with the Company committed torture, cruel treatment and summary execution of the protesters. Ken Saro-Wiwa, leader of the civic movement was hanged on November 10, 1996.

The case was heard in the US District Court and it was dismissed by virtue of FNC.

BHP: an Australia Company: The Company was sued by Rex Dagi on September 22, 1995 for having ruined a River. Dagi was representing 7,500 villagers. The river was OKTedi Fly River of 200 km long from Fly River to the Gulf of Papua. The company dumped since 1984, 100,000 tons of finely crushed rocks into the river. The River died. The Supreme Court of Victoria ruled guilty and the dispute was settle out of court in 1996

Freeport McMorgan and the Freeport McMorgan Copper and Gold, US company: The defendants were sued by Beanal for environmental damage, human right abuse and cultural genocide through the occupation of an area of 26,400 km2. Beanal was representing the community of Tamika Jaya, Indonesia. The case was handled by the District Court of Louisiana. The case was dismissed.

Company Social Responsibility (CSR)

There is one way for the national government to prevent MNCs from violating human rights. It is the system of the Company Social Responsibility (CSR). But, the vast majority of MNCs do not have the CSR program. For instance, by 2014, only 272 out of 80,000 MNCs had social policy as a result of the National Action Plan.

In some countries, large companies are obligated by law or encouraged to undertake Company Social Responsibility (CSR) programs.

For instance, in China, the Government-Owned Enterprises (GOE) and the listed enterprises in the Shanghai stock market have the legal obligation to apply CSR.

In India, by virtue of the Company Act of 2013, major companies have the duty to allocate 2% o profit to CSR projects.

Similarly, Cambodia and Japan also have measures to encourage major enterprises to do something for CSR.

But, as pointed above, CSR is not adopted by most companies, and even if they do, it is not known to what extent these measures have contributed to the prevention of human rights violations.

International Efforts to  Cope with MNCs Human Rights Violations

In the 1970s and 1980s, there were the Sullivan Principles and the MacBride Principles.

The Sullivan Principle was adopted in the 1970 in South Africa in order to protect labour rights under the Apartheid and later, in 1999, it was unveiled by Rev Sullivan and the Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan.

On the other hand, the McBride Principles were proposed by New York City controller and endorsed by 4 religious people including Rev. McBride. The principles were intended to induce the US companies in Northern Ireland to protect labour rights.

In 1976, the established Guidelines for MNC related to labour rights, environment and consumer protection.

In Europe, there is the Council of Europe (COE) which is the principal organization of human rights protection. It has 47 member countries of which 28 are European countries.

The European Court of human rights (ECtHR) handles human rights violations; what it tries to accomplish is a proper balance market freedom and human rights.

In 1977, the ILO made the Tripartite Declaration (government, employer, employee) of Principles concerning MNC’s social policy in accordance with the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 (UNDHR), the International Covenant in Civil and Political Rights of 1978 (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1978 (ICESCR)

The principles include conditions regarding employment (no forced labour, no child labour), work conditions (wage, safety) and industrial relations (collective negotiation).

In 1972 the UN Assembly warned the coming conflict between MNCs and national governments.

In 1998, the UN Working Group was created by the Sub-Commission on Human Rights with the function of observing the activities of MNCs and protecting human rights.

In 2005, the UN Human Rights Commission asked the UN Secretary General to appoint a special representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) to study the issues related to human rights. Professor John Ruggie was appointed as SRSG.

Professor Ruggie proposed three pillars:

  • The State has the duty to protect human rights abuses by MNCs
  • MNCs should avoid violation of human rights
  • Both State and businesses should have access to judicial and non-judicial remedies.

In 2011, the SRSG was given the second mandate to further examine the issue. The UN accepted his recommendation as guiding principles.

As a result of these guiding principles, the UNHRC visited various countries and members of the Global Compact.

The Global Compact

The Global Compact was created in 2000 and it is composed of 170 countries and 13,000 enterprises and 5,332 NGOs. It has proposed 10 principles related to human rights and business conducts.

  • Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally claimed human rights.
  • Business should not become complicit in human rights violations.
  • Business should uphold labour organization.
  • There should be no forced labour.
  • There should be no child labour.
  • There should be no discrimination of employment and occupation.
  • Business should adopt precautionary approach to environment support.
  • Businesses should take initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility.
  • Businesses should promote and diffuse environment-friendly technologies.
  • Businesses should work against corruption.

The efforts of the UNHRC has led to the establishment of several initiatives to better handle MNCs human rights violations including the Global Reporting Initiative, the International Finance Corporation Standard and the OECD Due Diligence Guidelines.

Moreover, some countries including France, the UK and the U.S. are enacting Due Diligence Law imposed on the parent companies so that the operation of subsidiaries be better monitored and controlled. 

Despite the efforts of some MNCs, national governments, international institutions and especially the devotion of the UNHRC, the violation of human rights by MNC is continuing without proper punishment. Why?

  1. First, there are no international laws. What are called international laws of human rights are just a set of guidelines with no judicial power; there are no real human rights courts.  Laws with no courts to manage, they are not laws.
  2. Second, neither the home country nor the host country is really interested in prosecuting MNCs which violate human rights for different reasons. The host country is reluctant to persecute MNCs either due to its collusion with the MNCs or inability to so, or both. The home country is not keen on punishing its MNCs operating in foreign countries.
  3. Third, even if MNCs are brought to the courts in the home country or the host country, it is quasi impossible to persecute MNCs due to the lack of proof of human rights violations, because of the complexity of MNC-subsidiaries relations and, especially, due to the use of the bizarre system of Forum of Non-Conveniences (FNC) which allows the defendant to choose the courts which are likely to dismiss the case.

The interesting question is the future prospect of human rights violations of MNCs. It appears that the present state of human rights violations by MNCs is likely to get worse in the future due to the difficulty of establishing binding international law of human rights on the one hand and, on the other, the possibility of increasing power and wealth of MNCs as a result of the pandemic.

What is worrisome is the long-run impact of MNCs’ human rights abuse on the developing economies.

The presence of MNCs in developing countries are supposed to be beneficial in the long run, for they would contribute to the long-run economic development of these countries through FDI, creation of jobs, transfer of technology, promotion of exports, workers training, development of free market and other constructive programs.

However, in many cases, developing countries are caught in the trap of cheap labour and low-cost natural resources partly due to their collusion with MNCs which violate human rights.

But, as long as developing countries remain the victims of MNCs human rights violations and as long as the host country leaders collide with MNCs for their own greed at the expense of the interest of the people, it would be difficult for them to free themselves from poverty and become “developed countries” They may remain “developing countries” forever.

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Dr. Joseph H. Chung is a professor of economics and member of the Research Center on Integration and Globalization (CEIM) of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).

He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Featured image is from Rainforest Action Network/flickr/cc

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Israel’s Air Defense and the Weakness of the U.S. Navy. “Damage Control Project” of Commander of the U.S. Naval Forces

By Ret Admiral Cem Gürdeniz, October 10, 2024

After Iran’s attack on Israel with around 300 missiles and drones on April 14, 2024, the second attack with 180 ballistic missiles on October 1, 2024 revealed the serious vulnerabilities of Israel’s air defense system again.

Ukraine Pressured to Negotiate with Russia by Western Allies and Global South

By Ahmed Adel, October 10, 2024

More than two years into the Ukrainian conflict, the Kiev regime is facing pressure from both Western allies and the Global South to come to the negotiating table to reach a “flexible” peace with Russia, Bloomberg reported. 

Palestine and the People of the World. 124 Nations Endorsed the UN General Assembly Resolution to End the Illegal Israeli Occupation of Palestine

By Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, October 10, 2024

On Wednesday, 18th September 2024, 124 nations voted in favour of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution to end the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in Palestine.  

Globalists Revving Up Plans to Engineer Global Famine and Starvation

By Leo Hohmann, October 09, 2024

The global climate cult is getting ready to kick its war on food into overdrive with 13 nations – many of them major cattle and food-producing states led by the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Spain – signing onto a commitment to place farmers under new restrictions intended to reduce emissions of methane gas.

US Navy Was at Scene of Nord Stream Blasts: Danish Media

By Al Mayadeen, October 10, 2024

Prior to the explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea, US Navy ships were present at the location, according to a local harbormaster quoted in the Danish newspaper Politiken.

United States Imperialism and the Genocide in Gaza

By Abayomi Azikiwe, October 09, 2024

The Biden administration continues to express its unconditional support for the Zionist entity while the massacres continue. When the primary elections took place in the winter and spring, the movement for an uncommitted protest vote provided a clear signal of the potential political failure of the Biden White House.

October 7, 2001: America’s “Just War” Against Afghanistan: Women’s Rights “Before” and “After” America’s Destructive Wars

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky, October 08, 2024

The NeoCons’ agenda is not to “win the war” but to engineer the breakup of sovereign nation states, destroy their culture and national identity, derogate fundamental values and human rights.

Below is an excerpt from The Aviation Herald:

An Aeromexico Boeing 787-9, registration XA-ADL performing flight AM-34 from Monterrey (Mexico) to Madrid, SP (Spain), was enroute at FL370 about 80nm west of Richmond,VA (USA) when the crew decided to divert due to the first officer becoming unwell. The aircraft descended to FL200, initially aimed for a return to Monterrey then turned and overflew New Orleans,LA (USA) before setting course to Mexico City (Mexico) where the aircraft landed safely about 3:45 hours after the decision to turn around.

The aircraft remained on the ground for about 3 hours, then departed again, set course directly to Madrid and landed in Madrid with a delay of about 8:45 hours.

Passengers reported the crew announced the first officer had a medical problem and they were returning to Monterrey, later they were informed they were diverting to Mexico City.

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Pilot incapacitations inflight in 2024 (six so far):

Jun. 12, 2024 – Nesma Airlines Flight NE-130 (CAI-TIF) Cairo, Egypt to Taif (Saudi Arabia) – pilot Captain Hassan Youssef Adas in his late 30s collapsed and died from a presumed heart attack

Jun. 4, 2024 – Aeromexico Flight AM-34 (MTY-MAD) from Monterrey (Mexico ) to Madrid (Spain), first officer became unwell, had a medical problem, flight diverted to Mexico City.

Mar. 14, 2024 – British Airways BA-2272 (JFK-LGW) New York to London-Gatwickone of the pilots became incapacitated, plane forced to divert to St.John’s, NL, Canada.

Feb. 17, 2024 – Lufthansa Flight LH-1140 (FRA-SVQ) Frankfurt to Seville on Feb.17, 2024 – First Officer Incapacitated, plane turned around back to Madrid

Feb. 16, 2024 – DELTA – NYC – 58 year old Capt Geoffrey John Brock died unexpectedly on Feb.16, 2024 during a layover in Honolulu, HI

Jan. 16, 2024 – LATAM Brasil Flight LA-3744 (BSB-JPA) Brasilia to Joao Pessoa on Jan.16, 2024 – Pilot Incapacitated, plane diverted to Salvador for safe landing

My Take…

I have been tracking pilot incapacitations in-flight since the start of 2023.

Fortunately there are fewer incapacitations in 2024 compared to 2023, I’d say about half as many, but a lot of pilot deaths in general.

This would suggest the COVID-19 Vaccine Injury profile is changing from acute cardiac events to more chronic illnesses, especially cancer.

Lots of pilots are dying from cancer.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.   

Featured image is from COVID Intel


The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity

by Michel Chossudovsky

Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.

“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”

Reviews

This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon

In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia

In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig 

Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac

A reading of  Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late.  You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin

ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0,  Year: 2022,  PDF Ebook,  Pages: 164, 15 Chapters

Price: $11.50 FREE COPY! Click here (docsend) and download.

You may also access the online version of the e-Book by clicking here.

We encourage you to support the eBook project by making a donation through Global Research’s DonorBox “Worldwide Corona Crisis” Campaign Page

More than two years into the Ukrainian conflict, the Kiev regime is facing pressure from both Western allies and the Global South to come to the negotiating table to reach a “flexible” peace with Russia, Bloomberg reported. However, this is complicated because, according to a former US official, making any concessions to Russia “would be fatal” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to the Bloomberg article, Ukraine is approaching the third winter of the conflict against the backdrop of reduced Western support. Germany is allocating much less funds in its budget to Ukraine, and “France is grappling with its own ballooning deficit.”

Despite Zelensky’s statements that he is unwilling to negotiate any concessions with Moscow, senior Ukrainian officials admitted to the outlet that “an endgame should come into play.”

“Ukraine’s allies are detecting that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy may be getting ready to adopt a more flexible approach as they look at ways to help bring an end to Russia’s war,” the article quotes its sources close to NATO.

Kiev’s possible membership in NATO has not been confirmed even by US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris who, in turn, had promised support for Ukraine.

The article admits that in addition to the West, another part of the world, the Global South, also wants peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to take place. Unlike the West, countries in the Global South, particularly Brazil and China, have consistently stated that Russia must be included in peace negotiations.

“Zelensky’s blueprint to isolate Moscow by securing the support of countries such as China, India and Brazil has stalled amid an insistence” that the Kremlin has a seat at the negotiating table, the article concludes.

On June 15-16, the so-called “Peace Summit for Ukraine” was held in the Swiss resort of Burgenstock, but Russia was not invited. Brazil, India, Mexico, South Africa and other states did not sign the final communiqué. The Kremlin said that it makes no sense to look for options for resolving the situation in the Ukrainian conflict without Russia’s participation.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s peaceful settlement of the conflict calls for Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the new Russian regions, demands that Kiev renounce its intentions to join NATO and adopt a neutral, non-aligned, and nuclear-free status, carry out the country’s demilitarisation and denazification, and lift anti-Russia sanctions.

Daria Zarivna, the aide to Zelensky’s chief of staff, announced that the second peace summit will not be held in November, as originally planned.

“The second Peace Summit will not take place in November. But everything for its preparation should already be ready. So far, thematic conferences are being held on each item of the Formula, which ends with the adoption of communiqués. The main provisions of these communiqués will form the basis for the future peace plan of the Second Summit,” Zarivna said on October 8.

According to Stephen Bryen, former deputy assistant secretary of the US Department of Defense, Zelensky cancelled the second Ukraine peace summit after realising that almost no one would attend.

Bryen’s beliefs on the summit’s cancellation are based on US presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s statement that she will not talk to Putin about Ukraine without Zelensky.

“Meanwhile Zelensky, who was just forced to cancel a forthcoming ‘peace summit’ (officially postponed to a future time) because no one wanted to come, has made it clear he will not negotiate with Moscow under any circumstances,” he wrote in his Substack article.

Furthermore, as the Ukrainian army begins to disintegrate, Zelensky is relying on “neo-Nazi elite brigades for his protection,” Bryen noted. “Zelensky understands that any concession he might make to Russia would be fatal for him.”

The former deputy assistant secretary to the Department of Defense concluded his article:

“There is growing unease in the United States about the hundreds of billions wasted on Ukraine, with no settlement now possible.  At some point that policy will result in a major walk-back from the NATO alliance, and from any commitment to defend Europe when it really does little to defend itself.”

In effect, Zelensky is facing increased pressure from the West and the Global South to concede on his ridiculous policy of not negotiating with the Kremlin so that the war can be concluded. However, because he has relied on neo-Nazi formations to battle Russian forces and to preserve the regime, it also puts him in a dangerous position as the Ukrainian neo-Nazis want the war to continue.

At the same time, Zelensky is evidently unwilling to relinquish power by his refusal to step down or hold the elections that were due in May, meaning that the war will continue since he relies on neo-Nazis to maintain his power and preserve the regime. These neo-Nazis will kill him, according to Bryen, if he ends the war.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from the Public Domain

Prior to the explosions that destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea, US Navy ships were present at the location, according to a local harbormaster quoted in the Danish newspaper Politiken.

The Nord Stream 2 pipelines, a major infrastructure project aimed at delivering natural gas from Russia to Europe, were targeted in an act of sabotage in September 2022, with Moscow pointing fingers at the West or Ukraine.

In August, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian businessmen had funded the attack on the project, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had ordered to halt the attack at the CIA’s request. 

Russia, however, insisted that the reports shared by WSJ were a mere tactic to divert attention from the actual perpetrators, saying its findings were improbable. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov affirmed that Russian Intelligence is certain that major states were involved in the sabotage. 

Despite being published on September 26, Politiken’s article received little attention. But on Tuesday, it reappeared on X when Glenn Greenwald and other well-known independent journalists repeated the claims.

According to the story, American warships were operating in the region east of the Danish island of Bornholm with their transponders turned off.

The article included statements from John Anker Nielsen, the harbormaster of the Danish port of Christianso, which lies near Bornholm. He stated that he had opted to publish information on the September 2022 events, despite originally being “not allowed to say a thing” about them.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Featured image: Half a million tons of methane rise from the sabotaged Nord Stream pipeline. Photo: Swedish Coast Guard

These lines were written on CNN, the voice of the Democratic Party close to the US neocons, at a time when US President Biden announced that he had not yet received a guarantee that Israel would not target nuclear facilities in a possible counter-attack on Iran. This is clearly an expression of the US being held hostage by Netanyahu.

In this case, we can say that the world is under Israel’s mortgage until the US presidential elections on November 5, 2024. If Iran’s nuclear facilities are hit, it goes without saying that this crisis will grow very large and humanity will face multi-dimensional crises. It is possible to say that this situation will bring about the collapse of the US faster than the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Iran’s Attack on Selected Targets on October 1

After Iran’s attack on Israel with around 300 missiles and drones on April 14, 2024, the second attack with 180 ballistic missiles on October 1, 2024 revealed the serious vulnerabilities of Israel’s air defense system again. The strategic Nevatim and Hatzerim air bases were hit in this attack. Today, Israel has a progressive air defense system supported by the US. The Iron Dome Low Altitude Air Defense System; the David’s Sling Medium/High-Altitude Ballistic Missile Defense System and the Arrow 2/3 High Altitude Ballistic Missile Defense System operate in conjunction with the central command and control system (IMDO). This system is also supported by the American Patriot and THAAD systems and the high precision and range X-band radars located in the Necef Desert, Keren and Kürecik Malatya.

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How will strike on Nevatim air base affect Israel's military ops?

Image shows the Israel’s Nevatim Airbase and the Commanding Officer of the base, Brig. Gen. Yotam Sigler. (Image by Tugce Atmaca/Türkiye Today)

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US Navy and Israeli Air Defense

The Pentagon announced that 81 UAVs and 6 ballistic missiles were shot down by American air defense efforts in the April 14 attack. Following the October 1 attack, the Pentagon announced that a dozen of the 180 missiles were shot down by two of the three American destroyers in the Mediterranean (USS Bulkeley and USS Cole).

Four of these ships, which have the Arleigh Burke class SM 3 high altitude ballistic missile defense system, are permanently stationed at the US naval base in Cadiz/Rota, Spain. These ships are dynamically assigned and deployed to the crisis region when the ballistic missile threat to US allies and friends increases. When necessary, the ships in question, which serve in the Eastern Mediterranean, receive detection and tracking information for exo-atmospheric prevention from the American X-Band radars located in Malatya/Kürecik and Keren in the Necef Desert. One of the main information inputs and cross-tell stations of the Aegis command and control system of the ships in question, which are connected to the NATO Ballistic Missile Defense System, in Europe and the Mediterranean basin is the “Kürecik Radar” in Malatya. This radar was brought to our country through the NATO Agreement. However, it is completely American property and Turkiye has no discretion regarding its operation. They work online with the American Aegis destroyers serving in the Eastern Mediterranean. With this information, it is possible to shoot down Iranian missiles aimed at Israel at an early stage. Therefore, on the one hand, saying that “Israel’s target is Turkey” and on the other hand, transmitting information to American warships protecting Israel via the Americans’ X Band radar in Kürecik is a very contradictory, even oxymoronic situation.

Decrease in American Naval Support to Israel

In the October 1 attack, we see that the US provided support to Israel with roughly 50% fewer ships compared to the April 14 attack. Most importantly, there was no American aircraft carrier strike group in the Mediterranean when the October 1 attacks took place. The USS Truman aircraft carrier strike group only entered the Mediterranean from Gibraltar on the morning of October 3, 2024. This group also includes an Aegis-class cruiser and 2 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that can support Israeli air defense. On the other hand, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, which was supposed to be in the Pacific theater of operations and was dispatched to the region for Israel, was in the Arabian Sea during the October 1 attack. Keeping this group at the entrance to the Persian Gulf for the purpose of deterring Iran rather than preventing air attacks against Israel is a preference of American decision-makers. However, what is striking is the small number of American ships sent to support the defense of Israel. It was expected that Iran would attack Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh. The assassination of Lebanese Shiite leader Nasrallah last week increased this possibility. However, there has been no change in the number of American warships. The arrival of the USS Truman aircraft carrier coup group in the Eastern Mediterranean will only occur as these lines are being read on 6th October, five days after the October 1 attacks.

Let us remind that the record number of ships in terms of military support and assistance to Israel was set in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The US had a presence in the Eastern Mediterranean with 60 ships during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

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The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) (From the Public Domain)

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American Sea Power Is in Weakness

The fact that the US had only three Aegis class (Arleigh Burke) destroyers with air defense capability in the Eastern Mediterranean during the October 1 Iranian attack is not a strategic choice but rather a weakness in its navy. As of September 30, the day before the October 1 attack, the US Navy’s combat force was 297 ships, (237 combat ships and 60 auxiliary ships). Of these ships, 76 combat ships and 30 auxiliary ships (106 ships in total) were deployed. However, 71 of these 106 ships were underway. US sources do not specify how many of these ships were combatants and how many were auxiliary ships. If we assume, as a rough estimate, that 55 ships were combat ships and 16 were auxiliary ships, we understand why there were only 3 Aegis-class destroyers in the Mediterranean when the October 1 attack took place. The fact that 106 ships out of a total of 295 were deployed is an indication of how low the ships’ combat readiness was. In addition to the fact that it will take years to raise the combat readiness of the remaining ships, let us remember that the warships held in the American reserve fleets to be used in mobilization are on average over 40 years old and in poor condition.

Damage Control Project of the Commander of the United States Naval Forces

Image: ADM Lisa M. Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations (From the Public Domain)

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At the end of her one-year term as force commander, US Navy Commander Admiral Lisa Franchetti prepared a road map (navigation plan) titled NAVPLAN 24 in September 2024. This report summarizes the difficult period that the US naval force is in, by its highest-level executive. Franchetti, the 33rd Chief of Naval Forces (CNO), has the following action plan in his sailing plan, which he calls Project 33:

“We cannot create a larger conventional navy in a few years, or focus solely on numbers without the right capabilities to win the struggle for sea control… But even without these resources, we will develop our war readiness, capabilities and capacity. We must understand that the navy faces serious financial and industrial constraints.”

The most important emphasis in the report is that they are preparing to fight China in 2027. This issue is included in the Sailing Plan as follows:

“The President of the People’s Republic of China has ordered his forces to be ready for war by 2027. We will be more ready.’’

Franchetti, who said that they would be more ready with an extremely childish expression, later added:

‘’The defense industry of the People’s Republic of China is currently in a war footing with the largest shipbuilding infrastructure in the world, which is currently under the command of the navy.’’

However, the fact that the US Naval Forces Commander focused on President Xi Jinping’s discourse in such an important document is a serious example of weakness. A naval power that claims to dominate the oceans and seas since 1945 accepts its rival taking the initiative to choose the time of war.

Then let’s ask, for example, what will happen if the US-Iran war starts and China decides to go to war before 2027?

The Problem of Increasing the Level of War Readiness

Another striking issue in the document is that the target is to increase the current force to 80% combat readiness. This means if 106 of the 297 ships currently available are deployed, the combat readiness level is around 35%. If we accept that some of the ships in the port at their home bases will be made ready for combat in a short time, we can accept that the readiness level will be around 50% with the highest optimism. Admiral Franchetti aims to increase this level to 80% in the next three years. We are really faced with a picture that is very contrary to the history of the US Navy. As it is understood from both the document and Franchetti’s statements, the real problem is the maintenance and repair problem of the ships. Warships at the end of deployments and tasking cycle they go through maintenance/ overhaul period and upon completion the combat training cycle starts before the ship totally becomes combat ready. This process, which would take 12-15 months if everything worked normally, no longer works in the US. According to Franchetti’s statement in the navigation plan, the maintenance of surface fleets (cruisers, destroyers, amphibious ships and corvettes) is currently about 2,700 days behind, or almost seven years. This is an incredible delay.

The Role Model of the US Navy: Ukraine and the Houthis

The document very interestingly refers to the asymmetric naval successes of the fleetless Ukraine and the bare foot Houthi fighters in the Black and Red Seas, implying that the weakness of the navy will be offset by unmanned vehicles and robotic systems.

In order to prepare for a conflict with China in the Pacific in 2027, the report emphasizes a new class of unmanned systems to create low-cost, lethal air and surface systems that would disrupt an invasion beyond Taiwan. However, he does not mention that the US is an ocean state and that they will need large-tonnage platforms that can navigate the ocean to move from the CONUS to areas of interest. For example, the foundation of American naval power depends on bases and the support of these bases in wartime. Only in this way can warships in distant areas receive fuel, ammunition and personnel support. This support also needs to be created in the homeland.

However, how that logistical support will be provided from the homeland to these bases? The American merchant fleet is insufficient. They have only 200 ships flying their own flag. The US auxiliary ship fleet, MSC (Military Sealift Command), also has very limited resources. They have 19 offshore logistics support and fuel supply tankers; 14 ammunition transporters; 15 military supply transporters; 21 pre-positioned stockpiling supply ships in overseas bases and around 60 foreign-flagged leased ships. Last month, 17 of these were put into reserve status due to lack of personnel. Half of the rest are not ready for action anyway. This fleet is not even sufficient for their own needs, let alone their allies.

It is clear that these numbers will be extremely insufficient in a two-front war with China and Russia on the Atlantic/European and Asia/Pacific fronts. The combat vehicles of just one mechanized division weigh over 100 thousand tons. According to NATO’s cold war plans, the amount of cargo that needed to be reinforced from the US for supplementary supplies in the first months of a war in Europe was around 25 million tons. The military operation requirement was 100 million barrels of petroleum products.

Now let’s add the Pacific theater of operations to this picture, where the distances are much longer. We are faced with a terribly difficult picture. Because the most important US allies in the Pacific, such as Japan, Australia and South Korea, do not have oil. At least they are dependent on the US for fuel.

Let’s add the war that will continue with Russia in Europe to this situation. I am not even mentioning the sea lift that will last for months in the Pacific and the Atlantic, and therefore the need to protect these convoys against a three-dimensional threat. Except for 11 nuclear aircraft carriers, every ship needs to refuel at sea several times during ocean crossings. However, they do not have enough ships. MSC ships also do not have surface or air defense systems to defend themselves. Under these conditions, it is not clear how the Pacific front will be supported if war breaks out with China tomorrow.

American Sea Power Is Chronically Insufficient

In June 2023, the American Congress approved the naval target of 381 ships. In addition, it is aimed to have 397 ships by 2053. However, today, in order to complete the 381 ship target by 2030, a 20% budget increase is needed, which is not possible under today’s debt stock burden.

Today, the backbone of American naval power is nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN), other than nuclear aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines (SSBN).

However, today, nearly 40% of submarines are under repair and the delays in repair are enormous. If aircraft carriers operate in waters close to the continent – ​​for example, in the South or East China Sea – they are likely to be hit by hypersonic and ballistic missiles. In short, the US is unprepared for a major power conflict which is developing.

If a conflict with China were to break out tomorrow, the American Navy would have very little chance of winning because it is not ready. The logistical difficulties of building and sustaining American naval power in the short and medium terms are incredible. If the problem of replenishing existing weapons and ammunition stocks is added to this, the seriousness of the situation becomes apparent.

Image: This photograph of Seth Cropsey was taken at the Army-Navy Club in Washington, D.C. on March 25, 2024. (Licensed under CC0)

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According to former American Undersecretary of the Navy Seth Cropsey, if the US does not increase the production of the weapons it will need in the Indo-Pacific, especially hypersonic cruise and ballistic missiles and short-range anti-ship weapons, it will lose a war for Taiwan in weeks. In its current state, the US Navy cannot maintain its bases and allies in the Indo-Pacific Oceans and its transoceanic logistical support line.

The parameters of the US-USA balance in the Cold War and today’s US-China balance are extremely different. The USSR could not defeat the US because the American Navy’s enormous size of 600 ships confined the Soviets to the continent and weakened them. China, on the other hand, is far more advanced at sea than the US naval power today. China has the advantage in terms of both its geographical location, naval power and number of anti-ship missiles. The conditions are more in its favor than ever to bring this to a dynamic conclusion. The US is weakening its power in the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf because of Israel. China, on the other hand, will use every opportunity to protect and develop its own geopolitical interests, especially in Taiwan and the South China Sea, as long as the Israel-Iran crisis continues.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Ret Admiral Cem Gürdeniz, Writer, Geopolitical Expert, Theorist and creator of the Turkish Bluehomeland (Mavi Vatan) doctrine. He served as the Chief of Strategy Department and then the head of Plans and Policy Division in Turkish Naval Forces Headquarters. As his combat duties, he has served as the commander of Amphibious Ships Group and Mine Fleet between 2007 and 2009. He retired in 2012. He established Hamit Naci Blue Homeland Foundation in 2021. He has published numerous books on geopolitics, maritime strategy, maritime history and maritime culture. He is also a honorary member of ATASAM.  

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: The Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) transits the South China Sea. Reagan is part of Task Force 70/Carrier Strike Group 5, conducting underway operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rawad Madanat)

The Ukrainian population in the United Kingdom has increased from 40,000 to 160,000 people following the start of the Russian special military operation in February 2022, according to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. Using data from the University of Oxford, British media said the rapid increase in these immigrants could pose a problem for the British government.

The Economist said the British government allowed people from Ukraine to enter if Britons offered to house them for six months, unlike asylum seekers from other countries who are usually housed in hotels. According to the report, two-thirds of adult Ukrainians arriving in the UK are women because men can only leave Ukraine if they are outside conscription age, have a health problem or have at least three children.

According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), 80% of migrants are furloughed, and most are employed. UK media reported that a fifth of them work remotely for their former employers, but many are underemployed.

The ONS survey asked Ukrainians where they would prefer to live if they believed their country was safe. In April, 68% gave the UK as their answer, up from 52% the previous year. Almost half have not visited Ukraine since leaving the country.

The Economist noted that while the British government allows Ukrainians to work and receive benefits, including healthcare, they are treated as temporary visitors rather than refugees.

After spending five years in Britain, most foreign workers and refugees can apply for permanent residency, as in the case of Hong Kong citizens who entered under a special visa regime. Ukrainians, however, are only allowed to stay for three years and extend their visas for a further 18 months, the outlet reported.

Policymakers need to be aware of the scale of the illegal migrant problem, said Denis Kierans, senior researcher at Oxford’s COMPAS migration centre, as

“these are people who are living and working in the UK, but who are operating outside the mainstream tax and benefits system. What that means is the state is missing out on their contributions to the public purse while they end up at the fringes of society, at risk of exploitation and destitution.”

The report noted that the UK’s new Labour government faces a “dilemma,” especially if the conflict in Ukraine continues. The state will have to decide on the future of Ukrainians who arrived in the UK and quickly settled there with their children.

“These regulations were created by the last Tory government. They leave a dilemma for the new Labour one, particularly if the war drags on,” The Economist reported.

According to official figures published days ago, the British economy grew less than previously estimated between April and June, expanding by 0.5%, down from an initial reading of 0.6%. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has warned that the upcoming Budget will be “painful,” which brings to question how Britain will continue to not only fund the thousands of Ukrainians living in the country, but how to continue supporting the Kiev regime, which insists on an unwinnable war against Russia because of Western backing.

The UK Ministry of Defence recently announced that Ukraine will receive £3.5 billion to purchase British-made weapons.

“The UK’s support for Ukraine is ironclad. We continue to lead the way in providing military aid, but our support is much broader than simply providing equipment. Our flourishing defence industrial relationship symbolises the work happening across Government and the private sector to ramp up and speed up our support. By deepening our ties with Ukraine’s defence industry, we are expanding own industrial capacity, while boosting Ukraine’s own capabilities. We stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, and we will provide support for as long as it takes,” British Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard, said on October 6.

Yet, while the UK has been assigning massive resources to Ukraine’s failed war efforts, which now stand at least over £16 billion in contributions, the country continues to be flooded by illegal immigrants, which further strains the economy and contributes to the impoverishment of citizens. According to Oxford University research, migrant numbers to the UK top those of Germany (up to 700,000), Spain (469,000), Italy (458,000), and France (300,000). The number of people crossing the Channel into the UK in 2024 has grown 5% since September 2023, with 26,612 people in 503 boats.

In this context, it appears that London has all its priorities wrong. Rather than contributing to a peaceful resolution in Ukraine so Ukrainians can return home peacefully, and rather than dealing with the massive numbers of illegal immigrants entering the country, the Starmer administration has as a top priority the prolonging of war, which only leads to further death and destruction as well as the continued and persistent impoverishment of British citizens.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Ukrainian children are fleeing Russian aggression. (Licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Israel’s wanton aggression against Lebanon has overshadowed an important decision made by the UN General Assembly linked to the violence and wars that mark our present moment in history.

On Wednesday, 18th September 2024, 124 nations voted in favour of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution to end the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in Palestine.  

The resolution was prompted by a ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the world’s highest judicial body, which had ordered Israel to withdraw from Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The ICJ decision of 19th July 2024 was undoubtedly influenced by Israel’s blatant genocide in Gaza and its massacres in the West Bank. The UN General Assembly gave Tel Aviv 12 months to withdraw from the OPT.

Given Israel’s track record, no one should expect Israel to abide by the UNGA’s resolution. Nonetheless, the 124 nations that endorsed the resolution should go all out to ensure that the resolution is implemented. They represent almost two-thirds of the total membership of the UN. Their vote, viewed collectively, is the voice of the vast majority of the human family. The huge public gatherings held in so many different parts of the world in the course of the last one year against Israel’s genocide and for the right of the Palestinians to establish their own sovereign, independent state in accordance with UN resolutions attest to the overwhelming support that the Palestinian quest for self- determination enjoys among the people of the world. 

The 124 member states of the UN that endorsed the 18th September resolution should remember that the ICJ decision that underscores the UNGA resolution requires member states not to recognize “the unlawful presence of Israel in the OPT” and not to render aid or assistance to Israel in maintaining its illegal occupation. Translated into tangible action, the 124 states should appeal to the five veto wielding members of the UN Security Council not to use the veto to repudiate the UNGA vote when the issue is brought to the Council for its endorsement. Needless to say, the resolution can only be enforced by the Council. 

If there is any indication that the veto is going to be used to deny the will of the majority of the UN membership, the endorsers of the UNGA resolution should meet and set up a committee that will explore ways and means by which the resolution can be rendered meaningful.

Countries such as South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brazil can be part of such a committee.

The UN Secretary-General will also be a crucial member of the Committee. Apart from organizing a permanent ceasefire, the Committee can also ensure that food, fuel, medicines and other essentials are readily available to the people of Gaza and other parts of Palestine. The proposed Committee should also facilitate the release of all hostages presently held by Hamas. Most of all, the Committee should lay out a framework for the resolution of all conflicts between Israel and Palestine and Israel and its neighbours. The Committee’s final recommendations should be presented to the UNGA for its approval. 

The UNGA’s approval would signal that the General Assembly —and not the Security Council— is the body within the UN that decides on fundamental issues of war and peace. This is the empowerment of the General Assembly that we should work towards. An empowered GA will give hope to people everywhere.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Malaysia. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Featured image is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Eslováquia não está disposta a aprovar adesão da Ucrânia à OTAN.

October 9th, 2024 by Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

A Eslováquia parece estar cada vez mais firme na sua posição dissidente dentro da OTAN. O país não está disposto a aceitar a Ucrânia como membro, uma vez que o primeiro-ministro eslovaco deixou recentemente claro que fará tudo o que estiver ao seu alcance para impedir que Kiev seja aceita na aliança. Isto mostra como a opinião crítica em relação à Ucrânia está a começar a crescer dentro da OTAN e pode tornar-se uma tendência no futuro.

Robert Fico disse recentemente que o seu país continuará a opor-se à adesão da Ucrânia à OTAN. Segundo ele, só impedindo a adesão da Ucrânia à OTAN será possível evitar uma guerra mundial, tendo em conta a atual situação de conflito entre o país e a Federação Russa – na qual a OTAN já participa quase diretamente através do envio sistemático de dinheiro, armas e mercenários.

Durante uma entrevista a um canal de televisão local, prometeu ao povo eslovaco que, enquanto permanecer no cargo de Primeiro-Ministro, fará tudo o que estiver ao seu alcance para impedir que Kiev seja aceita na OTAN. Na mesma linha, Fico disse que usará a sua influência para fazer com que os legisladores eslovacos sigam o seu exemplo e tomem uma posição contra a Ucrânia, tentando assim criar um consenso entre os políticos do país.

“Enquanto eu for o primeiro-ministro da República Eslovaca, levarei os legisladores, sobre os quais tenho controle como presidente do partido, a nunca concordarem com a adesão da Ucrânia à OTAN (…) a entrada da Ucrânia na OTAN serviria como uma boa base para uma terceira guerra mundial”, disse ele.

Esta postura não surpreende, considerando que Fico é conhecido pela sua abordagem realista do conflito entre a Rússia e a Ucrânia. Ele tem sido um dos críticos mais veementes da guerra, defendendo uma atitude neutra por parte da Eslováquia e de outros países da OTAN. Devido à sua agenda pró-paz, Fico é frequentemente descrito pela propaganda ocidental como um político “pró-Rússia” ou um “fantoche do Kremlin”, quando na verdade tudo o que ele defende é simplesmente a perspectiva mais racional nos interesses do seu próprio país.

Juntamente com Robert Fico, Viktor Orban da Hungria é outro político europeu que critica muito a posição da OTAN na guerra. Juntos, ambos os líderes começam a liderar uma espécie de “grupo dissidente” dentro da OTAN e da UE. Fico e Orban não são “pró-russos” ou “antiocidentais”; estão simplesmente a tentar fazer com que a Europa atue de forma soberana no conflito, evitando participar em planos de guerra que beneficiam apenas os EUA e que parecem verdadeiramente suicidas para os outros membros da OTAN.

Fico também têm criticado veementemente o conluio ocidental com o nazismo ucraniano. Recentemente, fez declarações reconhecendo a presença de símbolos nazistas entre as tropas ucranianas, dizendo que a comunidade internacional deveria assumir uma postura firme contra isto e não permanecer em silêncio apenas para servir os interesses geopolíticos ocidentais.

“Todos falamos de fascismo, de nazismo, enquanto toleramos silenciosamente unidades que se deslocam pela Ucrânia e que têm um rótulo muito claro e estão ligadas a movimentos que hoje consideramos perigosos e proibidos. Por se tratar de uma luta geopolítica, ninguém se importa (…) Quero prestar homenagem às vítimas, não com um discurso patético, mas quero apelar à ação (…) A comunidade internacional deveria reconhecer que as tropas com insígnias nazistas, que muitas vezes parecem agir como tal, não podem lutar na Ucrânia”, disse ele.

Posições como as de Fico e Orbán deverão crescer cada vez mais, como se viu nas recentes eleições europeias, onde partidos de direita obtiveram resultados positivos em vários países. Ao contrário do que dizem os meios de comunicação ocidentais, a ascensão da direita não está relacionada com qualquer tipo de “extremismo” ou “fascismo”, mas com o fato de os partidos de direita serem muitas vezes os mais críticos no apoio à Ucrânia. A tendência é que em breve haja cada vez mais políticos eleitos nos países europeus, tanto direitistas como esquerdistas, criticando a agenda pró-guerra da UE e da OTAN – o que traz esperança para um futuro com maior diálogo entre a UE e a Rússia.

Além disso, deve ser enfatizado que, independentemente da posição de Fico, é improvável que a Ucrânia seja aceite na OTAN a qualquer momento. Kiev foi escolhida pela aliança para servir como proxy na guerra contra a Rússia. A OTAN não está interessada em aceitar como membro um país em guerra, e é muito mais provável que a Ucrânia continue a servir como bucha de canhão até o seu colapso absoluto.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

Artigo em inglês : Slovakia not willing to approve Ukraine’s NATO membership, InfoBrics, le 9 octobre 2024.

Imagem : InfoBrics

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Lucas Leiroz, membro da Associação de Jornalistas do BRICS, pesquisador do Centro de Estudos Geoestratégicos, especialista militar.

Você pode seguir Lucas Leiroz em: https://t.me/lucasleiroz e https://x.com/leiroz_lucas

 

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that his government “will never stop selling weapons to Israel” during a speech at the House of Commons on 7 October.

His statement came in response to a question by MP Zarah Sultana, who pressed Starmer on whether London would “finally do what’s legally and morally right and end the government’s complicity in Israeli war crimes by banning all arms sales to Israel, including F-35 fighter jets, not just 30 licenses.”

“No,” Starmer replied bluntly. “But it is a really serious point. Banning all sales would mean none for defensive purposes. None for defensive purposes on the anniversary of 7 October and days after a huge attack by Iran into Israel would be a wrong position for this government and I will not take it,” Starmer said.

His statement came during a solemn session to mark the launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, which saw the killing of about 1,200 Israelis – many of them at the hands of their own army under the Hannibal Directive.

Starmer’s assertion came days after French President Emmanuel Macron called for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel. 

“I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza,” Macron told broadcaster France Inter on Saturday.

Top officials in the British government were warned in September that they could face criminal liability if they continue to export UK-made components for F-35 fighter jets that Israel is using to carpet bomb Gaza and Lebanon.

The letters, sent by Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), told British ministers that they, along with arms company executives, could be indicted for aiding and abetting war crimes if they continue to transfer the components.

“We know that Israeli air strikes and bombs using F-35 fighter jets have devastated densely populated areas, including shelters for displaced Palestinians … The insurmountable evidence that Israel is committing violations and international crimes means the UK government can’t feign ignorance,” Shawan Jabarin, Al-Haq’s general director, told media.

Last month, London announced the suspension of 30 out of 350 active arms export licenses to Israel. However, the list did not include UK-made F-35 parts.

“The decision means that while ministers apparently accept that Israel may be committing war crimes in Gaza, [the government] is nevertheless continuing to risk complicity in war crimes, apartheid – and possible genocide – by Israeli forces in Gaza,” Amnesty International’s Chief Executive, Sacha Deshmukh, said on 3 September.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War  

Featured image is from Labour Friends of Israel

The global climate cult is getting ready to kick its war on food into overdrive with 13 nations – many of them major cattle and food-producing states led by the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Spain – signing onto a commitment to place farmers under new restrictions intended to reduce emissions of methane gas.

The Global Methane Hub announced in a May 17 press release that agriculture and environmental ministers and ambassadors from 13 countries, including the United States, have signed a commitment that pledges to reduce methane emissions in agriculture. The U.S. was represented by Biden’s climate czar, John Kerry.

What does this mean and why should you care? We’ll break it down.

According to the press release issued by these nations and posted at Global Methane Hub:

“Last month (in April 2023), the Global Methane Hub collaborated with the Ministries of Agriculture of Chile and Spain to convene the first-ever global ministerial on agricultural practices to reduce methane emissions. The ministerial brought together high-ranking government members to share global perspectives on methane reduction and low-emission food systems. The gathering led to a statement in which the nations committed to support efforts to improve the quality and quantity of, and access to, finance for climate change adaptation and mitigation measures in the agriculture and food sectors and to collaborate on efforts aimed at lowering methane emissions in agriculture and food systems.”

Conference participants included the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Climate & Clean Air Coalition, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

The World Bank, another creation of the post-World War II, U.S.-led liberal rules-based order, has been talking a lot lately, along with the U.N., about a coming famine. The World Bank issued a white paper just last week, on May 22, titled Food Security Update: World Bank Response to Rising Food Insecurity.

The director of the United Nations World Food Program has also been putting out, starting in September of last year, dire warnings about a coming global famine.

So it’s curious to me that, at the very time the globalists are warning about food shortages and famine, their mouthpieces at the World Bank, the U.N., and within the administrations of the U.S. and its allies (notice China and Russia are nowhere to be found in these preposterous anti-food policies), are talking about converting over to a new and unproven form of “sustainable” farming that’s focused more on reducing methane than it is on producing the highest yields of food.

Modern food production is bad, they tell us, because it produces methane which supposedly harms the environment.

“Food systems are responsible for 60% of methane emissions,” said Marcelo Mena, CEO of Global Methane Hub. “We congratulate countries willing to take the lead in food systems methane mitigation and confirm our commitment to support this type of initiative with programs that explore promising methane mitigation technologies and the underpinning research of methane mitigation mechanisms to create new technologies.”

John Kerry is also very excited about taking valuable, productive farmland offline, reducing the size of cattle herds, and turning our food-production systems over to technocrats and globalists offering vague promises of “new technologies.”

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. is busy trying to mitigate methane emissions not just in America but worldwide, stating on its website:

“The United States provides key leadership, funding and technical expertise for international methane emission reduction efforts, resulting in more than 1,140 methane mitigation projects through GMI as of 2021.”

See map of EPA methane mitigation activity below:

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In just one example, the Biden administration plans to spend $1.5 million in taxpayer funds on a program aimed at “empowering” female climate change activists in the “patriarchal” society of northern Kenya, documents reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon show.

John Kerry said in a statement,

“Mitigating methane is the fastest way to reduce warming in the short term. Food and agriculture can contribute to a low-methane future by improving farmer productivity and resilience. We welcome agriculture ministers participating in the implementation of the Global Methane Pledge.”

The May 17 press release further states that,

“The focus of the conference was the deployment of science-based practices, innovation, and technologies in line with sustainable food production…”

The nations signing onto this pledge to transform their farm policies are the United States, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Panama, Peru and Spain.

The government of Spain will organize a second conference in 2024 to monitor and advance implementation efforts related to the statement and encourage more countries to join, according to the May 14 press release.

In order to save the planet from emissions that come from cow farts, they claim it’s necessary to force farmers to change the way they farm, converting their land and livestock to more “innovative” methods and “science-based practices.” These methods will need to be implemented not just on farms but throughout the “food systems.”

They never come out and say what these “innovative” changes are, only that they will be based on “new technologies” and “science-based.”

We can presume from this language that among the practices being considered are replacing a major portion of the beef and dairy cattle, pork and chicken stocks that populations rely on for protein with insect larvae, meal worms, crickets, etc. The U.N., World Economic Forum and other NGOs have been promoting meatless diets and the consumption of insect protein for years, and billionaires have invested in massive insect factories being built in the state of Illinois, in Canada and in the Netherlands, where meal worms, crickets and other bugs will be processed as additives to be inserted into the food supply, often without clear labels that will inform people of exactly what they are eating. Bill Gates is also partnering with other billionaires to invest in the production of lab-grown meat, a process that involves using cancer cells from cows, chickens and pigs to quickly grow artificial meat.

Farmers will be increasingly forced off their land, as is already happening in the Netherlands, which is the world’s second leading net exporter of food after the United States.

All this will add up to a coming famine the likes of which has never been witnessed by the current generation of people on earth. It’s all by design. Globalists like Dennis Meadows, the author of the 1972 Club of Rome-endorsed book The Limits to Growth, informed us of the globalists’ plans to drastically depopulate the earth. His comments in the video below were made I believe in 2017.

I’ve also reported extensively on the Deagel forecast, which forecasted a nearly 70 percent reduction in the population of America by 2025, with similarly drastic population declines for the U.K., Germany, Canada, Australia and other NATO-aligned countries.

There is no more efficient way to depopulate than through war, famine and plagues. Isn’t it interesting that all three of these time-tested methods of murder are in play right now?

The war on food is very similar to what’s going on in the energy sector, where governments are colluding with big business to transform all transportation from gas-powered to electric-powered, meaning far fewer people will be able to afford electric cars, and even if they can afford them, the use of those cars will be much more tightly monitored and controlled due to the need for charging stations that rely on an already overtaxed power grid. If you can’t charge your car up when you want to, only when you are allowed to, you have now turned over your freedom of movement to the regulators of those charging stations.

In the food industry, Big Agriculture will also collude with the governments of the world to produce much less beef, chicken and pork, replacing that protein with insects and lab-grown fake meat, the health effects of which are largely unknown.

These changes have already been on full display in the Netherlands, where the government has generated intense controversy by launching a plan to reduce livestock herds by up to 50 percent, and reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizers by 30 percent. No matter how much they talk about “innovation” and “new technologies,” you can’t reduce your herds and reduce your use of fertilizer and then claim that your farms will be “more productive.” That’s a lie. All of their “innovations” will translate directly into less food on tables throughout the world.

Prepare now for famine. Stocking your pantry up is a short-term easy fix. We also need to be thinking long-term. If you’ve never grown a garden or raised chickens, that’s something you might want to think about in terms of increasing your skills. Maybe you’ve grown a garden for several years and have some experience, and you can share that with a neighbor who has raised chickens but has little or no gardening experience. Networking and cooperating with the people around us will be the key to survival once this global famine intensifies.

It may be that the actual famine never arrives in the wealthiest countries like America. Food may continue to be on the shelves, but I can guarantee that prices will continue to go up, substantially, on staple items like flour, bread, eggs, meat and dairy.

Pray for the best while preparing for the worst. Because we know that the globalists’ plan is to reduce the world population from 7.5 billion down to 1 or 2 billion. Dennis Meadows let the cat out of the bag and he’s a globalist insider at the Club of Rome whose engagement on this topic goes back to the early 1970s.

Stay strong. Stay peaceful. Never comply. Never submit to any unconstitutional or unbiblical law. Tyrants only have power over those who agree to be governed by them.

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Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War 

Leo Hohmann is an independent author, researcher, writer.

Featured image is from the author