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In Kenya, a law was passed in 2012 that prohibits farmers’ rights to save, share, exchange or sell unregistered seeds. Farmers could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to 1 million Kenyan shillings (equivalent to nearly four years’ wages for a farmer).  

However, in 2022, Kenyan smallholder farmers launched a legal case against the government calling for reform of the 2012 seed law to stop criminalising them for sharing seeds. There is a hearing scheduled for 24 July 2024.  

Agroecologist and environmentalist Claire Nasike Akello says that, in legal terms, the sharing and selling of indigenous seeds is a criminal offence in Kenya. In effect, Kenya’s Seed and Plant Varieties Act demolishes self-sufficiency among smallholder farmers who use indigenous seeds to grow food.  

Writing on her website, she says that the legislation seeks to create a dependency on multinational companies by smallholder farmers for seeds thus giving an upper hand to these firms that continue to steal biological resources from local communities with a profit-driven mindset.  

It is, in effect: 

“A move designed to impoverish smallholder farmers and lock them out of farming.”  

Gates, Rockefeller and Big Agribusiness 

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) initiative, funded by the Gates and Rockefeller Foundations, has been intervening directly in the formulation of African governments’ agricultural policies on issues like seeds and land, opening up African markets to US agribusiness.  

Around 80% of Africa’s seed supply comes from millions of small-scale farmers recycling and exchanging seed from year to year. But AGRA is supporting the introduction of commercial (chemical-dependent) seed systems, enabling a few large companies to control seed research and development, production and distribution. 

Since the 1990s, national seed law reviews have taken place, sponsored by USAID and the G8 along with Gates and others, opening the door to multinational corporations’ involvement in seed production. 

Regulations and ‘seed certification’ laws are often brought in by governments on behalf of industry that are designed to eradicate traditional seeds by allowing only ‘stable’, ‘uniform’ and ‘novel’ seeds on the market (meaning corporate seeds). These are the only ‘regulated’ seeds allowed: registered and certified. It is a cynical way of eradicating indigenous farming practices at the behest of corporations. 

Thousands of seed varieties have been lost and corporate seeds have increasingly dominated agriculture as peasant farmers have been prevented from freely improving, sharing or replanting their traditional seeds. It amounts to the privatisation of a common heritage. The privatisation and appropriation of inter-generational farmer knowledge embodied by seeds whose germplasm is ‘tweaked’ and stolen by corporations who then claim ownership.  

Seed has been central to agriculture for 10,000 years. Seeds have been handed down from generation to generation. Peasant farmers have been the custodians of seeds, knowledge and land. 

The corporate control over seeds is also an attack on the survival of communities and their traditions. Seeds are integral to identities because, in rural communities, people’s lives have been tied to planting, harvesting, seeds, soil and the seasons for thousands of years. 

The privatisation of seeds is a global issue, of course. In Costa Rica, for example, the battle to overturn restrictions on seeds was lost with the signing of a free trade agreement with the US, although this flouted the country’s seed biodiversity laws. 

Seed laws in Brazil created a corporate property regime for seeds which effectively marginalised all indigenous seeds that were locally adapted over generations. This regime attempted to stop farmers from using or breeding their own seeds. 

What we are seeing is a drive towards the corporate commodification of knowledge and seeds, the erosion of farmers’ environmental learning, the undermining of traditional knowledge systems and an increase in farmers’ dependency on corporations. 

Such dispossession and dependency are sold by Gates and the agribusiness sector as meeting the needs of modern agriculture. What it really means is a system adapted to meet the demands of global agri-capital, institutional investors like BlackRock and corporate-controlled international markets and supply chains.  

Meanwhile these vested interests try to depict Africa as a basket case in need of ‘intervention’.  

Some of the Indigenous seeds stored at seed bank. (Source: Greenpeace)

It’s a convenient smokescreen that diverts attention from the political economy of food and agriculture, not least how contrived debt traps and predatory lending practices led African nations into succumbing to ‘structural adjustment’ programmes, turning the continent from being a net food exporter into a net food importer, undermining indigenous crop diversity and, with it, food security and food sovereignty.  

Prof Walden Bello and John Feffer argue that, in this respect, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are key to understanding the processes involved in destroying African agriculture. Neoliberal shock therapy left poor African farmers more food insecure and governments reliant on unpredictable aid flows.  

Bello and Feffer argue that the social consequences of structural adjustment cum agricultural dumping were predictable: 

“… the number of Africans living on less than a dollar a day more than doubled to 313 million people between 1981 and 2001 – or 46% of the whole continent. The role of structural adjustment in creating poverty, as well as severely weakening the continent’s agricultural base and consolidating import dependency, was hard to deny.” 

And now we have AGRA stepping in to apparently save the day. But what we have seen thus far with that initiative is more of the same: according to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, AGRA is failing Africa’s farmers 

World Bank and the Seeds of Neocolonialism   

The UN FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) estimates that globally just 20 cultivated plant species account for 90% of all the plant-based food consumed by humans.  

In addition to this narrow genetic base putting global food security at serious risk, Graham Gordon, head of policy at the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), also says that small-scale agriculture is central in reducing extreme poverty, since 80 per cent of people living below the global poverty line are based in rural areas, and the vast majority of these depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. 

Farmers have been growing crops and selecting seeds from the plants that grow best in their fields for thousands of years. Gordon notes that this ‘farmer seed system’ or the ‘informal’ seed sector has contributed to a nutritious and diverse household diet. 

However, this farmer seed system exists alongside the commercial seed system. Hybrid seeds are usually developed by large agricultural companies for commercial purposes, are often dependent on artificial fertilisers and, as already noted, are protected through patents, backed by seed certification legislation. 

Indeed, CAFOD’s 2023 report ‘Sowing the Seeds of Poverty: How the World Bank Harms Poor Farmers’ describes how the farmer seed system is systematically being undermined by the concentration of power held by large-scale agribusiness and the promotion of the industrial agricultural model. 

Gordon notes that seed markets are highly concentrated, with Bayer, Corteva, BASF and ChemChina/Syngenta controlling more than 50 per cent of the global commercial seed market. These same four companies also control more than 60 per cent of global agrochemical sales. 

Gordon says: 

“Using their monopolies, these companies concentrate on producing seeds for crops with large markets – mainly staples such as maize, wheat, soy and rice. This is having devastating impacts on crop diversity. Of the more than 6,000 edible plant species that we have cultivated over centuries, just nine crops now account for more than 65 per cent of all crop production. This has led to increased prices, and has significantly reduced farmers’ choice, and the resilience of farmers to shocks such as climate change.” 

CAFOD found that the World Bank promotes the interests of global agribusiness and intensified industrial agriculture by linking subsidies to farmers buying hybrid seeds and corresponding chemical fertilisers and requiring the implementation of seed certification laws that limit small farmers’ ability to grow, save, share and sell seeds. 

The solution is to shift funding away from industrial agriculture and abandon notions of a Green Revolution for Africa in favour of prioritising small-scale farmers, agroecology, and public investment in farmers’ seed systems to improve nutrition, increase food diversity and strengthen rural communities and local economies. 

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Renowned author Colin Todhunter specialises in development, food and agriculture. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).

Featured image: Stella Muthama, an ecological farmer © Greenpeace

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Food, Dispossession and Dependency. Resisting the New World Order

We are currently seeing an acceleration of the corporate consolidation of the entire global agri-food chain. The high-tech/big data conglomerates, including Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook and Google, have joined traditional agribusiness giants, such as Corteva, Bayer, Cargill and Syngenta, in a quest to impose their model of food and agriculture on the world.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also involved (documented in ‘Gates to a Global Empire‘ by Navdanya International), whether through buying up huge tracts of farmland, promoting a much-heralded (but failed) ‘green revolution’ for Africa, pushing biosynthetic food and genetic engineering technologies or more generally facilitating the aims of the mega agri-food corporations.

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In the dystopian West, 2+2=5.

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the Lie remains the Truth.

And this is convenient, because when the Lie is the Truth, permanent war and genocide can continue unabated.

When Westerners refuse to believe direct on-the-ground evidence about the Israeli genocide of Palestinians, then their governments can continue to supply assistance of all kinds, including 2,000 pound neighbourhood-destroying bombs.

When the international community believes that it is about self-defense or October 7 or Hamas or all of the above, the denial of reality is further reinforced.

The reality, as explained by UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied territories, Francesca Albanese, is that Western-supported Israel seeks “to rid Palestine of Palestinians in defiance of International Law, and the world’s failure to call Israel to account that has led to genocide laid bare in Gaza.” (1)

And what does she mean by “genocide laid bare”? A recent report by Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda, in Gaza, lays bare the on-going genocide with the example of Zionists evacuating areas in the East and North, herding them to the South and West, only to bomb them in Western areas where they had been relocated.

As long as reality is denied, and 2+2 =5, Western-supported Israel’s exceptionalism, its impunity, its war crimes, and its genocide will continue unabated.

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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.

Note

(1) Video: “Genocide ‘laid bare’ in Gaza/ By UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese. (Genocide “laid bare” in Gaza/ By UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese – Mark Taliano (marktanliano.net)) Accessed 10 July, 2024.

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“The biggest mistake I see is people waiting for A Big Sign that’ll tell them that things have gone too far. One Big Thing that police or lawmakers or the president/leaders will do that will cross the line. It’ll never come because they won’t cross it. They’ll move the line. That line you think you stand behind is shifting everyday with little actions, bills, legislations… That line will stop moving one day, & it’ll be too late… Every day, your sensitivity is being eroded by these willful atrocities. The envelope for what you’ll accept is being pushed. One day, all of these things will be your new normal.”—Nigerian writer Suyi Davies Okungbowa

The U.S. government is working to re-shape the country in the image of a totalitarian state.

This has remained true over the past 50-plus years no matter which political party held office.

This will remain true no matter who wins the 2024 presidential election.

In the midst of the partisan furor over Project 2025, a 920-page roadmap for how to re-fashion the government to favor so-called conservative causes, both the Right and the Left have proven themselves woefully naive about the dangers posed by the power-hungry Deep State.

Yet we must never lose sight of the fact that both the Right and the Left and their various operatives are extensions of the Deep State, which continues to wage psychological warfare on the American people.

Psychological warfare, according to the Rand Corporation, “involves the planned use of propaganda and other psychological operations to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of opposition groups.”

For years now, the government has been bombarding the citizenry with propaganda campaigns and psychological operations aimed at keeping us compliant, easily controlled and supportive of the government’s various efforts abroad and domestically.

The government is so confident in its Orwellian powers of manipulation that it’s taken to bragging about them. For example, in 2022, the U.S. Army’s 4th Psychological Operations Group, the branch of the military responsible for psychological warfare, released a recruiting video that touts its efforts to pull the strings, turn everything they touch into a weapon, be everywhere, deceive, persuade, change, influence, and inspire.

“Have you ever wondered who’s pulling the strings?” the psyops video posits. “Anything we touch is a weapon. We can deceive, persuade, change, influence, inspire. We come in many forms. We are everywhere.”

This is the danger that lurks in plain sight.

Of the many weapons in the government’s vast arsenal, psychological warfare may be the most devastating in terms of the long-term consequences.

As the military journal Task and Purpose explains, “Psychological warfare is all about influencing governments, people of power, and everyday citizens.”

Mind you, these psyops (psychological operations) campaigns aren’t only aimed at foreign enemies. The government has made clear in word and deed that “we the people” are domestic enemies to be targeted, tracked, manipulated, micromanaged, surveilled, viewed as suspects, and treated as if our fundamental rights are mere privileges that can be easily discarded.

This is what is referred to as “apple-pie propaganda.”

Aided and abetted by technological advances and scientific experimentation, the government has been subjecting the American people to “apple-pie propaganda” for the better part of the last century.

Consider some of the ways in which the government continues to wage psychological warfare on a largely unsuspecting citizenry in order to acclimate us to the Deep State’s totalitarian agenda.

Weaponizing violence in order to institute martial law. With alarming regularity, the nation continues to be subjected to spates of violence that terrorizes the public, destabilizes the country’s ecosystem, and gives the government greater justifications to crack down, lock down, and institute even more authoritarian policies for the so-called sake of national security without many objections from the citizenry.

Weaponizing surveillance, pre-crime and pre-thought campaigns. Surveillance, digital stalking and the data mining of the American people add up to a society in which there’s little room for indiscretions, imperfections, or acts of independence. When the government sees all and knows all and has an abundance of laws to render even the most seemingly upstanding citizen a criminal and lawbreaker, then the old adage that you’ve got nothing to worry about if you’ve got nothing to hide no longer applies. Add pre-crime programs into the mix with government agencies and corporations working in tandem to determine who is a potential danger and spin a sticky spider-web of threat assessments, behavioral sensing warnings, flagged “words,” and “suspicious” activity reports using automated eyes and ears, social media, behavior sensing software, and citizen spies, and you having the makings for a perfect dystopian nightmare. The government’s war on crime has now veered into the realm of social media and technological entrapment, with government agents adopting fake social media identities and AI-created profile pictures in order to surveil, target and capture potential suspects.

Weaponizing digital currencies, social media scores and censorship. Tech giants, working with the government, have been meting out their own version of social justice by way of digital tyranny and corporate censorship, muzzling whomever they want, whenever they want, on whatever pretext they want in the absence of any real due process, review or appeal. Unfortunately, digital censorship is just the beginning. Digital currencies (which can be used as “a tool for government surveillance of citizens and control over their financial transactions”), combined with social media scores and surveillance capitalism create a litmus test to determine who is worthy enough to be part of society and punish individuals for moral lapses and social transgressions (and reward them for adhering to government-sanctioned behavior). In China, millions of individuals and businesses, blacklisted as “unworthy” based on social media credit scores that grade them based on whether they are “good” citizens, have been banned from accessing financial markets, buying real estate or travelling by air or train.

Weaponizing compliance. Even the most well-intentioned government law or program can be—and has been—perverted, corrupted and used to advance illegitimate purposes once profit and power are added to the equation. The war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on COVID-19, the war on illegal immigration, asset forfeiture schemes, road safety schemes, school safety schemes, eminent domain: all of these programs started out as legitimate responses to pressing concerns and have since become weapons of compliance and control in the police state’s hands.

Weaponizing entertainment. For the past century, the Department of Defense’s Entertainment Media Office has provided Hollywood with equipment, personnel and technical expertise at taxpayer expense. In exchange, the military industrial complex has gotten a starring role in such blockbusters as Top Gun and its rebooted sequel Top Gun: Maverick, which translates to free advertising for the war hawks, recruitment of foot soldiers for the military empire, patriotic fervor by the taxpayers who have to foot the bill for the nation’s endless wars, and Hollywood visionaries working to churn out dystopian thrillers that make the war machine appear relevant, heroic and necessary. As Elmer Davis, a CBS broadcaster who was appointed the head of the Office of War Information, observed, “The easiest way to inject a propaganda idea into most people’s minds is to let it go through the medium of an entertainment picture when they do not realize that they are being propagandized.”

Weaponizing behavioral science and nudging. Apart from the overt dangers posed by a government that feels justified and empowered to spy on its people and use its ever-expanding arsenal of weapons and technology to monitor and control them, there’s also the covert dangers associated with a government empowered to use these same technologies to influence behaviors en masse and control the populace. In fact, it was President Obama who issued an executive order directing federal agencies to use “behavioral science” methods to minimize bureaucracy and influence the way people respond to government programs. It’s a short hop, skip and a jump from a behavioral program that tries to influence how people respond to paperwork to a government program that tries to shape the public’s views about other, more consequential matters. Thus, increasingly, governments around the world—including in the United States—are relying on “nudge units” to steer citizens in the direction the powers-that-be want them to go, while preserving the appearance of free will.

Weaponizing desensitization campaigns aimed at lulling us into a false sense of security. The events of recent years—the invasive surveillance, the extremism reports, the civil unrest, the protests, the shootings, the bombings, the military exercises and active shooter drills, the lockdowns, the color-coded alerts and threat assessments, the fusion centers, the transformation of local police into extensions of the military, the distribution of military equipment and weapons to local police forces, the government databases containing the names of dissidents and potential troublemakers—have conspired to acclimate the populace to accept a police state willingly, even gratefully.

Weaponizing politics. The language of fear is spoken effectively by politicians on both sides of the aisle, shouted by media pundits from their cable TV pulpits, marketed by corporations, and codified into bureaucratic laws that do little to make our lives safer or more secure. Fear, as history shows, is the method most often used by politicians to increase the power of government and control a populace, dividing the people into factions, and persuading them to see each other as the enemy. This Machiavellian scheme has so ensnared the nation that few Americans even realize they are being manipulated into adopting an “us” against “them” mindset. Instead, fueled with fear and loathing for phantom opponents, they agree to pour millions of dollars and resources into political elections, militarized police, spy technology and endless wars, hoping for a guarantee of safety that never comes. All the while, those in power—bought and paid for by lobbyists and corporations—move their costly agendas forward, and “we the suckers” get saddled with the tax bills and subjected to pat downs, police raids and round-the-clock surveillance.

Weaponizing genetics. Not only does fear grease the wheels of the transition to fascism by cultivating fearful, controlled, pacified, cowed citizens, but it also embeds itself in our very DNA so that we pass on our fear and compliance to our offspring. It’s called epigenetic inheritance, the transmission through DNA of traumatic experiences. For example, neuroscientists observed that fear can travel through generations of mice DNA. As The Washington Post reports, “Studies on humans suggest that children and grandchildren may have felt the epigenetic impact of such traumatic events such as famine, the Holocaust and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.”

Weaponizing the dystopian future. With greater frequency, the government has been issuing warnings about the dire need to prepare for the dystopian future that awaits us. For instance, the Pentagon training video, “Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity,” predicts that by 2030 (coincidentally, the same year that society begins to achieve singularity with the metaverse) the military would be called on to use armed forces to solve future domestic political and social problems. What they’re really talking about is martial law, packaged as a well-meaning and overriding concern for the nation’s security. The chilling five-minute training video paints an ominous picture of the future bedeviled by “criminal networks,” “substandard infrastructure,” “religious and ethnic tensions,” “impoverishment, slums,” “open landfills, over-burdened sewers,” a “growing mass of unemployed,” and an urban landscape in which the prosperous economic elite must be protected from the impoverishment of the have nots. “We the people” are the have-nots.

The end goal of these mind control campaigns—packaged in the guise of the greater good—is to see how far the American people will allow the government to go in undermining our freedoms.

The facts speak for themselves.

Whatever else it may be—a danger, a menace, a threat—the U.S. government is certainly not looking out for our best interests, nor is it in any way a friend to freedom.

When the government views itself as superior to the citizenry, when it no longer operates for the benefit of the people, when the people are no longer able to peacefully reform their government, when government officials cease to act like public servants, when elected officials no longer represent the will of the people, when the government routinely violates the rights of the people and perpetrates more violence against the citizenry than the criminal class, when government spending is unaccountable and unaccounted for, when the judiciary act as courts of order rather than justice, and when the government is no longer bound by the laws of the Constitution, then you no longer have a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.”

What we have, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, is a government of wolves.

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This article was originally published on The Rutherford Institute.

Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at [email protected].

Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.

They are regular contributors to Global Research.

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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The dishonour board is long.  Advisors from Australia, account chasing electoral strategists, former Australian cabinet ministers happy to draw earnings in British pounds.  British Conservative politicians keen to mimic their cruel advice, notably on such acid topics as immigration and the fear of porous borders.

Ghastly terminology used in Australian elections rhetorically repurposed for the British voter: “Turning the Back Boats”, the “Rwanda Solution”.  Grisly figures such as Boris Johnson, Priti Patel, Suella Braverman, Rishi Sunak, showing an atavistic indifference to human rights.  The cruelty and the cockups, the failures and the foul-ups.  Mock the judges, mock the courts.  Soil human dignity.

All this, to culminate in the end of the Rwanda Solution, declared by the new Labour Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, as “dead and buried before it even started”.  Yet it was a sadistic policy of beastly proportion, offering no prospect of genuine discouragement or deterrence to new arrivals, stillborn in execution and engineered to indulge a nasty streak in the electorate.

In April 2022, the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced the Asylum Partnership Arrangement with Rwanda, ostensibly designed “to contribute to the prevention and combating of illegally facilitated and unlawful cross border migration by establishing a bilateral asylum partnership”.

Mysteriously, British officials suddenly found Rwanda an appropriate destination for processing asylum claims and resettling refugees, despite Kigali doing its bit to swell the ranks of potential refugees.  In June 2023, the UK Court of Appeal noted the risks presented to asylum seekers, notably from ill-treatment and torture, arguing that the British government would be in breach of the European Convention on Human rights in sending them into Kigali’s clutches.  In November that year, the Supreme Court reached the same conclusion.

These legal rulings did not deter the government of Rishi Sunak.  With lexical sophistry bordering on the criminal, the Safety of Rwanda bill was drafted to repudiate what the UK courts had found by denying officials and the judiciary any reference to the European Convention of Human Rights and the UK’s own Human Rights Act 1998 when considering asylum claims.

The bookkeeping aspect of the endeavour was also astonishing.  It envisaged the payment of some half a billion pounds to Kigali in exchange for asylum seekers.  The breakdown of costs, not to mention the very plan itself, beggared belief.  The Home Office would initially pay £370 million under the Economic Transformation and Integration Fund, followed by a further £20,000 for every relocated individual.  Once the risibly magic number of 300 people had been reached, a further £120 million would follow.

Operational costs for each individual kept in Rwanda would amount to £150,874 over the course of five years, ceasing in the event a person wished to leave Rwanda, in which case the Home Office would pay £10,000 to assist in the move.

With biting irony, the UK government had demonstrated to Rwanda that it could replace the supposedly vile market of people smuggling in Europe with a lucrative market effectively monetising asylum seekers and refugees in exchange of pledges of development.

By February 2024, according to the National Audit Office, the UK had paid £220 million to Rwanda, with a promise of another £50 million each year over three years.  It was a superb return for Kigali, given that no asylum seekers from the UK had set foot in the country.  When asked at the time why he was hungrily gobbling up the finance, Paul Kagame feigned serenity.

“It’s only going to be used if those people will come.  If they don’t come, we can return the money.”

With an airy contemptuousness, the Kagame government has refused to return any of the monies received in anticipation of the policy’s full execution.  Doris Uwicyeza Picard, the central figure coordinating the migration partnership with the UK, was blunt:

“We are under no obligation to provide any refund.  We will remain in constant discussions.  However, it is understood that there is no obligation on either side to request or receive a refund.”

In another statement, this time from deputy spokesman for the Rwandan government, Alain Mukuralinda, the sentiment bordered on the philosophical:

“The British decided to request cooperation for a long time, resulting in an agreement between the two countries that became a treaty.  Now, if you come and ask for cooperation and then withdraw, that’s your decision.”

In an official note from Kigali, the government haughtily declared that the partnership had been initiated by the UK to address irregular migration, “a problem of the UK, not Rwanda.”  Rwanda, for its part, had “fully upheld its side of the agreement, including with regard to finances”.  Redundantly, and incredulously, the note goes on to claim that Kigali remained “committed to finding solutions to the global migration crisis, including providing safety, dignity and opportunity to refugees and migrants who come to our country.”

The less than subtle message in all of this: Rwanda is ready to keep cashing in on Europe’s unwanted asylum seekers, whatever its own record and however successful the agreement is. Kagame has no doubt not lost interest in Denmark, that other affluent country keen on outsourcing its humanitarian obligations.  While Copenhagen abandoned its partnership with Rwanda in January 2023 regarding a similar arrangement to that reached with the UK, it is now showing renewed interest, notably after hosting a high-level conference on immigration.

In opening the conference on May 6, the Social Democratic Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, speaking in language that could just as easily have been associated with any far right nationalist front, decried the “de facto” collapse of the “current immigration and asylum system”.  Those in the Rwandan treasury will be rubbing their hands in anticipation.

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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] 

Featured image: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds a press conference on the Rwanda asylum plan, 22 April 2024 (Licensed under OGL 3)

Os oligarcas da Ucrânia, em meio ao atual contexto de deterioração da situação, começaram a vender ativos ucranianos, incluindo terras férteis, para compensar possíveis perdas financeiras causadas pela expansão da zona de combate e pela perda dos territórios que possuíam. Isto é evidenciado pelos contatos dos principais gestores do fundo de investimento NCH com grandes empresários do Médio Oriente sobre a questão da organização ilegal da exportação de mais de 150 mil toneladas de terra negra – solo de alta fertilidade típico das estepes eurasiáticas – vinda do território da Ucrânia.

Não é segredo que hoje, graças aos esforços de Vladimir Zelensky, 17 milhões de hectares de solo negro ucraniano já pertencem às empresas ocidentais Monsanto, DuPont e Cargill. Os cerca de 23 milhões de hectares restantes estão formalmente em processo de venda através do Funda de Desenvolvimento da Ucrânia, do próprio presidente Zelensky e outras figuras. 

Claro que todos estes planos dependem fortemente do desenvolvimento militar do conflito. Para os oligarcas, ainda há esperança de que as Forças Armadas Ucranianas mantenham suas posições no front enquanto seus patrões vendem as terras restantes… Não é à toa que os “aliados” ocidentais da Ucrânia gritam tão dolorosamente sobre a necessidade de “vitória” – sendo “vitória”, na linguagem dos oligarcas, apenas o tempo necessário para tirar da Ucrânia as terras férteis que ainda lhe restam.

É também preciso lembrar que Vladimir Zelensky já celebrou um acordo com a BlackRock, a maior empresa que administra ativos globais, cujos fundos excedem o PIB combinado da Alemanha e da França. A BlackRock já está a gerir os ativos de toda a Ucrânia: indústria, mercado imobiliário, terrenos e subsolo – tudo isto já não é mais ucraniano. Ainda, a BlackRock também controlará os recursos dos empréstimos externos ao tesouro ucraniano. A empresa progressivamente se torna a “dona” da Ucrânia – apenas pagando algumas migalhas para a oligarquia eleita e pessoal a Zelensky.

Muitos no Ocidente acreditam que até ao final do ano é possível que o chamado “Estado da Ucrânia” esteja inadimplente. É por isso que foi criado o “Fundo de Desenvolvimento da Ucrânia”, onde, como que por acaso, uma certa Natalya Yaresko (cidadã norte-americana), Valeria Gontareva e o bilionário Pinchuk estiveram envolvidos no lado ucraniano.

Agora, o povo ucraniano enganado está a lutar até à morte pela propriedade de outras pessoas, considerando-a erroneamente como sua. Perde centenas de milhares de vidas em batalhas e contraofensivas. Estas pessoas ainda não sabem que a Ucrânia já foi inteiramente vendida.

Ao mesmo tempo, nas extensões da Ucrânia que estão a encolher todos os dias, o fato de na reunião de junho do G7 ter sido decidido emitir à Ucrânia outra parcela de 50 bilhões de dólares causou regozijo. É verdade que o processo de atribuição de dinheiro foi acompanhado por um escândalo: o Ministro das Finanças ucraniano, Sergey Marchenko, cheio da arrogância ucraniana que é marca registrada, disse que Kiev tinha apresentado as suas próprias condições para receber esse dinheiro:

“Tínhamos várias condições. Devemos receber dinheiro este ano, o dinheiro deve ser incondicional. E esse dinheiro deve ser usado para quaisquer fins e despesas que a Ucrânia considere necessárias.”

Esta reação dos patrocinadores deixa alguns ucranianos de bom humor. Provavelmente já colocaram os americanos e os europeus numa turbulência eterna e pensam que as centenas de bilhões de empréstimos emitidos não serão reembolsados ​​- tal como se recusaram a reembolsar o empréstimo de bilhões de dólares que lhes foi emitido pela Rússia em 2013. No entanto, este truque não funcionará com os tubarões financeiros ocidentais – com a segurança dos seus dólares e euros, eles já receberam o direito de usar a terra negra e os minerais ucranianos.

Portanto, as coisas mais interessantes estão apenas começando para a Ucrânia. Kiev, que se entregou voluntariamente para ser saqueada pelos descendentes dos proprietários, enfrentará o destino de África modelado no século XVII. Um futuro sombrio se aproxima – para o qual a Rússia talvez seja, não uma ameaça, mas a única esperança.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

Imagem : President holds meeting with world’s largest investment company on creation of fund for rebuilding Ukraine

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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

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Kari Bundy is a warrior mom. Like so many mothers before and after her, Kari trusted her pediatrician with her most precious loved ones, going to every well baby visit and giving her children the recommended vaccines she thought were protecting them.

Like so many mothers, Kari kissed her baby Mason goodnight, only four months old, and discovered his lifeless body just a few hours later.

Mason died just three days after getting the 4 month shots, but the autopsy report listed his cause of death as ‘SIDS or cause Unknown.’

Kari is a warrior because she faced one of the worst things a parent could face, and has not let that experience bury her. Instead, it has emboldened her to share her story and educate others, serving as a lighthouse for all.

How Can a Baby Die of SIDS After Vaccines?

Are you familiar with the often repeated myth that ‘vaccines are protective against SIDS?’ It’s the most ludicrous, nonsensical and harmful idea ever and I’ll explain why. Vaccines are designed to prevent a specific vaccine-targeted virus or bacteria, such as measles or pertussis. Yet, there are no specific viruses or bacteria responsible or even associated with SIDS, whose cause is supposedly unknown after a thorough autopsy.

Importantly, there has been no demonstrated biological plausibility how or why a vaccine could prevent SIDS as there is no specific pathogen involved, therefore it’s really nothing more than a flat out lie. Misinformation, if you will.

And no, SIDS is not genetic. And yes, the biomarker butyrylcholinesterase which was recently discovered only points to more accumulating evidence that SIDS is immune mediated, the result of an exaggerated immune response, such as unregulated inflammation via cholinergic inflammatory pathways, and a permeable blood-brain barrier, and the likely trigger for most infants appears to be the many vaccines given at the two-, four- and six-month visits, but also at the one year and 15-18 month visits. Certain exposures can increase ones risk, such as nicotine (causes abnormalities to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors) and non-supine sleeping position (altered vagal activity).

If colds or viruses are implicated, we would not have such focused clustering around the times of immunization, as colds happen irrespective of age and the vaccine schedule.

How Did Studies Produce Data That Said Vaccines Reduce SIDS Risk?

The results from the observational studies where they came to this conclusion that ‘vaccines are associated with a halving of the risk of SIDS’ has more to do with an idea called Healthy Vaccinee Effect. The studies couldn’t prove that vaccines actually reduced one’s risk of SIDS, as none of the ‘healthy living controls’ ever died of SIDS, nor were they at risk of SIDS.

Healthy Vaccinee Effect is a bias where babies who are healthier are more likely to be vaccinated than babies who are less healthy. So in this case, babies who died of SIDS tended to be less healthy, premature, lower socioeconomic, formula fed, compared to the babies in the study who served as their controls, the living babies, which explains why when taken as a group the SIDS infants were vaccinated slightly less often than controls. It doesn’t mean that vaccines would or could have prevented their death. It simply means that the healthy living infants had a lot of reasons why they were healthy, and they also happen to be vaccinated more often due to those reasons.

In this case, being healthy is a confounder: being healthy is associated with a lower risk of early death, and also being in a healthy state makes one more eligible for vaccination. This is a healthy bias.

One popular meta-analysis (pictured above) even mentions that healthy vaccinee effect is a likely explanation for why it appeared that the living infants, who were much healthier and had a better lifestyle, had a higher rate of vaccination. They weren’t healthy because of the vaccinations, they had better overall caregiving, which created a healthier baby, who is then also vaccinated more often.

That is not to say that every SIDS baby had subpar caregiving–in fact most of them were well-cared for. But from the studies of these particular time periods, it was clear that there were several key differences (or confounding variables) between the SIDS cases and controls, and it wasn’t just their vaccination status.

Well before I ever knew a thing about vaccines, I instinctively knew the timing of SIDS peak months (2-4 months) and the vaccine schedule (2 and 4 months) was more than just a coincidental correlation.

After digging deeply into the data, there is absolutely a causal relationship to be discerned, which was masked by the inclusion of low socioeconomic, socially deprived infants who were unwell prior to death and died prior to 2 months of age (therefore were unvaccinated by default, not choice). Obviously a vaccine couldn’t prevent deaths retroactively! But that is actually what the study suggests.

Why Are Nearly All SIDS Deaths Today After Vaccines?

Nowadays, nearly all infants are vaccinated at birth. We were told vaccines would reduce the deaths, but here we are, today all infants are vaccinated and SUID rates haven’t changed since the late 1990s, after they removed the DPT vaccine from the market.

Are there any unvaccinated babies who die in this day and age where babies get so many vaccines? If there are any mothers out there with babies who died suddenly and unexpectedly and are completely unvaccinated, please reach out to me. I don’t doubt there are other causes of SIDS but these would be even more rare, like this case report of an infant who died of SIDS after a pesticide exposure, and a 1990s case series that found specific pesticides increased risk of SIDS; they were banned in 1999 around the time that SUIDS rates plateaued.

What Happened to Baby Mason?

Mason was born on October 22, 2010 at 35 weeks gestation. Despite being small, he was perfectly healthy and had no NICU stay. Mason was not given the hepatitis B vaccine at the hospital because Kari declined that one. Progressing normally and healthily, he received vaccines at the 2 month well baby visit, and developed colic afterwards.

Two weeks before his routine 4 month well baby appointment, Mason came down with RSV and was hospitalized for one night. He was discharged the next day and recovered well or uneventfully.

When it was time for the 4 month appointment, his mother Kari asked the doctor to delay the vaccines since he had just gotten over an infection. But the pediatrician pushed back, and told her point blank: “If you don’t give your son this shot, pertussis will kill this baby.”

She did what many mothers in her situation do: she gave in, despite what her intuition was telling her.

So on March 1, Mason got the vaccinations recommended at the 4 month appointment.

On March 4, baby Mason was put down to bed like any other night. But a few hours later when Kari went to check on him, he was unresponsive. He was gone.

His official diagnosis was ‘SIDS or cause Unknown.’

Some of the findings from the autopsy suggest baby Mason experienced a cytokine stormwhich lead to his death. A cytokine storm is an excessive and uncontrolled immune system response involving the release of a large number of cytokines, which are signaling molecules or proteins that regulate immune responses. When the immune system becomes dysregulated and overreacts, it can lead to a cytokine storm, which can have severe and potentially life-threatening consequences.

Click to watch this video with Mason’s mother Kari share her and Mason’s story with Children’s Health Defense:

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Our thanks to Dr. William Makis for bringing this to our attention.

All images in this article are from the author

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Sep. 12, 2011 by Megan

Meet my son Josh. He was SO wanted. After over a year and a half of trying we finally got the little bug. A funny day of my appointment on Dec 20th 2005 — The Dr. said my water was low and we would be having a baby today! I was induced that day and he waited until 12:34 a.m. to come out so I could have my Dec. 21^st baby!! (We have our birthdays a week apart, Hubby – Dec 7th, Me Dec – 14th, Josh – Dec 21st and 7 weeks later is my older son’s Feb 8th. Cool right?! )  I had NO clue about that first Hepatitis B shot they give your kids in hospital. This was also before I realized what happened to many kids who get shots.

This is Josh PRE-shot injury.. Perfect in every way!!!

His first shot, Hep B, was given in the hospital without my consent- NON-STOP crying.

This is my bug after we got home. Those days were not fun. He did not sleep unless you held him and he would “scream” cry. He was very fussy and seemed to have a reddish face. I am guessing a rash from his vaccine. His legs were hot and he had a HUGE bump under his arm. Like a dummy I gave him Tylenol. I know how that was SO NOT good… poor bug.

I hate pacifiers… They SUCK… (no pun) but Josh was just very restless. He nursed but was just not very happy. Even the suckie did not help much.

At 2 months (Feb 2006) Josh went in for checkup.  Like a good mommy I took him in, and shots? Oh heck ya.  A good mommy gets her child shots (right?). She wants him to be healthy. Josh now is NOT SLEEPING even more. I have learned that my black lazy boy rocker is not too hard to sleep in (after you get used to it).  I had a friend then I used to talk to during the long, sleepless nights. She was awake at 1, 2 or 4 AM etc., and I am so grateful I had somebody to talk to!!

I soon began noticing he wouldn’t respond to sounds.  I even did the old pan and spoon trick… nothing.  You could talk to him but he wouldn’t look at you, he only avoided eye contact.  That sucks because he has the most wonderful eyes! Grey, and I love to look at them. His newborn test for hearing was ok.  March 13, 2006 hearing test was ok.  We even did another hearing test on November 14, 2007 and tested fine but with us he still didn’t  respond to sounds and we are left asking ourselves if he can really hear.

What I did not know was my son was having seizures from that set of shots on Feb 21, 2006. The Dr. said it was not a seizure.  The doctor’s explanation for Josh’s behaviors was that Josh was drinking cold milk (Um… I’m nursing? Impossible.), then he said it was a draft, or I’m just being too nervous. Anything but a seizure. We ended up firing her.

It was not all Hell at our house.  We did have a few moments of good, just NEVER sleep. Josh simply didn’t sleep. At times he was up 3 days at a time.  He would nap if I held him.  Later on we found out he has Sensory Processing Disorder.

At 4 months old (4/24/06), Josh received Hib b, IPV, DTaP, and Pneumococcal conj (6 different vaccines).  After the shots he was very fussy and he seemed to be shaking his head more than usual.  He looked red again on his cheeks and had a high temperature.   He was not my son. He was lost. I could tell that already. This should have told me something but I was getting ZERO sleep.  My husband was working nights so I had stay downstairs during the day and keep quiet and at night I had to keep quiet so my older son could sleep for school and Josh was SO fussy.  My life was a wreck.

Little did I know my life would get worse…

At his 6 month well-baby check-up I told the doctor Josh was having issues with head shaking and his eyes rolling back in his head. They did an EEG so his shots were delayed, THANK GOD! We were able to go home shot-free.

In the days after the EEG his head stopped doing the shaking thing and he seemed ok. The Dr. said he needed to get his shots.  When the Health Department called I finally went in.  On 6/29/06 he received  IPV, Hib, Hep B, Pneumococcal conj.  No DTaP so let’s see what happens.  Slowly the head shaking, that so far ONLY I had seen, comes back. Everybody thought I was nuts because I wasn’t getting sleep. But I know what I saw and I knew my son was not normal.  But, just after he was 6 months old we went to the fair.  My older son noticed what I had been seeing happen with Josh.  FINALLY somebody saw it happen!

In the next several months, Josh began talking some and had more eye contact.  He even learned to undress himself!  He began driving himself places in his little toy car and he even gave sleep a try! Yep, my bug was finally going places he had not been before.  He was amazing.  He had some words and he even let me know when he was wet. (Wahoo!!!) Everything was great… and then the health dept called again… “YOU need to catch up on that DTAP shot.”

At 11 ½ months old (12/07/06) – DtaP and Influenza.  Immediately Josh’s head started shaking again and it looked like he was just “drugged out” all the time.  He was always tired, but he would stay up ALL night.  It was crazy… back to living in Hell… Judge shows, Animal Planet, and Mountain Dew became my best friends.

Josh was also SICK all the time. He was always on antibiotics for ear infections and would always have to take 2 rounds – and sometimes even another after that of a different kind because the first 2 didn’t work.  It was so sad to see him. He stopped talking as much.  It’s like the words he had learned were gone.

At 14 months old (3/14/07) Josh received the MMR and Pneumococcal conj. Red cheeks again…

At 15 months old (4/16/07), Josh received Varicella, Hep A, and hib b.

At 18 months old (6/18/07), Josh received DTaP.  His words COMPLETELY STOPPED.  It’s like my son is locked up in a box.

On 10/17/07, Josh received his Hep A shot. Where is my son? Where are his words?  It was like he was out in a great big world and lost.

I feel like I let both of my kids down… Brandon was and IS such a good big brother.  Josh was a hand full and in the first 2 years of his life it was HELL.  I aged so much. It was like my son was stuck in a glass box.

These are two pictures from his Birthday and Christmas.  What a bright fun toy!  Doesn’t he just look thrilled (sarcasm)?  ALL of his Birthday and Christmas pictures are like this.

Because of his Sensory Processing Disorder, we had to buy him a weighted blanket and special shoes.  If his shoe came off he was a MESS!  He would hold his foot like it had been cut off.  When he was 18 months old he started therapy, 1 to 3 times a day, Mon thru Fri.  It took so much out of me running from place to place, but we finally got a few words out of him.  Nothing major, though.  He would not let us kiss him, and if we did he wiped it off because of the wet feeling.

In March 2008 I made him a weighted blanket. It was so needed and it helped SO much.  My bug was finally sleeping!!  On Sunday, May 18, 2008, after YEARS of waiting I got my first kiss from Josh! He was kissing me!  And I was in tears.  I asked him, “May I have another?” and he gave me one! He actually understood!!!

On Tuesday, July 15, 2008 we had an appointment with Josh’s doctor… our son has autism. I was in shock. But as days went on I realized –yep… it is not all SPD.  August of 2008 we got a DAN Dr. and a script – NO SHOTS!!

My marriage became really rocky, and it was so hard for us.  We are still together now, but it has been so hard keeping our family together.  I will never ever blame Josh for this… He is and always will be my number 1!  My boys are my world and I love them.  Josh is now 5 1/2. He is in kindergarten and he is learning to read. He loves to sing and has some great friends he loves to play with!

At a dinner with a developmental pediatrician in our town, the Dr. said that shots do not cause autism.  My older son said, “B.S.!” I explained Josh’s issues to him with shots and he told me in Josh’s case it sounds like shots were an issue with his autism. WOW!  He told me that in front of A TON of parents!!  He also said to the group, “If your child has autism they won’t: go to prom, drive a car, have a good job, go to college…”  I was shocked because MY SON WILL do all those things.

My son shows me how amazing he can be. I am finding him – slowly breaking that box he is stuck away in!  He still has to have socks on to sleep and a weighted blanket.  Josh LOVES roller coasters, fun parks, riding horses and painted faces.

Autism WONT stop my Josh. He is amazing.

Here are a few things we do to help him:

MB12 shot about every other day

2 Omega 3-6-9

2 Multi Vitamins

4 DHA

and about 300 kisses a day from me!!!

I am trying to find happy, for me, but this life is hard. I know he will be ok and now to make me ok.  Autism is hard for every member of our family, not just Josh.  I’ll never give up.  He lives in a glass box.  He can see out, I can see in.  I am determined to get him out!

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In the middle of several serious risks and conflicts the safety of our world has been somehow ensured on the basis of certain basic understandings that till recently were well appreciated by almost all of the top leaders and diplomats of the international community. One of the most basic of these understandings is that there should be no direct confrontation between the USA/NATO and Russia. As these two sides have about 11,000 nuclear weapons and supportive systems (as well as other weapons of mass destruction) it has been well understood that any direct confrontation which can also lead to exchange of nuclear weapons is a threat to all life on earth, and therefore must be avoided in all circumstances.

Very unfortunately, confounding all rationality and considerations of safety, in recent years Western and NATO leaders have been steadily acting in violation of this understanding to an alarming extent, and this continues to get worse.

All mature democracies are supposed to have in place in-built mechanisms and institutions of correcting serious mistakes but in the case of this biggest of all dangers these do not appear to have worked at all and do not appear to be working at all.

The result in that in terms of what can lead to a direct confrontation of USA/NATO with Russia, one red line after another has been relentlessly crossed with incredible irresponsibility, imposing unacceptably high risks not just on these countries and regions but on the entire world as the phenomenon of nuclear winter spares no one.

The very fact that several red lines were drawn by prominent establishment leaders and diplomats implies that the dangers relating to these were well understood and established. 

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed a landmark nuclear arms control treaty in 1987. (Photo: White House Photographic Office/National Archives and Records Administration)

To trace the history of these red lines very briefly, at the time of the break-up of the Soviet Union and the unification of Germany, top Western leaders had promised to Gorbachev that NATO would not expand eastwards even an inch. The very fact that such a promise was made implies that the high sensitivity of Russia on this issue was well understood by senior Western leaders and diplomats at that time.

However what actually happened was that over the next several years, in glaring violation of this promise, NATO expanded eastwards relentlessly and for hundreds of miles. In addition weapons and missile systems capable of inflicting great destruction on Russia were installed very close to the Russian border in the territory of new NATO members. This process of relentless eastward expansion was opposed by a very large number of senior western diplomats, academics and experts but to no avail.

In 2008 a new danger point in this escalation appeared when it was announced that NATO membership was open also for Ukraine and Georgia. Again several Western experts and even some prominent leaders warned that this would escalate tensions greatly but again these concerns were ignored.

Image: Viktor Yanukovych 

The next high escalation point came in 2014 when the USA and close allies instigated a coup which led to the ouster of the democratically-elected leadership in Ukraine and its replacement by rulers committed to pursuing anti-Russian policies, a situation that has more or less continued since then.

The new regimes took several policy decisions against ethnic Russian citizens of Ukraine and against those parts of eastern Ukraine where they are more highly concentrated. Several thousand people died in this violence. The Minsk Accords with the mediation of some western countries were supposed to sort out these problems, but could not, as some involved leaders of these Western countries themselves admitted later openly that the accords were only meant to give time to Ukraine to collect arms etc. to prepare better for war. 

As this violence and attacks were intensified in early 2022 and at this point Russia invaded.

Within weeks of the invasion with the mediation of Turkey an effort to achieve ceasefire and peace reached an advanced stage but the USA and its closest ally Britain pulled Ukraine back from the peace settlement at the last stage following a surprise visit of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Ukraine.

The USA had placed several restrictions on arms supply to Ukraine but one after the other these were withdrawn. First it was agreed that M1 Abrams tanks will not be given to Ukraine but later these were provided.

It was first stated that F16 fighter jets will not be provided to Ukraine but later US allies were asked to provide these to Ukraine.

Similar first cluster ammunition were refused but provided later. More important, earlier long-range missiles like ATACMS were denied but provided later.

Earlier permission was not given to Ukraine by the USA to use USA-supplied weapon systems to strike the interior of Russia but later this permission was more or less given, although some conditions may still be attached to this.

The latest debate is on sending US military contractors to Ukraine and there are indications that this is also likely to be finalized soon.

The USA has recently signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with Ukraine. More control has been passed on to NATO by the USA for actions relating to helping the Ukraine war effort in various ways. The NATO leadership is stated to be taking steps to create a bridge to Ukraine’s future membership of NATO.

Image: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to France, 17 June 2019. (Source: President.gov.ua)

Leaders of several other Western countries and NATO member countries have also been making escalatory announcements and provocative statement. French President Macron was the first to say that his country may be willing to send its soldiers to fight in Ukraine.

Clearly this is a very long list of various red lines being crossed one after the other. It appears that President Biden in particular has been extremely hawkish in escalating tensions and confrontation while discouraging early ceasefire and peace.

However there is no doubt that early peace and ceasefire in this war is extremely important for the peace and safety of the world. As there are various contentious issues, the best way forward is to have immediate ceasefire on the basis of the existing line of control, and then to sort out all contentious issues including territorial issues on the basis of peace negotiations which can take their own tome but should not be allowed to break down.

On the other hand if the war continues and the USA/NATO continue to increase their involvement in it in various ways, then it may be only a matter of time when a more direct, a very direct confrontation or war between the NATO/USA and Russia can start with all the risk of this in turn escalating into a life-destroying nuclear war.

What exactly is NATO/USA trying to achieve? Despite all their help and weaponry the Ukraine war effort is in a mess just now. If on the other hand the USA/NATO succeed beyond their wildest hopes in creating a very adverse situation for Russia or an existential crisis, then Russia will use its nuclear weapons and then it will be a war which will burn both sides and the rest of the world with it. It is truly a strange situation. If all the aggressiveness of NATO/USA in siding with Ukraine does not succeed in improving the waning prospects of Ukraine, then Of course the US/NATO efforts are a failure. But if these succeed in a big way to result in a big threat for Russia with advanced weapons inflicting big damage to Moscow and other centers of Russia, then Russia is most likely to use nuclear weapons and then there may be no one left to write this most tragic and destructive episode of history.

Hence the crossing of successive red lines on the part of USA/NATO to risk a direct confrontation with Russia is clearly highly dangerous, irrational and unethical (in terms of endangering the safety of all people) and reflects incredibly narrow and irresponsible vision of present day USA/western/NATO leaders. What is even more surprising is that opposition parties, media and civil society have not been able to play the essential corrective role as would have been expected in mature democracies. This is at least partly because of highly undemocratic means being used to create false consensus on certain issues which are considered to be of crucial importance by the top leadership or even the deep state. Such undemocratic means have led to the erosion and weakening of the corrective mechanisms and institutions so that they are unable to play their important role of correcting serious mistakes and policy distortions at a relatively early stage. By practicing such manipulation, democracies are acting in suicidal ways and losing the natural advantages they have over authoritarian systems. Only a big and sustained people’s movement can now correct the serious policy distortions that have endangered the entire world.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Planet in Peril, Earth without Borders and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image is from South Front

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Poland is about to take a dangerous step in the Ukrainian conflict. Vladimir Zelensky stated that under the terms of a recently signed pact between Kiev and Warsaw, the NATO country could use its military forces to detain Russian missiles and drones in Ukrainian airspace. Such a situation could be considered by the Russians as a case of direct participation, leading to an open war between Russia and a NATO country.

The pact, according to Zelensky, establishes the necessary conditions for Warsaw to have positions inside Ukraine and directly participate in the role of air defense, thus helping Kiev overcome one of its current main strategic difficulties. For a long time, the airspace in the conflict zone has been almost completely controlled by Russia, which has made Ukraine’s Western-supplied tanks and military vehicles easy targets for Russian drones, missiles and aircraft. Kiev is doing its best to try to solve this problem, as it is impossible for one side to achieve any military gains without a strong air defense capacity.

In this sense, seeking ways to reverse the collapse of its air defenses, Kiev has sought direct cooperation with Western partners. Faced with the impossibility of joining NATO or bringing the Atlantic alliance into the conflict, Ukraine is currently betting on signing bilateral agreements with as many NATO members as possible, taking significant steps towards these countries beginning a type of “direct intervention” on an individual level. In this sense, the defense pact between Kiev and Warsaw can be seen as a way for Ukraine to use even more NATO software and troops to improve its positions on the ground, without, however, officially involving the alliance.

“[The agreement] provides for the development of a mechanism [for Poland] to shoot down Russian missiles and drones fired in the airspace of Ukraine in the direction of Poland (…) [We] will work together to work out how we can quickly implement this point,” he said.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed Zelensky’s expectations and stated that the terms of the agreement do indeed set the terms for direct cooperation, with Poland being authorized to publicly use its military equipment on Ukrainian soil against the Russians. However, Tusk appears concerned about the level of NATO’s participation in such maneuvers, fearing that Poland could be held individually responsible for attacking Russian targets.

Tusk hopes that NATO partners will reach a consensus with Warsaw and Kiev on how to act in the current phase of the conflict. He hopes that all actions taken by Poland and other member countries will be seen as a joint act of the alliance, thus generating collective responsibility. In other words, Tusk fears the consequences that the use of Polish military in Ukraine could generate for the country and expects NATO to protect Warsaw in the event of a direct conflict with Moscow.

“We need clear cooperation within NATO here, because such actions require joint NATO responsibility (…) We will include other NATO allies in this conversation. So we treat the matter seriously as open, but not yet finalized,” Tusk said.

It must be emphasized that Poland has been a de facto participator in the conflict for a long time. It is through the Polish border that most Western weapons arrive in Ukraine. Polish military personnel, both commandos and ordinary troops, have served in large numbers in Ukraine, and there is a lot of public information about Poles killed in combat during clashes with Russian forces. It is naive to think that these Poles are merely acting as “mercenaries” individually interested in “gaining money” or “helping” Kiev. Obviously, they are regular troops sent with the support of the Polish state itself, being the label of “mercenaries” and “volunteers” just a way of disguising Warsaw’s direct participation in the war.

To make matters worse, Ukraine is increasingly dependent on foreign intervention in the current situation. Unable to defend itself from Russian air strikes and with little force left to stop ground progress, Kiev is focused on creating defense pacts with NATO partners to increase its military strength and try to survive the conflict. For Kiev, the more internationalized and escalated the conflict, the better. The country hopes to create a situation that makes it impossible for NATO not to intervene, which is why it is trying to bring Poland into the war.

However, many analysts suspect that NATO would actually intervene in defense of Poland or any other European member. Although there is a collective defense clause in the NATO treaty, this article has never been actually tested. Furthermore, if Poland intervenes in the war and attacks Russian targets, it can be considered the aggressor, which removes NATO’s responsibility to intervene in the event of Russian retaliation on Polish territory.

In fact, only the patience and rationality of Russian strategists are preventing the war from escalating into a conflict of catastrophic magnitudes.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert. You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.

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U.S. organic farmers are being undercut by low-priced organic imports, particularly from developing countries, where grower/producer groups are not subjected to annual inspections with USDA permission

The USDA’s allowance of grower/producer groups in developing countries has led to commercial-scale farms escaping proper oversight, with only about 2% being inspected annually

U.S. organic turmeric and hazelnut farmers are struggling to compete with imports that may not meet organic standards but are sold at lower prices

Legal complaints and lawsuits have been filed against the USDA, challenging the legality of grower group certifications and demanding stricter enforcement of organic standards

Fraud in the organic industry is a significant concern, with recent high-profile cases involving millions of dollars’ worth of conventionally grown produce being sold as organic

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U.S. organic farmers are being driven out of business by low-priced organic imports of hazelnuts, turmeric and other products, which may not be grown to the organic standards you’d expect. The Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990 is a U.S. federal law that was enacted to establish national standards for the production and handling of organic foods.

The act requires that agricultural products labeled as organic be overseen by an independent third party that’s supervised by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The process comes with additional costs and requirements for U.S. organic farmers, which should theoretically be offset by the higher prices commanded for organic foods.

However, uninspected organic imports are flooding the U.S. market from grower/producer groups in developing countries, which are not being subjected to annual inspections — with the USDA’s permission.

“The bottom line: Food is being imported at under the cost of production, forcing U.S. growers — who are complying with the law — out of business,” reported OrganicEye,¹ which is “dedicated to protecting family-scale farmers and preserving the availability of authentic organic food”² in the U.S.

USDA Protects Agribusiness Lobbyists at the Expense of US Organic Farmers

In certain developing countries, the USDA has allowed the formation of grower/producer groups. These groups are often used for crops like coffee, nuts, chocolate, tea and herbs, and while they started out as a way to help small farmers or indigenous groups in developing countries, the loophole is now putting U.S. organic farmers and organic standards at risk. According to OrganicEye:³ 

“Although there is no legal provision for the exemption, decades ago certifiers started allowing cooperatives, small villages, or groups of indigenous peoples, producing high-value, specialty crops, like coffee, chocolate, or spices, to be grouped together in ‘peer-supervised’ producer groups.

It was assumed that the small landholders would not be able to afford individual certification and inspections and the exception would both help them access world markets, improving their economic standing, and provide authentic organic food to more affluent Western countries.”

The global organic industry, however, is now a $205.9 billion industry, projected to reach a worth of $532.72 billion by 2032,⁴ and the grower groups have morphed to include commercial-scale farms that are escaping USDA oversight. Organic Insider reported:⁵

“As the organic industry surged in popularity and became a multibillion-dollar industry, grower groups were believed to be manipulated by agribusiness entities and compliant certifiers worldwide, according to industry watchdogs, which resulted in their circumventing the rules and avoiding direct USDA oversight.

The narrative was that agribusinesses created agreements with for-profit accredited certifiers so that they, instead of the certifier itself, would inspect the members of the agribusiness’ own supplier base.

… not only were these agribusiness entities doing the organic certification not recognized by the USDA as an approved organic certifier, but there was no restriction on how many participants were in these grower groups, how large individual farms could be or the limit of geographical range. Furthermore, these agribusiness entities didn’t even need to be farmers themselves.”

Only about 2% of the farmers involved in these grower/producer groups are being inspected annually, which means the vast majority — 98% — are not being inspected as frequently, if at all.

“Although almost universally complied with in domestic production, that system has completely broken down for imports,” Mark Kastel, OrganicEye’s executive director, said in a news release. “A large percentage of all foreign imports, making up a sizable amount of the organic food Americans eat, are coming from ‘producer groups,’ whose grower-members the USDA has exempted from the requirements to be certified.”⁶

US Organic Turmeric, Hazelnut Farmers Suffering

OrganicEye interviewed Brian and Valerie Quant, certified organic turmeric farmers who say they’ve been pushed out of the wholesale market by lower priced organic imports. “What grinds my gears is that we, as U.S. farmers and carrying GAP [Good Agricultural Practices] and organic certification, are held to a much higher standard and have annual inspections, associated fees, and extensive required bookkeeping responsibilities,” Brian Quant said.⁷

He added, “I’m not sure it’s really all that great a deal for them [the small foreign farmers] as they are sort of ‘bound’ to the corporate entity whose umbrella they are certified under.”⁸ The USDA Organic Integrity Database is an online resource meant to provide comprehensive information about certified organic operations and help ensure transparency and trust in the organic certification process.

But when OrganicEye investigated public records on organic turmeric production in Fiji, it found significant differences between the USDA’s Integrity Database and information from Fiji’s major exporters. They’ve since filed a legal compliant, asking the USDA to investigate and take any necessary enforcement action against alleged violations of National Organic Program (NOP) requirements.⁹

OrganicEye farmer and attorney Bruce Kaser explains,

“In general, it’s a compelling imbalance when you take into account that ‘organic’ is supposed to be produced by farms, yet hardly any certified turmeric farmers exist in the USDA ‘Integrity Database,’ while scads of certified handlers are apparently operating. It’s a huge, inverted pyramid that suggests a totally out-of-whack system.”¹⁰

The complaint mentions certification by Ecocert, a certifier based in France. According to OrganicEye, “Some international certifiers, such as France-based Ecocert (an organization that has been in trouble with the USDA and international bodies over the years), certify over 600 groups alone, likely representing many thousands of individual farmers and agribusinesses.”¹¹

Hazelnut growers have been similarly affected. An investigation revealed the USDA’s Organic Integrity Database lists no certified organic hazelnut growers in Turkey. Yet, the country is the leading importer of organic hazelnuts into the U.S., at prices close to conventionally grown hazelnuts. Kaser filed a legal compliant with the USDA, then a lawsuit against the agency after it failed to take action.

“The basis of the lawsuit,” according to Organic Insider, “is that according to OFPA, all organic farms must be certified annually by a qualified and approved organic certifier. As such, the plaintiff is asking the District Court to declare grower group certifications illegal and direct the USDA federal officer in charge of the USDA’s National Organic Program, currently Dr. Jennifer Tucker, to instruct certifiers to cease grower group certifications immediately.”¹²

‘Agribusiness Puppetmasters’ Are Leading Organic Import Inspections

Kastel describes the group certifications allowed by the USDA as a scheme that’s turned into a racket, “with agribusiness puppet masters in charge of inspections.”¹³ As a result, producers of organic imports are not being held to the same rigorous standards as U.S. farmers, and the system, instead of helping indigenous communities, is supporting agribusiness.

In fact, among the 2 in 100 growers that would be inspected, one of them could actually be a ringmaster agribusiness with a faux grower front. OrganicEye reported:

“‘The documented conflict of interest, and the potential for fraud, in this USDA-sanctioned ‘shadow’ inspection/certification program — which is fully supported by the Organic Trade Association, the dominant industry lobby group — is palpable,’ said Kastel.

Even under newly enhanced regulations adopted after repeated incidents of major fraud, commonly known as the Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule, the USDA solely delegates the authority to for-profit certifiers working overseas to design their own group administrative systems and internal controls to prevent fraud by their customers.

Kastel added, ‘We’re trusting the certifiers, whose primary motivator is profit, to oversee their agribusiness ‘clients,’ who in turn are responsible for overseeing all their own suppliers (i.e., the group members).’”

Fraud Is Rampant Even Among US Organics

The USDA’s Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule is intended to enhance the integrity and transparency of the organic supply chain, via expanded certification requirements, enhanced supply chain traceability, increased oversight and inspections and fraud prevention procedures.

The rule follows decades of problems with USDA oversight of organics and rampant fraud in the industry, including several recent high-profile cases. One major fraud case among U.S. organics involved the late Missouri grain broker Randy Constant, who sold tens of millions of dollars’ worth of conventionally grown grain as organic between 2010 and 2017.¹⁴

“Prosecutors said Constant used the proceeds of his fraud to travel more than 20 times to Las Vegas, where he stayed in luxury hotels, hired escorts and gambled. He died by suicide in 2019 after being sentenced to 11 years in prison,” according to the SC Times.¹⁵

In another case in 2021, a grain broker in South Dakota, Kent Duane Anderson, made about $71 million by selling conventionally grown grain as organic. And in 2023, James Wolf, a corn, soybean and wheat farmer in Minnesota, was also indicted for selling “organic” grains that weren’t really organic — and making $46 million in profits in the process.¹⁶

Critics have expressed doubt that even with the new rule the USDA will be able to effectively prevent fraud in the organic food sector. Food lawyer Baylen Linnekin suggested a better option is to return oversight to organic industry groups and the states.¹⁷ OrganicEye also suggests seeking out U.S.-grown organic products and contacting your congressional representatives to protect the authenticity of the organic food supply.

Take Action to Protect Organic Farmers and US Organics

After OrganicEye backed a federal lawsuit demanding that the USDA discontinue their practice of allowing foreign agribusinesses to inspect their own suppliers (a profound conflict of interest), the industry’s corporate lobby group, the Organic Trade Association (OTA), suggested that, if the USDA loses the lawsuit, they will simply go to Congress and lobby to change the law to legalize “group certification.”

Don’t let that happen! Federal law currently requires every organic farm to be certified and inspected annually by independent, accredited, third-party certifiers — not foreign corporations with a financial interest.

Please click the button below and invest two minutes of your time in sending a personal message directly to your congressperson and two U.S. senators, asking them to respect the spirit and letter of the law protecting organic farmers, ethical businesses, and consumers. To leverage your voice even further, please forward and/or share this action alert with your friends, family and business associates on social media.

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Notes

^{1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11} OrganicEye June 18, 2024

² OrganicEye, About

⁴ Globe Newswire April 30, 2024

^5, 12 Organic Insider November 8, 2023

⁹ OrganicEye June 17, 2024

¹³ OrganicEye October 17, 2023

¹⁴ The New Yorker November 15, 2021

^15, 16 SC Times January 26, 2023

¹⁷ Reason February 4, 2023 

Featured image is from Mercola

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The German media, Bild, reports that Israel will begin a war on Lebanon beginning about July 15.  Israel knows that Hezbollah will not stop its attacks on Israel until Israel stops its attacks on Gaza, and Israel has no intention of stopping until their war goals are met, including the destruction of Hamas.

Hezbollah has said they would suspend their attacks if Israel does likewise in Gaza, but that is seen as impossibility given that the Biden administration has given Prime Minister Netanyahu the green light, and all the weapons he needs to continue the genocide in Gaza.

Most of the population of Israel’s north has left, and the south of Lebanon has similarly seen evacuations as Israel has destroyed many villages.

The German airline Lufthansa has suspended night flights to Beirut until the end of July as fears grow of an impending war, which may be disastrous for both Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah is quite comparable to Israel in military might, and in the 2006 war between the two, Hezbollah would not give up any territory, and Israel pulled back having been defeated by the Lebanese resistance group.

A number of countries have urged their citizens to leave Beirut ahead of July 15. They are: the US, Germany, Kuwait, Russia, North Macedonia, Canada and the Netherlands.

The root cause of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah lies in the brutal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, which has stripped the Palestinian people of all human rights. The final solution must be a two-state solution which grants the Palestinian people their freedom.

In an effort to understand this newest threat to the Lebanese people, Steven Sahiounie interviewed Rawad Daher, a well-known Lebanese journalist.

Steven Sahiounie (SS):   We have heard airline companies contacting passengers scheduled to depart Beirut International Airport. These airlines are re-directing flights earlier than July 15. The German media Bild has said they have information that Israel has taken a decision to attack Lebanon on July 15. In your opinion, is this credible?

Rawad Daher (RD):  There is no doubt that the factors for pressure and war threats are many, and if we review the news of the past 9 months, since October 7, 2023, until the moment, we monitor more than 9 serious threats and dates for war with Lebanon, some of whom said mid-March, others in May, and others in June as a deadline, until we reached the newest of mid-July. In fact, all of these dates passed by, just as the expectations of those who considered that war would occur within 48 hours in April, and within 72 hours a few weeks ago, also were not true. Therefore, I consider what airlines are taking to be precautionary measures, while what is reported in the newspapers falls within the framework of exaggeration at times and expectation at other times. If the war were to occur, it would not be linked to a timeframe, but rather to an event that violates the equation that has been in place for 9 months.

SS:  After the escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, and the continuous Israeli threats for an Israeli ground invasion into Lebanon, if a ceasefire happens between the Palestinians and the Israelis, would it include Lebanon?  

RD: Here we must distinguish between two points of view according to the two parties involved in the war. As for Hezbollah, it has announced and repeated that it is fighting a major front for Gaza, and any ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will automatically be reflected on the Lebanese war zone and it also rejects any settlement on the border with Lebanon before reaching an agreement in Gaza. As for the Israeli side, it is divided between those who believe that the Israeli army is exhausted in Gaza and is not ready to fight a fiercer war with Hezbollah after the Gaza war stopped, and therefore, Israel does not want war. On the other side, there are those who believe that the equation imposed by Hezbollah is considered a loss for Israel, and that this entity must fight a battle in the North to restore the strategic balance.

SS:  If Israel does begin a war on Lebanon, in your opinion, how do you see the Lebanese army response?

RD:  The Lebanese army doctrine and according to the Lebanese constitution, without any doubt, the army acts with Israel as an enemy, even though its military capabilities are limited and its armament is linked to several Western conditions and warnings, specifically American, which prevent it from engaging in the war. Therefore, as a result of this equation, there is no doubt that the performance of the Lebanese army could be similar to their performance during the July 2006 war.

SS: Israel has so far destroyed south of Lebanon from continuous bombing. In your opinion when this conflict is over, who will fund the rebuilding effort?

RD: There is no serious talk yet regarding the issue of reconstruction. Some leaked information promoting that Qatar can play a role in this framework similar to the year 2006, but nothing concrete yet since the war continues. Officially in Lebanon, there is no talk about this issue except through political objections from anti-Hezbollah parties that refuse the government of Lebanon to provide any compensation to the people of the south. I am also reminded of President of the Parliament Nabih Berri’s statement last April, when he said: “In my turn, I will bear alongside Lebanon, all of Lebanon the burden of compensation for the southerners, even if I had to move between the capitals of diaspora in order to fulfill these good people’s rights.”

SS: We have seen Sunni leaders in Tripoli come out pledging support for Hezbollah should a war begin. In your opinion, will we see Lebanese support for the resistance?

RD:  Since October 7 until today, there has been a completely different behavior in the Lebanese street, according to the sectarian distribution in this country. The Shiite support for the resistance did not change, and great Sunni support was added to it in a phenomenon that constituted a surprise, as support came instead of conflict between these two streets, until we heard supportive statements from Sunni figures, such who was known for opposing Hezbollah.  The Druze street is also supportive, especially in light of the biggest Druze leader Walid Jumblat’s position. As for Christians, there is a group that absolutely opposes Hezbollah, such as “the Lebanese Forces” for example, and a group that supports it in its resistance work, such as the Marada, for example, and a group that opposes the principle of unity of areas, but stands by “Hezbollah” in the event of war on Lebanon, which is what the Free Patriotic Movement announced, and therefore, the majority of Christians will be firmly on the “Hezbollah” side.

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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.

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The White House does not want to sanction tankers allegedly used by Russia to deliver oil in defiance of Western sanctions as there are fears that such a move could affect fuel prices and hurt President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, The New York Times reported on July 7, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The US outlet reported that White House economic advisers believe the US Treasury proposal will ultimately result in higher oil and gasoline prices.

“While Treasury officials want to put Russian tankers out of commission, economic advisers inside the White House worry that there will be a risk of a spike in oil prices this summer and a rise in US gasoline prices, which could hurt Mr. Biden’s re-election campaign,” according to The New York Times.

Discussions on the proposal are still ongoing, but the investigation indicates that the White House is in no rush to approve it despite being under pressure.

“The debate reflects a tension that has always been at the core of the administration’s novel attempt to restrict Russian oil sales: how to weaken the Moscow war machine without a political backlash that could hurt American drivers. The dispute is a rare public example of internal administration disagreements over inflation and Ukraine policy. It pits Treasury officials against aides at the White House National Economic Council, headed by Lael Brainard,” the report said.

“White House officials privately describe the process as routine and tense, with no decision made. But the delay has confused officials elsewhere in the administration, who have not been able to get a straight answer from Ms. Brainard and her team about what is holding up the proposed action,” the article added.

Western countries and their allies have launched a sanctions campaign against Russia, targeting the country’s economy, energy, and banking services, among other areas, after Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Despite the Western campaign, Russia says that sanctions against the country have failed and that the costs for Kiev’s financiers have been greater than for the Russian economy, which is booming.

Despite the sanctions, the World Bank has upgraded Russia from an “upper-middle-income” to a “high-income” country with a per-capita gross national income (GNI) of $14,250 in 2023.

“Economic activity in Russia was influenced by a large increase in military-related activity in 2023,” the international financial institution said on July 1. 

According to the U.S.-based institution, Russia’s upgrade was also boosted by growth in trade (+6.8%), the financial sector (+8.7%), and construction (+6.6%) and “these factors led to increases in both real (3.6%) and nominal (10.9%) GDP, and Russia’s Atlas GNI per capita grew by 11.2.”

Evidently, the sanctions have undoubtedly impacted the Russian economy, but they have not prevented significant growth, unlike the struggling Western economies, which have suffered from the boomerang effect of sanctions.

As the New York Times noted,

“the United States and Europe banned imports of Russian oil, in an attempt to reduce revenues for one of the world’s largest oil producers,” but as Yellen and other Western leaders realised, “the European embargo, when fully implemented, threatened to knock millions of barrels of oil off the global market — and trigger a price shock that could send gasoline as high as $7 a gallon in America.”

A recent Harris poll for the Guardian found that nearly three in five Americans believe the US is in an economic recession, and the majority blame the Biden administration. In the poll, 70% of Americans said their biggest economic concern was the cost of living, and 68% said that inflation was the top concern. Although the US has not been in recession since 2020, during the pandemic, the majority believe that there is a recession, which reflects the cost-of-living crisis that has seen many in the middle class enter poverty and those already poor struggling even more.

As each day passes towards the US presidential election on November 5, it is becoming increasingly likely that Donald Trump will replace Joe Biden in the White House. Instigating an oil price hike will all but end Biden’s reelection campaign since Americans are already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis spurred on by the current president’s policies.

For this reason, Washington will likely hold off on expanding sanctions on alleged tankers used to transport Russian energy until after the presidential elections, and only if Biden is reelected. If Trump is to be elected, it is unlikely he will introduce more sanctions on Russia that will directly hurt ordinary Americans, something Biden will have no inhibitions of doing after the election.

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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.

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In France, law is as weaponized as it is in the US under Merrick Garland. Paris prosecutors are “investigating” Marine Le Pen for alleged illegal financing of her 2022 Presidential campaign. If indicted and convicted, she faces 10 years imprisonment and a ban on standing for political office.

The French ruling establishment has been trying to get rid of Le Pen for longer than the American establishment has been trying to get rid of Donald Trump. Both leaders are guilty of the same “crime”–speaking for citizens instead of the immigrant-invaders that are being used to marginalize the ethnic basis of the countries. As has become completely clear, no Western government represents its citizens. Political leaders who speak for the people are seen as the worst enemies of the governments.

By winning the first round of the French parliamentary election, Marine Le Pen came too close to power and set off yet another effort to frame her on a charge that rids the French establishment of the only challenger to its ongoing sellout of the French people.

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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.

U.S. Plan to “Expand the War Beyond Ukraine”: NATO Buildup in Finland Puts Hostile Anti-Russia Army on Putin’s Doorstep

By Mike Whitney, July 10, 2024

The Biden administration has settled on a plan to expand the war beyond Ukraine by deploying combat troops and lethal weaponry to 15 military bases in Finland. Whether the deployment will include nuclear-armed ballistic missiles is not yet known, but the threat to Russia’s security is serious all the same.

From COVID-19 to Synthetic Design: Forcing a Shift to the Genetic Modification of Humans

By Prof. Anthony J. Hall, July 10, 2024

Elaborate patterns of fable and fairy tales are deeply woven into the ongoing chimera of COVID-19 as well as the lineup of successor illnesses being prepared to further our demise. The original frauds in 2020 included a totally inaccurate system of COVID tests designed to create massively amplified numbers of so-called “COVID cases.”

Inside China-Focused Congressional Hearings, Panic, Paranoia, and Hypocrisy Reign

By Megan Russell, July 10, 2024

On June 26th, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability sat down for a Congressional Hearing titled, “Defending America from the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Warfare.” This was one of many Congressional hearings aimed at tackling the “China threat.”

The Literary Review Poet and the Rapper Are Two Halves of the Same Muse

By David Penner, July 10, 2024

Due to the growing neoliberal antipathy towards the First Amendment American poetry finds itself in a conundrum, as all who submit their work to literary reviews are straitjacketed by the same censorship constraints as those who write for the mainstream press. Consequently, those who regularly contribute to these publications have long since abandoned any effort at saying something meaningful about the world in which we live.

Kiev Still Wants a New Counteroffensive. “Push back the Evil Russians”

By Drago Bosnic, July 09, 2024

For several months now, the Kiev regime has been talking about “new counteroffensives”. Desperate to get more “military aid” from the United States and European Union, the Neo-Nazi junta keeps fantasizing about large-scale offensive operations that would “push back the evil Russians”, but that’s as viable as Hitler’s “grand plans” of counteroffensives while the Red Army was already taking Berlin.

Trendy Appointments: Australia’s Special Antisemitism Envoy

By Dr. Binoy Kampmark, July 10, 2024

Was there any need for this? Australia’s Albanese government, harried by the conservative opposition for going soft on pro-Palestinian protests and the war in Gaza while allegedly wobbling on supporting Israel, has decided to bring a touch of bureaucracy to the show.

Yes It Was a “False Flag”, “Murder Their Own Soldiers”. Israelis Widely Used “Hannibal Directive” on Oct. 7: Israeli Report

By Al Mayadeen, July 09, 2024

Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported that during Operation al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) routinely used a command that allowed soldiers to murder their own soldiers, namely the infamous Hannibal Directive.

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Due to the growing neoliberal antipathy towards the First Amendment American poetry finds itself in a conundrum, as all who submit their work to literary reviews are straitjacketed by the same censorship constraints as those who write for the mainstream press. Consequently, those who regularly contribute to these publications have long since abandoned any effort at saying something meaningful about the world in which we live. As poetry is as old as humanity and cannot be extinguished without the destruction of human life, the art form has found new ways to survive, and to a somewhat unusual and albeit limited extent, this void has been filled by rappers.

Implausibly, this oldest of art forms has devolved into a strange place where it sees itself largely divided between MFAs with degrees from reputable schools that compete for a minuscule number of places in literary reviews which hardly anyone reads and which publish poetry which is either unintelligible or anchored in neoliberal cult ideology, and rappers who often have something to say (granted, not always something moral), yet typically lack the education with which to express themselves in a nuanced and intellectually substantive manner. 

Undoubtedly, there are notable exceptions to this, such as Mike Shinoda (“Kenji”), Meth U (“Mensch Bleibt Mensch”), and Sage Francis (“Conspiracy to Riot,” “Makeshift Patriot,” and “Slow Down Gandhi”), but in general rappers are illiterate poets. This cataclysmic divide between the soulless literate and the passionate illiterate is deeply emblematic of the alienation, dehumanization, and uniquely destructive powers of neoliberalism.

Image: Lil Kim (Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Let’s begin our discussion of this peculiar poetic form with Lil’ Kim’s “Lighters up,” which draws the listener into the violent underbelly of inner city Brooklyn, specifically in this case Bedford–Stuyvesant, also known to New Yorkers as Bed–Stuy. (Difficult slang words have been translated and are bracketed). The song opens by immediately drawing the listener into a harrowing, tribal, and lawless world:

“I come from Bed-Stuy, niggas either do or they gon’ die

Gotta keep the ratchet close by

Someone murdered, nobody seen, nobody heard it

Just another funeral service

Niggas will get at you, come through shinin’ they yap [rob] you

In broad day light kidnap you

Feds get clapped [shot] too, police stay on us like tattoos

Niggas only grind cause we have to

Money is power, sling crack, weed and powder

Fiends [drug addicts] come through every hour

S’all about that dollar and we nuh deal with cowards

Weak lambs get devoured by the lion

In the concrete jungle, the strong stand and rumble

The weak fold and crumble, it’s the land of trouble”

The reference to murders where no one is willing to testify or talk to the police lest they be deemed a “snitch” is indicative of a breakdown in the rule of law, allowing violent criminals to commit serious crimes unimpeded. The authorities also frequently look the other way in the face of black on black violence, which further endangers the peaceful residents of these communities. This de facto empowerment of nefarious inner city elements by the ruling establishment is not unrelated to what Washington has long done to debase and humiliate people in foreign countries.

“Lighters up” raises a motif, which rappers are seldom intellectually conscious of but which is present in virtually all music of this genre, which is the tragedy of post-New Deal and post-civil rights America, a deindustrialized and ghettoized wasteland, where in order to maintain a decent standard of living Americans are increasingly coerced into becoming yes-men for corporations, and where a once robust middle class has been reduced to a distant memory.

Lil’ Kim portrays the police as oppressors but also as victims who can likewise be assaulted without warning. “Lighters up” emphasizes the problems of substance abuse, gambling, and prostitution that plague, not only inner city Brooklyn, but ghettos across the country:

“Some are boostin [boasting] 12 year olds prostitutin’

Hitmen hired for execution there’s no solution

Niggas still piss in the hallways

Fiends get high in ’em all day”

Another motif in “Lighters up,” and which is common in many rap songs such as Eminem’s “Like Toy Soldiers,” is how tribalism, illiteracy, and the destruction of the middle class have given birth to a new Wild West mired in systemic violence and bloody vendettas:

“For a pound leave your face on the wall

R.I.P in memory of

Never show thy enemies love”

Is this not the same attitude that Biden has towards Putin? And is NATO not a gang, albeit one armed with F-35s, Black Hawk helicopters, and nuclear weapons? If Russia followed suit with the same infantile and thuggish behavior would we even be sitting here having this conversation? 

Furthermore, what is the motivation for the oligarchy to rein in this culture of gang wars when it serves the convenient purpose of deflecting anger and rage away from the ruling establishment and on to one’s fellow workers and countrymen?

This hellscape devoid of security, education, and lawful employment is inextricably linked with a society that has been hijacked by corporations which are really nothing more than organized crime syndicates, and of which the inner city gangs are mere minnows in comparison. Her line that “Niggas only grind cause we have to” acknowledges the bleak reality that in the hyper-privatized “concrete jungle” the poor are forced to do everything in their power to survive. The final lines of the introduction (“S’all about that dollar and we nuh deal with cowards…”) could be emblazoned over the entrance to the headquarters of such august and civic-minded institutions as the CIA, Goldman Sachs, Lockheed Martin or Pfizer. Undoubtedly, many inner city drug dealers are conscious of the fact that they are preying on their own people but know of no other way to earn a living.

Image: Marley in 2010 (Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Just as America is endowed with a plethora of literate and illiterate poets, there is likewise no shortage of literate and illiterate drug dealers, with the former being permitted to don a white coat, carry a stethoscope, and create drug addicts with impunity.

While addressing the systemic poverty in Jamaica, Junior Gong’s “Welcome to Jamrock” bemoans a similar scenario where youths trapped in poverty are chewed up by an avaricious machine devoid of education, jobs, the rule of law, and where elections are a rigged charade:

“Welcome to Jamdown

Poor people a dead at random

Political violence, can’t done

Bare ghost and Phantom

The youth dem get blind by stardom

Now the king of kings ah call

Old man to pickney, so wave unno hand if you with me

To see the sufferation sick me

Dem suit nuh fit me

To win election dem trick we”

At the end of the music video Damian Marley (the youngest son of Bob Marley) departs Jamrock in his BMW revealing that he too is enslaved to consumerism and the same economic system which places profits and possessions over human lives.

Tupac Shakur’s touching “Dear Mama” acknowledges that his own mother struggled with a crack addiction, but the song humanizes her and reminds the listener that drug addicts are suffering human beings in need of compassion:

“And even as a crack fiend, Mama

You always was a black queen, Mama

I finally understand

For a woman, it ain’t easy tryin’ to raise a man

You always was committed

A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how you did it

There’s no way I can pay you back

But the plan is to show you that I understand

You are appreciated”

Wu-Tang Clan, whose members hail from Staten Island and Brooklyn, created the hip-hop song “C.R.E.A.M.,” which stands for “cash rules everything around me,” and which relentlessly and almost hypnotically drives home the stark reality of America’s money-obsessed culture where the ghetto serves as a microcosm to a wider America in the throes of unfettered capitalism. Here the gangsters don Timberland boots and baggy pants rather than Brooks Brothers suits and Allen Edmonds shoes, and unlike their more bourgeois counterparts, have had the misfortune of being born into a prison whose walls are forged not out of concrete but with segregation, illiteracy, an illicit black market economy and virtually nonexistent checks and balances. Inspectah Deck gives a glimpse in “C.R.E.A.M.” of the horrors he experienced growing up in a city where the cards are stacked against the descendants of slavery, and even minors are frequently devoured by the insatiable prison beast:

“I went to jail at the age of fifteen

A young buck sellin’ drugs and such, who never had much

Tryin’ to get a clutch at what I could not—

The court played me short, now I face incarceration

Pacin’, goin’ upstate’s my destination

Handcuffed in the back of a bus, forty of us

Life as a shorty shouldn’t be so rough

But as the world turned, I learned life is hell

Livin’ in the world no different from a cell”

In Nas’ “N.Y. State of Mind” the rapper describes life in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, as “each block is like a maze full of black rats trapped.” However, instead of supporting a progressive position rooted in unionization, checks and balances, and good public health care and education for all Americans, he laments, albeit in his inimitable and ironic way, that he is unable to engage in gangsterism in a more respectable and law-abiding fashion:

“I dream I can sit back

And lamp [relax] like Capone, with drug scripts sewn

Or the legal luxury life, rings flooded with stones, homes

I got so many rhymes, I don’t think I’m too sane

Life is parallel to Hell, but I must maintain

And be prosperous, though we live dangerous

Cops could just arrest me, blamin’ us; we’re held like hostages”

As is invariably the case with the most talented rappers, Nas exhibits real poetic gifts such as his masterful line from “N.Y. State of Mind” that, “I never sleep, ’cause sleep is the cousin of death.” One can only imagine what he could have accomplished had he gotten a good education.

While it is easy for “educated Americans” (a euphemism for morons with expensive degrees) to thumb their nose at the gangsters of the ghetto, the latter are in fact imitating the behavior of their “successful” countrymen. Indeed, do we not have countless doctors, professors, journalists, politicians, Wall Street jihadists, armaments industry executives, intelligence agents, career officers in the military, lawyers, employees of the prison-industrial complex and the medical-industrial complex, etc., that will do literally anything for money?

The scourge of bullying in America’s public schools is the subject of Eminem and Lil Wayne’s “No Love,” a problem spawned by the demise of social democracy and a post-apocalyptic wasteland whose denizens can increasingly be broken down between the tormented and the tormentor. As with “N.Y. State of Mind,” “No Love” has lines of striking poetry:

“I’m rollin’ Sweets, I’m smokin’ sour

Married to the game, but she broke her vows

That’s why my bars are full of broken bottles

And my nightstands are full of open Bibles”

A disturbing element to “No Love” is the clarion call, not merely for the right to self-defense, but for a revenge rooted in extreme forms of violence:

“Money outweighin’ problems on a triple beam

I’m stickin’ to the script, you niggas skippin’ scenes

Uh, be good or be good at it

Fuckin’ right, I got my gun, semi-Cartermatic [semi-automatic]….

I’m high as a bitch, up, up and away, man, I’ll come down in a couple of days

Okay, you want me up in the cage? Then I’ll come out in beast mode

I got this world stuck in the safe, combination is the G code

It’s Weezy, motherfucker, Blood gang, and I’m in bleed mode 

All about my dough, but I don’t even check the peephole

So you can keep knockin’, but won’t knock me down

No love lost, no love found”

How many bullied kids have watched this music video (which has over 675 million views) and been inculcated with this very mentality? What does it do to a child’s psyche when all they see around them are sadistic predators and defenseless prey – those who are “up in the cage?” Is it surprising that with so many humiliated people and a country that has more guns than human beings that a certain percentage will seek to “come out in beast mode?” And what could be more tragically American than the notion that life without money is a living death, a Tartarean chasm, and that camaraderie and solidarity are but an elusive ephemeral dream? 

In order to understand the demonic nature of the American ruling establishment one must acknowledge the horrors unleashed on Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Gaza, etc., but it is also necessary to understand the terrible suffering inflicted on the weakest and most vulnerable who reside within the Stygian bowels of empire. One example of this is the many American children who grow up in poverty, in broken homes and communities, and who are exposed to egregious acts of violence at an early age, something Lil Wayne hauntingly intimates in “No Love:” 

“Yeah, my life a bitch, but you know nothing ’bout her

Been to hell and back, I can show you vouchers”

Harlem’s Immortal Technique unnerved the hip-hop world in 2001 with his controversial “Dance with the Devil,” a gruesome tale of an alienated and ambitious hoodlum whose brain has been warped by materialism and the egregious inequality of “the new economy,” who yearns to join a gang, yet is told he must participate in a sexual assault of a random woman at night as an initiation rite. Upon seeing this through, he ends up inadvertently raping his own mother:

“I once knew a nigga whose real name was William

His primary concern was makin’ a million

Bein’ the illest [toughest] hustler that the world ever seen

He used to fuck movie stars and sniff coke in his dreams

A corrupted young mind at the age of 13″

Once the protagonist realizes what he has done he commits suicide by jumping off the roof where the assault has taken place:

“And so he jumped off the roof and died with no soul

They say death takes you to a better place, but I doubt it”

Unlike in Crime and Punishment, the crime is too heinous. There can be no absolution.

Image: Jay-Z in 2011 (Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

In “Empire State Of Mind” Jay-Z raps about the magic, mystery, and awesome power of New York City, but also cautions his listeners regarding the false gods of materialism and celebrity worship which have slain countless souls:

“Lights is blinding, girls need blinders

Or they could step out of bounds quick, the side lines is

Lined with casualties who sip the life casually

Then gradually become worse—don’t bite the apple Eve

Caught up in the in-crowd, now you’re in-style

Into the winter gets cold, en vogue with your skin out

City of sin is a pity on a whim

Good girls gone bad, the city’s filled with them

Mami took a bus trip, now she got her bust out

Everybody ride her, just like a bus route

‘Hail Mary’ to the city, you’re a virgin

And Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church end

Came here for school, graduated to the high life

Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight”

As is extremely common in rap music, Jay-Z holds it to be inevitable that we live in a ruthless Darwinian world where one is either rich or poor, and where it is only natural that New Yorkers are perpetually locked in a brutal war of all against all:

“Eight million stories, out there in the naked

City is a pity, half of y’all won’t make it”

In a country where public health and education lie in ruins, and millions of lives have been destroyed due to mass unemployment, a catastrophic substance abuse epidemic, unprecedented forms of sectarianism, mass incarceration, and trillions of dollars of household debt Jay-Z boasts a net worth of 2.5 billion USD. Is this “democracy?”

Undoubtedly, there is a lot of shameful rap music that glorifies banditry, conspicuous consumption, anti-intellectualism, black nationalism and misogyny. However, unlike literary review poets who have no other ambition than to see their gibberish in print and acquire tenure, good rappers have something to say, yet due to a lack of education typically struggle to see serious socio-economic problems through any prism other than that of race and tribalism. However, unlike their insipid brethren who speak in the abstruse language of academia and extreme specialization, rappers frequently “fight the power” (to quote Public Enemy), and in so doing, connect with the masses. Alas, the poet is cleft in twain.

Dubious erudition aside, these passages demonstrate that gifted rappers can be poets and prophets in their own right; and like Tiresias, poets don’t always tell us what we’d like to hear. Indeed, in their own way they are trying to alert us to the terrible abyss which we are frenetically galloping towards. It would be wise to heed their warnings. 

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This article was first published on Dissident Voice.

David Penner’s articles on politics and health care have appeared in Dissident Voice, CounterPunch, Global Research, The Saker blog, OffGuardian and KevinMD; while his poetry has been published with Dissident Voice and Mad in America. Also a photographer, he is the author of three books of portraiture: Faces of The New Economy, Faces of Manhattan Island, and Manhattan Pairs. He can be reached at [email protected].  

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On July 8, the Russian military launched large-scale strikes on various targets across Ukraine. According to the mainstream propaganda machine, one strike was “particularly deadly”, as it allegedly “killed 41 civilians” and “destroyed a children’s hospital”. Reuters says that “Russia blasted the main children’s hospital in Kyiv with a missile in broad daylight on Monday and rained missiles down on other cities across Ukraine, killing at least 41 civilians in the deadliest wave of air strikes for months”.

The report tried playing into the emotional aspects with the graphic descriptions of parents and children affected by these “evil Russian strikes”. Reuters says that “parents holding babies walked in the street outside the hospital, dazed and sobbing after the rare daylight aerial attack”, while “windows had been smashed and panels ripped off, and hundreds of Kyiv residents were helping to clear debris”.

While on his way to the NATO summit in Washington DC, the Neo-Nazi junta frontman Volodymyr Zelensky claimed more than 170 people were injured, while around 100 buildings were damaged, including the aforementioned children’s hospital and a maternity center in Kiev, as well as children’s nurseries, a business center and homes.

He also stated that “Russian terrorists must answer for this” and that “being concerned does not stop terror, condolences are not a weapon”. The Kiev regime announced a day of mourning for today, calling the strikes “one of the worst air attacks of the war”, insisting it “demonstrated that Ukraine urgently needed an upgrade of its air defenses from its Western allies”. Interestingly, they also claim that their air defenses allegedly “shot down 30 of 38 missiles”. Quite peculiar that the Neo-Nazi junta forces are “so successful” in shooting down Russian missiles.

At the same time, they still “urgently need” NATO-sourced SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems. The question is, which is it? Either the current air defenses are not enough, meaning that the reports about shootdowns are a blatant lie, or the reports are “true”, meaning that the Kiev regime forces don’t really need “better air defenses“. After all, they “regularly shoot down” six out of two 9-S-7760 “Kinzhal” air-launched hypersonic missiles.

However, in all seriousness, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the sheer ridiculousness of propaganda in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict. For instance, Reuters reports that it obtained “an online video showing a missile falling towards the children’s hospital followed by a large explosion” and insists that “the location of the video was verified from visible landmarks”. And indeed, there’s horrifying footage of children injured by the shrapnel and falling debris.

The political West is now also using the UN to spread the narrative about the “brutal Russian attack”. The United Kingdom called for a UN Security Council meeting, which will take place today to “discuss a Russian missile attack on Kyiv’s Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital that was part of a massive attack on July 8 that hit several cities across the country, killing at least 41 people and injuring at least 140”, according to the CIA front Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). So, once again, we’re seeing the UN being used for the political West’s “soft power” projection purposes. It should be noted that the reports about injuries to civilians are true, as the footage is certainly undeniable. However, there’s a “slight problem” with the narrative. Namely, the video that Reuters referenced is also indisputable evidence that Russia didn’t conduct the aforementioned strike on the children’s hospital in Kiev.

People congregate outside Okhmatdyt Children’s hospital, following an attack in which several people were killed. Kyiv, Ukraine, 8 July 2024. (Source: MSF)

One video clearly shows a SLAMRAAM (Surface Launched AMRAAM) missile falling and hitting a civilian building. This US-made weapon is based on an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and is used by the much-touted NASAMS (Norwegian/National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System). However, the Neo-Nazi junta is insisting that the weapon in question is a Russian Kh-101 long-range air-launched cruise missile. The mainstream propaganda machine is also pushing the same narrative, despite the fact that the Russian missile has a massive warhead weighing 400 kg, meaning that the explosion would’ve completely leveled any building, which was simply not the case with the one damaged by the SAM fired by the Kiev regime forces. What’s more, it’s highly likely that the Russian cruise missile has an upgraded warhead weighing 800 kg, meaning that the discrepancy is far worse.

In case such a missile hit any residential area, the death toll would’ve been in the hundreds, if not thousands. However, the mainstream propaganda machine doesn’t really care about such inconsistencies. All it cares about is its vaunted narrative. That’s precisely why they quote Zelensky’s statements about “Russian terrorists” while also openly talking about NATO’s and Neo-Nazi junta’s terrorist attacks against Russian schoolchildren as if it were a “completely normal thing”.

However, apart from the video evidence showing that Russia didn’t conduct the aforementioned strike, there’s also the history of other blatant lies by the Neo-Nazi junta. Namely, it regularly uses SAM systems without any consideration for civilians, such as in the case of Przewodow, a Polish village that was hit by 5V55K SAMs fired by the Kiev regime forces back in mid-November 2022. Two civilians were killed.

The Neo-Nazi junta was adamant that Russia “deliberately” attacked Poland. At the time, I argued that the location of the incident was nowhere near the engagement range of any Russian SAM system that uses the 5V55K missiles. All evidence suggested that the weapon was fired from an older iteration of the Soviet-era S-300 SAM system. At the time, the Kiev regime forces still operated several versions, with the vast majority belonging to the S-300P/PS/PT series. The missile in question has a maximum engagement range of approximately 45 km.

Updated versions of the post-Soviet era were never deployed in Ukraine, while the closest Russian air defense units are at least 150-200 km away, in Belarus, and operate much more advanced systems such as the S-400. Poland itself later confirmed that the Neo-Nazi junta lied, even leading to strained relations between the two. The latest incident is in no way different.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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There really are no limits to the Kiev regime’s incessant military demands. Ukraine is now asking the West to deliver submarines in order to escalate military operations in the Black Sea. In fact, this measure could seriously worsen the conflict, but it would not help Ukrainian forces achieve any useful military results.

Image: Rear Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa, Commander of the Ukrainian Navy. (From the Public Domain)

The head of the Ukrainian Navy, Admiral Aleksey Neizhpapa, recently stated that Ukraine urgently needs to receive Western submarines to reinforce its military positions in the Black Sea. According to him, only by deploying submarines will it be possible to improve Ukraine’s strategic capabilities and effectively damage Russian forces in the Black Sea.

Neizhpapa does not believe that Ukraine can achieve a military “victory” in the Black Sea without the use of submarines, which is why he calls on Western partners to quickly meet this strategic demand. He emphasizes that large submarines are useless in the region, given the local geographical conditions. However, he believes that small submarines are necessary to make the Ukrainian Navy capable of “spreading” itself across the sea, expanding the field of activity against the naval and coastal positions of the Russian Federation.

“We are thinking about it, submarines are necessary for us, they should be part of the navy (…) Locating only near Odessa means having nothing, we should look further, spread the fleet throughout the Black Sea and use its entire area (…) [Thus, Ukraine may turn] from a coastal state into a maritime power,” he said

It is important to emphasize that Ukraine has virtually no navy anymore. The Ukrainian naval forces have been heavily hit by Russia since 2022, with little useful force left from this branch of the Ukrainian military. Kiev has occasionally managed to cause damage to Russian naval positions in the Black Sea, having already sunk some Russian warships – which has greatly boosted the Western propaganda machine, with American and European newspapers reporting such cases as “great victories”. However, these moves are due to NATO assistance – mainly from American and British drones and satellites – in the Black Sea region. The Ukrainian Navy’s merit in these attacks is minimal, being almost entirely Western operations.

Recently, Russia has been progressively tightening measures in Ukrainian port areas, especially in Odessa. Intelligence data shows that the Kiev regime is using civilian facilities for military purposes, hiding weapons and ammunition in grain depots, as well as transporting weapons on civilian ships. Moscow’s patience with this type of illegal activity has gradually diminished, as there are frequent bombings to prevent the military use of Odessa’s ports.

However, the naval front of the special military operation has always been secondary regarding its strategic aspects. The conflict is being decided by land and air. On the ground, Russian troops are advancing in the New Regions and northern Ukraine. In the air, Russian aircraft and drones are circulating freely, given the collapse of the Ukrainian air defense, thus allowing the destruction of several enemy tanks and military vehicles.

At sea, Russia’s priority is to protect its own coastal regions, preventing terrorist incursions into areas such as Crimea and Krasnodar. Russia could use its naval positions to launch major raids on Odessa, which would significantly advance the results of the special military operation. However, Moscow still has as one of its main goals the achievement of its military objectives through moderate actions, without major civilian casualties – which is why large-scale incursions have been avoided as much as possible.

In parallel, the UK has been the most destabilizing agent in the Black Sea. Not only British military software, but British Navy’s special commandos have also been used on the maritime battlefield by Kiev’s forces. The US has also been playing an incisive role, mainly through technical assistance, providing intelligence and geolocation data to Kiev to plan terrorist attacks. In this sense, as much escalatory and irresponsible the Western move to provide submarines to Ukraine may sound, this possibility should not be ruled out.

Instead of inflicting damage on the Russians and generating a strategic advantage for Ukraine, such a move would only accelerate the destruction of Ukrainian positions in the Black Sea. The Russian response would be carried out through an escalation of military actions on the naval front. So far, Moscow has spared the enemy from its true maritime potential, but this situation could change quickly.

Under the current circumstances, any escalatory measures taken by Ukraine will have a negative impact on the Kiev regime itself. Nothing sounds more dangerous for Ukrainian forces than taking decisions that could test Russia’s patience.

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Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert. You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Elaborate patterns of fable and fairy tales are deeply woven into the ongoing chimera of COVID-19 as well as the lineup of successor illnesses being prepared to further our demise. The original frauds in 2020 included a totally inaccurate system of COVID tests designed to create massively amplified numbers of so-called “COVID cases.”

Added to this heavily-hyped means of creating phantom “cases,” were high rates of drug-induced homicide in nursing homes. The mortality of a sizeable portion of elderly patients was rushed to fruition with the help of the likes of midazolam mixed with morphine. Such drugs were distributed in sufficient quantities to help kick start the COVID kill operation before it accelerated with the widespread imposition of mandated injections in 2021.

In Canada in 2020, for instance, over 80% of supposed “deaths by COVID” were in nursing homes. The heightened death rate in these places provided much of the grist for the propaganda mills used to scare the population into believing a lethal plague was gaining momentum. See this.

Such manipulative fakery drove the formation of regimes of deception that continue even now to impose on humanity new attacks of unregulated experimentation in gene-modifying bouts of “synthetic biology.”

Google defines synthetic biology as a “multidisciplinary field of biotechnology that involves engineering the genetic material of organisms,” and especially human organisms that are meant to become industrial products invested with “new characteristics.” In other words, synthetic biology is meant to become the basis of enterprises that empower their practitioners to play the role of God.

The mRNA/lipid nanoparticle injections administered in the name of fighting COVID-19, became the cutting edge of the wedge of a much larger ongoing scheme. That scheme is to systemically alter the delivery of medical treatment to humans through various techniques for altering of our genes. The widespread embrace of this radical new approach, whose outcomes remain unknown, amounts to an extension of the illegal Covidian experiment on human subjects without our informed consent.

Based on the lie that the replacement of traditional vaccines with gene-modifying injections was a boon rather than an assault on human health, the mRNA/lipid nanoparticle technology is being applied to widening arrays of illnesses including various forms of turbo cancer that figure prominently among the “adverse events” set in motion by the COVID shots.

Gene-modifying injections are in the works for diabetes, tuberculosis, Zika, shingles, the flu and many more ailments.

As the esteemed Covidian skeptic, Dr. Peter McCullough, recently explained in an interview, the new procedures are being pushed forward much like the supposed antidote for the celebrity virus. The new procedures are being pushed forward without proper testing, informed consent and quality control. Dr. McCullough has asserted “there is no review or interest in safety whatsoever, and if there are horrific outcomes with the vaccines the medical community seems not to care at all.”

Seen in retrospect, Operation COVID was in large measure a psychological operation aimed at delivering mergers of military and medical experiments on the largest part of the global population. In the process the human genome of our entire species has probably been transformed in ways meant to create platforms for further genetic engineering. If present patterns continue, this engineering is meant to be in line with AI and the robotization of altered hominids as well as surviving humans.

See David A. Hughes, “Covid-19,”Psychological Operations, and The War for Technocracy, Vol. 1 (London, Palgrave MacMillan, 2024).

See this.

Accordingly, the same technology resulting in the production of GMO Seeds has been radically extended into the production, without the informed consent of medical subjects, into Genetically Modified People, GMPs. Significantly Bill Gates was a key financier and promoter near the core of both operations. Does the great wealth and influence of Bill Gates place him outside the laws that other humans are expected to adhere to?

In the Executive Order of 12 September, President Joe Biden indicated that the advancement of synthetic biology will unfold with minimal regulation within the “American Bioeconomy”.

Human subjects of biotechnological experimentation would be stripped of having a voice in the modification of our own bodies.

These altered synthetic entities—formerly we the people— are meant to become the patented products owned by investors in the new technologies. If current trends in the slashing and burning of democratic principles continue, we the humans are to be disempowered and dispossessed to the point where we lose any semblance of bodily autonomy and self-determination.

See this.

To be Classified as Essential or Redundant

Depopulation was and is one of the objectives of the COVID injection procedures. This genocidal project was anything but “therapeutic” for the people it killed and injured, as well as for the survivors still among us. Among the key culprits in this many-faceted crime against humanity were the hoax-addicted media conglomerates together with the perverse fakes that have seized control of a now-deeply corrupted medical profession.

As the World Health Organization-declared pandemic got rolling, the pronouncements of talking heads on TV, including the medical health officers employed by state, provincial and national governments, raised public panic to such high levels of hysteria that reasonable public discourse was purposely rendered virtually impossible.

A key fraudster in this well-financed scam was the sky-is-falling quack professor, Neil Ferguson who hails from Imperial College in London.

See this.

Like University of Toronto Medical Professor, Dr. David Fisman, Ferguson concocted out of thin air the made-to-order hypothetical models meant to to serve the massive money and power grabs still underway.

 

The frauds extended to unfounded claims about “asymptomatic infections.” This lie provided fake justifications for quarantining everyone, not just sick people. Ferguson’s crackpot predictions about the extent of the coming apocalypse merged with Tony Fauci’s lie that everyone on earth, healthy or sick, might be a spreader. Their pontifications were quickly translated by captive governments into globally-orchestrated efforts to lockdown almost everything and everybody almost everywhere.

Ferguson and Fisman were cynical saboteurs of the academic principles supposedly embraced by the very institutions that created the prestigious platforms they exploited, garnering much personal advantage in the process. Belonging to a chain of command, such frontline operatives in academia were instrumental in arousing an atmosphere of mental angst in the pandemic of panic. Higher up in the chain of command were, for instance, Ralph Baric, David Naylor at the University of Toronto, Tony Fauci, Peter Daszak, Klaus Schwab, Albert Bourla, Stéphane Bancel, and Bill Gates.

As the lockdowns compounded the severity of the devastation in the global economy, bankers like Larry Fink, the founder and CEO in charge of the financial leviathan BlackRock, put puppets like Trudeau Jr. in Canada in charge of deciding what businesses and what people were to be declared “essential.”

To execute their designs the bankers and their agents called the shots in generating much new fiat currency that they loaned to governments with the outcome that large amounts of added patronage money became available to the political puppets whose strings the financiers pulled. Trudeau and other charter members of the Davos club thus acquired major new means for self-enrichment, rewarding cronies and advancing pet projects.

The covert and off-the-books increases in the worldwide money supply also enabled the rapid expansion of funding to buy off medical practitioners, media figures, assorted celebrities and all manner of public officials. The bribery no doubt was accompanied by blackmail, including quite probably versions of the Epstein techniques. There can be no doubt that bribery and blackmail were essential ingredients of the ascent and diversification of widespread complicity in Operation COVID.

The bankers’ bribery of their puppet leaders came, of course, with conditions attached. These conditions required captive governments to mandate injections and punish the so-called “unvaxxed.” The Covidian initiates included many law enforcement officials, including judges, who were also subjected to a collective ultimatum that they must do whatever was required to cancel the constitutionally-codified rights and liberties of citizens in many countries.

A telling example of the kind of financial arrangements integral to the pandemic’s larceny was the designation of big box chain stores as essential services while making sure that mom and pop shops would be shut down. The result of this kind of kleptocratic discrimination was a huge upward transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle classes to a much expanded and further-enriched billionaire class.

To not be picked as “essential” amounted to being designated as redundant and disposable. This division set in motion a worldwide onslaught featuring unprecedented levels of shut downs of small and medium-sized businesses, wholesale bankruptcies, soaring unemployment, and breakdowns of many kinds in supply chains.

Such catastrophes extended into the socio-economic sphere through skyrocketing rates of suicides, domestic violence, homelessness, addictions and the like. To this day all these syndromes and more manifestations of societal breakdown continue to intensify and proliferate on full public display in many of the world’s cities and towns.

Meanwhile companies like BlackRock and the malfeasant drug companies like Pfizer, J and J, and Murderna have seized the towering heights of corporate dominance.

This takeover by favoured corporations is based on their being showered with gifts and advantages by governments. The ascent of the new corporate winners is thus a function of state intervention, not an outgrowth of any fairly earned competitive advantage in the marketplace involving genuine innovation, efficiency and ethical integrity.

The biggest lie in the litany of lies and deceptions so far, is that the Warp Speed injections are safe. The sad proof is on wide display for the attentive, that exactly the opposite is true. The evidence of the immense damage done by the outcomes of the fake fight with COVID-19 lies in the millions upon millions of lives prematurely lost worldwide. The evidence lies as well as in lives being shortened and often packed full of agonizing ailments inflicted by the shots and by the crippled natural immune systems disabled by successive jabs and boosters.

There has never been such a disastrous medical experiment that comes anywhere near the still-mounting impacts from the gene-modifying bioweapons disguised as a remedy for a supposedly new coronavirus. As David E. Martin continues to emphasize in many presentations, the SARS family of coronaviruses has incongruously been the subject for many years of patent claims, including by Fauci’s close colleague, Dr. Ralph Baric at the University of North Carolina.

This subject is one of those covered by Elizabeth Nickerson in her recent overview based on her close reading of many of the recent revelations emanating from genuine and much-discussed investigations detailing the massive harms still being visited upon us from the Operation COVID-19. She asserts,

“There has been extensive and profoundly respectable research into the origins of Covid – since when does a ‘virus’ have a registered patent and a vaccine invented and patented in 1995, advanced as “new”? A full 20% of us know someone who died as a result of the vaccine. Sasha Latypova and Katherine Watt of Balliwick News, Dr David Martin, and many many others have done deep deep research, going into the legislation, through all the rules, regulations, patents, and interagency agreements to show that Covid 19 and the vaccine were security-state manufactured toxins meant to draw down the population. Every country is reporting massive upticks in turbo cancer, dementia, infant deaths, heart failure in the young, and excess deaths….Legitimate, highly trained and credentialed scientists assert 20,000,000 of us have already died from the vaccine world-wide, and that by 2028, one third of us will be either sick or taking care of the ill.”

The Lies Are Not Easing Up 

The so-called Clot Shots were and are the opposite of “safe.” When it comes to the issue of “effectiveness,” however, the ironies abound. The question naturally arises: Effective for what? When it comes to the question of whether the injections were effective at stopping a viral infection or obstructing its spread throughout the human population, the answer is simple. The COVID injections were and are very ineffective.

If it happens, however, that the real purpose of the COVID injections was to initiate a massive global campaign of depopulation, then the initiative seems firmly pointed towards effectiveness. The same could be said about effectiveness if a real agenda is to lead the survivors of depopulation into robot-compatible forms of transhuman enslavement through the development of “synthetic biology.”

And then there is the question of whether Operation COVID-19 encompasses larger objectives like opening the way to pre-planned resets of financial and political interactions with the goal of concentrating more power and wealth in fewer and fewer hands. This way of seeing the crisis as a massive power grab taking place behind the veil of a public health crisis, has long since been adopted by Dr. Mike Yeadon, a former V-P of Research for Pfizer.

Clearly the scale and depth of the Covidian deceptions has grown considerably since the strange developments in Wuhan began to grab global attention back in January of 2020. We need to remind ourselves of how far the Covidian revelations and transformations have come from the days of the original contrived controversy over whether that celebrity virus had jumped onto humans from wild life species residing in a Chinese wet market.

To this day there has been no public reckoning with those who pushed so many lies upon us to justify unloading so much harm on our public safety, or economic viability and our violated rights and freedom. The continuing obfuscation about where we have been and where we are headed is as intense as it is foreboding. The lies are not easing up. In fact the disingenuousness from those claiming to be our governors remains in acceleration mode.

Let me conclude this section by returning to the early stages of the power grab. From the inception of the manufactured COVID crisis, scientific findings were regularly downgraded and ignored to enable politicians to obtain power, maintain it and rise in the ranks of puppet opportunists. As demonstrated in the video below produced with data from Germany’s RKI public health agency, from the very beginning the Covidian initiatives adopted throughout much of the world ran consistently contrary to relevant scientific findings.

 

Read Part II: 

An Injection of Truth: The Ongoing Covidian Controversy in Alberta

By Prof. Anthony J. Hall, July 11, 2024

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This article was originally published on Looking out at the World from Canada.

Dr. Anthony Hall is currently Professor of Globalization Studies at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta Canada. He has been a teacher in the Canadian university system since 1982. Dr. Hall, has recently finished a big two-volume publishing project at McGill-Queen’s University Press entitled “The Bowl with One Spoon”.

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

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On June 26th, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability sat down for a Congressional Hearing titled, “Defending America from the Chinese Communist Party’s Political Warfare.” This was one of many Congressional hearings aimed at tackling the “China threat.”

As a general premise, I didn’t have a lot of hope for the hearing. Language is crucial, and the title says it all: any action by the US is merely “defense” against acts of political warfare committed by China. And still, I was disappointed. Not only was it filled with racist, paranoid rhetoric, but it was supremely unjust, lacking any level of self-awareness, and almost certainly operated solely as an agenda-pushing cover for whatever act of warfare our government sought to commit next.

Three witnesses took to the stands. The first was Erik Bethel, a finance professional selected to represent the US at the World Bank. He was followed by Mary Kissel, Former Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Third was James E. Fanell, the Former Director of Intelligence and Information Operations for the US Pacific Fleet and current Government Fellow.

Big people with big titles. That is the usual order of things: a few “experts” are selected to “teach” members of Congress about complex subjects they may lack background in. The Committee of Oversight and Accountability certainly lacks China expertise. Representative Lisa McClain spent ten years working for American Express before she was elected to represent the state of Michigan. Chairman James Comer was a Kentucky farmer. Representative Paul Gosar was a dentist in Arizona. Marjorie Taylor-Greene was a part-time CrossFit gym coach. Many of them have never traveled to China, let alone held a productive conversation with a member of China’s government.

Their lack of expertise didn’t stop them from sounding their opinions. I listened carefully, hoping to give them the benefit of the doubt. It was a fruitless endeavor.

Representative McClain spoke about her district:

“In Michigan, we have the Gotion plant… We have a Chinese-owned company and the only spot they can figure out that is feasible for them to build is next to a university and next to a military base. Anybody think that’s a coincidence?”

In the audience, the new summer Hillterns listened with rapt attention.

“I’m not much for coincidences,” McClain continued. “We talk about, well it’s gonna create jobs. Jobs for who? I’m very concerned, and I’m not much for coincidences.”

She was talking about the plans to build a new plant in Michigan for electric vehicle components under the company Gotion, which has headquarters in Shanghai. The plan is speculated to bring thousands of jobs to the area, with wages about 150% of the current average. McClain, having no substance on which to defend her opposition to the plant, instead decided to speculate on its geographic location, implying the company is purposefully building near a university and military installation. Clearly, the plant is a spy base for the Chinese government, as surely as any 18 to 26-year-old Chinese immigrant is an undercover Chinese soldier sent to wreak havoc upon our country– all baseless, unfounded claims that promote Asian American hate and shift public perception to support anti-China policies.

The military base she’s talking about is Camp Grayling, which is actually over 100 miles away from Big Rapids, where the EV plant will be built. As for the proximity to Ferris State University, the relevance of that statement is questionable. There are around 77 colleges and universities in the entire state– 198 if you include community colleges and trade schools. It would be difficult not to build near one. But that’s beside the point. This is merely one example of the outlandish and absurd claims made in the hearing, backed by anecdotal and unreliable “evidence” based on feelings and a strange paranoia that anything with links to China has malicious intentions.

Grayling Air Gunnery Range (From the Public Domain)

In response to McClain’s statements, Mary Kissel said,

“Let’s not give them too much credit as long-term thinkers. Let’s remember they almost destroyed their country several times over.”

The words were spoken derisively, reaffirming my suspicion that Ms. Kissel boasts severe negative prejudices towards China and Chinese people. She continued to cite the Cultural Revolution, the debt crisis, and “etcetera.” In truth, the US is a mere baby in comparison to China’s 5,000 years of history. As for Ms. Kissel’s claims, to say Chinese people nearly destroyed their country is misleading and tinged with a disturbing colonialistic self-superiority that the West does everything better.

Ms. Kissel also stated her opinion of how China operates:

“China is a party state. The function of China is not to better the interests of the Chinese people– it is to promote, strengthen, and expand the power and influence, and reach of the Chinese Communist Party.”

I challenge this claim, not just for its wrongful absolutism, but because China has repeatedly shown immense interest in improving the everyday lives of its citizens. China is unparalleled in its developmental growth aimed at providing infrastructure and opportunities to the people. Housing, public transportation, health care, and education are all convenient and affordable. The average retirement age is 54 years old. Over the past few decades, the government has been working ceaselessly to eradicate extreme poverty with tremendous success. Over 800 million people have been taken out of poverty and afforded a better quality of life. Not only that, but China continues to emphasize the importance of green energy in building a sustainable future. Shenzhen, one of the country’s biggest high-tech cities, has even switched over all public transportation to electric vehicles. This isn’t pro-China propaganda, it’s simply fact.

Along with forged criticism of China’s internal dynamics and history, the hearing also challenged China’s position when it comes to the US.

The overall goal of China, Ms. Kissel proclaimed, is to “upend our way of life and to dominate and change our way of life.” They are “committed to destroy(ing) us.”

At first glance, it sounds absurd that an individual so ostensibly high up on the policy advisory hierarchy would make such a condemnatory and extreme claim. But considering that Ms. Kissel served under Mike Pompeo during Donald Trump’s presidential term, it is not so surprising. It was not an administration known for its truth-telling.

First and foremost, China has no plans to destroy the United States. We can easily cipher this through both statement and action. To claim otherwise is false and promotes a dangerous narrative that guides our policy-makers down a one-way path to war.

Erik Bethel’s claim that “China is encircling us” is also highly deceptive. Adversely, it is the US that has encircled China with over 300 military bases and countless troops. China has no military bases in the entire Western hemisphere. There is no “encircling” occurring.

Image is from CODEPINK

Former US Representative Tom Malinowski criticized China for trying to make the US “look bad to the rest of the world.” This is, at best, overwhelmingly hypocritical. Just recently it was uncovered that the US launched a secret anti-vax operation in the Philippines during the deadliest months of the COVID-19 pandemic to undermine China’s influence in the region. According to a senior US military official, “We weren’t looking at this from a public health perspective. We were looking at how we could drag China through the mud.”

As the hearing drew on, the claims grew more and more unhinged.

“They’re teaming up with the Mexican drug cartels and they’re killing Americans,” Congressman Fallon told everyone, backing his claim that China is killing nearly as many Americans per day as died during WW2.

“They know how many paperclips you all are using in the Longworth building,” Representative Tim Burchett said, reminiscing on a Mike Pompeo quote.

“What if they were to develop some kind of biological entity that can, say, wipe out females of child-bearing ages or something?” Burchett queried.

“If you’re using this app (Tiktok), they can listen to you,” Another added.

“We should do the opposite of what China wants us to do,” Malinowski put forth as a general solution.

“We need to construct not just a defensive strategy, but an offensive strategy,” Ms. Kissel spoke decisively. Twice it was mentioned that her last name rhymes with missile– nominative determinism perhaps.

It was as if the hearing took lines straight out of an SNL skit. It’s unfathomable that these are the people sitting in our Congressional hearing rooms, talking about war. These are the people voting on legislation that could propel us into a conflict with China that would bring death and destruction to millions, and most likely end in nuclear catastrophe or total destruction of the planet.

Our politicians, although ignorant and lacking expertise, are willing cogs in the war machine. They bring the most anti-China and pro-military witnesses to the stands to reaffirm their own paranoid delusions about an all-knowing, all-hateful “other” across the sea that seeks to destroy everything bright and beautiful about the world. This is happening on a weekly basis.

The truth is that it is not China gearing up for war, but our very own government. Our politicians are pumping billions of dollars into hyper-militarizing the Asia Pacific and writing it off as “deterrence.” They’re spouting lies and fear-inducing narratives at Congressional hearings in a bid to garner support for anti-China legislation. These stories are trickling down through the media and infecting the minds of the general public, priming the US military for its next conquest. Why? Because the US is self-interested and directed solely by its desire to maintain global hegemony, even at the expense of all others. China is not a threat because it’s threatening our security– China is a threat because it’s successful.

Tucked securely in their offices, our politicians will sign bill after bill funding proxy conflicts around the world, but they will never know the many hideous faces of war. They’ll point fingers and make accusations, but they will never turn the mirror around to acknowledge their own hypocrisies. They’ll stand there saluting when bodies come home in boxes and claim it was for the greater good, but they will never face the consequences of their actions– they will never be forced to die for another’s deceptions.

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Megan Russell is CODEPINK’s China is Not Our Enemy Campaign Coordinator. She graduated from the London School of Economics with a Master’s Degree in Conflict Studies. Prior to that, she attended NYU where she studied Conflict, Culture, and International Law. Megan spent one year studying in Shanghai, and over eight years studying Chinese Mandarin. Her research focuses on the intersection between US-China affairs, peacebuilding, and international development.

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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The Biden administration has settled on a plan to expand the war beyond Ukraine by deploying combat troops and lethal weaponry to 15 military bases in Finland. Whether the deployment will include nuclear-armed ballistic missiles is not yet known, but the threat to Russia’s security is serious all the same. One can imagine what Washington would do if Moscow chose to build 15 fully equipped and operational military bases on the US-Mexico border. The US would swiftly eradicate the threat through force-of-arms. No one doubts this. The question is whether Putin will pursue the same course of action as the US or dillydally until the threat becomes too menacing to ignore. This is from an article at The Defense Post:

The Finnish Parliament on Monday unanimously approved a defense pact with the United States, which will allow enhanced US military presence and storage of defense material in Finland…. Aimed to strengthen Finland’s security and defense capabilities, the agreement comes after the Nordic country joined NATO in April 2023….

Finland’s relations with neighboring Russia, with whom it shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border, have become increasingly tense after Finland joined the alliance last year.

The deal gives the United States access to 15 military bases in Finland and enables the presence and training of US forces, and prepositioning of defense material in Finnish territory. It also strengthens cooperation between the two countries in crisis situations. Russia says it will respond to Finland giving U.S. access to bases, The Defense Post

Washington’s so-called “enhanced US military presence” in Finland does not serve any national interest or provide any material benefit for the American people. It is a clear provocation designed to intimidate Russia and expand the war beyond Ukraine. Not surprisingly, it replicates the same conditions that triggered the conflict in February 2022, that is, it installs NATO’s military infrastructure in locations that pose an existential threat to Russia’s survival. Russia cannot be expected to live with hostile military bases and missiles on its doorstep any more than an ordinary man can live with a gun pointed to his head. Putin must respond in order to defend his country’s national security. On Wednesday, a spokesman for Russia’s foreign ministry issued the following statement:

“I can only confirm that Russia will not leave unanswered the NATO military build-up on our border, which threatens the security of the Russian Federation,” Deputy Spokesman Andrei Nastasin said.

“We will also take the necessary measures, including of a military-technical nature, to counter aggressive decisions by Finland, as well as its NATO allies,” he added. Russian Foreign Ministry: Moscow will respond to Finland giving US access to bases, ibc.group

Clearly, the Biden administration has no interest in Finland other than using it as a forward-operating base in the West’s war on Russia. In effect, Finland’s leaders have put their country in a position where it could face the same catastrophic destruction as their neighbor Ukraine, if Moscow feels sufficiently threatened by the proposed military build-up. Here’s Putin:

“There were no problems, but now there will be, because we will now create the Leningrad military district there and definitely concentrate military units there,” Putin added in the interview …

“They (the West) took Finland and dragged it into NATO! Why, did we have any disputes with Finland? All disputes, including those of a territorial nature in the middle of the 20th Century, have all been resolved long ago,” Putin said in an interview published on Sunday. CNN

NATO’s expansion into Finland shows how the Alliance’s development has dramatically altered the security environment in Europe. In the 33 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991), Russia has never launched a war of territorial aggression against any of its neighbors. Compare that to NATO’s record of belligerence in Kosovo, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. The facts speak for themselves. Now NATO is continuing its inexorable march eastward despite Russia’s modest security demands or the growing threat of a third world war.

Image: Presidents Joe Biden and Sauli Niinistö in the Oval Office, 2022 (From the Public Domain)

By the way, the US routinely insists that sovereign nations (like Finland) have the right to choose whatever security arrangement they want. But that is clearly not the case. The United States and every nation in NATO have signed treaties (Istanbul in 1999, and Astana in 2010) that stipulate they cannot improve their own security at the expense of others.

The principle underlying these agreements is called “the indivisibility of security”, which means that the security of one state can’t be separated from the security of the others. In practical terms, that means that signatories to these treaties are not free to develop their own military capability to the point where it poses a danger to their neighbors. These terms are especially applicable to Ukraine and Finland which seek to join a military alliance that is openly hostile to Russia. NATO membership has always been a “red line” for Putin who has stated repeatedly that he will not allow NATO bases, combat troops and missile sites to be located on his western border where they’d be less than 10 minutes flight-time to Moscow.

It’s also worth mentioning that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently boasted that the Biden administration has effectively reconstructed an Iron Curtain that prevents Russia from economically integrating with Europe, which is an arrangement that benefited the EU more than it did Russia. (For example, the cutoff of NordStream’s cheap gas has intensified Germany’s de-industrialization while delivering a blow to the economy.) Here’s Blinken:

“We now have a network of defense cooperation agreements that stretches from northern to southern Europe, from the Norwegian Sea to the Black Sea, providing security and stability for people all across the continent.’…

Sounds like an Iron Curtain to me.

Presidents Joe Biden and Sauli Niinistö in press Conference at the Presidential Palace of Finland in Helsinki, Finland in July 2023 (From the Public Domain)

The evolving story of Finland’s transformation into a launching pad for US aggression against Russia has received almost no coverage in the mainstream media, which is understandable given the media’s penchant for concealing the details of Washington’s relentless incitements. Unfortunately, the confrontation between NATO and Moscow is not going to vanish because it is not reported in the legacy media. Conditions will get progressively worse until some unexpected incident serves as the catalyst for a direct conflagration between the rival elements. What this latest fracas in Finland shows us, is that western foreign policy elites have decided to expand the conflict beyond the confines of territorial Ukraine which—in all likelihood—will plunge an even larger portion of eastern Europe into a full-blown war. Why else would they build up Finland’s military infrastructure the same way they built up Ukraine’s before the war?

Answer—Because they want the same outcome. That much seems obvious.

There’s also been scant coverage of the dramatic change in Putin’s approach to the conflict since Ukraine’s missile strike on a beach in Crimea in late June that killed four citizens including two children. The missiles that were used in that attack were US-supplied ATACMS that require US contractors, intelligence and coordinates all provided by the US military. Putin addressed the use of these missiles in a speech in May in which he said the following:

….the final target selection… can only be made by highly skilled specialists who rely on this reconnaissance data, technical reconnaissance data. … Launching other systems, such as ATACMS, for example, also relies on space reconnaissance data, targets are identified and automatically communicated to the relevant crews that may not even realise what exactly they are putting in. A crew, maybe even a Ukrainian crew, then puts in the corresponding launch mission. However, the mission is put together by representatives of NATO countries, not the Ukrainian military.

The point Putin was making was simple and can be summarized like this:

• The long-range precision weapons (ATACMS) are provided by the US.
• The long-range precision weapons are manned by experts or contractors from the US.
• The long-range precision weapons must be linked to space reconnaissance data provide by the US or NATO
• The targets in Russia are also provided by space reconnaissance data provide by the US or NATO

In other words, the long-range missiles are made by NATO, furnished by NATO, operated and launched by NATO contractors, whose targets are selected by NATO experts using space reconnaissance data provided by NATO. In every respect, the firing of long-range precision weapons at targets in Russia, is a NATO-US operation. The fact that the system may have been located on Ukrainian soil does not mitigate Washington’s direct involvement. Four Russian civilians were killed by the United States in a flagrant act of aggression on Russian soil, therefore, Putin must respond in kind. Here’s how he addressed the issue two weeks ago:

“If someone thinks it is possible to supply such weapons to a war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, why don’t we have the right to supply weapons of the same class to regions of the world where there will be strikes on sensitive facilities of those (Western) countries?” he said. “That is, the response can be asymmetric.”

He’s right, isn’t he? Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. If you kill Russian civilians, you should expect the same treatment in response. And, if you provide long-range missiles to Russia’s enemies, Russia will do the same. That is the precedent Washington set by attacking Crimea. Putin is merely accepting the new rules of the game.

What’s interesting, however, is the way that Putin tips his hand; he candidly admits that he will not respond in the same way as Washington. Instead, his response will be “asymmetric”, which means it will be proportional but indirect. And so it has been.

In the last few weeks, Putin has deployed warships to Cuba (A Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine) to show Washington that Russia can place nuclear-armed vessels on America’s southern border (just as Washington plans to do in Romania and Poland) He has also flown to Pyongyang where he signed a military assistance pact with North Korea which effectively terminates the US sanctions regime which is an essential tool of the “rules-based order”. And now (according to Newsweek) he is preparing to provide anti-ship ballistic cruise missiles to Yemen’s Houthis, which will scuttle Washington’s plan restore commercial traffic in the Red Sea. This is from Newsweek:

There are indications that Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering supplying the Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthi movement with anti-ship ballistic cruise missiles, Middle East Eye (MEE)—citing an unnamed senior U.S. official—reported on Saturday….

Moscow has been coordinating with the Houthis as part of its growing alignment with Iran, with the Kremlin seeking new and deeper alliances among anti-Western powers…

(Since October 7), the Houthis have been attacking commercial shipping and Western military vessels operating in the Red, Mediterranean Seas and Arabian Seas. The organization has vowed to continue and expand its attacks unless Israel fully withdraws from Gaza….

Houthi political bureau member Ali al-Qahoum said there is “a constant cooperation and development of relations between Yemen, Russia, China and BRICS states, as well as an exchange of knowledge and experience in various areas.”

“This is necessary to drown America, the U.S. and the West in [the crisis] around the Red Sea…” Putin Mulls Arming Houthis With Cruise Missiles: Report, Newsweek

Can the report in Newsweek be trusted?

We’re not sure. Having followed Putin for many years, it seems unlikely that he would throw gas on a Middle East conflict even if he thought Russia might derive some benefit from it. Even so, we do believe that the killing Russians on Russian soil has fundamentally changed the rules of the game and that we should expect Putin to pursue a number of asymmetric strategies including easing constraints on the provision of lethal weapons to allied countries. Instead of withholding these weapons in the interests of peace and security, Moscow is now prepared to provide them to allies who—like Russia—find themselves in Washington’s crosshairs.

How will Putin’s “taking off the gloves” impact growing geopolitical instability across the world?

Things are going to get much worse before they get better. The billionaire elites who dictate policy in the West are getting increasingly desperate, while Russia and China are getting increasingly fed up with Washington’s arrogant and ham-fisted meddling. Somethings gotta give. There’s bound to be a clash between the western globalists still clinging to power and the emerging Powerhouse economies of the East. The question is whether the western globalists will “go gentle into that good night” or incinerate much of the planet in one last desperate bid for power. Here’s Putin:

…the self-centeredness and arrogance of Western countries have led us to a highly perilous situation today. We are inching dangerously close to a point of no return. Calls for a strategic defeat of Russia, which possesses the largest arsenals of nuclear weapons, demonstrate the extreme recklessness of Western politicians. They either fail to comprehend the magnitude of the threat they are creating or are simply consumed by their notion of invincibility and exceptionalism. Both scenarios can result in tragedy.

It is evident that the entire system of Euro-Atlantic security is crumbling before our eyes. At present, it is practically non-existent and must be rebuilt. To achieve this, we must collaborate with interested countries, of which there are many, to develop our own strategies for ensuring security in Eurasia and then present them for broader international deliberation….

the never-ending attempts by the current globalist liberal elites …. to maintain their imperial status and dominance in one way or another, are …. clearly contrary to the genuine interests of the American people. If it were not for this dead-end policy…. international relations would have long been stabilized... President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s speech at the meeting with senior staff of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow, June 14, 2024

Putin knows that it’s not the American people who want these bloody interventions, but the “globalist liberal elites” (as he calls them) who want to strengthen their grip on power whatever the cost. This is the rogue element that must be eradicated so that ordinary people can regain control of their government and nuclear war can be averted. It’s a formidable task, but it must be done.

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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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New Year Donation Drive: Global Research Is Committed to the “Unspoken Truth”

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[We repost this article by Mojmir Babacek, first published by GR in January 2024.]

On December 9, 2023, the European Parliament published a press release, where it stated that it reached a political deal with the Council of the European Union “on a bill to ensure AI in Europe is safe, respects fundamental rights and democracy“. The future bill is supposed to ban “AI systems that manipulate human behaviour to circumvent their free will“.

According to the press release the deputies also “agreed“ on “clear obligations“ with respect to “AI systems used to influence the outcome of elections and voter behavior“ (see this). No one and no place elaborated on those issues. In a reply to the petition of several representatives and members of the world human rights organizations, the chair of the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat, quoted the preparatory document of the EP, which stated:

“The placing on the market, putting into service or use of certain AI systems with the objective to or the effect of materially distorting human behavior, whereby  physical or psychological harms are likely to occur, should be forbidden. This limitation should be understood to include neuro-technologies assisted by AI systems that are used to monitor, use or influence neural data gathered through brain-computer interfaces insofar as they are materially distorting the behavior of a natural person in a manner that causes or is likely to cause that person or another person significant harm.“ 

Those statements both address and hide the  feasibility of mass manipulation of the human nervous system (thoughts, emotions, perceptions, functioning of internal organs or even causing death of people) at a distance. It is evident that only when masses of people’s brains are controlled at distance, the AI systems can be “used  to influence the outcome of elections and voter behavior“  by forming political opinions of voters and imposing their decision to vote for certain parties or persons.

For that matter, 11 human rights organizations replied to Dolors Montserrat:

“We are deeply concerned with your reply to the petition number 0716/2023.

After studying the information on the agreement between European Parliament and member states of the EU on artificial intelligence legislation (see this and this), we do not see their sincere intention to prevent the manipulation of human thinking emotions etc. by governments agencies with the use of  pulsed microwaves, extra long electromagnetic waves or other as yet unpublished energies. This means that so far there are no measures taken to prevent the development of the European union member states into the totalitarian regimes where thinking of citizens will be controlled by the governments using those radiations and artificial intelligence. To prevent such situation, the governments would have to declassify the technologies of remote control of the human nervous systems and create agencies objectively capable and legally obliged to disclose the abuse of human rights and democracy by AI technologies. When the governments keep them classified, they keep for themselves open the option to manipulate the minds of their citizens, whenever they see fit. Possession of those tools will relieve them of responsibility in the face of their citizens in cases where catastrophes may happen due to the fact that they neglected dangers, connected with further development of civilization.

The scientific evidence proving that at least pulsed microwaves (including transmissions of cell phone systems) and extra long electromagnetic waves can be used to control human thoughts, emotions, perceptions, cause pains etc. at distance can be found here.

The proposal of legislation, which would satisfy requirements on the political system respecting human rights and freedoms of  citizens in the electronic era, can be found here.

In summary, we believe the EU AI Act should include legislation that explicitly prohibits EU governments, including law enforcement, intelligence agencies and the military, from using artificial intelligence to manipulate at distance human thoughts, emotions, etc. using published or other as-yet unpublished energies. The legislation should also include the obligation of EU governments to protect their citizens from such manipulation by non-EU governments or other entities.

It is worth very serious consideration, whether in the not distant future, where majority of state’s citizens could be unemployed  or underemployed due to the use of artificial intelligence, they will be allowed to have a freedom to vote according to their opinions or whether the state power will decide that they are not responsible  enough to make the right choice in the elections and will produce their decisions in their minds instead.

In this way they would not even have the right to vote against  the use of artificial intelligence, which deprived them of their jobs and dignity. According to the analysis of the International Monetary Fund, the introduction of the Artificial Intelligence “is set to affect nearly 40% of all jobs“ worldwide and about 60% in advanced economies and in this way “AI will likely, worsen overall inequality“ (see this).

Commander Cornelis van der Klaauw from Royal Netherlands Navy and Expert from Strategic Communications and Information Operations NATO Joint Warfare Centre wrote in an article in 2023:

“The reason why cognitive attacks go unnoticed by their targets is that cognitive activities bypass the conscious mind and directly target the subconscious of a person… most of our decisions are made by our subconscious… Cognitive attacks are aimed at exploiting emotions rooted in our subconscious, bypassing our rational conscious mind“.

You can sign the petition to the European Parliament demanding the deputies to produce the legislation which will secure the democracy and respect for human rights in the European union in the transparent and unequivocal way by clicking here. The text of the Petition is in the Appendix Below. 

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ANNEX

Text of the Petition

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Mojmir Babacek was born in 1947 in Prague, Czech Republic. Graduated in 1972 at Charles University in Prague in philosophy and political economy. In 1978 signed the document defending human rights in  communist Czechoslovakia „Charter 77“. Since 1981 until 1988 lived in emigration in the USA. Since 1996 he has published articles on different subjects mostly in the Czech and international alternative media.

In 2010, he published a book on the 9/11 attacks in the Czech language. Since the 1990‘s he has been striving to help to achieve the international ban of remote control of the activity of the human nervous system and human minds with the use of neurotechnology.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research

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Dr. Francis Boyle, the Harvard educated law professor that drafted the 1989 Biological Weapons and Antiterrorism Act, which passed both houses of Congress unanimously, provided an affidavit stating that Covid 19 injections and mRNA nanoparticle injections violate the law he wrote. Dr. Boyle asserted that ‘COVID 19 injections’, ‘COVID 19 nanoparticle injections’, and ‘mRNA nanoparticle injections’ are biological weapons and weapons of mass destruction and violate Biological Weapons 18 USC § 175; Weapons and Firearms § 790.166 Fla. Stat. (2023).

Dr. Boyle provided this affidavit in a Florida case filed by Dr. Joseph Sansone involving an Emergency Petition for a Writ of Mandamus that seeks to compel Governor DeSantis to prohibit the distribution of ‘COVID 19 injections’, ‘COVID 19 nanoparticle injections’, and ‘mRNA nanoparticle injections’, in the state of Florida. It also seeks to compel Attorney General Ashley Moody to confiscate the vials.

The original Emergency Petition for a Writ of Mandamus was filed on March 3rd, 2024, in the Florida Supreme Court. It was then transferred to the Circuit Court in Leon County on March 20th, 2024. On April 9th, 2024, the Circuit Court dismissed the case. The case is now in the appellate court. The Appellate Brief was filed on Memorial Day, May 27th, 2024.

The pleadings assert that the distribution of ‘COVID 19 injections’, ‘COVID 19 nanoparticle injections’, and ‘mRNA nanoparticle injections’, violate – Biological Weapons 18 USC § 175; Weapons and Firearms § 790.166 Fla. Stat. (2023); Federal Crime of Treason 18 USC § 2381; Treason § 876.32 Fla. Stat. (2023); Domestic Terrorism, 18 USC § 2331; Terrorism § 775.30 Fla. Stat. (2023); Murder § 782.04 (1)(a) Fla. Stat. (2023); and Genocide 18 USC §1091; Florida Drugs and Cosmetic Act § 499.005 (2) Fla. Stat. (2023); Fraud § 817.034 Fla Stat. (2023); Accessory After the Fact § 777.03 Fla. Stat. (2023); and Florida Medical Consent Law § 766.103 Fla Stat. (2023).

Dr. Boyle is considered one of the world’s leading legal experts on biological weapons. Dr. Boyle’s affidavit adds a tremendous amount of credibility to the case, which already has a tremendous body of evidence provided in the writ of mandamus. Affidavits stating that the injections are biological and technological weapons, were also provided by med legal advisor and biotech analyst Karen Kingston, who researched the evidence that makes of the Facts of the Case section of the Mandamus, and from Ana Mihalcea, M.D., PhD. Dr. Mihalcea’s research is included in the Mandamus. Dr. Mihalcea is one of the world’s leading researchers into the effects of self replicating nanotechnology in the blood of injected as well as the effects in the blood of the uninjected as a result of shedding.

Dr. Boyle’s affidavit is below:

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For several months now, the Kiev regime has been talking about “new counteroffensives”. Desperate to get more “military aid” from the United States and European Union, the Neo-Nazi junta keeps fantasizing about large-scale offensive operations that would “push back the evil Russians”, but that’s as viable as Hitler’s “grand plans” of counteroffensives while the Red Army was already taking Berlin.

Still, the Kiev regime keeps dreaming, particularly now when it needs to justify the hundreds of billions it got from the political West. However, problems persist, as the Neo-Nazi junta forces simply have no real offensive capabilities. The manpower is severely depleted, Soviet-era hardware largely gone, while the NATO-sourced one is simply not robust enough to survive the brutal realities of warfare. Not to mention that it’s also far more expensive and much more difficult to acquire and/or replace.

On the other hand, how does one conduct a counteroffensive against an opponent that keeps advancing? The Russian military is grinding away, destroying virtually every hostile grouping in its path. If ground forces are having trouble advancing because of dug-in and fortified areas, they call in artillery or close air support. If that doesn’t work, Russian fighter-bombers and tactical strike aircraft move in, dropping the new UMPK-equipped precision-guided bombs, obliterating any and all fortifications. Worse yet for the Kiev regime, its endemically corrupt politicians stole the money that was supposed to turn the northern areas of the Kharkov oblast (region) into a virtual fortress. Expectedly, none of that happened, while Moscow’s artillery dominance keeps growing, to say nothing of various types of new and ever more advanced drones and long-range strike capabilities.

Even top NATO commanders are unconvinced that their Neo-Nazi junta puppets are capable of new counteroffensives any time soon. Back in February, British Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, infamous for his direct involvement in attacks on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, said that he didn’t expect any new offensive operations by the Kiev regime forces before early 2025. According to his assessment, “the Ukrainian military increasingly struggles with Russian forces”. And indeed, there’s simply no viable way for the Neo-Nazi junta to even consolidate its own lines of defense, let alone mount a counteroffensive against the much better organized and equipped Russian forces. Not to mention the far better strategic support these troops have, including much more frequent troops rotation, which affects both the morale and fighting capabilities of the personnel.

However, the long-term situation looks even worse for the Kiev regime, as the Russian military is yet to reach its maximum fighting capacity. Namely, the recent changes in the Kremlin’s Ministry of Defense indicate a move to the maximum efficiency of resource distribution, while the massive increase in defense spending suggests a militarization of parts of the rapidly growing Russian economy. The cumulative effect of these changes certainly doesn’t bode well for NATO’s favorite Neo-Nazi puppets. Namely, although Moscow already boasts superior production capacity in artillery (a crucial aspect of resurgent industrial warfare), these changes will increase the aforementioned advantages exponentially. It’s only a matter of time before this process starts changing the balance of power in the frontlines, further exacerbating the situation for Kiev.

It might even be argued that these changes are already visible and the Kremlin is already applying them to increase its strategic advantage. At this time, Russian forces are divided into six operational groupings. The focus of operations is still in the Donetsk oblast, where the “Center” group is advancing in operational unison with the “East” and “South” groups, while the “West” is aiding all three by advancing in both the northern sector of the Donetsk oblast and eastern areas of the Kharkov oblast, specifically in the direction of Krasny Liman and Kupyansk, respectively. Meanwhile, the “Dnieper” group is conducting defensive operations in the Kherson oblast, as well as a combination of defensive and limited offensive operations in the Zaporozhye oblast. The “Dnieper” group is best known for bearing the brunt and ultimately defeating the Neo-Nazi junta’s much-touted counteroffensive last year.

The most recent addition to these five Russian groups is the “North”, which has been conducting offensive operations in the Kharkov oblast. Its composition suggests that it’s mostly geared towards artillery warfare, implying that its main purpose is to overstretch the Kiev regime forces and relieve pressure off the combined grouping of forces in the Donetsk oblast. Facing all of them are five operational groups of the Neo-Nazi junta, namely “Tavria”, “Khortytsia”, “Odessa” and its own “North”. The fifth group, named “Marun” is kept as a strategic reserve in case any of the previous four need backup. “Tavria’s” areas of responsibility are Zaporozhye and Donetsk, “Khortytsia’s” are northern Donetsk and eastern Kharkov, “Odessa’s” is Kherson, while the “North” is responsible for the northern Kharkov oblast (named the same as the Russian operational group in the same area).

These forces enjoyed significant numerical superiority for over two years, but due to heavy casualties, the ratio of forces is now much closer to 1:1, although the Kiev regime still maintains a slight advantage in numbers. However, the casualty ratio tells a different story. Standing at approximately 10:1, it explains the massive reduction in the Neo-Nazi junta’s numerical advantage. This indicates that any offensive potential of these forces is being chipped away, meaning that it will only get worse in the long run. Thus, the Kiev regime’s best time for a counteroffensive is now. On the other hand, the Russian military’s advantage is bound to grow, meaning that all it needs to do is continue with incremental advances. The chances of this dynamic changing anytime soon are slim to none. Thus, we’re far more likely to see a major Russian offensive than the Neo-Nazi junta’s yet another counteroffensive.

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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 InfoBrics

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According to a source in the Israeli forces’ Southern Command, the region was designed to become a “killing zone,” while another commanded that “not a single vehicle can return to Gaza.”

Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported that during Operation al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) routinely used a command that allowed soldiers to murder their own soldiers, namely the infamous Hannibal Directive.

The Israeli Air Force targeted at least three military facilities and outposts during the operation and the IOF opened fire on the walled separation barrier dividing Gaza and “Israel,” when Israelis were being taken captive.

According to a source in the Israeli Southern Command, the region was designed to become a “killing zone,” while another commanded that “not a single vehicle can return to Gaza.”

These instructions are known as the “Hannibal Directive,” requiring the IOF to take all measures to avoid the capture of Israeli soldiers, including murdering them.

Haaretz‘s investigation was based on records and testimony from troops, mid-level, and senior army commanders and data indicated that many taken captive were subjected to Israeli gunfire and “were in danger.”

According to Haaretz, Israeli commanders took decisions early on October 7 based on unverified intelligence with one source citing “crazy hysteria,” adding that “No one had a clue about the number of people kidnapped or where army forces were.”

An Israeli source told Haaretz that any person making a decision “knew that our combatants in the area could be hit as well.”

Another order directed all units to fire mortars against the Gaza Strip, despite the occupation’s feeble knowledge of the locations of soldiers and citizens. The order was expanded later to prohibit any vehicle from entering Gaza.

A source in the Southern Command told Haaretz that “Everyone knew by then that such vehicles could be carrying kidnapped civilians or soldiers,” adding that “everyone knew what it meant to not let any vehicles return to Gaza.”

Israeli Witness Affirms IOF Tanks Killed Settlers on October 7

Recalling events on October 7 in “Israel”, an Israeli witness in December disclosed that Israeli tanks targeted both their citizens and members of the Palestinian Resistance. This resulted in the killing of at least 14 settlers, including children.

Israeli media had previously reported the killing of a 12-year-old girl, Liel Hetzroni, in Kibbutz “Be’eri” in southern occupied Palestine.

After Liel’s killing, her grandfather, twin brother, and aunt were reportedly taken to another location, where they, along with more than 10 other Israeli captives, were killed. Subsequently, there were allegations that Hamas set fire to the building. The incident was prominently covered in the Israeli media under the title of “Hamas brutality”.

After Israeli settler Yasmin Porat asserted that Israeli forces “undoubtedly” killed settlers held captive, Hadas Dagan, the appropriator of the house, also spoke out.

In an interview for Channel 12, Dagan confirmed that the Israeli army indeed attacked the house where settlers were held captive, using tank fire and heavy weapons.

Describing the “horror of the incident,” which claimed the lives of 14 settlers, including her husband, Dagan recounted the moment the Israeli army arrived, expressing her realization that their role was to serve as “a human shield between the arriving Israeli forces and fighters.”

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Featured image: Photo released by the Israeli military from the events of October 7, 2023. (photo: Israeli Defense Forces) 

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“My beautiful daughter lived every day of her life to the fullest before she got her 18 month MMRV + DTaP vaccine. 

Alina was born healthy and a happy little bundle of love.

After that day when Ali received her vaccines, she started sleeping a lot, stopped playing, lost all interest in food.

Childcare sent me a message checking if she was ok because she was sleeping a lot and looked extremely tired. A week after the vaccines she still refused to eat anything and didn’t play with anyone.

She refused the bottle and the next moment I saw her face stiffen to the left and her jaw was clamping. We called an ambulance and the paramedics said they had never seen this kind of seizure before and they just didn’t know what to do. It took us 55 minutes to get to the hospital and Ali continued to seize throughout the entire journey.

Two days later she seized again, and I was told by the neurologist – “Don’t worry about your daughter, she will be fine — her MRI looks good. She is the most well of all the babies in the ward and she will not die.”

We went back home and were given Keppra to treat Ali’s epilepsy.

Within a week, Ali had her third seizure, and she never returned home after that day.

Ali died in my arms in a fairy garden at the hospital.”

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Featured image is from COVID Intel

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All over the world, several villages, particularly remote villages or villages facing some persistent problems or scarcity, are getting abandoned. Once population falls below a certain level, depopulation itself becomes a cause of further depopulation and it takes only a short time then to get more or less abandoned, involving a huge waste of all the farms and orchards, homes and gardens, wells and ponds, schools and other community buildings that could have been used in much better and productive ways. 

At the same time some efforts to revive abandoned or near abandoned villages provide a source of hope.

A poignant and  moving portrayal of an (almost) abandoned village in Tamil Nadu published recently in the Hindu (9 July, 2024) raises questions and regrets regarding why more cannot done be at the right time to prevent the decline of a village (or a cluster of villages) towards increasing difficulties, depopulation and eventual abandonment. This report by C. Palanivel Rajan has been published under the title ‘The Village that Time Forgot’.

Source

 

This report tells the story of Meenakshipuram village in Thoothukudi whose inhabitants moved out during the last two decades due to some problems, water scarcity being the biggest one followed by poor connectivity. Only one man S. Kandasamy refused to leave till the very end but recently he too died at the age of 83. Now his place has been taken by his son K. Ravi who feels that someone should stay in the house where all the memories of his father exist. Kandasamy used to often say in his last days that if the water and connectivity problems had been solved in time the village would have stayed ‘alive’. It is worrying to know from this report that some other nearby villages also far similar problems.

Image: S. Kandasamy (Source)

In Uttarakhand state in remote areas several villages face depopulation problems. Even though along main pilgrim and tourism routes there may be excessive construction and overcrowding, but in some remote areas such conditions of depopulation exist. In such places some facilities may be reduced and even schools may be merged with other schools so that depopulation becomes the cause of further depopulation. This is also happening in some other Himalayan regions. This can also create problems in such important tasks like mobilizing community support for checking wild-fires or identifying important landslide and disaster spots. However the good news is that efforts are also being made by several community members to reverse the process so that some villages on the verge of becoming abandoned can be alive again.

Any such efforts here and elsewhere can learn a lot from some promising and encouraging efforts made in Finland to reverse the depopulation trends in many villages. Hilkka Pietila, an independent researcher and a long-term friend and promoter of the Village Action movement in Finland has described the efforts to protect the rural base of this country,

”For 25 years people in rural Finland have been fighting to keep their villages alive in the face of economic development which has swept people from the villages to the cities and even out of the country.

“It became fairly obvious some time ago, with young people moving away from the villages, with schools closing down, small shopkeepers going bankrupt, and local post offices being withdrawn, that village economies could not survive for long.

“People realized that they could no longer count on the government to behave responsibly, and that they had to take matters into their own hand. The first move was the setting up of village committees in the western coastal area of Finland in the early 1970s. By 1980 a thousand had been set up. Five years later there was another thousand.”

The movement continue to grow for some years after this.

This report by Pietila further states,

“Since the movement sprang from the grassroots, it takes a different form in each village. But there are a number of common fundamental goals:

“To stop the migration from the villages by making them attractive, socially rewarding, and agreeable places to live in.

To persuade people to move back and settle in  the villages.

To seek to create the conditions in which people can once again earn their living in their villages.

All other problems can be solved if these conditions are satisfied.

One of the most obvious difficulties was that there was practically no money available, but this was overcome by the highly motivated and very skilful people involved. They reactivated an old Finnish tradition of voluntary teamwork called talkoot as their secret weapon. Since the beginning people have devoted millions of hours of voluntary work to achieve their goals. This voluntary work turned out to be an effective substitute for the money that was not at their disposal. What is more, it turned out to be psychologically very rewarding.”

This is certainly inspirational for other efforts to check depopulation and abandonment of villages.

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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Man over Machine, A Day in 2071 and India’s Quest for Sustainable Farming and Healthy Food. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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Ukraine Continues Attacks on Energodar Nuclear Power Facility, Is Kiev’s Intent to Create “Nuclear Terror” and Blame It on Russia?

By Lucas Leiroz de Almeida, July 08, 2024

Kiev continues its practice of nuclear blackmail in the Russian city of Energodar, Zaporozhye region, where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located. Another brutal attack was carried out by Ukrainian forces against nuclear facilities, leaving several injured.

Dr. Charles Hoffe Denounces the COVID Vaccine: “Biggest Disaster in Medical History”. Confronts College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC

By Lee Turner, Dr. Charles Hoffe, Dr. Mark Trozzi, and Prof Michel Chossudovsky, July 08, 2024

Many people who are vaccinated will not be immediately aware of the injuries incurred. The latter in many cases of “adverse events” are not discernible nor are they recorded. While “big blood clots” resulting from the vaccine are revealed and reported by those vaccinated, an important study by Canada’s Dr. Charles Hoffe suggests that the mRNA vaccine generates “microscopic blood clots”.

Fluoridation and “Forever Chemicals” (PFAS): Federal Hypocrisy Is Poisoning Americans with Toxic Synthetic Chemicals

By Richard Gale and Dr. Gary Null, July 08, 2024

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as “forever chemicals,” are synthetic chemicals that have increasingly raised alarming concerns due to their persistence in the environment and common everyday products and their adverse effects on human health.

The French Fraudulent Disaster Elections. Peter Koenig

By Peter Koenig, July 09, 2024

It looks and feels like this past Sunday, 7 July 2024, second round French election is one of the biggest election frauds in French history, maybe even in European history.

Military Grade Propaganda Campaign Helped Sell Fraudulent Narrative About COVID-19

By Jeremy Kuzmarov, July 09, 2024

Like December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001, March 11, 2020 was a day that will live in infamy because it is when the the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Childhood Vaccine Injury: 5 Years Old Had Been Vaccinated Against Influenza A and Developed “Flu” Days Before Sudden Death

By Dr. William Makis, July 08, 2024

A Las Vegas kindergartner who died days after coming down with the flu felt well enough to play outside 24 hours before she collapsed, her father told ABC News.

Minors Taking Guns in Ukraine While Terrorists Enter Europe

By Lucas Leiroz de Almeida, July 08, 2024

In addition to the military, political and economic problems affecting Ukraine, several serious social issues are beginning to emerge day by day. Now, data shows that juvenile crime is increasing exponentially in the country, which is a direct result of the decline in the quality of life and the irresponsible militarization of civil society.

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***

John Pilger passed away on December 30, 2023. His Legacy will Live.

John Pilger was a giant in the field of international journalism, and put together 70 documentaries over the course of his life. He not only did not shrink from telling any story now matter what the position of the centre of the report, he stood up for independent reporting and press outlets and stood shoulder to shoulder with Julian Assange when the Wikileaks president was hounded as a criminal. (see last week’s episode.)

With John Pilger having died over six months ago, we at the Global Research News Hour pay tribute to the memory of a giant international journalist and film-maker by providing repeats of our first interview with him back in September of 2017.

A guest journalist named Lesley Hughes talked to Mr. Pilger on the topic of the challenges facing genuine reporting in the 2010s, the shrinking of the anti-war movement under President Obama, mainstream media warmongering over Russia, and the mendacity of ‘hope.’

(MAW July 12, 2024.)

This interview was first published October 7, 2017.

“It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers without understanding the hidden agendas of the message and myths that surround it.” – John Pilger [1]

 

 

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Ecological disasters, economic disruption, military incursions, political upheaval, and financial exploitation all converge and coordinate on the world scene. A chorus of violence, chaos and destruction reaching a crescendo at this stage in human history.

We have a US President facing opposition from within the very power structure of his country. We have an unprecedented level of hostility being exchanged between two nuclear states: North Korea and the United States. Russia stands accused of meddling and interfering with a US election in spite of a lack of concrete evidence to this effect. A lone gunman in Las Vegas, apparently with no military training or background manages to kill or wound nearly 600 people from a distance of 390 yards in only a few minutes. A Caribbean island and US territory, Puerto Rico, is in crisis after a major hurricane wipes out most of its power generation and access to potable water.

It serves certain powerful interests to emphasize certain developments while under-emphasizing or even ignoring others.

Ironically, in an age when the internet was supposed to liberate the masses from domination of corporate-friendly narratives, special interests have not encountered much in the way of organized resistance to their agendas.

Journalists in the truest sense of the word are truth-tellers. They break down artifice and propaganda and keep the powerful on their toes. To quote the aphorism: they comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

Few people on the planet have upheld this principle as long, as diligently and as consistently as John Pilger.

An Australian by nationality, John Pilger has been a working journalist for more than half a century. He has covered numerous wars, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Biafra and the Middle East . He marched alongside America’s poor following the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King, and was present in the room when presidential candidate Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968.

His documentaries, which now number around 70, have earned him numerous awards and accolades including The George Foster Peabody Award in 1990, a  British Academy of Film and Television Arts  in 1991, an American Television Award (Emmy) also in 1991, the Sophie Prize for Human Rights in 2003 and the Royal Television Society Best Documentary in 2004. He has contributed to numerous publications and media outlets over the decades including the BBC, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Independent,

The New York Times, New Statesman, The Los Angeles Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, Information Clearing House, Truthout, Truthdig, ZNET, Common Cause, Antiwar.com and Global Research. [2]

In this week’s feature interview, conducted by special guest host, veteran Winnipeg print and broadcast journalist Lesley Hughes, John Pilger discusses the role of the journalist and modern challenges to authentic journalism, the misleading characterization of North Korea as current tensions mount, the West’s role in instigating the refugee crisis, the destruction of an authentic anti-war movement under President Obama, mainstream media warmongering on Russia, and the mendacity of ‘hope’.

As a final note. The Global Research News Hour wishes to acknowledge and thank University of Manitoba based radio station CJUM 101.5 FM for providing access to their studio for recording purposes.

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The Global Research News Hour airs every Friday at 1pm CT on CKUW 95.9FM in Winnipeg. The programme is also podcast at globalresearch.ca . The show can be heard on the Progressive Radio Network at prn.fm. Listen in everyThursday at 6pm ET.

Community Radio Stations carrying the Global Research News Hour:

CHLY 101.7fm in Nanaimo, B.C – Thursdays at 1pm PT

Boston College Radio WZBC 90.3FM NEWTONS  during the Truth and Justice Radio Programming slot -Sundays at 7am ET.

Port Perry Radio in Port Perry, Ontario –1  Thursdays at 1pm ET

Burnaby Radio Station CJSF out of Simon Fraser University. 90.1FM to most of Greater Vancouver, from Langley to Point Grey and from the North Shore to the US Border.

It is also available on 93.9 FM cable in the communities of SFU, Burnaby, New Westminister, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Surrey and Delta, in British Columbia, Canada. – Tune in  at its new time – Wednesdays at 4pm PT.

Radio station CFUV 101.9FM based at the University of Victoria airs the Global Research News Hour every Sunday from 7 to 8am PT.

CORTES COMMUNITY RADIO CKTZ  89.5 out of Manson’s Landing, B.C airs the show Tuesday mornings at 10am Pacific time.

Cowichan Valley Community Radio CICV 98.7 FM serving the Cowichan Lake area of Vancouver Island, BC airs the program Thursdays at 6am pacific time.

Campus and community radio CFMH 107.3fm in  Saint John, N.B. airs the Global Research News Hour Fridays at 10am.

Caper Radio CJBU 107.3FM in Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia airs the Global Research News Hour starting Wednesday Morning from 8:00 to 9:00am. Find more details at www.caperradio.ca

 

Notes: 

1.  http://johnpilger.com/biography
2. ibid

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***

Like December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001, March 11, 2020 was a day that will live in infamy because it is when the the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This declaration led governments around the world to adopt emergency measures, including forced lockdowns, school closures, mandatory masking and social distancing and later vaccine mandates.

Eventually the pandemic was said to have been contained and emergency measures were lifted, though the same authorities who spread fear about COVID-19 are continuously warning about lingering variants and the potential for new pandemic outbreaks.

David Hughes is a professor of international relations at the University of Lincoln in the UK with a Ph.D. from Oxford who published a deeply researched and scathing article on the failings of the International Relations profession when it comes to analyzing the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Hughes’ latest book, “Covid-19” Psychological Operations, and the War For Technocracy, Volume 1 (New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2024) examines how global elites used mind control techniques, previously experimented by the CIA, to induce mass hysteria over a virus equivalent to influenza. This hysteria led people to turn on friends and family who sustained critical thought, and to willingly throw away cherished personal liberties.

Source

According to Hughes, COVID-19 hysteria was manufactured as part of a class war by global elites who feared the growing restiveness of the population as a result of the failure of neoliberal economic policies over the last 40 years.

Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, there were large-scale protests in Western countries owing to stark social inequalities and policy failures. The international monetary and financial system was on the verge of collapse and propaganda system was beginning to break down as citizens no longer believed much of what government officials and the media told them.

Rather than rounding up dissenters and violently crushing protests—like in generations past—a creative new approach was used: scaring the public with military grade propaganda regarding an illusory pandemic in order to get them to acquiesce to totalitarian measures.

Under conditions of lockdown, people could not gather or meet publicly and organize politically. Many people became depressed as they could not work or pursue productive life pursuits, and substance abuse, alcoholism, suicide and domestic violence skyrocketed.

Anyone who questioned the dominant COVID-19 narrative was pathologized, with friends and comrades who had been involved in social struggles turning on each other.

After the vaccines were rolled out, anyone questioning them was labelled an “anti-vaxxer” and socially ostracized. This was the equivalent term of the label “communist” during  the Cold War.

Hughes argues that the psychological warfare operation’s purpose was to “demoralize, disorient and debilitate” society and hence “weaken its resistance” to the intended transition from democracy to technocracy—a political-economic system in which a small managerial elite acting on behalf of the wealthiest classes runs and controls everything.

The Cold War and War on Terror had institutionalized an elite strategy of inducing fear in the public, sometimes through plotting false flag terrorist attacks, to advance and legitimize authoritarian measures, including Orwellian surveillance and wide-scale censorship.

Manufacturing a disease pandemic was the logical successor in sustaining an ongoing state of emergency, with the military grade psychological warfare operation serving potentially as a prelude to war.

Already we are in throes of a global dictatorship, which will be fortified if the WHO pandemic treaty is passed.

This treaty would legally cede national sovereignty for pandemic response to the WHO Director-General, who could sanction any country that does not adhere to lockdown measures, forced vaccination, and the introduction of a health data surveillance system that could be used for ever tightening social control.

Drawing on CIA Mind Control Techniques

According to Hughes, the COVID-19 psychological warfare operation drew on techniques cultivated in psychiatric labs such as the Rockefeller financed Tavistock Institute  of Medical Psychology, which was involved with the CIA’s infamous Operation MK-ULTRA—a drug and mind testing program that ran from the mid 1950s through the 1970s.

Under the direction of John Rawlings Rees, the Tavistock Institute carried out experiments in hypnosis and brainwashing—some based on study of Chinese thought control techniques allegedly applied on U.S. POWs during the Korean War—and attempted to reprogram human behavior.[1]

Source: themilleniumreport.com

One of the key findings of CIA researchers was that people’s susceptibility to propaganda and group-based psychology increases markedly when they are forced into isolation—which may have been a key purpose behind the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Some of the techniques of the COVID-19 psy-war operations drew on the practices of totalitarian states like Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

One formula was to repeat the same lies over and over. Another was to pathologize dissenters. Those who did not wear masks or take the vaccines were considered to be “spreaders of disease” and somehow contaminated—like the Jews in Nazi demonology.

Others were labeled as “crazy conspiracy theorists,” or “right-wing extremists.”

The primary intent of the COVID-19 psychological operation, according to Hughes, was to break people down on a societal wide level and try and program how they think and act.

The spectacular success was evident in the wide-scale conformity to irrational measures—mask-wearing, for example, does not stop the spread of illness; the lockdowns destroyed people’s lives, and vaccines caused serious and sometimes lethal side effects and killed more people than they allegedly saved.

Source: hourmatoday.com

Hughes writes that a delusional psychosis took over society like in a wartime climate in which people were “impervious to reason, to logic, and to education.”

COVID-19 true believers do not listen to counter-arguments or reason and resort to name calling and slander of those who seek to expose the dark truths of our socio-political reality. 

These true believers have much in common with members of totalitarian societies and cults whose suspension of critical thinking has led them to behave viciously and irrationally.

Pseudopandemic

The societal psychosis Hughes describes was fueled in part by alarmist media stories replete with distorted imagery of mass deaths and diseased ICUs along with government spokesmen or scientific officials standing next to frightening looking graphs that provided ominous forecasts. 

A mass burial site outside New York featured ubiquitously in the media as proof of the pandemic’s ravaging effects had actually been used for mass burials and unclaimed and unidentified bodies since 1869.

Source: aljazeera.com

According to Hughes, there is zero evidence that an actual viral pandemic broke out in 2020.  

COVID-19 first emerged in 2019 and fatal infections were in decline by March, 2020, when there were only 4,291 reported COVID-19 deaths—0.000055% of the global population.

Until August 2020, anyone in England who died following a positive test result for COVID-19 was labeled a COVID-19 death on the death certificate, even if they died of other causes.

Public Health England later ruled that COVID-19 could still appear as the underlying cause of death if there had been a positive test within 28 and then 60 days of death.

The propaganda that hospitals were overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients is disproven by data Hughes cites that 40 percent of National Health Service (NHS) hospital beds in England lay unoccupied during the heart of the so-called pandemic. At the same time, only 2,150 of 30,000 ordered ventilators were dispatched.

A 2021 study by John Dee analyzing a large data set of electronic admissions records for an unnamed NHS Trust between January 1 and June 13, 2021, found that only 9.7% of declared COVID-19 cases exhibited the fundamental basis for symptomatic disease.

Kary Mulis (image on the right), the inventor of the PCR tests, which was used to tabulate positive cases, said that the test was never even developed for “diagnostic purposes.”

Hughes writes that under the guise of public health, the UK and other governments were engaged in an attack on the health of their own population as the lockdowns prevented people from getting the medical treatment they needed for illnesses besides COVID-19.

In a practice reminiscent of the Soviet Union, at least three prominent dissenters were placed in psychiatric facilities:

a) Beate Bahner, a German medical lawyer who on April 3, 2020 issued a press release condemning the lockdown measures as “flagrantly unconstitutional, infringing to an unprecedented extent many of the fundamental rights of citizens.”

b) Thomas Binder, a Swiss cardiologist who was arrested by an anti-terrorist squad in mid April 2020 after speaking out against the flawed PCR tests. And

c) Jean Bertrand Fourtillon, a retired French professor of Pharmacology who in December 2020 was forcibly placed in solitary confinement at the Uzes Psychiatric Hospital after being featured in a documentary called Hold Up stating that the manufactured COVID-19 crisis was being used to impose a dangerous vaccine on the world.

Does COVID-19 Exist and Is the Vaccine a Military Grade Weapon?

Hughes presents information to back up his impression that the COVID-19 virus does not actually exist—at least in the form it has been explained to the public.

He points out the strange fact that during the supposed pandemic, influenza cases and deaths were reduced to almost nothing. Hughes cites evidence from the CDC that the symptoms people experienced with COVID-19 were mostly reminiscent of the flu. The only difference in symptoms is that COVID-19 may result in loss of taste or smell, but so can ansomia.

In Hughes’ reading, the lab leak theory of COVID-19’s origins, which has become increasingly prevalent in the mainstream, is part of a cover up to mask the fact that there is no scientific proof that COVID-19 actually exists and that the entire pandemic was manufactured.

Hughes suggests that we should be open to the possibility that the vaccine was part of a military project, Operation Warp Speed, designed to test bioweapons and black technology on unwitting U.S. citizens.

Under Warp Speed, the U.S. military took charge of the production and distribution of the vaccines, with the White House’s Coronavirus Coordinator, Deborah Birx, coming from the military, and financing for Moderna’s vaccine coming from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which develops cutting edge military technology.

Hughes cites research by Whitney Webb and Sasha Latypova among others that contracts under Warp Speed were clandestinely awarded to vaccine companies via Advanced Technology International, which has close ties to the CIA.

Overall, Hughes is clearly on the mark in his assessment of COVID-19 as a “deep political event” that has helped alter the political landscape in the direction of authoritarianism, stifled the social and class solidarity that is needed for effective protest movements, and helped brainwash a portion of the public into acquiescence.

*

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This article was originally published on the author’s Substack, Too Hot For the Mainstream Media.

Jeremy Kuzmarov is Managing Editor of CovertAction Magazine. He is the author of five books on U.S. foreign policy, including Obama’s Unending Wars (Clarity Press, 2019), The Russians Are Coming, Again, with John Marciano (Monthly Review Press, 2018), and Warmonger. How Clinton’s Malign Foreign Policy Launched the U.S. Trajectory From Bush II to Biden (Clarity Press, 2023). He can be reached at: [email protected] and followed on substack here.

Note

[1] Under the direction of CIA-financed psychologists Ewen Cameron and William Sargent, the Tavistock institute carried out experiments involving psychotropic drugs and mind control and developed psychological torture techniques that were adopted by the CIA. Hughes suggests that the Tavistock Institute was a driving force behind the drugs counter-culture of the 1960s aimed at neutering youth resistance. He writes that “U.S. college students who had engaged in various forms of direct action against the system in the 1960s were by the end of the decade a collective of doped up zombies.”

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***

By June 19, 2024, 37 396 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip since the attack by Hamas and the Israeli invasion in October, 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, as reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.[1] The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services,[2] the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry,[3] which found claims of data fabrication implausible.[4]

Collecting data is becoming increasingly difficult for the Gaza Health Ministry due to the destruction of much of the infrastructure.[5] The Ministry has had to augment its usual reporting, based on people dying in its hospitals or brought in dead, with information from reliable media sources and first responders. This change has inevitably degraded the detailed data recorded previously. Consequently, the Gaza Health Ministry now reports separately the number of unidentified bodies among the total death toll. As of May 10, 2024, 30% of the 35 091 deaths were unidentified.[1]

Some officials and news agencies have used this development, designed to improve data quality, to undermine the veracity of the data. However, the number of reported deaths is likely an underestimate. The non-governmental organisation Airwars undertakes detailed assessments of incidents in the Gaza Strip and often finds that not all names of identifiable victims are included in the Ministry’s list.[6] Furthermore, the UN estimates that, by Feb 29, 2024, 35% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed,[5] so the number of bodies still buried in the rubble is likely substantial, with estimates of more than 10 000.[7]

Armed conflicts have indirect health implications beyond the direct harm from violence. Even if the conflict ends immediately, there will continue to be many indirect deaths in the coming months and years from causes such as reproductive, communicable, and non-communicable diseases. The total death toll is expected to be large given the intensity of this conflict; destroyed health-care infrastructure; severe shortages of food, water, and shelter; the population’s inability to flee to safe places; and the loss of funding to UNRWA, one of the very few humanitarian organisations still active in the Gaza Strip.[8]

In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death[9] to the 37 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza. Using the 2022 Gaza Strip population estimate of 2 375 259, this would translate to 7·9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip. A report from Feb 7, 2024, at the time when the direct death toll was 28 000, estimated that without a ceasefire there would be between 58 260 deaths (without an epidemic or escalation) and 85 750 deaths (if both occurred) by Aug 6, 2024.[10]

An immediate and urgent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is essential, accompanied by measures to enable the distribution of medical supplies, food, clean water, and other resources for basic human needs. At the same time, there is a need to record the scale and nature of suffering in this conflict. Documenting the true scale is crucial for ensuring historical accountability and acknowledging the full cost of the war. It is also a legal requirement. The interim measures set out by the International Court of Justice in January, 2024, require Israel to “take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of … the Genocide Convention”.[11] The Gaza Health Ministry is the only organisation counting the dead. Furthermore, these data will be crucial for post-war recovery, restoring infrastructure, and planning humanitarian aid.

*

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The authors would like to acknowledge study team members Shofiqul Islam and Safa Noreen for their contribution to collecting and managing the data for this Correspondence.

Martin McKee is a member of the editorial board of the Israel Journal of Health Policy Research and of the International Advisory Committee of the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research. MM was co-chair of the Institute’s 2016 6th International Jerusalem Conference on Health Policy, but writes in a personal capacity. He also collaborates with researchers in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon.

Rasha Khatib and Salim Yusuf declare no competing interests.

Notes

[1] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Reported impact snapshot. Gaza Strip.
https://www.ochaopt.org/content/reported-impact-snapshot-gaza-strip-19-june-2024
Date: June 19, 2024
Date accessed: June 21, 2024

[6] Airwars
Israel and Gaza.
https://airwars.org/conflict/israel-and-gaza-2023/
Date: 2024
Date accessed: May 3, 2024

[7] UN Office Geneva
10 000 people feared buried under the rubble in Gaza.
https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2024/05/93055/10000-people-feared-buried-under-rubble-gaza
Date: 2024
Date accessed: May 3, 2024

[8] Reuters
More countries pause funds for UN Palestinian agency.
https://www.reuters.com/world/britain-italy-finland-pause-funding-un-refugee-agency-gaza-2024-01-27/
Date: 2024
Date accessed: May 2, 2024

[9] UN Office on Drugs and Crime
Global burden of armed conflict.
https://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR_2008_eng_web.pdf
Date: 2008
Date accessed: April 10, 2024

[10] Jamaluddine Z
Chen Z
Abukmail H
et al.
Crisis in Gaza: scenario-based health impact projections.
https://aoav.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gaza_projections_report.pdf
Date: 2024
Date accessed: May 1, 2024

[11] International Court of Justice
Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-ord-01-00-en.pdf
Date: 2024
Date accessed: May 3, 2024 

Featured image is from AbdelHakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera

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***

It looks and feels like this past Sunday, 7 July 2024, second round French election is one of the biggest election frauds in French history, maybe even in European history.

The vote engineers have been at it in the same way they have been at it in the 2020 US elections, when by all appearance, President Trump, the Republican, but much more important, the anti-Globalist, won with a landslide. However, the Democrat, Joe Biden, an easily bought Globalist, suddenly emerged as the winner.

Similarly in France, Madame Le Pen’s Party, the National Rally (NR), is called unfairly by all mainstream as the Populist far-right, when in reality, Madame Le Pen is primarily an anti-Globalist wanting a new sovereign France, not one submissive to the European Union and by proxy to the United States, as are most members of the EU.

These two-tier elections, with a second round when no first-round absolute majority winner emerges, are tailor-made for fraud. Because between the two elections, the vote-manipulators and election engineers go to work with well-refined techniques and tools, having observed people’s election behavior during the first round.

These parallels can and MUST be noted throughout the Western world.

Together: Brigitte Macron, Baron David de Rothschild, Emmanuel Macron 

There is, of course as usual, no proof of manipulation. Not yet. The sophistication in this trade has achieved extraordinary technological IT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills.

Yet, the election results after Sunday, 7 July, just smell very bad. All odds were broken. The “National Rally”, excelled with 34% of the votes in the first round, just ONE week earlier on June 30.  

All predictions gave the NR a large advantage for the second round – even an absolute majority was projected.

That did not happen. Madame Le Pen’s party came in third after the second vote. Behind the New Popular Front (NPF) Coalition Party and Macron’s Centrists, Ensemble.

The so-called “setback” of the NR, winning only 142 Parliamentary seats (out of 577), gave, at least at the surface, President Macron the edge to continue on his Globalist bandwagon and especially on his warmongering odyssey, pledging sending French / NATO troops to Ukraine fighting against Russia. French boots, some mercenaries, some advisors, are already on the ground in Kiev, Odessa, and other places in Ukraine.

What did Russia do to France? Or to Germany? Or to the UK? Or to the European Union? No harm at all. Just seeking friendship and alliances.

Indeed, Russia is only seeking peace and friendly relations – seeking a normalization of the Eurasian continent, a move also strongly supported by China’s President Xi Jinping. Presidents Putin and Xi are very much interested in peace with Ukraine. But the NATO-West does not allow it, it is not interested. They want more war, and eventually conquer Russia. This is a ludicrous dream or quest of the West, over 200 years old. They have not achieved it, and will never achieve it.

In the meantime, the war industry becomes richer and richer – as people die, families are destroyed, the future of societies are devastated. Of no importance. The hegemon and its war industry must continue making money, and the world must continue being destabilized, and the world must continue being depopulated – and wars are just one instrument to do so.

European politics and European politicians are sick beyond rescue.

The left wing New Popular Front (NPF) won apparently 188 seats, but no absolute majority (289 seats). In fact, none of the alliances won an absolute majority.

The NPF consists of a loose coalition of several left-wing parties, ranging from the Socialists to the Greens, the Communists and the radical left France Unbowed, and other, minor parties. How reliable is this alliance? Not very, or not at all.

It is a make-shift and make-believe alliance to keep the Globalist and warmonger in place; the WEF-obedient, EU and Washington vassal submissive to the hegemon: Mr. Macron, also called “Little Napoleon”.

Ensemble, the centrist Party of Emmanuel Macron, won 161 seats. Yet, Macron is slated to remain President with no majority — a fake and powerless President.

*

What is wrong with this picture?

On 30 June, the National Rally winning 34% of the votes was way ahead. Macron’s party, the Centrist Ensemble, came in second with only 22% of the votes. Not unexpectedly because French citizens were and remain upset and tired about Macron’s globalist policies, favoring immigrants over French citizens, spending billions and billions of taxpayers moneys to support Ukraine, a lost cause – that any schoolboy could have told you from the very beginning.

Spending French money abroad, instead of at home, where social services and physical infrastructure crumble and would badly need it, is of course not very popular. Not in the US, not in any Western country, if you ask the people, not the corrupted politicians, but the PEOPLE.

By the way, that is how the Roman Empire eventually collapsed, and others – spending domestic money abroad for foreign conquests while the homeland rots to pieces and into the ground.

Shortly after the June 30 first round elections, the Greens and Socialist affirmed in no uncertain terms that they would never go into an alliance with the Communists. And what do they do? Just to avoid that a National Rally coalition could take an absolute majority, they must have been ordered, or bought to collaborate with the Communists. But as mentioned before, it is not a stable alliance.

At least Macron’s Premier, Gabriel Attal (image on the right), was honest to himself. He resigned. Rather than working in an unhealthy, artificial, and unsustainable alliance, he decided to step down. Bravo!

What’s next?

Rumors have it that this new multiple-coalition France will be ungovernable – and Macron may have to call early elections. Of course, the powers-that-be will do whatever they can to avoid in Europe as in the US an anti-Globalist being elected. One who wants to make his country, the People’s country, Great Again, a sovereign partner for other sovereign partners, is not desirable, not acceptable.

Even though, in an honest and truly democratic election, this is what over 90% of the people want, if you really and truthfully let them choose. They want their own country, not a subordination to Brussels cum Washington.

By now we know, the European Union was a trial on how to get people, multi-countries governed by one entity. The EU may as well have been thought of as the precursor to a One World Government with One single currency. And, yes, soon to be fully digitized for total enslavement. That is the plan. Ask Madame Christine Lagarde, current President of the European Central Bank (ECB).

A One World Government with a single currency – and eventually all-digital – is what the people never wanted, a so-called European Union – better called a European des-union. The EU was imposed upon the people as heaven on earth with a single currency, free exchange, and uninterrupted travel.

All the goodies are meaningless, when you cannot decide anymore on your domestic policy, on your monetary policy, on your trade policy, without an unelected Unit looking over your shoulders and telling you what you are allowed to do and what not.

That is exactly what we have today. And no wonder, Madame Le Pen and her nationalist anti-Globalist outlook is not only popular, it is WANTED BY THE PEOPLE.

Violent demonstrations by the “left” against protests by the nationalist supporters, for having been cheated out of a clear win, marked the evening of the second round of election day, 7 July. This is not the end. More may come.

On Sunday, 7 July, over 30,000 riot police were deployed throughout France in anticipation of riots. How did they know that there would be riots before election results were known?

There is definitely a rotten smell over these wrongly-called elections. Many call it a scam.

Are the French going to be the first people in Europe to call – STOP – and take their country back?

*

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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: Celebrations on the Place de la République in Paris on 7 July (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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***

Kiev continues its practice of nuclear blackmail in the Russian city of Energodar, Zaporozhye region, where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is located. Another brutal attack was carried out by Ukrainian forces against nuclear facilities, leaving several injured.

Moscow has repeatedly reported on Ukraine’s interest in generating nuclear terror in the New Regions, preventing the normalization of life in the liberated territories.

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Global Research Note 

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station  

Situated. at Enerhodar on the Eastern coastline of the Dniepr (see map below) The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. 

It has been under Russian control and jurisdiction since 2022.

Is Kiev’s Intent to Create “Nuclear Terror” and Blame it on Russia?

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, July 8, 2024

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On July 3, the neo-Nazi regime attacked the facilities of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) with kamikaze drones, injuring at least eight employees. The victims of the attack were precisely members of a team that was repairing the damage caused by previous bombings. One of the injured is currently hospitalized in serious condition.

The facility hit was the Raduga substation. Two weeks ago, the same unit was hit by drones in an attack that was even observed by members of a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The agency confirmed that the bombing had taken place, despite its insistence on avoiding direct accusations against the Ukrainian side. The recently targeted workers were restoring the unit damaged by the attacks when they were targeted in a new terrorist incursion by Ukraine.

A few days ago, another Ukrainian attack on the ZNPP managed to destroy one of the plant’s main sensors. The equipment is needed to measure radiation levels and thus enable safety control during the plant’s activities. Ukraine’s deliberate intention to destroy this type of machinery shows that the Kiev regime plans to disturb the work of the employees and prevent them from maintaining the necessary levels of control – thus aiming to generate panic about possible leaks.

The attacks on the ZNPP are not something new. Since 2022, the plant has been a favorite target of the neo-Nazi regime. Almost daily, drones and artillery shells hit the nuclear facilities, creating a constant fear about the possibility of radioactive accident. The IAEA confirms the frequency of bombings, in addition to having recently stated that there are no Russian weapons around the plant strong enough to generate this type of impact – tacitly corroborating that the attacks come from areas under Ukrainian control.

“Drone usage against the plant and its vicinity is becoming increasingly more frequent. This is completely unacceptable and it runs counter to the safety pillars and concrete principles which have been accepted unanimously,” Rafael Grossi, head of UN’s atomic agency said after one of his recent visits to Zaporozhye.

It is important to emphasize that the Russian Federation is the only side in the conflict that is willing to show the truth about what is happening at Energodar, constantly inviting international observers and journalists to visit the site. I myself was on a recent press expedition to Zaporozhye and saw the reality on the ground. During my trip, I saw how the plant’s employees are constantly working to prevent the damage caused by the attacks from altering the energy production levels.

I had the opportunity to visit some of the plant’s critical facilities, seeing the reactors and some of the units hit by Ukrainian forces. The debris of drones and missiles are on display at the plant, showing that the attacks are carried out with Ukrainian and Western equipment. In addition, the employees explained that it is unlikely that these attacks will cause any kind of leak. The structure of the plant is extremely strong and prepared for any events. The main problem, however, is explaining these technical details to ordinary people.

Experts and observers understand how Ukrainian strikes are useless in causing a leak. However, ordinary people are not aware of how a power plant actually works and therefore tend to fear that there will be some kind of accident. For the residents of Zaporozhye, seeing missiles and drones falling on the plant every day is obviously a reason for fear and terror. Many of the residents of the region had relatives affected by the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy decades ago and are afraid that something like this will happen again.

Kiev hopes that this fear will be converted into political thoughts and opposition to the Russian government. In the Ukrainian strategic calculation, the more fear the people have, the more pressure there will be on Moscow to end the special military operation. Reality, however, shows that this logic is wrong. The more they are attacked, the more the citizens of Russia’s New Regions endorse military actions.

After ten years of suffering from the war waged by the Kiev junta, the local people have no other hope than absolute military victory. For ordinary Russians, it is increasingly clear that victory is the only way to end the terror – not only in Zaporozhye, but in all the New Regions of the Federation.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Lucas Leiroz is a member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.  

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Our thanks to Dr. Mark Trozzi for bringing this important issue to our attention.

***

Yesterday, during Wins of the Week, we reported that Dr. Charles Hoffe and his lawyer, Lee Turner, successfully opposed the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC’s application. The College sought an order from the panel to take judicial notice of their version of the facts concerning the safety and effectiveness of the COVID vaccine and SARS-CoV-2, but this application was defeated.

As promised, we’re publishing a detailed report on this matter. It begins with a letter from Lee Turner, JD, explaining the situation, followed by the complete collection of documents, starting with the CPSOBC’s explanation of the decision.

Dr. Mark Trozzi

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Dr. Charles Hoffe: Hidden COVID-19 Vaccine Injuries: The Microscopic Blood Clots

Many people who are vaccinated will not be immediately aware of the injuries incurred. The latter in many cases of “adverse events” are not discernible nor are they recorded. While “big blood clots” resulting from the vaccine are revealed and reported by those vaccinated, an important study by Canada’s Dr. Charles Hoffe suggests that the mRNA vaccine generates “microscopic blood clots”.

“The blood clots we hear about which the media claim are very rare are the big blood clots which are the ones that cause strokes and show up on CT scans, MRI, etc.

The clots I’m talking about are microscopic and too small to find on any scan. They can thus only be detected using the D-dimer test.” 

“These people have no idea they are even having these microscopic blood clots. The most alarming part of this is that there are some parts of the body like the brain, spinal cord, heart and lungs which cannot re-generate. When those tissues are damaged by blood clots they are permanently damaged.

“These shots are causing huge damage and the worst is yet to come.” (Charles Hoffe)

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, July 8, 2024

Excerpt and quotations  from The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity.

Video Charles Hoffe. Microscopic Blood Clots

Watch below his interview with Laura Lynn Tylor Thompson (also available on Rumble channel).

Video: “Biggest Disaster in Medical History”. Dr. Charles Hoffe 

 

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Subject: Judicial Notice Decision for Dr. Charles Hoffe

Date: July 5, 2024 at 12:58:16 PM PDT

Hello everyone,

I wanted to let you all know that we were successful in defeating the application of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC where they sought an order from the panel taking judicial notice of their version of facts concerning the safety and effectiveness of the covid vaccine and SARS-CoV-2.  

I am providing this to you (some who are lawyers and many who are not) so you are aware of this positive decision.   In my opinion, this decision is a clear win for Dr. Hoffe and for anyone who is facing similar arguments by government or public health officials or institutions in a disciplinary context.  While the panel made it very clear that they have not accepted or rejected our expert evidence at this stage, they have now seen it. This is the first decision of its kind in Canada that I am aware of in a disciplinary hearing context that provides such thorough and clear reasons as to why judicial notice should not be taken of these disputed facts. It should be of use to all other health professionals who are facing a similar situation and likely will be of assistance in other civil cases within the court system. Although this decision is not binding on a court, it is written in a manner that you would normally see in a court decision and the reasoning and the legal arguments made are sound and would be persuasive to a court in my opinion. One of our panel members is a retired BC Supreme Court and BC Court of Appeal judge.  I would not be surprised if he wrote the decision or at least had some significant input. 

I will highlight what I consider to be the key aspects of the decision, but I have attached the decision for your review.  Please feel free to share this decision on your social media and with any lawyers or individuals that you think this may help.  I have also attached the College’s application and my reply to the College’s application which shows the legal arguments. I have attached Dr. Hoffe’s affidavit but have not provided all of the exhibits due to its length but I can certainly do so if someone would like it.  If you would like the attachments as well just let me know and I can send them to you through dropbox or secure docs.  I have not attached the College’s reply where they attack the reliability and weight of our expert reports, but I could certainly do so if someone wants it. 

In paragraph 4 of the decision, the panel details the 8 “Notice Facts” (which actually contain more than 8 facts) that the College was seeking judicial notice of. In paragraph 8 of the decision the panel sets out what they are prepared to take judicial notice of. I have no issue with the facts that they did take judicial notice of as I think they are facts. These facts do not help the College in proving their charges against Dr. Hoffe in any way. As a result of this decision, the College will be required to prove their case by presenting evidence that is subject to testing through cross-examination.

At paragraph 12 of the decision the panel reiterates their previous criticism of the College for bringing this judicial notice application approximately 2 weeks before the then scheduled start of the hearing which was to occur between March 1-14th 2024. It is also important to note that the panel began or opened the hearing on May 31, 2024. This is important because the College is not allowed to introduce new expert evidence or documentary evidence unless it is provided to us at least 14 days before the hearing commences. They have indicated that if they lost this application they were going to be getting 8 additional experts and potentially 2 or 3 additional lay witnesses. I will be opposing any such argument. The Health Professions Act contains these provisions regarding the exchange of evidence to be utilized at a hearing, and it also contains a loophole that allows the panel to ignore these rules if not doing so would unduly prejudice one of the parties (s.38(4.2))  However given the fact that the Colleges recognize that Dr. Hoffe is entitled to a very high level of procedural fairness, and that is the reason s.38 (4.1) is in the HPA, I am hopeful we will be able to persuade the panel that they should not exercise their right to use s.38(4.2) in this instance to allow the College to essentially have a do over in terms of providing evidence to justify the charges set out in the citation and in their letter of particulars.

At paragraph 14 the Panel confirms that the College intends to tender expert evidence from Dr. Trevor Corneil. Although the College tried to suggest in their application materials that Dr. Corneil was simply offering background facts, when his report was originally served on Dr. Hoffe’s former counsel, counsel for the College confirmed they were serving his report as an expert report. They have also previously made this commitment to the panel in other appearances. My belief is the reason they are doing this is so that they can try to bolster their argument that they need 8 additional experts as they have previously stated, if they were unsuccessful in their judicial notice application. It is also important to note that the panel recognized that the 8 expert reports that we have tendered in response to the judicial notice of application were tendered for the purpose of supporting the veracity of the various statements made by Dr. Hoffe that he is now being persecuted for.

The College has suggested some of the additional experts they intend to call will include a cellular biologist, a virologist, a cardiologist, a hematologist and a gynecologist. (Paragraph 17). The panel summarizes the College’s rationale for their application in paragraphs 15-22.  The panel points out the inconsistent position taken by the College with respect to the reliability of your expert evidence (paragraph 29-30).

The Court explains why it was prepared to take judicial notice of the fact that there is a potential for the Covid virus to cause death or other serious effects but in doing so emphasized that the level of that risk is one of the central issues in dispute. The panel notes that some of the evidence provided by Dr. Hoffe’s experts confirm that the risk of severe disease and death is extremely skewed to those above 70 years of age, especially those with multiple comorbidities. The court noted our submission that the data shows that there is a very high survival rate for those under age 70. The panel also chose to highlight some of our other arguments at paragraph 47 which I think is a good sign that they are paying attention to the submissions and felt them worthy of mention. Paragraph 48 summarizes their conclusions on this issue.

The facts that the College sought judicial notice of that were dangerous to Dr. Hoffe’s defence were those in items 2-5. Thankfully the College declined to take judicial notice of any of those items (paragraph 49). The College agreed with our argument that these facts were too broad and imprecise to be the subject of judicial notice (paragraph 52), not to mention that they are not true. The panel was not about to draw that conclusion in the context of the judicial notice application however. That determination will be left to be determined after the hearing has concluded based upon the evidence presented at the hearing.

With respect to the suggestion that the virus does not discriminate, the panel accepted our argument that this was too vague to be a proper fact for judicial notice and made note of our argument that the virus does indeed discriminate in terms of who is more likely to be infected and the seriousness of the consequences to certain individuals if infected.

The panel endorsed important language in a decision rendered by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal where it held that the safety and efficacy of any drug is always relative and as a rule the safety and efficacy of a pharmaceutical product cannot be discussed in such a blunt fashion as to say that it “is” or “is not” safe and effective. The endorsement of this principle is important. (See paragraph 58).

The Panel concluded that it cannot reach an accurate and reliable conclusion on the issues raised by the College without hearing from Dr. Hoffe’s experts and permitting them to be cross-examined. (Paragraph 70).

The panel makes it very clear that they have not made any determinations about the reliability of our expert evidence but does point out on a number of occasions that the College admitted that the evidence we have presented contradicts their “Notice Facts” that they sought judicial notice of. This admission necessitated the College to make the arguments in their Reply about the reliability of, and weight to be given to, our expert opinions. (Paragraph 88).

Another conclusion of the panel that is important is where they state that appellate courts have shifted away from using judicial notice to resolve scientific questions about the safety and efficacy of pediatric Covid 19 vaccines and moved towards a presumption in favour of parental decision-making that is consistent with Health Canada recommendations in family law proceedings. These decisions conclude that parents and courts are entitled to rely on Health Canada’s recommendations as indicating the course of action presumed to be in the best interest of children, absent compelling evidence to the contrary. While I suspect we all agree that Health Canada has not earned the privilege to be granted such a presumption, I suspect we also agree that there is compelling evidence to the contrary. The key is making sure that the people with the right qualifications clearly present that evidence to the courts and these panels so that we can start to turn the jurisprudence around on this issue and demonstrate that Health Canada should not be entitled to such a presumption.  Our expert opinion, and this case overall, presents an opportunity to begin this process. 

While the panel quotes the troubling Court of Appeal decision out of Alberta in Holden v. Holden, at paragraph 93, which stands for the proposition that courts do not need to second-guess Health Canada for the purpose of deciding whether it’ s recommended vaccinations are in a child’s best interests, they do endorse a very useful quote from a Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision in paragraph 95 which I believe is critically important. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in OMS v. EJS made it clear that the fact that Health Canada has granted approval of a new drug is such a broad and categorical statement that it has little meaning or utility. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal confirms that the fact that regulatory approval has occurred means only that Health Canada has determined, based on a risk-benefit analysis, that a drug is sufficiently safe, effective and of sufficient quality to be approved, if it is used in accordance with the approval, including the product monograph, together with any medical advice and monitoring that may be required. One of the key points stated by the Court of Appeal is that they noted the existence of easy-to-find case law or reports of instances where drug companies have been found to have brought on the market products that have passed a regulatory process and have been found to be associated with risks that are later determined to have been misdescribed or missed altogether in the product information that accompanies the distribution of the product. For those reasons, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal said that they found it impossible to arrive at a conclusion that the Pfizer vaccine is safe because it is government approved and is so notorious or generally accepted as not to be the subject of debate among reasonable persons or so capable of immediate and accurate demonstration by resort to readily accessible sources of indisputable accuracy. In other words, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal is making it clear that despite Health Canada finding a variety of drugs safe and effective in the past, many of them have later been withdrawn from the market because this conclusion turned out to be false.

While I still find the decisions in a family law context troubling, the panel does point out that in Holden in the Alberta Court of Appeal and in OMS in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal that when considering whether or not a child should be vaccinated, it is not necessary to make a separate inquiry into the safety, effectiveness and desirability of vaccination unless there is sufficient evidence to put these issues into question. The example they give is evidence of child-specific medical concerns. I would suggest that general safety concerns of the product should be enough but the reality is that in family law cases often the litigants do not have access to experts like those we have been privileged to work with on this case.

The panel summarizes these cases in paragraph 100 where it makes a very important statement . The panel concludes that while in the family law context in most cases the presumption that a drug or vaccine approved by Health Canada is safe and effective will be sufficient to dispose of the issue, unless a party adduces such evidence to displace that presumption, which in such case the issues of safety or risk from vaccination should be resolved on the evidence. 

The panel also accepted our argument that a disciplinary proceeding is starkly different from all of these family law cases. Based on the jurisprudence, it is a professional discipline matter that calls for a high degree of procedural fairness (although one would think that the safety of children would be at least as important) and that the citation squarely raises the question whether the statements made by Dr. Hoffe were true. The panel makes this important conclusion in paragraph 102 “The fact of regulatory approval does not provide a presumptive answer to this question in the same way that it does for the question of whether a child should receive a vaccine.” Again I disagree with the fact that children should be subject to some lower standard of procedural fairness but at the very least we have the panel saying here that just because Health Canada approved something does not necessarily mean that they are safe or effective. The panel has decided that the must review the evidence before making such a determination.

The panel made it clear that although they were prepared to take judicial notice of the fact that Health Canada had approved the covid vaccines, they declined to take judicial notice of the assertion that regulatory approval is a strong indicator of safety and effectiveness as has been done in a number of other cases. (Paragraph 107). The panel made a distinction that I am not sure I agree with at paragraph 108 where they distinguished the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in JN v. CG where the court found that judicial notice should be taken of regulatory approval, and that regulatory approval is a strong indicator of safety and effectiveness, on the basis that this pertained to pediatric covid 19 vaccines. Again I am not sure why the children are subject to a lower threshold of protection than a medical professional in a disciplinary proceeding. For our purposes with Dr. Hoffe’s matter, the panel went out of its way to distinguish this Court of Appeal decision to justify its refusal to take judicial notice of these facts sought by the College in the circumstances.

So this is one of those victories that we need to take a moment to celebrate but there are still many battles to be fought in this case. On Monday we are going back before the panel for a case planning conference and at this hearing we will likely discuss whether or not the College still intends to attempt to tender 8 additional expert reports and 2 or more additional lay witnesses, and if so, when I will be permitted to make written arguments objecting to same.

I hope you will find this encouraging and potentially helpful to others you know of that are involved in these types of situations with the professional body or health authority, or possibly in other contexts as well.

Regards, 

Lee C. Turner

Partner, Professional Law Corporation

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Click here for CPSBC: Reasons for Decision – Judicial Notice Application.

Click here for the complete Affidavit of  Dr Charles Hoffe March 20,2024.

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Click here for the complete Affidavit of  Dr Charles Hoffe March 20,2024.

Click here for the Application Response to Affidavit of Dr Charles Hoffe.

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***

More than 10,000 Palestinian men and women are missing under the rubble in the Gaza Strip, with no way to recover them or properly bury their remains, in a blatant violation of international law amid total international inaction to assist in their retrieval.

Recovering the bodies of the victims of Israel’s nearly ten months of deadly and destructive military attacks on civilians will be extremely difficult, given the lack of heavy machinery and equipment for civil defense crews and the difficulty of their work. Furthermore, the Israeli army has deliberately and methodically targetedand destroyed this machinery and equipment, while preventing any replacement equipment entry to the Gaza Strip.

In addition to intentionally using weapons with enormous destructive power that leave tons of rubble that impede the removal and recovery of bodies from underneath, Israel has a pattern of systematic operations to prevent and obstruct the recovery of victims and missing persons from under the rubble, as documented by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. These operations include targeting civil defense crews, rescue teams, and families trying to recover the bodies of victims, as well as preventing the entry of fuel necessary to operate what remains of the heavy machinery and preventing the entry of equipment.

Mrs. Maryam Imad, 19, informed the Euro-Med Monitor team that on 7 December 2023, two of her family’s homes in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, were bombed by Israeli warplanes. Among the 36 people who were inside were her parents, two of her brothers, one of whom was a child, and her grandfather, her uncles, their wives, and their children.

She added:

“After more than 42 days without hearing anything, we eventually discovered that the Israeli bombing had killed every single person who was buried beneath the debris. In early April of last year, I, the sole survivor of my family, tried with my two uncles to retrieve the bodies, but we were unable to extricate any of them.

“Then the Civil Defense arrived the following day and managed to retrieve a few bodies, while the remainder were buried beneath the debris. We have not been able to bury them yet because we do not have the necessary equipment, and we still demand their recovery even though I realize they have decomposed over the course of several months. We want to bury their remains properly,” she said.

According to Wissam Al-Sakani’s report to the Euro-Med Monitor team, on 22 November 2023 Israeli warplanes bombed his family’s home, which consisted of five flats in the northern Gaza Strip’s Beit Lahia area. The incident resulted in the deaths of approximately 45 people, including two of his children.

Al-Sakani said that despite weeks of efforts to extricate the victims, fifteen of them remain beneath the debris, and their recuperation is being hampered by the massive amount of debris, the lack of equipment, and the frequent bombing of the area.

Ahmed Al-Bahnasawy informed the Euro-Med Monitor team that on 31 October 2023, Israeli warplanes bombed his home within a fire belt that targeted a residential square in Haret Al-Sanaida in Jabalia Camp, the northern Gaza Strip, which is home to about 40 houses.

About 400 people, including all 18 of Al-Bahnasawy’s family members, perished in the massive Israeli attack, he explained. Over the course of several weeks, dozens of bodies were excavated, but due to a lack of equipment and the extent of the destruction, about 50 people were left under the rubble and could not be retrieved.

Most of the victims’ bodies were found in simple one- or two-story buildings or on the streets. However, recovering dead bodies from the bottom of multi-story buildings is very difficult because civil defense and rescue teams have to rely on outdated tools, manual hammers, and antiquated technology to search for victims under tens of thousands of tons of rubble, which makes their job less efficient.

International pressure must be brought to compel Israel to fulfill its legal obligations and bring in trucks, special equipment, and sufficient fuel, given the urgent need to clear the debris, locate bodies, and recoverthem with special procedures to identify and bury them in marked graves, and ensure the victims’ and their families’ rights to a respectful and appropriate burial in accordance with their religious rituals.

Since most of the victims’ bodies have already decomposed, the Israeli policy of obstructing and impeding their recovery plays a significant role in the spread of fatal illnesses and epidemics in the Gaza Strip. This increases the risks to civilian public health, which is already in decline as a result of Israel endangering the health and well-being of over two million Palestinians, nearly half of whom are children, by destroying vital civilian infrastructure, cutting off fuel supplies needed to treat wastewater, making it impossible to dispose of waste, and forcing people to drink contaminated water.

It is a flagrant and compound breach of international humanitarian law and international human rights law to prevent and obstruct the recovery of victims’ bodies from under the rubble, in violation of the rights toinvestigations, redress, and reparations, as well as the final right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect when their bodies are buried. In addition, the fact that thousands of Palestinians are still missing is a further crime against their families, who endure terrible psychological injury. These violations are all part of Israel’s crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which will have a significant negative impact on thousands of Palestinian families in the region, causing them great spiritual and psychological harm.

As these violations involve the willful concealment of evidence linked to the crime of genocide committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, preventing the recovery of bodies also violates rulings made by the International Court of Justice regarding the need to stop genocide in the Gaza Strip and protect civilians.

The fact that so many victims remain buried beneath the debris and that attempts to exhume bodies have been unsuccessful for several months demonstrate Israel’s willful use of different kinds of bombs, ammunition, and massive disproportionate force against Palestinian civilians and their property in defiance of international humanitarian law, such as the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which aims to safeguard civilians during times of war.

Palestinian bodies must be recovered immediately after death, as the current state of these decaying corpses poses a threat to public safety. The spread of epidemics, which has already begun and has been observed for several months now, will have further detrimental effects on the environment and public as evidenced by frequently-reported infections and infectious disease-related deaths. These conditions will also seriously jeopardize the Strip’s long-term environmental health and cause environmental destruction to the point of ecocide, rendering the Gaza Strip unfit for human habitation.

Israel is required by international law to abide by certain rules, including the requirement to protect and respect dead people’s bodies during armed conflicts and take all reasonable steps to ensure that the dead are treated wtih dignity and to prevent the mutilation of bodies. The international community must work together to ensure that Israel immediately stops its military attacks against civilians in the Gaza Strip, and is held responsible for all its crimes.

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***

The Lancet, the prestigious peer-reviewed British medical journal, has warned that the true death toll in the Gaza genocide could be 186,000 or more.

Read the Lancet report here.

This staggering figure amounts to 8 percent of the population of Gaza. A similar percentage of the US population would be 26 million people.

It stands as an indictment of the United States and its imperialist allies, who have funded, armed and politically defended Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

The massive death toll has been made possible by the 14,000 2,000-pound bombs provided by the US to Israel, which it has used not only to massacre tens of thousands but also to destroy all aspects of civilization in Gaza, contributing to the deaths of tens of thousands through malnutrition, communicable diseases and lack of healthcare.

The official death toll since the onset of the Israeli attack, according to Gazan government sources, is 37,396. But The Lancet noted that this figure reflects neither the thousands of people buried under the rubble nor the countless deaths caused by the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s food distribution, healthcare and sanitation systems.

In its report published Friday, titled “Counting the Dead in Gaza: Difficult but Essential,” The Lancet noted:

The number of reported deaths is likely an underestimate. The non-governmental organization Airwars undertakes detailed assessments of incidents in the Gaza Strip and often finds that not all names of identifiable victims are included in the Ministry’s list. Furthermore, the UN estimates that, by Feb. 29, 2024, 35% of buildings in the Gaza Strip had been destroyed, so the number of bodies still buried in the rubble is likely substantial, with estimates of more than 10,000.

The publication further pointed out that “Collecting data is becoming increasingly difficult for the Gaza Health Ministry due to the destruction of much of the infrastructure.”

The report warned:

The total death toll is expected to be large given the intensity of this conflict; destroyed health-care infrastructure; severe shortages of food, water, and shelter; the population’s inability to flee to safe places; and the loss of funding to UNRWA, one of the very few humanitarian organizations still active in the Gaza Strip.

The Lancet noted:

In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza. Using the 2022 Gaza Strip population estimate of 2,375,259, this would translate to 7.9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip.

The Lancet estimate of a death toll of 186,000 is thus based on two assumptions that would tend to lower the estimated death toll. First, it starts with the government’s reported death toll of 37,396, which does not include those buried under the rubble. Then, it uses a multiple of four to estimate the “indirect” deaths caused by the war, as opposed to the multiple of 15 times the number of “direct deaths” observed in other conflicts.

There are reasons to question the validity of these low assumptions, including the fact that Israeli officials have explicitly stated a goal of killing Palestinian civilians through starvation and disease.

In November, Giora Eiland, the former head of the Israeli National Security Council, published an article in which he urged the Israeli military to create medical conditions that would cause the deaths of as many Gazan civilians as possible from preventable disease.

He wrote:

Who are the “poor” women of Gaza? They are all the mothers, sisters, or wives of Hamas murderers. … The international community warns us of a humanitarian disaster in Gaza and of severe epidemics. We must not shy away from this, as difficult as that may be. After all, severe epidemics in the south of the Gaza Strip will bring victory closer and reduce casualties among IDF soldiers.

This genocidal rhetoric is consistent with the declaration by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of “a complete siege … no electricity, no water, no food, no fuel. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.”

In a report published last month, the United Nations commission investigating the Gaza genocide declared:

Israel has used starvation as a method of war, affecting the entire population of the Gaza Strip for decades to come, with particularly negative consequences for children.

The UN committee concluded:

At the time of writing this report, children have already died due to acute malnutrition and dehydration. Through the siege it imposed, Israel has weaponized the withholding of life-sustaining necessities, cutting off supplies of water, food, electricity, fuel, and other essential supplies, including humanitarian assistance. This constitutes collective punishment and reprisal against the civilian population, both of which are clear violations of [international humanitarian law].

The Biden administration, in covering up and defending the Gaza genocide, has claimed that the deaths of civilians are an unintended consequence of Israel’s “war against Hamas.” But these claims are belied by the statements of Israeli officials, who have made it clear that they are waging a war of extermination against the civilian population.

In October, Israeli President Isaac Herzog declared:

It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved … we will fight until we break their backbone.

That same month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated:

“You must remember what Amalek has done to you,” referring to a biblical passage that states, “Go, attack Amalek. … Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants, and sucklings.”

The report by The Lancet makes it clear that the Gaza genocide is among the greatest acts of imperialist barbarism in modern history. In under one year, the United States and other imperialist powers have worked with Israel to wipe out close to a tenth of the population of one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world.

This crime is part of a global eruption of imperialist violence, aiming to subjugate the whole world under neo-colonial domination, targeting centrally Russia and China. The massive death toll in Gaza is a warning: Imperialism is prepared to carry out any crime in pursuit of its predatory interests.

The Gaza genocide must be stopped!

On July 24, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington D.C. to give a progress report to his imperialist paymasters. We call on workers and young people to join the demonstration and meeting in Washington called for that day by the Socialist Equality Party as a critical step in building a mass anti-war movement based on the working class.

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First published by Global Research on December 2023

***

Nov. 27, 2023 – Statistics Canada released a fascinating report called “Deaths 2022”. Here is my analysis of the report.

 

 

The Statistics Canada Report can be accessed HERE. 

Excess deaths:

• Let’s start by analyzing some simple numbers.
• 48,780 excess deaths in 2022 compared to 2019. 17% increase in mortality.
• That’s 0.128% of the population, or 1 in every 784 Canadians died in 2022.
• In USA, that would be equivalent to 423,270 American deaths

What would you do?

• Let’s assume you’re the Trudeau government and you’ve poisoned your population.
• You recommended 7 experimental COVID-19 Vaccines that are now causing heart attacks, blood clots, collapses, cancers & sudden deaths.
• These are the COVID-19 Vaccines the Canadian Government (NACI) recommended:
  • 2 doses in early 2021
  • 1st booster in late 2021
  • 2nd booster in April 2022
  • 3rd (Omicron bivalent booster) in Oct.2022
  • 4th (Omicron bivalent booster) in Mar.2023
  • 5th (XBB.1.5 monovalent booster) in Sep.2023
• If you followed the Canadian government recommendations precisely, you would have taken 7 COVID-19 Vaccines as of right now.
• It was also possible to skip the 2nd booster and wait for the Omicron bivalent, which means you would have taken 6 COVID-19 Vaccines.
• We know that there is a tsunami of sudden deaths in the COVID-19 Vaccinated, but how do you present that data as the Federal Government?

What caused 48,780 deaths in 2022?

• 19,700 deaths from “COVID-19” in 2022, up from 15,900 in 2020.
• And this after 7 COVID-19 Vaccines recommended by NACI.
• This is proof that COVID-19 Vaccines did not save a single life.
• It’s important to remember that 80% of COVID-19 deaths in 2020 in Canada were found to be in long term care home settings (source), where vulnerable seniors were often left to die without adequate treatment (like antibiotics), or were given euthanasia drug cocktails (midazolam, morphine).
• So most COVID-19 deaths in 2020 were not true COVID-19 deaths.
• In terms of vaccines protecting from “severe disease”, where is this protection on the graph below? I don’t see any protection in 2021. Hospitalizations were similar in 2021 compared to 2020.
• Now look at what happened after COVID-19 mRNA 1st booster shots were rolled out in Nov-Dec.2021. This was followed by massive Omicron spikes in 2022 in Jan (BA.1), March (BA.2), July (BA.5), October (BA.5+).
• Again, where is this “protection from severe illness” promised by the vaccines?
• There is once again no evidence of vaccines protecting people in 2022.

• Even if we accept 19,700 deaths from COVID-19 in 2022, who was dying?
• BC government data (just before they deleted it in July 2022) told us 90% of those dying were Vaccinated.
• So 17,730 of the 19,700 deaths (90%) were COVID-19 Vaccinated anyways.
• Therefore, either:
  • they died from a COVID-19 Vaccine Injury and it was falsely reported as a COVID-19 death, or
  • they died from failure of their COVID-19 Vaccine (and likely Immune system injury) and they died from COVID-19.
• Any way you dissect it, these 19,700 “COVID-19 deaths” are really COVID-19 Vaccine deaths.
• Where is the 99% or 95% COVID-19 Vaccine efficacy we were promised?

Unspecified causes of deaths:

• 16,043, a stunning 375% increase from 2019 when it was 3,378!
• This is the most stunning admission from the entire report.
• This is also the number that has been circulated extensively on social media
• We don’t actually get any plausible explanation for this number in the entire report.

Cardiac

• Cardiac deaths increased by 4,000.
• This is a significant number, although I suspect many cardiac deaths are hidden in the “unspecified” or “COVID-19” death categories.

Accidents (Unintentional injuries)

• 18,365, up almost 3,000 from 2019 (15,527)
• I’m guessing they’re hiding blood clots here (strokes, falls, medical emergency while driving, etc)

Cancer

• Turbo Cancer due to COVID-19 Vaccines is a signal they have to hide at all costs.
• I’m not surprised to see only a small rise from 80,400 to 82,400, or +2000
• This is a number that is undoubtedly tampered with.
• It would be very easy to hide cancer deaths as COVID-19 deaths.

Statistics Canada:

“Life expectancy decreases for a third year in a row”.

• the important detail: “In 2022, the decline was more prominent among females than among males”.
• more women are vaccine injured than men.
• women are losing life expectancy in Canada at faster rate than men.

“COVID-19 deaths…This increase may in part be due to the exposure to new highly transmissible COVID-19 variants and the gradual return to normalcy, eg. reduced restrictions and masking requirements”

• Translation: 19,700 7x-vaccinated Canadians died from COVID-19 because of the milder new variants, no lockdowns and they stopped masking.
• this explanation makes NO SENSE – if their vaccine protected them, they wouldn’t need lockdowns, wouldn’t need masks that don’t work, and they certainly wouldn’t be dying from milder variants.
• so Statistics Canada has NO EXPLANATION for these 19,700 deaths.

“Deaths due to influenza and pneumonia on the rise”

• “deaths due to influenza and pneumonia increased by 45.4% from 2021 to 2022”
• I’ve often talked about this, this is due to COVID-19 Vaccine Immune damage.

“information on the causes of death, particularly among younger Canadians, whose deaths are more likely to result in an investigation, typically requires more time before it is reported to Statistics Canada…the data released today are preliminary”

• they’re telling us that we’re not getting all the young Canadian sudden deaths in this report.
• So the 48,700 Excess deaths doesn’t include an unknown number of “younger Canadians” who died suddenly.

My Take…

Statistics Canada “Deaths 2022” is data that you can reasonably expect has been thoroughly manipulated and tampered with.

It’s “preliminary” and doesn’t include many “younger Canadians” who died suddenly.

Even so, it is a devastating report.

48,780 Excess deaths in 2022 (17% increase in mortality).

I propose that the vast majority of these are COVID-19 Vaccine deaths.

These COVID-19 vaccine deaths are being concealed as:

• 19,716 COVID-19 deaths (not possible)
• 16,043 Unspecified causes (no explanation given or even attempted)
• the remaining 12,000 or so they’re not hiding:
  • 4,000 Cardiac
  • 3,000 Accidents
  • 2,000 Cancers
  • 800 liver disease
  • 500 kidney disease
  • 500 diabetes

A reminder that 1 in every 784 Canadians died in 2022, as admitted by the Canadian government in this Nov.27, 2023 Statistics Canada report. 

This is very much in line with Denis Rancourt’s work on excess deaths due to COVID-19 Vaccination.

This is what I wrote in my very first substack article on Feb.6, 2023:

“A good quick rule of thumb is: highly COVID vaccinated countries lost0.1% of their total population to “excess deaths” in 2022. That’s 1 in every 1000 people, dead.”

Statistics Canada corrected me. Not 1 in 1000.

Worse. 1 in 784.

*

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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 Michael Nevradakis, PhD via COVID Intel

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Spread the Truth, Refer a Friend to Global Research

***

Please note: I have written this in an unusual form – as a story told by a young person suffering, and finally overcoming, addiction to an increasingly pervasive IT world. It is an urgent humanitarian alert. A whole generation can be lost if we cannot help them grasp the tragic dehumanising trajectory of their ‘deep state’-induced life style choices. Please ask as many as possible to share this story, especially on social media.

*

A personal story –  as told by Mo

Someone put it to me, around a year ago, that maybe I should change my life style and try to get my feet on the ground. She said, “you know, if you really want it, there is a way to get from purgatory to paradise in this life.”

My reaction was:  Surely not.  No way!  Purgatory is great – so much going on. I’d be bored stiff in paradise. 

Get a new message on my tablet every few minutes. Got six social media accounts. So many conversations to check into and add my bit too. Just got an earbud so I don’t miss any communications. Wow – how things have moved on. 

AP’s are great. Life without AP’s seems unthinkable now. Receptions great too these days. Remember poor signals when travelling? Thing of the past, with a few exceptions. And now Elon is putting all those satellites up, so even in the Sahara desert it will be possible to tune in. Sat Nav our way to the moon…

I text a lot. Love the personal thing – cool to have this sort of privacy. Can’t imagine life without texting. OK, I’m a bit of an info junkie. Like to stay online with what’s going on. Even when it’s scary. Get a kind of thrill knowing I’m alright; you know, comfortable, out of danger.

It’s the convenience of the tech that really does it for me. I must spend three to four hours on my smart phone every day and probably another two on the lap top. You see, it’s my reality. It’s my world – and for lots of my mates too. It’s cool. You can add on Netflicks and some favourite TV shows in the evening as well. 

Wi-Fi is brilliant. Never bother with land lines any more. OK – maybe it’s zapping me more than is good, but who cares? Life’s too short. Like the stuff you get ready prepared and just stick in the microwave. Who needs to bother with cooking? Cooking’s a pain, isn’t it?

Eat a lot raw these days – like vegan ‘saving the planet’ stuff. 

Global warming is scary, don’t you think? Hope it doesn’t happen in my life time. No thanks!

Decided I’m going to get tattooed. There’s a dark side of me that wants to be expressed – my mates have this too. Going for a skull and cross bones on the back of my neck – all black. That says it about pretty much all of life, doesn’t it. I mean life sucks. No point in pretending otherwise.

I’ve found a way of isolating myself from most of it. I mean, my virtual world saves my life.

I must confess to being a bit jealous of trans people. Not sure I have the guts to go for it. – but wow – that really is a statement; a cool expression of personal freedom. If you don’t feel like male or female fits your personality, then get something that does! 

OK, it’s a ‘me, me’ world, but that’s all there is in the end.

Can’t get into this god stuff. If there was a god the world wouldn’t be so fucked-up, would it?

Some of my mates tried the spiritual thing. But the teacher said if you want to do it properly you have to be disciplined. Not so much meat, coffee, sugar, booze, TV and junk foods. 

Can’t manage that – and anyway why try to get closer to something that doesn’t exist – some abstract power?

If there is such a thing, good luck, I’m not going to try and stop anyone doing what they want – no way.

Somebody told me god is ‘trans’, so having the operation is the best way of getting closer to him..err..it. 

Ugh, so much confusion. Really, we don’t know what we’re doing, where we’re going, who we are or what life’s about. But we’ve got to navigate this mess somehow.

To stay sane got to smile a bit– and selfies are great for this. I’ve got thousands of selfies with me and my mates in crazy situations against great backdrops.

Yea, well, that’s about it really. I didn’t tell you that I’ve been getting pretty bad headaches lately. Not good. I’m popping pain relievers, but they only do a temporary job. 

Scared shitless by Covid – took all the jabs – my mates did too. Had to do it, of course. Those political geeks put the clampers on us – didn’t they. 

My gran says I should go to the doctor to get checked-out if the headache continues. But then she also says I should walk in nature. Get out of the ‘concrete jungle’ as she calls it. Gran says that’s the way to find out about god. Maybe she’s right..who knows.

But really, I get all I need from my Smart Phone. That’s real. It’s better than god, as far as I can see. And actually I can’t see so well these days; kind of fuzzy thing blurring my sight. Particularly when I get stressed – and I do. We all do. So we try to chill-out in the bars and cafes. 

Okay, so it’s not all so great. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and don’t want to get out of bed. I’ve never told anybody this – but I even feel a bit suicidal. Wanting a way of getting all this shit out of the way – once and for all. 

It’s tempting, but I don’t have the guts to go for it.

One Year Later

It’s difficult to believe that a year ago I was so far gone.  How the light had faded to the point where  I was ready to take my life. How I couldn’t see my life as anything other than the norm. Taking what turned out to be a death wish as some sort of cool life style choice. 

Well, eventually I did hit the bottom. I tried to take my life. 

A botched job I guess, fortunately. But the blood was seeping away nevertheless, my wrists both slashed and my consciousness fading fast. 

That’s all I remember – bar the searing pain, the internal agony and seeing the blood trickling across the living room floor.

“Mo, Mo!” someone was shouting. My head was propped up in a hospital bed, my wrists covered in bandages. I was weak as sin and my eyes, open for a few seconds, just wanted to close again and remain that way.

“Mo, Mo!” shouted this voice – while some medicine was being administered to me intravenously.

That’s where my new life began. 

I was hospitalised for around three weeks. My brother, sister and gran visited regularly. My estranged mother, once or twice. But it was someone else who really changed things for me.

The hospital had me transferred to a special care centre for people needing psychological and psychiatric support. 

It was here that I started my new life. My second life.

There were two exceptional careers, John and Anna, who made me understand what I never understood before. That life is precious and that I was responsible for everything that hapenned to me. 

That the fact that I was saved was close to being a miracle – and that having ‘one more chance’ was not just due to the intervention of my rescuers (my sister and her husband) but also some universal influence. ‘Grace’ as Anna called it.

Once I was a little stronger I asked what had happened to my phone and Tablet. 

“We have them” said John “but you won’t need them any more, not while you’re here.”

I was a bit credulous, almost angry.

John said, “Mo, you can’t know this yet, but that piece of technology and the information it carried played a big role in your downfall. You were addicted, a full-on IT consumer. What you thought was a benign conveyor of information, was/is a weapon of indoctrination into a virtual world of empty promises and material titillation. You had allowed yourself to become trapped by its instant, seductive and superficial convenience attraction.”

I wanted to reject this view, but something kept me curious enough to continue to listen.

John went on “if we suppress that which is the signpost for our true life; if we bury it under a toxic mix of health destroying habits, anxiety and EMF radiation, we are voluntarily entering a road to suicide. Primarily a soul suicide.” 

Listening to this scary summary of my daily life made me realise, for the first time, that I had never stopped long enough to actually ‘think’. To allow myself to reflect on what I was doing. John was right, I was under some kind of spell, addicted. 

I started to discover a calm inner peace. I had never felt this before in my whole life. It was an experience of such richness that I wondered whether John had dropped some hallucinogenic pill in my water!

Anna offered extraordinary love. Yes, I can say that now, but I had no idea what love was until I met Anna. She seemed to see into my very being and describe to me what that being actually is.

She said that it is a reflection of God. ‘The Supreme Being’ in her words. “the father of us all” she said.

And you know what – I started laughing!.

Me, Mo, didn’t believe in god – thought my smart phone was it.

But now, as I looked into Anna’s deep smiling eyes, I started to laugh and laugh. And then the tears welled-up and filled my eyes. And, dear friends, I say that this is when I discovered my soul – because, well, it was!

I was out of there two weeks later. It was a wobbly moment. I was standing on my own two feet for the first time. Yes, the me who now had a soul and a sense of purpose. 

The world outside had not changed: still running abstractedly towards nowhere. Confusion as the norm. Fear always close to the surface. Narcissistic ambition driving the machine on and on in an endless process of consumption and competition.

But I held on. John and Anna’s words had gone deep. Gran had reminded me about nature when visiting me at the care centre. 

I had this sick feeling when contemplating going back to the urban way of life I was raised on. 

So through a first cousin who lived in the countryside I managed to get my foot onto a small green space with a rudimentary cabin and a nearby wood. 

Still young and reasonably strong, I found a job as an assistant gardener and started learning how to grow plants – edible and inedible. This gave me the confidence to cultivate a bit of land at my cabin and start growing and eating my own food.  Real food!

Dear reader, my life has gone from strength to strength. I have learned some spiritual practice and even meditation. I’ve fallen in love with nature, particularly the wood. 

And if you can tolerate one last song of praise for my transformation – I’ve found a true soul mate. An activist and campaigner for a better world.

I am determined to fight for, well, what can one call it – Life! And a future based on all the qualities I have discovered since my new life began. 

Really, it’s hard to put in words, but I feel I’ve crossed a bridge. Gone from purgatory to paradise.

I know you can cross over too. Just drop-off the toxic baggage, listen out for the voice of your soul – and turn to face the rising sun with a courageous heart. Everyone can do it, everyone. 

Whatever you do, be sure not to be as reckless and irresponsible as I was, trying to destroy the greatest gift any of us will ever be granted. Life, however difficult it may be at times, is of immeasurable value and has no substitute. 

Love,

Mo xx

P.S. You want to know what happened to my phone? I dispensed with it. Didn’t need it any more. Just the old land line connection in my cabin. Don’t buy into that smart fakery any more. No going back.

*

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Julian Rose is an organic farmer, writer, broadcaster and international activist. He is author of four books of which the latest ‘Overcoming the Robotic Mind’ is a clarion call to resist the despotic New World Order takeover of our lives. Do visit his website for further information www.julianrose.info 

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

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***

Kiera Driscoll, age five, died Monday, January 19, 2015. She was vaccinated against the flu. She became sick suddenly over the weekend and collapsed Monday from CARDIAC ARREST.

She tested positive for influenza A, the same strain for which she had been vaccinated.

Jan. 28, 2015 – 5-Year-Old Girl Dies After Catching the Flu, Even After Getting Vaccine – Kiera Driscoll had the flu shot but caught the virus anyway.

A Las Vegas kindergartner who died days after coming down with the flu felt well enough to play outside 24 hours before she collapsed, her father told ABC News.

Kiera Driscoll, 5, had a slight fever on Sunday morning, but she seemed to be feeling better after taking some children’s ibuprofen, said her father, Patrick Driscoll.

“In fact, she was playing outside that afternoon with my wife and even made a comment that it was ‘the most fun time ever,'” Driscoll said.

But then Kiera’s slight fever returned and her cough worsened and included phlegm, Driscoll said. At about 4 a.m., her parents gave her medicine to help expand her airways by way of an albuterol nebulizer. She didn’t have asthma but occasionally had a barking cough as a baby, Driscoll said. Afterward, he stayed up with her watching cartoons until she fell asleep again at 8 a.m.

That morning, the Driscolls took her to an urgent care center, where she got another albuterol treatment and was given a steroid to help her breathe, Driscoll said. He went to work, and his wife stayed home to take care of Kiera.

Kiera’s mother tucked her into bed a few hours later for a nap, and turned away to turn on a vaporizer when Kiera said, “I can’t breathe. It’s hard to breathe,” Driscoll said. Then, the little girl collapsed and passed out.

Kiera’s mother is trained in CPR and jumped into action, clearing Kiera’s airways, performing rescue breathing and calling 911, Driscoll said. Kiera’s pulse went away and came back in the emergency room. But her brain wave activity diminished,

Driscoll said, and she developed an irregular heart beat and went into cardiac arrest. She died the following day, on Tuesday, Jan.20, 2015.

“Their working diagnosis was that a mucus plug of thick mucus got coughed up and clogged, lodged in her trachea, preventing her from being able to breathe,” Driscoll said.

The little girl’s elementary school celebrated her life last week by dressing in purple, releasing purple balloons and eating frozen yogurt, according to KNTV, ABC’s affiliate in Las Vegas. “Frozen” was Kiera’s favorite movie, and a stuffed Olaf doll sat in her seat at school after her death, according to the station.

Laurel Beckstead, the headmaster of the American Heritage Academy, where Kiera went to school, told KNTV the death was shocking. Beckstead is also Kiera’s aunt.

“She went home happy, healthy, and then to get a phone call that Monday that she had gone to Quick Care Monday morning, released and went home and then later collapsed, was almost a shocking disbelief,” Beckstead told the station. “How can this be happening to Kiera?”

As of the week ending Jan. 17, 56 pediatric flu-related deaths had been reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kiera’s official cause of death was that she went into cardiac arrest after coming down with influenza A and pneumonia, according to the Clark County coroner’s office in Nevada, which did not examine her body after her death.

Dr. Frank Esper, a pediatric infectious disease physician at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, said death’s like Kiera’s can be confusing, and some states require autopsies when the explanation is unclear. He said it’s important to remember that influenza can cause death, especially in people with underlying lung and heart conditions — which may not be diagnosed. People at risk for complications, including young children, pregnant women, people with asthma, and the elderly, should contact their physician at the first sign of flu, he said. They may be prescribed antiviral medications to shorten their illness and prevent it from worsening.

“Though Kiera’s passing has shattered the world her birth created for me, the joy of raising her was worth it,” Driscoll said of his daughter at her funeral. He shared the eulogy on a fundraising page set up for Kiera to express his gratitude for the love and support his family received.

Driscoll told ABC News that Kiera got a flu shot, and they still want other parents to vaccinate their children.

“Vaccines help save lives, and they help keep other people from getting infected as well,” he said. “We always want people to be vaccinated.”

He said his family has taken comfort in the fact that his wife knew CPR and did everything she could. And he knows he’ll see his little girl again someday, he said.

“If there’s something we can say to someone going through something similar,” he said. “Hold on to your faith. Rely on family and community, and never take a moment for granted.”

My Take…

Kiera got the flu shot although the media reports don’t tell us exactly when. She then died of cardiac arrest.

I suspect that Kiera suffered cardiac injury from the flu vaccine and then when her heart was under stress due to flu like symptoms, she suffered a cardiac arrest.

It’s also clear that the parents are completely in denial:

“Driscoll told ABC News that Kiera got a flu shot, and they still want other parents to vaccinate their children.

“Vaccines help save lives, and they help keep other people from getting infected as well,” he said. “We always want people to be vaccinated.”

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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

De-Banking Political Opponents: After Leftist Lobbying, German Bank Kills “Anti-Globalist Opposition AfD Donation Account

By Ben Bartee, July 08, 2024

Canada yesterday; Germany today; the whole of the West tomorrow. It’s only a matter of time until de-banking political opponents becomes standard operating procedure in the United States — bastion of Democracy™ that it is.

Fluoridation and “Forever Chemicals” (PFAS): Federal Hypocrisy Is Poisoning Americans with Toxic Synthetic Chemicals

By Richard Gale and Dr. Gary Null, July 08, 2024

A process we were led to believe was a safe and effective method of protecting teeth from decay is in fact a fraud. For decades it’s been shown that fluoridation is neither essential for good health nor protective of teeth. What it does is poison the body.

The End of Obama’s War on Syria

By Steven Sahiounie, July 08, 2024

Recently, Turkey has changed their policy on Syria in an effort to restore diplomatic relations with Damascus. The Prime Minister of Iraq, al-Sudani, announced he expects a meeting between the Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad very soon.

Western-Supported Zionist Genocide and the Pathology of Evil

By Mark Taliano, July 08, 2024

Novelist Susan Abulhawa explains that the declared Palestinian death toll (of about 37,000) itself is a deception first because of the manner in which the numbers are calculated, and second, because of the reduced capacity to count death tolls.

The Multipolar World Is Getting Stronger?

By Ret Admiral Cem Gürdeniz, July 08, 2024

Geopolitical rivalries cannot be overcome without mutual trust and cooperation between countries. In geopolitical competition, mutual recognition of areas of influence and interest is essential, as was the case during the Cold War. The USA recognized the Soviet sphere of influence in 1945 and agreed to live in a bipolar world until 1989.

Massacre at the Ballot: The Punishing of the Tories

By Dr. Binoy Kampmark, July 08, 2024

A whole brigade of senior Conservatives suffered a rout.  Commons leader Penny Mordaunt lost her seat, as did defence secretary Grant Shapps.  That manorial relic of Tory tradition and privilege, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, was also ousted from his seat.  The Liberal Democrats made huge inroads into traditional Conservative territory, winning seats held by two former prime ministers – David Cameron and Theresa May.

Lawsuit on Behalf of Vaccine-injured Seeks to Strike Down ‘Unconstitutional’ PREP Act

By Dr. Suzanne Burdick, July 08, 2024

Moms for America and individual plaintiffs who were injured by a COVID-19 vaccine, or whose loved one suffered injury or death from a COVID-19 vaccine, allege the federal law granting vaccine makers immunity for injuries caused by their products violates the U.S. Constitution.

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Canada yesterday; Germany today; the whole of the West tomorrow.

It’s only a matter of time until de-banking political opponents becomes standard operating procedure in the United States — bastion of Democracy™ that it is.

Via European Conservative (emphasis added):

“German bank Berliner Volksbank has closed the donation account of the right-wing antiglobalist opposition party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) following a petition by a group calling itself Grandmothers Against the Right (Omas gegen Rechts).

The group launched their petition in May, stating that the bank, which claims to stand for tolerance and against right-wing extremism, should not be allowed to accommodate an account for the AfD. The organisation handed over 33,500 signatures to the bank on Wednesday, July 3rd, to demand the termination of the account, and after meeting the chairman of the board of directors, Carsten Jung, Grandmothers Against the Right announced that their venture has been successful.”

Via Newsweek, Feb. 15, 2022 (emphasis added):

“Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday vowed to freeze bank accounts of the truckers protesting his COVID-19 vaccine mandates, while the movement’s fundraising website remained down.

Right-wing Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo remained down and the platform has not said anything for over 24 hours, despite the website and official page for the Canadian truckers appearing to be hacked and non-functional on Monday.

A leak website also said it received a cache of information, including donor details to the Freedom Convoy protest, after the fundraising site was targeted in a cyberattack on Sunday night.

Protesters had raised more than $8 million of funding to support their cause, as they blockade roads in the Canadian capital Ottawa. The protests, which have been associated with the anti-vaccination movement and the far-right*, have gathered momentum all over the world.”

*“Far-right” is now a meaningless expression of disdain for the peasants who challenge state power.

If everyone is “far-right,” no one is “far-right”; the modifier “far” by definition signifies an outlier of some kind when, in fact, the corporate state calls anyone who disagrees with it by the name.

*

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This article was originally published on the author’s Substack, Armageddon Prose.

Ben Bartee, author of Broken English Teacher: Notes From Exile, is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. Follow his stuff via Substack. Also, keep tabs via Twitter.

Featured image: AfD election poster from 2014. The slogan translates as “Washington spies. Brussels dictates. Berlin obeys.” (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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***

For decades, we have been told a lie, a lie that has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans and the weakening of the immune systems of tens of millions more.

This lie is called fluoridation.

A process we were led to believe was a safe and effective method of protecting teeth from decay is in fact a fraud. For decades it’s been shown that fluoridation is neither essential for good health nor protective of teeth. What it does is poison the body. Therefore we should all be asking how and why public health policy and the American media continue to perpetuate this scientific sham. Despite the growing consensus in the medical literature about fluoride’s dangers and decades of denial within the federal health establishment to take any notable action, this is not the case for another class of pervasive toxic substances commonly known as “forever chemicals.”

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as “forever chemicals,” are synthetic chemicals that have increasingly raised alarming concerns due to their persistence in the environment and common everyday products and their adverse effects on human health.  These chemicals are characterized by strong carbon-fluorine bonds, which are among the strongest bonds in organic chemistry. This unique chemical structure makes PFAS highly resistant to natural processes that typically break down other substances, such as microbial degradation, photolysis (breakdown by light), and hydrolysis (breakdown by water). The strong carbon-fluorine bonds make PFAS resistant to metabolic breakdown. The body’s natural detoxification processes, which can effectively eliminate other chemicals, are not as effective against PFAS. They can bind to serum albumin in the blood, which prevents them from being easily filtered out by the kidneys and excreted in urine. Finally, PFAS bio-accumulate, meaning their concentration can increase over time in the tissues of living organisms. Continuous exposure through contaminated water, food, and consumer products thereby leads to higher concentrations in the body.

For this reason PFAS are referred to as “forever” because of their ability to persist in the environment for decades if not centuries. Moreover, due to their high solubility, forever chemicals can migrate long distances through water systems from their original source and ultimately contaminate drinking water supplies.

Forever chemicals can enter the body through various pathways and become widely distributed in bodily tissues and organs. They have been shown to readily disrupt key biological processes such as fat and amino acid metabolism. PFAS primarily enter the human body through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption. Ingestion is the most common route of exposure. Contaminated drinking water, often resulting from industrial chemical discharges of toxins and pollutants and the use of firefighting foam are a significant source of PFAS. The presence of PFAS in soil and water contaminates much of our food produce, especially seafood. Food packaging materials, such as microwave popcorn bags and fast food wrappers coated with PFAS, further contribute to ingestion.

Inhalation is another route through which PFAS can enter the body.

Indoor dust particles in homes with PFAS-treated carpets, curtains, furniture, textiles, mattresses and bedding can contain these chemicals. Occupational exposure in industrial facilities manufacturing PFAS-containing products poses a very high risk.  Although less significant compared to ingestion and inhalation, PFAS can be absorbed through the skin. Personal care products, including lotions, shampoos, and cosmetics, often contain PFAS. Handling materials coated with PFAS can also lead to dermal absorption. Outrageously, a government study through the National Toxicology program discovered that medical bandages, including 18 of 26 common brand band-aids purchased at major popular pharmacies were found to have dangerous levels of the forever chemical fluorine, which is used to make rocket fuel. The infamous Silent Spring Institute observed these chemicals even present in many assumed “eco-friendly” children’s products (with green certifications) such as bedding, clothing and water-resistant outer wear. Unbeknownst to the majority of consumers, PFAS are also found in shampoo and nail polish, dental floss, toilet paper, guitar strings, sticky notes, tampons and menstrual pads. Many consumer products containing high levels of these toxic chemicals are imported from China.

Once PFAS enter the body, they are absorbed into the bloodstream and transported to various organs and tissues. PFAS are known for their persistence due to their long half-lives, which can range from several years to decades. The liver is a primary target for PFAS accumulation, leading to liver damage, increased liver enzymes, and altered lipid metabolism. A 2023 Yale study noted that two PFAS enable cancer cells to migrate, an indication that these chemicals are contributing to metastasis. The thyroid gland is another critical organ affected by PFAS, as these chemicals can interfere with thyroid hormone production and regulation, potentially leading to thyroid disease. Researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital observed that one particular PFAS, perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), might be contributing to the recent dramatic increase in thyroid cancer diagnoses.  PFAS also impact reproductive organs, affecting fertility and causing developmental issues in fetuses.

Briefly, PFAS induce cellular toxicity by disrupting cell membrane integrity, inducing oxidative stress, and altering cell signaling pathways thereby affecting cell growth. PFAS exposure has been linked to genotoxic effects, including DNA strand breaks, chromosomal aberrations, and epigenetic modifications, potentially leading to cancer and other diseases. The impact of PFAS on reproductive health is particularly concerning. Studies have demonstrated that PFAS exposure can reduce fertility in both males and females, cause developmental toxicity including low birth weight and developmental delays in offspring, and disrupt hormone levels, affecting reproductive health and development. A 2019 study showed that PFAS exposure induces DNA damage in human liver cells. An earlier Danish study found that higher PFAS levels were associated with lower sperm quality and reduced fertility in men. And UCLA scientists demonstrated that PFAS exposure during pregnancy was linked to lower birth weights and developmental delays in children. 

It should also be noted that the adverse effects of PFAS are not limited to human health but extend to wildlife and the environment. These chemicals have been found in all our water resources, soil, and air, leading to bioaccumulation in fish, animals and plant life. This bioaccumulation is disrupting normal reproductive and developmental cycles in animals and other wildlife, further contributing to the breakdown of our nation’s ecosystems.

The widespread presence of PFAS in the human body is alarming.

Scientific studies have detected these chemicals in the blood of nearly all Americans tested, as well as in breast milk and umbilical cord blood, indicating that exposure begins even before birth. In 2020 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found PFAS in the blood of 97% of Americans. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set health advisories for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water at 70 parts per trillion (ppt). However, many experts and environmental groups argue that this level is not stringent enough to protect public health. These advisories are also non-enforceable and simply serve as guidelines for individual states. On the other hand, almost nothing is being done to remove these chemicals from their ubiquitous use in common consumer products aside from food packaging. 

Early in the Biden administration, the EPA signaled its commitment to deal with widespread forever-chemical contamination; but it was only in April of this year, as the presidential election approaches, that the administration finally made any concerted effort. However, the new rule is limited to environmental PFOA and PFOS contamination from industrial and manufacturing facilities and Superfund clean up projects. The bill does nothing towards the banning of their use in cleaning products, nonstick cookware, paints, carpeting, outdoor gear and personal care products. The Trump-run EPA likewise did nothing to limit PFAS until 2019 and again near election time when a PFAS Action Plan was announced. But the plan was limited to research and monitoring and has been criticized for its lack of enforceable regulations and comprehensive bans. The FDA also failed dismally to deal with PFAS in food packaging; several food manufacturers have voluntarily taken it upon themselves to remove these chemicals. Only a handful of states, notably California, Michigan, New Jersey and New York, have taken proactive measures to regulate and strengthen PFAS usage, especially in drinking water standards. 

While there is increasing awareness at both federal and state levels, concerted efforts to reduce PFAS usage and proliferation are fragmented and less stringent than in some other developed nations. The European Union, on the other hand, has already proposed a comprehensive ban on all PFAS by 2030. Denmark, Germany and Sweden have begun phasing out of forever chemicals. In general, American legislative efforts and regulatory actions for a PFAS-free future are dismal given the widespread acknowledgement within the medical and scientific communities about their toxic threats to human health and the environment. 

Although the growing medical and environmental concerns over the toxicity of “forever chemicals” have led to increased public awareness and initial steps toward regulatory actions, a significant inconsistency exists in how government health officials and authorities address another well-documented toxic chemical: fluoride. This discrepancy is particularly concerning given the long-term health risks fluoride poses, especially to children. While PFAS have been the focus of substantial scientific and regulatory analysis, in contrast, fluoride, which is widely used in drinking water and dental products, continues to be endorsed by industry-compromised public health authorities throughout the federal and state governments despite mounting evidence of its toxicity and serious debilitating health risks. This highlights our nation’s scientific and medical hypocrisy: while one toxic chemical (PFAS) is increasingly alarming federal health officials, another (fluoride) continues to be used extensively without any urgent scrutiny.

In 2022, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research released a comprehensive report showing that oral health in the U.S. has not improved in 22 years. In fact, it has declined and 70 percent of children and adolescents are now fluoride-overdosed. 

Studies have shown that excessive fluoride exposure can lead to dental and skeletal fluorosis, neurological damage, and endocrine disruption. Children are particularly vulnerable, with research indicating that high fluoride levels can negatively impact cognitive development. 

Several factors contribute to the failure of federal health officials and the medical establishment to take the health risks of fluoride seriously. Of course, historical precedent and public health policy play a significant role. Fluoride has been added to public water supplies for over 70 years as a measure to prevent tooth decay. This long-standing practice has ingrained fluoride’s image as a safe and beneficial public health intervention.

The fluoride industry

Corporate and political pressure also plays a crucial role. The fluoride industry, which includes manufacturers of dental products and private companies involved in water fluoridation chemicals, has a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. It is no longer a secret that political lobbying and corporate pressure significantly influence public health policies. For instance, the American Dental Association (ADA) has been a strong advocate for water fluoridation and intentionally downplays or dismisses fluoride’s health risks. Economic interests further complicate the issue. Fluoride is a byproduct of industrial aluminum and phosphate fertilizer production. Utilizing fluoride in water fluoridation and dental products provides an economic benefit to these industries by reducing waste disposal costs.

The primary beneficiaries of continued fluoride use in drinking water and dental products are industrial producers and dental product manufacturers.

Manufacturers of toothpaste, mouthwash, dental gels and foams, fluoride varnishes and dental floss also benefit from the widespread belief in fluoride’s dental health benefits. The pharmaceutical industry’s mouthpiece Wikipedia, for example, claims there have been only three reported cases of fluoride toxicity associated with toothpaste ingestion, when in fact there are over 23,000 reports of toothpaste-related fluoride poisoning annually. This represents hundreds of emergency room visits for fluoride poisoning at substantial and unnecessary medical cost. But our exposure to fluoride is not limited to our water utilities and dental products. In regions where the water supply is not fluoridated, children may be prescribed fluoride tablets or drops. Some popular children’s multivitamins include fluoride. 

Canadian studies, for example, indicate that children under three should have no fluoride whatsoever. The Journal of the Canadian Dental Association states that “Fluoride supplements should not be recommended for children less than 3 years old.”  Since these supplements contain the same amount of fluoride as water does, they are basically saying that children under the age of three shouldn’t be drinking fluoridated water at all, under any circumstances.

Beverages made with fluoridated water

Beverages made with fluoridated water, including sodas, juices, and teas, may contain fluoride, and foods prepared with fluoridated water contain trace amounts of fluoride. Researchers writing in the Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry found that fruit juices, in particular, contain significant amounts of fluoride. In one study, a variety of popular juices and juice blends were analyzed and it was discovered that 42% of the samples examined had more than l ppm of fluoride, with some brands of grape juice containing up to 6.8 ppm. The authors cite the common practice of using fluoride-containing insecticide in growing grapes as a factor in these high levels, and they suggest that the fluoride content of beverages be printed on their labels, as is other nutritional information.

Even some medications, including certain antibiotics and antifungal drugs, contain fluoride. And here’s a little-publicized fact: Cooking can greatly increase a food’s fluoride content. Peas, for example, contain 12 micrograms of fluoride when raw and 1500 micrograms after they are cooked in fluoridated water.

During the past four years, several studies further warrant national attention because they are directly associated with other rising health epidemics.  A study out of the University of Southern California’s School of Medicine analyzed fluoride levels in mother–child pairs at pregnancy and later evaluated the children’s behavior after three years. Children exposed to increases in fluoride in the womb were twice as likely to develop neurobehavioral problems including emotional reactivity, anxiety and somatic complaints. A similar finding was confirmed earlier by Canadian researchers at York University that discovered higher rates of medically-diagnosed ADHD in American children with higher levels of fluoridated water. A 2019 study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that higher fluoride exposure during pregnancy was associated with lower IQ scores in children. A Kenyan study published in the American Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences reported that auditory working memory significantly declined as fluoride concentration in drinking water increased, confirming the results of an earlier systematic review showing lower IQ in children in high-fluoride areas. These effects were observed at concentrations as low as 0.5 mg/L – the low end of the scale recommended by the World Health Organization, which recommends fluoridation at concentrations as high as 1.5 mg/L.

British researchers at the University of Kent observed a 30 percent increase of hypothyroidism in areas where fluoridation of the public water supply was highest (above 0.3 mg per liter). This is especially alarming for Americans, which sets the recommended fluoride level in water at 0.7 mg/L, twice that of England. With heart disease as the major killer of Americans, a 2022 Spanish study now demonstrates that fluoridated water calcifies and hardens arteries. People with chronic renal disease were observed to be especially at high risk

Reproductive Health

Data suggest that the damaging effects of fluoride extend to reproductive health as well. A 2013 study published in the journal Archives of Toxicology showed a link between fluoride exposure and male infertility in mice. The study’s findings suggest that sodium fluoride impairs the ability of sperm cells to normally fertilize the egg through a process known as chemotaxis.

When fluoride is ingested, approximately 93% of it is absorbed into the bloodstream. A good proportion of the chemical is excreted, but the rest is deposited in the bones and teeth, and is capable of causing a crippling skeletal fluorosis. This condition damages the musculoskeletal and nervous systems and results in muscle wasting, limited joint motion, spine deformities, and calcification of the ligaments, as well as neurological deficits. Large numbers of people in Japan, China, India, the Middle East, and Africa have been diagnosed with skeletal fluorosis from drinking naturally fluoridated water. In India alone, nearly a million people suffer from the affliction. 

Although the American Dental Association and the government consider dental fluorosis only a cosmetic problem, the American Journal of Public Health says that “…brittleness of moderately and severely mottled teeth may be associated with elevated caries levels.” In other words, in these cases the fluoride is causing the exact problem that it’s supposed to prevent. Yiamouyiannis adds, “In highly naturally-fluoridated areas, the teeth actually crumble as a result. These are the first visible symptoms of fluoride poisoning.” In addition, the pro-fluoride camp repeats the faulty wisdom that fluoride enhances the formation of fluorapatite, a component of tooth enamel. On the other hand, they refuse to mention that studies show that this fluorapatite layer is just six nanometers thick, less than 1/10000th the width of a strand of hair and therefore unlikely to have much of an impact on strengthening or re-mineralizing teeth.

At one time, fluoride therapy was recommended for building denser bones and preventing fractures associated with osteoporosis. Now the peer-reviewed medical literature confirms that fluoride is associated with bone breakage. Three studies reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association showed links between hip fractures and fluoride. One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that people given fluoride to cure their osteoporosis actually wound up with an increased nonvertebral fracture rate.

Finally, we might take a very brief look at some evidence supporting a fluoride-cancer association. Numerous studies demonstrate links between fluoridation and cancer; however, agencies promoting fluoride consistently refute or cover up these findings. Almost a half-century ago, Drs. John Yiamouyiannis and Dean Burk, former chief chemist at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), released a study that linked fluoridation to 10,000 cancer deaths per year in the U.S. Their inquiry, which compared cancer deaths in the ten largest fluoridated American cities to those in the ten largest unfluoridated cities between 1940 and 1950, discovered a 5% greater cancer rate in the fluoridated areas. Unsurprisingly, the NCI refuted its own findings. To settle the matter, a Congressional subcommittee instructed the National Toxicology Program (NTP) to perform another investigation. That study, due in 1980, was not released until 1990. In the meantime, the EPA raised the standard fluoride level in drinking water from 2.4 to 4 ppm. Critics of the EPA decision charged it with being politically motivated without any concern for public health.  

And what were the NTP study results? Out of 130 male rats that ingested 45 to 79 ppm of fluoride, 5 developed osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer. There were cases, in both males and females at those doses, of squamous cell carcinoma in the mouth. Both rats and mice had dose-related fluorosis of the teeth, and female rats suffered osteosclerosis of the long bones. When Yiamouyiannis analyzed the same data, he found a particularly rare form of liver cancer, known as hepatocholangiocarcinoma. This cancer is so rare, according to Yiamouyiannis, that the odds of its appearance in the study by chance are 1 in 2 million in male mice and l in 100,000 in female mice. He also found precancerous changes in oral squamous cells, an increase in squamous cell tumors and cancers, and thyroid follicular cell tumors as a result of increasing levels of fluoride in drinking water.

Water fluoridation and fluoride-enhanced dental products

Aside from the health risks, water fluoridation and fluoride-enhanced dental products are unnecessary. Many countries do not fluoridate water supplies or have ceased fluoridation altogether. In 2013, Israel’s Ministry of Health committed to a countrywide phase-out of fluoridation. The decision came after Israel’s Supreme Court deemed the existing health regulations requiring fluoridation to be based on science that is “outdated” and “no longer widely accepted. European countries such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland, as well as Japan, do not fluoridate their drinking water.

There are safer and equally effective alternatives to fluoride for dental health and water treatment. Xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol found in many fruits and vegetables, has been shown to reduce tooth decay by inhibiting the growth of Streptococcus mutans, a primary bacterium responsible for cavities. Hydroxyapatite, a naturally occurring mineral form of calcium apatite, is an effective alternative in toothpaste; hydroxyapatite promotes remineralization and strengthens tooth enamel without the toxicity associated with fluoride. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF), although it contains fluoride, if used in very minute amounts has been proven effective in arresting dental caries with a lower risk of systemic exposure compared to water fluoridation. For water treatment, technologies such as reverse osmosis and activated alumina can effectively remove contaminants, including fluoride, providing safe drinking water without the need for chemical additives.

The stark contrast in how PFAS and fluoride are addressed by health officials underscores a significant inconsistency in public health policy. While PFAS have rightfully garnered attention due to their harmful effects, the continued endorsement of fluoride, despite clear evidence of its toxicity, reveals an underlying issue influenced by historical precedent, corporate interests, and political lobbying. Ever since Harvard University researcher Philippe Grandjean first added fluoride to a list of developmental neurotoxicants considered especially harmful to the developing brain in a 2014 paper published in The Lancet, our health officials have suffered from institutionalized cognitive dissonance by categorically denying fluoride-induced illness. Fortunately, the pushback against decades of lies, misinformation and media propaganda to seduce the American public into accepting corporate and government sponsored junk research supporting fluoridation continues to reach a tipping point towards public safety.  In 2021, an alliance of public health organizations and watch groups, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Michael Connett, filed suit against the EPA in a federal court trial to bring an end to fluoridation once and for all.

To truly protect public health, it is crucial to re-evaluate the use of fluoride in drinking water and dental products and consider safer, scientifically proven alternatives. This shift would ensure that public health policies are based on current scientific evidence rather than outdated practices and economic interests.

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Richard Gale is the Executive Producer of the Progressive Radio Network and a former Senior Research Analyst in the biotechnology and genomic industries.

Dr. Gary Null is host of the nation’s longest running public radio program on alternative and nutritional health and a multi-award-winning documentary film director, including his recent Last Call to Tomorrow.

They are regular contributors to Global Research.

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***

On July 5, Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the main opposition party in Turkey, CHP, told the press he wants to travel to Damascus with a delegation and meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

One of the issues to be discussed will be the repatriation of Syrian refugees from Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said repeatedly that he wants to meet with Assad and to restore the diplomatic relationship between the two neighbors, which had been prior to 2011 a very close and beneficial relationship for Turkey.  Prior to 2011, Syria was the largest export market for Turkey.

Syria has said repeatedly, they are open to a restored relationship, but Turkey must first cut ties with terrorist groups and radical militias which have been supported by Turkey, and Turkey must withdraw mercenaries and Turkish soldiers from Idlib, north of Aleppo, and all northern Syrian border areas.

Recently, Turkey began the first steps of cutting ties with terrorists in Idlib and north of Aleppo. This resulted in clashes between the terrorists and their civilian supporters who view the Turkish policy change as betrayal to their cause, which was to establish an Islamic State in Idlib, under HTS, formerly Jibhat al-Nusra, formerly the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda.

Steven Sahiounie of MidEastDiscource interviewed Aydin Sezer, political scientist, foreign policy analyst, former diplomat, and economic advisor at the Turkish Embassies in Cairo and Moscow for his opinion on these new developments in the Turkish-Syrian file.

Steven Sahiounie (SS):   Recently, there have been clashes between the Turkish military and the Syrian opposition in Idlib and north Aleppo. This appears to be a result of a new Turkish foreign policy decision on Syria. In your opinion, are we seeing the beginning of the end of Turkish support for the Syrian opposition?

Aydin Sezer (AS):  Yes, this is the beginning of the end of Turkey’s support to the Syrian opposition. However, this is not a surprising development. It is an inevitable consequence of Turkey’s flawed Syria policy. Turkey has to face the reality and its mistakes, and that process is now underway. If there is to be peace with Assad, if this is really desired, Turkey will have to confront not only the Syrian National Army, which Turkey established, but also the jihadists and extremists in Idlib. Peace in Syria will have a separate cost for Turkey. Since these elements cannot be included in the Assad administration, unfortunately it will be a difficult process.

SS:   Turkey had been a major supporter of the Syrian opposition. In your opinion, what has caused this drastic change in Turkey’s policy?

AS:  There are many different factors and reasons for the change in Turkey’s policy. The most important one, in my opinion, is the unbearable economic crisis Turkey is going through. The Syrian costs are now unaffordable, especially in fiscal terms. The tight monetary policy that the finance minister, Mehmet Şimşek, has been implementing for a year now is making it more difficult to pay this bill. Turkey therefore wants to get rid of this burden somehow.

The second important factor is the presence of more than 5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Tensions and clashes between Turks and Syrians for various reasons are taking the country into a serious and irreversible process. Aside from the political cost, given the growing racist sentiments in Turkey, there is the possibility of undesirable problems. Erdoğan is therefore now convinced that this issue must be resolved. I guess so, in fact I hope so, but it is difficult to predict what Erdoğan will do tomorrow.

SS:  Media reports show Syrians in Idlib and north of Aleppo attacking Turkish vehicles and citizens. In one case, they attacked a Turkish soldier. In your opinion, how do you see Turkey’s response to this violence?

AS:  Judging by the public reaction, we can say this. It is terrible. These are unwanted images that provoke reactions among Turks. Unfortunately, they are also likely to increase the public reaction against Syrians in Turkey. Politicians and Erdogan characterize these developments as provocations. The public is urged to be sensitive to provocation. But, provocations are in the nature of things, and this is an expected development. It is a difficult process. If the reaction of the Turkish armed forces is harsh, the violence of the demonstrations will increase.

SS:   Recently, as a response to the violence in Idlib and north of Aleppo we are seeing media reports of Syrian refugees in Turkey being mistreated. In your opinion, will there be a move to repatriate the Syrians?

AS:  Yes, this step is already being taken. But, it is thought that this will help to reduce the tension in Turkish society towards asylum seekers.

SS:  The Prime Minister of Iraq has said that he is hopeful of a meeting soon between President Erdogan and President Assad. In your opinion, what needs to be done to make this meeting happen?

AS:  Russia is already contributing to this process. As you know, Assad has two preconditions. Turkey’s withdrawal from Syrian territory and the cessation of Turkey’s support to the jihadists. It is very difficult for Erdogan to accept these, we know that, but on the other hand Assad has to be convinced. Maybe Turkey could announce a timetable for withdrawal from Syria. More precisely, Turkey and Erdogan must first convince Assad of Turkey’s sincerity. I think, in order to reach a peace agreement, a preliminary agreement is needed to overcome the crisis of trust between the parties.

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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

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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While the Assad administration is slowly restoring its bilateral relations with neighboring states, it must be noted that the US has no intention of withdrawing its troops from eastern Syria, effectively backing the Kurdish-led rebel faction Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Its imperialistic agenda which aims at controlling Syria’s oil reserves remains buried under the official narrative of “fighting ISIS.”

—Global Research, July 9, 2024

***

Kessab is a tiny Syrian village on the Turkish border. In February 2011, Em Ahmad, a 30-year plus resident of Kessab, was coming back to Kessab through the international border crossing at Kessab. She and her family were shocked to see white tents set-up in Turkey on the border as the passed by. The so-called ‘popular uprising’ in Daraa, Syria did not begin until March 2011, and Em Ahmad had no inkling of the purpose of the empty tent community set-up waiting for Syrian refugees.  Later, she would understand the role those tents played, and the fact they were ready long before any Syrian in Daraa, 371 kilometers away, would take to the streets.

Syria is now in the first steps toward ending the nightmare that destroyed many parts of the country, caused the largest migration since WW2, caused millions to become refugees living in tents in neighboring countries, displaced half of the country, and killed and injured hundreds of millions.

Recently, Turkey has changed their policy on Syria in an effort to restore diplomatic relations with Damascus. The Prime Minister of Iraq, al-Sudani, announced he expects a meeting between the Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad very soon.

In order to restore the relationship, Turkey must stop its support of terrorists, must withdraw its troops and mercenaries from all areas in Syria, which include Idlib and north of Aleppo. The first steps have been taken by Turkey as they have ended support of the terrorists in Idlib, and ended support of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) north of Aleppo.

This drastic change by Turkey was met recently by violent clashes between Turkish soldiers and Turkish civilians, and terrorists and their Syrian civilian supporters, who pulled down Turkish flags and step-on them, attacked Turkish vehicles and Turkish drivers, and attacked a Turkish soldier and made him kneel and kiss the 3-stared flag of the FSA. In Idlib, the terrorists burned up Turkish vehicles owned by Turkish citizens working in Idlib officially, which resulted in all Turkish civil servants being evacuated from Idlib. Syrian refugees in Turkey were attacked by angry Turkish citizens who view the Syrians as unwelcome vandals.

Al-Bab bombing carried out by a former Erdogan terrorist from Hamzat group in Aleppo 

North of Aleppo, there had been roads controlled by the Turkish backed FSA, but a new order came from Ankara to relinquish the roads back to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). These beginning steps pave the way to a restored relationship between Ankara and Damascus.

The UN played a role in maintaining Idlib as a bastion for the armed opposition.  Repeatedly, the UN pressured Russia and Syria to allow humanitarian aid to enter Idlib from Turkey. The UN argued there were 3 million civilians who needed food and medical supplies, and while that is true, the aid passed exclusively through the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). If you were a civilian supporter of HTS, you got your aid, but if you had any complaint, you got nothing.  Civilians were forced to buy the food they needed from the shopping mall, Al Hamra, where HTS leader, Mohammed al-Julani warehoused surplus aid to be sold. All the major international charities were in Idlib, and a number of them had serious problems with the terrorists who controlled their work there.  For example, the terrorists would not allow female civilians to participate in aid programs which would teach them employment skills.  According to the FSA, once called “McCain’s Army”, women were to stay at home in the kitchen and bedroom.

Turkey was a close ally of the US and a fellow NATO member. Turkey was directed to play a vital role in the ‘regime change’ project orchestrated by US President Barak Obama. The Syrian project was just one piece in the larger ‘Arab Spring’ in which the US and NATO attempted to create a ‘New Middle East’.

Libya was attacked and destroyed by the US-NATO war machine, and has not recovered. Tunisia was transformed into a Muslim Brotherhood administration, Egypt’s election was rigged by the US in order to place a Muslim Brotherhood president at the helm, and Syria was attacked in a ‘regime change’ project which failed. Tunisia and Egypt have both since recovered from the US meddling in ‘Arab Spring’ and have kick-out the Muslim Brotherhood. Syria fought back and refused to change a secular government into a sectarian nightmare to suit US interests.

General Wesley Clark, former NATO commander, said in a video, that he visited the Pentagon and was told they had plans to ‘take out seven countries’. Syria was one of them.

Serena Shim, an American-Lebanese journalist in Turkey on assignment, witnessed a UN World Food Program truck delivering armed terrorists from Jibhat al-Nusra (now called HTS) across the border from Turkey to Syria. After reporting her explosive news, she was killed in Turkey when a cement truck rammed her small rental car, and the driver of the truck has never been located.

HTS has occupied Idlib, and holds 3 million residents as human shields. Idlib is the last remaining territory occupied by the armed Syrian opposition. Recently, the residents of Idlib took to the streets to protest their treatment under the Julani iron-fist rule. Qatar, one of the last bastions of Muslim Brotherhood influence, stated they no longer support Julani, and were sympathetic of the protesters who voiced their grievances after arrests and torture of civilians by Julani’s terrorists.

Despite the $10 million bounty on the head of Julani, issued by the US FBI, American media has visited Julani to interview him, while he sported a western suit and tie, in an effort to re-brand his image. In the end, the US project to morph a Radical Islamic terrorist into a Washington approved leader in Syria failed, as did the entire Obama war on Syria.

Robert S. Ford, former US Ambassador to Syria, has been very critical of Obama’s failure in Syria. Ford feels the US seriously underestimated the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), and bet that the army would break under the pressure from the Muslim Brotherhood supporters in the street. The SAA never broke. Ford had wanted the US to enter Syria militarily, but Obama refused to fulfill his promises.

US Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, was the biggest force behind arming and funding the terrorists fighting in Syria. McCain made several illegal visits to Idlib and met personally with the terrorists and their commanders. Even though he hated the Mexican migrants coming into Arizona illegally, that didn’t stop him from doing the same and crossing from Turkey into Idlib without any visa or border controls. He believed in the FSA, and lobbied for them in Congress. The FSA sold fellow Arizonian, Kayla Mueller, to ISIS in Aleppo. She was later raped and tortured by the ISIS leader, Baghdadi, and died in a US airstrike.

Syria is now in a period of transition. The battlefields have been silent since 2017, but the recovery process was not allowed to begin due to US sanctions on Syria which prevent supplies, or investments being sent to Syria other than strictly humanitarian aid.

Lessons to be learned from Syria: never participate in any US war abroad using terrorists as assets; never support sectarian conflicts; never force democracy on any people from the barrel of a gun.

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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.

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Israel’s genocide of Palestinians is happening beneath a curtain of lies.

Novelist Susan Abulhawa explains that the declared Palestinian death toll (of about 37,000) itself is a deception first because of the manner in which the numbers are calculated, and second, because of the reduced capacity to count death tolls.

First, the only deaths counted, says Abulhawa, are those from “direct fire”.  Consequently, those who die from lack of access to medications that would normally treat chronic diseases, those who die from Zionist-imposed starvation and famine, those whom Zionists kidnap, the missing, those buried beneath the rubble,(1) those who die from rampant diseases caused by bombed and impaired infrastructure including water treatment plants,(2) none of these are counted, even as the Zionist siege of Gaza, the Zionist bombing of hospitals and infrastructure, the murder of health care workers, are root causes.

Second, even the limited methodology of counting only those who interface with hospitals is impaired since Zionists have been bombing and destroying hospitals as policy.  Not only are they murdering hospital personnel, but computer servers and other instruments of recording deaths are being destroyed.

The real death toll so far from the Zionist extermination campaign, explains Abulhawa, would be 193,000 plus to 514,000 plus.

“Simple math proves,” says Abulhawa, “that Israel’s stated goal (for invasion) is an epic lie.”

She adds that Zionists are “trafficking” children and engaging in illegal organ harvesting (3) as well. These are all too familiar “harvests of war”.

“The pathology (of what is happening) should terrify people,” laments Abulhawa.

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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.

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After the Second World War, the Anglo-Saxon world’s world domination thesis, imposed with all the power of the victor, was balanced with the Soviet Union, and the world had a bipolar world order until 1989. The collapse of the Soviets, who saved Europe from Hitler’s fascism by sacrificing 25 million people (one third of them were women) in the Second World War, 45 years later, gave the Anglo-Saxon hegemony unlimited freedom of action.

Neocons Without Borders

There is no gap in the balance of power. The Warsaw Pact and the rapid dissolution of the Soviet Union gave great morale and energy to American neocons. Russia should also be disintegrated, and all states on the border – including Turkiye – should come under the full control of the USA. Moreover, the borders of the 22 states in North Africa and the Middle East had to be shaped according to American geopolitics and neo-liberal political economy. This vision was beyond the imagination of even George Kennan, who gave life to the USA’s famous Soviet Containment Strategy in 1946. NATO expansion, the disintegration of Yugoslavia, and brutal interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria were the requirements of this vision. According to them, there was no power that could balance American power. However, American neocons could not take advantage of China’s rise in the process of realizing this vision.

Pacific Balances

The USA had won with a very strong superiority in the Pacific basin at the end of 1945. Even though China was communist, it was a weak threat to the USA compared to the Soviets. George Kennan, the mastermind of Containment, was wary of direct military conflict despite the rise of Communist China. The containment strategy also applied to China. According to him, the further spread of Communism in Asia should be prevented. He advocated support for non-communist regimes in the region. He implemented a strategy that included diplomacy and economic measures instead of military intervention. However, the strategic picture changed with the involvement of North Korea in the war between North and South Korea between 1950-53. The USA fought against China. Although China was founded in 1949, the USA did not recognize Beijing for 22 years and had Taiwan (Nationalist China) accepted as China’s representative in the UN Security Council. The decision on the American-sponsored UN intervention in the Korean War was made with this tactic.

US-China Approach

In 1969, 20 years after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the war between the Soviets and China over the border issue brought the US administration closer to China. China’s inclusion in the edge belt system in the geopolitical perspective has emerged. However, China was a completely isolated state until the visit of US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in 1971. The USA, on the other hand, was friends and allies with Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the five founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. These states did not have trade or even diplomatic relations with China in 1971. When (ASEAN) was born in 1967 as an American project to create a sphere of influence against communism during the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union and China strongly opposed it. However, after the visits of Kissinger in 1971 and Nixon in 1973, China’s isolation was lifted and China quickly integrated into the outside world. So much so that in November 2000, China proposed a free trade agreement to ASEAN. This initiative put into effect the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which is considered one of the largest free trade areas in the world, on January 1, 2010.

Lessons from the Soviet Collapse

The impact of the US-China rapprochement, which started after US President Nixon’s visit in 1973, played an important role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. So much so that the USA and China became close enough to carry out joint activities during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. However, China saw that what happened to the Soviets after 1989 would also happen to it as a rising Asian power. Because, although the state practiced capitalism in practice, it was a communist state and its regime had to be changed and come under the control of the USA. Evaluating the collapse of Soviet communism, Chinese governments learned lessons from the collapsed Soviet economy despite having huge energy resources. Singaporean diplomat and former UN representative Kishore Mahbubani writes these in his book “Did China Win?”: 

“First of all, the Soviet Union collapsed not because of external pressures, but because of internal weaknesses. China is aware of the fact that ‘To survive, you need to have a strong, dynamic economy and a strong, dynamic society’. Meanwhile, in 1949, American strategist George Kennan said that the outcome of the struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union would depend not on our weapons and soldiers, but on which society has greater spiritual vitality. US society was much more dynamic than that of the Soviet Union. The United States prospered and the Soviet Union collapsed. The Chinese know that the first priority is to ensure a strong economy and a strong society; So they are greatly educating their people and growing their economies so they won’t become a second Soviet Union.”

China and Containment

China, which increased its economic stability, growth and prosperity domestically, later focused on globalization by taking advantage of the opportunities opened to it by the USA. They learned a lesson from the isolation of Soviets surrounded by the USA. According to Kishore Mahbubani, China made a preemptive move against the containment policy and made its neighbors dependent on the Chinese economy. The best example of this is the free trade agreement with ASEAN, which consists entirely of countries under US control, in 2000. It was extremely surprising that China was the first country to propose a free trade agreement to ASEAN. In 2000, ASEAN’s trade with the USA was 135 billion dollars, and its trade with China was only 40 billion dollars. In 2022, ASEAN’s trade with the United States increased to $450-500 billion (an increase of more than threefold), while China’s trade with ASEAN jumped from $40 billion to almost one trillion. This was a world record. Mahbubani describes it as madness for ASEAN countries to engage in a containment policy against China in the future with US triggering and pressure. This situation reveals the difficulty of countries receiving infrastructure investments through China’s Belt and Road project to participate in similar containment and sanctions.

Multipolar Order and Living in Peace

Geopolitical rivalries cannot be overcome without mutual trust and cooperation between countries. In geopolitical competition, mutual recognition of areas of influence and interest is essential, as was the case during the Cold War. The USA recognized the Soviet sphere of influence in 1945 and agreed to live in a bipolar world until 1989. Today, it wants to see and keep the whole world in its sphere of influence. Neocons want continents, not just oceans. But they can’t afford this anymore. They may see their power run out by experiencing a major world war, but a major world war due to nuclear weapons will be a war with no winners. Then, the best choice left is to accept peaceful coexistence within the multipolar world order. The concept of peaceful coexistence was first expressed by Chinese Premier Zhou En Lai in 1953. It was later adopted at the Bandung Conference (1955), which paved the way for the Non-Aligned movement. 

China’s Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were: Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity and sovereignty./Mutual non-aggression. /Mutual non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. /Equality and mutual benefit. /Peaceful coexistence.

This concept was damaged by the 1956 Suez Crisis, the 1956 Soviet Intervention in Hungary, and the 1962 China-India border war in the Himalayas region. The Sino-Soviet separation that started in the 1960s also played a role in this process. The world communist movement was also divided into two.

The concept of Living Together in Peace was also used by Soviet President Brezhnev in 1959. Brezhnev focused on the necessity of living in peace with the capitalist world by keeping ideological differences separate. This understanding, which emphasized preventing nuclear war and giving importance to diplomacy, economic and cultural relations, was damaged by the military intervention of the Warsaw Pact in Czechoslovakia in the Prague Spring in 1968. This time, the Détente policy put forward by the Soviets since the 1970s was designed to support the vision of Peaceful Coexistence. Despite the setbacks experienced during the Arab-Israeli war in 1973, this policy led to successes, especially the reduction and restriction of nuclear weapons and the signing of the Helsinki Final Act.

During the Neocon domination period that emerged after the Cold War, the USA imposed its own values ​​under the rule-based world order. Neoliberal capitalist economy based on Judeo-Christian morality; human rights, democracy, freedom of belief and thought have become a chewing gum in the mouth of American diplomats, politicians and representatives. Since there was no enemy left as a great power, a new threat was created under the global war on terrorism. However, a double standard has been created to the extent of calling terrorist organizations close to it, such as PKK, YPG/PYD, its land force, or using organizations such as ISIS, which it founded, as a means of strategic action.

Russia’s intervention in Georgia in 2008 and China’s serious change in attitude towards the USA, Japan and the Philippines in the South and East China seas starting from 2012 triggered a great resistance to neocon imperialism and led to today. 

The President of China made a speech at the Conference Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in Beijing on June 28, 2024.

Xi emphasized the following: “Over the past 70 years, the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence have demonstrated that they have strong resilience and enduring validity, transcending time and space and resisting alienation. These principles have become the open, inclusive and universally applicable basic norms of international relations and the basic principles of international law… In this historical period when humanity has had to decide between peace and war, prosperity and stagnation, unity and confrontation, we have always followed the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We must defend ourselves more than ever before and strive tirelessly for the supreme goal of building a community with a common future for humanity…Among all the powers in the world, the Global South stands out with strong momentum and plays a crucial role in the progress of humanity…The Global South is at a new historical starting point It needs to be more open and inclusive… It needs to join hands and take the lead in building a community with a common future for humanity…”

The Multipolar World Has Started

The economic axis has already turned from west to east. The dark Anglo-Saxon dominance with its colonial past is in decline. The biggest reason for this decline is the rise of China and Russia’s resistance. The failure of the US neocons to restrain their geopolitical ambitions and the fact that they repeatedly made huge mistakes and dragged the world into disasters played a role in the decline of the Anglo-Saxon leadership. Even though the military power that would balance them emerged, such as Russia after 2008, the main thing was the emergence of a military power that also had economic power. 

China did this. 

Today, an alternative order is being built to the Western-centered economic system governed by the USA after 1945. In 2006, Russia, China, Brazil and India created a global economic initiative, forming the “BRIC” group. The Republic of South Africa joined the group in 2010 and the initiative was named “BRICS”. The 5-member BRICS later grew by adding 4 more members. Today, the 9 countries in BRICS+ own 45% of the world’s population, 36% of the global economy in terms of purchasing power parity, 25% of world exports and 44% of crude oil production. BRICS increased its share in the global economy to 35.7% in 2023. G7 remained at 29%.

The group includes global/continental nuclear powers such as UN Security Council permanent members China and Russia, and continental economic/military powers such as India, Brazil and the Republic of South Africa. With the latest expansion, the states that control two critical waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal (Iran, UAE and Egypt) have taken their place in BRICS+. Perhaps the most important feature of BRICS+ is the combination of today’s representatives of the world’s oldest civilizations and cultures. It consists of states with 25 countries are waiting for BRICS membership.

On the other hand, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was established in 1996 with 5 states under the leadership of China to improve military cooperation in the border regions, turned into a 10-member balancing entity with the participation of Belarus at the 24th SCO Summit held in Astana on July 4, 2024. 

Making a speech at the summit, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said: “In the current conditions where rapid and irreversible changes are experienced in the world, the active entrepreneurial attitude of the SCO in international relations is definitely needed. The multipolar world has become a reality”. Noting that he believe that the SCO and BRICS are the pillars of the emerging new world order, Putin emphasized that these two international entities are the locomotive of the approval of multipolarity.

The growth of SCO and BRICS+ will undoubtedly contribute to the establishment of a multipolar world order without large-scale wars. 

The question is whether the Anglo-Saxons can endure this outcome with the will to live together in peace. 

The problem is that whether the US statesmen and politicians, who maintained peace in the bipolar world without war between 1945 and 1989 and were able to establish a balanced geopolitical order with the Soviets, left the legacy in question to the unqualified and short-sighted Americans, who this time live in a world of dreams dominated by Zionists and neocons, some of whom draw their strength from the Bible and the Torah can repeat it or not!

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The original source of this article is Veryansin TV.

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.  

Featured image is from Veryansin TV

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Few would have staked their political fortune, let alone any other sort of reward, on a return of the British Conservatives on July 4.  The polls often lie, but none suggested that outcome.  The only question was the extent British voters would lacerate the Tories who have been in office for fourteen years, presiding over a country in divisive decline, aided by policies of austerity, the galloping cost of living and the lunatic tenures of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.  Predicted numbers varied from a return of 53 seats to what was forecast in the more accurate Ipsos exit poll of 131 seats.

As the night wore on, the laceration became a ballot massacre.  It was clear that most voters were less keen on Sir Keir Starmer’s dour Labour team, supposedly reformed and devoid of dangerous daring, as they were of voting against the Tories.  Any other option would do.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A whole brigade of senior Conservatives suffered a rout.  Commons leader Penny Mordaunt lost her seat, as did defence secretary Grant Shapps.  That manorial relic of Tory tradition and privilege, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, was also ousted from his seat.  The Liberal Democrats made huge inroads into traditional Conservative territory, winning seats held by two former prime ministers – David Cameron and Theresa May.

Recriminations, long readied in reserve, came out.  Former party chair, Sir Brandon Lewis, pointed the finger to his leader, Rishi Sunak, whose decision to call the election was considered monumentally ill-judged. 

“I suspect right now that’s weighing on him very, very strongly … He will go down as the Conservative prime minister and leader who had the worst election result in over a century.”

Other Tories thought Sunak’s efforts to push the Conservatives further to the right to stem the leaching of votes to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK a serious error of judgment.  Former Tory universities minister Lord Jo Johnson, also famed for being the sibling of that buffoonish wrecker-in-chief Boris, called efforts to make the Conservatives “a Reform-lite kind of party” a “big mistake”.  Only a return to the “centre-ground of British politics” would spare them a lengthy spell in the wilderness.

The strafing of the more liberal Tory members does, however, place them in an unenviable position.   Are they to, as Lord Johnson suggests, alter course to “appeal to metropolitan, open-minded, liberal voters”?  Or should they, as Rees-Mogg insists, dig deeper into the soil of Conservative values, what he calls “core principles” that had been essentially pinched by Reform UK?  Amidst the debate, former lord chancellor Robert Buckland could not resist quipping that this Conservative “Armageddon” was “going to be like a group of bald men fighting over a comb.”

The most staggering feature of these elections, leaving aside the ritualistic savaging of the Tories, was the wholly lopsided nature of the share of votes relative to the winning of seats.  “This election,” the Electoral Reform Society solemnly declared, “saw Labour and the Conservatives receive their joint lowest vote share on record, with a combined 57.4%.”

That did not prevent the two major parties from snaring the lion’s share.  Labour received 33.7% of the vote yet obtained 63.2% (411 seats) of the 650 on offer, making it the most disproportionate on record.  The Tories, despite the bloodbath, could still count on 121 MPs with 23.7% of votes winning 18.6% of seats in the House of Commons.

The Lib Dems burgeoned in terms of representatives, gaining a record number of MPs (they now stand at 72), despite only having a vote share of 12.2%. It was a modest percentage hardly different from the 2019 election.

Reform UK, Farage’s rebranded party of Brexiteers, had every right to feel characteristically foiled by the first past the post system that is always defended by the party that wins majority, leaving smaller contenders to chew over its stunningly unrepresentative rationale.  Having netted a higher percentage than the Lib Dems at 14.3% (over 4 million votes), they had only five MPs to show for it.  “That is blatantly not a properly functioning democratic system – that is a flawed system,” a resentful Richard Tice of Reform remarked on BBC 4 Radio’s Today program.  “The demands for change will grow and grow.”

The Greens, similarly, received 6.7% of the vote (just under 2 million), but returned a mere four MPs to Westminster.  Despite this, the strategists will be seeing these wins, the most successful in their party’s history, as stunning, bettering the heroic if lonely exploits of Caroline Lucas.  Tellingly, the party pinched two seats off Labour, and one from the Conservative stable.

Given that Labour proved the largest beneficiary of a voting system that should only ever apply in a two-way contest and given the prospect of Reform and the Greens posing ever greater threats from either wing of politics, appetite for electoral reform is likely to be suppressed.

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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]

Featured image: A school being used as a polling station on election day in the constituency of Hampstead & Highgate. The polling station had been in a different constituency before the boundary review. (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Moms for America and individual plaintiffs who were injured by a COVID-19 vaccine, or whose loved one suffered injury or death from a COVID-19 vaccine, allege the federal law granting vaccine makers immunity for injuries caused by their products violates the U.S. Constitution.

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A lawsuit filed Tuesday seeks to strike down the PREP Act — the federal law that granted legal immunity to companies such as Pfizer and Moderna for injuries caused by their COVID-19 vaccines and other COVID-19 countermeasures.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division, alleges the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act violates the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

Plaintiffs in the suit include the nonprofit Moms for America and individual plaintiffs who were injured by a COVID-19 vaccine, or whose loved one suffered injury or death from a COVID-19 vaccine.

According to the complaint, “This case is about the government’s failure to resolve conflicts involving Americans killed or grievously harmed while receiving healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Defendants are the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and President Joe Biden.

“As even The New York Times has recently acknowledged,” Jeff Childers, attorney for the plaintiffs, told The Defender, “too many Americans have been injured by the COVID vaccines and other rushed treatments, and now have no recourse, no help and no support. They can’t sue anybody, thanks to PREP.”

“PREP was poorly conceived, badly executed, and gave far too much power to unelected bureaucrats and executive agencies,” he added.

Childers wrote on Substack today that the PREP Act should “be crushed and burned to a cinder in the incinerator of history’s worst ideas.”

The lawsuit asks the court to declare the PREP Act unconstitutional and to declare that the HHS secretary’s actions in implementing the act violate the Administrative Procedure Act.

The suit also asks the court to declare that the plaintiffs can sue companies like Pfizer and Moderna in federal and state courts. It also seeks compensation for attorney fees.

COVID Revealed How Bad PREP Act Is for Americans

In 2005, Congress passed the PREP Act in a defense appropriations bill after then-President George W. Bush gave a “passionate speech about the nation’s lack of preparation for biowarfare and pandemics,” Childers told The Defender.

The PREP Act authorizes the HHS secretary to declare that “a disease or other health condition or other threat to health constitutes a public health emergency.” It also grants a “covered person” immunity from legal liability for all claims for loss relating to the administration or use of “countermeasures,” such as drugs, biological products, medical devices and vaccines.

“Before COVID,” Childers said, “it was barely used.”

Kim Mack Rosenberg, general counsel for Children’s Health Defense, told The Defender the COVID-19 pandemic has “shined a bright light” on the PREP Act.

“I think it is safe to say,” she said, “most Americans had no idea that as COVID vaccines were developed and rolled out at ‘warp speed’ — and in many instances mandated or taken by individuals based on fear-mongering — and as medications such as remdesivir were forced on many patients, that if they were harmed or died as a result of these interventions they would be essentially left with no remedy.”

The PREP Act set up the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) court where those injured by COVID-19 countermeasures can bring their claims.

Injuries related to vaccines that are not considered countermeasures to a public health emergency are handled by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and its court, according to the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.

Childers called the CICP court an “unconstitutional shadow court” in which “a secret bureaucracy denies 99% of claims and awards the ‘lucky few’ with pennies on the dollar.”

As of June 1, CICP had received 13,773 claims and issued decisions for only 3,363 of those claims. The program denied 3,271 of the claims.

Thirteen of the claims awarded were for injuries suffered from a COVID-19 vaccine. Less than $10,000 was awarded for each of the claims, with the total payout for all 13 claims amounting to less than $50,000.

“In other words,” he said, “PREP cuts normal Constitutional courts out of the process, replacing them with a poor, unconstitutional substitute.”

PREP has already done “massive damage,” Childers said, “by turning normal commercial incentives inside-out and deleting due process.”

He added, “We must get help to millions of people discarded by the system, and prevent this disaster from ever happening again.”

The Florida lawsuit calls out CICP’s “breathtakingly short” one-year statute of limitations for:

“Injuries caused by unknown, unknowable, and non-existent vaccine products and technologies. Even to receive program compensation, the Act requires causation to be proved based on established science for those same novel products and technologies. Most medical studies take years to conduct, be drafted, be peer-reviewed, and to be published. It is irrational to believe that a person taking a covered countermeasure could possibly have access to published medical/scientific studies within the one-year statute of limitation.”

Lawsuit Is 1 of 3 Suits Challenging PREP Act

Childers’ lawsuit is one of three active cases challenging the PREP Act, according to attorney Ray Flores who on May 31 filed a separate lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), which oversaw the development and distribution of the drug under Operation Warp Speed.

In addition to the suits filed by Childers and Flores, attorney Aaron Siri in October 2023 sued HHS and other government agencies on behalf of React19 — an advocacy group whose 36,000-plus members were injured by the COVID-19 vaccines — and eight vaccine-injured individuals.

Flores told The Defender, “The PREP Act and the Department of Defense’s Operation Warp Speed are indeed acts of war on our own — hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties, violations of the Nuremberg Code, and essentially no monetary recourse for their experimenting on humanity at large.”

Flores added, “I applaud Mr. Siri and Mr. Childers for raising awareness with the public, with the courts, on Capitol Hill and in the press.”

When the Defender reached out to HHS for comment on the lawsuit, an HHS spokesperson who chose to remain anonymous said the agency cannot comment on ongoing litigation.

The Defender reached out to the White House for comment on the suit but did not receive a response by deadline.

*

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Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., is a reporter and researcher for The Defender based in Fairfield, Iowa.

Featured image is from CHD

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Excerpt from the Rasmussen Reports (June 21, 2024):

Nearly a quarter of those who got vaccinated against COVID-19 regret it, and a third agree with a medical expert’s condemnation of the vaccine as deadly.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 24% of American Adults who got at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine regret getting vaccinated against the virus. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of vaccine recipients have no regrets about it. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

In January 2023, cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough said: “The vaccine is killing people, and is killing large numbers of people.” Thirty-three percent (33%) of American Adults agree with that statement, including 16% who Strongly Agree. Fifty-seven percent (57%) disagree, including 39% who Strongly Disagree. Another 11% are not sure.

The survey of 1,232 American Adults was conducted June 10-12, 2024 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Seventeen percent (17%) have a lot of trust for the medical and pharmaceutical industries, 37% say they have some trust, 25% don’t have much trust and 18% have no trust at all in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

Twenty-five percent (25%) of American Adults say they never took the COVID-19 vaccine, while 14% got only one dose, 20% got more than one vaccine and 38% got the vaccine plus one or more booster shots.

Click here to read the full report.

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The survey of 1,223 American Adults was conducted June 13 and 16-17, 2024 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

My Take…

• 25% of Americans claim they never took the COVID-19 Vaccine
• 33% of Americans believe COVID-19 Vaccines are killing people
• 24% of Americans regret getting the COVID-19 Vaccine
• 69% of COVID-19 jabbed have NO REGRETS
• 38% of Americans had COVID-19 Vaccine booster shots
  • ONLY 10% of the boosted believe COVID-19 Vaccines are killing people
  • ONLY 10% of the boosted have regrets about getting the jab (vs 43% who got one jab)
  • 80% of the boosted have trust in the medical & pharmaceutical industries.

The majority of the population is sound asleep.

69% have no regrets in getting DNA Contaminated COVID-19 Vaccines. This is extremely high.

Only 33% believe COVID-19 Vaccines are killing high numbers of people – this is still much too low!

Once you’ve had at least one booster shot, it seems you are lost forever.  

I like this survey, I believe it is accurate. It shows that even though 33% of the population is awake, we still have at least 50% of the population sound asleep (75% took the jabs x 69% have no regrets = 52% of the population).

*

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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.  

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In addition to the military, political and economic problems affecting Ukraine, several serious social issues are beginning to emerge day by day. Now, data shows that juvenile crime is increasing exponentially in the country, which is a direct result of the decline in the quality of life and the irresponsible militarization of civil society.

A report by UNICEF – the UN agency responsible for caring for children and adolescents – indicated that child and juvenile crime in Ukraine is expanding, having reached about 63% growth in recent times. In at least 27 Ukrainian districts, children and adolescents have already been seen using weapons, which has worried local authorities.

Interestingly, the UNICEF report was deleted shortly after its publication, which is not surprising, considering that international organizations have been increasingly co-opted by the Collective West. In addition, it should be emphasized that the reasons for the increase in child crime are deeply related to the fact that the country is receiving massive quantities of Western weapons, which are constantly sold on the black market by corrupt officials – and then end up in the hands of criminals and terrorists inside and outside Ukraine. Many criminal networks recruit children and teenagers into their networks, which explains why so many minors are using weapons in Ukraine today.

In addition, it should be remembered that the Kiev regime literally distributed weapons to the population for free under the argument that citizens should participate in a so-called “popular resistance” against the Russian “invasion”. As a result, ordinary people without military training began to acquire weapons, including minors. The situation becomes even more serious due to the fact that many children have been brainwashed with anti-Russian and neo-Nazi ideology in Ukraine over the past ten years, with fascist and racist doctrines being taught in schools and in children’s special training camps.

Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly reported that they are unable to maintain control over all the weapons circulating in the country. Both Western equipment that was handed over to the military and Ukrainian weapons that were given to civilians are circulating freely in Ukraine, without any official control over their owners.

Since the beginning of the special military operation, the Ukrainian Investigative Department has reported that the following weapons have “disappeared”:

• 42,000 automatic rifles;
• 20,000 pistols;
• more than 6,000 grenade launchers (including half a thousand foreign ones);
• about 6,500 machine guns, more than 150 MANPADS (including Stingers);
• 250 ATGMs (including Javelin and NLAW);
• a dozen and a half artillery pieces.

In addition to the weapons that are illegally flowing in Ukraine, it is necessary to mention that various military equipment are being sold on the black market abroad. Several weapons supplied by the United States to Ukraine have already been found in such regions as Africa, the Middle East and even Western Europe. Currently, at least 630,000 weapons are “wanted” by the Ukrainian authorities, probably being abroad, including:

• 89,412 units of assault rifles, of which: 82,936 different modifications of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, assault rifles of caliber 5.56 – 1,139 of which the largest number are “M4A1” (317 units);
• 12,020 grenade launchers, of which: 5,780 RPG 7 units of various modifications; 4,164 “GP 25” units; 357 AGS 17 units, 206 SPG 9 units;
• 307 MANPADS, incl. 22 Stinger MANPADS, other modifications of Strela (15) and Igla (270) MANPADS;
• 268 ATGM, incl. 68 “NLAW”, 43 “JAVELIN”;
• 44 artillery pieces, incl. 8 D44 guns, 13 2A42 guns (installed on BMP-2, BMD-3), 4 2A38 guns (installed on Tunguska and Pantsyr-S1 air defense missile systems), 9 2A28 guns (installed on BMP-1), 4 “ZTM2” automatic weapons (installed on BTR-3U, BMP armored personnel carriers);
• 12,103 machine guns, incl. 382 Browning machine guns, 201 MG42 machine guns of various modifications, 167 Maxim machine guns, 640 Degtyarev infantry machine guns of various modifications;
• 61,298 pistols of various modifications;
• 3,127 edged weapons (knives, sabers, swords, checkers, crossbows).

In addition to the fact that weapons sent to Ukraine are ending up in the hands of criminals inside and outside the country, Kiev is also becoming a point of interest for terrorist networks. Illegal extremist groups use Ukrainian territory to enter and leave Europe. Both weapons and militants frequently cross through Ukraine to ensure a terrorist presence in the EU – mainly through infiltration in the wave of migration generated by the conflict.

All of this data only corroborates something that has long been said by experts: the cost of war with Russia is very high and will be paid jointly by Ukraine and the EU. By adhering to the US war plans, Ukrainians and Europeans have consented to their own tragic fates.

*

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This article was originally published on VT Foreign Policy.

Lucas Leiroz is a Brazilian journalist, geopolitical analyst. Graduated from the Cultural Extension Program of the Brazilian War College. Researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies. Professionally, he works as a journalist and geopolitical analyst. Researcher in the “Crisis, Development and International Relations” research group at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro. At the invitation of the Russian Delegation in Geneva, he presented a report on the use of chemical weapons by the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council and at the OSCE’s “Supplementary Discussions”.

He is a regular contributor to Global Research. You can follow Lucas on X (formerly Twitter) and Telegram.

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***

On June 18 in Detroit at the St. Matthew’s-St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, five veteran women organizers from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Northern Student Movement, spoke on the significance of their struggles during 1964.

These panelists were Dorothy Dewberry-Aldridge; Martha Prescod Norman Noonan; Diane Lewis; Muriel Tillinghast; and Marilyn Lowen. All of these women have decades of experience and study related to the movements for Civil Juneteenth, a more than a century-and-a-half commemoration which marks the end of chattel enslavement of African people in the state of Texas, has since 2021 been designated as an official national holiday. In recent years Juneteenth has been widely celebrated in various iterations.

 

 

The holiday had been celebrated largely in the southern U.S. and eventually spread rapidly throughout the country. Just four years ago in the midst of the demonstrations and rebellions in response to the police execution of George Floyd, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in various municipalities to reclaim the holiday.

Nearly a century after the conclusion of the Civil War (1861-1865) and the failure of Federal Reconstruction (1866-1877), the modern mass Civil Rights Movement would emerge. By 1963-64, the movement led by African Americans, had won the attention and support of millions throughout the U.S. and internationally.

When the African American youth and workers went into the streets of numerous cities including Birmingham, Alabama; Cambridge, Maryland; Danville, Virginia; Sommerville, Tennessee; to only mention a few, it would set the stage for a campaign to register tens of thousands of disenfranchised people living in the state of Mississippi. The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) had been formed in Mississippi as early as 1961-62 as a coalition of groupings including SNCC, the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), the state National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).

According to the SNCC Digital archives it says of the formation of COFO that:

“Youthful activism began accelerating in the ‘closed society’ of Mississippi in the early 1960s, and it increasingly centered on community organizing. Bob Moses, sent by SCLC’s executive director Ella Baker, had quietly entered the Mississippi Delta in the summer of 1960 and began conversations with local NAACP leader Amzie Moore. He promised to return to Mississippi the following year. When Moses returned, Amzie Moore sent him to McComb. Moore had introduced the Harlem-native to the need for a voter registration program, and Moses began that work in McComb as a SNCC field secretary; it was SNCC’s first voter registration project. Bob Moses, now developing Moore’s ideas, began forming a grassroots community organizing template that became key to SNCC and later COFO’s organizing efforts across the state.”

Noonan described visiting Greenwood, Mississippi during 1963 when while walking down the street returning from purchasing paper for printing flyers, she and another activist, Willie Wazir Peacock, witnessed Byron De La Beckwith being congratulated by white people in the city. She was told that he was the man who had murdered NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers just weeks before.

Image: Marilyn Lowen speaks at Juneteenth and Freedom Summer forum, June 18, 2024 

The assassination by De La Beckwith of Evers prompted anger throughout the South and the rest of the U.S. In Detroit on June 23, 1963, the largest demonstration for Civil Rights in U.S. history was held where an estimated crowd of 125,000-250,000 were in attendance. Just two months later, the March on Washington convened where the turnout was comparable to what transpired in Detroit.

By 1964, planning for the Freedom Summer campaign was well underway. Aldridge noted that she had been charged with signing up volunteers in Detroit. She was working at the Friends of SNCC office in the city. Prior to this Aldridge was also a member of the Northern Student Movement along with other activists including Frank Joyce of Detroit and William Strickland of New York City.

Now retired Atty. Denise Lewis recounted that in 1964, she was an undergraduate student at Barnard College in New York. Her work in Mississippi during that summer was centered around the Freedom Schools.

“It was an education for me because of the knowledge acquired through the orientation for the project,” she said. Lewis pointed out that the classes taught in Mississippi documented the historic denial of political and economic rights for the African American people. Since this time period, Lewis emphasized that the teaching of African American history has remained an important aspect of her professional life. ((18) Freedom Schools WIP – YouTube)

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“This is the inflection point,” warned Nigel Farage last month as he assumed the reins of power at the incarnated Reform UK party, standard bearer of the often inchoate group known as the hard right of British politics.  “The only wasted vote is a Conservative one.  We are the challengers to Labour.  We are on our way.”

On July 4, an important stop was made on that way.  A figure who had exerted more influence on British politics outside the houses of Parliament than any other this century, a figure who had conspicuously failed in getting elected despite seven previous efforts, had finally convinced voters he was electable.

The new member for the Essex seat of Clacton had unseated the Conservative candidate, Giles Watling, who had held the seat since 2017.  The margin was impressive: 21,225 votes to Watling’s 12,820.

To keep him company in the House of Commons will be such colleagues as Richard Tice, Reform’s chair, along with former Southampton football club chairman Rupert Lowe, and former Conservative deputy chair Lee Anderson.  They now form a snapping rearguard of politics that is not so much nipping at the heels of Britain’s oldest party as tearing it apart.

As the Tories contemplate their ruin and richly deserved defeat, the new Labour government of Sir Keir Starmer will find little time to relish the joys of victory.  Farage is already promising rapacious raids into enemy territory.  “We are coming for Labour … be in no doubt about that.”  While eschewing notions of working with the Conservatives, he offered an olive branch by way of invitation: Tory members could join Reform if they wished.

Commentators on Farage’s life have noted a streak of luck suggesting the blessings of the devil. He has cheated death, surviving car crashes, a plane crash and a misdiagnosis regarding testicular cancer.  The party that caught his eye, the UK Independence Party (Ukip), would have vanished into the suffocating arms of the larger Referendum party of James Goldsmith had the latter not perished to cancer 10 weeks after the 1997 election.  “Farage takes his chances, and though things often blow up – planes, parties, countries – he walks away and on to the next caper,” writes David Runciman.

Reform UK is certainly one such caper, and its somewhat anti-democratic operations, often chaotic, poorly organised and lacking any institutional framework, make its electoral returns even more remarkable.  But even on Farage’s side of politics, it is hard to mistake the fact that he has treated the party much like a political start-up, where he has assumed the role of director and majority shareholder.  Reform will, in time, require reform if it is to be a durable force.  Farage has admitted as much. 

“We have a structure.  We do have a constitution, but to build a branch structure, we have to give people the ability to choose candidates to vote.”

Durability, however, may have nothing to do with it.  As with many charismatic buffoonish party goers, he may leave when required to help with the cleaning up, leaving the washing to the snarling and fractious functionaries who fight over the leftovers and break the crockery.  This may well be Starmer’s hope.  It is certainly the assessment of Fraser Nelson in The Spectator.  “Whatever his intention, Farage has ended up serving as a purely destructive force.  He has become the nemesis, not the rejuvenator, of the causes he purports to care about.”

Otherwise, the threat is palpable, and comments by the new Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds about Reform’s policies being like “Liz Truss in terms of the economy” and similar to “Russian positions in terms of … the war in Ukraine” are unhelpful.  Labour’s lack of clarity on how it will deal with the Channel crossings of irregular migrants is something Farage is salivating over.

Concerned about such matters, Tony Blair, Labour’s longest serving prime minister and overly remunerated circuit speaker, has been willing to offer the sort of advice in the Sunday Times he charges obscene amounts for.  His typically soupy ideas all go to trying to blunt the effect Reform will have in the next election.   

“We need a plan to control immigration.  If we don’t get rules, we get prejudices.”

Showing his recurrent fascination with surveillance (as the Coronavirus pandemic raged, Blair suggested adopting a “Covid Pass” to distinguish the anointed from the unwashed), a “digital ID” could be used to maintain the integrity of borders.  Law and order matters, another favourite of the New Labour era, also needed to be dealt with.  “At present, criminal elements are modernising faster than law enforcement.”  To round off the trifecta, it was also important that the Starmer government not succumb to “any vulnerability on ‘wokeism’.”

Farage is now in the temple of Westminster and, in time, hopes to bring it down.  He will woo, seduce and despoil, as he has done to a string of lovers and prominent figures he has lured to his camp over the years.  He will be remorselessly destructive.  For Labour and for those more progressive than Starmer’s stiffly starched set, the threat has been truly enlivened.

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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]

Featured image: Farage campaigning during the 2024 general election (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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***

[First published by GR on July 1, 2024.]

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) exposes the WEF’s long history of sexual harassment and discrimination (color, pregnancies, and new mothers) in an explosive story, published on 29 June 2024.

Both, discrimination and sexual harassment clashes with the WEF’s public stances. The WEF has repeatedly said and published articles about their anti-discrimination and anti-sexual-harassment position. It contradicts the WEF’s preached ideals of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Sexual harassment is less surprising, if you know that the WEF’s Davos meeting every year in January, converts Davos into one huge luxury bordello. Local businesses and populations complain that the WEF meetings are harming Davos’s reputation.

See this and this.

According to the WSJ, the WEF declined making Schwab available for an interview.

WEF is the NGO cum world organization that wants to drastically reduce world population, because most of us are “useless eaters”, and convert the survivors into robots and transhumans, according to Klaus Schwab’s infamous ”4^th Industrial Revolution”, whose main objective is an all-digitized world run by Artificial Intelligence (AI) – and where the few of us left, would “own nothing but be happy”.

It will not happen, Mr. Schwab. You are sitting on your own powder keg, in the form of a high tree’s branch which you cut yourself off, with your arrogance and endless drive for ever-more power, funded by the largely invisible, dark financial behemoths supporting your diabolical agenda.

The WSJ’s full article (about 15 minutes reading time), is an elaborate work of research with interviews of over 80 present and former WEF managers and staff – see this.

Click here to read the article on WSJ

Here are a few of the most flagrant examples of fraud, harassment and discrimination that has been going on – and growing as undisturbed – for more than 30 years. The extent of these crimes on humanity must be well known to the WEF’s host government, Switzerland. But nothing has happened, so far. To the contrary, the WEF enjoys tax free status and full diplomatic immunity.

The WEF claims officially its mission is to improve the state of the world. 

Mr. Schwab has recently stepped back from his active WEF Executive role, stating it was part of a long-planned transition. He said he would stay on as nonexecutive chairman of the board of trustees.

The Board of Trustees consists of about 30 members from various sectors of life, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, and the heads of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as well as the European Central Bank. BlackRock is the largest WEF funder and supporter.

Could it be that the impending release of this WSJ article helped prompting Schwab’s stepping in the back and becoming less visible?

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Mr. Schwab (86), a few years ago singled out a group of employees over 50 years old and instructed his human resources (HR) chief to get rid of them all. This, he explained, would lower the average age of the workforce. The HR chief, a seasoned former World Bank executive declined, pointing out that there must be a reasonable explanation for firing somebody, such as poor performance. Shortly afterwards Schwab fired the HR chief.

Schwab discriminates not only against age, but also against pregnant women and colored people. In a known case among staffers, in 2017 Schwab appointed a young woman to lead an initiative for startups. She had discovered she was pregnant, and told Schwab about it. He got upset and told her she was not suited for the job and pushed her out, under the pretext that her leadership position was only a short trial period.

Sexual Harassment

Many female staff reported cases of sexual harassment to the HR and their management, often higher management. In most cases to no avail. They were either brushed off, transferred to lesser jobs, or let go altogether.

A female European staff, who worked in WEF’s Geneva office in the 2000s, said Schwab never crossed the line to physical contact with her, but that his pattern of suggestive remarks and behavior was “a horrible thing as a woman to go through.” Once, she said, he propped his leg up on her desk with his crotch in front of her face and told her he wished she was Hawaiian because he’d like to see her in a Hawaiian costume.

“I need to find you a man, and if I were not married, I would put myself on the top of that list,” Schwab told her more than once, she said.

A former senior WEF executive confirmed that the European woman told him about some of Schwab’s flirtatious comments to her not long after.

He and another WEF staff said they witnessed Schwab strike the crotch pose in front of the European lady and other women.

When asked by the WSJ, the WEF denied the charges, adding that Schwab does not know what a Hawaiian costume looks like.

Or this WSJ quote:

Old timers at the Forum [WEF] said Schwab liked to hire attractive people, who typically staffed the annual event at Davos. Former WEF executives said the situation was ripe for sexual harassment and that several staffers complained to them about inappropriate behavior by partners. There was even a term for sexual contact between VIPs and WEF staff, said a former employee: “white on blue action,” for the color of badges worn by the two parties.

And this:

Another woman, who joined the Forum in 2006, said she would receive texts from Forum partners saying, “You look pretty today” and asking to get a drink after the day’s events. She said she had to fend off one government minister who called her with a supposed problem in his hotel room.

“Our male colleagues received different kinds of messages from constituents, like do you know if there are any girls to go out with this evening,” she said. “We never really felt protected.” 

In 2018, another female staff complained to legal and HR that a manager asked her out for drinks after work and engaged in unwanted touching and forcible kissing. She told the WSJ, in the process she found out that she was not alone, that there were other women with similar issues. The Journal reviewed the e-mail correspondence for its correctness.

It took three years and many more complaints about the same manager, before he was eventually fired, but re-positioned immediately in a WEF partner organization.

Other managers receiving similar complaints, remain to this date in their unchallenged management positions.

Ms. Cheryl Martin, a former official with the US Energy Department, said she sought internal changes to address harassment issues during her time on the WEF’s managing board. She said she pushed to strengthen the code of conduct at Davos and encourage employees to report any harassment at the event. Her advocacy was viewed by Schwab and upper management as “overreaction”.

In 2018, she said, Schwab changed her job, stripping her of responsibilities, staff, and budget resources. She then resigned.

Discrimination

A lady employee in the WEF’s New York office, who joined the Forum in 2022, gave birth to twins. A week before returning to work from maternity leave, she was told that her job had been eliminated, even though she said she didn’t have any performance-related issues. She was offered a six-month temporary position.

She said, within weeks, the WEF hired a replacement to fill a similar role she was told was eliminated.

“It is a psychologically violent institution, and I don’t understand how they have the credibility to write this Gender Gap report and dictate how economies and industries are run globally,” she said.

Black employees also complain that they are segregated from attending the Davos meeting, even though they were in the Davos preparation team, like their white colleagues, who did go to Davos. They know that sending young, good-looking white people to Davos, was one of the WEF’s policies.

The WEF’s HR brushed it off, saying that who goes to Davos is determined by on-site needs.

On other recent occasions, two managers said the N-word in front of Black women working for them. One of the managers was Schwab’s longtime operations chief. Several employees complained about his off-color remarks, he made over the years. He was eventually fired, when he belittled a Black woman on his team in the open office. As he walked away, he said, “What can you expect from a N–.” He was finally fired after this incidence.

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This thoroughly analyzed and explosive WEF report by the WSJ describes many more such incidences.

The world MUST know about the monsters that run the WEF, and who funds their diabolical actions. In tandem with the United Nations, in a cooperative agenda, signed in June 2019 by Klaus Schwab and Antonio Guterres, their depopulation.

They plan to do it, and are in the process of doing it – by any means they can find – fake plandemics, bio-weapons in the form of poisonous vaccines, famine by killing agriculture worldwide, controlling food supply, and not least – the absolute and criminal hoax of “climate change”, based on the most sophisticated geoengineering technologies, and anything and everything that can be invented and lied being related to it, indoctrinated in human brains since at least the 1972 published Club of Rome report, “Limits to Growth”.

People, be aware what kind of criminals are attempting to run – or reduce – the lives of the world’s 8.1 billion people!

Thanks to the WSJ, evidence is on the table.

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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.

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Kiev continua a sua prática de chantagem nuclear na cidade russa de Energodar, região de Zaporozhye, onde está localizada a maior central nuclear da Europa. Outro ataque brutal foi levado a cabo pelas forças ucranianas contra instalações nucleares, deixando vários feridos. Moscou tem relatado repetidamente sobre o interesse da Ucrânia em gerar terror nuclear nas Novas Regiões, impedindo a normalização da vida nos territórios libertados.

Em 3 de julho, o regime neonazista atacou as instalações da Central Nuclear de Zaporozhye (ZNPP) com drones kamikaze, ferindo pelo menos oito funcionários. As vítimas do ataque eram justamente integrantes de uma equipe que reparava os danos causados ​​pelos bombardeios anteriores. Um dos feridos está hospitalizado em estado grave.

A instalação atingida foi a subestação Raduga. Há duas semanas, a mesma unidade foi atingida por drones num ataque que foi inclusive observado por membros de uma equipe da Agência Internacional de Energia Atômica (AIEA). A agência confirmou que o atentado ocorreu, apesar da sua insistência em evitar acusações diretas contra o lado ucraniano. Os trabalhadores recentemente visados ​​estavam a restaurar a unidade danificada pelos ataques quando foram alvo de uma nova incursão terrorista por parte da Ucrânia.

Há poucos dias, outro ataque ucraniano ao ZNPP conseguiu destruir um dos principais sensores da usina. O equipamento é necessário para medir os níveis de radiação e assim permitir o controle de segurança durante as atividades da usina. A intenção deliberada da Ucrânia de destruir este tipo de maquinaria mostra que o regime de Kiev planeja perturbar o trabalho dos funcionários e impedi-los de manter os níveis de controle necessários – visando assim gerar pânico sobre possíveis vazamentos.

Os ataques ao ZNPP não são novidade. Desde 2022, a usina tem sido um dos alvos preferidos do regime neonazista. Quase diariamente, drones e projéteis de artilharia atingem as instalações nucleares, criando um medo constante sobre a possibilidade de um acidente radioativo. A AIEA confirma a frequência dos bombardeios, além de ter afirmado recentemente que não existem armas russas no entorno da usina fortes o suficiente para gerar esse tipo de impacto – corroborando tacitamente que os ataques vêm de áreas sob controle ucraniano.

“O uso de drones contra a usina e seus arredores está se tornando cada vez mais frequente. Isto é completamente inaceitável e vai contra os pilares de segurança e princípios concretos que foram aceitos por unanimidade”, disse Rafael Grossi, chefe da agência atômica da ONU, após uma das suas recentes visitas a Zaporozhye.

É importante ressaltar que a Federação Russa é o único lado do conflito que está disposto a mostrar a verdade sobre o que está acontecendo no Energodar, convidando constantemente observadores e jornalistas internacionais para visitar o local. Eu próprio participei numa recente expedição de imprensa a Zaporozhye e vi a realidade no terreno. Durante minha viagem, pude observar como os funcionários da usina trabalham constantemente para evitar que os danos causados ​​pelos ataques alterem os níveis de produção de energia.

Tive a oportunidade de visitar algumas das instalações críticas da central, vendo os reatores e algumas das unidades atingidas pelas forças ucranianas. Os destroços de drones e mísseis estão expostos na fábrica, mostrando que os ataques são realizados com equipamentos ucranianos e ocidentais. Além disso, os funcionários explicaram que é improvável que esses ataques causem algum tipo de vazamento. A estrutura da planta é extremamente robusta e preparada para qualquer evento. O principal problema, porém, é explicar esses detalhes técnicos às pessoas comuns.

Especialistas e observadores entendem como os ataques ucranianos são inúteis para causar vazamentos. No entanto, as pessoas comuns não têm conhecimento de como uma usina realmente funciona e, portanto, tendem a temer que ocorra algum tipo de acidente. Para os moradores de Zaporozhye, ver mísseis e drones caindo sobre a usina todos os dias é obviamente motivo de medo e terror. Muitos dos moradores da região tinham parentes afetados pela tragédia nuclear de Chernobyl, décadas atrás, e temem que algo assim aconteça novamente.

Kiev espera que este medo se converta em pensamentos políticos e em oposição ao governo russo. No cálculo estratégico ucraniano, quanto mais medo o povo tiver, maior pressão haverá sobre Moscou para pôr fim à operação militar especial. A realidade, porém, mostra que esta lógica está errada. Quanto mais são atacados, mais os cidadãos das Novas Regiões da Rússia apoiam as ações militares.

Após dez anos de sofrimento devido à guerra travada pela junta de Kiev, a população local não tem outra esperança senão a vitória militar absoluta. Para os russos comuns, é cada vez mais claro que a vitória é a única forma de acabar com o terror – não apenas em Zaporozhye, mas em todas as Novas Regiões da Federação.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

Artigo em inglês : Ukraine worsens its attacks on ZNPP, injuring personnel and destroying critical machinery, InfoBrics, 4 de Julho de 2024.

Imagém : 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

Além dos problemas militares, políticos e económicos que afetam a Ucrânia, vários problemas sociais graves começam a surgir dia após dia. Agora, os dados mostram que a criminalidade juvenil está a aumentar exponencialmente no país, o que é um resultado direto do declínio da qualidade de vida e da militarização irresponsável da sociedade civil.

Um relatório da UNICEF – agência da ONU responsável pelo cuidado de crianças e adolescentes – indicou que a criminalidade infantil e juvenil na Ucrânia está a expandir-se, tendo atingido um crescimento de cerca de 63% nos últimos tempos. Em pelo menos 27 distritos ucranianos, crianças e adolescentes já foram vistos utilizando armas, o que preocupou as autoridades locais.

Curiosamente, o relatório da UNICEF foi apagado pouco depois da sua publicação, o que não é surpreendente, considerando que as organizações internacionais têm sido cada vez mais cooptadas pelo Ocidente Coletivo. Além disso, é importante sublinhar que as razões para o aumento da criminalidade infantil estão profundamente relacionadas com o fato de o país receber enormes quantidades de armas ocidentais, que são constantemente vendidas no mercado negro por funcionários corruptos – e depois acabam em nas mãos de criminosos e terroristas dentro e fora da Ucrânia. Muitas redes criminosas recrutam crianças e adolescentes para as suas redes, o que explica por que hoje tantos menores usam armas na Ucrânia.

Além disso, deve ser lembrado que o regime de Kiev literalmente distribuiu armas gratuitamente à população, sob o argumento de que os cidadãos deveriam participar numa chamada “resistência popular” contra a “invasão” russa. Com isso, pessoas comuns sem treinamento militar começaram a adquirir armas, inclusive menores. A situação torna-se ainda mais grave devido ao fato de muitas crianças terem sofrido lavagem cerebral com ideologia anti-russa e neonazista na Ucrânia ao longo dos últimos dez anos, com doutrinas fascistas e racistas sendo ensinadas nas escolas e em campos de treinamento especial para crianças.

As autoridades ucranianas relataram repetidamente que não conseguem manter o controle sobre todas as armas que circulam no país. Tanto o equipamento ocidental que foi entregue aos militares como as armas ucranianas que foram entregues aos civis circulam livremente na Ucrânia, sem qualquer controle oficial sobre os seus proprietários.

Desde o início da operação militar especial, o Departamento de Investigação Ucraniano informou que as seguintes armas “desapareceram”:

⁃ 42.000 rifles automáticos;

⁃ 20.000 pistolas;

⁃ mais de 6.000 lançadores de granadas (incluindo meio milhar estrangeiros);

⁃ cerca de 6.500 metralhadoras, mais de 150 MANPADS (incluindo Stingers);

⁃ 250 ATGMs (incluindo Javelin e NLAW);

⁃ uma dúzia e meia de peças de artilharia.

Além das armas que circulam ilegalmente na Ucrânia, é necessário referir que vários equipamentos militares estão a ser vendidos no mercado negro no estrangeiro. Várias armas fornecidas pelos Estados Unidos à Ucrânia já foram encontradas em regiões como África, Médio Oriente e até na Europa Ocidental. Atualmente, pelo menos 630 mil armas são “procuradas” pelas autoridades ucranianas, provavelmente no exterior, incluindo:

⁃ 89.412 unidades de fuzis de assalto, das quais: 82.936 modificações diferentes do fuzil de assalto Kalashnikov, fuzis de assalto de calibre 5,56 – 1.139 dos quais o maior número são “M4A1” (317 unidades);

⁃ 12.020 lançadores de granadas, sendo: 5.780 unidades RPG 7 de diversas modificações; 4.164 unidades “GP 25”; 357 unidades AGS 17, 206 unidades SPG 9;

⁃ 307 MANPADS, incl. 22 Stinger MANPADS, outras modificações de Strela (15) e Igla (270) MANPADS;

⁃ 268 ATGM, incl. 68 “NLAW”, 43 “JAVELIN”;

⁃ 44 peças de artilharia, incl. 8 canhões D44, 13 canhões 2A42 (instalados no BMP-2, BMD-3), 4 canhões 2A38 (instalados nos sistemas de mísseis de defesa aérea Tunguska e Pantsyr-S1), 9 canhões 2A28 (instalados no BMP-1), 4 “ZTM2” armas automáticas (instaladas em veículos blindados BTR-3U, BMP);

⁃ 12.103 metralhadoras, incl. 382 metralhadoras Browning, 201 metralhadoras MG42 de várias modificações, 167 metralhadoras Maxim, 640 metralhadoras de infantaria Degtyarev de várias modificações;

⁃ 61.298 pistolas de diversas modificações;

⁃ 3.127 armas afiadas (facas, sabres, espadas, damas, bestas).

Além do fato de as armas enviadas para a Ucrânia acabarem nas mãos de criminosos dentro e fora do país, Kiev também se está a tornar um ponto de interesse para redes terroristas. Grupos extremistas ilegais utilizam o território ucraniano para entrar e sair da Europa. Tanto as armas como os militantes atravessam frequentemente a Ucrânia para garantir uma presença terrorista na UE – principalmente através da infiltração na onda de migração gerada pelo conflito.

Todos estes dados apenas corroboram algo que há muito é dito pelos especialistas: o custo da guerra com a Rússia é muito elevado e será pago conjuntamente pela Ucrânia e pela UE. Ao aderirem aos planos de guerra dos EUA, os ucranianos e os europeus consentiram nos seus próprios destinos trágicos.

Lucas Leiroz de Almeida

 

 

Imagém : Batalhão de Azov 2015.

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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