Os planos de Israel para a Faixa de Gaza estão a tornar-se cada vez mais claros. A propaganda sionista pró-guerra baseia-se na narrativa de uma suposta “luta contra o Hamas” para convencer a opinião pública, mas as autoridades israelitas estão a tornar-se explícitas nas suas declarações, deixando claro que o “problema” que vêem na região vai além do Hamas, tendo uma insatisfação com o controle palestino sobre aquele território.
Numa declaração recente, o primeiro-ministro israelita, Benjamin Netanyahu, disse que o Hamas já perdeu o controle territorial do norte de Gaza, acrescentando que as forças sionistas permanecerão na região após o fim das hostilidades. Segundo Netanyahu, Tel Aviv não permitirá que os palestinos ensinem os seus filhos a “odiar Israel”, razão pela qual haverá forças sionistas na Faixa para “supervisionar” as atitudes dos habitantes de Gaza.
“Não há substituto para a vitória. Eliminaremos o Hamas e salvaremos os nossos reféns (…) As IDF concluíram o cerco à Cidade de Gaza e estão nos arredores do hospital Shifa e mataram muitos terroristas (…) O Hamas perdeu o controle no norte da Faixa de Gaza. Eles não têm lugar seguro para se esconder. Não vamos parar até que a missão seja concluída. Estamos fazendo tudo para sermos dignos de seu sacrifício e heroísmo. [Gaza] não será uma autoridade civil que educa os seus filhos a odiar Israel, a matar israelitas ou a eliminar Israel. Não pode haver uma autoridade que não condenou o massacre. Terá de haver algo mais, mas em qualquer caso [estará sob] o nosso controle de segurança. Mantenho-me firme e não pretendo desistir”, afirmou em conferência de imprensa no dia 11 de novembro.
Ao dizer que não haverá “autoridade civil” em Gaza, Netanyahu contradisse as suas próprias palavras, já que poucos dias antes o primeiro-ministro tinha mencionado que o objetivo de Israel era apenas “desmilitarizar” – e não “governar” Gaza.
“O que temos de ver é Gaza desmilitarizada, desradicalizada e reconstruída (…) Não pretendemos conquistar Gaza. Não pretendemos ocupar Gaza. E não pretendemos governar Gaza”, disse ele no dia 9. Porém, na mesma ocasião também disse que as IDF deveriam “entrar em Gaza e matar os assassinos [a qualquer momento, para] evitar o surgimento de um outro Hamas.”
Aparentemente, Netanyahu está a tornar-se cada vez mais explícito no seu plano para Gaza. É claro que o objetivo da guerra contra os palestinianos não é simplesmente derrotar o Hamas, mas garantir o controlo total de Israel sobre os territórios de maioria palestina. Ao falar em não permitir a presença de uma autoridade civil em Gaza e ao apelar à prontidão das IDF para entrar em Gaza e matar palestinos a qualquer momento, Netanyahu promete que os habitantes de Gaza não terão direito à autodeterminação ou à criação de milícias de autodefesa. Por outras palavras, ele está a admitir que a sua guerra em Gaza é uma guerra de ocupação contra os palestinos.
Não há nada realmente “novo” no que Netanyahu disse, mas é digno de nota devido à sua explicitação. Até agora, a máquina de propaganda sionista conseguiu angariar algum apoio para a guerra porque a desculpa usada pelos meios de comunicação ocidentais é uma suposta “necessidade” de “derrotar o Hamas”. Contudo, com os responsáveis sionistas a falar abertamente sobre a manutenção da ocupação ilegal, torna-se cada vez mais difícil justificar o apoio a Tel Aviv aos olhos do público ocidental.
Por esta razão, as autoridades americanas pediram esclarecimentos a Netanyahu sobre o seu discurso. No dia 12, canais de TV israelenses, citando fontes americanas não identificadas, afirmaram que as palavras de Netanyahu deixaram os tomadores de decisão americanos “perplexos”. De acordo com Kan, uma rede de televisão estatal israelita, os parceiros americanos estão a exigir explicações de Netanyahu sobre a que exatamente se refere quando fala sobre o controle de Gaza após o conflito.
Recentemente ocorreram alguns atritos deste tipo. Por exemplo, John Kirby, porta-voz da segurança nacional dos EUA, afirmou que os EUA são contra a ocupação israelita de Gaza. Obviamente, os EUA não apoiam a Palestina, mas a posição de Washington baseia-se numa estratégia racional pró-Israel. Quanto maior for a ocupação do território palestino, mais conflitos haverá – e, portanto, mais difícil será para os americanos continuarem a ajudar o Estado sionista.
O que está a acontecer é um choque de diferentes pontos de vista sobre o que é melhor para Israel. Os ocidentais apoiam uma solução mais “humanitária” para Gaza porque precisam de reconciliar o seu sionismo irrestrito com os valores difundidos na sua máquina de propaganda. Por outro lado, uma ala israelita mais radical defende uma solução final, com limpeza étnica e ocupação militar. E quanto mais Tel Aviv se torna explícito no seu alinhamento a esta visão radical, mais aumenta o seu isolamento internacional.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Openly ignored by his incendiary, now ex-Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was left with few options. Retaining her would continue a process of blighting his already precarious prime ministership, suggesting weakness and a distinct lack of authority. Kicking her off the Cabinet front bench would, while reasserting some measure of control, permit her to foment discord on the backbenches.
In defiance of collective cabinet responsibility, Braverman roguishly challenged his wisdom, and that of the Metropolitan Police she was meant to control, in permitting pro-Palestinian protests to take place on Armistice Day. Prior to that, she had also thrown some acid upon the issue of homelessness in Britain.
“The British people are compassionate. We will always support those who are genuinely homeless. But we cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents occupied by people, many of them from abroad, living on the streets as a lifestyle choice.”
In the end, Sunak went for the sacking option. But it was what followed Braverman’s banishment, rather than her demise, that got tongues wagging and eyes popping. Having been sighted at Downing Street, former Prime Minister David Cameron piqued the curiosity of a few press bloodhounds. A Cabinet reshuffle was probably in order, but no one suggested that he was going to emerge as Foreign Secretary, replacing James Cleverly, who promptly took over at the Home Office.
Here was the individual who had presided over a period of savage austerity cuts, many initiated during the time the Tories found themselves in coalition with the Liberal Democrats after 2010. Cameron was also instrumental in taking Britain to the 2016 Brexit referendum with brazen indifference to the consequences of leaving the European Union, losing it with an airy complacency, then leaving British politics so as not to be a distraction to his successor. Seven years of chaos and four prime ministers followed.
In 2021, the oleaginous Cameron showed that he could emulate the ethically threadbare approach to politics and private interest so gleefully adopted by other Tory grandees. His name will be forever paired with the failed finance company, Greensill Capital. The company’s boss, the Australian banker Lex Greensill, was given office space in Downing Street during Cameron’s premiership, subsequently becoming Cameron’s confidante and employer. The former PM had been a vigorous lobbyist for Greensill Capital’s business efforts, making £8.2 million in the process. When it collapsed in March 2021, investors found that billions of dollars had vanished.
Cameron proved instrumental, if not a frightful nuisance, in lobbying senior civil servants to permit the supply chain company access to government-backed loans made through the Covid Corporate Financing Facility (CCFF). Using money obtained under the pandemic scheme (never ignore the personal and corporate riches a crisis can bring), Greensill would be able to increase its loans to such borrowers as GFG Alliance, controlled by the steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta.
Cameron’s efforts paid off: the British Business Bank (BBB) eventually authorised Greensill to lend a smaller amount of such taxpayer-backed funds under the CLBILS (Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme). Unfortunately, Greensill proved gluttonous, evading the limitations imposed by the loan scheme and taking a particular shine to Gupta’s company group. The threshold of loaning £50 million to any one single entity was contemptuously ignored: Gupta’s companies received as much as £400 million across eight loans.
In being questioned by parliamentarians, Cameron glowed with insincerity to the accusation that he had, as Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh put it, “demeaned” himself and his position “by WhatsApp-ing” his way around Whitehall. The answer was very much in keeping with a political tradition celebrated by Tony Blair’s New Labour. “I would never put forward something that I didn’t think was absolutely in the interests of the public good, and that’s what I thought I was doing for Greensill.” Throwing in the idiot’s card, he professed ignorance to the company’s troubles when trying to lobby the government. Besides, lobbying was “a necessary and healthy part of our democratic process”.
Labour strategists were shocked but delighted by Cameron’s return. The party’s National Campaign Coordinator, Pat McFadden, suggested that the move could finally put to rest any suggestions that Sunak was a prime minister keen on “change”. “A few weeks ago Rishi Sunak said David Cameron was part of a failed status quo, now he’s bringing him back as his life raft.” And Cameron, for his part, had also sniped at Sunak for being short sighted in cancelling the Northern leg of the HS2 rail line between Birmingham and Manchester.
For those familiar with cricket – and how the English have historically played it – seasoned, long in the tooth veterans have been called upon to hold the fort in times of crisis. Wobbly teams always return to weathered experience. During the torrid tour of Australia over 1974-5, the battered tourists called upon the services of Colin Cowdrey who, despite not playing a Test for four years, was still considered one of the finest players of fast bowling in the country. That did not prevent the Australian press deriding the English cricket team as “Dad’s Army,” a term given to the volunteers of the British Home Guard during the Second World War. Cowdrey’s physical bravery against the Australian thunderbolts cast by Jeffrey Thompson and Dennis Lillee did not prevent a rout, but it was pugnaciously impressive.
Cameron, however, is no Cowdrey. While the cricketer stood up against one of the most fearsome red ball attacks in history, Cameron created a mess he exited with craven swiftness. His presence is unlikely to prevent a Tory defeat at the next election. It may, in fact, make it worse.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. He is a regular contributor to Global Research and Asia-Pacific Research. Email: [email protected]
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
At what appears to be a culturally enriched children’s birthday gathering in some American city — Chicago, possibly, or Atlanta; it doesn’t really matter because the “urban” culture has been synthesized and exported by the media machine from coast to coast — a pair of children, one apparently 7 or 8 in an Air Jordan t-shirt and the other looking not a day over 3 in an Air Jordan track suit, can be seen waving (fake) cash and probably fake guns in the same manner that can be seen in damn near every rap video from the last twenty years.
These kids’ young minds have obviously been treated to a steady diet of World Star Hip Hop videos — the cornerstone of any nutritious upbringing.
The unfortunate conclusion the viewer is forced to draw is that this is going to influence their future.
And it’s not their fault.
This is the culture of “gun violence and money” they were born into, and basic sociology firmly establishes that the manner in which a child is socialized at the familial and community level early on has an influence, in no small measure, on how they relate to, and interact with, broader society later on in life.
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
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.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The indoctrination of the climate change hoax has been so well prepared, and for so long, and with billions and billions of dollars by professional social and mind engineers (i.e., the UK-based Tavistock Institute) and with the collaboration of the entire UN system – it is virtually impossible to convince the smartest, most educated, and most honest people that they have been lured into a trap.
Even when they see that something is not quite right, their quiet inner mind tells them, “Cannot be; impossible that the government, and my scientist friends lie to me…”
It is self-denial – as self-protection.
Admitting that one has been betrayed for most of one’s life would be too shameful no matter how many others were lured and lied into the same trap. Admission, might be interpreted as meaning, that we are not smart. Nobody wants to be “un-smart.”
It is true, though, that over the past three decades or so, the lie-talk, coming from governments, international bodies like the UN, and repeated at nauseatum by the mainstream media, is so pervasive that doubting it is not only “uncool”, but more so, socially and politically incorrect.
Hardly anybody wants to be socially and politically incorrect.
You are soon considered an outcast. Nobody wants to be an outcast.
The truth is, today about 90% of the official narrative, emanating from supposedly expert institutions, and from the authorities paid by your taxes – are lies, false, fake, manipulated – so you will not know the truth, so you will obey the orders that follow the lies.
Let us illuminate some facts about climate change.
1. The climate changes all the time – usually in “waves” of 15 – 20,000- or so years, with smaller cycles in between. Therefore, climate changes are slow, so slow that life on earth can naturally adapt, without hardly noticing anything in our short human lifespan of some 80 years.
2. More than 90%, some scientists say, between 95% and 97% of climate change is caused by solar activities, which also come in cycles. Real scientists say that human activities, industries, cars, agriculture – even military (which the mainstream never mentions – in the COP meetings [see below on COP] it is strictly forbidden to talk about the military CO2 output) – produce less than 0.3% of CO2, unnoticeable because any excesses are absorbed by the seas.
The seas also release CO2 when forests, mainly rainforests, and trees in general need more for their survival – CO2 being vital food for trees, which, in turn produce the oxygen from which most life on earth lives. A perfectly balanced symbiosis. Mother Earth knows what she is doing.
3. The key is – there is of course an agenda behind the so-called manmade CO2 caused “climate change” when Al Gore made the round in the early 2000s with his propaganda climate speeches, including at the World Bank and other international agencies, it was called “global warming”, then the narrative changed because you can do more with a both-sided, cooling and warming, “climate change”.
This idea dates back to the Club of Rome, their infamous 1972 report “Limits to Growth”. The Club’s first objective, as stated in the Report, is population reduction by more than 90% so that the earth’s non-renewable resources will last longer for a small elite. As simple as that.
“Limits to Growth” is still today the blueprint for the Great Reset / UN Agenda 2030. So, the population reduction narrative is still alive and well – as you know. The eugenists, Gates and Rockefellers et al, are quite omni-present.
See also this – quite recent, from an author of “limits to Growth”:
Dennis Meadows, one of the main authors of the Club of Rome’s The Limits to Growth, is a member of the World Economic Forum. (4 May 2023)
That is where also plandemics with forced and coerces killer vaxxes come in, which will leave – according to Mike Yeadon, former VP Pfizer, then also in charge of Pfizer Research – potentially billions of people dead in the next 5-10 years. An estimated 70% of the world population was vaccinated.
Almost nobody will be able to trace the excess mortality back to the vaxxes because the causes of death will be so many, and so diverse, that there is no clearly discernible pattern for the common cause. Scientists will be coerced to shut up – as was the case with the fake vaxxes and PCR tests.
That is one of the reasons why there were between 5 to10 different versions of vaxxes circulating, so they can see which potions cause what kind of disease and death – and how effective and efficient the different bio-chemical compositions of vaxxes are in increasing mortality.
*
Manmade “climate change” is one of the instruments imagined by “Limits to Growth” for the elite to live longer and better lives, with longer-lasting non-renewable resources.
It is also a perfect tool to
(i) help decimate population, through droughts, floods, famine; extreme hurricanes, cattle killing heatwaves, and more;
(ii) earthquakes and their devastating consequences (Haiti 2010; Turkey earlier this year and Morocco a few months ago, most likely Afghanistan and Nepal too, are suspected having been geoengineered.)
So that people believe in climate change, the climate literally MUST change – at least on the surface – when it is all done, maybe in 10 or 20 years (their agenda 2030 plan – which they will NOT achieve, ever), they might think of going back to the “normal sun-caused climate change” cycles.
The climate agenda was made public by the 1992 UN-sponsored “Earth Summit” in Rio. For some 30+ years we have been indoctrinated with the idea that the climate is changing because of our climate-unfriendly habits, including the use of carbon-based energy sources.
The propaganda worked well. During annual COP Conferences around the world, the cabal behind the governments lied to us what the targets should be in reduced CO2 output so the world would not collapse. But no government ever follows the rules to meet the targets.
IAEA at the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. 9 November 2022 Photo Credit: David Nieto / IAEA (Licensed under CC BY 2.0)
By now, we have had up to now 27 COP conferences, the last one in 2022 in Egypt, the next one is in December 2023 in Dubai. Nothing has changed and nothing will change, and the earth is still intact. But the criminal myth will be kept alive for the masses.
COP – stands for Conference of the Parties. It is the body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which aims to “guide the efforts of the countries that are parties of the Convention to act against climate change“.
This description alone says it all. It is the epitome of hypocrisy, as no government, nor any international institutions believe in it, hence, they coerce people to abandon their life styles, forcing them out of agriculture, of traveling, forcing them to live in 15-minute-cities (where car travel beyond 15-minutes per day is forbidden) – and more – while the elite ignores such rules, jetting around the globe in their private jets, as if there was no tomorrow.
*
In the 1990s, about 87% of all the world’s energy used came from “CO2-emitting” hydrocarbons. Guess what, in 2023 almost the same percentage – about 85% still comes from hydrocarbons – the minuscule difference is well within the margin of error.
Despite the ad nauseam condemnation of CO2-producing hydrocarbons, the world economy could not survive without it.
Hypocrisy at its best, the European Union, “sanctioning” Russia by not buying their gas, has, in fact, imported in 2022 from Russia the second largest amount of gas since 2014. Some of the shipments were routed through India and other countries. See this.
Since the early 1940’s, the science of “climate change”, as in geoengineering the weather, the climate science has been perfected. In a 1962 Harvard graduation speech, then VP Lyndon Johnson said,
“in 2025 the US will control the weather, and who controls the weather will control the world”. Watch video below.
We are almost in 2025, and according to the Spanish State Meteorological Agency – AEMET, weather modification or geoengineering practices, to different degrees, are known by about 50 countries in the world, first, of course, the US, Russia, and China, but also Spain, and other EU countries possess the technology. See this.
The best known agency for geoengineering is the US Airforce-controlled HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program). HAARP works in the ionosphere. And is, as indicated earlier, capable of triggering earthquakes, when deemed “necessary” by the masters of the universe.
“Geoengineers” are artificially melting the ice in the Nord Pole as well as Antarctica, and that of the glaciers – just to make believe that the climate is changing. Documentaries will show you, indeed, how the glaciers and North and South Pole ice disappears – and how polar bears have a hard life ahead.
That is the extent to which they go to carry out their agenda. This climate change program probably costs trillions of dollars – peoples’ tax money spent for willful destruction of Mother Earth’s protective shields and most importantly her environmental equilibrium.
No money is too much to stop them from doing what they are doing, attempting to annihilate life on earth. But whenever that happens – we are about the 6th or 7th Civilization, Mother Earth protects herself by letting civilizations collapse. The previous ones have all disappeared, probably for human greed, egocentricities, power thirst — you name it. Our’s will not be different, if
We, the People, are unable to stop it.
*
In August 2022, a conference in Switzerland focused on several controversial topics, addressed by scientists and true experts in their field.
One of them was a physicist, professor of a Swiss top university, specialized in climate and the science to modify it. He opened his speech by saying,
“You all know that our climate is manipulated, but I will explain to you how it’s done…”
Then he proceeded showing pages of pages of patents for chemicals and their combinations – used mostly in the Ionosphere, where the weather is made. He also explained what you see as “chemtrails” – and what they are doing to the climate / weather and not least to human health.
Geoengineering climate is like weaponizing the weather, it’s more efficient than nuclear explosions because it can be targeted precisely to the country or region where you want major damage to occur; and it does not leave radioactive fallouts for years to come. The Pakistan extended monsoon of 2022, was a case in point. It destroyed almost all food crops, infrastructure, housing, causing extreme poverty – and death.
It also deviated people’s attention from taking to the streets by the millions, asking to return their elected Prime Minister Imran Khan, who served as PM of Pakistanis from August 2018 until April 2022, when he was deposed by a Parliamentary Coup, orchestrated by the United States.
The climate professor also talked about electromagnetic power-waves – emitted with enormous strength from satellites – reaching up to 17-20 km below the surface. That is how earthquakes are triggered, even in areas where there are no fault lines – for example, in the recent Turkey / Syria earthquake region.
*
Social and mind manipulation is a science-driven to perfection in the last 80 some years by the UK-based Tavistock Institute (see Daniel Estulin’s book, “The Tavistock Institute: Social Engineering and Mind Manipulation”), as well as by DARPA, the Pentagon thinktank. This is done through media, schools, everyday debates among people — in a way of “divide to conquer” — all is well thought out and driven to excellence.
Many people still may not believe you, if you told them.
It explains, though, why the Climate Hoax is indeed a Climate Hoax.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
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.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Ben Norton: Why does the United States so strongly support Israel?
In this video today, I’m going to be explaining the geopolitical and economic reasons why Israel is such an important part of U.S. foreign policy and Washington’s attempt to dominate not only the region of the Middle East, but really the entire world.
For this analysis today, I had the privilege of being joined by the economist Michael Hudson. I will bring him in later to provide further details about this topic. But first, I want to highlight some very important basic context to understand this relationship.
It is crucial to stress that Israel is an extension of U.S. geopolitical power in one of the most critically important regions of the world.
In fact, it was current U.S. President Joe Biden, back in 1986, when he was a senator, who famously said that, if Israel didn’t exist, the United States would have to invent it:
Biden/Video: If we look at the Middle East, I think it’s about time we stop, those of us who support, as most of us do, Israel in this body, for apologizing for our support for Israel.
There is no apology to be made. None. It is the best $3 billion investment we make.
Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect her interest in the region; the United States would have to go out and invent an Israel.
I am with my colleagues who are on the floor of the Foreign Relations Committee, and we worry at length about NATO; and we worry about the eastern flank of NATO, Greece and Turkey, and how important it is. They pale by comparison…
They pale by comparison in terms of the benefit that accrues to the United States of America.
Ben Norton: First of all, it goes without saying that the so-called Middle East, or a better term is West Asia, has some of the world’s largest reserves of oil and gas, and the entire economic infrastructure all around the world relies on fossil fuels.
We are gradually moving toward new energy sources, but fossil fuels are still absolutely critical to the entire global economy. And Washington’s goal has been to make sure that it can maintain steady prices in the global oil and gas markets.
But this is about something much bigger than just oil and gas. The U.S. military’s stated policy since the 1990s, since the end of the Cold War and the overthrow of the Soviet Union, is that the United States has tried to maintain control over every region of the world.
This was stated very clearly by the U.S. National Security Council in 1992 in the so-called Wolfowitz Doctrine. The U.S. National Security Council wrote:
[The United States’] goal is to preclude any hostile power from dominating a region critical to our interests, and also thereby to strengthen the barriers against the reemergence of a global threat to the interests of the U.S. and our allies. These regions include Europe, East Asia, the Middle East/Persian Gulf, and Latin America. Consolidated, nondemocratic control of the resources of such a critical region could generate a significant threat to our security.
Then, in 2004, the U.S. government published its National Military Strategy, in which Washington stressed that its goal was “Full Spectrum Dominance – the ability to control any situation or defeat any adversary across the range of military operations”.
Now, historically, when it came to the Middle East, the U.S. relied on a so-called “twin pillar” strategy. The west pillar was Saudi Arabia, and the east pillar was Iran. And until the 1979 revolution in Iran, the country was governed by a dictator, a shah, the monarch, who was backed by the United States and served U.S. interests in the region.
However, with the 1979 revolution, the U.S. lost one of the pillars of its twin pillar strategy, and Israel became increasingly important for the United States to maintain control over this crucially strategic region.
It’s not just the massive oil reserves and gas reserves in the region; it’s not just the fact that many of the world’s top oil and gas producers are located in West Asia. It’s also the fact that some of the most important trading routes on Earth also go through this region.
Port of Suez, Egypt is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station. The Port of Suez is located in Egypt along the northern coastline of the Gulf of Suez. The port and city are the southern terminus of the Suez Canal that transits through Egypt and debouches into the Mediterranean Sea near Port Said. (Licensed under the Public Domain)
It would be difficult to overstate how important Egypt’s Suez Canal is. This connects trade from the Middle East going into Europe, from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean, and around 30 percent of all of the world’s shipping containers pass through the Suez Canal. That represents around 12% of the total global trade of all goods.
Then, directly south of the Suez Canal, where the Red Sea enters the Arabian Sea, you have a crucial geostrategic choke point known as the Bab al-Mandab Strait, right off the coast of Yemen. And there, more than 6 million barrels of oil pass through every single day.
Historically, the United States has tried to dominate this region in order to maintain control not only of energy supplies, but also to ensure these global trade routes that the entire globalized neoliberal economic system is built on.
And as U.S. influence in the region has weakened in an increasingly multipolar world, Israel has become increasingly important for the United States to try to maintain control.
We can see this clearly in the discussions over oil prices through OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which has essentially been expanded and is now known as OPEC+ to include Russia.
Now Saudi Arabia and Washington’s archenemy, Russia, play a key role in determining global oil prices.
Historically, Saudi Arabia was a loyal U.S. proxy, but increasingly Riyadh has been maintaining a more non-aligned foreign policy. And a very big reason for that is that China is now the biggest trading partner of many of the countries in the region. For a decade, China has been the largest importer of oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.
Furthermore, through its global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative, China is moving the center of world trade back to Asia. And in the Belt and Road Initiative, the “road” in particular is a reference to the New Silk Road.
Can you guess which region is absolutely crucial in the New Silk Road and the Belt and Road Initiative? Well, of course, it’s the Middle East – or, again, a better term is West Asia, and that term actually much better explains the geostrategic importance of this region, because it connects Asia to Europe.
This also explains why the United States has been so desperate to try to challenge the Belt and Road with its own attempts to build new trade routes. In particular, the U.S. is trying to make a trade route going from India into the Persian Gulf, and then up through Israel.
So in all of these projects, Israel plays an important role, as an extension of U.S. imperial power in one of the most important regions of the world. That is why Biden said back in 1986 that if Israel didn’t exist, the U.S. would have to invent it.
We’re also going to discuss the ironclad commitment – and this is, I’ll say this 5000 times in my career – the ironclad commitment the United States has to Israel, based on our principles, our ideas, our values; they’re the same values.
And I have often said, Mr. President [Herzog], if there were not an Israel, we would have to invent one.
And even as recently as October 18, 2023, Biden once again repeated the same thing in a speech he made in Israel: “I have long said, if Israel didn’t exist, we’d have to invent it”.
In that speech in 2023, Biden traveled to Israel in order to support the country as it was carrying out a brutal bombing campaign in Gaza, and ethnically cleansing Palestinians as part of what many experts around the world have referred to as a “textbook case of genocide”.
And the United States has steadfastly been supporting Israel, because once again, as Joe Biden said, Israel is an extension of U.S. imperial power in West Asia; and if it didn’t exist, Washington would have to invent it.
Now, on that note, I am going to go to the interview that I did with friend of the show Michael Hudson, the brilliant economist and author of many books, including Super Imperialism: The Economic Strategy of American Empire.
Here is a brief clip from our conversation:
Michael Hudson: Israel is a landed aircraft carrier in the Near East. Israel is the takeoff point for America to control the Near East…
The United States has always viewed Israel as just our foreign military base… When England first passed the act saying that there should be an Israel, the Balfour Declaration, it was because Britain wanted to control the Near East and its oil supplies…
And then after that, of course, when Truman came in, the military immediately saw that America was replacing England as the chief of the Near East…
What we’re really seeing is, having fought Russia to the last Ukrainian, and threatening to fight Iran to the last Israeli, the United States is trying to send arms to Taiwan to say, wouldn’t you like to fight to the last Taiwanese against China?
And that’s really the U.S. strategy all over the world; it’s trying to fuel other countries to fight wars for its own control.
Ben Norton: Michael, thanks for joining me today. We are speaking on November 9, and the latest death toll in the war in Gaza is that Israel has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians.
The United Nations has referred to Gaza as a “graveyard for children”. More than 4,000 children have been killed. About 40% of the casualties are children.
And the United States has continued to support Israel, not only diplomatically and politically, not only by, for instance, vetoing resolutions in the U.N. Security Council that call for a ceasefire, but furthermore, the U.S. has been sending billions of dollars to Israel.
Not only the $3.8 billion that the U.S. always gives to Israel every year in military aid, but additionally, tens of billions of dollars more.
So I am wondering if you could provide your analysis of why you think the U.S. is investing so many resources in supporting Israel while it is clearly committing war crimes.
Michael Hudson: Well, certainly it is supporting Israel, but it’s not supporting Israel because this is an altruistic act.
To the United States, Israel is its landed aircraft carrier in the Near East. Israel is the takeoff point for America to control the Near East.
And from the very time there was talk of creating an Israel, it was always that Israel was going to be an outpost, first of England, then of Russia, then of the United States in the Near East.
And I can give you an anecdote. Netanyahu’s main national security advisor for the last few years has been Uzi Arad. I worked at the Hudson Institute for about five years, 1972 to ‘76. And I worked very closely with Uzi there.
Uzi and I made two trips to Korea and Japan to talk about international finance. So we had a good chance to get to know each other. And on one trip, we stopped over from New York to San Francisco. And in San Francisco, there was a party or a gathering for people to meet us.
And one of the U.S. generals came over and slapped Uzi on the back and said, you’re our landed aircraft carrier over there. We love you.
Well, I could see Uzi feeling, tightening up and getting very embarrassed and didn’t really have anything to say. But the United States has always viewed Israel as just our foreign military base, not Israel.
So of course, it wants to secure this military base.
But when England first passed the act saying there should be in Israel the Balfour Declaration, it was because Britain wanted to control the Near East and its oil supplies.
When Israel was formed in the United Nations, the first country to recognize it was Stalin and Russia, who thought that Russians were going to have a major influence over Israel.
And then after that, of course, when Truman came in, the military immediately saw that America was replacing England as the chief of the Near East. And that was even after the fight, the overthrow of the Mossadegh government in Iran in 1953.
So from the United States, it’s not Israel’s wagging the American tail, just the opposite. You mentioned that America is supporting Israel. I don’t think America is supporting Israel at all, nor do most Israelis, nor do most Democrats.
President Joe Biden participates in a restricted bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Hotel Kempinski in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, October 18, 2023. (Official White House Photo by Cameron Smith)
America is supporting Netanyahu. It’s supporting Likud, not Israel. The majority of Israelis, certainly the non-religious Israelis, the core population of Israel since its founding, is opposing Likud and its policies.
And so what really is happening is that to the United States, Netanyahu is the Israeli version of Zelensky in the Ukraine.
And the advantage of having such an unpleasant, opportunist, and corrupt person as Netanyahu, who is under indictment for his bribery and corruption, is precisely that all of the attention now of the whole world that is so appalled by the attacks going on in Gaza, they’re not blaming the United States.
They’re blaming Israel. They’re blaming Netanyahu and Israel for it, when it’s the United States that has been sending plane load after plane load of bombs, of guns. There are 22,000 machine guns, automatic guns, that are banned for sale in the United States that America is sending for the settlers to use on the West Bank.
So there’s a pretense of good cop, bad cop. You have Mr. Blinken telling Netanyahu, when you bomb hospitals, make sure you do it according to the rules of war. And when you kill 100,000 Gaza children, make sure it’s all legal and in the war. And when you talk about ethnic cleansing and driving a population out, make sure that it’s all done legal.
Well, of course, it’s not the rules of war, and there are war crimes being committed, but the United States is pretending to tell Netanyahu and the Israeli government, use smaller bombs. Be more gentle when you bomb the children in the hospital, when actually this is all for show.
The United States is trying to say, well, we’re only there to give help to an ally. The whole world has noticed that the U.S. now has two aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean, right off the Near Eastern shore, and it has an atomic submarine near the Persian Gulf.
Why are they there? President Biden and Congress say we are not going to have American troops fighting Hamas in Gaza. We’re not going to get involved. Well, if the troops are not going to get involved, why are they there?
Well, we know what the American planes are doing. Yesterday, they bombed yet another airport and a fuel depot in Syria. They’re bombing Syria. And it’s very clear that they’re there not to protect Israel, but to fight Iran.
Again and again, every American newspaper, when it talks about Hamas, it says Hamas is acting on behalf of Iran. When it talks about Hezbollah, and is there going to be an intervention from Lebanon against northern Israel, they say Hezbollah are the Iranian puppets.
Any time they talk about any Near Eastern leader, it’s really that all these leaders are puppets of Iran, just like in Ukraine and Central Europe, they talk about Hungary and other countries as all being puppets of Putin in Russia.
Their focus, really – America isn’t trying to fight to protect Ukraine. It’s fighting for the last Ukrainian to be exhausted in what they’d hoped would be depleting Russia’s military. Well, it hasn’t worked.
Well, the same thing in Israel. If the United States is pushing Israel and Netanyahu to escalate, escalate, escalate, to do something that at a point is going to lead Nasrallah to finally say, okay, we can’t take it anymore. We’re coming in and helping rescue the Gazians and especially rescue the West Bank, where just as much fighting is taking place. We’re going to come in.
And that’s when the United States will then feel free to move not only against Lebanon, but all the way via Syria, Iraq, to Iran.
What we’re seeing in Gaza and the West Bank today is only the catalyst, the trigger for the fact that the neocons say we are never going to have a better chance than we have right now to conquer Iran.
So this is the point for the showdown, that if America is to control Near Eastern oil, and by controlling Near Eastern oil, by bringing it under the US control, it can control the energy imports of much of the world.
And therefore, this gives American diplomats the power to cut off oil and gas and to sanction any country that tries to go multipolar, any country that tries to resist US unipolar control.
Ben Norton: Yeah, Michael, I think you’re really hitting such an important point, which is how this is one of the most geostrategic regions of the world, especially when it comes to hydrocarbons.
The entire global economy is still very heavily reliant on oil and gas, and especially considering the US is not part of OPEC, and especially now considering that OPEC has really expanded essentially to OPEC+ and now includes Russia.
That means that Saudi Arabia and Russia essentially can help control global oil prices. And we’ve seen this really, in fact, in the United States in the past few years with the rise of consumer price inflation.
We saw that the Biden administration was concerned about gas prices, in particular in the lead up to the midterm elections. And the Biden administration has been releasing a lot of oil from the strategic oil reserves of the United States.
And we can also see these kinds of statements in particular when we go back and look at the Bush administration. There are numerous people involved in the Bush administration and the so-called “War on Terror” who openly talked about how important it was for Washington to dominate this region.
And I’m really thinking of, in 2007, when the top US general and NATO commander Wesley Clark famously disclosed that the Bush administration had made plans to overthrow seven countries in five years. And those were countries in North Africa and West Asia.
Wesley Clark: About 10 days after 9/11, I went through the Pentagon and I saw Secretary Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz. I went downstairs just to say hello to some of the people on the Joint Staff who used to work for me.
And one of the generals called me and he said, “Sir, you’ve got to come in and talk to me a second”.
I said, “Well, you’re too busy”. He said, “No, no”. He says, “We’ve made the decision; we’re going to war with Iraq”.
This was on or about the 20th of September. I said, “We’re going to war with Iraq, why?” He said, “I don’t know”. He said, “I guess they don’t know what else to do”.
So I said, “Well, did they find some information connecting Saddam to al-Qaeda?” He said, “No, no”. He says, “There’s nothing new that way. They’ve just made the decision to go to war with Iraq”.
He said, “I guess it’s like we don’t know what to do about terrorists, but we’ve got a good military and we can take down governments”.
And he said, “I guess if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem has to look like a nail”.
So I came back to see him a few weeks later, and by that time we were bombing in Afghanistan.
I said, “Are we still going to war with Iraq?” And he said, “Oh, it’s worse than that”.
He said, he reached over on his desk, he picked up a piece of paper, and he said, “I just got this down from upstairs”, meaning the Secretary of Defense’s office today, and he said, “This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finishing off Iran”.
I said, “Is it classified?” He said, “Yes, sir”. I said, “Well, don’t show it to me”.
And I saw him a year or so ago, and I said, “You remember that?” And he said, “Sorry, I didn’t show you that memo! I didn’t show it to you!”
Amy Goodman: I’m sorry, what did you say his name was? (laughs)
Wesley Clark: I’m not going to give you his name. (laughs)
Amy Goodman: So go through the countries again.
Wesley Clark: Well, starting with Iraq, then Syria and Lebanon, then Libya, then Somalia and Sudan, and then back to Iran.
Ben Norton: And since then, we of course saw the U.S. war on Iraq. We of course saw the proxy war in Syria that still goes on in many ways. The U.S. is occupying one-third of Syrian territory, including the oil rich areas.
And Trump himself, President Donald Trump, boasted in a 2020 interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham that he was leaving U.S. troops in Syria to take the oil:
Donald Trump: And then they say, “He left troops in Syria”. You know what I did? I left troops to take the oil. I took the oil. The only troops I have are taking the oil. They’re protecting the oil.
Laura Ingraham: We’re not taking the oil. We’re not taking it.
Donald Trump: Well, maybe we will, maybe we won’t.
Laura Ingraham: They’re protecting the facilities.
Donald Trump: I don’t know, maybe we should take it. But we have the oil. Right now, the United States has the oil.
So they say, “He left troops in Syria”. No, I got rid of all of them, other than we’re protecting the oil; we have the oil.
Ben Norton: We also saw the U.S. impose sanctions on Lebanon, which contributed to hyperinflation and the destruction of the Lebanese economy. And that was largely because Hezbollah is part of the government, and the U.S. has been pressuring the Lebanese government to create a new government without Hezbollah.
We also saw, of course, that NATO destroyed the Libyan state in 2011. Somalia also has a failed state. And Sudan was divided in no small part thanks to the U.S. and Israel supporting South Sudan’s separatist movement on ethno-religious lines, using religious sectarianism.
So if you look at the list of countries that Wesley Clark named in 2006, the seven countries in five years, again, that was Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and finally Iran; the only country that really has been able to maintain state stability, that has not been completely devastated by the United States, is Iran.
Of course, it took longer than five years, but the U.S. was pretty successful. And of course Israel has played an important role in this U.S. goal to destabilize those governments in the region.
Michael Hudson: Well, let’s look and see how this was done. Remember after America was attacked on 9/11, there was a meeting at the White House, and everybody knew that the pilots were Saudi Arabians, and they knew that some of the pilots had been staying at the Saudi embassy in Los Angeles, I think, in the United States.
But after 9/11, there was a cabinet meeting, and Rumsfeld said to the people there, look and find any link you can get to Iraq, forget Saudi Arabia, no problem, Iraq is the key. And he directed them to find it, and 9/11 became the excuse for attacking not Saudi Arabia, but Iraq, and going right on with it.
Well, you needed a similar crisis in Libya. They said in Libya, there was some, I think, fundamentalists in the suburbs of one of the [cities], not the capital city, that were causing problems. And so you have to “protect” the innocent people from [Muammar Gadhafi], and you go in and grab all of their gold reserves, all of their money, and you take over the oil on behalf of France’s oil monopoly.
Well, this is the role of the fighting in Gaza today. Netanyahu’s fight against Gaza is being used as the excuse for America moving its warships there, its submarines, and bombing, along with Israel, the Syrian airport so that the Syrians are not able to move weapons or any kind of military support either to Lebanon, to the west, or Iran, to the east.
So it’s obvious that all of what we’re seeing is somehow to soften up public opinion for the fact that, well, just like we had to invade Iraq because of 9/11, we have to now finally fight and take out the oil refineries of Iran and their scientific institutes and any laboratories where they may be doing atomic research.
And Iran realizes this. Last week, the Iranian press TV said that their defense minister says that if there’s any attack on Iran, whether by Israel or by anyone else, the U.S. and its foreign bases are going to be hit hard.
Iran, Russia, China have all looked at the Gaza situation not as if it’s an Israeli action, but as if it’s the U.S. action. They all see exactly that it’s all about Iran, and the American press only says when it talks about Gaza or Hamas or Hezbollah or any other group, it’s always the Iranian tool so-and-so.
They’re demonizing Iran in the same way that the neocons have demonized Russia to prepare for America declaring an undeclared war against Iran. And they may even declare war.
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Americans have become easy prey for hackers, scammers, snitches, spies, and con artists.
But don’t be fooled into thinking the government is protecting you.
To the contrary, the U.S. government is selling us (or rather, our data) to the highest bidders.
In this way, “we the people” have been reduced to economic units to be bought, bartered and sold by all and sundry.
On a daily basis, Americans have been made to relinquish the most intimate details of who we are—our biological makeup, our genetic blueprints, and our biometrics (facial characteristics and structure, fingerprints, iris scans, etc.)—in order to navigate an increasingly technologically-enabled world.
Those intimate details, in turn, have become the building blocks of massive databases accessed by the government and its corporate partners in crime, vulnerable to data breaches by hackers, cyberattacks and espionage.
For years now, and with little real oversight or restrictions, the government has been compiling massive databases comprised of all manner of sensitive information on the citizenry.
Biographical information. Biometric information. Criminal backgrounds. Travel records.
The government has also, with little oversight and few guidelines, been adding to its massive trove of data on Americans by buying commercially available information (CAI) from third-party sources. As a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence revealed:
“[Commercially purchased data] can reveal sensitive and intimate information about the personal attributes, private behavior, social connections, and speech of U.S. persons and non-U.S. persons. It can be misused to pry into private lives, ruin reputations, and cause emotional distress and threaten the safety of individuals. Even subject to appropriate controls, CAI can increase the power of the government’s ability to peer into private lives to levels that may exceed our constitutional traditions or other social expectations.”
In other words, this is the diabolically sneaky way in which the government is attempting to sidestep the Fourth Amendment, which requires that government agents have probable cause and a warrant before spying on Americans or searching and seizing their private property.
It’s bad enough that the government is building massive databases comprised of our personal information without our knowledge or consent, but then they get hacked and we suffer for it.
Earlier this year, for instance, several federal agencies, state governments and universities were targeted in a global cyberattack that compromised the sensitive data of millions of Americans.
Did that stop the government’s quest to keep building these databases which compromise our privacy and security? Of course not.
In fact, the government has also been selling our private information. According to Vice, Departments of Motor Vehicles in states around the country have been selling drivers’ personal information “to thousands of businesses, including private investigators who spy on people for a profit.”
Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the government has become a master at finding loopholes that allow it to exploit the citizenry.
This is just a small part of how the government buys and sells its citizens to the highest bidders.
The why is always the same: for profit and power, of course.
Welcome to the age of surveillance capitalism.
Have you shopped at Whole Foods? Tested out target practice at a gun range? Sipped coffee at Starbucks while surfing the web? Visited an abortion clinic? Watched FOX News or MSNBC? Played Candy Crush on your phone? Walked through a mall? Walked past a government building?
Incredibly, once you’ve been identified and tracked, data brokers can travel back in time, digitally speaking, to discover where you’ve been, who you’ve been with, what you’ve been doing, and what you’ve been reading, viewing, buying, etc.
Once you’ve been identified in this way, you can be tracked endlessly.
No one is spared.
In this regard, we are all equals: equally suffering the indignity of having every shred of privacy stripped away and the most intimate details of one’s life turned into fodder for marketers and data profiteers.
This creepy new era of for-profit surveillance capitalism—in which we’re being listened to, watched, tracked, followed, mapped, bought, sold and targeted—is made possible with our cooperation.
All those disclaimers you scroll though without reading them, the ones written in minute font, only to quickly click on the “Agree” button at the end so you can get to the next step—downloading software, opening up a social media account, adding a new app to your phone or computer—those signify your written consent to having your activities monitored, recorded and shared.
Think about it.
Every move you make is being monitored, mined for data, crunched, and tabulated in order to form a picture of who you are, what makes you tick, and how best to influence and/or control you.
With every smartphone we buy, every GPS device we install, every Twitter, Facebook, and Google account we open, every frequent buyer card we use for purchases—whether at the grocer’s, the yogurt shop, the airlines or the department store—and every credit and debit card we use to pay for our transactions, we’re helping Corporate America build a dossier for its government counterparts on who we know, what we think, how we spend our money, and how we spend our time.
If anyone else stalked us in this way—tailing us wherever we go, tapping into our calls, reading our correspondence, ferreting out our secrets, profiling and targeting us based on our interests and activities—we’d call the cops.
Unfortunately, the cops (equipped with Stingray devices and other Peeping Tom technologies) are also in on this particular scam.
It’s not just the surveillance and the buying and selling of your data that is worrisome.
The ramifications of a government—any government—having this much unregulated, unaccountable power to target, track, round up and detain its citizens is beyond chilling.
Imagine what a totalitarian regime such as Nazi Germany could have done with this kind of unadulterated power.
Imagine what the next police state to follow in Germany’s footsteps will do with this kind of power. Society is definitely rapidly moving in that direction.
We’ve made it so easy for the government to stalk us.
Government eyes see your every move: what you read, how much you spend, where you go, with whom you interact, when you wake up in the morning, what you’re watching on television and reading on the internet.
Every move you make is being monitored, mined for data, crunched, and tabulated in order to form a picture of who you are, what makes you tick, and how best to control you when and if it becomes necessary to bring you in line.
Chances are, as the Washington Post has reported, you have already been assigned a color-coded threat assessment score—green, yellow or red—so police are forewarned about your potential inclination to be a troublemaker depending on whether you’ve had a career in the military, posted a comment perceived as threatening on Facebook, suffer from a particular medical condition, or know someone who knows someone who might have committed a crime.
In other words, you might already be flagged as potentially anti-government in a government database somewhere—Main Core, for example—that identifies and tracks individuals (so they can be rounded up and detained in times of distress) who aren’t inclined to march in lockstep to the police state’s dictates.
The government has the know-how.
As The Interceptreported, the FBI, CIA, NSA and other government agencies are increasingly investing in and relying on corporate surveillance technologies that can mine constitutionally protected speech on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to identify potential extremists and predict who might engage in future acts of anti-government behavior.
Surveillance, digital stalking and the data mining of the American people—weapons of compliance and control in the government’s hands, especially when the government can listen in on your phone calls, monitor your driving habits, track your movements, scrutinize your purchases and peer through the walls of your home—add up to a society in which there’s little room for indiscretions, imperfections, or acts of independence.
This is the creepy, calculating yet diabolical genius of the American police state: the very technology we hailed as revolutionary and liberating has become our prison, jailer, probation officer, stalker, Big Brother and Father Knows Best all rolled into one.
It turns out that we are Soylent Green.
The 1973 film of the same name, starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson, is set in 2022 in an overpopulated, polluted, starving New York City whose inhabitants depend on synthetic foods manufactured by the Soylent Corporation for survival.
Heston plays a policeman investigating a murder, who discovers the grisly truth about the primary ingredient in the wafer, soylent green, which is the principal source of nourishment for a starved population. “It’s people. Soylent Green is made out of people,” declares Heston’s character. “They’re making our food out of people. Next thing they’ll be breeding us like cattle for food.”
Oh, how right he was.
Soylent Green is indeed people or, in our case, Soylent Green is our own personal data, repossessed, repackaged and used by corporations and the government to entrap us.
We, too, are being bred like cattle but not for food.
As the insidious partnership between the U.S. government and Corporate America grows more invasive and more subtle with every passing day, there’s virtually no way to opt out of these assaults on your digital privacy short of being a modern-day Luddite, completely disconnected from all technology.
What we desperately lack and urgently need is an Electronic Bill of Rights that protects “we the people” from predatory surveillance and data-mining business practices.
Without constitutional protections in place to guard against encroachments on our rights in the electronic realm, it won’t be long before we find ourselves, much like Edward G. Robinson’s character in Soylent Green, looking back on the past with longing, back to an age where we could speak to whom we wanted, buy what we wanted, think what we wanted without those thoughts, words and activities being tracked, processed and stored by corporate giants such as Google, sold to government agencies such as the NSA and CIA, and used against us by militarized police with their army of futuristic technologies.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
In March 2020, a University of Maryland scientist witnessed a virus latching onto the “neck” of another virus
“”I could see literally hundreds of them had this little guy attached at the neck”
“The small virus, called MiniFlayer, lost the ability to make copies of itself inside cells, which is how viruses reproduce. So evolution devised a clever, parasitic workaround. MiniFlayer takes advantage of another virus, dubbed MindFlayer, by grabbing onto its neck, and when they enter cells together, MiniFlayer utilizes its companion’s genetic machinery to proliferate.
“her collaborator, Ivan Erill, a computational biologist at UMBC, likens it to a vampire sinking its teeth into its prey”
“sometimes, when they find MindFlayer alone, they can find “bite marks” where MiniFlayer’s tendrils were attached.”
“Viruses will do anything. They are the most creative force of nature,” Erill said
viruses called “satellites” have lost their ability to replicate inside cells.
MiniFlayer is a satellite that attaches itself to a “helper” virus, and travels with the helper until they find a cell to infect.
phages are viruses that infect bacterial cells – researchers are interested in using phages, the natural predators of bacteria, as medicine
overwhelming sense of Covid fatigue means the world again faces the prospect of embracing a new era of neglect
when “Disease X” and the next pandemic strikes, we may again be inadequately prepared to mitigate the huge loss of life and economic disruption that we experienced from Covid-19.
non-profit global Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has also launched a bold strategy called ‘Cepi 2.0’ which, in response to future outbreaks, aims to develop a safe and effective vaccine in a mere 100 days
risk of viruses jumping from animals to humans with subsequent human-to-human transmission fuelling another pandemic remains very real given the relentless ongoing impact of climate change, urbanisation and globalisation.
“no one is safe until everyone is”
Singapore has also often been cited as one of the countries which came through the pandemic well – state adopted a whole-of-government and pan-health sector approach that assembled scientists, clinicians, infectious disease and public health experts, regulators, health policy makers and senior government officials in several key committees to ensure a seamless “lab to jab” process for expediting vaccines procurement and mass immunisation.
“Regulatory agility” is an imperative for future pandemic preparedness, given that delayed actions in expediting approval and access to new vaccines resulted in major loss of life and socio-economic disruption
At the global level, partnerships among vaccine-centric international organisations such as Cepi and regulatory agency coalitions could be strengthened and formalised
Collectively address challenges:
1. sustainable financing to support vaccine research
2. reducing regulatory burden
3. combatting vaccine hesitancy
4. promoting equitable vaccines access in low and middle-income countries
In this inter-pandemic phase, we cannot afford to roll back what we have achieved and forget or waste the personal sacrifices made by many
“Trust in science and expertise has been and remains vital for implementing effective control measures”
policy makers must foster international cooperation in preparation for future pandemics while maintaining public confidence in science and experts through clear communication
“Promoting open-access publication and fostering data sharing among researchers is no longer sufficient; we must translate data into comprehensible and actionable insights.”
7 Key priorities:
1. promote evidence-based culture, encourage policy makers to consult scientific experts and consider their recommendations
2. to get & sustain public support, scientists must build bridges between policymakers, society and scientific community
3. regular briefings and meetings where scientist can update policymakers
4. focus on improving scientific literacy among policymakers
5. modeling and scenario planning to help policymakers with decisions
6. regular risk assessments to identify potential pandemic threats
7. policymakers must recognize complexity of today’s threats – public health risks are intertwined with climatic, environmental and social crises – need multidisciplinary and multisectoral approach to tackle interconnected emergencies
GAVI calls on policymakers to establish interdisciplinary One Health committees to bring together policymakers, experts, scientists from various disciplines to analyze scientific evidence, propose strategies and provide guidance to decision makers
GAVI advocates the development of country-level mechanisms that would facilitate discussions between scientists, decision-makers, and the general public.
Actively engaging with the public and the media will be crucial to fostering an understanding of the science behind public-health measures and ensuring that the right messages are communicated clearly and effectively.
An AI developed by Harvard University could turn the tide by allowing us to predict new variants before they arrive. Called EVEscape, the AI is a kind of machine “oracle” for viral evolution.
The algorithm was able to predict frequent mutations and troubling variants for Covid-19 and generated a list of future concerning variants
Tool wasn’t built for Covid-19 only: also accurately predicts variants for flu & HIV
uses evolutionary genomics to peek into a virus’s ancestry, resulting in longer forecasts and, potentially, enough time to plan ahead and fight back.
the AI predicted spike proteins to be the flexible component of the virus mostly likely to evolve.
EVEscape’s superpower is that it can be used with other viruses
Lassa and Nipah viruses, sporadically break out in West African and Southwest Asian countries and have pandemic potential. The viruses can be treated with antibodies, but they rapidly mutate.
EVEscape has the power to predict future variants of viruses—even those yet unknown. It could estimate the risk of a pandemic, potentially keeping us one step ahead the next outbreak.
The team is now using the tool to predict the next SARS-CoV-2 variant.
the new AI toolkit could help thwart the next pandemic
Nov. 10, 2023 (Fortune) – These 4 lethal viruses could fuel the next pandemic, new research says. What they are—and how the world can prepare
“Deaths from a handful of viruses that spill over from animals to humans are set to increase 12-fold by 2050 due to climate change”
New study published in British Medical Journal: “Historical trends demonstrate a pattern of increasingly frequent and severe spillover events of high-consequence zoonotic viruses”
Researchers at Boston-based biotech firm Ginkgo Bioworks honed in on four viruses likely to pose a significant public health risk and endanger economic or political stability. Called zoonotic viruses, they spill over from animals to humans
The 4 viruses are:
1. Ebola & Marburg – cause hemorrhagic fevers with bleeding from bodily orifices and internal organs.
Ebola & Marburg on average kill 50% of the infected, fatality ranges 25 to 90%
There is a vaccine for deadliest Ebola strain, but only 1 of 5 strains
No vaccine for Marburg
2. SARS1 – first coronavirus pandemic in China in 2002
spread to two dozen countries in North & South America & Europe before it was contained 7 months later
fatality rate was 10%
originated in bats, then passed to civet cats, then people
no vaccine for SARS1, researchers working on “universal coronavirus vaccine” for both SARS and COVID
3. Nipah – first identified in pigs in Malaysia and Singapore in late 1980s
natural reservoir is fruit bats
flu-like symptoms that can progress to encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and other neurological symptoms and death
kills 45% to 75% of people it infects
Moderna is working with NIH on an mRNA Vaccine
4. Machupo – known as black typhus, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever
first isolated in Bolivian in 1959
field mouse is natural carrier
Ebola like symptoms: bleeding, high fever, pain, rapid death
kills 25% to 33% of the infected.
no vaccine
Viruses not looked at by the study: Lassa, Zika, Influenza
Bloody fevers lead outbreaks, deaths
more than half the outbreaks they studied were Marburg & Ebola
the number of viral spill-over events of these four viruses from animals to humans increased by 5% annually from 1963 through 2019.
Deaths from these four viruses increased by 9% each year during that period.
In 2020, the four viruses likely caused about 1,216 deaths combined
Conclusion: spill-over events “are not an aberration or random cluster, but follow a multi-decade trend in which [such] epidemics have become both larger and more frequent,” the authors wrote, adding, “urgent action is needed.”
COVID-19 is now widely monitored in wastewater, as are flu, RSV, Monkeypox
if pre-existing wastewater surveillance systems are able to screen for potential pandemic pathogens like Ebola, Nipah, and others, giving experts a warning that an outbreak may soon occur
wastewater programs at major international airports like those stood up during the pandemic could alert public health officials to the arrival of such pathogens from overseas
CDC announced it will be expanding its respiratory viral surveillance of international travelers.
In 2022, CDC launched its Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program (TGS),a public-private partnership to serve as an early-warning detection system at U.S. airports for COVID-19 variants.
The voluntary program involves taking nasal samples from international travelers coming into the U.S., with select positive samples being sent to the CDC.
The program is a partnership with Ginkgo Bioworks and XpresCheck.
CDC will expand these efforts by testing for more than 30 other additional pathogens, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the flu.
TGS program, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, acted as an early warning system to detect new and rare variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and will do the same for other respiratory viruses going forward.”
This pilot program will launch at four U.S. airports: Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco Airport, Logan International Airport and Dulles Airport.
TGS has enrolled more than 360,000 anonymous volunteers, covering flights from 135 countries.
TGS program is a “global leader in the evolution of biosecurity”
Nov. 4, 2023 (Daily Mail) – Next pandemic deemed the ‘Big One’ could be the most contagious and deadliest disease known to humanity, scientists warn
next pandemic, dubbed the ‘Big One,’ could be ‘simmering in the background,’ waiting to unleash the most contagious and deadliest diseases known to humanity.
paramyxovirus family has over 75 viruses, including mumps, measles and respiratory tract infections
Nipah virus has fatality rate up to 75% compared to < 1% for COVID
Just imagine if a paramyxovirus emerged that was as contagious as measles and as deadly as Nipah – 2011 film Contagion was based on this exact kind of imagined paramyxovirus.
“Influenza has been sequenced to death” – hat this is not the case for paramyxoviruses because most people infected with one of the more than 75 viruses do not survive
‘In addition to known viruses, on average, two novel viruses appear in humans each year – Many of these viruses have pandemic potential
Strengthening Australia’s Pandemic Preparedness, a report published in 2022, addresses paramyxoviruses: ‘As the world continues to better understand these connections between human, animal, plant and environmental health, viruses are moving from animals to humans at ‘alarming rates.
“Disease X Strategy” – have a range of platforms ready to choose from that can be rapidly applied when an unknown Disease X arises
Example: ChAdOx viral-vector platform was ready in 2016 – AstraZeneca vaccine was rapidly developed using ChAdOx platform, putting 3 billion doses into the market.
During COVID-19, many countries regretted they did not have sovereign vaccine manufacturing capability that would have given them ability to produce product to vaccinate their citizens
Having sovereign vaccine capability requires a large investment in building and maintaining infrastructure that will be able to manufacture needed vaccines
In the future, international collaborations and alliances are critical to develop and make vaccines using validated platforms and reproduce the needed vaccine at designated manufacturing sites around the world
This should ultimately prove to provide faster, more equitable vaccine distribution and deploy a truly global fight against a pandemic from the beginning.
Some 1.6 million viruses are estimated to lurk in the world’s mammalian and avian wildlife, up to half of which could spill over into humans
Three main families of viruses, more than most others, keep scientists up at night: flu viruses, coronaviruses, and paramyxoviruses, in descending order of threat
Influenza: some scientists worry that another major human outbreak may be brewing now, as multipleH5 flu viruses continue to spread from birds to mammals
Coronaviruses: past two decades have also featured three major and deadly coronavirus outbreaks: the original SARS epidemic that began in late 2002; MERS, which spilled into humans—likely from camels—in 2012; and SARS-CoV-2, the pandemic pathogen that’s been plaguing us since the end of 2019.
Paramyxoviruses, meanwhile, have mostly been “simmering in the background”
paramyxoviruses haven’t yet been caught causing a pandemic “but they seem poised to do so”
paramyxoviruses can spread through the air, sometimes very rapidly. That’s certainly been the case with measles, a paramyxovirus that is “literally the most transmissible human virus on the planet
paramyxoviruses are found in a wide range of animals
“the world may soon encounter a new paramyxovirus that’s both highly transmissible and ultra deadly—an “absolutely catastrophic” scenario that could dwarf the death toll of any epidemic in recent memory.”
genetic stability of paramyxoviruses can also make them straightforward to vaccinate against
“The devil we don’t know can be just as frightening,” if not more
A pattern-defying paramyxovirus may already be readying itself to jump.
WHO highlights Nipah virus as a top-priority pathogen, NIH has it on a list of “essential pathogens to study”, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is funding Nipah antiviral drugs
several new Nipah vaccines “may soon be ready to debut”
Paramyxoviruses aren’t regularly surveilled for
researchers still don’t know exactly how paramyxoviruses move into new species, or what mutations they would need to become more transmissible among us
paramyxoviruses like mumps and measles could also become “potential pandemic agents”
next pandemic has excellent chance of starting with a spillover from animals, in parts of the world where we’ve invaded wild habitats
German Health Minister Lauterbach stressed that due to climate change, more pandemics are anticipated, emphasizing that actors such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as countries such as the US and Germany, are actively mobilizing resources and funds to prepare
International agreement must be reached for the world to be better prepared for a new pandemic.
concern that the world may not react in time to the threat of climate change
Sep. 23, 2023 (WION) – ‘Disease X’ likely to prove 20 times deadlier compared to COVID-19, hints expert
experts are now sounding the alarm around “Disease X,” after WHO coined the term. The experts have issued a warning that this potential new pandemic can lead to 20 times more fatalities compared to the coronavirus.
Disease X can lead to 50 million fatalities
1918-19 flu pandemic killed at least 50 million people worldwide, twice as many as were killed in World War I. Today, we could expect a similar death toll from one of the many viruses that already exist
“the world will have to prepare for mass vaccination drives and deliver the doses in record time.“
Imagine Disease X is as infectious as measles with the fatality rate of Ebola [67%]. Somewhere in the world, it’s replicating, and sooner or later, somebody will start feeling sick,
increase in outbreaks can be attributed to the growing trend of more people gathering in urban areas – continual destruction of millions of acres of natural habitat every year.
75% of emerging infectious diseases originate in animals and then leap from species to species until they can, in certain circumstances, infect human beings
My Take…
I read 11 mainstream media Propaganda articles so you don’t have to. I’ll cut right through the BS.
Next Pandemic (“Disease X”) is coming very soon (my guess, within a few months)
It will be blamed on “Climate Change”, causing a jump from animals to humans. The media is conditioning the public to expect something “exotic”, hence the stories of “vampire virus”, “new viruses discovered”, “Disease X” and so on.
Disease X will apparently claim 50 million lives (a 2018 Simulation Exercise run by Johns Hopkins called “Clade X” claimed 150 million lives over 20 months)
Candidates for Disease X:
Nipah is most attractive but it’s also too obvious. Why it’s attractive:
has non-specific respiratory symptoms, neurologic symptoms or can be asymptomatic, with symptoms appearing 4-14 days after exposure (perfect for propaganda purposes of “asymptomatic spread” requiring mRNA vaccination – because you don’t know who was exposed, so everyone must get vaccinated)
fruit bat is natural host (can bring in “climate change” argument)
45-75% fatality rate
2011 Matt Damon movie “Contagion” was based on this exact kind of imagined paramyxovirus.
Disease X could be Nipah or even more likely, a related paramyxovirus. They could then say the mRNA Nipah vaccine works for Disease X as well. They keep saying that COVID-19 and Influenza have been “sequenced to death” but there is still a mystery surrounding paramyxoviruses.
CEPI (formed by WEF and Gates Foundation) has a strategy to get new mRNA vaccines out within 100 days. This is what the next pandemic is all about.
Starting Nov.6, 2023, CDC is expanding respiratory viral surveillance of international travelers with 360,000 “anonymous volunteers” taking nasal samples and testing for 30 pathogens, covering flights from 135 countries. This is probably the most ominous news I’ve read yet.
Happening at 4 US airports: Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco Airport, Logan International Airport and Dulles Airport.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be employed to “predict” evolution of Disease X variants. Could be an interesting way to bring AI into healthcare.
Articles push the idea of a “Globally co-ordinated Pandemic Response” with “designated vaccine manufacturing sites around the world” ensuring “vaccine equity” (everyone gets the poison). This is where the new WHO Pandemic Treaty comes in (I’ll cover it in a future article).
“The world may soon encounter a new paramyxovirus that’s both highly transmissible and ultra deadly—an “absolutely catastrophic” scenario that could dwarf the death toll of any epidemic in recent memory.”
“Imagine Disease X is as infectious as measles with the fatality rate of Ebola [67%]. Somewhere in the world, it’s replicating, and sooner or later, somebody will start feeling sick”
“The world will have to prepare for mass vaccination drives and deliver the doses in record time.”
This is what they’re telegraphing. Do not comply with any future measures, under any circumstances.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
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 LifeSiteNews
The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity
by Michel Chossudovsky
Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.
“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”
Reviews
This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon
In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia
In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig
Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac
A reading of Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late. You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin
ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0, Year: 2022, PDF Ebook, Pages: 164, 15 Chapters
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Pakistan’s caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti ordered on October 4 for “illegal immigrants” to vacate the country by the end of the month, a move which threatens to spark another migration crisis in Europe. Although Europe is focused on dealing with refugees from Ukraine and Palestine, it is naïve to the looming refugee crisis that Pakistan can cause if it goes ahead with the mass deportations of Afghans, many of whom fled Taliban rule.
Although Pakistan announced on November 10, after receiving backlash from human rights organisations, that it had extended the legal residence status of about 1.4 million Afghan refugees until year-end, it again rejected calls to halt deportations of the millions of Afghans.
On November 8, Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar announced that more than 250,000 Afghanis had voluntarily returned home despite the threat from Taliban rule. Although Kabul denounced the deportations and demanded Islamabad reconsider it, in addition to criticism from the UN and human rights groups which cited a humanitarian crisis and expressed fears that the move could expose returnees to retribution and abuses by Taliban authorities, Pakistan appears unmoved in its decision to expel millions of illegal immigrants.
“Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan’s security problem. As long as they [Afghans] leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding that Pakistani authorities should reconsider this “unacceptable” policy.
The behavior of Pakistan against Afghan refugees is unacceptable. The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan. Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan's security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them.
— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) October 4, 2023
From the Taliban’s perspective, they are already dealing with enormous challenges to provide for the population, and the return of millions more Afghans, mostly hostile to their rule, will only compound their desperate situation.
At the same time, though, Afghan refugees in Pakistan have complained of waves of arbitrary detentions, harassment, and forcible deportation. Pakistani authorities said they would confiscate money and property belonging to “illegal foreigners,” and the interior ministry opened a hotline for Pakistanis to report any “illegal foreigners” they are aware of.
Police also warned that landlords and firms renting to and employing Afghans lacking proper documents would receive fines. Registered refugees have also reported that police raided their homes, confiscated property, destroyed Proof of Registration cards, arrested without charge and demanded bribes.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemned Islamabad’s decision to evict over one million illegal foreign residents within 30 days, especially for the reason given – Afghans in the country have links to criminal groups and terrorist organisations.
“This decision also contravenes international human rights law and must be reversed immediately,” the rights body said in a statement, adding that holding every Afghan refugee accountable “reflects not only an absence of compassion but also a myopic and narrow view of national security.”
“The large majority of such people are vulnerable Afghan refugees and stateless persons for whom Pakistan has been home for several generations,” the HRCP said on X.
The government's decision to evict over one million 'illegal' foreign residents within 30 days – allegedly because they have links to terrorist and criminal groups – reflects not only an absence of compassion but also a myopic and narrow view of national security. The large…
— Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) October 4, 2023
With European eyes on Israel-Palestine, and now to a lesser degree on Ukraine, if millions of Afghans were booted out of Pakistan and unwilling or unable to return to Afghanistan, it can be expected that a new refugee crisis will start at the borders of the European Union akin to the one triggered at the peak of the Syrian War and without the bloc being sufficiently prepared for it. In effect, this crisis in Pakistan could become a European problem since neighbouring Iran or the next country in line, Turkey, will be unwilling to host millions more refugees and will instead push them onward to Europe. Being hosted in neighbouring China is also out of the question.
However, some European conservatives are already noting the potentiality of this scenario and are calling for Pakistan to act since they bear responsibility for much of the war and destabilisation in the country. Pakistan first started funding, training, and supporting Islamist groups in Afghanistan to oppose the secular and progressive Soviet-backed Republic of Afghanistan from 1979-1989, helped bring the Taliban to power in 1996, and continued to support Islamist groups during the American occupation from 2001 to 2021. Therefore, in their view, it is a problem for Pakistan to deal with Afghans and not Europe.
US-based research and polling organisation Gallup warned on November 10 that economic uncertainty awaits returnees in Afghanistan, where women’s rights have eroded as they are forced out of the workplace.
“As thousands of Afghans are forced to cross the border from Pakistan, they face an economy unable to accommodate them, where job prospects are bleak, household incomes are squeezed, and millions are unable to afford the basic necessities of food and shelter,” the organisation said.
Since Pakistan is expelling them and it is unlikely Afghanistan will absorb and/or accept the millions of refugees, it can be expected that many them will try their luck in making it to Europe since few other options remain for them. It seemingly appears that Europe is not prepared for this as Gaza and Ukraine consume all their attention.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
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.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
What a bitter irony that the Israeli aggressor has so flagrantly leaped over the line to enter and defile its own “Never Again” precaution.
Former UK MP, George Galloway, understands the exact implications of this defilement. On 12 November he described as a Holocaust the obscenity of the spectacle of mass murder underway in Gaza. For half a century Galloway has been a constant voice of justice for the Palestinians. In calling the attacks on the people of Gaza a Holocaust, Galloway said,
“Its a premeditated all-out genocidal crazed assault on captive people with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. The Palestinians are being put down in an industrial scale of killing.”
The diabolical character of applied Zionism has been put openly on display for all the world to see. There is no hiding the appallingly ugly nature of the vicious “war” declared by the Israeli government on the so-called “human animals” penned up in Gaza as well as Israel’s undeclared war against the Palestinians in the West Bank.
The evidence keeps mounting, exposing the duplicitous role of Netanyahu who needs this war to stay out of jail. The deranged Netanyahu was instrumental in engineering the lethal pretext of this attempt to annihilate the remaining Palestinians under Israeli control. An added element of this plan includes the Israeli design to deport any Palestinian survivors to tents camps in the Sinai Desert in Egypt.
Zionism emerges from the Jewish Supremacist heritage rooted especially in Talmudic commentaries written during and since the era of Babylon. The demeaning treatment of non-Jews has been charted, renewed and elaborated in many commentaries written by the Talmud’s rabbinic authors right up to the present day. See this.
This Talmudic heritage merged at the time of Zionism’s inception in the late 1800s, with the pervasive ethos of ethnocentric imperialistic nationalism that pervaded the Victorian era during its zenith.
The core of the Zionist project involved the creation of a mostly European Jewish nation to be injected into the Arab realm at the nexus point of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Jews of mostly European origin are often described as Ashkenazi. They tend to dominate pyramids of Zionist power both inside and outside Israel.
The influence of Zionism has not been corralled within geographic or even perceptual realms of circumscribed existence. As we are presently seeing, Zionism has come to exercise many forms of decisive control over the governing agencies in many countries wherever this formidable international network of wealth and power has taken root.
Currently governing authorities especially in so-called “Western” countries are lining up to support, back and contribute to the Zionist assault on the Indigenous Arab Palestinians under Israeli control. The same authorities have been quick to penalize and blacklist any of their own citizens who manifest a will to condemn and criticize the armed slaughter of stateless Palestinians in Gaza as well as in the Occupied Territories of the West Bank area.
A great schism is opening up between the perspective of those in positions of Zionist-sanctioned authority and the perspectives of many average people who are horrified by what they see taking place in Gaza. With only rare exceptions the authorities are backing and even celebrating the grotesque actions of the Zionist forces engaged in the merciless slaughter of Palestinian people, but especially woman and children.
Significantly, Jews are well represented among Zionists pushing the genocidal attacks on Palestinian people as well as in the protest groups demanding at the very least a ceasefire agreement. Many include in this demand the call for a halt to the most egregious facets of the ongoing genocide of Palestinians that began in 1948. This genocide changed gear into preplanned overdrive beginning with the still-unexplained events of 7 October.
A divide of great significance is being exposed in the schism between both Jewish and Christian Zionists mostly in positions of authority, and the portion of the population, including a significant number of Jews, represented in numerous pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
This schism currently on display is not part of the divide-and-conquer tactics that our upper level governors regularly foment, encourage and cultivate to cause humanity to keep fighting among ourselves rather than unite against our oppressors. This tactic forms a well known strategy often employed to keep in power the predators at the top.
The growing focus on the malevolence of Zionism and the total lack of respect by its adherents for the rule of law, let alone the dignity of human life, is self-evident right now. Unmistakable is the ruthless nature of the process where the most unscrupulous contestants for power and wealth break through into the upper echelons of control and domination over humanity.
This hideous circumstance is being placed front and centre right before our eyes for all those willing to look and see. With the facts of Gaza staring us in the face, there is nothing but hypocrisy infecting anyone that pretends anymore that we inhabit a society of laws, respect for human rights, and upward mobility through merit and hard work. Any illusion that we live in democracies composed of the people, by the people and for the people has become completely absurd in the world we presently inhabit.
Thomas Jefferson, the main drafter of the Declaration of Independence, has been completely pre-empted by governments that have lost any right to claim legitimacy for their actions on the basis of the consent of the governed. The principles outlined by John Locke is his Two Treatises on Government, a favourite text of the US founders, simply do not apply.
The obscene spectacle in Gaza being pressed forward supposedly in our name demonstrates that “We the people” have almost no say whatsoever in what goes on with our bought-and-paid-for rulers who take many of their cues from Zionist operatives. These Zionist overlords have immensely disproportionate access to fiat money used to bribe politicians and determine the kind of media coverage afforded to those seeking or holding elected office.
The rigging of the financial system, the media system, and the political system goes hand in hand with the rigging of courts, of Internet search engines and of all levels of education. Who can doubt that Zionists played a significant role in rigging of the financial system in a way that encouraged the US to become by far the world’s dominant military superpower.
Especially since 2001, the permanent war economy of the United States enabled it to become the main protagonist in wars for Israel. These wars happened with regularity after the Zionist rigging of the 9/11 terror spectacle used to create the kind of optics presently helping to drive forward Netanyahu’s psychotic spectacle in Gaza, complete with two US aircraft carriers nearby to intimidate the natives.
The fast-evolving war in Israel and increasingly in Lebanon too, could become a full-fledged regional war or worse at any time. The war is being expressed in a variety of ways as conflicts develop in many countries but especially in the United States. There especially intense and high-stakes antagonisms are unfolding in the Ivy League law schools and in the biggest and richest law firms.
Law Schools and Law Firms Engage in Zionist-Palestinian Conflicts
Big donors to the law schools have been delivering ultimatums to, for instance, the leadership of institutions like Harvard, Penn State and Columbia Universities. These donors like Bill Ackman, Leslie Wexner and Marc Rowan have threatened to withdraw funding if the leadership of the law faculties don’t crack down on what they consider to be “anti-Semitism” among students. A catalyst to the process occurred on 8 October when Ackman called on Harvard to ‘umask” all Harvard students that signed a “pro-Palestine petition” following the engineered Gaza prison break that took place the prior day.
Law firm, Davis, Polk and Wardell, moved on this threat revoking job offers to Harvard and Columbia students that had signed statements critical of the Israeli government. The momentum flowing from these actions reached a new threshold on 1 November. That was the day when 24 of the largest law firms in the USA wrote to all of the top law schools making threats that if any of the schools did not do more to “eliminate anti-Semitism” from their institutions, none of their students would ever receive employment offers from any of the 24 law firms.
As Josephus Tiberius writes in “Jews Declare War on America,”
“Presumably these firms either have been taken over completely by Jewish senior partners or have so many Jewish clients that they felt compelled to issue this mind-boggling statement. These law firms and banks are — apart from the hi-tech employers on the West Coast — the principal bastion of high paying jobs and influential careers in the United States. If all but sycophants of the Jews are cut off from these firms, the result will be a collapsing disaster for the freedom and economic prospects of the rest of America.
If these threats are carried out, this is nothing short of a disaster for non-Jewish Americans. This is, in a word, a direct frontal assault on every non-Jewish American.”
This essay by Tiberius offers a revealing window into many otherwise invisible aspects of Zionist power in the United States. In this case much is being brought to light about the ethics and propensities of those senior officials charged to safeguard the apparatus of the rule of law.
The episode exposes the sense of entitlement felt by the Zionist operatives at the top of the chain of command in the legal establishment. It reveals much about the kind of considerations that control who gets embraced or spurned in the contest for America’s top jobs. It speaks eloquently of the tremendous biases and prejudices that have been institutionalized in core networks of privilege and authority at the heart of America’s power structure.
All kinds of telling developments in the United States are indicating how things have changed since 7 October. For instance the Zionist decision makers at MSNBC decided to suspend the three Muslim anchors on the network. Zionist Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, issued an unconstitutional “decree” aimed at outlawing various forms of gatherings on Florida campuses. These banned assemblies are those that call for an end to the Israeli government’s genocidal actions in Gaza. What are we being told when top officials outlaw opposition to genocide?
The End of the Zionist Project?
Some are beginning to assert that on logistical grounds, the Israeli government and its US backers are beginning to lose to a better prepared and more steadfast opponent. This opponent is able to sustain resistance by exploiting networks of tunnels built by Hamas underneath Gaza.
A similar strategy worked well for Ho Chi Minh’s and the Viet Cong in their war with the United States. Why should not the same strategy work for the military defenders of the Palestinians? See this.
The Jewish proponents of Zionism backed up by the much more numerous group of Christian Zionists are exposing the violent and absurd nature of their creed’s actions in real world conditions. How much longer can this psychopathic experiment in the most radical expression of twenty-first century colonialism continue? Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the Zionist project? Is it true that this crisis is “bringing the masses into the equation of power dynamics”?
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr. Anthony Hallis 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).
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The diplomatic community was shocked when US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, claimed alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, “…I come as a Jew.” This broke diplomatic rules and norms which prohibit interjecting yourself, and your personal culture, while representing a nation and its interests.
Blinken explained he was raised by a step-father who was a holocaust survivor. These childhood memories of stories related to him of suffering and genocide in Europe became part of his identity.
Lt. Col. James Spencer Cleverly is a British politician and Army Reserve officer who has served as Foreign Secretary since 2022, and is Blinken’s counterpart.
Image: Jerusalem, Israel. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Ministers Office in Jerusalem. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street (Licensed under CC BY 2.0)
In 2020, he was appointed Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa, and in December 2021 he became Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa and North America.
His mother, Evelyn Suna Cleverly, was raised under British colonial rule in Sierra Leone. She migrated to Britain in the mid-1960’s, became a nurse and raised her son James to be an example of what is possible when given a fair chance.
Evelyn likely told her son stories of her childhood, and may have explained the differences in her life under colonial rule, which were far different than the culture her son was raised in.
When Evelyn left, South Africa was in the dark days of Apartheid. She would have been familiar with the struggles and deprivations of her neighbors to the south. James Cleverly likely grew up with an understanding of what Apartheid means, and the inhumane circumstances many people are forced to live in outside of the United Kingdom.
G7 Meeting
On November 7, Cleverly said from the G7 meeting in Tokyo, the UK is calling for a pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
While supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, Cleverly said Israel “must defend itself within the framework of international law.” With the number of dead in Gaza now quickly rising well over 10,000 after a month of airstrikes, Britain will continue to raise the issue and call on Israel to abide by international law, according to Cleverly.
On October 21, Cleverly spoke from a summit in Cairo saying,
“And we are also clear that we must work, and they must work, to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and that their actions are in accordance with international law.”
He added:
“I have spoken directly to the Israeli Government about their duty to respect international law and the importance of preserving civilian lives in Gaza.”
“Despite the incredibly difficult circumstances, I have called for discipline and professionalism and restraint from the Israeli military,” said Lt. Col. Cleverly.
Gaza Occupation Forever
On November 7, Cleverly cautioned Israel that “security responsibility” in Gaza should only be temporary, responding to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement saying Israel would maintain “overall security responsibility” in Gaza for an “indefinite period” after defeating Hamas.
Cleverly’s position mirrors Blinken’s position, which does not want to see Gaza under Israeli military occupation as a final solution to the conflict.
“The UK position is clear. It is unchanging. We want to see a two-state solution where a Palestinian state and an Israeli state are living side by side in peace and prosperity, “said Cleverly.
The meeting of G7 foreign ministers of the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy ended with a statement condemning Hamas, supporting Israel’s right to self-defense and calling for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting to speed up aid for desperate Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Apartheid
In March 2022, Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 stated that Israel fits the definition of an Apartheid state.
The Special Rapporteur said that a political regime which so intentionally and clearly prioritizes fundamental political, legal and social rights to one group over another within the same geographic unit on the basis of one’s racial-national-ethnic identity satisfies the international legal definition of apartheid.
On November 6, ANC MP Nkosi Mandela, from Royal House of Mandela in South Africa said,
“We will keep mobilizing South Africans until the apartheid Israel ambassador is expelled and all diplomatic ties with apartheid Israel are cut. We appeal to them to follow this up with expelling the apartheid Israeli ambassador and cutting all diplomatic ties in light of the flagrant disregard for international law, basic humanity and regard for the value of human life as outlined in the Geneva Convention.”
Genocide
“We remain convinced that the Palestinian people are at grave risk of genocide,” the UN experts said recently. “The time for action is now. Israel’s allies also bear responsibility and must act now to prevent its disastrous course of action,” they said.
On November 8, Ione Belarra, Spain’s Minister for Social Rights, accused Israel of a “planned genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza.
On November 6, South Africa’s government recalled its ambassador and diplomatic mission to Israel in condemnation of the bombardment of the Gaza Strip, calling it a “genocide.”
The President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said recently, “This is not a war; this is genocide.”
Colonialism
Sierra Leone was colonized by a group of British men who brought the “Black Poor” of London, descendants of slaves owned in Britain, to West Africa under a scheme to repatriate the “Black Poor” to Africa since “it was necessary they should be sent somewhere, and be no longer suffered to infest the streets of London”.
In the case of Israel, it is settler-colonialism, where many American Jews have come to the Palestinian lands of the Occupied West Bank, and have invaded, occupied, and set up a two-tiered set of rights. The Palestinians have no rights at all, and the Jewish settlers have all the rights. These settlements are illegal under international law, but Netanyahu continues to expand them as his primary goal when he took office.
In both 2020 and 2021 Cleverly voiced concerns of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and accompanying famine, which demonstrates his soft-heart for humanity.
Cleverly and Blinken both have the same job, and for long-standing allied nations. But, their personal mindset and understanding of the conflict in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank are different and perhaps due to childhood lessons learned from parents.
Cleverly has the right intent: urging that humanitarian needs be put before military conquests. He has asked for the final solution, which the international community agreed upon decades ago, the Two-State solution under the UN resolution parameters.
However noble and just Cleverly is personally, he cannot realize any of his goals for the UK because Blinken and US President Joe Biden hold the keys to alleviating the suffering of Palestinians.
On November 8, Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter, urged sanctions against Israel and an investigation of the bombings of hospitals and refugee camps in Gaza.
Diplomats the world over know one fact, though it is not taught in textbooks; only the United States of America can move Israel on any issue. The keys kept in the Oval Office are the keys which can unlock a future of peace and prosperity for both Israelis and Palestinians.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
For years, Ukraine was recognized as one of the most, if not “the” most, corrupt nation in Europe. The country is now struggling to rein in corruption as that is becoming a key hurdle to obtain more financial support
According to official aid trackers, the U.S. had sent $76.8 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as of the end of July 2023. The European Union contributed another $85.1 billion in that same timeframe. In mid-October 2023, Biden proposed yet another $105 billion foreign aid package, $61 billion of which will go to Ukraine
According to U.S. officials, at least 70,000 of Ukraine’s 500,000 troops had been killed by mid-August 2023, and another 100,000 to 120,000 wounded. Another 9,614 Ukrainian civilians had also been killed as of September 10, 2023
The supply of cannon fodder is running so low that Ukraine recently updated its conscription law to include women. Women between the ages of 18 and 60 with medical backgrounds must register for military service as of October 1, 2023
Corruption may be a primary driver of this war. The American public being robbed and Ukraine drained of its youths while a relatively small number of corrupt individuals stuff their pockets with cash. American and European taxpayers are paying for the destruction of Ukraine and the elimination of huge numbers of its inhabitants, so that technocrat globalists and central bankers can then profit from the privatization and rebuilding of Ukraine into a “smart country” model for the rest of the world
*
For years, Ukraine was recognized as one of the most, if not “the” most, corrupt nation in Europe. It held on to that reputation all the way up to the day Russia invaded in late February 2022, at which point media worldwide suddenly started rewriting history.
As noted by Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, in a sober and clear-eyed article, published in April 2022:1
“Statements from U.S. and other Western officials, as well as pervasive accounts in the news media, have created a stunningly misleading image of Ukraine. There has been a concerted effort to portray the country… as a plucky and noble bulwark of freedom and democracy …
The notion that Ukraine was such an appealing democratic model in Eastern Europe that the country’s mere existence terrified Putin … is a myth … Even before the war erupted, there were ugly examples of authoritarianism in Ukraine’s political governance …
The neo-Nazi Azov Battalion was an integral part of President Petro Poroshenko’s military and security apparatus, and it has retained that role during Zelensky’s presidency …
The country is not a symbol of freedom and liberal democracy, and the war is not an existential struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. At best, Ukraine is a corrupt, quasi‐democratic entity with troubling repressive policies.
Given that sobering reality, calls for Americans to ‘stand with Ukraine’ are misplaced. Preserving Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity most certainly are not worth the United States risking war with a nuclear-armed Russia.”
Indeed, while President Biden kept sending tens of billions of American taxpayer dollars to Ukraine in the name of “defending democracy,” Zelensky banned all opposition parties in the country and blacklisted American politicians and journalists who questioned the U.S. involvement in the conflict.2 So much for democracy and democratic values.
Is Ukraine Aid Part of a Money Laundering Scheme?
According to the Panama Papers3,4 released in 2016, which have been described as “a giant leak of more than 11.5 million financial and legal records [which] exposes a system that enables crime, corruption and wrongdoing,” Zelensky is likely just as corrupt as his predecessors, as he, his wife and several associates all own “hidden offshore assets.”
With that in mind, why is the U.S. sending billions of dollars to Ukraine without requiring any kind of accounting for where all this money is going? According to official aid trackers, the U.S. had sent $76.8 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as of the end of July 2023.5,6
The European Union contributed another $85.1 billion in that same timeframe.7 And, in mid-October 2023, Biden proposed yet another $105 billion foreign aid package, $61 billion of which will go to Ukraine.8,9
The lack of oversight combined with the lack of Ukrainian progress in the conflict and the refusal to enter into peace negotiations raises suspicions that these aid packages may simply be another money laundering scheme like we saw with FTX.10,11 At least $178 million sent to Ukraine through the now-defunct FTX crypto exchange may have been laundered back to the Democratic Party in the U.S.12
Ukraine Still Rife with Corruption
Lately, mainstream media have started to revisit the issue of corruption in Ukraine, probably because public perception of corruption may undermine the entire operation.
For example, October 2, 2023, Politico reported receiving a “sensitive but unclassified” strategy paper in which Biden administration officials warn that “Perceptions of high-level corruption” could “undermine the Ukrainian public’s and foreign leaders’ confidence in the war-time government.” According to Politico:13
“The administration wants to press Ukraine to cut graft … But being too loud about the issue could embolden opponents of U.S. aid to Ukraine, many of them Republican lawmakers who are trying to block such assistance. Any perception of weakened American support for Kyiv also could cause more European countries to think twice about their role.
Ukrainian graft has long been a concern of U.S. officials … But the topic was deemphasized in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion …
More than a year into the full-scale war, U.S. officials are pressing the matter more in public and private. National security adviser Jake Sullivan, for instance, met in early September with a delegation from Ukrainian anti-corruption institutions.
A second U.S. official familiar with the discussions confirmed to POLITICO reports that the Biden administration is talking to Ukrainian leaders about potentially conditioning future economic aid on ‘reforms to tackle corruption and make Ukraine a more attractive place for private investment.’”
No such conditions have been proposed for military aid, however, which makes up the bulk of the money spent on Ukraine. Similarly, in mid-September 2023, Reuters reported14 that “billions of dollars of aid earmarked for Zelensky’s government as well as ambitions to join the European Union ride on Ukraine proving that it is serious about fighting corruption and embracing good governance.”
Zelensky, for his part, has increasingly tried to portray himself as a staunch corruption fighter, firing more than a dozen senior officials on corruption charges in January 2023.
In August he also fired all the heads of the draft offices across the country, after it became known that men were bribing their way out of military service by paying for medical exemptions.15 In September he also fired his minister of defense over allegations of corruption within the ministry. A Ukrainian Supreme Court justice was also arrested this past summer for taking bribes.16
Yet, such mass firings and arrests of high-level individuals have done little to quell rumors and accusations that Zelensky still tolerates corruption within his inner circle,17 perhaps because it’s true. According to a top adviser to Zelensky, who spoke to a Time journalist off the record, “People are stealing like there’s no tomorrow.”18
An Expensive Unwinnable War
In a September 2023 meeting with U.S. senators, Zelensky pleaded for more funds saying “You’re giving money. We’re giving our lives.”19 Indeed, according to U.S. officials, at least 70,000 of Ukraine’s 500,000 troops had been killed by mid-August 2023, and another 100,000 to 120,000 wounded.20
Another 9,614 Ukrainian civilians had also been killed as of September 10, 2023.21 So many Ukrainian youths have been thrown into the meat grinder that the average age of Ukrainian soldiers is now 43. Men up to the age of 60 face the risk of being drafted at any time.
The supply of cannon fodder is running so low that Ukraine recently updated its conscription law to include women.22 Women between the ages of 18 and 60 with medical backgrounds, including doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists and pharmacists, must register for military service as of October 1, 2023.
However, unlike their male counterparts, women are not barred from leaving the country unless they’re called in for active duty.23,24 Ukraine is also trying to get as many Ukrainians back from other countries as well. To that end, Norway recently announced it will pay EUR 1,500 in cash to any Ukrainian willing to go home.25
Yet despite the enormous sums of money being poured into Ukraine, the weapons sent, the conscription of women and aged civilians, Ukraine is making no headway and have no conceivable way of winning. Even some of Zelensky’s closest aides are now saying he’s “deluding himself” thinking he can still somehow win.26
NATO countries are running out of ammunition and warn of shortages,27 while Russia has ramped up its military hardware production more than tenfold.28 And, even if we continue to supply the weapons, Ukraine is running out of able-bodied fighters to use them.29
Preplanned Post-War Profiteering
In the final analysis, one wonders whether corruption might actually be a primary driver of this war. Is the American public being robbed and Ukraine drained of its youths while a relatively small number of corrupt individuals stuff their pockets with cash?
It looks that way, especially in light of the news that BlackRock, which already owns most of the private assets in the world, is positioning itself to profit from a post-war Ukraine. As reported by Business Today in early May 2023:30
“President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, recently met with the management team of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, to discuss the creation of an investment fund aimed at restoring the country’s economy through public and private capital. Netzines have not taken well to the news with many criticizing Zelensky over the meeting.
A Twitter user said, ‘Taxpayers pay the war bills, private firms get the profits.’ ‘Ukraine being privatized and sold off to companies like Blackrock,’ another said.
According to the press service of the Office of the President, the parties discussed the details of the investment fund’s creation and implementation of large-scale business projects in Ukraine.”
The U.S. is also keen on Ukraine privatizing its banks,31 which will open the door for central bankers to take over. And let’s not forget that the big picture plan for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction is to turn the whole country into smart cities with “smart governments” run by artificial intelligence.32,33
It’s also a testing ground for warfare-related AI technologies34,35 said to be “paving the way for AI warfare in the future,”36 although it doesn’t appear to provide them with much advantage at the moment.
In short, it appears American and European taxpayers are paying for the destruction of Ukraine and the elimination of huge numbers of its inhabitants, so that technocrat globalists and central bankers can then profit from the privatization and rebuilding of Ukraine into a “smart country” model for the rest of the world.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Featured image: APR-23-2022 Press conference of Volodymyr Zelenskyy the President of Ukraine during Russian Ukrainian war at Kyiv Metro station to protect against air strikes. Kyiv, Ukraine
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The Zionist Story, an independent film by Ronen Berelovich, is the story of ethnic cleansing, colonialism and apartheid to produce a demographically Jewish State.
Ronen successfully combines archival footage with commentary from himself and others such as Ilan Pappe, Terry Boullata, Alan Hart and Jeff Halper.
“I have recently finished an independent documentary, The Zionist Story, in which I aim to present not just the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but also the core reason for it: the Zionist ideology, its goals (past and present) and its firm grip not only on Israeli society, but also, increasingly, on the perception of Middle East issues in Western democracies.
These concepts have already been demonstrated in the excellent ‘Occupation 101′ documentary made by Abdallah Omeish and Sufyan Omeish, but in my documentary I approach the subject from the perspective of an Israeli, ex-reserve soldier and someone who has spent his entire life in the shadow of Zionism.
I hope you can find a moment to watch The Zionist Story and, if you like it, please feel free to share it with others. (As both the documentary and the archived footage used are for educational purposes only, the film can be freely distributed).
I have made this documentary entirely by myself, with virtually no budget, although doing my best to achieve high professional standard, and I hope that this ‘home-spun’ production will be of interest to viewers.” – Ronen Berelovich.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Featured image: Statue of the founder of Zionism Theodor Herzl, unveiled in 2012 at the Mikveh Israel synagogue in Tel Aviv. It is called “Herzl meets Emperor Wilhelm II”
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
In 1921, just after the Russian Revolution, Yevgeny Zamyatin published a dystopian science fiction novel, We, in which a spacecraft engineer lives in a futuristic city made of glass enabling government authorities to track everything that people do at every moment of the day.
The novel influenced George Orwell and Aldous Huxley who wrote prophetic warnings about state surveillance and totalitarianism in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and Brave New World (1932).
Slowly but surely the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies are helping to transform Zamyatin’s worst nightmare into reality—albeit with a twist. Rather than having to build cities full of glass, they have perfected development of sophisticated computer technologies that allow them to spy on everyone without the people knowing when they are doing it.
In late August, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), the research and development arm of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), launched a $22 million program designed to develop computerized clothing, including spy underwear fitted with cameras, sensors and microphones capable of recording audio, video and geolocation data.
According to the Office of the DNI, the newly developed eTextile technology, ideally could assist personnel and first responders in dangerous, high-stress environments, such as crime scenes and arms control inspections without impeding their ability to swiftly and safely operate.[1]
The new technology, however, brings with it a serious dark side, giving the government the ability to insidiously spy on everyone all the time—without them ever knowing it. Journalist Annie Jacobsen told The Intercept that the intelligence agencies “want to know more about you than you.”
Frighteningly, this knowledge could include intimate physical details if the implanted spy cameras are ones that can see through clothing—as many are capable of doing.
MIT Professor of Mechanical Engineering Gareth McKinley is helping the Pentagon to develop a high-tech suit for soldiers à la “Iron Man.” [Source: livescience.com]
Known as the “Pentagon on the Charles,” MIT’s close ties to the Pentagon and CIA go back to at least World War II, when MIT’s former Vice President and Dean of Engineering, Vannevar Bush, a founder of Raytheon Corporation, headed the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) which oversaw the Manhattan Project.[3]
After the Vietnam War broke out, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) led sit-in demonstrations at MIT’s Draper and Lincoln Labs, which worked on guided and anti-missile missiles in contracts with Raytheon, and guiding “smart bombs” and navigation systems used to stabilize the flight of helicopter gunships and later of cruise missiles and drones.
Student activist Joel Feigenbaum urged MIT’s students to perceive the connection between “our sparkling, expensive laboratories and the instruments of death produced by the fellow next door.”[4]
Student protests in 1969 at MIT, the “Pentagon on the Charles.” [Source: libcom.org]
Few appear to be making such a connection today as no protests have been reported outside the lab where the new spy underwear will be developed, even though the underwear is a harbinger of a dark future once envisioned only in science fiction.
In the Shadow of America’s Moriarty
One man who would be proud to participate in the IARPA’s latest pet project if he were alive is Dr. Stanley Lovell, a Harvard research scientist and director of Raytheon Corporation who headed the Research and Development Branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II.
Believing that his job was to “stimulate the Peck’s Bad Boy beneath the surface of every American scientist and to say to him ‘throw all your normal law-abiding concepts out the window,’” Lovell oversaw the development of an impressive array of spy gadgets by his “cloak and dagger boys” that helped the U.S. defeat the Nazis and Japanese.[5]
These gadgets included a 16mm Kodak camera in the shape of a matchbox—a direct precursor to the spy underwear—along with a) incendiary candles (known as “the Harvard candle”), flour and a bat bomb; b) a gait-altering device that gave agents a decisive limp as part of a disguise; c) tasteless poisons; and d) train-derailing equipment.[6]
Lovell had been told by OSS Director William Donovan to become like Professor Moriarty, the fictional nemesis of Sherlock Holmes, whom Holmes in the short story “The Final Problem” calls “the Napoleon of Crime” and “someone with hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind.”[7]
In the context of World War II, the dark humor seems comical and largly innocent.
However, there is nothing funny about the devious concoctions of America’s modern-day Moriartys being used to create a surveillance apparatus that goes beyond even what George Orwell imagined and that aids in killing people anywhere on Earth using robotic machines.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
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].
Notes
SMART ePANTS Program Manager Dr. Dawson Cagle said that, “as a former weapons inspector myself [in Iraq], I know how much hand-carried electronics can interfere with my situational awareness at inspection sites. In unknown environments, I’d rather have my hands free to grab ladders and handrails more firmly and keep from hitting my head than holding some device.”
The major R&D contract for the spy underwear project, totaling $11.6 million, was awarded to Nautilus Defense LLC of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, which specializes in the development of satellite and maritime surveillance systems. Leidos of Reston, Virginia, also received a $10.8 million contract. Leidos, founded by J. Robert Beyster, a nuclear physicist who worked at Los Alomos where the atomic bomb was developed, was formerly known as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), which two decades ago set up a media service in Iraq that served as a mouthpiece of the Pentagon. It has long had close ties to U.S. intelligence agencies.
See G. Pascal Zachary, Endless Frontier: Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century (New York: Free Press, 1997).
Kelly Moore, Disrupting Science: Social Movements, American Scientists, and the Politics of the Military, 1945-1975 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2008), 144. See also Michael Albert, Remembering Tomorrow: From SDS to Life After Capitalism—a Memoir (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2006).
Stanley P. Lovell, Of Spies and Stratagems (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963), 40; John Lisle, The Dirty Tricks Department: Stanley Lovell, the OSS, and the Masterminds of World War II Secret Warfare (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2023).
Lovell, Of Spies and Stratagems; Lisle, The Dirty Tricks Department, 26.
November 15th, 2023 by Center for Constitutional Rights
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Introduction
This case is brought on behalf of Palestinian human rights organizations and individuals to enforce what is perhaps the most basic and important legal, and moral, obligation in the world – the obligation to prevent genocide, the destruction of a people.
This duty is enshrined in the 1948 Genocide Convention, to which the United States, Israel and Palestine have all acceded, and it is judicially enforceable as a peremptory norm of customary international law. Plaintiffs seek an order of this Court requiring that the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense adhere to their duty to prevent, and not further, the unfolding genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza. If the legal responsibility to prevent an unfolding genocide is to mean anything – indeed, if the rule of law is to signify anything – courts must have a role and responsibility to enforce these foundational international law principles. The lives of so many more people are at stake.
For the past five weeks, the world has watched the Palestinian people of Gaza, half of whom are children, be subjected to an unrelenting and unprecedented bombing campaign unleashed by the Israeli military – a campaign that is both overwhelming in its destructive scale and seemingly indiscriminate in its devastation of Gazan life, infrastructure and the basic human conditions of livelihood. The bombings have leveled critical civilian infrastructure – approximately a third in northern Gaza alone has been damaged or destroyed – taking in its destruction numerous hospitals, schools and universities, United Nations safe havens as well as all the elementary attributes necessary for the existence of civilian life, including water, fuel, medicine and food.
This military bombardment has killed over 11,000 Palestinian civilians, more than 24,500 of them children, as well as entire families, numerous journalists and UN workers. The number of casualties has not been updated since November 10 following the collapse of services and communications at hospitals in Northern Gaza. The bombardment has left many hundreds or thousands more civilians suffocating and suffering under rubble; it has forced the displacement of approximately 1.6 million persons, including in a manner likely designed to prevent their return to their homes. This bombardment has been accompanied by a total siege of Gaza, depriving Palestinians in Gaza the conditions of life necessary for human survival: food, water, medicine, fuel, and electricity.
This unfolding genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza has so far been made possible because of the unconditional support given by the named official-capacity defendants in this case, President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, constituting a breach of U.S. responsibilities under customary international law, as codified in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (“Genocide Convention”), Dec. 9, 1948, S. Exec. Doc. O, 81-1 (1949), 78 U.N.T.S. 277, to prevent, and not further, genocide.
Genocide, the gravest of crimes under international law, defined in the Genocide Convention and implemented in U.S. domestic law at 18 U.S.C. § 1091 upon ratification, constitutes certain acts “committed with the intent to destroy in whole or in part a national ethnical, racial or religious group as such” by, among other things: (i) killing members of the group, (ii) deliberating inflicting upon the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (iii) causing serious bodily or mental harm. For the past 38 days, the world has watched senior Israeli officials use dehumanizing language in connection with their expressed intent to destroy and displace Palestinians in Gaza while imposing an unrelenting siege, and intentionally depriving Palestinians the conditions of life necessary for human survival. The Israeli military has dropped an estimated 25,000 tons of explosives on Palestinians in Gaza – the approximate explosive power of two nuclear bombs.
The United States has been obligated, from the time it learned of the specter of a genocide of the Palestinian people, to exercise its clear and considerable influence on Israel to prevent this grave crime from unfolding. The President and the Secretaries of State and Defense have not only been failing to uphold the country’s obligation to prevent a genocide, but have enabled the conditions for its development by providing unconditional military and diplomatic support – disavowing any constraint or “red lines” on Israel’s military campaign even in the face of numerous Israeli governmental statements reflecting a genocidal intent. Defendants have refused to even initiate internal processes to assess whether there is a genocide unfolding in Gaza, or to monitor how U.S. weapons are used there.
The attacks by Hamas on October 7, including unlawful direct attacks against civilians, killed approximately 1,200 civilians and soldiers, and led to the taking of approximately 240 civilian hostages and military captives who are still held in Gaza. Targeting civilians violates international law. Still, under foundational legal principles that Plaintiffs invoke, even attacks that result in atrocity crimes can never justify, as a matter of law or morality, the form of lethal collective punishment and destruction against the Palestinian population that is unfolding, nor do those attacks obviate the United States’ corresponding duty to prevent its continuation.
Plaintiffs Defense for Children International – Palestine (“DCIP”) and Al-Haq (collectively “Organizational Plaintiffs”) are Palestinian nongovernmental human rights organizations dedicated to preserving and promoting the human rights of Palestinian people across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza. They are joined by individual Plaintiffs Ahmed Abu Artema, Mohammed Ahmed Abu Rokbeh and Dr. Omar Al-Najjar, each of whom reside in Gaza and have surviving family members there, where they have been subjected to a suffocating siege, coupled with near-continuous Israeli bombardment that killed six members of Mr. Abu Artema’s family, including his son, five members of Dr. Al-Najjar’s family and ten members of Mr. Abu Rokbeh’s family and displaced them all. They are also joined by Plaintiffs Mohammad Herzallah, A.N., Laila Elhaddad, Waeil Elbhassi, and Bassim Elkarra: all are U.S. citizens of Palestinian origin and current residents of the United States, who have family members that have been subjected to repeated Israeli bombing strikes, have fled their homes in search of elusive safety to escape the bombing and who remain precariously vulnerable to Israel’s continuous bombardment, and its continued withholding of critical life-supporting necessities including water, food, fuel and electricity.
Collectively, the Palestinian Organizational Plaintiffs and Individual Plaintiffs bring this action pursuant to the Court’s federal question jurisdiction to hear claims brought under customary international law as part of federal common law, against the federal official-capacity defendants. Plaintiffs seek declaratory relief and an injunction requiring the United States to fulfill its international law duty to prevent and cease being complicit – through unconditional financial and diplomatic support – in the unfolding genocide in Gaza.
Evidence of Israeli government officials’ specific intent to undertake and persist in undertaking such genocidal acts is significant and overt, and sits on top of a longer history of Israeli dispossession and killing of Palestinians in Gaza as well as the West Bank. This evidence pronounced by senior Israeli officials, including the Prime Minister, the President and the Minister of Defense, belies any legitimate claim to “self-defense.” Indeed, this evidence – that Israel also fails to distinguish between a civilian population and armed groups – reflects the kind of dehumanizing and totalizing rhetoric that genocide scholars and historians, including those opining in this action, recognize typically precede, accompany and continue to fuel genocidal acts. It is designed to characterize victims as deserving of destruction, humiliation and dispossession and correspondingly unworthy of elementary principles of humanity and foundational principles of international law.
Those statements of intent – when combined with the total siege, destruction, and killing on the ground – reveal evidence of an unfolding crime of genocide. The statements, more thoroughly described below, include: On October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza to “get out now” as “[Israel] will be everywhere and with all our might.” Two days later, the Israeli Defense Minister announced, “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed” and “We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.” The next day, the Israeli Major General who heads the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (“COGAT”) echoed him, stating, “Human animals must be treated as such. There will be no electricity and no water [in Gaza], there will only be destruction. You wanted hell, you will get hell.” On October 10, the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson announced dropping “hundreds of tons of bombs,” as “the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy.”
On October 12, when the in northern Gaza to “evacuate” to southern Gaza within 24 hours, the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure said, “Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home.” He later said “They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery until they leave the world.” On October 13, Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced: “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible. It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true.” Israeli Defense Minister Gallant stated: “Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything.” On October 15, as Israeli airstrikes killed over 2,670 Palestinian civilians, including 724 children, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that Israeli soldiers “understand the scope of the mission” and stand ready “to defeat the bloodthirsty monsters who have risen against [Israel] to destroy us.”
On October 29, as the number of people killed by Israel in Gaza rose to 8,000, Prime Minister Netanyahu invoked the story of Amalek in the Bible to justify Israel’s assault on Gaza, stating, “You must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible, and we do remember, and we are fighting.” In the Bible, God commands the extermination of Amalekite men, women, children, and animals, and this commandment has been described by one scholar as “divinely mandated genocide.”
Immediately after the Hamas attacks and the launch of the Israeli assault on Gaza, President Biden offered “unwavering” support for Israel’s military campaign, which he and administration officials have consistently repeated even as mass civilian casualties escalated, Gaza was sealed and basic necessities for life cut, alongside Israeli genocidal rhetoric. On October 15, for example, Secretary of State Blinken unconditionally pronounced that “We will stand with [Israel] today, tomorrow, and every day, and we’re doing that in word and also in deed.” U.S. National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby has repeatedly and publicly proclaimed that there would be no “red lines” to American moral, political or military support to Israel. That support also came by repeatedly UN resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, ignoring warnings from UN experts of a “grave risk of genocide” on the Palestinian people in Gaza, the high-profile resignation of the director of the New York office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights who described what is happening in Gaza as a “textbook case of genocide,” and the resignation of a senior State Department official who acknowledged that U.S. weapons were being used to “massacre civilians in Gaza.”
That U.S. support also takes significant material form. Since October 7, the United States has provided Israel with expedited and military financial assistance, equipment, and personnel to support and further its assault on Gaza, which comes on top of access to the existing stockpile of U.S. weapons already in Israel, estimated to be worth up to $4.4 billion. U.S. munitions and equipment are being delivered on a near daily basis. The combat aircraft and munitions killing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are predominantly American-made and Israel’s ability to use U.S. military assistance funding to purchase weapons from Israeli companies means that U.S.-funded Israeli weapons are also killing Palestinians in Gaza. And Defendants intend to provide even more military assistance: since October 7, they have requested from Congress $14.1 billion to support Israel’s military, and have approved the sale of $320 million worth of military equipment to Israel to manufacture precision bomb kits.
After War II and the horror of the Holocaust, the United States was among the world’s leaders in developing universal norms designed to protect civilians and peoples from being targeted because of their ethnicity, nationality, race or religion. Despite having condemned other genocidal campaigns, including by intervening in proceedings in the International Court of Justice to affirm the customary international law obligation to prevent genocide, the United States has now chosen to set aside those norms – and the international humanitarian order they were designed to preserve – while the Israeli government is undertaking genocidal acts that have already killed more than 11,000 Palestinians in Gaza, forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands, and produced such deprivation and suffering in Gaza that it is functionally uninhabitable.
The Court must hold these United States Defendants, including the President of the United States, to their obligations under the law to prevent the unfolding crime of genocide, and cease providing support for it. In the face of continuing death and destruction of their people, these Plaintiffs and the 2.2 million Palestinians they stand for, half of whom are children, have no other choice but to seek the relief of law from this court.
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The German government wants to further increase its financial and military aid to the Kiev neo-Nazi regime. In a recent statement, the head of German diplomacy promised to “increase and expand” packages to Ukraine for next year, making clear Berlin’s pro-war stance and its subservience to NATO interests.
The announcement was made by Annalena Baerbock during a meeting between EU foreign ministers on November 13th in Brussels. Baerbock did not present many details of the new Germany’s Ukraine aid plan, but promised support would be improved. She even talked about a “winter protection” project, with special aid packages to the Kiev regime to be sent in the coming months with the aim of helping Ukraine face the season.
“Our support will be massively expanded, especially for the next year (…) We will not only continue our support for Ukraine. We will continue to expand and increase it,” she said.
The German official not only commented on her country’s projects but also urged her partners to do the same. She called on European leaders to strive to continue helping Ukraine, stating that efforts are necessary to “face geopolitical challenges” in Europe. According to her, despite the seriousness of the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, Ukraine cannot fail to be the EU’s focus, given the geographical factor.
In fact, the increase in military aid had already been previously announced by the German media. According to Bild, the German defense package for Kiev is expected to double in 2024, reaching the point of eight billion euros in weapons and military equipment. The project still needs to be approved by the German Parliament’s budget committee, which is expected to happen soon.
According to a report recently published by Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Berlin is the second largest supplier of military aid to Kiev. In total, the country has spent more than 18 billion dollars on Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian operation. The number is still much lower than the 45 billion spent by the US, but, considering the German reality, it shows a very high level of commitment to Ukraine – which means subservience to NATO’s war plans.
Germany has been suffering serious side effects from the conflict. The country is in an energy crisis, with industrial production and economic and social well-being severely affected. Without Russian gas and committed to not using nuclear energy, Germany is having serious challenges in keeping its supply levels stable, which tends to get worse in the coming months with the arrival of winter, as at this season the costs of energy increase significantly. Even so, the local government’s priority is to send “winter protection” packages to Ukraine, helping neo-Nazi troops face the season, even if this means a worsening in the social conditions of the German people.
This type of mentality that prioritizes a foreign war over the own people has become hegemonic among German decision makers. The head of German diplomacy herself has already become known for her controversial statements of unrestricted support for Kiev, such as when she stated that the EU “is at war with Russia”. There appears to be a consensus among top German officials that, regardless of the crisis at home and in Europe, supporting NATO proxies must be a permanent priority, which is why military aid will be irresponsibly doubled next year.
To make matters worse, the German military appears to agree with their political leaders and endorse irresponsible war plans against Russia. A few months ago, German Brigadier General Christian Freuding made a controversial statement when he said that Berlin is prepared for a prolonged war scenario against Moscow. At the time, he emphasized the “need” to continue supporting Ukraine in the long term to make Kiev wear down Russia, making time an “ally” of the regime.
“We’ve got the support of our parliament (…) for our military support for our Ukrainian friends up to the year 2032 (…) We are ready and we are prepared to give long-term support (…) and we are ready to make time our ally, and not time become [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ally,” he said at the time.
However, it is unlikely that any growth or prolongment in aid will have any relevant effect. Ukrainian troops have suffered heavy, irreversible losses in recent months in their failed “counteroffensive” attempt. Furthermore, with Israel becoming the focus of US attention, less and less money and weapons will reach Ukraine, despite the German effort to avoid this decrease in aid.
So, no matter how hard Berlin tries to expand support, the most likely thing is that Ukraine will definitely collapse in the near future, being forced to negotiate peace on Russian terms.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Lucas Leiroz is a journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on X (former Twitter) and Telegram. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
[This analysis by Prof. Denis Rancourt was first published on June 22, 2023.]
I am an accomplished interdisciplinary scientist and physicist, and a former tenured Full Professor of physics and lead scientist, originally at the University of Ottawa.
I have written over 30 scientific reports relevant to COVID, starting April 18, 2020 for the Ontario Civil Liberties Association (ocla.ca/covid), and recently for a new non-profit corporation (correlation‑canada.org/research). Presently, all my work and interviews about COVID are documented on my website created to circumvent the barrage of censorship (denisrancourt.ca).
In addition to critical reviews of published science, the main data that my collaborators and I analyse is all‑cause mortality.
All-cause mortality by time (day, week, month, year, period), by jurisdiction (country, state, province, county), and by individual characteristics of the deceased (age, sex, race, living accomodations) is the most reliable data for detecting and epidemiologically characterizing events causing death, and for gauging the population-level impact of any surge or collapse in deaths from any cause.
Such data is not susceptible to reporting bias or to any bias in attributing causes of death. We have used it to detect and characterize seasonality, heat waves, earthquakes, economic collapses, wars, population aging, long-term societal development, and societal assaults such as those occurring in the COVID period, in many countries around the world, and over recent history, 1900-present.
Interestingly, none of the post-second-world-war Centers-for-Disease-Control-and-Prevention-promoted (CDC‑promoted) viral respiratory disease pandemics (1957-58, “H2N2”; 1968, “H3N2”; 2009, “H1N1 again”) can be detected in the all‑cause mortality of any country. Unlike all the other causes of death that are known to affect mortality, these so‑called pandemics did not cause any detectable increase in mortality, anywhere.
The large 1918 mortality event, which was recruited to be a textbook viral respiratory disease pandemic (“H1N1”), occurred prior to the inventions of antibiotics and the electron microscope, under horrific post-war public-sanitation and economic-stress conditions. The 1918 deaths have been proven by histopathology of preserved lung tissue to have been caused by bacterial pneumonia. This is shown in several independent and non-contested published studies.
My first report analysing all-cause mortality was published on June 2, 2020, at censorship-prone Research Gate, and was entitled “All-cause mortality during COVID-19 – No plague and a likely signature of mass homicide by government response”. It showed that hot spots of sudden surges in all‑cause mortality occurred only in specific locations in the Northern-hemisphere Western World, which were synchronous with the March 11, 2020 declaration of a pandemic. Such synchronicity is impossible within the presumed framework of a spreading viral respiratory disease, with or without airplanes, because the calculated time from seeding to mortality surge is highly dependent on local societal circumstances, by several months to years. I attributed the excess deaths to aggressive measures and hospital treatment protocols known to have been applied suddenly at that time in those localities.
The work was pursued in greater depth with collaborators for several years and continues. We have shown repeatedly that excess mortality most often refused to cross national borders and inter-state lines. The invisible virus targets the poor and disabled and carries a passport. It also never kills until governments impose socio-economic and care-structure transformations on vulnerable groups within the domestic population.
Here are my conclusions, from our detailed studies of all-cause mortality in the COVID period, in combination with socio-economic and vaccine-rollout data:
If there had been no pandemic propaganda or coercion, and governments and the medical establishment had simply gone on with business as usual, then there would not have been any excess mortality
There was no pandemic causing excess mortality
Measures caused excess mortality
COVID-19 vaccination caused excess mortality
Regarding the vaccines, we quantified many instances in which a rapid rollout of a dose in the imposed vaccine schedule was synchronous with an otherwise unexpected peak in all-cause mortality, at times in the seasonal cycle and of magnitudes that have not previously been seen in the historic record of mortality.
In this way, we showed that the vaccination campaign in India caused the deaths of 3.7 million fragile residents. In Western countries, we quantified the average all-ages rate of death to be 1 death for every 2000 injections, to increase exponentially with age (doubling every additional 5 years of age), and to be as large as 1 death for every 100 injections for those 80 years and older. We estimated that the vaccines had killed 13 million worldwide.
If one accepts my above-numbered conclusions, and the analyses that we have performed, then there are several implications about how one perceives reality regarding what actually did and did not occur.
First, whereas epidemics of fatal infections are very real in care homes, in hospitals, and with degenerate living conditions, the viral respiratory pandemic risk promoted by the USA‑led “pandemic response” industry is not a thing. It is most likely fabricated and maintained for ulterior motives, other than saving humanity.
Second, in addition to natural events (heat waves, earthquakes, extended large-scale droughts), significant events that negatively affect mortality are large assaults against domestic populations, affecting vulnerable residents, such as:
sudden devastating economic deterioration (the Great Depression, the dust bowl, the dissolution of the Soviet Union),
war (including social-class restructuring),
imperial or economic occupation and exploitation (including large-scale exploitative land use), and
the well-documented measures and destruction applied during the COVID period.
Otherwise, in a stable society, mortality is extremely robust and is not subject to large rapid changes. There is no empirical evidence that large changes in mortality can be induced by sudden appearances of new pathogens. In the contemporary era of the dominant human species, humanity is its worst enemy, not nature.
Third, coercive measures imposed to reduce the risk of transmission (such as distancing, direction arrows, lockdown, isolation, quarantine, Plexiglas barriers, face shields and face masks, elbow bumps, etc.) are palpably unscientific; and the underlying concern itself regarding “spread” was not ever warranted and is irrational, since there is no evidence in reliable mortality data that there ever was a particularly virulent pathogen.
In fact, the very notion of “spread” during the COVID period is rigorously disproved by the temporal and spatial variations of excess all-cause mortality, everywhere that it is sufficiently quantified, worldwide. For example, the presumed virus that killed 1.3 million poor and disabled residents of the USA did not cross the more-than-thousand-kilometer land border with Canada, despite continuous and intense economic exchanges. Likewise, the presumed virus that caused synchronous mortality hotspots in March-April-May 2020 (such as in New York, Madrid region, London, Stockholm, and northern Italy) did not spread beyond those hotspots.
Interestingly, in this regard, the historical seasonal variations (12 month period) in all-cause mortality, known for more than 100 years, are inverted in the northern and southern global hemispheres, and show no evidence of “spread” whatsoever. Instead, these patterns, in a given hemisphere, show synchronous increases and decreases of mortality across the entire hemisphere. Would the “spreading” causal agent(s) always take exactly 6 months to cross into the other hemisphere, where it again causes mortality changes that are synchronous across the hemisphere? Many epidemiologists have long-ago concluded that person-to-person “contact” spreading of respiratory diseases cannot explain and is disproved by the seasonal patterns of all-cause mortality. Why the CDC et al. are not systematically ridiculed in this regard is beyond this scientist’s comprehension.
Instead, outside of extremely poor living conditions, we should look to the body of work produced by Professor Sheldon Cohen and co‑authors (USA) who established that two dominant factors control whether intentionally challenged college students become infected and the severity of the respiratory illness when they are infected:
degree of experienced psychological stress
degree of social isolation
The negative impact of experienced psychological stress on the immune system is a large current and established area of scientific study, dutifully ignored by vaccine interests, and we now know that the said impact is dramatically larger in elderly individuals, where nutrition (gut biome ecology) is an important co-factor.
Of course, I do not mean that causal agents do not exist, such as bacteria, which can cause pneumonia; nor that there are not dangerous environmental concentrations of such causal agents in proximity to fragile individuals, such as in hospitals and on clinicians’ hands, notoriously.
Fourth, since our conclusion is that there is no evidence that there was any particularly virulent pathogen causing excess mortality, the debate about gain-of-function research and an escaped bioweapon is irrelevant.
I do not mean that the Department of Defence (DoD) does not fund gain-of-function and bioweapon research (abroad, in particular), I do not mean that there are not many US patents for genetically modified microbial organisms having potential military applications, and I do not mean that there have not previously been impactful escapes or releases of bioweapon vectors and pathogens. For example, the Lyme disease controversy in the USA may be an example of a bioweapon leak (see Kris Newby’s 2019 book “Bitten: The Secret History of Lyme Disease and Biological Weapons”).
Generally, for obvious reasons, any pathogen that is extremely virulent will not also be extremely contagious. There are billions of years of cumulative evolutionary pressures against the existence of any such pathogen, and that result will be deeply encoded into all lifeforms.
Furthermore, it would be suicidal for any regime to vehemently seek to create such a pathogen. Bioweapons are intended to be delivered to specific target areas, except in the science fiction wherein immunity from a bioweapon that is both extremely virulent and extremely contagious can be reliably delivered to one’s own population and soldiers.
In my view, if anything COVID is close to being a bioweapon, it is the military capacity to massively, and repeatedly, rollout individual injections, which are physical vectors for whichever substances the regime wishes to selectively inject into chosen populations, while imposing complete compliance down to one’s own body, under the cover of protecting public health.
This is the same regime that practices wars of complete nation destruction and societal annihilation, under the cover of spreading democracy and women’s rights. And I do not mean China.
Fifth, again, since our conclusion is that there is no evidence that there was any particularly virulent pathogen causing excess mortality, there was no need for any special treatment protocols, beyond the usual thoughtful, case-by-case, diagnostics followed by the clinician’s chosen best approach.
Instead, vicious new protocols killed patients in hotspots that applied those protocols in the first months of the declared pandemic.
This was followed in many states by imposed coercive societal measures, which were contrary to individual health: fear, panic, paranoia, induced psychological stress, social isolation, self-victimization, loss of work and volunteer activity, loss of social status, loss of employment, business bankruptcy, loss of usefulness, loss of caretakers, loss of venues and mobility, suppression of freedom of expression, etc.
Only the professional class did better, comfortably working from home, close to family, while being catered to by an army of specialised home-delivery services.
Unfortunately, the medical establishment did not limit itself to assaulting and isolating vulnerable patients in hospitals and care facilities. It also systematically withdrew normal care, and attacked physicians who refused to do so.
In virtually the entire Western World, antibiotic prescriptions were cut and maintained low by approximately 50% of the pre-COVID rates. This would have had devastating effects in the USA, in particular, where:
the CDC’s own statistics, based on death certificates, has approximately 50% of the million or so deaths associated with COVID having bacterial pneumonia as a listed comorbidity (there was a massive epidemic of bacterial pneumonia in the USA, which no one talked about)
the Southern poor states historically have much higher antibiotic prescription rates (this implies high susceptibility to bacterial pneumonia)
excess mortality during the COVID period is very strongly correlated (r = +0.86) — in fact proportional to — state-wise poverty
Sixth, since our conclusion is that there is no evidence that there was any particularly virulent pathogen causing excess mortality, there was no public-health reason to develop and deploy vaccines; not even if one accepted the tenuous proposition that any vaccine has ever been effective against a presumed viral respiratory disease.
Add to this that all vaccines are intrinsically dangerous and our above-described vaccine-dose fatality rate quantifications, and we must recognize that the vaccines contributed significantly to excess mortality everywhere that they were imposed.
In conclusion, the excess mortality was not caused by any particularly virulent new pathogen. COVID so-called response in-effect was a massive multi-pronged state and iatrogenic attack against populations, and against societal support structures, which caused all the excess mortality, in every jurisdiction.
It is only natural now to ask “what drove this?”, “who benefited?” and “which groups sustained permanent structural disadvantages?”
In my view, the COVID assault can only be understood in the symbiotic contexts of geopolitics and large-scale social-class transformations. Dominance and exploitation are the drivers. The failing USA-centered global hegemony and its machinations create dangerous conditions for virtually everyone.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity
by Michel Chossudovsky
Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.
“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”
ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0, Year: 2022, PDF Ebook, Pages: 164, 15 Chapters
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the “Translate Website” drop down menu on the top banner of our home page (Desktop version).
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
[With foresight, this article by Mike Adams first published on September 27, 2022 had predicted the failures of US-NATO.]
***
World War III has already begun. You simply aren’t being told this because your government and dishonest media outlets are dedicated to keeping you in the dark. After all, they want to use the remaining time to stockpile food, ammunition, medical supplies and precious metals for themselves, and this can only be accomplished by withholding the truth about the situation for as long as possible.
The President of Serbia may be an exception to this, as he is now publicly warning that the world is about to experience a “great world conflict” that will likely begin in the next two months.
“Aleksandar Vucic made the alarming comments during the first day of the UN General Assembly session in New York,” reports Paul Joseph Watson at Summit.news. The full quote from Vucic is:
I assume that we’re leaving the phase of the special military operation and approaching a major armed conflict, and now the question becomes where is the line, and whether after a certain time – maybe a month or two, even – we will enter a great world conflict not seen since the Second World War.
NATO is already at war with Russia, and Putin is gearing up for a continental battle
What’s happening is that psychopathic western nations have — the real aggressors in this war — have unleashed not just “suicide sanctions” against Russia, but are also running Ukraine’s military operations against Russia. This means NATO is already in the war, even if NATO won’t admit it yet. Worse yet, NATO leaders are openly demanding the complete destruction of Russia and the occupation / exploitation of Russia’s natural resources, which is of course the entire model of global exploitation and pillaging typically carried out by the west. (Disrupt, pillage, control. That’s the CIA model that has been unleashed against other nations for decades…)
Conditions are already long past the point of negotiation or de-escalation between Russia and the west. The psychopathic leaders of the west (Victoria Nuland comes to mind) are russo-phobic Russia haters who are determined to carry out genocide against the Russian people, even if it means destroying their own economies and agricultural supply chains in the process. These psychopaths, Putin has come to realize, can’t be reasoned with or trusted to abide by any agreements whatsoever. Russia realizes it must fight or die. That’s where we are right now.
Unfortunately, the insanity of western nations has escalated this conflict to a condition where whoever launches nukes first has the advantage. This is a very dangerous dynamic, obviously, and it stems from the fact that the west has repeatedly signaled it will not allow the existence of Russia in its “New World Order” vision of planet Earth. With friends like Victoria Nuland calling the shots, who needs enemies?
Russia has a 30+ years advantage over US-NATO in terms of nuclear weapons and air defense technology
An important realization in all this is that NATO’s nuclear arsenal is ancient — mostly running on designed originally engineered in the 1970s — while Russia’s nuclear capabilities are at least two generations ahead, modernized with hyperglide reentry vehicles, evasive maneuver capabilities for ICBMs, hypersonic cruise missiles which are nuclear capable, and highly advanced anti-air defense systems that can even intercept and take down incoming ICBMs. In addition, Russia possesses secret “doomsday” weapons — far beyond their thermobaric bombs — that the world hasn’t even seen yet. On the current trajectory, those weapons are going to be introduced to the west without any warning whatsoever, resulting in the complete annihilation of Western European governments, currencies and industry.
I have no doubt whatsoever that Russia has already designated the targets of its first strike, and that those targets include London, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, US naval fleets and virtually all military bases across Western Europe. We are now just one launch away from a civilization-ending event.
The USA and NATO have deluded themselves into thinking they can win a nuclear exchange with Russia, but this is just as delusional as thinking “men can get pregnant” or that money printing doesn’t cause inflation (notably, the brain dead Biden regime insists that both of these absurdities are absolutely true). Over the past two decades — and more recently led by the insanity of wokeism — the west has become fully invested in delusional thinking and fairy tale narratives that have no connection with reality. While the west has been waging a propaganda narrative war, Russia has been engineering the world’s most advanced nuclear weapons. Once the nuclear exchange begins, there’s no question whatsoever about its outcome. Russia will lose a few million people — far less than what they lost in World War II — but they will annihilate Germany, Poland, France and the United Kingdom. Western Europe will be plunged into a generation of despair and darkness, while the U.S. suffers a cascading financial collapse due to exposure to European banks, currencies and debt markets.
Western journalists and kleptocrats are incapable of seeing this reality, and they are similarly incapable of acting to stop it. They are caught in their own delusional world of self-inflicted brainwashing and propaganda, believing (somehow) that they can bully Russia into capitulating to the west’s insane demands. But Russia is no Third World nation. Russia can’t be economically dismantled with western sanctions, and Russia has its own domestic supply chain for literally everything it needs to feed its people, build more weapons and earn a fortune in exports of energy and commodities to willing trade partners like India, China, Turkey and Iran.
Finally, Putin will not back down, and Putin is far more intelligent than any of the cognitively-challenged lunatics running the USA, UK or NATO countries. In a chess match between Putin and Biden, you’d probably see Joe Biden augmented with remote controlled vibrating diapers to send him chess move signals through his rectum, and he still wouldn’t understand the meaning of chess notations anyway. The leaders of western nations are so utterly incompetent that they don’t even qualify as “clowns,” since good clowns are actually intelligent, capable communicators who can make people laugh. Biden, Blinken, and Nuland just make us all want to puke.
The West has already grossly miscalculated with “suicide sanctions” but still won’t admit to their catastrophic errors
As proof of the incompetence of western nations, consider the fact that their “suicide sanctions” against Russia — originally implemented to try to force Russia into a currency collapse — has had the opposite effect. The sanctions are destroying the Euro, not the Ruble, and now all of Western Europe faces a winter of darkness, famine and freezing to death. That’s on top of the “permanent deindustrialization” of European industry that is already well under way, with about 70% of metals smelting and ammonia production already offline. Fertilizer production has ground to a halt, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline has been halted, and to add insult to injury, Belgium is proudly announcing the shutting down of a nuclear power plant, right as Belgium faces an energy scarcity catastrophe.
Germany, meanwhile, is putting another $8 billion into bailing out Uniper, a major natural gas provider, and that’s on top of $15 billion already spent trying to prevent Uniper’s collapse. Germany’s industrial base is being wiped out at astonishing speed, and nobody in the German government is telling the German people they won’t have jobs as industry collapses.
Putin must be astonished at the speed of which Western Europe — and Germany in particular — is destroying itself. Recall that Germany destroyed Western Europe twice already: World War I and World War II. Now, Germany (still largely run by Nazis) is leading the way to the total destruction of Europe yet again. At one level, Putin need not launch any nukes at all… he merely needs to wait for winter to kick in and for the laws of thermodynamics and economics to do the rest.
The Greens must be proud: Entire forests are being clear cut for firewood
Yesterday I spoke with war correspondent Michael Yon who had just traveled through Germany (my interview with him will post tomorrow on Brighteon.com). He told me the forests were being clear-cut everywhere across Germany (at least that he could see) in a desperate effort by the people to stockpile firewood for the coming winter. This is the new “green” agenda on parade: Clear-cutting forests that will take decades to grow back. Will the greenies celebrate all the dead forests because at least Germany didn’t burn fossil fuels? Does anybody realize that a 19th century economy can’t support a 21st century population? Famine is a mathematical certainty.
To stop this crisis, all Germany has to do is apologize to Russia, drop the economic sanctions and beg Gazprom to turn the gas back on, but no, they won’t dare do that, even if hundreds of thousands of German citizens starve to death and die of exposure.
In exactly the same way Adolf Hitler threw starving, freezing German soldiers into Russia’s defensive lines at Stalingrad in 1943, today’s German leaders are sacrificing the lives of their own citizens in a desperate bid to try to economically harm Russia … and it isn’t even accomplishing that! In the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet Union surrounded and defeated Germany’s Sixth Army, which surrendered more than 220,000 soldiers to the Russians. Today, Germany is willing to sacrifice millions of its own citizens if necessary, proving that Nazi-style suicide maneuvers remain alive and well in Berlin, even generations after the catastrophic outcome of World War II.
You can beat the Nazis out of Russia, but you can’t beat the Nazi tendencies out of the German political leaders.
Russia, meanwhile, is sitting on massive quantities of low-cost energy, minerals, steel manufacturing, fertilizer production, successful food crops, electronics manufacturing and everything else needed to keep civilization on its feet. Yet to this very day, there isn’t one Western European politician who will admit the truth of where things stand. Too bad propaganda can’t heat homes, or the western media would be the ultimate renewable energy source for the entire planet.
The upshot of all this? Anyone living in Western Europe should prepare for economic collapse, famine and nuclear war.
Those living in North America should prepare for economic collapse and worldwide nuclear fallout that will disrupt crops for years to come.
Those who don’t store food will end up eating radioactive food, if they can find any at all.
Prepare accordingly.
Video
*
Note to readers: Please click the share buttons above or below. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
ISBN Number: 978-0-9737147-5-3 Year: 2012 Pages: 102
PDF Edition: $6.50 (sent directly to your email account!)
Michel Chossudovsky is Professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), which hosts the critically acclaimed website www.globalresearch.ca . He is a contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica. His writings have been translated into more than 20 languages.
Reviews
“This book is a ‘must’ resource – a richly documented and systematic diagnosis of the supremely pathological geo-strategic planning of US wars since ‘9-11’ against non-nuclear countries to seize their oil fields and resources under cover of ‘freedom and democracy’.” –John McMurtry, Professor of Philosophy, Guelph University
“In a world where engineered, pre-emptive, or more fashionably “humanitarian” wars of aggression have become the norm, this challenging book may be our final wake-up call.” -Denis Halliday, Former Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations
Michel Chossudovsky exposes the insanity of our privatized war machine. Iran is being targeted with nuclear weapons as part of a war agenda built on distortions and lies for the purpose of private profit. The real aims are oil, financial hegemony and global control. The price could be nuclear holocaust. When weapons become the hottest export of the world’s only superpower, and diplomats work as salesmen for the defense industry, the whole world is recklessly endangered. If we must have a military, it belongs entirely in the public sector. No one should profit from mass death and destruction. –Ellen Brown, author of ‘Web of Debt’ and president of the Public Banking Institute
Most of the 1.5 million population of the Gaza strip is impoverished. Half are refugees from Mandate Palestine or their stock. About 50% of the male population is without work. It has been isolated and occupied for decades. A commercial port was being built in 2000 but that was bombed by Israel.
Twenty-eight years ago, the Israeli nation went into mourning after the assassination of Labor Party Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995, allegedly by a right-wing West Bank settler named Yigal Amir.
Michael Sachs is a US Marine and his wife Anita Sachs is an active-duty member of the US Navy. Anita was forced by the US Navy to get a COVID-19 Vaccine when she was 6 months pregnant. A month before their baby was due, the baby was still born. Now she is struggling with infertility.
The problem with the Israeli claims is that they are demonstrably false or misleading. Nearly a third of the Israeli casualties consisted of military, security, and police officers. Moreover, it turns out that the number one killer of Israelis on October 7 wasn’t Hamas or other Palestinian factions, but the Israeli military itself.
Inspired by the ideas of pioneers in the field of education, such as Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, and Paolo Freire, Woodhouse argues convincingly that education, including higher education, should not be made to conform to the “market model” or “corporate model”.
Israel’s plans for the Gaza Strip are becoming increasingly clear. Zionist pro-war propaganda relies on the narrative of a supposed “fight against Hamas” to convince public opinion, but Israeli officials are becoming explicit in their statements, making it clear that the “problem” they see in the region goes beyond of Hamas, having a dissatisfaction with the Palestinian control over that territory.
Your gallbladder is an abdominal organ that stores and concentrates bile produced by your liver. The bile helps your body break down and absorb the fat that you eat. When you eat a fatty meal, your gallbladder will contract and squeeze more concentrated bile into the small intestine to aid in the breakdown of the fat.
During his (November 4) meeting with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan, the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was angry and overtly upset – his Arab hosts raised some questions instead of their normal nods of submissions.
For five consecutive weeks, hundreds of thousands of people in Britain have held demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against the settler-colonial regime based in Tel Aviv.
Across Australia’s universities, the AUKUS military initiative between the US, UK and Australia, primarily focused on developing nuclear powered technology for a new submarine design, has titillated the managerial wonks of the tertiary education sector.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
This is an article by Haaretz, which focusses on Settlers attacks directed against Palestinians.
Do these actions constitute a step towards the extension of the Gaza genocide to The West Bank.
The exodus of Palestinians to Jordan is contemplated by the Netanhayu government.
M. Ch. November 14, 2023
***
While public attention in Israel is gripped by the fighting in the Gaza Strip and the rising tensions along the Lebanese border, the reality in the West Bank is also changing: defense sources say that settlers are having their way, often breaking the law.
These actions are being openly supported by members of the coalition, while security forces mostly turn a blind eye, sometimes even giving the settlers their protection.
Since October 7, more than 170 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israelis across the West Bank. This includes suspected terrorists killed by security forces. The Shin Bet is aware of four cases in which the settlers shot and killed Palestinians, but estimates put settler violence at a far larger number.
According to the Shin Bet, there have been 120 hate crimes committed by Jews in the West Bank since the war broke out. So far, no charges have been brought in any of these cases.
Besides the overt violence, settlers are also creating facts on the ground by paving roads, which Israel’s court decisions have deemed illegal and invading private Palestinian lands while doing so. Up to this point, several kilometers of new road have been breached, which according to the settlers are meant to keep them safe.
A road was paved from the settlement of Aley Zahav to the hill on which an outpost is planned, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of shekels. To build it, engineering tools were diverted from infrastructure work they carried out for the council. Another route has been breached in Emmanuel, and now the settlers are asking to pave a road that is more than 20 kilometers long, between the Karnei Shomron and Kiryat Netafim settlements.
Although the construction was not coordinated with the IDF, it is being secured by soldiers, and the Civil Administration has refrained from acting on the matter.
The face behind these bold actions is the head of the Shomron Regional Council, Yossi Dagan. According to sources familiar with the events in the West Bank, Dagan and other council officials have in fact “deterred” security forces to the extent that they now act unhindered.
“In [the West Bank] there is no law, it’s an area where anarchy exists and the state turns a blind eye,” a senior Israeli government source told Haaretz.
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Featured image: Israeli soldiers man a position near the town of Deir Sharaf as Jewish settlers gather near Nablus, West Bank, last week. (Credit: Jaafar Ashtiyeh – AFP)
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Twenty-eight years ago, the Israeli nation went into mourning after the assassination of Labor Party Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995, allegedly by a right-wing West Bank settler named Yigal Amir.
A law student at Bar Ilan University, Amir was an activist of an anti-peace process organization who, according to the official story, shot Rabin at the end of a Tel Aviv rally in support of the Oslo Accords.
Formally signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993, the Oslo Accords resulted in Israel’s transferring control of the Occupied Territories to the Palestinian Authority (PA) and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and Jericho in return for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) renouncing the use of terrorism and violence.
The Oslo II Accords, signed in September 1995, just two months before Rabin’s assassination, envisioned greater Palestinian autonomy from Israel and interim self-government in the Palestinian territories.
Many Palestinians viewed the Oslo Accords as an act of capitulation since Arafat abandoned Palestinian demands for their own state, and did not press for Palestinians’ right of return (of those expelled in the 1948 Nakba) and the release of Palestinian political prisoners.[1]
The majority of the Jews in Israel opposed Oslo II. It was ratified by the Knesset on October 6, 1995 by one vote, with the support of the Arab parties. Rabin would be murdered one month later. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrated against the Accords while Arab terror attacks continued unabated.
Some historians believe that “if Rabin had lived, he surely would have won the 1996 election and the peace process would have been advanced.”[2] Rabin’s daughter Dalia, however, has suggested that Rabin was close to calling off the Oslo process prior to his death and was considering “doing a U-turn, a reverse on our side. After all, he was someone for whom the national security of the state was sacrosanct and above all.”[3]
Rabin had a background as more of a warmonger than peacemaker, having been the chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) during the 6-day war and Defense Minister during the first Intifada in the late 1980s when he ordered Israeli soldiers to “break the bones ”of Palestinianprotesters.”[4] When a U.S. State Department official tried to get Rabin to meet with the Syrian Foreign Minister at the UN to withdraw from the Golan Heights two weeks before his assassination, Rabin called him a “motherfucker.”
With Rabin’s growing apprehension and opposition to the more left-wing policies of Foreign Minister Shimon Peres regarding the future of the West Bank, Gaza and the Golan Heights, Peres had to act fast. A choreographed “attempted assassination” was, literally at the last moment, converted to a vile hit-job, according to sources inside Israel.[5]
Convicted for the assassination in March 1996, Amir was branded by Israeli authorities as a “lone nut” like Lee Harvey Oswald, and spent more than 15 years in solitary confinement.
Most Israelis believe, however, that he was not the lone assassin but part of a wider plot. Just as Oswald denied doing anything in the Dallas Sheriff’s interrogation, and also said, you’ll soon see who i am, so too Amir in his first police interrogation claimed he didn’t do anything and soon he’ll blow the whole system up with his court testimony.
The anti-peace process group to which Amir belonged, Eyal (acronym for the Organization of Jewish Warriors) was a front created by the General Security Services, Shabak (sometimes Shin Bet), or Israel’s internal security services or FBI. Headed by Avishai Raviv, a Shabak agent since 1987 known as “champagne,” Eyal was created as part of a covert operation designed to attract anti-peace process radicals and set them up for arrest.[6]
At one protest prior to Rabin’s murder, Raviv was filmed with a picture of Rabin in a Nazi SS uniform, which had the purpose of inflaming the right-wing settlers while making them look crazy.
On the night of the shooting, Amir was provided a gun loaded with blanks and was instructed to shoot him, setting himself up to be caught.
Remarkably, Rabin himself knew about the plot and thought it was a set-up to make him look like a hero for surviving an assassination attempt, which would justify a nationwide crackdown on opponents of the peace process. Sitting on the dais at the Peace Rally, Rabin asked the person sitting by his side “Has it already started” when a motorcycle backfired.
After the blanks were fired and Amir was captured by police, Rabin was whisked into his limousine where he was actually still very much alive.
But Rabin was double-crossed as the real assassin sat down next to him in the rear of the limousine and shot him as the limousine made its way to the hospital through the streets of Tel Aviv.
Clues of a Conspiracy
According to investigator Barry Chamish, the conspiracy was sloppy and there were key clues that the conspirators left behind. The official narrative of Amir as the lone assassin who shot Rabin in the back is undercut by a vast array of facts that include:
National television broadcast a supposed amateur video made by Roni Kempler which convinced the Israeli public Amir shot Rabin. For 30 minutes the tripod and cameraman stood on the roof above the sterile area; a security no-no. The film was doctored, stretching Amir’s arm by two feet and blanking out at the moment of “impact.” An IDF intelligence course taught soldiers how the filming was planned, executed, edited and photoshopped to deceive the public.
The Kempler film interestingly documents that Rabin’s bodyguards allowed Amir to take a clear shot at Rabin and that Rabin survived it.
Witnesses a few feet from Rabin, including his wife, said they saw him continue walking briskly after supposedly being shot. Ten minutes after the shooting, one witness, Miriam Oren, told a national television audience: “Rabin wasn’t hurt. I saw him walk into the car.”[7]
Security officers at the scene did not believe Rabin was shot at the rally because he did not fall, cry out in pain, or bleed. Three police officers who had been present testified that “when Yitzhak Rabin was placed in the car, he showed no visible wounds,” according to wikipedia.
Rabin suspiciously was not put in the ambulance which was parked next to his car.
Just as the Zapruder film’s frames were reversed in Life Magazine to prove Oswald’s guilt so Israel’s largest daily extended Amir’s arm to make him close to Rabin to prove his guilt.
Police laboratory tests concluded that Rabin was shot point blank, though the government’s Commission of Inquiry concluded that Amir shot at Rabin from a distance of a half meter. One of the shots had actual contact of the gun on Rabin’s jacket.
The Israeli police conducted Feroprints tests on Yigal Amir fifteen minutes after the shooting. The results were negative. Feroprint, a device used by Interpol and most police labs, measures the metal discharge when a bullet is fired from a revolver. It is impossible to test negative for 24 hours if you’ve fired a gun. There was also no gunpowder residue found on Amir’s hands, clothes or hair, which would have been impossible unless he fired blanks. Police ballistics tests on shell casings found at the scene also did not match Amir’s gun.[8]
The death certificate, signed by Dr. Mordecai Gutman, one of the surgeons’ who operated on Rabin—stated that Rabin was shot through the chest from the front and that his spine was shattered, claims backed up by an operating room nurse, the Health Minister, the Director of Ichilov Hospital, a patient, and even then-Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. The official version of events has Amir shooting Rabin in the back with no spinal damage.[9]
One of the pieces of evidence found with Rabin’s belongings was a bloodied song sheet, which gives weight to the theory that Rabin was shot in the chest and not in the back by Amir.[10]
Like in the JFK assassination where the military supervision was removed, Rabin’s IDF security detail, required by law, was removed. The next week, the disheartened commanding officer moved to Canada. When he decided to return to Israel to go public, he was killed.
The Shamgar Commission set up by the Israeli government (led at the time by Shimon Peres) to investigate the assassination concluded that two policemen had held Amir down after he attempted two shots and yet somehow Amir is alleged to have shot Rabin after he was pinned in a downward slope (meaning he got up over top of him). The medical reports determined that Rabin had been paralyzed after a bullet entered his spine but he was seen walking into the limo at the rally so could not have been shot there, and this injury disappeared from the Shamgar Commission Records.[11]
An operating room technician at the Ichilov Hospital, thought to be Eli Lipstein, reported that there was another dead body in the hospital that night, of another bodyguard, who was unaccounted for and never reported about.[12]
According to an investigation carried out by Natan Gefen, author of The Deadly Sting, Rabin was killed by a single bullet in the front of the chest on the right, which hit the spine and destroyed his spinal vertebra.
About 45 minutes after being treated in the trauma room, Rabin died of his wounds and his body was left in the hands of the Shabak (Shin Bet) who were all over the hospital. Some time later, the doctors were called back to the trauma room and found two more bullets in Rabin’s back. They were tasked with moving the body to the operating room and performing an operation to remove the original bullet and to change the medical records, much like with John F. Kennedy.
Since Amir was behind Rabin at the rally, the entrance wound in the chest disappeared in the forged medical documents and was replaced with two bullets that were fired into a dead Rabin in the hospital. The bogus medical report identified the entrance wounds in his back, while ignoring the fatal entrance wound in the chest.[13]
The Shabak agents on the scene threatened the doctors and hospital staff to lie to the public. A Tel Aviv magazine reported that everyone on duty at Ichilov involved in trying to save Rabin received anonymous mailed death threats.[14]
Three witness doctors were in the end killed, Dr. Kluger and Dr. Gutman along with Dr. Dalia Eyal and her husband Nimrod and son Eyal.[15] Dr. Eyal’s family was poisoned with cyanide. The morning after the assassination, she placed in all of Ichilov’s doctors’ mailboxes copies of the authentic medical records.
Advance Warning
Yitzhak Shamir, Israel’s Prime Minister from 1986 to 1992 and the former head of Mossad’s European desk, told Benny Elon, a territorial leader, two weeks before the assassination that “They’re planning to do another Arlosorov.”
This was a reference to the 1933 assassination of the leader of the Mapai left-wing Socialist party. The murder is believed to be a black flag op by the left to discredit their rival, right-wing Jabotinski and his Revisionist party, at the ongoing Zionist Congress in Basal. The left wanted to make a deal with Hitler, which the right opposed vehemently. The arrested Revisionists were acquitted at trial. The murder remains unsolved.[16]
Agent Provocateur
Within an hour of the assassination, Amir was brought before a Tel Aviv magistrate judge for a 30-day detention order in the hands of the Shabak. He claimed innocence to the court, protesting that he only did what he was told to do [shoot blanks].”
This is similar to Lee Harvey Oswald’s protest “I am a patsy.”
With his intelligence background, Amir’s very public and radical activities, especially his anti-Rabin threats, leading up to the assassination, were a mirror image of Lee Harvey Oswald’s radical and public actions before the JFK’s assassination with the Fair Play For Cuba Committee.
In both cases, attention was drawn upon themselves, evidence was strewn in plain sight, only to be cited later as proof of their guilt. Every covert operation requires a cover story. And that cover story can be long in the making.
In the summer of 1992, following his IDF service in a high-end infantry unit, the Prime Minister’s Office sent Amir to Riga, Latvia, for three months where he worked as a security guard. The Shabak trained him in the use of handguns.
In the fall of 1993, Amir began studying law and computer science, and Jewish law at Bar-Ilan University. There he made known his strong opposition to the Oslo Accords, participating in protest rallies on campus. He organized weekend bus trips to support West Bank settlers, and helped found an illegal settlement outpost. Amir was especially active in Hebron, where he led marches through the streets. He also attempted to form an anti-Arab militia.
Amir made public his view that Rabin was a “rodef,” meaning a “pursuer” who endangered Jewish lives. Amir repeatedly told people he would be justified under Jewish law to kill Rabin since he endangered the lives of Jews. Pamphlets suddenly appeared in West Bank settlement synagogues advocating the validity of applying the law of pursuer, punishable by death.
Shabak agent Avishai Raviv publically encouraged Amir to murder Rabin. More than a dozen people testified to seeing Raviv prod Amir into killing Rabin. Good citizens reported Amir to the authorities. The Shabak dismissed Amir’s threats as “non-credible.”[17]
Strange Behavior of Rabin’s Driver
The limo driver, Menachem Damti, was a last-minute replacement for Rabin’s regular driver. He was Foreign Minister Shimon Peres’s driver.[18]
Damti lied to police investigators when he claimed he went right to the driver’s seat after hearing that Rabin was shot; the Kempler film showed him staying outside the limo and helping Rabin into the car.
The drive to Ichilov Hospital from the site of the rally should have been less than a one-minute drive at a speed of 60 miles per hour and at most four minutes but took twenty-two minutes. The route is a residential street with no traffic lights or traffic.
Damti was the most experienced driver in the country who had driven every prime minister since 1974 but on the way to Ichilov somehow “became confused,” and took wrong turns though he knew the correct route to Ichilov by rote.[19]
Also, Damti did not notify Ichilov by radio that he was coming and, thus, the hospital staff was totally unprepared for Rabin’s arrival.[20]
Source: Photo Courtesy of google maps
A Prime Suspect: Peres’ Bodyguard
Peres changed Rabin’s four-man security detail at the last moment. He replaced the driver with his own, Mohammed Damti, and replaced one of the bodyguards with his own: Yoram Rubin. In the later “investigation” proceedings, Rubin kept altering his testimony and lied to the Shamgar Commission when he claimed to have jumped on Rabin after he was shot.
Rubin testified under oath that a bullet entered his arm “like an electrical charge” while he was trying to save Rabin, though the clinical hospital report revealed that he was treated for only a superficial wound and that no bullet ever penetrated his skin.[21]
Rubin was sitting next to Rabin in the limo on the drive to the hospital in the back seat and so was the main person who could have shot him in the chest (medical reports specified that Rabin came into the Ichilov hospital with a chest wound). A large blood stain was recorded on both the front and back seats of the limo, corroborating this theory.
Researcher Barry Chamish considers Rubin to be the prime murder suspect.[22] Right after Rabin’s death, he became Shimon Peres’s bodyguard—when he should not have been trusted since he had not adequately protected Rabin.[23] He also served in the highest levels of the Shabak.
While in the army reserves and serving as Rabin’s personal bodyguard, Rubin took frequent unexplained trips abroad, which indicate involvement in covert operations. An informant noted that his travel expenses “rivaled the wealthiest businessmen in the country.”
These trips started before Rabin was killed and resumed in January 1996. The informant said his people thought that Rubin was then “receiving and depositing money for services rendered and keeping quiet. And that’s why we think Peres took him on as his personal bodyguard without hesitation. That’s what we think.”[24]
The Missing Bodyguard
As Yoram Rubin almost certainly shot Rabin dead in the back seat, Damti shot dead Yoav Kuriel—Rabin’s personal bodyguard—in the front seat. Yoav, an orthodox Bar Ilan University grad and rumored Shabak (Shin Bet) agent, was shot seven times in the chest. Deposing his body accounted for the 22 minute delay in getting to the hospital.
The chief of security at Ichilov hospital signed an affidavit that he had inspected Rabin’s car and saw pools of blood in the front and back seats. The Israel police claimed Yoav committed suicide in his upscale North Tel Aviv apartment the following day because he failed in his duty. No weapon, though, was recovered at the scene. That night, downtown Tel Aviv was blocked to traffic during his funeral in the Yarkon Cemetery. One of the rabbis who prepared Yoav’s body for burial reported he saw seven holes in his chest. An official document stated “Cause of death: work accident.” The rabbi was threatened with death if he said anything.
The Shamgar Commission of Inquiry made a supreme effort to hide Yoav’s name, that is, the fourth bodyguard of Rabin’s detail, from the report. This effort to obscure the details of the fourth bodyguard, which was defined by the Shabak as the key to understanding Rabin’s murder, explains the absence of Yoav Kuriel’s name from the list of those buried in the Yarkon cemetery. The official postponement of Yoav Kuriel’s date of death by 10 days—November 15—also obscured the connection between his and Rabin’s deaths.[25]
Yoav Kuriel accompanying Rabin as they approached the ambush car. [Source: rotter.net]
Police Cover-up and a Kangaroo Court
No independent examination of Rabin’s body was undertaken. There was no autopsy. The only proof of what happened to the body is found in the muddled, contradictory reports which emanated from the Ichilov Hospital on the night of the murder.[26] The pathologists’ report written by Dr. Yehuda Hiss was altered so as to change Rabin’s wounds—after Hiss had been threatened and forced to sign a confidentiality agreement by Shabak agents in the Ichilov Hospital.
Prior to Amir’s trial, all the police files against Raviv—more than 15 of them—disappeared and the one document revealing Raviv’s criminal past that was presented to the court was done so in a secret session. Raviv was never called to testify.
Gabi Shahar, one of Amir’s lawyers, described a trial—like the Shamgar Commission before it—in which no evidence contrary to the established version of events could be presented, no counter scenarios vocalized, and no confusing testimony discussed.
The court found no money or desire to arrange the most basic pathological and ballistic tests and judges ignored evidence that contradicted the official story.[27] In violation of the law, the prosecution hid the negative Feroprints. When Amir’s attorney demanded to call Yoram Rubin as a witness, the judge mocked him, denying his request.
Barry Chamish wrote that “the kangaroo court denied Amir any chance of a fair trial and prevented the Israeli public from hearing the truth about the murder of their prime minister.”[28]
Shutting People Up Permanently
As in the Kennedy murder, numerous witnesses with insider knowledge about the culprits in the plot to kill Rabin were murdered, with their deaths declared to be “suicides.”
Not long after the release of the Shamgar Commission’s findings, one of the members of the commission, Ariel Rosen-Zvi, a Tel Aviv University law professor, died of cancer.
An informant told researcher Barry Chamish that he had seen Ariel the week before he died and that Ariel told him “he was keeping deep secrets in his heart about Rabin and could never reveal them.” Chamish wrote that “a few days later he was dead. Cancer isn’t a heart attack. You are bedridden in the final stages. He couldn’t have died overnight from it.”[29]
Rabin’s murder may have also been connected with the murder of his deputy defense minister Mordechai “Motta” Gur, a hero of the 1967 Six-Day War like Rabin, a few months earlier. Gur supposedly died by suicide because of a terminal illness but his cancer was reported to be in remission and he was found shot through the neck.
An accompanying suicide note also looked to be forged, and the gunshot wound could not have been self-inflicted. The night before his death he had made an appointment to be interviewed by a TV reporter. Initially he had supported Rabin’s peace initiative but came to believe the Palestinians used the Oslo accords as a ruse, and was planning to run for Prime Minister.
Who Was at the Top of the Conspiracy?
If Rubin emerges as a key suspect in the killing who may have fired the fatal bullets, the people who ordered the killing remain unidentified. However, a number of key suspects emerge, including:
Carmi Gillon, the head of Shabak who was in Paris at the killing on undisclosed business and may have communicated with the conspirators in the course of the killing via telephone. Gillon had earlier used Raviv as an agent provocateur and was found by the Shamgar Commission to have not sufficiently investigated threats against Rabin that had accumulated before the assassination or pass on relevant information to Rabin’s bodyguards and the police. Gillon was later appointed to a prestigious position as head of the Shimon Peres Peace Institute.[30]
and
Shimon Peres: He was a main beneficiary of the assassination who rewarded Rubin by making him his top bodyguard after the assassination. Peres was with Rabin at the time of his assassination and his behavior on the night of the assassination appears suspicious. Peres also made sure that Carmi Gillon did not resign as head of Shabak, repeatedly praised him, and subsequently appointed him to a prestigious position. As Prime Minister in 1986, Peres had previously led the government’s refusal to allow an investigation of the Shabak in a case (known as the Bus 300 case) where its agents had executed two Gazans, who were allegedly terrorists, after they were taken into police custody.[31]
Role of French Intelligence
Peres was connected to the Vatican and France. Barry Chamish argues that the General Directorate for External Security, France’s foreign intelligence agency, equivalent to the CIA, played a role in Rabin’s assassination.
For this reason, in 1988 Prime Minister Netanyahu appointed his trusted colleague Eliyahu Ben-Elissar PhD, as ambassador to France.
Two years later, Ben-Elissar was murdered in Paris. Israel’s Foreign Ministry refused to explain his death. Barry Chamish investigated and wrote about the swirling rumors surrounding his death from a heart attack when he was previously in good health.
According to Chamish, word had reached then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak that Ben-Elissar had been apprised of the truth by a French intelligence official that his government helped murder Yitzhak Rabin in order to place their agent, Shimon Peres in the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, leading to his recall.
To avert suspicion, Barak recalled six other diplomats at the same time. But in his last days in Paris, Ben-Elissar continued gathering the facts. He was in turn lured to the hotel where he died with the promise of additional proof and told that he must arrive without any security. Once there, the “informant” spiked his coffee or utilized another means to initiate a mortal cardiac arrest. One more influential individual, who knew too much about Rabin’s assassination, then bit the dust.[32]
Watershed in History
Barry Chamish sees the plot against Rabin as having been designed to fortify the peace process because Rabin’s death was blamed on religious right-wing settlers and used to justify a police crackdown on those rabbis and right-wing groups that opposed the peace process, with many innocent people being caught up in the net.
The foreign powers which pull Israel’s strings directed Shimon Peres to murder his life-long friend. Peres carried out a palace coup much like the LBJ and the CIA/Pentagon in November 1963, with Yigal Amir being used for the same purpose as Lee Harvey Oswald. For Peres the task at hand was simple to execute. In his youth Peres invented and founded Shabak and he controlled it and used it as his own personal instrument.
Rabin was murdered for precisely the opposite reason we believed. The cover story indicted the Torah and observant Jews, blaming the rabbis “whose incitement caused Amir to act.” In fact, Rabin, who dedicated his life to the Jewish people, died a martyr in Kiddush Hashem—the sacrifice of one’s life for the sake of the Jewish people. Peres and his “deep state” apparatus murdered Rabin because he was too much a patriot.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
The author wishes to thank his friend from Israel for assisting in writing this piece.
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].
Notes
See Edward Said, “The Morning After,” London Review of Books, October 21, 1993, https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v15/n20/edward-said/the-morning-after; Avi Shlaim, “The Oslo Accord,” Journal of Palestine Studies, 23, 3 (Spring 1994), 24-40; Norman G. Finkelstein, Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, 2nd ed. (Brooklyn, NY: Verso, 2003), xix. Finkelstein wrote that the real meaning of the Oslo Accord was to create a “Palestinian Bantustan by dangling before Arafat and the PLO the perquisites of power and privilege, much like how the British controlled Palestine during the Mandate years through the mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husayni, and the Supreme Muslim Council.” The occupation continued after Oslo, “albeit by remote control and with the consent of the Palestinian people, represented by their sole representative, the PLO.”
David Morrison, Lies: Israel’s Secret Service and the Rabin Murder (Jerusalem: Gefen, 2000), 11, 14. Eliot Abrams told the Council of Foreign Relations that Secretary of State Kerry said of Rabin: “Actually, it is quite uncertain whether Rabin would have pushed forward to the two-state solution under the conditions that existed when he was assassinated, or would today.”
David M. Weinberg, “Yitzhak Rabin Was Close to Stopping the Oslo Process: Former PM’s true legacy is Israel’s struggle for secure and defensible borders, and great wariness of Palestinian statehood,” The Jerusalem Post, October 17, 2013, https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Yitzhak-Rabin-was-close-to-stopping-the-Oslo-process-329064
See Max Blumenthal, “‘I would like to see Gaza drown in the sea’: Remembering the Real Yitzhak Rabin, 20 years after his assassination,” The Grayzone Project, November 5, 2015, https://thegrayzone.com/2015/11/05/gaza-yitzhak-rabin-assassination/amp/. Rabin and Shimon Peres meanwhile oversaw the privatization of state-owned industries and limitations on the power of the country’s trade union federation.
Though succeeding in killing Rabin and replacing him as Prime-Minister, Peres’ calculations did not play out fully as he lost 1996 elections to Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing Likud Party by less than 1% of the vote, and the Oslo agreements eventually broke down. Barry Chamish maintains that Netanyahu blackmailed Peres: either Peres would lose the election, or the Likud would expose the coup d’etat. Peres manipulated his natural allies, the 210,000 Arab voters, not to vote for him.
Barry Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? (Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books, 2000), xii, xiii; Morrison, Lies, 91-128.
According to wikipedia, a Shin Bet (secret service) agent testified that “I heard a policeman shout to people to calm down. The shot is a blank.” Policeman Moshe Ephron stated: “The shots didn’t sound natural. If they were real shots, they should have sounded much louder.” Leah Rabin stated that a security guard told her immediately after the incident that the bullets shot at her husband were “blanks”. She further stated that she was told by an Israeli security chief that she “should not worry as the whole thing had been staged.
Amazingly, a revised police result was circulated 5 days after the original and an additional evaluation kit resurfaced in which many particles were apparently found on Amir’s hands.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? xiii, xiv.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 167.
A doctor and two paramedics reported that, after shots rang out and they ran toward Rabin, they were physically prevented by Rabin’s bodyguards from reaching him and the doctor was forced to the ground.
Ibid.; see also Morrison, Lies, 47.
Natan Gefen, The Deadly Sting: The Research of the Assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (Create Psace Independent Publishing, 2014). The false impression was created that Rabin had come into the ER with two gunshot wounds in his back. For comparison with JFK, see Jacob Hornberger, The Kennedy Autopsy (The Future of Freedom Foundation, 2014).
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 127, 128.
Barry Chamish, Save Israel (Modlin House, 2002), 216.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 1, 2.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 9, 10.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 132.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 58.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 60.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 80, 81, 85, 86, 146. A witness saw Rubin standing alone at a distance from Rabin after Amir’s blanks were fired. He never covered Rabin to protect him.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 83.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 85.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 85.
https://rotter.net/forum/gil/23192.shtml
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 68.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 74.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 74. Amir commented at a court hearing, “If I were to tell the whole truth, the entire system would collapse. I know enough to destroy this country.”
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin? 104.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin?; Morrison, Lies, 132, 134.
Chamish, Who Murdered Yitzhak Rabin?; Morrison, Lies, 132, 136.
On May 23, 2002, when Ariel Sharon was Prime Minister, the five-story Israeli Embassy in Paris was taken out, no doubt to cover up what ugly secrets it contained. CNN reported “The elegant building, with a wood-paneled interior, had served as the headquarters of Israel’s diplomatic mission to France for four decades. The fire was so intense that only the walls were left standing.” An electrical short was the cover story.
Featured image: Yigal Amir being taken to court after Rabin’s killing. [Source: theguardian.com]
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The shockwaves from WeWork’s bankruptcy last week continue to reverberate around the commercial real estate market, leaving office landlords around the world trembling with fear at the prospect of losing one of their largest tenants.
Bankrupt WeWork to Immediately Dump 40 NYC Office Leases: BBG
The proverbial straw that broke the CREmel's back.
Especially in prime markets such as New York City, San Francisco, London and Paris, WeWork played an outsized role in the office rental market, occupying large swaths of premium office space.
According to Bloomberg,
“Dormant locations in New York dominate a list of nearly 70 leases the coworking giant intends to terminate, court papers show. The roughly 40 contracts at issue include space near Union Square and in Fulton Center, a retail and transit facility in downtown Manhattan.”
As Statista’s Felix Richter reports,WeWork’s demise come at the worst possible time for landlords, who are already struggling to find tenants, as many companies are reducing their office footprint to reduce costs and adapt to the post-pandemic world of hybrid work.
According to real estate specialist Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), office vacancy rates are higher than ever, reaching 21 percent in the U.S. and Canada in Q3 2023 and 16 percent globally, i.e. in the 100+ markets analyzed by JLL Research. In both cases, that’s an increase of 60 percent compared to pre-pandemic vacancy rates, which stood at 13 and 10 percent in North America and globally in Q3 2019, respectively.
At the end of June, WeWork operated 906,000 workstations in 777 locations across 39 countries, with total (current and long-term) lease obligations amounting to $14.2 billion.
While it’s unclear what will happen to these locations post-bankruptcy, landlords look certain to lose out on a large chunk of their agreed-upon leases and to end up with even more excess supply of prime office space.
As of June 2022, the company rented nearly 20 million square feet of office space across the US. And what’s happening in NYC is coming to a city near you.
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
April 17, 2023 – Michael Sachs is a US Marine and his wife Anita Sachs is an active-duty member of the US Navy. Anita was forced by the US Navy to get a COVID-19 Vaccine when she was 6 months pregnant. A month before their baby was due, the baby was still born. Now she is struggling with infertility.
Oct. 16, 2021 – Brisbane, Australia – 33 year old Stephanie Whitmore was pressured to take 1st Pfizer vaccine on Sep. 13, 2021 and 2nd Pfizer on Oct. 4, 2023 at 37 weeks. Five days later on Oct. 9 her baby wasn’t moving as usual and U/S found baby had a brain hemorrhage. She suffered a stillbirth on Oct. 16, 2021.
Inexplicable Stillbirths Near Due Date (18 Cases):
Sep. 19, 2023 – Mountain Home, ID – On Sep. 19, 2023, Britney Willetts went into labor. When she got to the hospital, her baby no longer had a heartbeat. “We don’t know what happened exactly”.
Sep. 18, 2023 – Las Vegas, NV – Shaquanna Flores delivered a baby boy on Sep. 18, 2023, who was unexpectedly Stillborn. “this is definitely an unexpected tragedy.”
Sep. 17, 2023 – Chicago, IL – Gabrielle MD Shepherd had a normal and healthy pregnancy at 38wk and 5 days, two days later there was “no heartbeat is being detected”. Stillbirth.
Aug. 22, 2023 – Sarasota, FL – Addison Blair Hayes was delivered stillborn, 9 days before her due date. “She was perfectly healthy up until the moment she wasn’t.”
July 19, 2023 – Miami, FL – 26 year old Nalijah Harrell had a normal pregnancy for 38 weeks with no problems. On July 19, 2023 she gave birth to a stillborn baby.
July 10, 2023 – Sulphur Springs, TX – Baby Jason Lance Holloway Jr was stillborn on July 10, 2023 at 8 pounds and 8 oz (stillbirth must have happened very shortly before delivery) and his mother flatlined while giving birth.
June 26, 2023 – Clear Lake, WI – Kathylee Sigsworth had a normal pregnancy. They went for a routine ultrasound at 36 weeks and were informed their baby had no heartbeat. Stillbirth.
June 18, 2023 – Chester, VT – Kristen McMillen had a normal pregnancy up to her due date at 40 weeks. Baby’s heartbeat stopped on the due date.
June 10, 2023 – Houston, TX – Marcell Burgess had a normal pregnancy. A few days before the due date her baby stopped kicking and she had a stillbirth on June 10, 2023.
June 8, 2023 – Reno, NV – Roxanne Salvador learned that her baby Orion Thatcher no longer had a heartbeat at 39 weeks, and was stillborn on June 8, 2023.
May 20, 2023 – Gonzales, CA – Demise Amador had a normal pregnancy. On May 20, 2023, 38 week full term baby boy “Angel Cisneros Amador” was stillborn.
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.
Featured image is from COVID Intel
The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity
by Michel Chossudovsky
Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.
“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”
Reviews
This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon
In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia
In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig
Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac
A reading of Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late. You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin
ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0, Year: 2022, PDF Ebook, Pages: 164, 15 Chapters
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
There is a truism that I often cite when discussing the various analytical approaches to assessing the wide variety of geopolitical problems facing the world today—you can’t solve a problem unless you first properly define it. The gist of the argument is quite simple—any solution which has nothing to do with the problem involved is, literally, no solution at all.
Israel has characterized the attack carried out by Hamas on the various Israeli military bases and militarized settlements, or Kibbutz, which in their totality comprised an important part of the Gaza barrier system, as a massive act of terrorism, likening it to the September 11, 2001 terror attacks against the United States. Israel supports this characterization by citing the number of persons killed (some 1,200, a downward revision issued by Israel after realizing that 200 of the dead were Palestinian fighters) and detailing a wide variety of atrocities it claims were perpetrated by Hamas, including mass rape, the beheading of children, and the wonton murder of unarmed Israeli civilians.
The problem with the Israeli claims is that they are demonstrably false or misleading. Nearly a third of the Israeli casualties consisted of military, security, and police officers. Moreover, it turns out that the number one killer of Israelis on October 7 wasn’t Hamas or other Palestinian factions, but the Israeli military itself.
Recently released video shows Israeli Apache helicopters indiscriminately firing on Israeli civilians trying to flee the Supernova Sukkot Gathering held in the open desert near Kibbutz Re’im, the pilots unable to distinguish between the civilians and the Hamas fighters. Many of the vehicles that the Israeli government has shown as an example of Hamas perfidy were destroyed by the Israeli Apache helicopters.
Likewise, the Israeli government has widely publicized what it is calling the “Re’im massacre,” citing a death toll of some 112 civilians it claims were murdered by Hamas. However, eyewitness accounts from both surviving Israeli civilians and military personnel involved in the fighting show that the vast majority of those killed died from fire from Israeli soldiers and tanks directed at buildings where the civilians were either hiding or being held hostage by Hamas fighters.
It took two days for the Israeli military to recapture Re’im. It only did so after tanks fired into the civilian residences, collapsing them onto their occupants, and often setting them ablaze, causing the bodies of those inside to be consumed by fire. The Israeli government has publicized how it has had to make use of the services of forensic archeologists to identify human remains at the Kibbutz, implying that Hamas had burned the occupants’ home. But the fact is it was Israeli tanks that did the destruction and killing.
Footage from Israeli Apache helicopters of attacks on Israeli civilians, October 7, 2023
This scene was repeated in other Kibbutzes along the Gaza barrier system.
The Israeli government treats the Kibbutz as being purely civilian, and yet has publicized how armed security teams of several Kibbutzes—drawn from the so-called “civilian” residents—were able to mobilize in time to successfully repel the Hamas attackers. The reality is that every Kibbutz had to be treated by Hamas as an armed encampment, and as such assaulted as if it were a military objective, for the simple fact that they were—all of them.
Moreover, until Israel relocated several battalions of IDF forces to the West Bank, each Kibbutz had been reinforced by a squad of around 20 IDF soldiers who were billeted in the Kibbutz. Given that Hamas had planned this attack for well over a year, Hamas had to assume that these 20 IDF soldiers were still located in each Kibbutz, and act accordingly.
The Israeli government has had to walk back its claims that Hamas beheaded 40 children and has provided no credible evidence that Hamas was involved in the rape or sexual assault of a single Israeli female. Eyewitness accounts describe the Hamas fighters as disciplined, determined, and deadly in the attack, and yet courteous and gentle when dealing with civilian captives.
The question arises as to why the Israeli government would go out of its way to manufacture a narrative designed to support the false and misleading characterization of the October 7 attack by Hamas on the Gaza barrier system as an act of terrorism.
The answer is as disturbing as it is clear—because what happened on October 7 was not a terrorist attack, but a military raid.
The difference between the two terms is night and day—by labeling the events of October 7 as acts of terrorism, Israel transfers blame for the huge losses away from its military, security, and intelligence services, and onto Hamas. If Israel were, however, to acknowledge that what Hamas did was in fact a raid—a military operation—then the competency of the Israeli military, security, and intelligence services would be called into question, as would the political leadership responsible for overseeing and directing their operations.
Hamas video still of drone attack on Israeli guard tower, October 7, 2023
And if you’re Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is the last thing you want.
Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting for his political life. He was already facing a crisis of his own making, having pushed for legislation which re-wrote Israeli Basic Law in a way which placed the Israeli judiciary under the control of the Knesset, effectively terminating its status as a separate but equal branch of government (so much for Israel being the “greatest democracy in the Middle East”). This act brought Israel on the verge of a civil war, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets to denounce Netanyahu. What makes Netanyahu’s actions even more despicable is that it represented little more than a naked power play designed to prevent the Israeli court system from trying him on several credible allegations of corruption which, if Netanyahu were found guilty (a distinct probability), would have put him in jail for many years.
Netanyahu had billed himself as Israel’s top defender, a specialist on the threats facing Israel abroad, and how to best respond to them. He has openly advocated a military confrontation with Iran over its nuclear program. Netanyahu is also a proponent of political Zionism in its most extreme application and has promoted the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which use tactics that forcibly displace Palestinians from their homes and villages, as part of an overall plan to create a “greater Israel” that mirrors that of Biblical times.
Part of Netanyahu’s strategy to accomplish this dream of a “greater Israel” is to weaken the Palestinian people and their government to the point of irrelevancy, thereby preventing them from achieving their dream of obtaining an independent Palestinian state. To facilitate this strategy, Netanyahu has, over the course of the past two decades, promoted the growth of Hamas as a political organization. The purpose of this support is simple—by promoting Hamas, Netanyahu weakens the Palestinian Authority, the governing body of Palestinian people, headed by its President, Mahmoud Abbas.
Netanyahu’s plan was working—in September 2020 Netanyahu signed the Abaraham Accords, a series of bilateral agreements brokered by the administration of then-President Donald Trump that sought the normalization of relations between Israel and several Gulf Arab States, all at the expense of an independent Palestinian nation. Prior to the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel was on the cusp of normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia, an act which would have proven to be the final nail in the coffin of Palestinian statehood.
One of the main reasons for Israel’s progress in this regard was its success in creating a political divide between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.
On October 7, however, this success was washed away by the victory that Hamas achieved over the IDF. The precise means by which this victory took place is the subject for another time. But the basic elements of this victory are well-established.
Hamas effectively neutralized Israel’s vaunted intelligence services, blinding them to the possibility of an attack of this scope and scale.
When the attack occurred, Hamas was able to strike with precision the very surveillance and communication nodes the IDF relied upon to mobilize a response in case of an attack.
Captured Israeli Merkhava tank, October 7, 2023
Hamas defeated those Israeli soldiers stationed along the barrier wall in a stand-up fight. Two battalions of the Golani Brigade were routed, as were elements of other vaunted IDF units.
Hamas struck the Headquarters of the Gaza Division, the local intelligence hub, and other major command and control facilities with brutal precision, turning what should have been a five-minute response time into many hours—more than enough time for Hamas to carry out one of its primary objectives—the taking of hostages. This they did with extreme proficiency, returning to Gaza with more than 230 Israeli soldiers and civilians.
The Marine Corps defines a raid as “an operation, usually small scale, involving a swift penetration of hostile territory to secure information, confuse the enemy, or to destroy his installations. It ends with a planned withdrawal upon completion of the assigned mission.”
This is precisely what Hamas did on October 7.
What were the objectives of this raid? According to Hamas, the purpose behind the October 7 raid were threefold.
First, to reassert the right of the Palestinian people to a homeland not defined by the Abaraham Accords.
Second, to release the more than 10,000 Palestinians held prisoner by Israel, most without having been charged with a crime, and none with any notion of due process.
Third, to return the sanctity of the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam’s third holiest place, which had been desecrated repeatedly by Israeli security forces over the past years.
To accomplish these goals, the October 7 raid needed to create the necessary conditions for victory. This was achieved by humiliating Israel sufficiently to provoke a predictable outcome—the implementation of the Dahiya Doctrine of collective punishment against the civilian population of Gaza, combined with a ground attack on Gaza that would lure the IDF into what was in effect a Hamas ambush.
The taking of hostages was meant to provide Hamas with negotiating leverage for the release of the 10,000 prisoners held by Israel.
The Israeli bombardment and invasion of Gaza has resulted in international revulsion against Israel as the world recoils from the humanitarian disaster that is unfolding before their very eyes. The streets of major cities around the world are full of angry protestors demonstrating on behalf of the Palestinian people—and Palestinian statehood. The United States is now stating that a two-state solution—something the Abrahams Accord was designed to prevent—is now the only way forward for peace in the Middle East.
The United States would never have said this on October 6.
The fact that the United States has taken this stance is because of the Hamas raid of October 7.
Attendees, Meeting of Islamic States in Saudi Arabia
Israel is in negotiations with the United States and others about a possible prisoner exchange involving the Hamas hostages and certain categories of political prisoners—women and children—held by Israel (yes, you read that right—children. And now you know the wisdom of Hamas’ decision to take Israeli children hostage.)
Such a possibility would never have occurred if it weren’t for the Hamas raid of October 7.
And in Saudi Arabia, the largest gathering of Islamic nations in modern history has convened to discuss the Gaza crisis. One of the top agenda items is the issue of the Al Aqsa Mosque and ending Israeli desecration.
This was a discussion that would never have taken place if it were not for the Hamas raid of October 7.
It goes without saying that the Hamas raid of October 7 unleashed a firestorm of brutal recrimination in the form of bombs, shells, and bullets on the civilian population of Gaza. These are people who, for nearly eight decades, have been denied a homeland of their own by the Israelis, who violently evicted the Palestinians from the land currently called Israel in one of the greatest acts of ethnic cleansing in modern history—the Nakba, or catastrophe, of 1948.
The destruction of Gaza by Israeli forces, October 2023
These are people who have suffered untold deprivation at the hand of their Israeli occupiers while awaiting the moment they will see their dream of a Palestinian homeland come true. They know that a Palestinian homeland cannot be realized so long as Israel is governed by those who embrace the notion of a Greater (Eretz) Israel, and that the only way to remove such people is by defeating them politically, and the only way to trigger their political defeat is to defeat them militarily.
Hamas is accomplishing this.
But there is a price to pay—a heavy price. The French lost 20,000 civilians killed to achieve the liberation of Normandy in the Summer of 1944.
So far, the Palestinian civilians of Gaza have lost 12,000 civilians killed in the effort led by Hamas to militarily defeat their Israeli occupiers.
That price will go higher in the days and weeks to come.
But it is a price that must be paid if there is to be any chance of a Palestinian homeland.
The sacrifice of the Palestinian people has compelled an Arab and Islamic world which, with few exceptions, has been mute over the depravations carried out by Israel against the Palestinian people. Who did nothing as the cause of Palestinian statehood was mooted by the Abraham Accords.
Only because of the suffering of the Palestinian people is anyone paying attention to the cause of Palestinian statehood today.
Or the welfare of the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Or the sanctity of the Al Aqsa Mosque.
These were all stated objectives of Hamas in launching their attack of October 7.
And all objectives are being accomplished as we speak.
Only because of the actions of Hamas and the sacrifices of the Palestinian people.
Which makes the October 7 assault on Israel by Hamas the most successful military raid of this century.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Featured image: Hamas paraglider troops cross into Israel, October 7, 2023 / All images in this article are from the author
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Howard Woodhouse, professor of history and philosophy of education at the University of Saskatchewan, is the author of a remarkable study published in 2009 by McGill-Queen’s University Press: Selling Out: Academic Freedom and the Corporate Market. In that opus, he demonstrated how, in the context of the advent of the economic and political ideology known as neoliberalism, and despite considerable faculty opposition, the “market model of education” has been imposed on universities in Canada and the Western world in general.
This process was triggered in two ways by most governments’ systematic underfunding of higher education in the name of “fiscal responsibility”.
First, this close-fistedness made universities increasingly dependent on corporate largesse and therefore responsive to corporate demands, thus curtailing academic freedom and undermining the autonomy of universities. (Wealthy donors have indeed not hesitated to block publication of articles and veto academic appointments, for example at the University of Toronto.)
Second, it forced institutions of higher learning to morph into businesses, “selling” education in the open “market”, competing with other institutions for students who can afford the rising tuition fees. This obviously lowers the quality of education, downgrading students to the status of “educational consumers” and turning academic degrees into commodities, similar to McDonald hamburgers, whose price varies as it depends on the purchasing power of the targeted consumers. The market model of higher education also reproduces, and even increases, social inequality, as a higher education becomes more and more expensive and therefore the privilege of a wealthy minority.
Inspired by the ideas of pioneers in the field of education, such as Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, and Paolo Freire, Woodhouse argues convincingly that education, including higher education, should not be made to conform to the “market model” or “corporate model”. The main reason for that is that the logic of the market is entirely different from that of education, that the two have incompatible goals. The market’s objective is the private accumulation of wealth, primarily the already gargantuan wealth of banks and corporations and the “one percent” in general, while education is about producing, and sharing, knowledge for the benefit of all. In other words, as Woodhouse puts it: “teaching and learning have a value beyond monetary reward”. The Canadian philosopher of education thus challenged what has become the dominant paradigm with respect to higher education, that “the market model is the only way forward”. He argued that governments have a responsibility to fund universities, making it possible for them to become again what they are supposed to be, namely, “the only places in society where the critical search for knowledge takes precedence”.
In an equally engrossing book published in the spring of this year by Routledge in New York, Critical Reflections on Teacher Education: Why Future Teachers Need Educational Philosophy, Woodhouse has turned his attention to primary and secondary education and teacher training not only in Canada, but also in the US and the UK. He observes that at this level too, education has been forced to conform to the market model, with schools increasingly becoming businesses and teachers as well as administrators morphing into “managers of small businesses”, providing young people with the kind of training deemed necessary for them to find a job and for the corporations and entrepreneurs who will employ them “to compete in the global market”. As in the case of higher education, what is prioritized is private material gain, normally in the form of money, whether for the students in their future career or for their future employers. What students learn, and what educators are required to teach, are the skills and knowledge that meet this overriding goal.
However, education at the primary and secondary levels should not be exclusively a for-profit enterprise, since it is capable of producing knowledge that can be shared for the common good. Rather than promoting the goal of “amassing private wealth,” education has the power to strengthen what Woodhouse calls the “goods of the civil commons”, namely those “life goods” available regardless of the ability to pay, such as clean air and water, universal health care, public libraries, and public broadcasting. In other words, education should be about teaching “human beings to live in ways that sustain the lives of all, including the earth and other species”.
As Woodhouse writes, echoing the late Brazilian specialist in the field of education, Paulo Freire, a system of education that adopts such a mission is much more likely to encourage “organic” and “creative” growth in young people who are “inherently curious and active creatures capable of independent, critical thought” and a “desire to know”, thus making education a “joyful mental adventure”. Conversely, Freire denigrated what he called the “banking approach” to education, whereby “all-knowing teachers”, acting on behalf of “an educational machine”, fill the “empty vessels” that happen to be the minds of children, with knowledge deemed to be useful by the current powers that be, useful, that is, for the purpose of “what the market designates as value”: making money.
Obviously, a Freirean alternative approach to education would require teachers capable of inspiring and guiding young people, and this brings Woodhouse to the topic of teacher education. As he sees it, teachers would benefit from studying, and should be enabled to teach, a discipline for which there is currently little or no room, namely philosophy as a process of inquiry about matters of everyday life.
Philosophy in this sense is above all about critical thinking, posing questions about human relationships, and engaging students in their capacity to reason about entrenched ideas, for example how the market may be undermining the earth’s capacity to sustain a wide diversity of species.Teachers should be able to introduce children to elementary principles of “philosophical reasoning”, teaching them not so much “what to think” but “how to think”, and helping them to understand or — to use Freirean terminology — “name” the world. Well established practices along these lines, known as “Philosophy for Children” (PforC), “bringing teachers and children together to discuss things that matter” so as to respect the views of others, have proved to be quite successful.
Teaching philosophy to children, then, means teaching them to think critically, and Woodhouse explains that this can be done in a variety of ways within the established curriculum.“Story-telling, dancing, drawing, music-making, writing, and science” can be useful for the purpose of stimulating “philosophical dialogue” in the sense of “use of imagination, questioning, dialogue, self-criticism, [and] respect [for] differences of opinion”. Such Freirean “praxis” can enable young people to deal with issues such as “racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression” and with the huge problems that afflict our society and the world in general, including the climate crisis.
In Canada and the US, unlocking young people’s potential for philosophical thinking should also involve exposing them to traditional indigenous thinking, especially with respect to the importance of land and other forms of the commons, solidarity with other living beings, and, last but not least, the crisis of climate change and environmental degradation, for whose gravity it can provide “an understanding that builds upon hope rather than despair”. Indigenous “two-eyed seeing” can and should indeed be used “in conjunction with Western science” to educate students about the climate crisis, since the two share much “common ground”.
The title of Howard Woodhouse’s stimulating book is “Critical Reflections on Teacher Education”, and its subtitle is “Why Future Teachers Need Educational philosophy”.However, it is hoped that this compact opus will be read not only by future educators: despite the dismissive way in which philosophy is treated in the dominant market model of education, we can all learn a lot from the critical reflections offered by this remarkable philosopher of education.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
Big Business and Hitler
Author: Jacques R. Pauwels
ISBN: 9781459409873, 1459409876
Published: October 31, 2017
Publisher: James Lorimer & Company
For big business in Germany and around the world, Hitler and his National Socialist party were good news. Business was bad in the 1930s, and for multinational corporations Germany was a bright spot in a world suffering from the Great Depression. As Jacques R. Pauwels explains in this book, corporations were delighted with the profits that came from re-arming Germany, and then supplying both sides of the Second World War.
Recent historical research in Germany has laid bare the links between Hitler’s regime and big German firms. Scholars have now also documented the role of American firms — General Motors, IBM, Standard Oil, Ford, and many others — whose German subsidiaries eagerly sold equipment, weapons, and fuel needed for the German war machine. A key roadblock to America’s late entry into the Second World War was behind-the-scenes pressure from US corporations seeking to protect their profitable business selling to both sides.
Basing his work on the recent findings of scholars in many European countries and the US, Pauwels explains how Hitler gained and held the support of powerful business interests who found the well-liked oneparty fascist government, ready and willing to protect the property and profits of big business. He documents the role of the many multinationals in business today who supported Hitler and gained from the Nazi government’s horrendous measures.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Israel’s plans for the Gaza Strip are becoming increasingly clear. Zionist pro-war propaganda relies on the narrative of a supposed “fight against Hamas” to convince public opinion, but Israeli officials are becoming explicit in their statements, making it clear that the “problem” they see in the region goes beyond of Hamas, having a dissatisfaction with the Palestinian control over that territory.
In a recent statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas has already lost territorial control of northern Gaza, adding that Zionist forces will remain in the region after the end of hostilities. According to Netanyahu, Tel Aviv will not allow Palestinians to teach their children to “hate Israel”, which is why there will be Zionist forces in the Strip to “supervise” the Gazans’ attitudes.
“There is no substitute for victory. We will eliminate Hamas and save our hostages (…) The IDF has completed the encirclement of Gaza City. They are on the outskirts of Shifa Hospital and have killed a lot of terrorists (…) Hamas has lost control in the north of the Gaza Strip. They have no safe place to hide. We will not stop until the mission is completed. We are doing everything to be worthy of their sacrifice and heroism. [Gaza] will not be a civil authority there that educates their children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, or to eliminate Israel. There cannot be an authority who didn’t condemn the massacre. There will have to be something else, but in any case [it will be under] our security control. I stand by it and don’t intend to give up”, he said at a press conference on November 11th.
By saying that there will be no “civil authority” in Gaza, Netanyahu contradicted his own words, as a few days earlier the prime minister had mentioned that Israel’s objective was only to “demilitarize” – and not “govern” Gaza.
“What we have to see is Gaza demilitarized, deradicalized and rebuilt (…) We don’t seek to conquer Gaza. We don’t seek to occupy Gaza. And we don’t seek to govern Gaza”, he said on the 9th. However, on the same occasion he also said that the IDF should “enter Gaza and kill the killers [at any time, to] prevent the emergence of another Hamas-like entity.”
Apparently, Netanyahu is getting more and more explicit in his plan for Gaza. It is clear that the aim of the war against the Palestinians is not simply to defeat Hamas, but to ensure full Israeli control over the Palestinian-majority territories. By talking about not allowing a civil authority in Gaza and by calling for IDF readiness to enter Gaza and kill Palestinians at any time, Netanyahu is promising that the Gazans will not have the right to self-determination or the creation of self-defense militias. In other words, he is admitting that his war in Gaza is a war of occupation against the Palestinians.
There is nothing really “new” in what Netanyahu said, but it is noteworthy because of its explicitness. So far, the Zionist propaganda machine has managed to garner some support for the war because the excuse used by the Western media is a supposed “need” to “defeat Hamas.” However, with Zionist officials openly talking about maintaining the illegal occupation, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify support for Tel Aviv in the eyes of the Western public.
For this reason, American officials asked Netanyahu for clarification about his speech. On the 12th, Israeli TV channels, citing unidentified American sources, stated that Netanyahu’s words left American decision-makers “perplexed.” According to Kan, a state-owned Israeli TV network, American partners are demanding explanations from Netanyahu about what exactly he is referring to when he talks about controlling Gaza after the conflict.
Recently some frictions of this type have occurred. For example, John Kirby, spokesman for US National Security, stated that the US is against an Israeli occupation of Gaza. Obviously, the US does not support Palestine, but Washington’s position is based on a rational pro-Israel strategy. The more occupation of Palestinian territory, the more conflict there will be – and therefore the more difficult it will be for Americans to continue helping the Zionist state.
What is happening is a clash of different views on what is best for Israel. Westerners support a more “humanitarian” solution for Gaza because they need to reconcile their unrestricted Zionism with the values spread in their propaganda machine. On the other hand, a more radical Israeli wing defends a final solution, with ethnic cleansing and military occupation. And the more Tel Aviv becomes explicit in its alignment to this radical view, the more its international isolation increases.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Lucas Leiroz is a journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant. You can follow Lucas on X (former Twitter) and Telegram. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Your gallbladder is an abdominal organ that stores and concentrates bile produced by your liver. The bile helps your body break down and absorb the fat that you eat. When you eat a fatty meal, your gallbladder will contract and squeeze more concentrated bile into the small intestine to aid in the breakdown of the fat
Since your gallbladder is involved in the breakdown of dietary fats, digestive problems — especially when eating fatty foods — can be indicative of a problem, even if you have no other symptoms. Digestive symptoms include frequent abdominal bloating, gas, nausea and/or diarrhea shortly after eating
Gallstones are one of the most common types of gallbladder problems that can occur, affecting an estimated 15% of the U.S. population. Women are twice as likely as men to develop them, especially during pregnancy or if using birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy
One of the reasons for this gender difference is because the extra estrogen increases cholesterol while simultaneously slowing down gallbladder emptying. Obesity, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, liver cirrhosis, sickle cell disease, intravenous feeding, a family history of gallstones, use of cholesterol-lowering drugs, high-fat/low-fiber diets and fasting are also risk factors
While your gallbladder performs an important function, you can live without it. Your liver still produces and sends bile into your duodenum, so you can still break down fats to a certain degree. But it’s not as efficient, so people who have had their gallbladder removed are advised to limit the amount of fat in their diets and take digestive aids such as ox bile and digestive enzymes
*
Your gallbladder is a 3- to 4-inch long pear-shaped sack in your abdominal cavity located beneath your liver. It stores and concentrates bile produced by your liver. The bile helps your body break down and absorb the fat you eat.
When you eat fat, your liver sends bile directly into the duodenum (small intestine). Your gallbladder will also spring into action, contracting and squeezing more concentrated bile through the common bile duct into the small intestine to aid in the breakdown of the fat. Carbs and proteins are more easily digested and don’t need this extra bile.
Bile is made up of water, cholesterol, lecithin, bile salts (which break fats into smaller droplets that are easier for digestive enzymes to process) and bile pigments. The primary bile pigment is bilirubin, made from red blood cells that are broken down in the liver. This pigment is responsible for making urine yellow and stool brown.
Your pancreas also plays an important role in the digestive process. It produces and sends enzymes into the common bile duct via the pancreatic duct. Together, the digestive juices from your liver and pancreatic enzymes break down the food you eat into liquid form so that your body can absorb the nutrients from it.
Since your gallbladder is involved in the breakdown of dietary fats, digestive problems — especially when eating fatty foods — can be indicative of a problem, even if you have no other symptoms. Digestive symptoms include frequent abdominal bloating, gas, nausea and/or diarrhea shortly after eating.
Risk Factors and Symptoms of Gallstones
Gallstones are one of the most common types of gallbladder problems that can occur, affecting an estimated 15% of the U.S. population.1 Women are twice as likely as men to develop them, especially during pregnancy or if using birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy.
One of the reasons for this gender difference is because the extra estrogen increases cholesterol while simultaneously slowing down gallbladder emptying. Obesity, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, liver cirrhosis, sickle cell disease, intravenous feeding, a family history of gallstones, use of cholesterol-lowering drugs, high-fat/low-fiber diets and fasting are also risk factors.2,3
Gallstones typically consist of crystallized bile, and if large enough to block a biliary duct, can cause varying degrees of pain. Left untreated, the blockage can lead to cholecystitis, or inflammation of the gallbladder. Common symptoms of cholecystitis include:
A gallbladder infection needs to be treated to avoid gallbladder rupture, which can be life-threatening, gangrene, or a gallbladder abscess. Abscesses occur when a pocket of pus forms inside the gallbladder. In severe cases of cholecystitis, the gallbladder is removed, but milder cases may be treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.
This is why you want to be really careful with your gallbladder and at the first sign of symptoms treat it as if you didn’t have a gallbladder so you can reverse the process and not have it surgically removed as so many people do. Not much you can do after a surgeon removes it for you as no way are you getting a gallbladder transplant.
Other Types of Gallbladder Disease
Cholecystitis can also develop in the absence of stones, although it’s far rarer. Only 5% of acute cholecystitis cases are so-called acalculous, meaning there are no stones present.4
Acalculous gallbladder disease is thought to be caused by bile build-up due to a lack of oxygen to the gallbladder. In these cases, the gallbladder is typically removed. Other potential gallbladder problems include:5,6
Can You Live Without a Gallbladder?
While your gallbladder performs an important function, you can live without it. In fact, many do, as gallbladder removal is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in the U.S.7
Your liver still produces and sends bile into your duodenum, so you can still break down fats to a certain degree. But it’s not as efficient, as the bile from your liver is less concentrated. This is why people who have had their gallbladder removed are advised to limit the amount of fat in their diets and take digestive aids such as ox bile and digestive enzymes.
Fat malabsorption is also common among people with functioning gallbladders. Symptoms such as sticky stools, stools that float, frequent diarrhea, digestive upset, gas and/or soft foul-smelling stools right after meals, chronic dry skin and hair loss are common symptoms suggesting you may not be digesting fats properly.8
How to Improve Digestion of Fats
Whether you’ve had your gallbladder removed or not, you can improve your digestion of fats using:
Bitters — Bitters help stimulate the production of bile to boost the digestive process. The first signals for bile production come from your tongue, so taking a tablespoon of bitters right before eating can get the flow of bile going.
Betaine hydrochloride (HCI) — Betaine HCI — not to be confused with betaine or trimethylglycine (TMG) — increases the concentration of stomach acid, which is required for digestion of food. It also signals your pancreas to release digestive enzymes. If your stomach acid is too low, some of the food you will remain largely undigested.
Digestive enzymes — In many people, the pancreas doesn’t produce enough digestive enzymes. In this case, taking a digestive enzyme supplement with each meal can help. There are five primary digestive enzymes, each designed to help break down different types of food:
Protease breaks down protein
Amylase breaks down carbohydrates, sugars and starches
Lipase breaks down fats. If you have IBS, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, no gallbladder or gallbladder dysfunction, you may benefit from higher levels of lipase
Lactase breaks down milk sugar (lactose) in dairy products
Sucrase breaks down sucrose sugars
Taking a blend of enzymes is usually ideal, as no single enzyme can perform all the necessary functions throughout your digestive tract. That said, if you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, no gallbladder or gallbladder dysfunction, you may benefit from higher levels of lipase in particular.
Ox bile — Ox bile, which is most similar to that of humans, is particularly important after you’ve had your gallbladder removed. Ideally, take one tablet along with a lipase-containing digestive enzyme shortly before meals.
As noted by biohacker Dave Asprey, you can also improve your digestion of fats by eating the right fats:9
“C8 MCTs (caprylic acid) … skips a few steps in digestion. You don’t need bile for your cells to use it. Having a little bit of caprylic acid every day will help your body replenish the fats it’s been missing out while you haven’t been digesting fats.
Eating more fats will stimulate your liver to produce more bile, which will mix with stagnant bile and thin it out. Eating high quality fats like avocados, salmon and coconut oil to get things flowing.”
How to Avoid Gallstones
While it’s still unclear why gallstones form, a number of lifestyle strategies are known to lower your risk, including the following:
Get regular exercise
Clean up your diet — Avoid processed foods and grains, keep hydrated, opt for healthy high-quality fats and eat more high-fiber foods such as fruits and vegetables
Lose weight gradually — Rapid weight loss may raise your risk of gallstones
Avoid extended fasting, not only will it help your gallbladder, but it will increase your health as fasting is not as healthy as I previously believed as it increases your stress hormones and worsens mitochondrial function
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
During his (November 4) meeting with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan, the U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was angry and overtly upset – his Arab hosts raised some questions instead of their normal nods of submissions.
As the death toll approached 10,000, the foreign ministers were visibly concerned with genocide and mass atrocities in Palestine.
Their fear is that the wholesale assaults on innocent civilians is inciting popular resentments and is deepening discontent among their people. They requested Blinken to have mercy on them as the popular protests eventually endanger the survivability of Washington’s Arab protectorates.
Blinken was unmoved and asserted that Washington will not tolerate popular protest or any support for the Palestinian cause in any part in the Arab World.
And that the Arab governments have no choice but to obey and submit. The fearful foreign ministers got the message that Washington would not accept any sympathy for Palestinians. They got the impression that he fully embraced the Israel’s plan to pacify the Palestinians with bombs, bullets, and forever occupation.
In his instructions, Blinken left no room for guessing where he stood and why he was there. Arab hosts understood that he was there to ensure submission to Israeli will and that any dissent would be dealt with harshly and swiftly. The hosts looked at each other’s face and were asking themselves if they would face the same fate of Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, and Libya where destruction is everywhere and misery is widespread.
More importantly, the foreign ministers knew that the self-appointed Avenger from Tel Aviv, Bibi Netanyahu, dictated the talking points for Blinken. And this is where Blinken was clear more than ever. It is Bibi’s words and instructions that he conveys both to his hosts and to President Biden. So, when Blinken’s god stated, “There will be no ceasefire . . .[and it] should be completely removed from the lexicon,” elite in Washington listen.
Left with no other options, the Arab foreign ministers who met with Blinken begged his forgiveness and asked his blessing. They requested him to understand their dilemma — justifying the killing and genocide in the Holy Land to their constituencies while projecting themselves as the defender of the Arab people. Some Arab states have been more successful than others in misleading the public. However, most of them have done a great job in promoting Israeli narrative in their media while pressuring their citizens not to show any public support for Palestinians.
Jordan and Egypt have aggressively sought to avoid enraging Washington’s elite while showing sympathy to Palestinians only for public consumption. Saudi Arabia and the UAE outlaw public protests. The most damaging act to the Palestinian cause, however, is the report in the New York Times (November 5) which indicated that the Egyptian government quietly agreed to Israeli plan to “transfer . . . several hundred thousand [Palestinians ] civilians from Gaza” and settle them in Egypt. This is an important development in the search for ending the Palestinian cause.
During the press conference with Blinken, the Arab foreign ministers could not escape the fact that he spoke with contempt, disdain, and disregard. This has deepened their fear of what the future holds and simultaneously reinforces their feeling of inferiority. Indeed, these corrupt Arab politicians consider the mere existence of Palestinian question is troubling nightmare.
Perhaps, Blinken was amused that his hosts have no soul or are not driven by any national Arab cause, and that, quoting the Iraqi poet Muzafer Al Nawwab, “the pigsty is cleaner than they are.” No wonder Blinken is not denouncing the call to annihilate Palestinians in Gaza by members of the government in Tel Aviv. As reported by the Times of Israel (November 5), Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu called to end Palestinian troubles by using ‘atomic bomb on Gaza Strip.’
There is no doubt that the Arab authoritarian regimes understand very well that Washington’s elite will seize any opportunity to humiliate Arabs. For these elite having Arabs waiting in line begging for food and mercy is an ideal situation. This fact was captured by a former senior State Department officer, Michael Ledeen, who stated
“we will not be sated until we have had the blood of every miserable little tyrant in the Middle East, until every leader of every cell . . . is dead or locked securely away, and every last drooling anti-Semitic and anti-American. . . is . . . singing the praises of the United States of America.”
Likewise, as Vice President at that time, Dick Cheney argued that the best strategy to pacify the Arab people is to use force against them. He argued
“I firmly believe that strong, firm U.S. response . . .to threats to the United States would go a long way, frankly, toward calming things in that part of the world.”
This view is commonly shared by Washington’s elite and appears to be promoted by Blinken.
Nevertheless, these regimes do not mind collaborating with Washington in making it wishes a reality. They have mastered the art of projecting themselves as defenders of national causes. The unfolding events in the Holy Land evidence the failure of Arab regimes to take any credible stand to end genocide and save Palestinian lives.
Without any doubt, Blinken knows that if the Arab regimes express wholehearted support for Palestinians, neither Israel nor the U.S. will engage in acts against the people in the region. The leaders of the Arab autocratic regimes are morally defeated. Their survival is primarily guaranteed by Washington even though they are despised by their citizens. For years, Washington has been driven by the notion that the best leaders for the Arab states are those who are brutal and crooked. This belief is bigoted, dangerous, and catastrophic.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Abbas J. Ali is distinguished University Professor, Eberly College of Business, IUP. Indiana, PA. He is the author/co-author of ten books and about 200 journal articles. His most current books are Sectarianism in Islam: Power, Tribalism, and Commercial Interests, Nova Science Publishers, and Business Ethics in Islam. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar.
Featured image: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Source: Celal Gunes – Anadolu Agency)
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
We have both been reporting on and protesting against U.S. war crimes for many years, and against identical crimes committed by U.S. allies and proxies like Israel and Saudi Arabia: illegal uses of military force to try to remove enemy governments or “regimes”; hostile military occupations; disproportionate military violence justified by claims of “terrorism”; the bombing and killing of civilians; and the mass destruction of whole cities.
Most Americans share a general aversion to war, but tend to accept this militarized foreign policy because we are tragically susceptible to propaganda, the machinery of public manipulation that works hand in hand with the machinery of killing to justify otherwise unthinkable horrors.
This process of “manufacturing consent” works in a number of ways. One of the most effective forms of propaganda is silence, simply not telling us, and certainly not showing us, what war is really doing to the people whose homes and communities have been turned into America’s latest battlefield.
The most devastating campaign the U.S. military has waged in recent years dropped over 100,000 bombs and missiles on Mosul in Iraq, Raqqa in Syria, and other areas occupied by ISIS or Da’esh. An Iraqi Kurdish intelligence report estimated that more than 40,000 civilians were killed in Mosul, while Raqqa was even more totally destroyed.
The shelling of Raqqa was the heaviest U.S. artillery bombardment since the Vietnam War, yet it was barely reported in the U.S. corporate media. A recent New York Times article about the traumatic brain injuries and PTSD suffered by U.S. artillerymen operating 155 mm howitzers, which each fired up to 10,000 shells into Raqqa, was appropriately titled A Secret War, Strange New Wounds and Silence from the Pentagon.
Shrouding such mass death and destruction in secrecy is a remarkable achievement. When British playwright Harold Pinter was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2005, in the midst of the Iraq War, he titled his Nobel speech “Art, Truth and Politics,” and used it to shine a light on this diabolical aspect of U.S. war-making.
After talking about the hundreds of thousands of killings in Indonesia, Greece, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Haiti, Turkey, the Philippines, Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile and Nicaragua, Pinter asked:
“Did they take place? And are they in all cases attributable to US foreign policy? The answer is yes, they did take place and they are attributable to American foreign policy.”
“But you wouldn’t know it,” he went on. ”It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest. The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.”
But the wars and the killing go on, day after day, year after year, out of sight and out of mind for most Americans. Did you know that the United States and its allies have dropped more than 350,000 bombs and missiles on 9 countries since 2001 (including 14,000 in the current war on Gaza)? That’s an average of 44 airstrikes per day, day in, day out, for 22 years.
Israel, in its present war on Gaza, with children making up more than 40% of the more than 11,000 people killed to date, would surely like to mimic the extraordinary U.S. ability to hide its brutality. But despite Israel’s efforts to impose a media blackout, the massacre is taking place in a small, enclosed, densely-populated urban area, often called an open-air prison, where the world can see a great deal more than usual of how it impacts real people.
Al Jazeera correspondent Wael El-Dahdouh cries as he holds one of his family members who were killed in an Israeli air strike on a building in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on October 25, 2023. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images)
Israel has killed a record number of journalists in Gaza, and this appears to be a deliberate strategy, as when U.S. forces targeted journalists in Iraq. But we are still seeing horrifying video and photos of daily new atrocities: dead and wounded children; hospitals struggling to treat the injured; and desperate people fleeing from one place to another through the rubble of their destroyed homes.
Another reason this war is not so well hidden is because Israel is waging it, not the United States. The U.S. is supplying most of the weapons, has sent aircraft carriers to the region, and dispatched U.S. Marine General James Glynn to provide tactical advice based on his experience conducting similar massacres in Fallujah and Mosul in Iraq. But Israeli leaders seem to have overestimated the extent to which the U.S. information warfare machine would shield them from public scrutiny and political accountability.
Unlike in Fallujah, Mosul and Raqqa, people all over the world are seeing video of the unfolding catastrophe on their computers, phones and TVs. Netanyahu, Biden and the corrupt “defense analysts” on cable TV are no longer the ones creating the narrative, as they try to tack self-serving narratives onto the horrifying reality we can all see for ourselves.
With the reality of war and genocide staring the world in the face, people everywhere are challenging the impunity with which Israel is systematically violating international humanitarian law.
Michael Crowley and Edward Wong have reported in the New York Times that Israeli officials are defending their actions in Gaza by pointing to U.S. war crimes, insisting that they are simply interpreting the laws of war the same way that the United States has interpreted them in Iraq and other U.S. war zones. They compare Gaza to Fallujah, Mosul and even Hiroshima.
But copying U.S. war crimes is precisely what makes Israel’s actions illegal. And it is the world’s failure to hold the United States accountable that has emboldened Israel to believe it too can kill with impunity.
The United States systematically violates the UN Charter’s prohibition against the threat or use of force, manufacturing political justifications to suit each case and using its Security Council veto to evade international accountability. Its military lawyers employ unique, exceptional interpretations of the Fourth Geneva Convention, under which the universal protections the Convention guarantees to civilians are treated as secondary to U.S. military objectives.
The United States fiercely resists the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), to ensure that its exceptional interpretations of international law are never subjected to impartial judicial scrutiny.
When the United States did allow the ICJ to rule on its war against Nicaragua in 1986, the ICJ ruled that its deployment of the “Contras” to invade and attack Nicaragua and its mining of Nicaragua’s ports were acts of aggression in violation of international law, and ordered the United States to pay war reparations to Nicaragua. When the United States declared that it would no longer recognize the jurisdiction of the ICJ and failed to pay up, Nicaragua asked the UN Security Council to enforce the reparations, but the U.S. vetoed the resolution.
Atrocities like Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the bombing of German and Japanese cities to “unhouse” the civilian population, as Winston Churchill called it, together with the horrors of Germany’s Nazi holocaust, led to the adoption of the new Fourth Geneva Convention in 1949, to protect civilians in war zones and under military occupation.
On the 50th anniversary of the Convention in 1999, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is responsible for monitoring international compliance with the Geneva Conventions, conducted a survey to see how well people in different countries understood the protections the Convention provides.
They surveyed people in twelve countries that had been victims of war, in four countries (France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S.) that are permanent members of the UN Security Council, and in Switzerland where the ICRC is based. The ICRC published the results of the survey in 2000, in a report titled, People on War – Civilians in the Line of Fire.
The survey asked people to choose between a correct understanding of the Convention’s civilian protections and a watered-down interpretation of them that closely resembles that of U.S. and Israeli military lawyers.
The correct understanding was defined by a statement that combatants “must attack only other combatants and leave civilians alone.” The weaker, incorrect statement was that “combatants should avoid civilians as much as possible” as they conduct military operations.
Between 72% and 77% of the people in the other UNSC countries and Switzerland agreed with the correct statement, but the United States was an outlier, with only 52% agreeing. In fact 42% of Americans agreed with the weaker statement, twice as many as in the other countries. There were similar disparities between the United States and the others on questions about torture and the treatment of prisoners of war.
In U.S.-occupied Iraq, the United States’ exceptionally weak interpretations of the Geneva Conventions led to endless disputes with the ICRC and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), which issued damning quarterly human rights reports. UNAMI consistently maintained that U.S. airstrikes in densely populated civilian areas were violations of international law.
For instance, its human rights report for the 2nd quarter of 2007 documented UNAMI’s investigations of 15 incidents in which U.S. occupation forces killed 103 Iraqi civilians, including 27 killed in airstrikes in Khalidiya, near Ramadi, on April 3rd, and 7 children killed in a helicopter attack on an elementary school in Diyala province on May 8th.
UNAMI demanded that “all credible allegations of unlawful killings by MNF (Multi-National Force) forces be thoroughly, promptly and impartially investigated, and appropriate action taken against military personnel found to have used excessive or indiscriminate force.”
A footnote explained,
“Customary international humanitarian law demands that, as much as possible, military objectives must not be located within areas densely populated by civilians. The presence of individual combatants among a great number of civilians does not alter the civilian character of an area.”
UNAMI also rejected U.S. claims that its widespread killing of civilians was the result of the Iraqi Resistance using civilians as “human shields,” another U.S. propaganda trope that Israel is mimicking today. Israeli accusations of human shielding are even more absurd in the densely populated, confined space of Gaza, where the whole world can see that it is Israel that is placing civilians in the line of fire as they desperately seek safety from Israeli bombardment.
Calls for a ceasefire in Gaza are echoing around the world: through the halls of the United Nations; from the governments of traditional U.S. allies like France, Spain and Norway; from a newly united front of previously divided Middle Eastern leaders; and in the streets of London and Washington. The world is withdrawing its consent for a genocidal “two-state solution” in which Israel and the United States are the only two states that can settle the fate of Palestine.
If U.S. and Israeli leaders are hoping that they can squeak through this crisis, and that the public’s habitually short attention span will wash away the world’s horror at the crimes we are all witnessing, that may be yet another serious misjudgment. As Hannah Arendt wrote in 1950 in the preface to The Origins of Totalitarianism:
“We can no longer afford to take that which was good in the past and simply call it our heritage, to discard the bad and simply think of it as a dead load which by itself time will bury in oblivion. The subterranean stream of Western history has finally come to the surface and usurped the dignity of our tradition. This is the reality in which we live. And this is why all efforts to escape from the grimness of the present into nostalgia for a still intact past, or into the anticipated oblivion of a better future, are vain.”
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Featured image: Girl holds improvised white flag, to tell Israel to respect Geneva Conventions and spare her fleeing family. Photo credit: Yasser Qudih
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
For five consecutive weeks, hundreds of thousands of people in Britain have held demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle against the settler-colonial regime based in Tel Aviv.
Many of the participants are calling for a ceasefire while others want to express their support for the Palestinians resisting the onslaught of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) with the backing of the United States, Britain and other Western European states.
On Saturday November 11, the Metropolitan Police in London estimated the number of marchers to be 300,000. Organizers said that the crowd was at least 500,000. This turn out was the largest since the beginning of the siege of Gaza on October 9.
This mobilization was coordinated by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, a broad alliance of political and community organizations with affiliates throughout the country. The large numbers of demonstrators every week illustrates clearly the popular concerns over not only the situation in Gaza, it is a condemnation of the foreign policy of Conservative Party Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who is a staunch ally of the government of the State of Israel.
These demonstrations have been peaceful, and the only arrests made on November 11 were to apprehend a small group of right-wing counter-protesters who showed up to agitate the Palestine solidarity activists. There were news stories claiming that the pro-Israeli counter-protesters had attacked the police prompting the arrests.
Just a few days prior to the November 11 actions, former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman published an opinion piece in a leading newspaper, The Times, where she seemed to urge a ban on the demonstrations saying that the marches were pro-Palestinian mobs exuding hatred. Braverman noted in her diatribe that November 11 was Armistice Day, the 106th anniversary of the ceasefire at the conclusion of World War I.
The then Home Secretary accused the police of being lenient towards the Palestine solidarity marches. In response, the director of the police publicly rebuked Braverman and stated that there was no legal basis for placing a ban on the marches. Organizers of the demonstrations said that the latest mobilization coinciding with armistice day was quite appropriate for the existing war against the Palestinian people.
Gaza siege places journalists in danger (Source: Abayomi Azikiwe)
Braverman was relieved of her position on November 13 and replaced by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. To replace Cleverly, Sunak appointed former Prime Minister David Cameron who resigned in 2016 after losing the referendum on Brexit. These changes in the British government are a reflection of the lack of a coherent policy for both domestic and foreign issues.
Just one day prior to the massive rally and march in Central London, a direct-action protest was carried out aimed at highlighting the military links between Britain and the State of Israel. According to a report in the Arab News:
“UK trade union members on Friday blockaded a British military equipment maker in southeastern England, calling for a cease-fire in Israel’s offensive in Gaza. Demonstrators brandished banners and placards reading ‘no business as usual’ and ‘taxpayers have blood on their hands’ outside the gates of the BAE Systems factory in Rochester. Organizers said they were aiming to shut down the factory ‘which provides components for military aircraft currently being used by Israeli forces in the bombardment of Gaza.’ They said it was part of an ‘International Day of Action for Palestine’ organized in response to a call by Palestinian trade unionists.”
In Western European states there has been a growth in participation for demonstrations against the IDF war on Gaza. Despite the bans placed on this protest activity in France and Germany, people have defied these orders by governments and the police to turn out in large numbers in solidarity with Palestine.
“About 21,000 people took part in a pro-Palestinian rally in Brussels on Saturday, and in Paris, left-wing lawmakers were among some 16,000 protesters who marched with pro-Palestinian banners and flags to call for a ceasefire. Some French leftist politicians have welcomed President Emmanuel Macron’s call this week for a ceasefire and opposition to Israel’s bombing campaign.”
French President Emmanuel Macron did say in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that he is in favor of a ceasefire. Nonetheless, Macron was one of the first western heads-of-state to travel to Tel Aviv and meet with Netanyahu pledging support to the Zionist state. The French president even went further calling for a coalition to fight “terrorism” while never condemning the blanket bombing of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) over Gaza.
U.S. Backlash Against Growing Solidarity Movement
Since October 7, there have been thousands of demonstrations across the U.S. calling for a ceasefire and expressing solidarity with the Palestinians. These actions have taken place in most major municipalities and on college campuses.
The pro-Palestinian sentiment among students and progressive faculty members has drawn the ire of the supporters of the State of Israel. At Columbia University in New York City, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) have been banned on the campus.
These efforts are obviously emanating from the U.S. ruling class and their functionaries. Al Jazeera reported in an article on November 12 that:
“A billionaire real estate tycoon in the United States is rallying support for a high-dollar media crusade to boost Israel’s image and demonize the Hamas armed group amid global pro-Palestinian solidarity protests. The media campaign — called Facts for Peace — is seeking million-dollar donations from dozens of the world’s biggest names in media, finance and technology, according to an email seen by news website Semafor. More than 50 individuals are being courted, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Dell CEO Michael Dell and financier Michael Milken. They have a combined net worth of around $500bn, Semafor said. Some of the individuals, such as investor Bill Ackman, have publicly threatened to blacklist pro-Palestine students who are critical of Israel. On October 10, Ackman wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he and other business executives wanted Ivy League universities to disclose the names of students who are part of organizations that signed open letters criticizing Israeli policies in Gaza.”
The desire on the part of these groupings is to get ahead of the rapidly shifting public opinion against the State of Israel and the administration of Joe Biden. However, they are horribly late in their efforts particularly since the politico-military posture of Washington and Tel Aviv have been characterized as war crimes and genocide.
Palestinians forced to flee their homes again (Source: Abayomi Azikiwe)
Moreover, many people view the policies of the U.S. in West Asia as inevitably leading to another major deployment of Pentagon troops in the region. The situation in the region coupled with the Biden proxy-war against the Russian Federation is quite costly for the working class and oppressed peoples in the U.S.
Corporate Media Bias Challenged by Journalists
To illustrate the degree to which many mainstream newspaper, radio and television workers have changed their positions on the Palestinian question, a large number of journalists have signed an open letter criticizing the corporate and government-controlled media houses for their unconditional commitment to protecting the economic, military and diplomatic status granted to Tel Aviv within the U.S. political system. The journalists cite the bias of the ruling class aligned newsrooms for their double standards in designating organizations such as Hamas as terrorists while justifying the actions of the Netanyahu administration and the IDF in their attacks on the Palestinians, characterizing this oppressed nation in terms which question their humanity and moral character.
Even the Times of Israel, which can in no way be considered antisemitic or anti-Zionist, covered this important development points to the concern over the shifting public opinion within the U.S. and Western Europe where ruling class endorsements of successive administrations in Tel Aviv is being challenged. The fact that these journalists and news analysts would risk their careers to point out the biased and hypocritical editorial stances of the media agencies which have broad sway over influencing people of all generations and sectors of the population, is obviously a cause for concern among both dominant political parties and the ruling class interests which finance their operations.
“Over 750 former and current journalists around the world have signed a petition calling on the media to begin using terms such as ‘genocide’ and ‘apartheid’ to describe Israel’s actions in the conflict with the Palestinians, while blasting international media coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. The petition, posted on Thursday (Nov. 9), urged an end to what it alleged was the targeting of journalists by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip, citing the deaths of dozens of Palestinians working for foreign media outlets during the war…. Journalists from Reuters, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, and The Washington Post are among the signatories. Abdallah Fayyad, a former editorial board member at The Boston Globe and 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist, told The Washington Post he hoped the letter would ‘push back on the culture of fear around this issue… and to make decision-makers and reporters and editors think twice about the language that they use.’”
These emerging trends in the political and intellectual culture of influential institutions within U.S. society could very well impact the foreign policy imperatives of Washington and Wall Street. As in previous imperialist wars in geopolitical regions encompassing Korea, Vietnam, China, Southern Africa, etc., the outlooks of millions within the U.S. can be transformed in a manner which will have a profound impact on the balance of forces within a global context.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Abayomi Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image: Detroit Palestine solidarity activists block the entrance to Sen. Stabenow’s offices (Source: Abayomi Azikiwe)
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
For anyone wishing to bury secrets, especially of the unsavoury sort, there is one forum that stands out. Call it a higher education institution. Call it a university. Even better, capitalise it: the University.
This is certainly the case in Australia, where education is less a pursuit of knowledge as the acquiring of a commodity, laid out spam for so much return. On that vast island continent, the university, dominated by a largely semi-literate and utterly unaccountable management, is a place where secrets are buried, concealed with a gleeful dedication verging on mania.
In its submission to what will hopefully become the Australian Universities Accord, the Australian Association of University Professors (AAUP) notes the following:
“Unfortunately, university managements are increasingly disconnected from and unaccountable to academic values and academic communities. Students, Government and granting bodies, pay universities to deliver services according to academic values, but academics are impeded from working in accordance with academic values by interfering management. Further, the managers themselves do not work in accordance with academic values.”
Those in the defence industry have taken note. By turning such institutions of instruction into supply lines for research and development in armaments, they can be assured of secrecy conditions the envy of most intelligence agencies. Consulting, viewing, gaining access to relevant agreements, documentation and projects for reasons of public discussion is virtually impossible. These are always seen as “commercial” and “in confidence”.
Only the overly fed and watered members of the University Politburo are granted such access. Entry into the arcana of its deliberations is ceremonially tolerated via Academic Board meetings or Senatorial deliberations. Furthermore, academics throughout the university sport a reliable, moral flabbiness that will prevent them from spilling the beans and airing a troubled conscience, even in cases where leaking the documentation might be possible. Middle class, mortgage-laden status anxiety is the usual formula here, one that neuters revolutionary spirits – not that there was much to begin with.
Across Australia’s universities, the AUKUS military initiative between the US, UK and Australia, primarily focused on developing nuclear powered technology for a new submarine design, has titillated the managerial wonks of the tertiary education sector. In September, the Defence Department announced that 4,000 additional Commonwealth supported places (CSPs) for undergraduate students would be funded as part of its “Nuclear-Powered Submarine Student Pathways” strategy.
Institutes have sprung up running short courses to rake in the cash, such as the UWA Defence and Security Institute, which proudly claims to have created the “essential course for those seeking to gain a greater understanding of AUKUS Pillar 1 (nuclear powered submarines) and the impacts for Western Australia and beyond.” A course running for thirteen hours does not seem particularly hefty, but this is a field of glitz over substance.
Image: Elbit Systems 900 take off (cropped & levels) (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)
Then come the true villains of the piece, the arms manufacturers and companies that make the military-university-industrial complex intimate and obscene. One of interest here is Israel’s Elbit Systems. For years, it has hammered out a reputation for manufacturing such lethal products as the Hermes 900 drone, which was first deployed in 2014 against targets in the Gaza Strip. It supplies the lion’s share of drones used by the Israeli Defence Forces for strikes and surveillance (the figure may be as high as 85%).
The company has managed to beef up many an activist’s resumé. Members of the Palestine Action group claim to have scored a victory in securing the permanent closure of two of Elbit’s sites in 2022, including the London head office. “The cracks in Elbit’s warehouse windows,” the organisation trumpeted in August this year, “do not simply represent cosmetic damage but also symbolise the crumbling foundations of Elbit’s relationship with the British State’s so-called defence interests.”
The corporation has also fallen out of favour with a number of investors. HSBC and the French multinational AXA Investment Managers divested from the company in 2018 and 2019 given its role in producing and commercialising cluster munitions and white phosphorus shells. In May 2022, the Australian sovereign wealth fund, Future Fund, excluded Elbit Systems Limited from its investment portfolio for much the same reasons.
Despite this blotched and blotted record, Elbit could still stealthily establish a bridgehead in the university sector down under through its creation, in 2021, of a Centre of Excellence in Human-Machine Teaming and Artificial Intelligence in Port Melbourne. Elbit Systems of Australia (ELSA) had two special clients: the state government of Victoria, which provided some funding via Invest Victoria, and RMIT University’s Centre for Industrial AI Research and Innovation. The two-year partnership with ELSA’s Centre of Excellence was intended to, according to ELSA’s then managing director and retired Major General Paul McLachlan, “research how to use drones to count the number of people in designated evacuation zones, then to co-ordinate and communicate the most efficient evacuation routes to everyone in the zone, as well as monitoring the area to ensure that everyone has been accounted for.”
Despite such seemingly noble goals, the opening ceremony in February 2021 had a distinctly heavy military accent, with senior representatives from the Royal Australian Airforce, DST (Defence Science and Technology) Group and the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG). No one present could deny that technology used in the context of civilian evacuations in the face of natural disaster could just as well be deployed in a military security context. As Antony Loewenstein has observed,
“If you partner, as a state or a university, with a company like Elbit, you have blood on your hands because the record of Elbit in Israel-Palestine, on the US-Mexican border and elsewhere is so damned clear.”
Since the Hamas attacks on Israeli soil that took place on October 7, the ELSA-RMIT-Victorian relationship has seemingly altered. A war of horrendous carnage is being waged in the Gaza Strip. Activists claim to have scored a famous victory in securing the university’s hazy termination of any partnership with ELSA.
“This is a significant victory for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in Australia,” claims Hilmi Dabbagh of BDS Australia. “Australian universities have been put on notice that they will be targeted if they partner with any Israeli company or institution complicit in human rights abuses and attacks on Palestinians.”
Such confidence is admirably fresh, if a touch green. It is worth looking at the university statement, which is revealing in ways that have been entirely missed in the enthusiastic pronouncements of the BDS movement. The university claims to “not design, develop or manufacture weapons or munitions in the university or as part of any partnership. With regard to Elbit Systems, RMIT does not have a partnership with Elbit Systems or any of their subsidiaries, including Elbit Systems of Australia (ELSA).” Such wording avoids the language of termination, leaving the question open as to whether it ever had an arrangement to begin with, with its requisite project links. This will, as with much else, be deemed commercial, in confidence, and buried in the bowels of secrecy we have come to expect from the antipodean university sector.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. He is a regular contributor to Global Research and Asia-Pacific Research. Email: [email protected]
The Horror is of thousands and thousands – tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands — dead bodies disintegrating in the rubbles of indiscriminately IDF-bombed hospitals, apartment buildings, mosques – you name it. The Horror is of universal bearing, especially since the world – HUMANITY, yes, humanity – just looks on. That, in itself, is beyond words, beyond imagination, beyond the spirit of anything that calls itself human.
Authorities in Kiev are attempting to organise a direct conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former US President Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate expected to run against the Democrats in 2024. This comes as Joe Biden seeks re-election amid his deteriorating image in US public opinion and as Trump’s popularity grows.
Erythema multiforme (EM) is among the oral mucocutaneous side effects of COVID-19 vaccines. Review: 90 patients with Erythema Multiforme (EM) as a side effect of COVID-19 vaccination across several studies.
At the time, evidence of the criminality of the Public Health™ and pharmaceutical in developing experimental gene therapies marketed as “vaccines” and then enforcing brutal, siege-style lockdowns and mandates on the population with the explicit aim of enforcing “compliance” by taking them was mounting. Denialism — which had been the predominate strategy up until that point — was no longer viable.
Armistice Day is one of those disturbing occasions of the year when humanity’s folly is laid bare. It should be an occasion to remind said humanity about the stupid waste occasioned by war and its war-crazed planners who generally elude the dock; instead, it’s an occasion to extol its virtues and remind the reactionaries that war can be a mighty fine thing to pursue in the name of an ideology, cock-eyed belief or a sense of self-worth.
There are many ways to kill: slow or quick, silently, insidiously and by imperceptible degrees — or cataclysmically loud, as in open battle. And we are seeing all of them play out across our stricken globe.
Since human character traits are developed in childhood, educators must be trained who are capable of raising a generation that can realise a new and humane social order. Since young people often complain that their parents do not understand them and therefore resent them, it is of great importance that both generations are reconciled with each other. This is most successfully achieved through psychotherapy.
There can’t be democracy and colonial war; one aspires to decency, the other to fascism. Meanwhile, once welcomed mavericks are heretics now in an underground of journalism amid a landscape of mendacious conformity.
The plan envisages the subsequent opening of a “humanitarian corridor” to transfer the Palestinians from Gaza to the Egyptian desert of Sinai, then doing the same with the Palestinians of the West Bank.
The Biden administration is killing people, openly in Ukraine and Gaza and secretly around the world. It has continued to use the killing machinery crafted by President George W. Bush, expanded by President Barack Obama, and employed by President Donald Trump. These presidents have used drones and other unmanned projectiles to target persons in foreign countries with which the United States is not at war.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
This important article was originally published by Dr. David Halpin on January 24, 2011. Dr, Halpin is a powerful voice, committed to the People of Palestine.
***
Introduction
The deliberate injury of the limbs of 23 boys by high velocity weapons has been logged and described by Defence for Children International – Palestine Branch (DCI-P) since March 2010. (1) Some of the facts have been published in national newspapers. These barbarous acts contravene international and national law but there are no judicial responses. The caring professions see the physical and mental pain of those who suffer and they should be in the vanguard in calling for this great cruelty to cease forthwith. Political leaders have failed to act.
The Geneva Conventions Act 1957, which is of central importance in holding war criminals to account in the jurisdiction of the UK, is being emasculated.
Context
Most of the 1.5 million population of the Gaza strip is impoverished. Half are refugees from Mandate Palestine or their stock. About 50% of the male population is without work. It has been isolated and occupied for decades. A commercial port was being built in 2000 but that was bombed by Israel. The isolation and the hobbling of its commerce was increased by a siege which was started in March 2006 in response to the election of a majority of Hamas members to the legislature. It was further tightened in June 2007 after the Hamas government pre-empted a coup by the Fatah faction that was led in Gaza by Mohammad Dahlan.
The misery was further deepened with ‘Operation Cast Lead’ that was unleashed 27/12/08. This was promised 29/02/08 (2). “The more Qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, [the Palestinians] will bring upon themselves a bigger shoah (holocaust) because we will use all our might to defend ourselves.” – Matan Vilnai Deputy Defence Minister to Israeli Army Radio.
There was a massive bombardment which killed 220 adults and children in the first 15 minutes. This was followed by a full scale invasion. 1400 humans were killed and approximately 5000 injured physically. The minds of very many more were injured too. 4000 homes were totally destroyed, almost all the factories and 40 mosques. The two gleaming science blocks of the Islamic University of Gaza were flattened by very powerful thermobaric bombs, the blasts being heard throughout the 360 square kilometres of the Gaza ‘Strip’. The siege has been even more draconian since. Cement, ballast and steel rods are only let in at about 5% of the rate needed for rebuilding, the pretext being that ‘bunkers’ could be constructed. At the present rate it will take 78 years to rebuild Gaza. (3) Chocolate, writing paper and all manner of things have been blocked. The 1000 tunnels at Rafah have provided a way in for goods but in the face of bombing and roof falls.
The lack of any work and the extreme poverty of the large extended families has drawn the boys and men to scavenge for broken concrete (‘gravel’) in the evacuated Eli Sinai ‘settlement’ and in the industrial zone by the Erez border control post at the northern limit of the ‘Strip’. The factories of the industrial zone have been progressively demolished by Israeli shelling etc. They are seen to the west as one enters Gaza through Erez. A donkey and cart, shovel, pick, sieve, muscles and courage are the tools. The rubble is used to make cement blocks and poured concrete with the cement that is imported largely through the tunnels. Many dozens of men and boys do this work for precious shekels in the shadow of manned watch towers and under ‘drones’ above.
The 23 boys who have been shot between 26/03/10 (Said H) and 23/12/10 (Hatem S) are listed in the table below with skeletal facts. These points are made:-
In 18 there were single shots and not automatic fire
The reported range in most cases confirms that the weapon was a sniper’s rifle in the hands of a sniper
Almost always there were many dozens of other men and boys at work; these victims were picked off
A leg was the target in most cases. Where the leg was not the target it is likely the sniper was ‘aiming up’ so the flank, elbow etc was hit instead.
No weapons were being borne by the gravel workers so they posed no threat to the Israeli Occupation Force personnel. Instead they were bending their backs to their menial work within their internment camp
The histories refer often to the recovery of the injured boy by friends and relatives under fire. This was a feature during ‘Cast Lead’ or instead the paramedics were barred from getting to the victims so they died without care.
The history of the injury and sequel for each boy are linked to in (1). It has been done meticulously and the translation into English is perfect. The pain, and often the terror, felt by the boy as the bullet struck home are vividly recorded. No bullets have been recovered yet so the calibre/type is unknown.
How many boys will regain full, or nearly full function is difficult to judge without the radiographs being present. Cases 3,4, 5,7,13 and 15 are likely to have joint involvement and thus some lifelong disability.
In cases 1 and 3 there is nerve injury. If that proves to be an axonotmesis in either, it is possible that a first class repair will not be available in Gaza.
The fractures are open by definition and no doubt comminuted. Delayed or non-union is possible. Deep infection is a real risk, antibiotic therapy not withstanding. The risk of deep infection relates to a. the possible inclusion of fabric b. the high energy injury causing irregular and wide devitalisation of the tissues c. the probability that these difficult bullet wounds were not laid open and a complete wound toilet performed. One or two of these boys might end with an amputation.
Almost all the boys have been frightened off or forbidden from gravel work. There are few, if any, other means of earning shekels.
The shooting to wound and kill Palestinians is relentless. DCI-P notes that according to a UN study, between January 2009 and August 2010, at least 22 Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been killed and 146 injured in the arbitrary live fire zone adjacent to the border with Israel and imposed at sea. At least 27 of these civilians were children. It also notes that the targeting of civilians is absolutely prohibited under international law, regardless of circumstances.
These quotations from the available stories convey a little of the poverty, the suffering and the courage:-
‘The three of us would wake up every day at around 5:30am and leave to collect gravel. We were not the only ones doing this type of work. Hundreds of youngsters aged between 13 and 22 used to work with us, despite the danger we faced because we were close to the Israeli border.’ Awad W- 3
The work was exhausting and dangerous. ‘Israeli soldiers would sometimes shoot at us, and sometimes shoot in the air to intimidate us,’ recalls Ibrahim . ‘Sometimes they would shoot at the carts, horses and donkeys we used to move the gravel. But we had to do the work despite the dangers, because we didn’t have any other job to do.’ Ibrahim K- 4
Mohammad was taught by his neighbours to watch for birds flying away from the watch towers, as this was a sign to start running, as it meant soldiers were climbing into the towers and the shooting would soon begin. Mohammad M – 6
‘They killed our three horses and one donkey in four months, and we had to spend the money we earned on replacing them.’ ….. ‘They were down on their stomachs pointing their rifles towards us, but they didn’t shoot. We got used to such things.’ Mohammad S – 11
Silence is complicity.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
I thank Gerard Horton and DCI-P for the availability and excellence of this information, and for supporting publication in a medical forum. I also thank Dr Khamis Elessi in Gaza for information.
Conflict of interest: I founded the Dove and Dolphin Charity 110119 <http://www.doveanddolphin.co.uk/> with a voyage to Palestine 8 years ago and chair its trustees. It attends to the welfare of children in Gaza in the main. No pecuniary benefit is derived from this charity.
David S Halpin FRCS is an author, human rights activist and a former, orthopaedic and trauma surgeon at the Torbay and Exeter Hospitals Devon UK. David Halpin can be contacted via <[email protected]> His website is <http://dhalpin.infoaction.org.uk/>.
This paper was submitted to the Lancet and the British Medical Journal 4 January 2011 under the title ‘Ethical’. The refusal from the latter is here:-
BMJ/2011/850099
The methodical shooting of boys at work in Gaza by snipers of the Israeli Occupation Force
by David Sydney Halpin
Dear Mr. Halpin
Thank you for sending us your paper. We read it with interest but I regret to say that we have decided not to publish it in the BMJ.
Clearly soldiers shooting at children is awful, but we didn’t think your article gave a clear reason why we should be publishing it now. The information comes from the Defence for Children International (Palestine section) website, there isn’t much context, there’s no description of the Israeli soldiers’ explanation for these events, and the article just sort of ends.
We receive over 8000 submissions a year and accept less than 10%. We do therefore have to make hard decisions on just how interesting an article will be to our general clinical readers, how much it adds, and how much practical value it will be.
I am sorry to disappoint you on this occasion.
An editor at the British Medical Journal
The Methodical Shooting of Boys at Work in Gaza by Snipers of the Israeli Occupation Force
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Authorities in Kiev are attempting to organise a direct conversation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and former US President Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate expected to run against the Democrats in 2024. This comes as Joe Biden seeks re-election amid his deteriorating image in US public opinion and as Trump’s popularity grows.
The initiative by Kiev comes amid opposition in the US Congress to allocating funds to Ukraine, according to sources close to Zelensky’s office, cited by the Ukrainian publication Strana. The Republican majority in the US House of Representatives has blocked the release of funds to Ukraine, raising concerns within the Ukrainian regime about crucial funding to address challenges in the country, including issues related to security and defence.
Kiev’s authorities seek to establish direct communication between Zelensky and Trump in an attempt to resolve this issue, however, even if the chat does occur, it is very unlikely that the Ukrainian president will be able to change the mind of the American billionaire who will almost certainly give priority to Israel instead of Ukraine, which he has already been critical of.
“Trump now controls the House of Representatives of the US Congress, which blocks allocating funds to Ukraine. In Kiev, they understand this and are therefore trying to organise a direct conversation between Trump and Zelensky,” a source told the Ukrainian outlet.
Such a measure is seen as an attempt to overcome political obstacles and guarantee necessary support for Kiev. While Biden pursues an extremely aggressive foreign policy, especially in relation to the war in Ukraine, Trump has been projecting himself as an opponent of the conflict and even believes that he can resolve the war in “one day, 24 hours”.
Asked in June how he plans to settle the war, Trump suggested that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putinand Zelensky, which would resolve the war within 24 hours.
“I know Zelensky very well, and I know Putin very well, even better. And I had a good relationship, very good with both of them. I would tell Zelensky, ‘No more. You got to make a deal’,” he said.
Zelensky’s pursuit of speaking with Trump reveals his desperation when it is recalled that as recently as November 5, he questioned Trump’s claim that he could quickly resolve the war in 24 hours.
“If he can come here, I will need 24 minutes – yes, 24 minutes… to explain (to) President Trump that he can’t manage this war. He can’t bring peace because of Putin,” Zelensky said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
In the same interview, Zelensky praised US President Joe Biden for visiting Ukraine earlier this year, saying
“I think he understood some details which you can understand only being here. So I invite President Trump.”
This gaslighting of Trump and the typical arrogance of Zelensky will prove to be another killer blow to Kiev’s war ambitions if the billionaire is re-elected. More recent polls place Biden behind Trump, with a dramatic drop in voting intentions among young people and Arab-Americans, groups that were fundamental to the current president’s victory in the 2020 elections.
A New York Times/Siena College poll published on November 5 found Trump leading Biden in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, five out of six key states that will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 election. A CBS News poll published on the same day as the New York Times/Siena College poll found Trump leading Biden in a hypothetical match-up, 51% to 48%. A CNN poll published on November 7 found Trump ahead of Biden by 49%-45% in a hypothetical rematch.
At the same time, the funding impasse for Ukraine has also been highlighted by the sceptical stance of the new speaker of the US House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, regarding allocating new funds for the Eastern European country’s needs. Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, expressed doubts even as Russia’s special military operations in the region intensified.
Johnson and the Senate remain at odds over the Biden administration’s request to pass more than $100 billion in national security funding at a time when the White House has warned that US funds available for Ukraine are quickly running out. Biden is urging Congress to pass the supplemental bill, which includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine and $14.3 billion for Israel, as a “comprehensive, bipartisan agreement.”
With extra funding for Ukraine struggling to be approved, it explains why Zelensky is desperate to speak with Trump, believing that he can change the former president’s mind, who still wields a lot of influence in the Republican Party despite not yet being announced as the official candidate for next year’s election. However, it is extremely unlikely that the Ukrainian president can change Trump’s mind, who is very evidently frustrated with the war and wants it to end quickly, which will mean Zelensky accepting Ukraine must recognise ceded territory to Russia.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Papers Reviewed
2023 Jun (Murata et al) – Erythema Multiforme Induced by Zonisamide and Triggered by the First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech)
Erythema multiforme (EM) is among the oral mucocutaneous side effects of COVID-19 vaccines
Review: 90 patients with Erythema Multiforme (EM) as a side effect of COVID-19 vaccination across several studies
EM is a skin inflammatory condition, typically caused by infections (herpes simplex virus and mycoplasma), medications and internal diseases
to date: 984 cases of EM due to vaccinations (mumps, measles, Hep.B)
EM minor: skin lesions < 10% of body surface with minimal or no mucosal
EM major: skin lesions > 10% body surface with mucosal involvement
Oral EM: oral mucosal ulcers without any skin lesions
In this review of 90 EM patients after COVID-19 Vaccines:
mean age 51, women 2x than men
79% of the vaccines were mRNA vaccines 47% Pfizer, 32% Moderna
45% developed EM less than 3 days after jab
EM is an acute self-limiting reaction caused by exaggerated immune response, which is characterized by targetoid skin lesions that may be associated with mucosal involvement as well.
mRNA elicits cellular immune response to antigens through CD4 type 1 T-helper cells, and induce the release of interferon IFN-gamma and eventual activation of autoreactive system in genetically susceptible individuals.
Treat: Corticosteroids are prescribed topically, orally (30–90 mg prednisolone daily) or intravenously (0.5–1 mg/kg body weight methyl prednisolone every 8 hours) for more severe cases
2023 Feb (Karatas et al) – Erythema multiforme reactions after Pfizer/BioNTech (BNT162b2) and Moderna (mRNA-1273) COVID-19 vaccination: A case series
CASE 1: 61M had 1st dose Moderna 10 days before onset of symptoms
Physical examination (P/E) revealed scattered, non-tender, erythematous, targetoid plaques on the face, trunk, and extremities, including the palms and soles
also had bilateral conjunctival erythema with multiple vesicles and erosions in the oral mucosa
Diagnosis; EM major with extensive oral and nasal involvement
CASE 2: 21F had 2nd dose of Pfizer mRNA 3 days prior
Presented with rash on hands and feet, swelling and joint discomfort
She was diagnosed with EM, put on steroids and rash resolved
CASE 3: 50M had 2nd Pfizer mRNA dose 5 days prior onset of symptoms
Presented with worsening rash and pruritus for 4 days.
had erythematous targetoid plaques on trunk and extremities and hemorrhagic crusts on oral mucosa
was diagnosed with EM and put on prednisone taper and also topical steroid
CASE 4: 53F had 2nd Moderna mRNA dose 2 days prior to onset
presented with a 3 week history of rash and pruritus on hands, arms and legs
P/E: erythematous targetoid plaques on hands and extremities, no mucosal involvement.
Diagnosed with EM and treated with topical steroid.
pathogenic mechanism of EM after infection is thought to be a cell-mediated immune reaction with activation of T helper cells and cytokine production,resulting in a robust mucocutaneous inflammatory response.
The mechanism of EM after vaccination is not entirely clear, but it is likely to be a similar mechanism
2022 Nov (Fadul et al) – Sever erythema multiforme post-COVID-19 Moderna vaccine: Case report and literature review
36F woman had 1st Moderna mRNA 24 hours prior to onset
presented with sore throat, painful mouth ulcers, bilateral red and itchy eyes and itchy skin lesions that started on her chest, back and genital area and quickly spread to the rest of her body, becoming intensely itchy
2022 Mar (Petruzzi et al) – Oral erythema multiforme after Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination: a report of four cases
Case Series of 4 cases post Pfizer mRNA Vaccination
CASE 1: 55F had 1st Pfizer mRNA dose 10 days prior
presented complaining of painful lesions on lips, oral mucosa, hands, knees, and feet
CASE 2: 15M had 1st Pfizer mRNA dose 7 days prior
developed oral erythema, erosions, and pseudo-membranes throughout the oral mucosa, associated with severe pain and dysphagia
CASE 3 – 49F had 2nd Pfizer mRNA dose 24 hours prior to onset
presented with erythematous and bullous like lesions on tongue and mouth floor
CASE 4: 20F had 1st dose of Pfizer mRNA 18 days prior
presented with pain and bleeding from the mouth, dysphagia and dysphonia
P/E: erosions on the gingival and lips mucosa, squamous crusted lesions on the labial skin and vermillion
21 patients were referred to Dermatology Clinic with skin reactions after COVID-19 Vaccination
One patient our of 21 (67 year old man), 48 hours after the second dose of Moderna vaccine, developed a bullous erythema multiforme, which required hospitalization
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.
Featured image is from COVID Intel
The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity
by Michel Chossudovsky
Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.
“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”
Reviews
This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon
In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia
In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig
Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac
A reading of Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late. You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin
ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0, Year: 2022, PDF Ebook, Pages: 164, 15 Chapters
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The “pandemic amnesty” narrative emerged almost a year or so ago to the day.
At the time, evidence of the criminality of the Public Health™ and pharmaceutical in developing experimental gene therapies marketed as “vaccines” and then enforcing brutal, siege-style lockdowns and mandates on the population with the explicit aim of enforcing “compliance” by taking them was mounting. Denialism — which had been the predominate strategy up until that point — was no longer viable.
“Amnesty” has more or less been the company line for Branch COVIDians to modern day, as echoed by devotee Scott Galloway on Bill Maher’s show recently (featuring, by the way, disgraced former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who should be rotting in prison for his COVID crimes instead of being rehabilitated in corporate state media.)
“A leading academic at New York University wants amnesty for people who pushed lockdown policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marketing professor Scott Galloway made the comment during an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher this week. He claims those who supported lockdown protocols did not fully understand the consequences of such decisions.
‘I wanted a harsher lockdown policy. In retrospect, I was wrong,’ Galloway said. ‘The damage to kids from keeping them out of school longer was greater than the risk.’…
Galloway continued, saying that policymakers were ill-informed about the coronavirus. Therefore, he said, these individuals should not be held accountable for the outcomes of their decisions.
‘We were all operating with imperfect information and we were doing our best,’ Galloway said, eliciting applause from the studio audience. ‘Let’s bring a little bit of grace and forgiveness amid the s— show that was Covid.’”
This is quite a change of tune for Galloway. Compare his current take to what he wrote back in 2021 in an op-ed titled “Half of America has its head up its ass. It’s time for a vaccine mandate.”
“I was planning on writing about edtech startups and Section4. However, I can’t focus on anything but my disappointment — disdain really — in the lack of leadership at a federal level (Biden) and the voluntary manslaughter at a state level (DeSantis)…
Enough already. Federal law should require any citizen who wants to cash a government check, use public transport, or enter a place of business to show proof of vaccination.”
Galloway was unironically calling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ refusal to enforce vaxx mandates “voluntary manslaughter” when, if anything, we know in retrospect he was saving lives. That’s how hyperbolic and unhinged the rhetoric got from Branch COVIDians like Galloway.
So, to answer, Galloway’s halfhearted, entitled plea for forgiveness absent any real mea culpa or offered means by which to remedy his sins, the answer from me is “no dice.”
First of all, the Public Health™ bureaucrats were not “doing their best” on behalf of the American public that pays their salaries. They were doing what was in the best interest of their pharmaceutical industry sponsors and their lackeys in the media, who held the economy and society hostage through terror and government lockdowns until the public relented and accepted the jab.
As just one example, Anthony Fauci admitted to repeatedly moving the “herd immunity” goalpost in terms of how many Americans had to be injected before the economy could re-open not based on science or public interest but based on how high he could ratchet up the percentage while maintaining political viability – until finally admitting (after the shots had been distributed) that “herd immunity” for a constantly mutating coronavirus was always a pipe dream.
These were not honest mistakes; they were lies, disseminated intentionally, in the service of promoting whatever narrative du jour. The Public Health™ bureaucrats were lying – and people died and had their livelihoods destroyed based on those lies.
The second problem here is that there has been no accountability whatsoever – for COVID Warlord Anthony Fauci or the Pfizer executives who knowingly engaged in fraud to get their emergency use authorization all the way down to the lowliest county-level Public Health™ bureaucrat.
No one has been made to pay a price, either criminal or civil, for what they did. Anthony Fauci, like his co-conspirator Andrew Cuomo, should be rotting in prison on RICO convictions – and thankful he lives in a country that rarely executes the death penalty – but instead is allowed to run wild in “retirement,” still influencing government policy and making an obscene amount of money from speaking engagements.
The talking point surrounding the recent October 7th attack by Hamas is that, with the 1,400+ civilian death toll, it´s “equal to X 9/11’s” in proportion to Israel’s smaller population.
But, if we’re going with such comparisons to 9/11, how does the death toll from COVID-19 – from the initial release of the virus (developed using U.S. taxpayer dollars that Fauci funneled to the Chinese government through EcoHealth Alliance) and also from the devastating economic and mental health toll of the lockdowns combined with the vaxx mandates – factor into this formula?
Is it 1,000 9/11’s?
Is it 10,000?
And why are the victims of the brutal COVID-19 Public Health™ regime – who outnumber any act of terror in recent memory by orders of magnitude — not treated with the same reverence and concern as victims of biomedical terrorism?
All of the people who were in the actual decision-making positions of authority who enforced pseudoscientific, authoritarian, transparently immoral vaxx/masking/lockdown mandates must be prosecuted – to exact punishment for what they did and to serve as a deterrent against future overreaches, both of which are recognized as legitimate functions of the criminal justice system.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
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.
Featured image is from NaturalNews.com
The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity
by Michel Chossudovsky
Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.
“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”
Reviews
This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon
In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia
In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig
Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac
A reading of Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late. You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin
ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0, Year: 2022, PDF Ebook, Pages: 164, 15 Chapters
November 13th, 2023 by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
I. Preamble
In 2022, the vicious cycle of democratic pretensions, dysfunctional politics and a divided society continued in the United States. Problems such as money politics, identity politics, social rifts, and the gulf between the rich and poor worsened. The maladies afflicting American democracy deeply infected the cells of US politics and society, and further revealed US governance failure and institutional defects.
Despite mounting problems at home, the US continued to behave with a sense of superiority, point fingers at others, usurp the role of a “lecturer of democracy”, and concoct and play up the false narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism”. To serve the interests of none other than itself, the US acted to split the world into two camps of what it defined as “democracies and non-democracies”, and organized another edition of the so-called “Summit for Democracy” to check how various countries had performed on meeting US standards for democracy and to issue new orders. Be it high-sounding rhetoric or maneuvers driven by hidden agenda, none can hide the real designs of the US — to maintain its hegemony by playing bloc politics and using democracy as a tool for political ends.
This report collects a multitude of facts, media comments and expert opinions to present a complete and real picture of American democracy over the year. What they reveal is an American democracy in chaos at home and a trail of havoc and disasters left behind as the US peddled and imposed its democracy around the globe. It helps remove the facade of American democracy for more people worldwide.
II. American Democracy in Chronic Ills
The US refuses to acknowledge the many problems and institutional crises confronting its democracy at home and stubbornly claims to be the template and beacon of democracy for the world. Such imperiousness perpetuates the ills of its democracy and causes dire consequences for other countries.
1. American Democracy in Further Decline
The functioning of American democratic institutions may look as lively as a circus, with politicians of all stripes showing off themselves one after another. But however boisterous the show is, it cannot hide the lethargy in addressing the long-standing, grave problems. Le Monde points out that 2022 is a year of doubt for US democracy. A silent civil war has taken root in the US, and repairing damaged democracy requires a sense of nation and public interest, both of which are currently lacking. This is sad for a country that has long held itself up as a model. In 2022, the Swedish think tank International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance added the US to its “list of regressive democracies”.
Two years after the Capitol riots on 6 January 2021, the US system of democracy still has difficulty in learning the lessons, as political violence continued to grow and deteriorate. The Washington Post and The New Yorker observe that American democracy is in a worse state than ever before, with the congressional riots fully exposing social rifts, political divisions and rampant misinformation. The two parties, although not unaware of the age-old ills of American democracy, have neither the resolve nor the courage to pursue changes, given the increasingly polarized political atmosphere, as well as their focus on party interests.
In 2022, the US Congress was brought into another paralysis, not by riots, but by partisan fights. The farce of failing to elect the 118th House speaker lasted four days and a decision was only reached after 15 rounds of voting. In the last round, divisions were such that Republicans and Democrats voted strictly along party lines. The New York Times warned that Congress could see repeated chaos like this over the next two years. Brad Bannon, president of a US political consultancy, put it bluntly, “The impasse in the US House of Representatives over the election of the Speaker is another demonstration of the decline in our political institutions.”
This has aroused concerns among the general public. The Brookings Institution concludes in a 2022 report that the once proud American democracy is facing a systemic crisis and is accelerating its decline. The impact is spreading to all fronts in domestic politics, the economy and society, posing a mortal threat to the legitimacy and health of capitalism. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace warns in a report that American democracy is at a dangerous inflection point, declining faster as the inherent ills of American capitalism worsen. Multiple challenges such as voting restrictions, election fraud, and loss of trust in government are accelerating the disintegration of American democracy. Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group, writes that America’s dysfunctional politics raises fears that the 2024 presidential election would again provoke deadly violence in the country. A large number of hot button issues continued to provoke public anger and questions on the legitimacy of the US political establishment. Many worried about how long American democracy could continue to function.
2. Political Polarization Intensified by Partisan Fights
With radical factions rising in both the Democratic and Republican Parties, the two were increasingly at odds in many aspects, such as voter base, ideology and identity. As a result, the traditional inter-party balance based on policy compromise became more difficult to sustain. The two parties saw each other not only as political opponents, but also as a threat to the country. The New York Review of Books points out that America is already “a binational state” with the Republicans and Democrats leading two sharply opposed national communities that effectively operate as confederations under a single federal government. The United States of America has become the disunited states. The discord between “the two Americas” was deepening day by day, and political polarization reached an unprecedented level.
Amid the escalating political battles, politicians put the interests of their political parties and factions above those of the country and acted in an unbridled way to attack and pin blames on each other. On 8 August 2022, law enforcement raided former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, and Trump accused the Justice Department of playing politics to stop his second presidential bid and of political persecution. The Republicans, on their part, were relentless on the discovery of classified documents in President Joe Biden’s residence, launched investigations into the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and demanded accountability. US state apparatus was reduced to a tool for political parties’ self-interest.
Party politics increasingly followed race and identity lines. According to the Financial Times, Republicans are white, small town and rural while Democrats are now almost entirely urban and multi-ethnic. More than a third of Republicans and Democrats today believe violence is justified to achieve their political ends. When one party loses, its voters feel as though their America is being occupied by a foreign power. Political scientist Barbara Walter considers the US “a factionalized anocracy” — the halfway state between autocracy and democracy.
Political polarization was more of an obstacle to policy decision-making. GovTrack, an online non-governmental source of legislative information and statistics, reveals a steady fall in the number of laws successive US Congresses could enact — from 4,247 by the 93th to 98th Congresses down to 2,081 by the 111st to 116th. The drop was even more pronounced when one considers how many bills could become laws, from 6% in the 106th Congress to 1% in the 116th, a slide of 5 percentage points over two decades.
The tactics used in partisan fights were more scandalous. Professor Larry Diamond of Political Science and Sociology at Stanford University believes the norms of democracy, such as self-restraint in the exercise of power and rejection of violence, which should have been observed by the participating parties in elections, have begun disintegrating in the US. A growing number of politicians and elected officials in the US have been willing to bend or abandon democratic norms in the quest to achieve or retain power. And as common political ground vanishes, rising proportions of Americans in both camps express attitudes and perceptions that are blinking red for democratic peril. Democracy in the US is at serious risk of breaking down.
3. Money Politics Surged
“Make money your god, and it will plague you like the devil,” so admonished British playwright Henry Fielding. In the US, money is the breast milk of politics and elections increasingly morph into monologues of the wealthy, while the public call for democracy is made only “a jarring note”. With the devil of money lurking in every corner of American politics, fairness and justice is naturally strained.
The latest illustration is the 2022 midterm elections. The whole exercise has a price tag of more than US$16.7 billion — breaking the 2018 record of US$14 billion — as found by Reveal, an online platform tracking the flow of political donations in the country. This amount dwarfs the 2021 GDPs of more than 70 countries. Federal Senate races in some states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, and Ohio sucked in more than US$100 million on average. Over 90% of those elected as lawmakers won by splurging funds. It was impossible to identify how much “dark money”, or funds from undisclosed sources, was involved.
American politics has increasingly revealed its nature as the “game of the rich”. US think tank the Brennan Center for Justice finds that the top 21 families making political donations contributed at least US$15 million each, totaling US$783 million, far more than the US$3.7 million of small donations. Billionaires provided 15.4% of federal election funds, and most of it went to super PACs that can accept unlimited donations.
The enormous bills did not bring effective national governance in return. They only stimulated pork barrel politics. An article on Lianhe Zaobao observes that the past few decades has witnessed a decay in Western democracy. Wealth is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, making the poor poorer and the rich richer. Politics is controlled by the rich and politicians to serve their own interests. Despite a right to vote, the public does not have real sway over politics. This sense of powerlessness and loss of confidence in political parties and government has given rise to populism, and the problem remains unresolved.
4. “Freedom of Speech” in Name Only
The United States has always prided itself on free speech. In reality, however, freedom of speech in the United States is upheld according to self-centered “US standards”. Partisan interest and money politics have become the “two big mountains” that weigh on free speech. Any speech that is detrimental to the interests of the US government or capital is subject to strict restrictions.
The US government has all-encompassing regulations on media and technology companies to intervene in public opinion. In December 2022, Twitter CEO Elon Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi posted back-to-back tweets that exposed “Twitter files”, revealing that the US government is heavily scrutinizing all social media companies. Sometimes it directly intervenes in big media companies’ reporting, like frequently having Google remove certain links. Twitter censored sensitive information about presidential candidates ahead of the 2020 election, creating “blacklists” to limit the exposure of unpopular accounts and even hot topics, and working with the FBI to monitor social media content, all the while giving the US military the green light to spread disinformation online. All this has undoubtedly torn off the fig leaf of free speech in the United States.
Capital and interest groups basically can get anything they want when it comes to public opinion. In the face of capital and interest groups, American media’s “freedom of speech” smacks of hypocrisy. Most American media firms are privately owned and serve the powerful and the rich. Whether it’s the owner of the media or the investment and advertisement income that the media depends on, all of them are related to capital and interest groups. In his book The Hypocritical Superpower, Micheal Lueders, a well-known German writer and media professional, elaborated in detail how the “filtering mechanism” of American media, under the influence of interest groups, chooses and distorts facts. In January 2023, Project Veritas, an American right-wing group, published a video about Pfizer that went viral. It recorded Jordon Trishton Walker, a senior executive at Pfizer, saying that Pfizer was exploring plans to “mutate” the coronavirus, that the coronavirus vaccine business was a “cash cow”, and that US regulators had vested interests in drug companies. To deal with the PR crisis, in addition to issuing a statement, Pfizer even had YouTube remove the video immediately on ground of “violating community guidelines”.
The US uses social media to manipulate international public opinion. In December 2022, the independent investigation website “The Intercept” revealed that agencies affiliated to the US Department of Defense had long interfered in public opinion in Middle Eastern countries by manipulating topics and waging deceptive propaganda on social media such as Twitter. In July 2017, US Central Command official Nathaniel Kahler sent to the Twitter public policy team a form containing 52 Arabic-language accounts, asking for priority services for six of them. Following Kahler’s request, Twitter put these Arabic accounts on a “white list” to amplify messages favorable to the United States. Eric Sperling, executive director of Just Foreign Policy, an anti-war organization, commented on this incident that Congress and social media companies should investigate and take action to ensure that, at the very least, the citizens are fully informed when their tax money is being spent on putting a positive spin on the endless wars.
In September 2022, the explosion of the “Nord Stream” natural gas pipeline shocked the world, and the international community was eager to know the identity and motive of the perpetrator. On 8 February 2023, Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published an article exposing the US government as the culprit of the incident. However, American and European mainstream media, known for their sensitivity to such scoops, stayed eerily quiet on this piece of explosive news. As observed by Canadian website Western Standard and German television channel ZDF, Hersh’s report was one of the biggest stories of the decade, but few media in North America wanted to talk about it because the West does not want anyone to find out about the truth and the surveillance technologies it has deployed in the Baltic Sea. Western media even try to bypass the crux of the issue by questioning the authenticity of Hersh’s report. On 15 February, Hersh wrote another article, accusing the US government and mainstream media of covering up the truth of the “Nord Stream” pipeline explosion. Analysts pointed out that given Western media’s obedience to the US, their blocking of Hersh’s revelations is not surprising.
5. The Judicial System Blind to Public Opinion
As an institution undergirding the country’s Constitution, the US Supreme Court, like the American society, has become deeply divided. Judicial power is hijacked by public opinion, and partisan struggle has spread to the judicial system. Increasingly, Supreme Court decisions reflect the huge chasm between “two Americas”—the conservatives and liberals, and have been reduced to a tool of political warfare. The “separation of powers” is constantly being eroded. Partisanship has abandoned tradition and crossed the line.
Both parties pursue their agenda by changing the political orientation of the Supreme Court. The presidential election has in some ways become a partisan battle for the right to appoint judges. The passing away of Supreme Court justices gave Trump the opportunity to appoint during his term three justices who took a conservative stance, giving conservative justices an overwhelming advantage over liberal ones. After Trump, radical white evangelical fundamentalists have taken the reins of the Supreme Court, according to an article on the South African website Daily Maverick. It’s hardly surprising that the Supreme Court almost always makes decisions in favor of Christian evangelicals, big corporations and the Republican Party.
The US Supreme Court’s decision on abortion rights fully demonstrates the consequences of being involved in partisan warfare and out of touch with society. On 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court flagrantly endorsed religious conservatism by overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and removing constitutional protections for women’s abortion rights. The decision triggered protests across the United States. Polls show that more than half of Americans believe that stripping away abortion rights is a setback for the country. Israeli media “Haaretz” commented that on the issue of abortion rights, the Supreme Court has undermined democracy in the name of defending it, which is a typical case of “tyranny of the minority”. Here is an unrepresentative Supreme Court, with its justices appointed by an unrepresentative president and confirmed by an obviously unrepresentative Senate; but it has made a decision that will affect the United States till 2030, 2040, and even 2050.
The Supreme Court also struck down a New York state law that had been in place since 1913 restricting people from carrying concealed firearms. As the nation reflects on gun violence, such a reckless reversal of New York’s gun control law is intolerable, noted the governor of New York. American political commentator Matthew Dowd pointed out that the problems facing the United States today are rooted in the fragmentation of democracy. What American citizens want are a fair ruling in Roe v. Wade, a real gun reform, higher minimum wages, steeper taxes on the super-rich, better health care for all, and other reforms that heed popular calls.
6. Americans Increasingly Disillusioned with American Democracy
Americans’ pride in their democracy has dropped sharply, from 90% in 2002 to 54% in 2022, according to a joint Washington Post-University of Maryland survey. A poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows that Californian voters have widespread concern that American democracy is going off track, with 62% saying the country is headed in the wrong direction, 46% pessimistic about the prospect of Americans with different political views working together to resolve differences, and 52% dissatisfied with the current way American democracy works. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 67% of respondents believe that American democracy is in danger of collapse, and 48% think there could be another Capitol riot in the United States. According to a Pew Center poll, 65% of Americans believe that the American democratic system needs major reforms, while 57% of respondents believe the United States is no longer a model of democracy. A UCLA study shows that the US government has been losing its ability to govern and its sense of democratic responsibility in recent years, and lacks effective measures to push forward large-scale reforms or address issues such as electoral justice and media fraud.
Contents
I. Preamble
II. American democracy in chronic ills
1. American democracy in further decline
2. Political polarization intensified by partisan fights
3. Money politics surged
4. “Freedom of speech” in name only
5. The judicial system blind to public opinion
6. Americans increasingly disillusioned with American democracy
III. The United States’ imposition of “democracy” has caused chaos around the world
1. Foreign policy held hostage by political polarization
2. Inciting confrontation and conflict in the name of democracy
3. Doubling down on unilateral sanctions
4. Undermining democracy in international relations
5. Foisting a trumped-up narrative of “democracy versus authoritarianism”
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Nov. 11, 2023 (VIDEO ABOVE) – 28 year old Ghana professional soccer player Raphael Dwamena collapsed during a game in the 24th minute in Albania Super League and died suddenly.
Nov. 4, 2023 – PIetermaritzburg, South Africa – 32 year old AmaZulu Football Club striker Bonginkosi Ntuli has died after a very short battle with aggressive cancer.
Oct. 27, 2023 – Germany – 40 year old Marc Dippold, died suddenly on Oct. 27, 2023.
Oct. 16, 2023 – 57 year old Mexican soccer player Efraín “Fanny” Munguía died suddenly on Oct. 16, 2023.
Oct. 14, 2023 – Slovakia – 30 year old professional soccer player Ondrej Chren died in his sleep on Oct. 14, 2023, his partner couldn’t wake him up.
Oct .7, 2023 – Glasgow, Scotland – 39 year old James McCourt, professional soccer player and captain died suddenly on Oct. 7, 2023. Cause of death not reported.
Sep. 30, 2023 – Brazil – 33 year old former professional soccer player and lawyer Germano Radin felt sick during a soccer game, suffered a cardiac arrest and died suddenly on Sep. 30, 2023.
Sep. 30, 2023 – 43 year old youth soccer coach Matt Milne, of Whitstable, Kent, UK, was on a 6,000-mile-long flight to London Heathrow following a work trip to Singapore when he suffered a deep vein blood clot in his leg. Off-duty paramedics on board the flight rushed to his side and battled to save his life, he died in the hospital after plane landed. He died, presumably of pulmonary embolism on Sep. 30, 2023.
Sep. 29, 2023 – Brazil – 43 year old Lucas Oliveira, professional soccer coach in 3rd Division of the Goiano Championship, died suddenly of a “heart attack” in early hours of Sep. 29, 2023.
Sep. 20, 2023 – UK – 27 year old Maddy Cusack, English professional soccer player died suddenly on Sep. 20, 2023.
Sep. 12, 2023 – 26 year old Sylvester Sackey, professional soccer goalkeeper for Ghana Premier League Club Legon Cities, died suddenly on Sep. 12, 2023.
Sep. 6, 2023 – SOCCER PLAYER DEAD – Guatemalan soccer player Denilson Estuardo Perez Gomez collapsed 24 minutes into a soccer game and died suddenly on Sep. 6, 2023.
Sep. 5, 2023 – Ireland – 21 year old Andrea Baker, University Student in Biomedical Engineering and a soccer player was diagnosed with cancer and died less than 2 months after diagnosis.
Sep. 5, 2023 – 17 year old Naomi Mendoza, International goalkeeper (Canary Islands U17) had meningitis, fell into coma for weeks & died suddenly on Sep. 5, 2023.
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
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.
The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity
by Michel Chossudovsky
Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.
“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”
Reviews
This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon
In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia
In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig
Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac
A reading of Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late. You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin
ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0, Year: 2022, PDF Ebook, Pages: 164, 15 Chapters
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The Omega-3 Index test measures the amount of EPA and DHA, the two long-chain omega-3s found in marine sources, in red blood cell membranes, expressed as a percentage of the total fatty acids in the membrane
Most Americans have an index of 4% to 5% of EPA/DHA in their red blood cell membranes, and the target is between 8% to 12%. To raise your index from 5% to 8%, you need roughly 1,000 mg to 1,200 mg of EPA/DHA per day
Higher omega-3 index has been linked to better health across the board, and appears to lower the risk of most, if not all, chronic diseases
Another ratio commonly referred to is the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, but this ratio is not nearly as useful or important as the omega-3 index
EPA and DHA help thin the blood, lower the risk of stroke and heart attack, lower serum triglyceride levels, blood pressure and inflammation, add structural stability to the mitochondrial membrane and aid mitochondrial energy processes
*
In this video, I interview William (Bill) Harris, Ph.D., an internationally recognized expert on omega-3 fatty acids. He’s been studying omega-3s since 1980 and has published more than 300 scientific papers on fatty acids and health.
Three years ago, he founded the Fatty Acid Research Institute (FARI)1 in South Dakota, which specializes in epidemiological research, where they look at the relationship between blood omega-3 levels and risk for disease. He’s also a faculty member of the University of South Dakota School of Medicine.
“We’re trying to build a case that omega-3 levels in the blood are as, if not more, important than knowing your cholesterol level when it comes to your health and being able to control it,” he says.
The Omega-3 Index
What he’s referring to is the level of omega-3 in your red blood cell membranes. Two decades ago, his team developed a red blood cell membrane-based omega-3 test called the Omega-3 Index. You can take the Omega-3 Index test at their website for only $49.95.
The Index measures the amount of EPA and DHA, the two long-chain omega-3s found in marine sources, in red blood cell membranes, expressed as a percent of the total fatty acids in the membrane.
“We thought that was absolutely the best way to assess your body’s omega-3 status, and so we’ve been using that ever since,” he says. Harris has conducted correlation studies showing the Omega-3 Index test reflects the status of the heart in heart transplant patients, for example. Commenting on the usefulness of the index, Harris says:
“It responds very well to increased intake of EPA and DHA, like a good biomarker should, and higher levels have been linked to better health across the board of a variety of disease conditions, so I think it really is meaningful.”
Higher Omega-3 Consistently Linked to Better Health
Harris goes on to discuss the relevance of epidemiological, population-based studies, which is where you look at large datasets of people. The Framingham Study is one classic example, where they sought to determine why so many men were dying of heart attacks in a Boston suburb in the 1940s.
Healthy men and women were recruited and data were collected on their lifestyles, diet and bloodwork. Participants were then followed for decades, to see who died of heart attack. The Framingham studies developed the concept of risk factors, which for heart attack include high blood pressure and smoking.
In the mid-1970s, offspring of participants in the original Framingham study were recruited for additional research. This is known as the Framingham Offspring Study, and it included Omega-3 Index testing of stored blood samples.
“The people, on average, were about 65 at the time that blood was drawn in the early 2000s. We then asked the question, ‘If you have a high (or low) omega-3 index at that age, does that predict any disease outcomes?’ Yes, it does. It predicts risk for Alzheimer’s disease. It predicts risk for heart disease. It predicts risk for death from any cause.
With higher levels of omega-3, people live longer. That’s a microcosm of the kinds of studies we work on at the Fatty Acid Research Institute because there have been 50 or 60 Framingham-type studies all around the world. [A]lmost all have measured omega-3 levels and disease outcomes. This is our sandbox!”
What About the Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio?
Another ratio commonly referred to is the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, but Harris doesn’t think this ratio is nearly as useful or important as the omega-3 index. For starters, it’s not very precise because there are other omega-3 fats besides EPA and DHA, such as DPA and ALA.
There are also seven different types of omega-6 fatty acids, and we don’t know a whole lot about them. One exception is linoleic acid (LA), which I’ve written about on many occasions. I also cowrote a paper on LA2 with Christopher D’Adamo, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nutrients in July 2023.
“So, when you say omega-6 or omega-3, you don’t really know what the denominator is and what the numerator is, and it presumes that all the omega-3s behave the same and have the same health benefits, and all the omega-6s have the same health benefits or detriments, which is really not true,” Harris explains.
“That’s not very nuanced in my view, because we’ve seen some studies where some omega-6 fatty acids are apparently good. They’re associated with better outcomes, whereas, others are not. So, to pool them into one metric where you don’t know how it’s made up is another reason I don’t like this particular ratio.
I guess the third one is, you can have a high level of omega-6 and a high omega-3, or a low omega-3 and a low omega-6 and have exactly the same ratio. It’s really the amount that’s there that’s the most important. What we’re lacking in America, or in the West in general, is the long-chain omega-3s. That’s the biggest problem.
I hate to distract from that problem by digging into the omega-6 side of it because some people could say, ‘Well, I can fix my ratio just by eating less omega-6 and not increasing my omega-3,’ and I don’t think that’s going to help.”
The counterargument to that would be that there are enzymes, desaturases and elongases, that take the baseline essential fats — ALA and LA — and convert these precursors into the long chains products, EPA/DHA and ARA, and if you overwhelm the system with LA, you essentially monopolize those enzyme systems and the omega-3 products are harder to make.
If you consume preformed long-chain omega-3s, then that is not an issue, but if you don’t, then excessive omega-6s will prevent the conversion of omega-3. Limiting omega-6 can, in this way, be somewhat helpful, as it allows for the shorter chain omega-3 (ALA) to be converted to the longer chain EPA and DHA. Harris responds:
“That’s true, but there are certain metabolites of even arachidonic acid that are beneficial. For example, lipoxgenase A1 is anti-inflammatory, and prostacyclin prevents platelet aggregation.
There are metabolites of linoleic acid itself that don’t go through arachidonic that have at least beneficial relationships with blood pressure and inflammation. It’s a much more complicated system, I think, than just omega-6 is bad, omega-3 is good. It’s just much more nuanced than that.”
OmegaQuant does offer an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio test called Omega-3 Index plus Omega-6/Omega-3 Ratio. But when it comes to addressing a bad ratio, Harris still believes the best way to do that is to increase your EPA and DHA intake, as opposed to merely lowering your omega-6 intake.
Why Omega-3s Are so Beneficial to Health
So, what is it about omega-3 EPA and DHA that makes them so important for health? In summary, these fatty acids:
Why Fish Oil Is Not an Ideal Omega-3 Source
While most reach for fish oil to increase their omega-3 level, this isn’t the best choice. In fact, most “fish oils” on the market today are actually synthetic ethyl esters, which are different from the triglyceride and phospholipid forms omega-3 found in sea foods, which are roughly 50/50 triglycerides and phospholipids. Krill oil also delivers omega-3 primarily in the phospholipid form. Harris explains:
“Yes, there are two natural forms. The omega-3s are found in triglycerides, which we classically think of as oils. A triglyceride has three fatty acids on each molecule. Typically, in most fish that are rich in omega-3, one of those three will be EPA or DHA, so about 30% of the fish oil will be omega-3. That’s the triglyceride.
The other natural form that marine omega-3s are found in is phospholipids. Phospholipids are the primary constituents of cell membranes, and it’s in the cell membrane where the omega-3s do their primary work.
There are two spots for fatty acids on a phospholipid, and it depends on the fish, but typically about maybe 20% to 30% of the phospholipids have EPA and DHA. Those two forms are natural. You get both triglycerides and phospholipids when you eat a salmon steak or any other “oily” fish; these are the highest in omega-3.
The ethyl ester is a completely synthetic product. It starts out as a raw fish oil. That’s where that EPA and DHA molecules comes from in the first place, but at the refinery, all the fatty acids get chopped off of the triglyceride backbone. Then they throw away the monounsaturates, the saturates and the small amount of omega-6s, and that leaves the omega-3s by themselves.
The omega-3s have to be hooked to something before encapsulation, and so the favorite thing is to hook them up to ethanol (alcohol) to make “ethyl esters.” When all they have in the vat is now omega-3 ethyl esters, then they can pack more EPA and DHA into each capsule, so the concentration is higher.
Virtually all of the pharmacologic products that are omega-3-based are ethyl esters, and they have been used since the mid-1990s. But there is nothing “natural” about an ethyl ester.
I guess there’s debate on how effective they are. We do know that if you take the ethyl ester on an empty stomach, you’re not really going to absorb it. They’re very poorly absorbed.
Their absorption can be improved if you take the ethyl ester with a fatty meal, because that will stimulate the digestive juices and allow some of it to be absorbed, but it’s not the best form for absorption. Triglycerides and phospholipids are much better forms for absorption.”
Yesterday I spoke to a few hundred people at the Documenting Hope Conference in Orlando and was able to share my latest insights on how to optimize your health and prepare for the next crisis. I was surprised that people fly in from around the world to see me.
Are Ethyl Esters Beneficial?
In the Italian GISSI-Prevenzione Trial,3 published in 1999, heart attack survivors were given one capsule of Omacor (an ethyl ester form with 840 mg of EPA+DHA per 1 g capsule) a day. After two to three years of follow-up, they reported a tremendous drop in cardiovascular death and all-cause mortality.
However, there was no placebo group. They merely compared it to standard of care. It was also an open-label trial, with no objective assessment of compliance.4 Moreover, the study was funded by companies that sell the product, so there’s a conflict of interest there that may have influenced the results.
Indeed, since then, several studies have used Omacor (or Lovaza, the US version) and have produced mixed results. Some showed no benefit at all, others were positive. An example of the latter is the REDUCE-IT Study, which used an EPA-only ethyl ester called Vascepa, made by Amarin. Patients at high risk for heart disease were given 4 grams a day.
Compared to placebo, at the five-year mark, the treatment group had a 25% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, nonfatal heart attacks and all-cause mortality. That was a very positive outcome. However, the placebo was an indigestible mineral oil, which may have confounded results. Did Vascepa really improve health, or did the “placebo” increase the risk of cardiac events?
“That’s been hotly debated,” Harris says. “Of course, if your placebo really is harmful, even if your drug does nothing, it will look like the latter is doing great because it’s doing better than the placebo, which is supposed to be neutral.
Well, there is considerable evidence now that at least some of the apparent benefit of the EPA ethyl ester was derived from a worsening of outcomes in the placebo group. Taking 4 grams, almost a teaspoon of mineral oil a day for five years, well, that’s just not natural at all.”
See Me Speak Live in Miami Next Sunday
Next Sunday I will be speaking at the Everything Matters Event in Miami. It will be a very small event of only a few hundred people at the Sacred Space in Miami and we will be diving deep into the world of quantum healing and spiritual connection. For the first time ever I will be sharing my spiritual journey and my latest insights on how to optimize your health through bioidentical progesterone therapy that I just learned last week and am using myself to balance my hormones.
It is a rare opportunity to hear me speak as the next time I am scheduled to speak will be at Biohacking in June next year. You will also have an opportunity to have dinner with me on Sunday evening. And one of the biggest surprises is that the tickets for this event are 95% less expensive than Biohacking. The dinner and admission is only $200 next week and is $5000 at Biohacking. My guess is that tickets for the event will sell out today.
So come and see me speak live and have dinner with me next Sunday at the Everything Matters Event in Miami. You can enjoy the warm weather and sunshine with temperatures projected to be 82 for a high and 72 for a low in lovely south Florida. It will likely be the last opportunity to hear me speak before the next crisis hits. Hope to see you there.
How Much Omega-3 Do You Need?
So, in summary, the best sources of omega-3 DHA and EPA are cold-water fatty fish like wild-caught Alaskan salmon (farm-raised salmon has omega-3 but in lower amounts than it used to since farmers have been adding vegetable oils to the salmon feed), mackerel, herring, sardines and krill oil.
The next question is, how much do you need for optimal health and disease prevention? This brings us back to the Omega-3 Index. Most Americans have an index of 4% to 5% of EPA/DHA in their red blood cell membranes, and the target is thought to be between 8% and 12%.
From Harris’ studies, raising your index from 5% to 8%, you need roughly 1,000 mg to 1,200 mg of EPA/DHA per day. As for the ratio of EPA to DHA, Harris says the general recommendation is either a 60-to-40 or 40-to-60 mix. “Just don’t do a 10-to-90 mix.” The ratio is a nonissue if you’re getting your omega-3s from fatty fish, which provide these fatty acids in a fairly balanced amount.
“Personally, I try to eat fish a couple of times a week,” Harris says. “But I don’t always succeed, so I do what a lot of people do. I take a supplement. I take about 1,400 mg a day, EPA and DHA.”
The best way to determine the dose you need is to do an Omega-3 Index test, available from OmegaQuant. It’s a dried blood spot test and the kit is sent to your home. The basic test is about $50, and you get your results about five days after it’s received in the lab. After a few months of supplementing, retest to see where you’re at, and adjust your dose accordingly. In closing, Harris notes:
“Again, my mantra is the Omega-3 index. EPA and DHA [levels] are what need to be improved, need to be increased. It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s one thing you CAN do something about cheaply, safely, easily, quickly. There’s not a disease yet that we’ve seen that has not benefited from having a higher omega-3.”
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Armistice Day is one of those disturbing occasions of the year when humanity’s folly is laid bare. It should be an occasion to remind said humanity about the stupid waste occasioned by war and its war-crazed planners who generally elude the dock; instead, it’s an occasion to extol its virtues and remind the reactionaries that war can be a mighty fine thing to pursue in the name of an ideology, cock-eyed belief or a sense of self-worth. Unquestioning solemnity, medals and tears are the order of the day, the ritualistic plat du jour.
These occasions are never challenged, nor impugned. The origins of the war that gave name to the occasion are simplified, if they are ever mentioned. And never shall that injunction be violated. That is certainly the view of Suella Braverman, the UK Home Secretary who must be increasingly getting under the skin of the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak.
Being a cut and dried jingo, Braverman treats Armistice Day as the sort of occasion to be revered and kept in aspic. No politics should ever enter unless she politicises it, nor criticism about war and its viciousness be permitted. Peaceniks are especially reviled. Remember debts and lost lives; never ask why those debts were incurred in the first place.
There is then a supreme irony in terms of Braverman’s views on peace protests that take place on Armistice Day, one which, by definition, involved the laying down of arms and the cessation of conflict. But that is the lot of the war loving demagogue in search of votes: irony is rarely acknowledged.
In a throat grabbing exercise of some ferocity against the vast sea of protests against the Israel-Hamas War, Braverman took to The Timesto attack marches running into the hundreds of thousands as an unquestioned “assertion of primacy by certain groups – particular Islamists”. She was particularly beside herself that they should take place on, of all days, November 11.
For the Home Secretary, these were unquestionably “hate” marches that would be more commonly associated with the lusty sectarians of Northern Island. Even worse were those selective senior officers in the Metropolitan Police picking favourites when it came to protests. “Right-wing and nationalist protestors who engage in aggression are rightly met with a stern response yet pro-Palestinian mobs displaying almost identical behaviour are largely ignored, even when clearly breaking the law?” By the time Braverman had finished her bulldozing, she had insulted the whole constituency of Northern Ireland, mocked those favouring the Palestinian cause for freedom, and lacerated the operational independence of London’s own police forces.
The sense about Braverman making her own unilateral dash in all of this was confirmed by a spokesperson for Sunak. The article, we are told, was not “cleared” by Number 10 ahead of time. Editorial suggestions made by the PM’s office were roundly ignored. As for the Saturday protest, Sunak had met the Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley ahead of time to discuss security regarding the march. Neither thought it problematic that it should take place, given that the protests would avoid the Whitehall area and stay away from The Cenotaph, where the customary, holy delusions were to take place.
Her views have certainly struck a satisfactory note for some, suggesting that such feigned outrage might have some political weight among the spectral majority populists always love screeching about.
“In her comments about the pro-Palestinian Armistice Day protests and the actions of the police, Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, was bravely stating what the majority of the country thinks,” wrote one reader of The Daily Telegraph.
The Daily Mailagreed, expressing fury at the “soft policing of these protests” packed with “snarling bigots” contemptuous of Britain’s glorious history of war. Tory deputy chair Lee Anderson affirmed the position, claiming the Home Secretary was merely “guilty of saying what most of us are thinking”.
These were certainly not the views shared by a number of Conservatives. Lord Soames, for one, opined that, whether in agreement or not with the pro-Palestinian protests, they should go ahead.
“It’s nowhere near the Cenotaph. It’s in the afternoon and most of these people, 90% of those people are not there to make trouble.”
Ex-cabinet minister Baroness Warsi firmly insisted that Braverman be sacked.
“She’d been briefed by the Met of what the route of the march was going to be, and the fact that they didn’t have concerns at this stage, she has now made this a live political issue because that’s the way she operates, right?”
As a result, patriots had turned into arsonists.
“They set this country alight, they pit community against community, they create these fires. And that is not the job of a government.”
Dominic Grieve, who served as attorney general between 2010 and 2014, had one line of advice for Sunak:
“The best thing the Prime Minister can do for us is to ensure that there is a new home secretary (before Sunday).”
That she remains in office suggests not just Sunak’s absence of backbone, but Braverman’s imminent bid for his job. To now sack her would be something the newly minted martyr would be able to dine out on for months to come, all the time plotting for a Number 10 bid.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. He is a regular contributor to Global Research and Asia-Pacific Research. Email: [email protected]
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Yesterday I decided to break routine and take a trip along the coast northwards, outside the clutches of the bureaucratic matrix that is Wellington, once comedy central for the single source of truth, to listen to a little poetry and music.
The village I landed in is kinda nowhere, save for a beach that reveals the vastness of the Pacific, and the people who gathered in the converted church hall were content to do nothing but listen to the words and sounds. One of the poems and one of the piano compositions had emerged from the 2020 New Zealand lockdown, that insanely unjustifiable imprisonment of the healthy; but for the two hours of an afternoon, as the light slowly changed, and as the art came to an end, our small group of reverent listeners felt a little freedom from the fetters which, since 2020, seem merely to be lying in wait.
Notwithstanding the quiet joy of congregating and sharing, we could not help but be reminded, on this unusually sunny day, that just these kinds of events had, by government decree, been forbidden. Would the hammer come down again, and when, and would we all meekly accept another death-blow to our intrinsic rights?
Nobody voiced these concerns but everybody was, I’m sure, aware — the crowd had that look I’ve come to be familiar with among the denizens of the ‘freedom movement’ here: colors, glow, geniality, saying nothing much in the aftermath of the performance because what, after all, can be said as we absorbed its nourishing repercussions?
When I strolled along the beach and peered out at the Pacific, I was reminded of things maritime and of a visit I had made to a submarine moored in Philadelphia’s naval shipyard. As I descended into the bowels of the machine I was struck not only by the confined spaces, but by the realization of the reduction of the submarine’s inhabitants, whoever they may have been, to mere machines themselves serving the greater god of a strange mechanical beast. The purpose of every seaman, sleeping as they did in the narrowest of bunks, was geared to ensuring the efficient propulsion and mission of a metal monster. Once beneath the waves there was no way out, of course, and to think of trusting myself to such a contraption made me shudder. When I climbed out to land that day long ago, it was with a vastly more profound recognition of the insignificance of human life in relation to the compelling States that exploited it.
We are each of us born into a world whose roads, services, telecommunications, transport and comforts give the impression of a vast benign governing being, an organization of human accomplishment that might as well be God, for all we know or feel, holding our small souls in its embrace. We accept it, we trust implicitly and wordlessly in it — until something happens to jolt us out of our sleepy acquiescence.
Well, perhaps the only good arising from the devastating crisis that was — and is, the not-quite-finished covid psyops — has been the thunderous destruction of illusions. Those institutions we assumed were there to have our backs, the ones in place to safeguard our health, to protect the rule of law, to honor our inborn rights, to ensure the integrity of professional medical practice — they’ve all been exposed as criminally fraudulent.
For example, the few doctors here in New Zealand who took it upon themselves to practice in consonance with their professional principles are still hounded and persecuted by a corrupt Medical Council. These colleagues who dared to treat patients suffering from covid and/or the Jab, who dared to advocate for informed consent, and who dared to remain faithful to the Hippocratic Oath they swore when they received their medical degrees — they have lost licences to practice and are being hauled before kangaroo court tribunals as if they were criminals.
You see, in these past few years we have been slowly conditioned to accept the once unthinkable: that natural immunity counts for nothing, that genetically-altering inoculations which prevent neither transmission nor infection of the pathogen it was manufactured to protect against are wonderful, and that sudden deaths in the young and excess deaths overall are just ordinary features of life, nothing here to see!
There are many ways to kill: slow or quick, silently, insidiously and by imperceptible degrees — or cataclysmically loud, as in open battle. And we are seeing all of them play out across our stricken globe.
Since 2020 we’ve been living under a kind of martial law in this war being waged against the better parts of humanity. Censorship, coercion and murder become the norm, whether the war has been declared or not, whether the war is prosecuted by armies on the killing fields of Europe and the Middle East or, vastly more cleverly, by an invisible hand pushing a phony pandemic to exterminate our rights, followed by an injection that maims and eliminates our very selves.
I am not sanguine about the nature of human nature, seeing the addiction to destruction as a fundamental aspect of our species. The emergent properties that characterize our institutions tend mainly in the direction of control. The quest for knowledge is mostly a disguised quest for power.
But there is human good, as the small gathering in a seaside village can confirm from time to time when poetry and music are in the air.
As we prepare for the next onslaught I think our greatest challenge will be to make comrades of those who in their naivete or ignorance or carelessness or, perhaps, their opportunism, accepted the impositions of the Real Enemy, that coterie of people who, embalmed by their riches and lust to rule, succeeded in shutting down a world while convincing those shut down to praise them — and to carry on their work with smug virtuousness.
How brilliant, how shrewd! But how devoid of anything to aspire to.
As I drove back along the ocean road yesterday I thought that going nowhere and doing nothing couldn’t be better, and I knew that we would have to fight tooth and nail to preserve this right. So be it, it’s up to us, it’s always been up to us, and the fight never ceases.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr. Garcia is a Philadelphia-born psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who emigrated to New Zealand in 2006. He has authored articles ranging from explorations of psychoanalytic technique, the psychology of creativity in music (Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Delius), and politics. He is also a poet, novelist and theatrical director. He retired from psychiatric practice in 2021 after working in the public sector in New Zealand. Visit his substack at https://newzealanddoc.substack.com/ where this article was first published.
He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image: Image by fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay
The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity
by Michel Chossudovsky
Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.
“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”
Reviews
This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon
In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia
In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig
Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac
A reading of Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late. You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin
ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0, Year: 2022, PDF Ebook, Pages: 164, 15 Chapters
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Note: Daniele Ganser will be the featured speaker at the First Annual David Ray Griffin Lecture on Sunday, December 3, where he will discuss this book and related current topics. The lecture is hosted by the International Center for 9/11 Justice and UK Column. More information is available here.
If you regard the United States as perhaps flawed but overall a force for good in the world . . .
If you scoff at the notion that the US, a republic founded on principles of freedom and democracy, has morphed into a world empire, perpetrating assassinations, coups d’état, acts of terror and illegal warfare . . .
If you want to promote peace but haven’t yet explored deceptive events that precipitate US warmongering . . .
. . . here is a volume that will clear the air and paint an honest picture of the significant, not-so-rosy impact US foreign policy and actions have had in the world around us.
USA: The Ruthless Empire, by Swiss historian and peace researcher Daniele Ganser, is the newly published English language translation of his book Imperium USA, originally written in German and published in 2020. Here is a summary of key points — including some lesser-known ones — along with remedies for a more peaceful future, that are covered in the book.
Ganser takes us on a tour of meticulously documented historical events that would be shocking to anyone committed to fairness and basic human decency. His intention is to strengthen the peace movement, which encompasses people all over the world — including in the US — who reject war as well as the lies and propaganda used to initiate and perpetuate wars. Throughout the book, he emphasizes three key pillars to the peace movement: the United Nations ban on any kind of violence or aggression, mindfulness (allowing one to recognize and see through war propaganda and lies), and viewing all people as members of the human family.
Before delving into history, Ganser sets the stage in Chapter 1, “The USA Poses the Greatest Threat to World Peace.” He backs up this assertion with a dizzying array of figures about how many countries the US has bombed since 1945 (at least 23), how many military bases it has in foreign countries (more than 700), the US world record on military spending (now approaching $1 trillion annually), the number of US troops abroad (over 200,000), and the US status as the only country to have deployed nuclear weapons. He shares results of a Gallup poll of 67,000 people in 65 countries that asked, “Which country poses the greatest threat to world peace today?” to which 24% named the US, while between 5% and 9% named one of six other countries and less than 5% named one of twelve other countries.
Chapter 2, “The USA Is an Oligarchy,” spotlights an ominous manifestation of empire: the astronomical disparities in wealth and income (540 billionaires vs. over 100 million living in poverty, not to mention impacts around the world) resulting from an oligarchy of super-rich running the empire and manipulating information flows with little meaningful influence by voters.
Chapters 3 and 4 describe key precursors to empire both before and after the new US republic established its independence from Britain in the late 18th century — namely, the mass murder and displacement of Native Americans and the importation and exploitation of slave labor from Africa in much of the new nation.
Chapter 5 covers the overt launch of imperial actions in the mid and late 19th century, when the US initiated wars based on lies and often false flag incidents to annex half of Mexico and conquer former Spanish colonies either as outright possessions (Puerto Rico and Guam) or with nominal autonomy but under tight US control (Cuba and the Philippines). The Kingdom of Hawaii was captured and annexed under threat of violence.
Chapter 6, devoted to World War I, elaborates on how, even prior to the US entering combat in 1917, US-based war profiteers flourished. J.P. Morgan & Co. was financing England and France, and US corporations sold arms to Europe. Hence, vested US interests in intentionally prolonging the war cost millions of avoidable deaths. War propaganda thrived, with Germans — who had done nothing to the US — being severely vilified. Hamburgers became “Liberty Steak” and sauerkraut “Liberty Cabbage.” (Remember how in 2003, when France hesitated to join in the war on Iraq, the US Senate cafeteria sold “Freedom Fries”?) The Espionage Act was passed to prosecute pacifists (including Eugene Debs) and deny free speech — and is still being used today to persecute Julian Assange for exposing US war crimes in Iraq.
Chapter 7 scrutinizes the US role in World War II, unravelling its carefully cultivated image of fighting honorably on the side of righteousness, and exposes both belligerent proclivities and mixed loyalties. Ganser reminds us that US companies were allowed to sell oil to Nazi Germany both before and well into the war. Without that fuel supply, the Nazi threat may have dissipated prior to some of the worst atrocities being committed. Again, the war was unnecessarily prolonged.
Though officially allies of the Soviet Union, the US and Great Britain were pleased to see Hitler taking action against communist Russia, and they avoided opening a western front until mid-1944, when it looked like the Soviet Union (which lost 27 million citizens in World War II) would be the sole victor over the Nazis. Ganser unearthed this remarkable June 1941 quote by then-US Senator and later President Harry Truman: “If we see that Germany is winning the war we ought to help Russia, and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany. And that way let them kill as many as possible, although I certainly don’t want Hitler to win in the end.” Divide et impera — divide and conquer.
Truman, as US president, ordered the first and only deployment of nuclear weapons in history so far, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and terrorizing many more at a time when Japan was already prepared to surrender. Ganser documents how, in order to gain popular support for the US entering the war, it intentionally goaded the Japanese into attacking Pearl Harbor, providing the desired casus belli. The infamous December 7, 1941, attack was no surprise to President Franklin Roosevelt, who let it happen, sacrificing thousands of US servicemembers. As will become relevant to Chapter 12 on the September 11 attacks, Ganser notes that a Hollywood movie, “Pearl Harbor,” parroting the surprise attack myth, was released in May 2001, priming the public subliminally for what was to follow a few months later on September 11.
Chapter 8, “Covert Warfare,” tells us how the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Council were born in the post-war years. It includes a laundry list of how the US used them to perpetrate multiple coups d’état (Iran, Guatemala, Chile), assassinations (Lumumba in Congo, Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, Diem in Vietnam, Che Guevarra in Bolivia), assassination attempts against Fidel Castro, and the failed invasion of Cuba in 1961. President Kennedy ultimately became so outraged by these illegal operations that he fired CIA director Allan Dulles.
Note that Ganser devoted an entire previous book, NATO’s Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe, to numerous additional covert operations involving the US, via NATO and the CIA, that are not covered in the present volume. These include false flag assassinations, bombing of civilians (blamed on communists), and fixing elections in much of Western Europe throughout the Cold War.
Chapter 9 focuses on the Kennedy assassination, summarizing evidence exonerating Lee Harvey Oswald and implicating Allan Dulles in a conspiracy to commit this heinous murder. After District Attorney Jim Garrison of New Orleans brought much of the evidence to light in 1967, questioning the validity of the Warren Commission Report (authored by Dulles), the CIA created and widely publicized the notion of “conspiracy theorist” as a derogatory term for anyone who challenged the official narrative. Interestingly, Ganser notes that in 1979 the US House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations “saw a high probability that two men had shot Kennedy. . . . The Committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. The Committee is unable to identify the other gunman or the extent of the conspiracy.” This report was conveniently obscured by the media, and few are aware of it today.
Chapter 10, on the Vietnam War — which rapidly escalated after Kennedy’s murder — is a painful reminder to those readers who lived through it of the needless suffering inflicted on millions of Vietnamese and on tens of thousands of US soldiers and the peripheral damage to neighboring countries of Laos and Cambodia. The latter two countries were bombed by the US without provocation, inciting the brutality of Khmer Rouge communists, whom the US could demonize to deflect from its own role in the bloodshed. Ganser reminds us of the false flag Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964 that was used to provoke a dramatic escalation of the war in Vietnam. While we were repeatedly warned of the propagandistic “domino theory,” there was in fact no chain reaction of neighboring countries turning communist after Vietnam prevailed and defeated the US in 1975 — hence all that death and destruction was in vain, other than benefitting war profiteers.
In Chapter 11 on the Iran-Contra Affair, Ganser elucidates another example of the US pitting two of its adversaries against each other when it supported Saddam Hussein in Iraq’s war against Iran while simultaneously and covertly selling weapons to Iran and secretly using the proceeds to fund the Nicaraguan Contras, who supported the dictatorial Somoza regime. Ganser further shows how the CIA hypocritically engaged secretly in the cocaine trade to finance its covert operations.How many people’s lives have been upended by those operations abroad and in drug-infested US cities?
In Chapters 12 and 13 on 9/11 and the War on Terror, respectively, the US empire ushers in the 21st century with an overwhelming display of shock and awe. The first sub-heading is prescient: “A New Pearl Harbor” refers to a prophetic statement in the year 2000 by the neocon Project for a New American Century, noting that it would be difficult to get the US population to accept massive military spending and upgrades for fighting multiple wars simultaneously “absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event — like a new Pearl Harbor.”
Ganser offers three ways of evaluating the events of September 11, 2001: (1) Surprise attack catching everyone in the US, including top leadership and intelligence services, completely off guard; (2) LIHOP (let it happen on purpose), implying foreknowledge by key players of what was going to happen but intentionally failing to stop it; and (3) MIHOP (made it happen on purpose), involving direct complicity of certain players within the US military-intelligence apparatus and their agents. He disproves (1) and points to (2) and (3) as much more plausible, leaning toward (3).
Abundant research has been conducted debunking the official 9/11 story that 19 Muslim hijackers and a few men in a cave in Afghanistan were solely responsible for the death and destruction that day, and Ganser includes references to much of it in his footnotes. Bringing us to the present day, the author of this review refers readers to the International Center for 9/11 Justice for an up-to-date collection of relevant 9/11 research.
In this volume, Ganser touches on a handful of key anomalies: obvious fallacies of the official 9/11 Commission report authored by Philip Zelikow, a Bush administration insider; the utter failure of the multi-billion dollar US defense system to prevent an attack, including on its own heavily fortified headquarters; the millions in profits made by unnamed individuals who invested heavily in put options in the days before September 11, 2001 (betting that United and American airlines stocks would soon plummet), indicating specific foreknowledge; the clear evidence that World Trade Center Building 7 was destroyed later that day by controlled demolition and the refusal of US authorities or media to even entertain that possibility; and the evidence for the use of explosives in the destruction of the Twin Towers.
With the fall of the Soviet Union ten years before, the US empire had been searching for a new major enemy, and the crimes of 9/11 offered an “ideal” replacement: the never-ending and amorphous “War on Terror,” which could be and has been used to justify numerous military incursions and the proliferation of US bases anywhere “terrorists” are deemed to be lurking.Ganser details the US role in illegal wars in Afghanistan, Iraq (initiated by spreading lies about alleged weapons of mass destruction), and Syria, all of which left millions dead in their wake, not to mention the horrendous abuses of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib.
On a note of optimism, Ganser points out how the blatant injustice of the wars in the Middle East — like the injustice of the Vietnam War before them — energized the peace movement in the US, prompting massive demonstrations and civil disobedience in opposition, indicating vast numbers who denounce war and empire and seek peaceful coexistence with all peoples. Beyond famous peace movement leaders like Jeannette Rankin, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Gandhi, he highlights the role of everyday citizens affirming their commitment to all people as members of the human family and rejecting attempts by the elites to divide and conquer. He also points out how the rise of alternative media has played a role in allowing for dissemination of information that counters the mainstream lies and war propaganda. The explosion of the internet and social media can be a two-edged sword, however, as Ganser points out in Chapter 14, “The Digital Empire,” with consolidation and monopolization of technology and information flows by such digital giants as Google, Facebook, and Wikipedia.
The 15th and final chapter, called “The Fight for Eurasia,” details the US role in the 2014 coup d’état in Ukraine — which was a catalyst for ensuing violence that has now escalated exponentially — as well as the relentless eastward expansion of NATO, contrary to US assurances in 1991 that this would not happen, which is another key causative factor in the havoc being wreaked there today. The original German edition was written two years prior to Russia’s 2022 “special military operation” in Ukraine. This new English edition does add a few paragraphs condemning Russia’s invasion as a violation of the UN Charter, while noting the provocations by NATO and Ukraine that fueled this proxy war between the US and Russia.
The book likewise does not include the up-to-the-minute status of the US relationship with China, but does note in the last chapter that China’s humiliation by the British Empire during the 19th century Opium Wars has prompted caution in its current relations with the West. We learn about China’s 2013 announcement of the “New Silk Road” in the form of a massive transcontinental infrastructure project also known as the Belt and Road Initiative, now well underway, designed not as an imperial land and resource grab but rather to mutually benefit all participating nations, allowing them to respect each other’s sovereignty and reducing tensions among them.
In his conclusion, Ganser notes that “the peace movement must trust that a world without war is possible.” He is “convinced that a fundamental exit from the spiral of violence is possible. The decisive factor is whether we really want inner and outer peace. If this will is strong enough, we can orient ourselves according to the following three principles: the human family, the UN ban on violence, and mindfulness.” These three principles, he notes, can be applied to overcome polarization, profiteering, and propaganda. A key tool of empire is dividing people into those who are favored and those who are demonized, pitting them against each other while enabling elites to generate profits for the few from the fighting of the many. Mindfulness can help people “wake up and quicky realize that war and lies always go hand in hand.” Those who practice mindfulness can no longer be so easily deceived by psychological operations.
In the words of President John F. Kennedy, invoked by Ganser in the introduction to the book,
“Our problems are man-made. Therefore, they can be solved by men.”
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claim to have targeted Israel with ballistic missiles over the Red Sea, causing Tel Aviv to respond last week by deploying missile boats. These recent developments may once again place the region under the spotlight. The issue of the Palestinian conflict in fact has long been a divisive matter in the wider African continent, and within the African Union (AU), as the South African condemnation of what it described as the Israeli “Apartheid” last year clearly showed. The dramatic situation that is unfolding in Palestine today is having massive repercussions globally, and the North of Africa, the so-called Horn of Africa, especially, can be particularly affected by it. To better understand this, one needs to go back in time about three years, though.
Since the 2020 US-brokered Abraham Accords, and the subsequent normalization agreements with Israel signed by states such as the United Arab Emirates (UEA), tensions over the issue have arisen in the continent, and particularly in North Africa. The timing of the Abraham Accords is interesting: the Horn of Africa has been increasingly dominated by rising Gulf states, as Alex de Waal, a World Peace Foundation’s executive director, wrote in a 2019 paper. The 2020 Israel-UAE deal in particular, and notably their joint naval drill in November 2021, raised some eyebrows. Among other reasons for that, the UAE can be described as a rising military regional power, with a presence in Eritrea and Somalia, for instance, and also having, together with Tel Aviv, been occupying Yemen’s Socotra Island.
Far from being merely a matter of normalizing relations with the Jewish state, these agreements with Tel Aviv in fact have opened the door to security and military cooperation, thus increasing Israel’s presence in Africa – a presence which includes private companies with close ties with the state such as the NSO Group, but also the Shin Bet (Israel’s Security Agency), the Mossad and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) themselves. Such has been a key part of Netanyahu’s diplomacy – often described by critics as “buying friends by selling weapons” or sometimes as “spyware diplomacy” – for the last six years at least.
For one thing, one quarter of the Jewish states’s maritime trade goes through the port of Eilat on the Gulf of Aqaba. Alex de Waal describes the Red Sea as “Israel’s back door”, the coastal countries there (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen Eritrea, and Djibouti) all being, in Tel Aviv’s perspective, “pieces in the jigsaw of its extended security frontier.” As Waal reminds us, about 10 percent of the global maritime trade is carried through the straits between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Besides its concerns regarding the Red Sea’s security, Tel Aviv’s foreign policy has also focused on gaining African support pertaining to votes at international bodies, Palesting obviously being a hot topic.
Thus far, such a strategy had been gaining Israel new allies, for sure, but, at the same time, fueling domestic tensions within these very states – and, more critically, inter-state frictions, as well. Morocco, for instance, is another point of contention: in a kind of “quid pro quo” over Morocco’s own normalization deal with its Israeli ally, former US President Donald Trump recognized Moroccan claims over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, controlled by Algerian-backed rebels, thus increasing the heat in what already was a boiling pan. Already in December 2020, Algeria’s then Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad denounced the Israel-Morocco deal in strong language, describing the agreement as a “dirty alliance” through which the “Zionist entity” (in his word) tried to get closer to Algerian borders.
When it comes to state officials in the region, anti-Israel speech is fueled by security concerns, from the perspective of some of these states such as Algeria, but such feelings have frequently found an echo in popular opinion whenever Tel Aviv bombs civilians in Palestine, something which happens, with varying intensity, quite often. The next year, in May 2021, Israeli bombing of residential buildings in Gaza, for example, sparked a humanitarian crisis and pro-Palestine protests, further polarizing the Middle East – again with an impact in the Horn of Africa.
The ongoing Israeli military campaign which started in October, after the Hamas attacks, is, one could say, unprecedented in its scale – and its diplomatic and geopolitical consequences will probably be so as well. Washington has long treated its Israeli ally as a kind of exception to international law and this seems to be backfiring. As I wrote, Turkish-Israeli ties in all likelihood are going back to the freezer – not to mention the rapprochement with Saudi Arabia.
All of this is very bad news for the Jewish state, considering all its strategic interests in the Red Sea and in the Horn of Africa, a region troubled by the complex situations unfolding in Sudan – not to mention a number of hydropolitical conflicts. As the aforementioned Alex de Waal reminds us, anti-Israeli feelings fueled by indignation over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza plus Hama’s boldness will encourage Islamists groups such as Somalia’s al-Shabaab – not to mention the Houthi movement.
In addition, Israel and Turkey already compete for influence in North Africa, as the former seeks to connect the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea as part of its geostrategic oil and gas interests, and with both countries’ relations severely damaged as of now (over Gaza), the area may increasingly become yet another point of contention.
Moreover, as I wrote in January, post-Nord Stream Europe has been in quest for energy alternatives to Russian gas, and both Algeria and Morocco have been competing for European markets, however it would be unrealistic to expect a robust energy supply from North Africa pipelines, considering the region’s ongoing tensions. This is particularly true now, as Middle Eastern stormy waves reach the Horn of Africa and beyond – thus the European continent’s industrial, economic and energy crises remain deadlocked – and so do emerging North African power aspirations towards becoming key energy providers, as the current Middle-Eastern conflict risks spilling across the Red Sea.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
Uriel Araujo is a researcher with a focus on international and ethnic conflicts. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Below is the full text (Transcript) of President Bashar al-Assad at the Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit, hosted by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Transcript
Below is the full text of President al-Assad speech in front of the Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit:
Your Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Your Majesties and Highnesses,
Gaza has never been the issue; rather Palestine is the central cause and Gaza is an embodiment of its essence and a blatant expression of the suffering of its people.
Talking about Gaza individually misses the point, as it is part of a whole, and the recent aggression against it is just an event in a series of events dating back to seventy-five years of Zionist crime, with thirty-two years of a failed peace, the only absolute, irrefutable result of which is that the entity has increased its aggression, and the Palestinian situation has become more unjust, and miserable.
Neither the land nor the right has returned, neither in Palestine nor in the Golan. This situation has produced a political equation stating that more Arab meekness towards them equals more Zionist ferocity towards us, and that more hand extended by us equals more massacres against us. Zionist entity knows nothing about peace.
In light of this very clear equation, the aggression against Gaza cannot be investigated in isolation from the context of the Zionist massacres against the Palestinians committed previously, and the continuation of this – without a doubt – later.
In addition, we cannot isolate this ongoing crime by dealing “as Arab and Islamic countries” with the recurring events in a fragmented manner regarding the Palestinian cause. Our continued dealing with the aggression against Gaza today with the same methodology means paving the way by us for Israel to complete the massacres until the annihilation of the people and the death of the cause.
The emergency situation at our summit today is neither aggression nor killing, as both are ongoing and both are inherent and characteristic of the entity, but the emergency is Zionism outpacing itself in barbarism, which places us before unprecedented responsibilities, both humanly and politically, at a minimum, if we put aside the national security of our region.
From a humanitarian standpoint, there is no dispute about our duty to bear a large share of restoring the minimum requirements of life, whether through immediate aid or rebuilding the necessary infrastructure later, but do we continue to revolve in a vicious circle of killing and aid, then massacres, then aid, attacks, then statements?
The most important question is: What does the Palestinians need from us? Do they need humanitarian aid from us first, or do they need protection from us first from the upcoming genocide?
Here lies our role, and here lies our political work, but if we do not have real tools for pressure, then any step we take or speech we deliver has no meaning. The minimum that we have are the actual political tools, not the rhetorical ones, the most important of which is stopping any political track with the Zionist entity, with all what the political track includes, whether economic or other issues, so that its return is conditional on the entity’s commitment to an immediate and long-term cessation, not a temporary one, of crimes against all Palestinians in all of Palestine, while allowing bringing immediate aid into Gaza.
As for talking about the two states and launching the peace process and other details and rights, despite their importance, they are not the priority at this emergency moment, even though we know that talking about them will not bear fruit, because there is no partner, no sponsor, no reference, and no law, and because it is not possible to restore a right when the criminal became a judge, and the thief became a judge, and this is the state of the West today.
By our will only, my brothers, apart from our demands on Western countries, international institutions and others to assume their responsibilities, they bear only historical colonial responsibilities based on the oppression and plunder of peoples. By our will only, by the overwhelming popular public opinion in our countries, with the new reality imposed by the Palestinian resistance in our region, we possessed those tools. Let us use them, and let us take advantage of the global transformation that has opened for us political doors that have been closed for decades, so that we can enter through them and change the equations, and let the precious souls who rose in Palestine be a rewarding price for achieving what we were unable to do in the past and what we must accomplish in the present and in the future.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Our thanks to Information Clearing House for the transcript.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
.
Introduction by Peter Koenig
This article by Chris Hedges is what best describes the Horror – indescribable Horror Israel is committing in Gaza and soon in the West Bank, where ethnic cleansing has already begun.
It is a Horror – that is beyond words.
A dentist living in a suburb of Gaza – that had not yet been bombed — received an early morning phone call from an Israeli IDF Secret Service agent,
“You have 2 hours to evacuate the three high-rise apartment buildings where you live. Afterwards we must bomb them.”
To prove that they meant business they sent a rocket into one of the buildings. The dentist became a forced evacuator and an evacuee at once. He barely managed to get people out, some in pajamas, others in prayer robes, before the bombing started. Reported by Swiss Bluewin News in German.
This was as humanitarian as it gets by some IDF or secret service people, who most likely are under pressure that even their damaged conscience could no longer tolerate. So, they saved maybe hundreds of lives – children, women, elderly — and normal people.
Where is the Human Rights Commission when it is needed?
What is the UN good for?
The entire system in which we believed for decades as the measuring stick for international law and for political justice is now revealed to be utterly corrupted and sold to the Big-Bucks, to the criminal Biden Administration and the five-fold Financial-Military-IT-Media and Pharma Complex pulling the strings out from darkness.
The Horror is beyond words and beyond imagination.
The Horror is of blood and shredded children.
The Horror is of thousands and thousands – tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands — dead bodies disintegrating in the rubbles of indiscriminately IDF-bombed hospitals, apartment buildings, mosques – you name it.
The Horror is of universal bearing, especially since the world – HUMANITY, yes, humanity – just looks on.
That, in itself, is beyond words, beyond imagination, beyond the spirit of anything that calls itself human.
Read on Chris Hedges depicting reality.
Peter Koenig, November 13, 2023
The Horror, The Horror
Israel’s genocidal attacks, which are killing hundreds of Palestinians a day, including some 160 children, have expanded to shelling the remaining hospitals in Gaza.
DOHA, Qatar: I am in the studio of Al Jazeera’s Arabic service watching a live feed from Gaza City. The Al Jazeera reporter in northern Gaza, because of the intense Israeli shelling, was forced to evacuate to southern Gaza. He left his camera behind. He trained it on Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest medical complex. It is night. Israeli tanks fire directly towards the hospital compound. Long horizontal red flashes. A deliberate attack on a hospital. A deliberate war crime. A deliberate massacre of the most helpless civilians, including the very sick and infants. Then the feed goes dead.
We sit in front of the monitors. We are silent. We know what this means. No power. No water. No internet. No medical supplies. Every infant in an incubator will die. Every dialysis patient will die. Everyone in the intensive care unit will die. Everyone who needs oxygen will die. Everyone who needs emergency surgery will die. And what will happen to the 50,000 people who, driven from their homes by the relentless bombing, have taken refuge on the hospital grounds? We know the answer to that as well. Many of them, too, will die.
There are no words to express what we are witnessing. In the five weeks of horror this is one of the pinnacles of horror. The indifference of Europe is bad enough. The active complicity by the United States is unfathomable. Nothing justifies this. Nothing. And Joe Biden will go down in history as an accomplice to genocide. May the ghosts of the thousands of children he has participated in murdering haunt him for the rest of his life.
Israel and the United States are sending a chilling message to the rest of the world. International and humanitarian law, including the Geneva Convention, are meaningless pieces of paper. They did not apply in Iraq. They do not apply in Gaza. We will pulverize your neighborhoods and cities with bombs and missiles. We will wantonly murder your women, children, elderly and sick. We will set up blockades to engineer starvation and the spread of infectious diseases. You, the “lesser breeds” of the earth, do not matter. To us you are vermin to be extinguished. We have everything. If you try and take any of it away from us, we will kill you. And we will never be held accountable.
We are not hated for our values. We are hated because we have no values. We are hated because rules only apply to others. Not to us. We are hated because we have arrogated to ourselves the right to carry out indiscriminate slaughter. We are hated because we are heartless and cruel. We are hated because we are hypocrites, talking about protecting civilians, the rule of law and humanitarianism while extinguishing the lives of hundreds of people in Gaza a day, including 160 children.
Israel reacted with indignation and moral outrage when it was accused of bombing the al-Ahli Arab Christian hospital in Gaza, which left hundreds of dead. The bombing, Israel claimed, came from an errant rocket fired by Palestine Islamic Jihad. There is nothing in the arsenal of Hamas or Islamic Jihad that could have replicated the massive explosive power of the missile that struck the hospital. Those of us who have covered Gaza have heard this Israel trope so many times it is risible. They always blame Hamas and the Palestinians for their war crimes, now attempting to argue that hospitals are Hamas command centers and therefore legitimate targets. They never provide evidence. The Israeli military and government lie like they breathe.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), which has staff working in Al-Shifa, issued a statement saying patients, doctors and nurses are “trapped in hospitals under fire.” It called on the “Israeli government to cease this unrelenting assault on Gaza’s health system.”
“Over the past 24 hours, hospitals in Gaza have been under relentless bombardment. Al-Shifa hospital complex, the biggest health facility where MSF staff are still working, has been hit several times, including the maternity and outpatient departments, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries,” the statement read. “The hostilities around the hospital have not stopped. MSF teams and hundreds of patients are still inside Al-Shifa hospital. MSF urgently reiterates its calls to stop the attacks against hospitals, for an immediate ceasefire and for the protection of medical facilities, medical staff and patients.”
Three other hospitals in northern Gaza and Gaza City are encircled by Israeli forces and tanks, in what a doctor told Al Jazeera was a “day of war against hospitals.” The Indonesian Hospital has reportedly also lost power. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 20 of 36 hospitals in Gaza no longer function.
Israel and Washington’s cynicism is breathtaking. There are no differences in intent. Washington only wants it done quickly. Humanitarian corridors? Pauses in the shelling? These are vehicles to facilitate the total depopulation of northern Gaza. The handful of aid trucks allowed through the border at Rafah with Egypt? A public relations gimmick. There is only one goal – kill, kill, kill. The faster the better. All Biden officials talk about is what comes next once Israel has finished its decimation of Gaza. They know Israel’s slaughter will not end until Gazans are living in the open without shelter in the southern part of the strip and dying because of a lack of food, water and medical care.
Gaza before Israel’s ground incursion was one of the most densely populated spots on the planet. Imagine what will happen with 1.1 million Gazans from the north piled on top of over 1 million in the south. Imagine what will take place when infectious diseases such as cholera become an epidemic. Imagine the ravages of starvation. The pressure will build to do something. And that something, Israel hopes, will be to push the Palestinians over the border into the Sinai in Egypt. Once there, they will never return. Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza will be complete. Its ethnic cleansing of the West Bank will begin.
That is Israel’s demented dream. To achieve it, they will make Gaza uninhabitable.
Ask yourself, if you were a Palestinian in Gaza and had access to a weapon what would you do? If Israel killed your family, how would you react? Why would you care about international or humanitarian law when you know it only applies to the oppressed, not the oppressors? If terror is the only language Israel uses to communicate, the only language it apparently understands, wouldn’t you speak back with terror?
Israel’s orgy of death will not crush Hamas. Hamas is an idea. This idea is fed on the blood of martyrs. Israel is giving Hamas an abundant supply.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
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: The Executioner’s Song – by Mr. Fish
Alle Artikel von Global Research können in 51 Sprachen gelesen werden, indem Sie die Schaltfläche Website übersetzen unterhalb des Namens des Autors aktivieren.
Um den täglichen Newsletter von Global Research (ausgewählte Artikel) zu erhalten, klicken Sie hier.
Klicken Sie auf die Schaltfläche “Teilen”, um diesen Artikel per E-Mail an Ihre Freunde und Kollegen weiterzuleiten. Folgen Sie uns auf Instagram und Twitter und abonnieren Sie unseren Telegram-Kanal. Sie können die Artikel von Global Research gerne weiterveröffentlichen und mit anderen teilen.
***
Einleitung
Ein Artikel in der linken deutschen Tageszeitung „Junge Welt“ vom 9. 11. 2023 über die Weltjugendkonferenz in Paris mit dem Titel: „Die Jugend muss eine Vorreiterrolle übernehmen“ (1) veranlasste mich als Vater, ehemaligen Lehrer und Psychologen, die Frage zu stellen, wie die Jugend in die Lage kommen kann, bei der Gestaltung der Zukunft eine Vorreiterrolle zu übernehmen.
Da sich die Charaktereigenschaften des Menschen bereits in der Kindheit entwickeln, müssen Erzieher ausgebildet werden, die in der Lage sind, eine Generation heranzubilden, die eine neue und menschliche Sozialordnung realisieren kann.
Da sich junge Menschen oft darüber beschweren, dass die Eltern sie nicht verstehen und sie ihnen deshalb grollen, ist es von großer Bedeutung, dass beide Generationen miteinander versöhnt werden. Das geschieht am erfolgreichsten in einer Psychotherapie.
In kleinen Schritten wird die Jugend dann ihre Kompetenzen entwickeln und in die Lage kommen, die Zukunft zusammen mit den Erwachsenen zu gestalten.
„Die Jugend muss eine Vorreiterrolle übernehmen“
Im Artikel der „Jungen Welt“, einem Gespräch mit dem Moderator der Weltjugendkonferenz Rafael Vergara heißt es, dass Delegierteaus über 60 Ländern auf der Weltjugendkonferenz in Paris aktuelle Krisen sowie Wege nach vorne diskutierten. 400 Jugendliche seien bis zum 5. November dem Aufruf des Netzwerks „Youth Writing History“ gefolgt und hätten Antworten auf die Krisen und Kriege unserer Zeit gesucht.
Auf die Frage „Wie geht es weiter?“ antwortete Moderator Vergara unter anderem:
„Langfristig wollen wir ein globales Netzwerk der internationalistischen Zusammenarbeit etablieren. (…).
Wir denken, dass die Jugend, als dynamische Kraft der Gesellschaft, dabei eine Vorreiterrolle übernehmen muss. Der Aufbau einer anderen Welt darf nicht auf morgen verschoben werden, sondern wir wollen im Hier und Jetzt am Aufbau eines freien Lebens arbeiten.“ (2)
Ein schönes Ziel, doch stellt sich die Frage, wie die Jugend in die Lage kommen kann, bei der Gestaltung der Zukunft eine Vorreiterrolle zu übernehmen.
Da sich der Charakter der Menschen in der Kindheit entwickelt, ginge es darum, Erzieher auszubilden, die fähig sind, eine Generation mit dem Ziel der Verwirklichung einer neuen, menschlichen Sozialordnung heranzubilden. Das hat bisher gefehlt.
Erzieher befähigen, eine Generation heranzubilden, die neue, menschliche Sozialordnung verwirklich kann
Dass die Charakterstruktur des Menschen durch seine Erlebnisse und Eindrücke in der Kindheit vorherbestimmt wird, ist eine Entdeckung der Tiefenpsychologie. Es sind die Familienatmosphäre und die erzieherische Haltung der Eltern, die die Charakterbildung des Kindes weitgehend bestimmen. Sie formen den seelischen Horizont, der dem Kind frühzeitig eine bestimmte Haltung gegenüber sich selbst und den Mitmenschen nahelegt. Diese aus der Familiensituation entsprungenen Charakterzüge bleiben größtenteils unbewusst.
Charaktereigenschaften sind nicht etwas Angeborenes und Unveränderliches, sondern lediglich das Ergebnis zahlloser Kindheitserlebnisse. Dabei haben die Persönlichkeit der Eltern und ihr erzieherisches Verhalten den allergrößten Einfluss. Es ginge also darum, Eltern und Unterrichtende aufzuklären und sie zu einer gewaltlosen und vernunftgemäßen Erziehung ihrer Kinder und Schüler zu führen.
Aufgabe der Erzieher ist es, Menschen zu bilden, die fähig sind, unabhängige, mutige und gemeinschaftliche Persönlichkeiten zu werden. Es ist in erster Linie die Qualität dieser Beziehung, die den jungen Menschen befähigt, den pädagogischen Absichten des Erziehers zu folgen.
Neue, menschliche Sozialordnung
Eine neue und menschliche Sozialordnung muss auf den Prinzipien der Freiheit, der Gleichheit und der Brüderlichkeit aufgebaut werden.
„Freiheit“ bedeutet konsequente Anwendung des freiheitlichen Prinzips im menschlichen Zusammenleben. Jegliche Über- und Unterordnung widerspricht dem freiheitlichen Prinzip. Freiheit bedeutet Selbstbestimmung des Menschen. Das heißt, sein ganzes Tun und Trachten ist das Ergebnis seiner eigenen Wünsche. Er gestaltet sein Leben, seine Beziehungen zu den Mitmenschen und die gesellschaftliche Organisation selbst.
Herrscht das autoritäre Prinzip vor, dann wird das Verhalten des Menschen durch Befehle, Sanktionen und Strafen erzwungen. Im freiheitlichen Zusammenleben ist die Kommunikation das Mittel der Verständigung.
Die Freiheit ist ein Bedürfnis der menschlichen Natur. Üben Eltern und Lehrkräfte Druck und Zwang aus, kann das Kind in seiner Hilflosigkeit und Abhängigkeit keine gesunde Beziehung einüben: Misstrauen, Angst, Unter- und Überordnung sind dann die Resultate.
Gleichheit und Brüderlichkeit sind ebenfalls grundlegende Bestandteile der neuen menschlichen Sozialordnung (3).
Jugend braucht politische und psychologische Bildung
Die Menschen werden von allen Institutionen – angefangen von der Erziehung zuhause, von der Kinderstube bis hinauf zur Rekrutenschule und das „Feld der Ehre“ – so programmiert, dass sie dann alles machen, was die anderen, die Machthaber von ihm wollen. Das ist bewusstes Programm.
Deshalb ist es wichtig, dass der Jugend insbesondere in der Schule politische Bildung vermittelt wird; dass sie zum Beispiel erfährt, dass alle Kriege ein gutes Geschäft sind und in der Politik nichts zufällig passiert. Wenn es passiert, kann man darauf wetten, dass es so geplant war.
Hinzu kommt die psychologische Bildung. In Familie und Schule sollte dem jungen Menschen vermittelt werden, wie er seine Probleme lösen soll und kann. Wichtig ist sein Lebensgefühl, seine Meinung über sich selbst, über seine Kameradinnen und Kameraden sowie seine Meinung über die Gemeinde und den Staat.
Jugend nicht für politische Propaganda einspannen
Junge Menschen, die als Schüler eigentlich lernen und sich bemühen sollen, dass sie in der Schule vorankommen, dürfen nicht für politische Propaganda eingespannt werden. Ganz egal, wozu sie aufgerufen werden: ob sie Flugblätter verteilen oder demonstrieren sollen. Kinder und junge Leute dürfen für politische Zwecke nicht missbraucht werden.
Ursachen der Jugendverwahrlosung
In Berichten über verwahrloste Jugendliche taucht oftmals der Begriff „Psychopathie“ auf. Damit soll angedeutet werden, dass die jungen Menschen, die in irgendeiner Weise aus dem Rahmen fallen, an angeborenen Persönlichkeitsdeformationen leiden. Diese Auffassung ist jedoch als irrtümlich und oberflächlich erkannt worden.
Die wichtigste Quelle der Jugendverwahrlosung ist die seelische Heimatlosigkeit im Kindesalter. Man weiß heute, welche ungeheure Bedeutung dem kindlichen Geborgenheitsgefühl für die Entwicklung des Menschen zukommt. Das Menschenkind ist mehr als alle anderen Lebewesen liebesbedürftig. Es braucht Schutz und freundliche Führung, um in die äußerst komplizierte Menschenwelt hineinwachsen zu können.
Wo es im Erwachsenen frühzeitig infolge seiner Lieblosigkeit oder Unzuverlässigkeit den „Gegenspieler“ erkennt, schließt es sich von seiner Umwelt ab und verfällt einer Isoliertheit, die von einer verständnislosen Umgebung in ihrer Tragweite kaum erkannt wird.
Versöhnung der Kinder mit den Eltern
Bereits im Jahr 1927 schrieb der Individualpsychologe Alfred Adler im Buch „Menschenkenntnis“ über Klagen von Eltern und Kindern:
„Es ist eine oft hervorgehobene und empfindliche Tatsache, dass die Menschen aneinander vorübergehen und vorüberreden, den Zusammenschluss nicht finden können, weil sie sich fremd gegenüberstehen, nicht nur im weiteren Rahmen einer Gesellschaft, sondern sogar im engeren Kreis der Familie.
Nichts tritt uns öfter entgegen als Klagen von Eltern, die ihre Kinder nicht verstehen, und von Kindern, dass sie von den Eltern nicht verstanden würden. (…).
Die Menschen würden viel besser zusammenleben, wenn die Menschenkenntnis größer wäre, weil gewisse störende Formen des Zusammenlebens wegfielen, die heute nur deshalb möglich sind, weil wir einander nicht kennen und so der Gefahr ausgesetzt sind, uns durch Äusserlichkeiten täuschen zu lassen und auf Verstellungen anderer hineinfallen.“ (4)
Die Lehre Adlers (1870-1937) ist zu einem Grundpfeiler der Tiefenpsychologie geworden und heute aus der psychologischen Forschung nicht mehr wegzudenken, auch wenn die Individualpsychologie nur teilweise die Anerkennung gefunden hat, die sie tatsächlich verdient und die sie auch für ihre bahnbrechenden Errungenschaften beanspruchen darf.
In dem Moment, wenn wir als Kinder den Eltern grollen, sind wir im Unrecht, dann wissen wir nicht Bescheid.
In der Regel ist es die erste Aufgabe, wenn ein Mensch in die Psychotherapie kommt, dass er mit seiner Situation – zum Beispiel mit seinen Eltern – versöhnt wird. Der junge Menschfühlt sich oft von ihnen beleidigt und grollt ihnen, weil sie ihm angeblich Unrecht getan haben. Sie haben ihn zum Beispiel geschlagen oder ihm einen Knäuel Dummheiten vermittelt.
Aufgabe der Psychotherapie ist es, das zu beheben und ihn mit den Eltern zu versöhnen. Er muss einsehen, dass man die Eltern nicht verantwortlich machen kann, weil sie ebenfalls im Stich gelassen und nicht informiert wurden. Sie haben nicht gewusst, wie sie ihr Kind unterrichten, informieren sollen. Die Menschen werden dann einsehen, dass die Eltern auch die „armen Teufel“ waren.
Mit Besonnenheit und Ausdauer kommt die Jugend in die Lage, in kleinen Schritten ihre Kompetenzen zu entwickeln.
In meinem Buch „Sich die Ergebnisse der psychologischen Forschung zu eigen machen! Erkenntnisse aus der Begegnung mit dem Psychologen Friedrich Liebling und seiner freiheitlichen Psychotherapie“ schrieb ich auf Seite 35f.:
„Meines Erachtens stehen junge Menschen im Laufe ihrer Entwicklung vor vielfältigen Anforderungen, die sie in der Regel gut bewältigen. Um die Lebensaufgaben mutig angehen zu können, sind Heranwachsende jedoch auf die Einbettung in eine haltgebende Umwelt als Lebenswelt und eine einbettende Kultur angewiesen.
Halt und Orientierung erfahren sie, wenn die Familie Wertvorstellungen und Tugenden vermittelt, die in den gesellschaftlichen Institutionen wie Kindergarten und Schule verstärkt und konsequent durchgesetzt werden. Zu nennen sind: Mitmenschlichkeit, Gerechtigkeit, Wahrheit, Friedensfähigkeit, Toleranz, Gemeinschaftssinn, Konfliktfähigkeit und Kompromissbereitschaft.
Damit sich diese sozialen Werthaltungen und Tugenden im Heranwachsenden festigen, ist praktische Teilnahme an sozialen Aktivitäten unerlässlich.
Ich glaube an die Jugend, an ihre Lernfähigkeit, ihre Kreativität, ihre Einfühlsamkeit, ihr Verantwortungsgefühl, ihre Einsichtsfähigkeit und ihre Bereitschaft zur Veränderung von Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen.
Meistens fehlt jungen Menschen nur etwas Besonnenheit und Ausdauer, damit sie in kleinen Schritten ihre Kompetenzen entwickeln können.“ (5)
*
Hinweis an die Leser: Bitte klicken Sie auf die obigen Schaltflächen zum Teilen. Folgen Sie uns auf Instagram und Twitter und abonnieren Sie unseren Telegram-Kanal. Fühlen Sie sich frei, Artikel von Global Research erneut zu veröffentlichen und zu teilen.
Dr. Rudolf Lothar Hänsel ist Schul-Rektor, Erziehungswissenschaftler und Diplom-Psychologe. Nach seinen Universitätsstudien wurde er wissenschaftlicher Lehrer in der Erwachsenenbildung. Als Pensionär arbeitete er als Psychotherapeut in eigener Praxis. In seinen Büchern und Fachartikeln fordert er eine bewusste ethisch-moralische Werteerziehung sowie eine Erziehung zu Gemeinsinn und Frieden. Er schreibt regelmäßig für Global Research.
(3) Hänsel, Rudolf (2023). Sich die Ergebnisse der psychologischen Forschung zu eigen machen! Erkenntnisse aus der Begegnung mit dem Psychologen Friedrich Liebling und seiner freiheitlichen Psychotherapie. Grafoprint d.o.o. Gornji Milanovac, Serbia
(4) Liebling, Friedrich (1992), Aufsätze. Verlag Menschenkenntnis. Zürich
(5) Hänsel, Rudolf (2023). Sich die Ergebnisse der psychologischen Forschung zu eigen machen! Erkenntnisse aus der Begegnung mit dem Psychologen Friedrich Liebling und seiner freiheitlichen Psychotherapie. Grafoprint d.o.o. Gornji Milanovac, Serbia, S. 35f.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Introduction
An article in the left-wing German daily newspaper “Junge Welt” on 9 November 2023 about the World Youth Conference in Paris entitled: “Young people must take on a pioneering role” (1) prompted me, as a father, former teacher and psychologist, to ask how young people can take on a pioneering role in shaping the future.
Since human character traits are developed in childhood, educators must be trained who are capable of raising a generation that can realise a new and humane social order.
Since young people often complain that their parents do not understand them and therefore resent them, it is of great importance that both generations are reconciled with each other. This is most successfully achieved through psychotherapy.
In small steps, young people will then develop their skills and be able to shape the future together with adults.
“Young people must take on a pioneering role”
The article in “Junge Welt”, an interview with the moderator of the World Youth Conference Rafael Vergara, states that delegates from over 60 countries discussed current crises and ways forward at the World Youth Conference in Paris. By 5 November, 400 young people had responded to the call of the “Youth Writing History” network and sought answers to the crises and wars of our time.
In response to the question “Where do we go from here?”, moderator Vergara replied, among other things:
“In the long term, we want to establish a global network of internationalist co-operation. (…).
We believe that young people, as a dynamic force in society, must play a pioneering role in this. The construction of a different world must not be postponed until tomorrow, but we want to work on building a free life in the here and now.” (2)
A fine goal, but the question arises as to how young people can take on a pioneering role in shaping the future.
Since people’s character develops in childhood, it is important to train educators who are capable of raising a generation with the aim of realising a new, humane social order. This has been lacking until now.
Enabling Educators to Raise a Generation that Can Realise a New, Human Social Order
The fact that a person’s character structure is predetermined by their experiences and impressions in childhood is a discovery of depth psychology. It is the family atmosphere and the educational attitude of the parents that largely determine the formation of the child’s character. They shape the mental horizon that suggests a certain attitude towards oneself and others to the child at an early age. These character traits, which arise from the family situation, remain largely unconscious.
Character traits are not something innate and unchangeable, but merely the result of countless childhood experiences. The personality of the parents and their educational behaviour have the greatest influence. It is therefore a matter of educating parents and teachers and guiding them towards a non-violent and rational upbringing of their children and pupils.
The task of educators is to form people who are capable of becoming independent, courageous and communal personalities. It is first and foremost the quality of this relationship that enables the young person to follow the educator’s pedagogical intentions.
New, Humane Social Order
A new and humane social order must be built on the principles of freedom, equality and fraternity.
“Freedom” means the consistent application of the principle of freedom in human coexistence. Any subordination and subordination contradicts the principle of freedom. Freedom means human self-determination. This means that all his actions and endeavours are the result of his own wishes. He shapes his life, his relationships with his fellow human beings and the organisation of society himself.
If the authoritarian principle prevails, then people’s behaviour is enforced by orders, sanctions and punishments. In a free society, communication is the means of understanding.
Freedom is a need of human nature. If parents and teachers exert pressure and coercion, the child cannot develop a healthy relationship in its helplessness and dependence: Mistrust, fear, subordination and superordination are then the results.
Equality and fraternity are also fundamental components of the new human social order (3).
Young People Need Political and Psychological Education
People are programmed by all institutions – starting with education at home, from nursery school right up to recruitment school and the “field of honour” – in such a way that they then do everything that the others, those in power, want them to do. This is a conscious programme.
That’s why it’s important that young people are taught political education, especially at school; that they learn, for example, that all wars are good business and that nothing happens by chance in politics. If it happens, you can bet that it was planned that way.
Then there is psychological education. In the family and at school, young people should be taught how they should and can solve their problems. What is important is their attitude to life, their opinion of themselves, their comrades and their opinion of the community and the state.
Do Not Use Young People for Political Propaganda
Young people who are supposed to be learning and endeavouring to make progress at school must not be used for political propaganda. No matter what they are called upon to do, whether it is to distribute leaflets or demonstrate. Children and young people must not be misused for political purposes.
Causes of Youth Neglect
The term “psychopathy” is often used in reports about neglected young people. This is intended to imply that young people who fall out of line in some way suffer from congenital personality deformities. However, this view has been recognised as erroneous and superficial.
The most important source of youth neglect is emotional homelessness in childhood. Today we know the enormous importance of the child’s sense of security for human development. The human child is more in need of love than any other living being. It needs protection and friendly guidance in order to grow into the extremely complicated human world.
Where it recognises the “antagonist” in the adult at an early stage as a result of his unkindness or unreliability, it closes itself off from its environment and falls into an isolation that is barely recognised in its extent by an uncomprehending environment.
Reconciliation of Children with Their Parents
As early as 1927, the individual psychologist Alfred Adler wrote about the complaints of parents and children in his book “Knowledge of Man”:
“It is an often emphasised and sensitive fact that people pass each other by and talk past each other, cannot find union because they are strangers to each other, not only in the wider framework of a society, but even in the narrower circle of the family.
Nothing is more common than complaints from parents who do not understand their children, and from children that they are not understood by their parents. (…).
People would live together much better if there were greater knowledge of human nature, because certain disturbing forms of coexistence would no longer exist, which are only possible today because we do not know each other and are thus exposed to the danger of being deceived by outward appearances and falling for the pretences of others.” (4)
Adler’s teachings (1870-1937) have become a cornerstone of depth psychology and today it is impossible to imagine psychological research without them, even if individual psychology has only partially received the recognition it actually deserves and which it can claim for its ground-breaking achievements.
The moment we, as children, resent our parents, we are in the wrong, we are not in the know.
As a rule, the first task when a person comes into psychotherapy is to reconcile them with their situation – for example with their parents. The young person often feels insulted by them and resents them because they have allegedly done him wrong. For example, they have hit him or taught him a bunch of stupid things.
The task of psychotherapy is to remedy this and reconcile him with his parents. He must realise that the parents cannot be blamed because they were also let down and not informed. They did not know how to teach or inform their child. People will then realise that the parents were also the “poor devils”.
With prudence and perseverance, young people are able to develop their competences in small steps.
In my book “Sich die Ergebnisse der psychologischen Forschung zu eigen machen! Insights from my encounter with the psychologist Friedrich Liebling and his liberal psychotherapy”, I wrote on page 35f:
“In my opinion, young people face a variety of challenges in the course of their development, which they generally cope with well. However, in order to be able to tackle life’s tasks with courage, adolescents are dependent on being embedded in a supportive environment as a living world and an embedding culture.
They experience support and orientation when the family conveys values and virtues that are reinforced and consistently enforced in social institutions such as kindergarten and school. These include: Humanity, justice, truth, peaceableness, tolerance, a sense of community, the ability to deal with conflict and the willingness to compromise.
Practical participation in social activities is essential to consolidate these social values and virtues in adolescents.
I believe in young people, in their ability to learn, their creativity, their empathy, their sense of responsibility, their insightfulness and their willingness to change their attitudes and behaviour.
In most cases, all young people need is a little prudence and perseverance so that they can develop their skills in small steps.” (5)
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr Rudolf Lothar Hänsel is a school rector, educationalist and qualified psychologist. After his university studies, he became an academic teacher in adult education. As a pensioner, he worked as a psychotherapist in his own practice. In his books and specialist articles, he calls for a conscious ethical and moral education of values as well as an education for public spirit and peace.
(3) Hänsel, Rudolf (2023). Making the results of psychological research your own! Insights from an encounter with the psychologist Friedrich Liebling and his liberal psychotherapy. Grafoprint d.o.o. Gornji Milanovac, Serbia
(4) Liebling, Friedrich (1992), Essays. Publisher Menschenkenntnis. Zurich
(5) Hänsel, Rudolf (2023). Making the results of psychological research your own! Insights from an encounter with the psychologist Friedrich Liebling and his liberal psychotherapy. Grafoprint d.o.o. Gornji Milanovac, Serbia, p. 35f.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
There can’t be democracy and colonial war; one aspires to decency, the other to fascism. Meanwhile, once welcomed mavericks are heretics now in an underground of journalism amid a landscape of mendacious conformity.
Spartacus was a 1960 Hollywood film based on a book written secretly by the blacklisted novelist Howard Fast, and adapted by the screenplay writer Dalton Trumbo, one of the ‘Hollywood 10’ who were banned for their ‘un-American’ politics. It is a parable of resistance and heroism that speaks unreservedly to our own times.
Both writers were Communists and victims of Senator Joseph McCarthy, chairman of the Government Operations Committee and its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate, which, during the Cold War, destroyed the careers and often the lives of those principled and courageous enough to stand up to a homegrown fascism in America.
‘This is a sharp time, now, a precise time …’ wrote Arthur Miller in The Crucible, ‘We live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world.’
There is one ‘precise’ provocateur now; it is clear to see for those who want to see it and foretell its actions. It is a gang of states led by the United States whose stated objective is ‘full spectrum dominance’. Russia is still the hated one, Red China the feared one.
From Washington and London, the virulence has no limit. Israel, the colonial anachronism and unleashed attack dog, is armed to the teeth and granted historical impunity so that ‘we’ the West ensure the blood and tears never dry in Palestine.
British MPs who dare call for a ceasefire in Gaza are banished, the iron door of two-party politics closed to them by a Labour leader who would withhold water and food from the children.
In McCarthy’s time, there were bolt holes of truth. Mavericks welcomed then are heretics now; an underground of journalism exists (such as this site) in a landscape of mendacious conformity. Dissenting journalists have been defenestrated from the “mainstream” (as the great editor David Bowman wrote); the media’s task is to invert the truth and support the illusions of democracy, including a “free press.”
Social Democracy has shrunk to the width of a cigarette paper that separates the principal policies of major parties. Their one subscription is to a capitalist cult, neoliberalism, and an imposed poverty described by a U.N. special rapporteur as “the immiseration of a significant part of the British population.”
War today is an unmoving shadow; “forever” imperial wars are designated normal. Iraq, the model, is destroyed at a cost of a million lives and three million dispossessed. The destroyer, Blair, is personally enriched and fawned over at his party’s conference as an electoral winner.
Blair and his moral counter, Julian Assange, live 14 miles apart, one in a Regency mansion, the other in a cell awaiting extradition to hell.
According to a Brown University study, since 9/11, almost six million men, women and children have been killed by America and its acolytes in the “Global War on Terror.” A monument is to be built in Washington in “celebration” of this mass murder; its committee is chaired by the former president, George W. Bush, Blair’s mentor. Afghanistan, where it started, was finally laid to waste when President Biden stole its national bank reserves.
There have been many Afghanistans. The forensic William Blum devoted himself to making sense of a state terrorism that seldom spoke its name and so requires repetition: In my lifetime, the United States has overthrown or attempted to overthrow more than 50 governments, most democracies. It has interfered in democratic elections in 30 countries. It has dropped bombs on the people of 30 countries, most of them poor and defenceless. It has fought to suppress liberation movements in 20 countries. It has attempted to murder countless leaders.
Perhaps I hear some of you saying: that is enough. As the Final Solution of Gaza is broadcast live to millions, the small faces of its victims etched in bombed rubble, framed between TV commercials for cars and pizza, yes, that is surely enough. How profane is that word “enough”?
Afghanistan was where the West sent young men weighed down with the ritual of “warriors” to kill people and enjoy it. We know some of them enjoyed it from the evidence of Australian SAS sociopaths, including a photograph of them drinking from an Afghan man’s prosthetic.
Not one sociopath has been charged for this and crimes such as kicking a man over a cliff, gunning down children point-blank, slitting throats: none of it “in battle.” David McBride, a former Australian military lawyer who served twice in Afghanistan, was a ‘true believer’ in the system as moral and honourable. He also has an abiding belief in truth, and loyalty. He can define them as few can. This coming week he is in court in Canberra as an alleged criminal.
“An Australian whistleblower,” reports Kieran Pender, a senior lawyer at the Australian Human Rights Law Centre, “[will face] trial for blowing the whistle on horrendous wrongdoing. It is profoundly unjust that the first person on trial for war crimes in Afghanistan is the whistle blower and not an alleged war criminal.”
Image: David McBride (Sydney Criminal Lawyers)
McBride can receive a sentence of up to 100 years for revealing the cover-up of the great crime of Afghanistan. He tried to exercise his legal right as a whistleblower under the Public Interest Disclosure Act, which the current attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, says “delivers on our promise to strengthen protections for public sector whistleblowers.”
Yet it is Dreyfus, a Labor minister, who signed off on the McBride trial following a punitive wait of four years and eight months since his arrest at Sydney airport: a wait that shredded his health and family.
Those who know David and know of the hideous injustice done to him fill his street in Bondi near the beach in Sydney to wave their encouragement to this good and decent man. To them, and me, he is a hero.
McBride was affronted by what he found in the files he was ordered to inspect. Here was evidence of crimes and their cover-up. He passed hundreds of secret documents to the the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and TheSydney Morning Herald. Police raided the ABC’s offices in Sydney while reporters and producers watched, shocked, as their computers were confiscated by the Federal Police.
Attorney-General Dreyfus, self-declared liberal reformer and friend of whistleblowers, has the singular power to stop the McBride trial. A Freedom of Information search of his actions in this direction reveals little, at most, an indifference.
You can’t run a fully-fledged democracy and a colonial war; one aspires to decency, the other is a form of fascism, regardless of its pretensions. Mark the killing fields of Gaza, bombed to dust by apartheid Israel. It is no coincidence that in rich, yet impoverished Britain an “inquiry” is currently being held into the gunning down by British SAS soldiers of 80 Afghans, all civilians, including a couple in bed.
The grotesque injustice meted out to David McBride is minted from the injustice consuming his compatriot, Julian Assange. Both are friends of mine. Whenever I see them, I am optimistic. ‘You cheer me,’ I tell Julian as he raises a defiant fist at the end of our visiting period. ‘You make me feel proud,’ I tell David at our favourite coffee shop in Sydney.
Their bravery has allowed many of us, who might despair, to understand the real meaning of a resistance we all share if we want to prevent the conquest of us, our conscience, our self respect, if we prefer freedom and decency to compliance and collusion. In this, we are all Spartacus.
Spartacus was the rebellious leader of Rome’s slaves in 71-73 B.C. There is a thrilling moment in the Kirk Douglas movie Spartacus when the Romans call on Spartacus’s men to identify their leader and so be pardoned. Instead hundreds of his comrades stand and raise their fists in solidarity and shout, ‘I am Spartacus!’ The rebellion is under way.
Julian and David are Spartacus. The Palestinians are Spartacus. People who fill the streets with flags and principle and solidarity are Spartacus. We are all Spartacus if we want to be.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
John Pilger has twice won Britain’s highest award for journalism and has been International Reporter of the Year, News Reporter of the Year and Descriptive Writer of the Year. He has made 61 documentary films and has won an Emmy, a BAFTA and the Royal Television Society prize. His Cambodia Year Zero is named as one of the ten most important films of the 20th century. He is the winner of Consortium News’ 2023 Gary Webb Award. He can be contacted at www.johnpilger.com and on X @johnpilger.
Featured image: Sen. McCarthy, center, confers with Roy Cohn, chief counsel for House Un-American Activities Committee, Aug. 23, 1953. (Los Angeles Times/UCLA Library/Wikimedia Commons)
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
In an interview with the US network ABC, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to the question of whether he believes a ceasefire in Gaza is possible:
“A ceasefire would be a surrender to Hamas. It would be a victory for Hamas. A ceasefire after the Al Qaeda attacks on the World Trade Centre would be no more possible than it would have been possible for you.”
When asked who should govern Gaza once the war is over, Netanyahu responds:
“Israel will have responsibility for security for an indefinite period, because when we have not that responsibility, what we have is the explosion of terror from Hamas.”
Netanyahu’s words are summarized as follows by the New York Times:
“Israel will govern Gaza”.
In other words, Netanyahu openly announced their plan: to take over Gaza by transforming it from Palestinian territory into Israeli territory.
This is confirmed by the fact that the Israeli armed forces are not only massacring the Palestinian population but are making Gaza no longer inhabitable by Palestinians: in the northern part of the Strip they have already destroyed over 30% of all buildings.
The plan envisages the subsequent opening of a “humanitarian corridor” to transfer the Palestinians from Gaza to the Egyptian desert of Sinai, then doing the same with the Palestinians of the West Bank.
In the game of roles, US Secretary of State Blinken went to Israel with the declared aim of obtaining a ceasefire in Gaza, which Netanyahu rejected. Behind this tragic play, there is reality. An example for everyone: the one-ton satellite-guided bombs that Israeli planes drop on Palestinian working-class neighbourhoods are supplied to Israel by the United States.
Regarding the “Hamas explosion of terror” which according to the Prime Minister makes it necessary for Israel to govern Gaza, Netanyahu forgets what he declared at a meeting of his party in March 2019:
“Anyone who wants to hinder the creation of a Palestinian State must support Hamas and transfer money to Hamas. This is part of our strategy: to isolate the Palestinians of Gaza from the Palestinians of the West Bank.”
These and many other facts (reported in the last 4 episodes of Grandangolo) demonstrate that the Israeli leaders and their secret services were not taken by surprise by the attack carried out on October 7 by Hamas, but they made it happen to implement their plan. We are therefore faced with something similar to what happened in the United States on September 11, 2001.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
This article was originally published in Italian on Il Manifesto.
Manlio Dinucci, award winning author, geopolitical analyst and geographer, Pisa, Italy. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The Biden administration is killing people, openly in Ukraine and Gaza and secretly around the world. It has continued to use the killing machinery crafted by President George W. Bush, expanded by President Barack Obama, and employed by President Donald Trump. These presidents have used drones and other unmanned projectiles to target persons in foreign countries with which the United States is not at war.
They have done this notwithstanding the prohibition against taking life, liberty or property from any person — not just any American, but any person — in the Constitution each has sworn to uphold, and they have done so pursuant to secret rules that they themselves have established for these killings.
Last year, 11 senators and 39 members of the House of Representatives sent a harshly worded letter to President Joe Biden asking him to stop the secret, but not the public, killings. As of this writing, he has not publicly replied.
Here is the backstory.
The purpose of the Bill of Rights — the first 10 amendments to the Constitution — is to protect personal liberty by restraining the government.
The Fifth Amendment prohibits killing persons, restraining liberty, and taking property without due process; that means a jury trial at which the government must prove criminal behavior or fault, depending upon its goal.
If the country is at war — lawfully and constitutionally declared by Congress — obviously the president can use the U.S. military to kill the military of the opposing country. And if an attack on the U.S. is imminent, the president can strike the first blow against the military of the entity whose attack is just about to occur.
There are no other constitutional circumstances under which a president may kill.
When President Harry Truman targeted Japanese civilians as the Japanese government was within days of surrendering in World War II, he murdered them. Notwithstanding his unprosecuted war crimes, and with the government’s version of Pearl Harbor still fresh in many Americans’ minds, Truman was regarded as heroic for using nuclear bombs to cause the profoundly immoral, militarily useless, and plainly criminal mass killings of the hated Japanese.
Fast-forward to the 9/11 era, and Bush had precedent to begin his own presidential killings of people the government wanted Americans to hate. While Congress did authorize him to use force against those who caused or aided the 9/11 attacks, we all know that his thirst for Middle Eastern blood knew no regard for the Constitution, evidence, proportionality, civilian lives, morality or human decency. Thus, $3 trillion spent and 1 million dead in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Julian Assange sits in a British dungeon awaiting decisions on his extradition to the U.S. because he courageously, lawfully and constitutionally published documents and videos demonstrating conclusively that Bush’s use of drones targeted and murdered Afghan and Iraqi civilians, and his administration covered it up.
Obama took this to another level when he targeted and killed Anwar al-Awlaki, who was born in the U.S. Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, advised Obama that the killing was lawful, as al-Awlaki had encouraged folks in the Middle East to fight against American soldiers there. Holder likened killing al-Awlaki to police shooting at a bank robber whom they are chasing while he is shooting at them.
Holder forgot that al-Awlaki was unarmed, was not charged or indicted for any crime, was never accused of violence, and was not even the subject of an arrest warrant when a drone evaporated him while sitting at an outdoor cafe in Yemen.
The exercise of power by the federal government is largely based on precedent and politics. Whenever a president wants to kill, he need only find an example of a predecessor having killed with impunity — without due process, without a declaration of war and without an imminent attack. And then he needs only to calculate what he thinks he can politically get away with.
Joe Biden — whose drones in 2021 destroyed a dam in Syria, killing thousands, and who targeted civilians in Afghanistan, killing dozens, and whose shipments of guns to Ukraine and Israel are killing tens of thousands of folks he wants us to hate — is using unlawful powers that his modern predecessors used and got away with to target and kill unsympathetic persons. But the U.S. has not declared war on Russia or Gaza.
The nature of political power is to expand so that it fills a perceived need, unless there are mechanisms in place to restrain its expansion.
The founding generation believed that British monarchs had no limits on their powers and that was a good enough reason for the 13 colonies to secede violently. They also believed that they had crafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to impose sufficient restraints on the federal government. And they believed that the states could peacefully leave a federal government they had voluntarily joined when it exceeded its constitutional powers.
The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Its language is clear that only Congress writes laws and declares war, and presidents can kill only troops in wartime or civilians consistent with due process.
Sadly, the Founders were wrong.
Every president takes an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution as it was written, not as he may wish it to be.
Yet, today, the president writes laws and rules that let him restrain personal liberty and kill with impunity, and Congress and the American people let him get away with it. Formally, we still have a Constitution. Functionally, it has utterly failed to restrain the government.
Ultimately, we have ourselves to blame for these killings and undeclared wars. Why do we repose the Constitution for safekeeping into the hands of those who subvert it? If a future president uses Bush’s lust and Obama’s logic and Biden’s hatreds to kill Americans in America, then no one’s life, liberty or property will be secure.
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Notre Dame Law School. He is the youngest life-tenured Superior Court judge in the history of the State of New Jersey. He sat on the bench from 1987 to 1995, when he presided over more than 150 jury trials and thousands of motions, sentencings, and hearings. Judge Napolitano taught constitutional law and jurisprudence at Delaware Law School for one and half years and at Seton Hall Law School for 11 years, and at Brooklyn Law School for four years. He was often chosen by the students as their most outstanding professor. As Fox News’ Senior Judicial Analyst from 1997 to 2021, Judge Napolitano gave 14,500 broadcasts nationwide on the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. He is nationally known for watching and reporting on the government as it takes liberty and property. His weekly newspaper column is seen by millions every week. The Judge is a nationally-recognized expert on the U.S. Constitution and a champion of personal freedom.
In the past, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. World War III was something that we thought the invention of the atomic bomb, combined with common sense had torn from the pages of human endeavour. Today, a Third World War is seen as a likely scenario.
35 year old Chris Hardin was diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma in June 2023 that rapidly progressed to Stage 4, didn’t respond to radiation or immunotherapy and became Stage 4 with tumor “growing on his spine, pressing on the vertebrae and crushing it while also wrapping around nerves.”
The US utilized the Muslim Brotherhood fighters in Syria, and partnered with the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt to rig the election which brought Mohamed Mursi to power. This is why the US will never outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood in the US; because they are useful.
We are all shocked by the images of genocide suffered by the people of Gaza. Despite attempts to censor the truth about Israeli crimes, that truth breaks through to Western public opinion, arousing spontaneous opposition what we have seen in the last couple weeks on the street all over the world,but I remember very similar crimes that I saw with my own eyes nine years ago.
Religion has for a very long time been used as a cover for slaughtering people and seizing their land. This is true for the United States and Israel. It is built into their theological underpinnings. So it should not be at all surprising that the current Israeli massacre of Palestinians is fully supported by the U.S. government led by President Joseph Biden and by almost every presidential aspirant.
In the area of foreign policy, as well as a spill-over into many domestic and constitutional issues, there is no more powerful lobby than that of the state of Israel, and its power was on full display on Tuesday afternoon when Representative Rashida Tlaib was censured for the crime of being of Palestinian ancestry and speaking up against the ongoing genocide of her people by the Jewish state.
One of the most common ideological tropes of the contemporary political West is its apparent obsession with environmentalism. The belligerent power pole simply adores to use it as a way to “prove” its supposed “civilizational superiority” over any other country that doesn’t share the same obsession.
The real purpose of the COVID jabs was to initiate a number of processes including global depopulation as well as those of the genetic modification of the survivors. As this attack was pushed forward, we began to observe that something fundamental had changed within our governments as reflected in the unreasonable constraints suddenly imposed on our most basic rights and freedoms.
Shortly after the start of the war against Gaza, Palestinian trade unions appealed to their colleagues worldwide for a boycott of arms supplies to Israel. That appeal is being heeded in many countries. That list of countries is growing every day.
Gay, in her infinite wisdom (President of Harvard, after all, right?) chose not to explain truthfully the “specific historical meaning” of the interpretation of the “From the River to the Sea” phrase as (supposedly!) advocating the “eradication of Jews from Israel” and “existential fears.”
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
The Dishonesty
Harvard University President Gay, completely ignoring the University’s motto, Veritas (Truth), said:
“Our community must understand that phrases such as ‘from the river to the sea’ bear specific historical meanings that to a great many people imply the eradication of Jews from Israel and engender both pain and existential fears within our Jewish community.”
Gay, in her infinite wisdom (President of Harvard, after all, right?) chose not to explain truthfully the “specific historical meaning” of the interpretation of the “From the River to the Sea” phrase as (supposedly!) advocating the “eradication of Jews from Israel” and “existential fears.”
Had Gay the slightest desire to speak the truth (Veritas, you know) then she would have explained that it was the first Israeli Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, who told the infamous lie about “eradication of Jews from Israel.” In 1961, David Ben Gurion lied to Israeli Jews by declaring with no evidence whatsoever that Arab armies intended to “push all the Jews into the sea, dead or alive.”
Had Gay the slightest desire to speak the truth, then she would have explained that the vast majority of Palestinians want what the Palestine Liberation Organization under Yasser Arafat officially aimed for, which is to make ALL of Palestine (“from the River to the Sea!”) a secular democratic state in which Jews and non-Jews would be equals under the law and live in peace with each other.
Had Gay the slightest desire to speak the truth, then she would have explained what this perfectly just and noble and GOOD “from the River to the Sea!” goal—the goal of making ALL of Palestine “from the River to the Sea” be a secular democratic state in which all citizens were equal under the law regardless of ethnicity or religion—would mean. ees
She would have explained that it would mean the eradication of Israel (Yes!) as the kind of state that it asserts that it is and must be, namely:
a State of the Jewish People,
a state ONLY of the Jewish people,
a state in which ONLY its Jewish citizens and NOT the 20% of non-Jewish citizens are the official sovereign power,
a state in which the non-Jewish citizens are by law second class citizens (this links to a plain English description of Israel’s blatant discrimination against non-Jews under the law; can Harvard President Gay read English? Just asking),
a state in which the BASIC LAW (essentially its constitution) says it is illegal for anybody to stand for election to the legislature (Knesset) if they do not endorse the principle that Israel must do whatever it takes (and this has meant seven decades of violent ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and denying them their Right of Return in defiance of International Law) to ensure that the great majority (David Ben-Gurion said it had to be at least 80%) of the population was always Jewish.
Had Gay the slightest desire to speak the truth, then she would have explained that Israel is no more morally defensible right to exist than does a “State of the White People” (like the American Confederacy or the South African apartheid state) or a “State of the Master Race” like the Third Reich or a “State of the Muslim People” or a state of any specific ethnic/racial category to the exclusion of others who are also its citizens. This is an idea that LOTS of ordinary people without a Harvard diploma grasp very easily, and an idea that even a Harvard University president, although perhaps only with great effort, should be able to grasp, right?
Had Gay the slightest desire to speak the truth, then she could have explained that the just aim of abolishing the Jewish State, like the just aim of abolishing the Confederacy or the Third Reich or the South Africa Apartheid state does not mean killing all the people who live in it, obviously! Ordinary people understand this distinction. Is President Gay unable to do so?
Does President Gay think that the Union was aiming to kill all the people who lived south of the Mason-Dixon line, and the aim of anti-Nazis was to kill all the Germans, or the anti-apartheid people wanted to kill all the whites in South Africa? No? Then why does she act as if she thought there was some truth to the Zionist propaganda that says anti-Zionists want to “eradicate” all the Jews living in Israel? President Gay, if she had any desire to speak the truth, would have exposed how false is this Zionist propaganda.
“the suspension of students involved in the HBS confrontation [that was an anti-Zionism ‘die in’ at the Harvard Business School—J.S.] and disciplinary actions taken towards students chanting ‘eliminationist’ statements, specifically referencing the phrase ‘from the river to the sea.’”
President Gay could, of course, have decided to explain that the Big $ pro-Israel individuals ARE ANTISEMITES because they support the Israeli government’s attack on ordinary Jews that Zionist leaders have been waging since the days of the Holocaust, as one can (and should!) read about here (for the days of the Holocaust) and here (for recent days.)
But no! President Gay (Veritas, remember), chose to remain silent about the truth and instead (with her “the eradication of Jews from Israel” reference) to promote the Zionist “push all the Jews into the sea, dead or alive” lie that David Ben-Gurion invented back in 1961 to terrify ordinary Jews into obedience to their upper class oppressive Zionist rulers.
The Cowardice
None the Zionist lies about “From the River to the Sea” would have any traction if it were not for the fact that anti-Zionist leaders totally accept, rather than refute, the Zionist lie that says the conflict is one between “the Palestinians versus the Jews.” The truth (explained and proven in great detail here) is that the conflict is between the have-nots (both Palestinian and Jewish) and the haves who oppress them (both the billionaire ruling class of Israel and the Palestinian upper class rulers in the Palestine Authority and Hamas.)
But the anti-Zionist leaders never express this truth, i.e., the CLASS nature of the conflict. As a result, they tell their anti-Zionist followers to do things that emphasize the false (Palestinians versus Jews) framework, a framework that makes any support for the Palestinian have-nots equate to hostility to the Jewish have-nots, and vice versa. Thus these anti-Zionist mis-leaders tell their followers to wave the Palestinian flag and chant “Palestine will be free from the River to the Sea” (with no explanation of what that means) and NEVER to express any support for the Israeli Jewish working class people who are severely economically oppressed by the Israeli billionaire class that gets away with it ONLY by using the Palestinian bogeyman enemy that it creates by treating the Palestinians like dirt. Read all about this here and here.
Here’s how the Zionists persuade people that ant-Zionists are antisemitic. The Zionists assert the lie that Zionist violence against Palestinians is for one single noble purpose: to make Israeli Jews safe. And therefore, when anti-Zionists oppose this Zionist violence they are opposing that which is done to make Jews safe, which is antisemitic in EFFECT if not intent.
The anti-Zionists could easily refute the Zionist lie by talking about CLASS, about how the Israeli ruling billionaire class oppresses ordinary Israeli Jews and funds Hamas for that purpose, and does not whatsoever make them safe. But anti-Zionist leaders never talk about class; instead they only about “The Palestinians versus the Jews” and they never talk about the anti-working-class PURPOSE of Zionist violence against Palestinians—to create the bogeyman enemy it uses to control and oppress the Israeli Jewish working class.
As a result, anti-Zionists are today a SITTING DUCK for the accusation that they are antisemitic. For some reason, anti-Zionist leaders are AFRAID to talk about class. This is a cowardice problem, and it is crippling the anti-Zionism movement.
If anti-Zionists on college campuses organized teach-ins (like the Vietnam war teach-ins of the 60s) to educate student about how Zionist leaders are the enemy of BOTH ordinary Palestinians AND ordinary Israeli Jews, then they would be building a truly massive anti-Zionism movement consisting of people who were formerly pro-Israel, including LOTS of Jews who were formerly passionately pro-Israel. It is the cowardice of our anti-Zionism leaders that is preventing this from happening. (Or maybe it’s something more sinister than cowardice, as I discuss here.)
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.
To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.
Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
***
Nov.10, 2023 – Coal City, IL – 35 year old Chris Hardin was diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma in June 2023 that rapidly progressed to Stage 4, didn’t respond to radiation or immunotherapy and became Stage 4 with tumor “growing on his spine, pressing on the vertebrae and crushing it while also wrapping around nerves”
Nov.1, 2023 – 33 year old Etai David Gamliel was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma in late June 2023. It did not respond to radiation or immunotherapy. Cancer spread to spinal cord, taking away his ability to walk, then further up his spine until it took away his ability to breathe.
Oct.25, 2023 – Brazil, IN – 28 year old Wesley Miller was going to have some cysts removed from his arm and abdomen. Instead, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma with lesions in the brain, lungs, liver and bones.
Oct.8, 2023 – Long Beach, CA – 32 year old Randi Young was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma Sep.21, 2023. She died 2 weeks later on Oct.8, 2023.
Oct.3, 2023 – Holiday, FL – 34 year old Joshua Gonzalez was diagnosed with melanoma on his back in July 2022, however it returned in Oct.2023 and is now Stage 4.
Aug.30, 2023 – San Clemente, CA – 22 year old Hailey Pressnell was finishing her Master’s Degree when she was diagnosed with Stage 3B melanoma. “cancer had already begun to spread”
Aug.11, 2023 – Weedsport, NY – 23 year old Mya Maloof got Stage 4 Melanoma while studying at Nazareth University. When she finished her Masters in Speech Pathology in May, she found out her cancer had spread. She died on Aug.11, 2023 at the age of 23. Her 43 year old mom also has Stage 4 Cancer.
Aug.3, 2023 – Boonville, IN – 26 year old Joshua Schmett was diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma in Feb.2023. Despite treatment, it has spread to the lungs and is now Stage 4.
July 24, 2023 – Louisville, CO – 26 year old Caleb Chastain died after a battle with aggressive melanoma. He was a University athlete, sprinter, hurdler, track & field and was an avid skier, hunter, fisherman, mountain biker, trail runner, ultramarathoner, and mountain climber.
July 21, 2023 – Lakeland, FL – 35 year old Robbi Stokes is a US Marine who does manatee and scuba diving tours in Florida. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma with a tumor between his pancreas and liver, and a spot on his lung.
July 6, 2023 – Germany – 23 year old German handball world champion Liv Suchting was diagnosed with brain tumors which turned out to be Stage 4 Melanoma.
June 29, 2023 – Chilliwack, BC – 22 year old Kaylee Engle was diagnosed with lesions all over her body, in her lungs, liver, heart and brain. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma
June 13, 2023 – Ham Lake, MN – 28 year old Kaylah Eliabeth Stadler-Foss had melanoma when she was 22 but was in remission. She completed nursing school in Spring 2022. Her melanoma returned in April 2023 and spread to the brain. After a “fierce 10 week battle” she died June 13, 2023.
May 28, 2023 – Ludowici, GA – 25 year old Savannah Dollins was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma during pregnancy that had spread to her breast, lung, liver and other places.
May 4, 2023 – Blue Earth, MN – 32 year old Jon Trasamar is a professional golfer on the PGA Tour, who was diagnosed with Melanoma which quickly advanced to Stage 4
April 24, 2023 – Edmonton, AB – 32 year old David Kos was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma in Dec.2022 after experiencing back pain.
April 13, 2023 – Lithia Springs, GA – 28 year old Peyton Wooten was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma on Mar.2, 2023. He had one cycle of immunotherapy but cancer was rapidly moving from his lymph nodes to lungs, liver, kidneys, bones and soft tissues. He died 5 weeks after diagnosis on April 13, 2023
Mar.16, 2023 – Atlanta, GA – 34 year old Lindsay Stacy fought a 3 year battle with melanoma. However, over the last year, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 while pregnant with her daughter. It sounds like an aggressive recurrence.
Jan.5, 2023 – Suffern, NY – 24 year old Bryonna J Chapman was admitted to the hospital in July 2022 at 34 weeks pregnant because they found a 10cm mass collapsing one of her lungs. She was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, meaning it had metastasized all over her body, including to her placenta and possibly to the baby. She had a very dangerous C-section. She passed away Jan.5, 2023.
Dec, 2022 – San Marcos, TX – 25 year old Jacob Ricks was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma in his jaw (very rare tumor)
My Take…
Pfizer & Moderna COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines cause “Turbo Cancers”: extremely aggressive cancers that present at late Stage, grow rapidly, spread aggressively, are resistant to conventional treatments, and have a very poor prognosis with diagnosis to death typically 6 to 12 months or less.
First research papers are now starting to mention “Turbo Cancer” and are suggesting potential mechanisms. I will write a substack on this in the near future.
The 5 most common Turbo Cancers are: lymphoma, brain (glioblastoma), breast (usually triple negative), colon and lung.
Rounding out the top 10 would include: leukemias, melanomas, sarcomas, testicular and renal cell.
Special mention to hepatobiliary cancers, ovarian and cervical.
How do we know melanomas have skyrocketed since the vaccines rolled out?
UK government Disability Data shows 72% increase in disabilities due to skin cancer in 2022 (source):
The only category with a higher increase in this dataset, was “unknown primary”.
New advancements in immunotherapy have significantly improved the long term prognosis of metastatic melanoma (source 2020 Michielin et al):
However, Turbo Cancer melanomas don’t seem to respond at all to these Immunotherapy or Targeted Therapy treatments.
We need urgent research in this area as patients are not offered anything of value by their Oncologists.
Nov. 10, 2023 – Coal City, IL – 35 year old Chris Hardin was diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma in June 2023 that rapidly progressed to Stage 4, didn’t respond to radiation or immunotherapy and became Stage 4 with tumor “growing on his spine, pressing on the vertebrae and crushing it while also wrapping around nerves.”
Nov. 1, 2023 – 33 year old Etai David Gamliel was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma in late June 2023. It did not respond to radiation or immunotherapy. Cancer spread to spinal cord, taking away his ability to walk, then further up his spine until it took away his ability to breathe.
Oct. 25, 2023 – Brazil, IN – 28 year old Wesley Miller was going to have some cysts removed from his arm and abdomen. Instead, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma with lesions in the brain, lungs, liver and bones.
Oct. 8, 2023 – Long Beach, CA – 32 year old Randi Young was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma Sep.21, 2023. She died 2 weeks later on Oct. 8, 2023.
Oct. 3, 2023 – Holiday, FL – 34 year old Joshua Gonzalez was diagnosed with melanoma on his back in July 2022, however it returned in Oct.2023 and is now Stage 4.
Aug. 30, 2023 – San Clemente, CA – 22 year old Hailey Pressnell was finishing her Master’s Degree when she was diagnosed with Stage 3B melanoma. “cancer had already begun to spread”
Aug. 11, 2023 – Weedsport, NY – 23 year old Mya Maloof got Stage 4 Melanoma while studying at Nazareth University. When she finished her Masters in Speech Pathology in May, she found out her cancer had spread. She died on Aug. 11, 2023 at the age of 23. Her 43 year old mom also has Stage 4 Cancer.
Aug. 3, 2023 – Boonville, IN – 26 year old Joshua Schmett was diagnosed with Stage 3 Melanoma in Feb.2023. Despite treatment, it has spread to the lungs and is now Stage 4.
July 24, 2023 – Louisville, CO – 26 year old Caleb Chastain died after a battle with aggressive melanoma. He was a University athlete, sprinter, hurdler, track & field and was an avid skier, hunter, fisherman, mountain biker, trail runner, ultramarathoner, and mountain climber.
July 21, 2023 – Lakeland, FL – 35 year old Robbi Stokes is a US Marine who does manatee and scuba diving tours in Florida. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma with a tumor between his pancreas and liver, and a spot on his lung.
July 6, 2023 – Germany – 23 year old German handball world champion Liv Suchting was diagnosed with brain tumors which turned out to be Stage 4 Melanoma.
June 29, 2023 – Chilliwack, BC – 22 year old Kaylee Engle was diagnosed with lesions all over her body, in her lungs, liver, heart and brain. She was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma
June 13, 2023 – Ham Lake, MN – 28 year old Kaylah Eliabeth Stadler-Foss had melanoma when she was 22 but was in remission. She completed nursing school in Spring 2022. Her melanoma returned in April 2023 and spread to the brain. After a “fierce 10 week battle” she died June 13, 2023.
May 28, 2023 – Ludowici, GA – 25 year old Savannah Dollins was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma during pregnancy that had spread to her breast, lung, liver and other places.
May 4, 2023 – Blue Earth, MN – 32 year old Jon Trasamar is a professional golfer on the PGA Tour, who was diagnosed with Melanoma which quickly advanced to Stage 4.
April 24, 2023 – Edmonton, AB – 32 year old David Kos was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma in Dec.2022 after experiencing back pain.
April 13, 2023 – Lithia Springs, GA – 28 year old Peyton Wooten was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma on Mar. 2, 2023. He had one cycle of immunotherapy but cancer was rapidly moving from his lymph nodes to lungs, liver, kidneys, bones and soft tissues. He died 5 weeks after diagnosis on April 13, 2023
Mar. 16, 2023 – Atlanta, GA – 34 year old Lindsay Stacy fought a 3 year battle with melanoma. However, over the last year, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 while pregnant with her daughter. It sounds like an aggressive recurrence.
Jan. 5, 2023 – Suffern, NY – 24 year old Bryonna J Chapman was admitted to the hospital in July 2022 at 34 weeks pregnant because they found a 10cm mass collapsing one of her lungs. She was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, meaning it had metastasized all over her body, including to her placenta and possibly to the baby. She had a very dangerous C-section. She passed away Jan. 5, 2023.
Dec, 2022 – San Marcos, TX – 25 year old Jacob Ricks was diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma in his jaw (very rare tumor).
My Take…
Pfizer & Moderna COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines cause “Turbo Cancers”: extremely aggressive cancers that present at late Stage, grow rapidly, spread aggressively, are resistant to conventional treatments, and have a very poor prognosis with diagnosis to death typically 6 to 12 months or less.
First research papers are now starting to mention “Turbo Cancer” and are suggesting potential mechanisms. I will write a substack on this in the near future.
The 5 most common Turbo Cancers are: lymphoma, brain (glioblastoma), breast (usually triple negative), colon and lung.
Rounding out the top 10 would include: leukemias, melanomas, sarcomas, testicular and renal cell.
Special mention to hepatobiliary cancers, ovarian and cervical.
How do we know melanomas have skyrocketed since the vaccines rolled out?
UK government Disability Data shows 72% increase in disabilities due to skin cancer in 2022 (source):
The only category with a higher increase in this dataset, was “unknown primary”.
New advancements in immunotherapy have significantly improved the long term prognosis of metastatic melanoma (source 2020 Michielin et al):
However, Turbo Cancer melanomas don’t seem to respond at all to these Immunotherapy or Targeted Therapy treatments.
We need urgent research in this area as patients are not offered anything of value by their Oncologists.
End stage Melanoma patients should be offered:
High Dose Ivermectin protocols
High Dose Fenbendazole or Mebendazole protocols
High Dose Melatonin protocols
Because Turbo Cancer mortality is rising!
*
Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.
Dr. William Makis is a Canadian physician with expertise in Radiology, Oncology and Immunology. Governor General’s Medal, University of Toronto Scholar. Author of 100+ peer-reviewed medical publications.
Featured image is from COVID Intel
The Worldwide Corona Crisis, Global Coup d’Etat Against Humanity
by Michel Chossudovsky
Michel Chossudovsky reviews in detail how this insidious project “destroys people’s lives”. He provides a comprehensive analysis of everything you need to know about the “pandemic” — from the medical dimensions to the economic and social repercussions, political underpinnings, and mental and psychological impacts.
“My objective as an author is to inform people worldwide and refute the official narrative which has been used as a justification to destabilize the economic and social fabric of entire countries, followed by the imposition of the “deadly” COVID-19 “vaccine”. This crisis affects humanity in its entirety: almost 8 billion people. We stand in solidarity with our fellow human beings and our children worldwide. Truth is a powerful instrument.”
Reviews
This is an in-depth resource of great interest if it is the wider perspective you are motivated to understand a little better, the author is very knowledgeable about geopolitics and this comes out in the way Covid is contextualized. —Dr. Mike Yeadon
In this war against humanity in which we find ourselves, in this singular, irregular and massive assault against liberty and the goodness of people, Chossudovsky’s book is a rock upon which to sustain our fight. –Dr. Emanuel Garcia
In fifteen concise science-based chapters, Michel traces the false covid pandemic, explaining how a PCR test, producing up to 97% proven false positives, combined with a relentless 24/7 fear campaign, was able to create a worldwide panic-laden “plandemic”; that this plandemic would never have been possible without the infamous DNA-modifying Polymerase Chain Reaction test – which to this day is being pushed on a majority of innocent people who have no clue. His conclusions are evidenced by renown scientists. —Peter Koenig
Professor Chossudovsky exposes the truth that “there is no causal relationship between the virus and economic variables.” In other words, it was not COVID-19 but, rather, the deliberate implementation of the illogical, scientifically baseless lockdowns that caused the shutdown of the global economy. –David Skripac
A reading of Chossudovsky’s book provides a comprehensive lesson in how there is a global coup d’état under way called “The Great Reset” that if not resisted and defeated by freedom loving people everywhere will result in a dystopian future not yet imagined. Pass on this free gift from Professor Chossudovsky before it’s too late. You will not find so much valuable information and analysis in one place. –Edward Curtin
ISBN: 978-0-9879389-3-0, Year: 2022, PDF Ebook, Pages: 164, 15 Chapters
A Ucrânia continua a cometer graves crimes de guerra e a violar os limites do território não militarizado russo. De acordo com imagens recentemente partilhadas pelas autoridades russas, drones ucranianos invadiram a região de Kursk e lançaram bombas coletivas contra a população local. O caso mostra claramente o desespero dos militares ucranianos em realizar operações que não têm valor estratégico, que podem ser consideradas atos de mero terrorismo.
Roman Starovoyt, governador do oblast de Kursk, relatou em 9 de novembro a incursão de um veículo aéreo não tripulado (UAV) ucraniano na região russa. O drone disparou diversas bombas de fragmentação na cidade de Sudzha, numa zona civil e industrial, sem qualquer relevância militar. O ataque ocorreu perto de uma fábrica de manteiga e colocou em risco a vida de cidadãos comuns e trabalhadores, mas felizmente não houve vítimas. As autoridades russas afirmaram que pelo menos uma das bombas lançadas pelo drone não explodiu, razão pela qual existe agora uma investigação sobre onde o projétil poderá ter se aterrado.
Como é sabido, as bombas de fragmentação são proibidas pelo direito internacional porque têm um elevado impacto humanitário quando utilizadas no campo de batalha. Por se fragmentarem no ar, essas bombas dispersam centenas de pequenos projéteis, gerando um grande número de vítimas. O pior, porém, é que nem todas as “minibombas” explodem durante os ataques. Muitos projéteis caem no chão e ficam sem detonar por meses ou até anos, funcionando como verdadeiras minas – sendo acionados quando tocados involuntariamente por um civil.
Embora proibidas, estas armas já se tornaram comuns entre as tropas ucranianas. Os EUA e o Reino Unido estão a enviar este equipamento para Kiev, possibilitando vários crimes de guerra. Muitos civis russos já morreram em consequência de ataques com bombas de fragmentação. Por exemplo, o jornalista Rostislav Zhuravlev, correspondente de guerra da RIA Novosti, foi assassinado em Julho num ataque aéreo ucraniano com bombas de fragmentação fornecidas pelos EUA.
Além disso, a Ucrânia já utilizou essas armas em diversas outras ocasiões. O país tem sido inclusive investigado por ativistas de direitos humanos e organizações internacionais devido ao uso constante de armas proibidas, o que tem causado diversas vítimas civis, incluindo mulheres e idosos. Em março foi publicado pela ONU um relatório sobre o tema, onde é possível ler:
“A Comissão encontrou casos em que as forças armadas ucranianas provavelmente usaram munições cluster e minas terrestres antipessoal lançadas por foguetes para realizar ataques na cidade de Izium, região de Kharkiv, de março a setembro de 2022 (…) Os três exemplos a seguir ilustram o uso de armas que apresentam as características das munições cluster da cidade de Izium naquele período. Em 9 de maio de 2022, um ataque atingiu uma área residencial, matando três pessoas e ferindo seis. No dia 14 de julho de 2022, um ataque atingiu a área em torno do mercado central, ferindo duas mulheres idosas. No dia 16 de julho de 2022, várias submunições atingiram uma área residencial, incluindo um jardim de infância, onde cerca de 250 pessoas procuraram abrigo, matando dois idosos”.
Na mesma linha, em julho a Human Rights Watch publicou um texto chamado “Ukraine: Civilian Deaths from Cluster Munitions”, que diz:
“As forças ucranianas usaram munições cluster que causaram inúmeras mortes e ferimentos graves a civis, disse hoje a Human Rights Watch (…) Uma nova pesquisa da Human Rights Watch descobriu que ataques de foguetes com munições cluster ucranianas em áreas controladas pela Rússia dentro e ao redor da cidade de Izium, no leste da Ucrânia, durante 2022, causou muitas vítimas entre civis ucranianos”.
É também importante sublinhar que a área afetada pelo último ataque em Kursk está localizada a aproximadamente 10 km da fronteira com a Ucrânia. Não existem instalações militares russas próximas do local do ataque, razão pela qual não é possível afirmar que se tratou de um “erro” na rota do UAV. Houve de fato uma intenção ucraniana de realizar tal ataque e matar civis em Kursk. Na prática, isto mostra que Kiev está disposta a aumentar ainda mais os seus atos de terrorismo e violência contra civis.
Prevê-se que o terrorismo ucraniano se expanda ainda mais nos próximos meses. Com o fracasso da “contra-ofensiva” e a diminuição significativa da ajuda militar ocidental, Kiev não tem muitos recursos para continuar a utilizar no campo de batalha. O correto seria que o regime se rendesse e aceitasse os termos de paz russos, mas a OTAN não permite isso e obriga os ucranianos a continuarem a travar uma guerra invencível. Assim, as forças neonazistas recorrem ao terrorismo como forma de tentar “perturbar” os russos.
O problema é que esta “estratégia” pode ser uma armadilha para a própria Ucrânia. O uso de munições cluster em território indiscutível da Federação Russa é uma perigosa linha vermelha. Se Kiev continuar a usar essas armas fora da zona de conflito e conseguir matar civis russos em cidades desmilitarizadas, é provável que Moscou lance uma grande operação de retaliação. E, como é bem sabido, a Ucrânia não tem atualmente poder suficiente para enfrentar qualquer grande escalada, uma vez que as suas tropas estão perto do colapso absoluto.