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How the Democratic Party Faked an American Insurrection

By Robert Bridge | Strategic Culture Foundation | November 23, 2023

Last week, more than 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 Capitol Police security footage was released in the public domain that once and for all blew a hole in the pro-Trump ‘violent insurrection’ narrative so dear to the Democrats.

The one question on countless Americans’ minds following the release of the damning videos was: will all those men and women recently locked away as political prisoners for dozens of decades get another day in court? Indeed, January 6 may have been a lot of things to many people, but another Boston Tea Party it most definitely was not.

Social media was alight over the weekend showing one benign scene after another of the ‘insurrectionists’ casually strolling through the Capitol Building premises, exchanging pleasantries with the on-duty police officers, even giving each other fist-bumps.

The revelations of the true nature of the event came to light as newly appointed House Speaker Mike Johnson released the security footage, which came as a political manna from heaven for former president Donald Trump and other members of the Republican Party.

“Truth and transparency are critical,” Johnson said in a prepared statement. “This decision will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials.”

Democrats, however, who have milked the ‘insurrectionist’ narrative for everything it is worth, predictably chafed at the release, calling it a ‘risk to national security.’

“It is unconscionable that one of Speaker Johnson’s first official acts as steward of the institution is to endanger his colleagues, staff, visitors, and our country by allowing virtually unfettered access to sensitive Capitol security footage,” said New York Democrat Rep. Joseph Morelle, who sits on the Committee on House Administration. “That he is doing so over the strenuous objections of the security professionals within the Capitol Police is outrageous. This is not transparency; this is dangerous and irresponsible.”

For almost two years, Democrats, who managed to cherry-pick the most suggestive scenes of the footage, portrayed January 6th as everything from another September 11 to a second Pear Harbor.

Last year, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), the photogenic member of the Democrat’s radical progressive wing, was shown visibly upset after having to “relive” the events of the Capitol riot.

“I am so angry. Having to relive that footage,” she sobbed, rubbing her forehead. “I know it’s not just me. This is everyone.”

“These attacks killed people, traumatized people and for any of you right-winger Trump loyalists, he sent his own people to jail, and promised his own people that he would pardon them.”

The inconvenient truth, however, is that only one person was killed on the day of the Capitol riot – unarmed Air Force veteran and avid Trump supporter, Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a police officer.

Now, Republicans are demanding justice be served and that the incarcerated protesters be immediately set free.

“And just like that the J6 Committee’s violent insurrection narrative has crumbled,” said conservative commentator Charlie Kirk over X (formerly Twitter). “The Capitol Police facilitated the protesters passage through the building…the vast majority of J6ers should be immediately released.”

However, with the Democrats still in control of Washington, D.C., together with the FBI, the Justice Department and other administrative offices, the Republicans will have to wait until November 4th – and possibly longer if they lose their White House bid – before any real justice is meted out.

Meanwhile, federal officials have said there is no evidence that law enforcement officials helped coordinate the attacks.

“If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on January 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources or agents the answer is emphatically no,” FBI Director Christopher Wray told Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) during a House Committee hearing. Higgins was questioning Wray about two Greyhound buses he said dropped off FBI agents dressed as Trump supporters at the Capitol on January 6, referring to the vehicles as “ghost buses.”

Whatever the case may be, the fresh revelations were a silver lining in a shitstorm that has been following Donald Trump, who hopes to win back the White House next November despite multiple legal woes.

“Congratulations to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson for having the Courage and Fortitude to release all of the J6 Tapes, which will explicitly reveal what really happened on January 6th!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday.

November 23, 2023 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Deception, Full Spectrum Dominance | , | Leave a comment

North Korea Scraps 2018 Military Pact with South After Seoul Walks Backs Commitments

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | November 23, 2023

Amid escalating tensions in the region, North Korea has withdrawn from a 2018 agreement with South Korea that reduced military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang took the step after Seoul announced it would resume surveillance operations along the DMZ.

The relationship between Pyongyang and Seoul has been in a downward spiral since President Joe Biden took office. Tensions between North and South Korea spiked last week when Pyongyang successfully placed a military satellite into orbit.

North Korean state media reported the satellite allowed Kim Jong Un to view images of a US military facility in Guam.

Seoul and its backers in Tokyo and Washington condemned the satellite launch, claiming it violated UN resolutions. Pyongyang insists that it is within North Korea’s rights as a sovereign country to have spaced-based surveillance technology.

In response to North Korea’s successful launch, South Korea walked back its commitments to a 2018 inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement (CMA). The CMA reduced tensions on the Peninsula by limiting military activities.

South Korea announced it was breaking the CMA on Wednesday by resuming surveillance flights along the North Korean border. Seoul’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik explained, “North Korea’s satellite launch is a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation against [South Korea] and the international community.” South Korean Ministry of National Defense Spokesman Heo Tae-keun stated, “North Korea’s behavior shows again that it has no will to comply with the agreement.”

The North Korean Defense Ministry said Pyongyang would completely vacate the agreement. “We will immediately restore all military measures that have been halted according to the North-South military agreement,” Pyongyang’s state media outlet, KCNA, reported.

“We will withdraw the military steps taken to prevent military tension and conflict in all spheres including ground, sea, and air, and deploy more powerful armed forces and new-type military hardware in the region along the Military Demarcation Line.”

The ministry’s statement continued that South Korea must “pay dearly for their irresponsible and grave political and military provocations that have pushed the present situation to an uncontrollable phase.”

After Biden took office, the US and South Korea resumed large-scale live-fire war games on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang views the operations as preparations for regime change in North Korea. The White House has further escalated tension by deploying multiple strategic weapons systems to South Korea and forming a trilateral military pact with Seoul and Tokyo that Pyongyang views as an Asian NATO.

November 23, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Russian journalist dies after Ukrainian drone attack – media

RT | November 23, 2023

Boris Maksudov, a Russian journalist from Russia 24 TV who was injured on Wednesday in a Ukrainian drone attack, has died in hospital, several news outlets reported on Thursday morning.

Maksudov was injured during a working trip to Zaporozhye Region, through which the front line of the Ukraine conflict passes. He was among a group of reporters who were targeted by a swarm of Ukrainian drones.

The Defense Ministry said at the time that the fragmentation injury he sustained was not deemed life-threatening. He had been evacuated to a military hospital, the statement added.

Russia 24 reported the crew was hit by two quadcopters, which targeted them with grenades. In a grim foreshadowing earlier in the day, Maksudov recorded a video in which he remarked that drones pose a threat in the area despite the poor weather conditions offering some degree of safety.

Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, suggested that Ukrainian forces deliberately attack journalists. Reacting to Maksudov’s reported death on Thursday, he told RIA Novosti : “Unfortunately, the journalistic profession today is increasingly colored in khaki, and too often covered with blood on top.”

Arguably, the first notable incident in which Ukrainian forces were accused of targeting media professionals occurred in 2014, when a volunteer fighter, Nadezhda Savchenko, directed artillery fire at a group of reporters. Two of them, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, were killed.

Savchenko was taken into Russian custody and tried, while Kiev turned her into an international celebrity, claiming to be a victim of persecution. She was sentenced to 22 years in jail in 2016, but was pardoned by President Vladimir Putin and returned to Ukraine, where she was later elected to parliament.

The conflict has claimed the lives of many Russian media professionals. In July, RIA Novosti war correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev was killed by shelling in Zaporozhye Region.

RT holds an annual international photography competition in honor of Andrey Stenin, a Russian photojournalist who was killed by Ukrainian small arms fire in Donetsk Region in 2014.

November 23, 2023 Posted by | War Crimes | , | Leave a comment

Ukraine will not recognize rights of Russian citizens

By Lucas Leiroz | November 23, 2023

Apparently, not even with the catastrophic military results and serious consequences of the conflict, Ukraine is willing to change the way it treats ethnic Russian citizens. In a recent statement, a top Ukrainian politician made it clear that there will be no recognition of the rights of the Russian population in Ukraine. In practice, this is an admission that Kiev will continue to practice genocide against Russian speakers, further legitimizing Moscow’s military actions.

In an interview with Ukrainian state TV on November 20, Ruslan Stefanchuk, head of the country’s parliament, stated that there will be no concessions from Ukraine regarding the rights of Russian citizens. Stefanchuk claims that there are no ethnic minorities in Ukraine, which is why there should be no protection to Russians and other groups. Furthermore, he clearly states that the Russian population on Ukrainian territory can be legitimately persecuted now, as they are supporting Moscow’s military measures.

“There are no Russian ethnic minorities in Ukraine as of now and there can be none (…) If a people do not show respect but commit aggression against Ukraine, their rights should be infringed upon in this field”, he told journalists.

More than that, Stefanchuk said that Kiev has reached a “consensus” with its European partners on this topic. According to him, there is a common “understanding” between Ukraine and Europe regarding the non-existence of Russian minorities in the country. If this information is confirmed, the situation will become even more serious, as European leaders will be openly supporting the anti-Russian genocide practiced by the neo-Nazi regime.

Until now, despite the unlimited support of most European states for Ukraine, the institutional stance on minorities’ rights has been ambiguous. This year, Ukraine was requested to improve its ethnic policies, recognizing local minorities. The measure is a prerequisite in the process of joining the European Union, which was demanded by Kiev. In this sense, the Venice Commission asked Ukrainians to make some reforms, allowing, for example, the official use of other languages in regions with a non-Ukrainian majority.

As expected, Kiev never complied with European requests and continued its supremacist policy towards other peoples. Despite really wanting to enter the EU, the neo-Nazi regime is ideologically linked to the racist mentality and will not change this until the effects of the 2014 coup are completely reversed. In the same sense, the Europeans never vetoed the Ukrainian membership project because, despite publicly defending “democratic values”, they are geopolitically aligned with NATO’s proxies.

It is important to emphasize that Stefanchuk clearly lies when he says there are no non-Ukrainian ethnicities in the country. There are regions of Ukraine with a Russian majority, as well as significant Hungarian, Polish, Moldovan and other populations. All non-Ukrainian people have suffered racism to some degree since the neo-Nazi Junta came to power in Kiev. Undoubtedly, the people most affected are Russians, as Russophobia is a vital part of Ukrainian ultranationalist ideology. Since 2014, Russians have been massacred in a brutal process of ethnic cleansing, which resulted in Moscow’s decision to launch a special military operation to protect its people.

However, non-Russian people are also persecuted in Ukraine. One of the greatest evidences of this is the case of the Transcarpathia’s Hungarians. Kiev has persecuted the local people in recent years, closing Hungarian schools and reducing the population’s civil rights. As the conflict escalated, something even more brutal began to be done, as the regime launched a campaign of forced recruitment of ethnic Hungarians, sending them en masse to the front lines, while Ukrainians were kept as much as possible in the rear.

In fact, the Ukrainian reality is an example of what happens when xenophobic and ultranationalist groups are placed in power to serve selfish geopolitical interests. NATO strengthened Ukrainian neo-Nazism to carry out a prolonged war plan against Russia, consciously using racism and ethnic hatred as tools against Moscow. Now, even in the face of imminent military defeat, Ukrainian non-Nazis continue to insist on their racist mentality, which shows how long the conflict will take to end.

Without a voluntary willingness on the part of Kiev to abandon its neo-Nazi ideology, the Russians have no alternative but to continue fighting. The Russian population needs to be protected by Moscow by all possible means. If Kiev does not want to cooperate in reaching a diplomatic consensus, then Russian military efforts will continue.

Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.

You can follow Lucas on X (former Twitter) and Telegram.

November 23, 2023 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance | , | Leave a comment

New World Dis-Order on CHD TV

Corbett • 11/21/2023

James Corbett and Dr. Meryl Nass return to “Good Morning CHD” to chronicle the latest Oct. 30 draft of the WHO Pandemic Treaty — now pegged the pandemic ‘agreement’. As the clock counts down until the May 2024 World Health Assembly, the time has come for free and sovereign individuals of the world to reclaim their sovereignty, and fast. James and Meryl elucidate what a “complete reimagination” of the world’s power structure looks like, walking us through the game plan of the opponent’s multi-angled attack to bring about their “New World Dis-Order,” and provide us with inspirational solutions to fight back. Learn their strategies and get a grasp of the bigger picture in this episode of “Good Morning CHD.”

SHOW NOTES:

The Corbett Report – Open Source Intelligence News

Door To Freedom

Oct. 16 Pandemic Treaty Draft

Oct 30. Latest WHO “Agreement”

Conference Of The Parties (COP) | UNFCCC

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus – Twitter

Missouri V. Holland 252 U.S. 416 (1920) Justia US Supreme Court Center

United States V. Belmont 301 U.S. 324 (1937) Justia US Supreme Court Center

United States V. Pink 315 U.S. 203 (1942) Justia US Supreme Court Center

The Great Taking

“The Great Taking”: How They Can Own It All

Sen. Ron Johnson, Advocates Brief On WHO’s Transformation ‘From Health Advisor To Dictator’

New World Dis-Order: Meryl Nass On Substack

The Build Back Better Framework | The White House

November 23, 2023 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance, Video | , | Leave a comment

Texas Sues Pfizer for ‘Endangering Children’ by Selling Ineffective ADHD Drug

By Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D. | The Defender | November 22, 2023

Acting on behalf of the state of Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday unsealed a lawsuit against Pfizer and its drug manufacturer, Tris Pharma, alleging the companies sold medication to children even though they knew the drug was ineffective and potentially unsafe.

The suit, filed in the Harrison County District Court, alleges Pfizer knowingly distributed a drug used for treating attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to children on Medicaid — despite the drug’s pattern of failing quality control tests.

The drug, Quillivant XR, is a stimulant that affects brain and nerve chemicals involved in hyperactivity and impulse control.

From 2012-2018, “Pfizer and Tris continually manipulated Quillivant testing to hide poor manufacturing practices and defraud the Texas Medicaid program,” according to a press release.

During those years, many families complained that the medication failed to work. According to the complaint:

“At no point did Defendants warn Texas Medicaid providers or decision-makers that Quillivant had known manufacturing issues affecting its efficacy, thereby depriving the Medicaid program of the crucial information it relies on. … As a result, thousands of Texas children received an adulterated Schedule II Controlled Dangerous Substance.”

In a tweet, Paxton said:

Commenting on the lawsuit, Kim Mack Rosenberg, acting general counsel for Children’s Health Defense, said, “Pfizer once again is in the spotlight for alleged unethical and fraudulent activity.”

Rosenberg told The Defender :

“I applaud the Texas AG for taking action here to protect some of Texas’s most vulnerable children, those who rely on Medicaid for healthcare. To knowingly supply adulterated medication to vulnerable children is inexplicable and unconscionable.”

“Unfortunately,” Rosenberg added, “this is not the first time questions have been raised about Pfizer’s conduct, including wrongdoing allegedly resulting in children dying in clinical trials in Nigeria in the 1990s and serious questions about Pfizer’s COVID-19 injections and its treatment medication Paxlovid.”

Defendants in the suit include Pfizer, Tris and Tris CEO Ketan Mehta.

The lawsuit stemmed from a whistleblower complaint made by Tarik Ahmed, who served as Tris’ technology chief from 2013-2017.

The lawyers are suing for more than $1 million, including civil penalty fees, and are asking the court to force Pfizer and Tris to pay back to the state of Texas all profits received from selling Quillivant in the Texas Medicaid program “as a result of Defendants’ unlawful acts” and, additionally, to pay back double that amount.

Lawyers with Paxton’s office requested a trial by jury.

In 2017, Quillivant grossed roughly $193.3 million in U.S. sales. The drug was developed by NextWave Pharmaceuticals, which Pfizer bought in 2012 for $680 million.

The lawyers charged the defendants with defrauding the Texas Medicaid program “by providing adulterated pharmaceutical drugs to Texas children in violation of the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act, now known as the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act (‘THFPA’).”

The press release said, “For years, Tris altered the drug’s testing method in violation of federal and state laws to ensure Quillivant passed regulatory hurdles and could continue to be sold.”

According to Reuters, Pfizer said in a statement that it had examined the suit’s allegations on “multiple occasions” and “did not find any impact on the safety of the product.”

Pfizer said the case has no merit and will move to dismiss it.

A Tris spokesperson told Reuters in an email, “We categorically deny and intend to rigorously defend these allegations in the court of law.”

Drug failed quality control tests for years

Almost immediately after getting U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, Quillivant began failing routine quality tests. According to the complaint:

“Beginning at least as early as October 2012, Tris quality control personnel observed that sample of Quillivant tested under FDA-required dissolution specifications were not generating passing results.

“Dissolution testing is an important quality control tool used to measure whether a drug was properly manufactured, by comparing a simulated release of the drug to a standard set upon the drug’s initial approval.

“This in turn helps to predict whether the drug (as manufactured) will be released as expected in a patient’s body — which is critical for ensuring proper and consistent patient dosing.”

The Quillivant samples formed lumps during the reconstitution phase of the test.

Instead of investigating why there were lumps, Tris “retrained” its analysts to shake the water/drug mixture longer and to conduct the test only when “foaming is absent from the suspension,” the filing said.

Even with these changes, Quillivant continued to fail dissolution tests. Tris then stopped using that testing method and switched to a new method.

“Alarmingly,” the filing said, “the new test method was not representative of real-world usage by patients, and worse, went against the pharmacy reconstitution instructions contained in the FDA-approved label for Quillivant.”

When quality control issues continued to arise, the companies told the FDA a “misleading” and “convenient narrative to explain away the problem.”

Pfizer wanted to ‘fully exploit the economic potential of Texas Medicaid’

Meanwhile, Pfizer was petitioning Texas Medicaid to get Quillivant added to the program’s preferred drug list — but said nothing about the drug’s ongoing and unresolved quality control issues.

The FDA on March 26, 2018, sent a warning letter to Pfizer, informing the company that Quillivant was “adulterated starting in 2012 and continuing into 2018.”

Yet “even after receiving this clear and unequivocal assessment, neither Tris nor Pfizer alerted Texas Medicaid decision-makers to the FDA’s serious findings,” the filing said.

The suit alleges that the companies avoided telling Texas Medicaid about the issues because “Quillivant’s status with Texas Medicaid became a selling point.” The filing said:

“Tris and Pfizer both recognized that Texas Medicaid business would be crucial for Quillivant’s success.

“To fully exploit the economic potential of Texas Medicaid, Defendants needed Medicaid decision-makers to add Quillivant to the VDP [Vendor Drug Program] Formulary and the Preferred Drug List.

“These steps would effectively allow Medicaid providers to prescribe Quillivant to their Medicaid patients and would streamline the prescribing process by eliminating the need for the treating doctor to go through the burdensome process of obtaining prior authorization.”

Pfizer projected that Quillivant sales in Texas would significantly increase if the drug were added to the Texas Medicaid Preferred Drug List, as Texas was a “populous state with a disproportionately high percentage of children covered by Medicaid,” according to the complaint.

The Civil Medicaid Fraud Division of Paxton’s office undertook the investigation.


Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D., is a reporter and researcher for The Defender based in Fairfield, Iowa.

This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Deception, Science and Pseudo-Science | , , | Leave a comment

Ken Pax­ton Sues Pfiz­er and Tris Phar­ma

Texas AG takes on key player in the Bio-Pharmaceutical Complex

BY JOHN LEAKE | COURAGEOUS DISCOURSE | NOVEMBER 20, 2023

Over the last year I’ve frequently jousted with friends in Dallas about Ken Paxton. Many have tried to persuade me that I should give far greater credence to corruption allegations that led to his impeachment trial in September in which he was exonerated.

For my part, I have admired Paxton for his opposition to vaccine mandates, transgender procedures for minors, and other abominations. While so many men in positions of power have chosen what I call the Way of the Weeny—that is, compliance and conformity with state overreach—Paxton has challenged powerful interests and ideologues who have tried to subvert common sense, decency, and constitutional law.

Today his office issued a press release in which it was announced:

The Office of the Attorney General’s Civil Medicaid Fraud Division has sued Pfizer, Inc., Tris Pharma, Inc., and Tris CEO Ketan Mehta for defrauding the Texas Medicaid program by providing adulterated pharmaceutical drugs to Texas children in violation of the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act, now known as the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act.

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Timeless or most popular, War Crimes | | Leave a comment

Turkey’s intelligence organization foils Mossad attempt to kidnap Palestinian Iron Dome hacker

A view of the headquarters of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in the capital Ankara on January 5, 2020.
Press TV -November 22, 2023

Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has rescued a renowned Palestinian hacker from the Israeli Mossad spy agency seeking to kidnap or possibly kill him.

MIT rescued Omar A, who was behind the disruption of Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system in 2015 and 2016, in an international operation and offered him protection as he was targeted by Mossad in Turkey and Malaysia.

The young Gazan hacker was sought by the Israeli regime for a long time after his hacking of the Iron Dome helped al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, launch missile strikes against Israel at the time.

Omar, a computer programming graduate of the Islamic University of Gaza, moved to Istanbul in 2020 after Mossad identified him as the one behind the disruptions. MIT was aware of his residence in Turkey due to his background as a hacker.

In an attempt to deceive him, Mossad offered him jobs at software companies several times but Omar, suspicious of Israel’s involvement, rejected the offers.

Omar was about to accept to join a team for an online project in June 2022 and to travel abroad for the project as Mossad was intent on taking him to Tel Aviv for interrogation. But MIT contacted him and warned him against the scheme.

The Palestinian hacker decided to take a vacation in Malaysia in September 2022. The Istanbul branch of MIT’s counter-intelligence department intervened again and installed tracking software on his cellphone after warning him against a possible abduction while abroad.

Indeed, he was kidnapped days later in Kuala Lumpur and was taken to a remote cabin some 50 kilometers (31.06 miles) from the Malaysian capital.

There, he was interrogated and tortured by suspects working for Mossad and was questioned on the methods he employed to infiltrate Iron Dome.

When MIT became aware of the abduction, Turkish officials contacted Malaysian authorities and through tracking software, helped them pinpoint the location where Omar was held.

Malaysian security forces raided the house and rescued Omar. Eleven suspects were arrested in connection with his abduction. Omar returned to Turkey and was taken to a safe house provided by MIT.

Turkey’s MIT has earlier uncovered similar Mossad plots to spy on Palestinians in the country.

Back in July, Turkish authorities said they had uncovered and disrupted a vast “ghost” Mossad spy network centered in Istanbul, following months of surveillance.

The substantial efforts by Turkey’s MIT exposed 56 operatives allegedly spying on non-Turkish citizens in Turkey in the service of Mossad.

The vast network consisted of citizens from various West Asian countries.

The findings by MIT revealed that the Mossad agents would gather information about foreigners through various surveillance methods, vehicle movements using GPS, and hacking into password-protected networks using Wi-Fi and location tracking devices.

These Mossad spies also used several fake websites in multiple languages, mainly Arabic, to secure technical locations and real IP addresses of the targeted individuals.

Also in May, Turkish media outlets reported that local authorities had managed to arrest 11 people accused of being part of a Mossad-led network.

Turkey has also broken Mossad-aligned spy rings in 2022 and 2021.

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Deception | , , , , | Leave a comment

EU must reconsider Ukraine policy – Orban

RT | November 22, 2023

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has demanded that the European Union re-examine its strategy of funding Ukraine’s battle with Russia, saying he would stand in the way of further aid unless the bloc’s leaders make sure their objectives are “realistically attainable” without continued US support.

Orban made his threat in a letter to European Council chief Charles Michel, saying that no discussion on funding for Ukraine, Kiev’s accession to the EU, or further sanctions against Russia can happen until a “strategic discussion” is held, Politico reported on Wednesday. According to the outlet, the letter called for such a review to take place when EU leaders meet in Brussels next month.

“The European Council should take stock of the implementation and effectiveness of our current policies towards Ukraine, including various assistance programs,” Orban wrote.

He added that with future aid from Kiev’s chief benefactor, the US, imperiled by partisan bickering in Washington, European leaders need to reassess whether they should stay the course.

“The European Council must have a frank and open discussion on the feasibility of the EU’s strategic objectives in Ukraine,” Orban wrote.

Do we still regard these objectives realistically attainable? Is this strategy sustainable without robust support from the United States? Can we take continuing support from the United States for granted? How do we conceive the security architecture of Europe after the war?

The European Council isn’t prepared to make key decisions on Ukraine policies – including security guarantees, further aid, Russia sanctions, and expansion of the EU – until member states reach a consensus on their strategy, according to Orban.

The Hungarian leader could use Budapest’s veto power as an EU member to block delivery of €50 billion ($54.4 billion) in economic aid pledged to help fund Ukraine’s government amid the conflict with Russia, as well as €500 million in military assistance. Orban could also stall the decision on opening formal negotiations with Kiev to join the EU.

Orban has repeatedly clashed with the EU on issues ranging from Russia sanctions to illegal immigration to LGBTQ propaganda. The EU is withholding €13 billion in funding to Hungary over the country’s alleged breaches of the bloc’s “rule-of-law” standards.

The Hungarian PM has called for a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, rather than prolonging the crisis and risking further escalation. Last month, he likened the bloc’s domineering tactics to the Soviet Union, calling Brussels a “bad contemporary parody” of the USSR.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto suggested on Saturday that some European leaders have lost touch with reality when it comes to the Ukraine crisis.

“Some people imagine themselves in Fortnite,” he said, referring to the popular video game. “They suffer from military psychosis and, for some reason, believe that arms shipments can bring peace.”

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , , | Leave a comment

Gaza ‘truce’ won’t halt the regional war

The regional war is here. The Axis of Resistance assesses that the US and Israel intend to prolong the Gaza war indefinitely, and determines that a regional escalation is now unavoidable.

By Hasan Illaik | The Cradle | November 21, 2023

The Israeli military has announced the expansion of its ground operations in the northern Gaza Strip. After seizing territories on Gaza’s coastline, in the western part of the northern strip, Tel Aviv’s actual ground operation is now beginning.

 For more than three weeks of its ground offensive, the occupation army has been operating in areas close to the shoreline, in places where tunnels cannot be dug, and, therefore, areas where the Palestinian resistance does not have significant defensive capabilities.

But now, the occupation army is moving eastward from the Gaza coast, allowing the armed resistance to maneuver far more easily and inflict greater losses on the invading soldiers and their armored vehicles – as has become quite evident in recent days.

In short, the ground battle in northern Gaza has only just begun, and is gearing up to get even hotter in the weeks ahead.

 The region escalates

 In support of the resistance in Gaza, the Yemeni army and Ansarallah fighters seized an Israeli-owned vessel in the Red Sea on 19 November after threatening to target all Israeli ships crossing the Bab al-Mandab Strait. 

 Over the past week, on Lebanon’s border with Israel, the Lebanese resistance Hezbollah has increased the frequency of its military operations. On 20 November, the occupation army monitored more than 40 attackzjs on its positions, one of which was carried out with four rockets, each with an explosive warhead weighing around 500 kilograms. The salvo destroyed the Israeli ‘Branit’ military barracks near the border with Lebanon. In just the past three days, Hezbollah has carried out an average of 12 military operations against Israeli targets each day.

 Simultaneously, Iraqi resistance attacks are continuing against US military bases in Iraq and Syria – over sixty operations to date.

 The increased pace of clashes across West Asia is, however, being widely ignored by many of Tel Aviv’s western allies, whose attention has been diverted by ongoing prisoner exchange talks between Israel and the Palestinian resistance, mediated by Qatar and the US. These weeks-long negotiations are being treated as evidence that the next phase will necessarily be a de-escalation in Palestine.

 Those expectations have been fanned by a leak that Israel’s cabinet has discussed the imminent demobilization of a number of army reservists. While the Israeli military may indeed demobilize part of the reserve forces it called up after 7 October, this decision is not based on de-escalatory considerations. The more than 300,000 Israeli reservists initially mobilized was far too great for the capacity of the occupation army, which was unable to absorb these personnel into its fronts in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank.

Despite this, many still optimistically cling to the de-escalation narrative. They are further encouraged by official US statements criticizing – albeit in a watered-down manner – Israel’s targeting of Palestinian civilians, and point to the occasional US-Israel divergences over what they call the “post-Hamas phase” in Gaza as further proof that Tel Aviv will have to scale down its war.

But at the current stage of the conflict, these discrepancies and observations are considered totally irrelevant by officials in the region’s Axis of Resistance. They note instead that Washington continues to maintain its pace of arms support for Israel, as it has done since the war’s onset, while sticking to its refusal to entertain any permanent ceasefire.

 In addition, the US has reduced neither its level of involvement in the management of military operations in the Gaza Strip, nor its reinforcement of missile defense systems to counter any Yemeni or Iraqi rocket attacks on Israeli positions.

 Axis officials believe that conciliatory-sounding US statements, which sometimes suggest that a de-escalation phase is imminent, are nothing but an American “public relations party” to repair a public image heavily damaged by unstinting US support for Israel’s continuing massacre of Palestinians in Gaza.

 In slightly shifting its tone, Washington also seeks to mislead the Resistance Axis, hoping that this can forestall an increase in regional tensions and clashes.

 From ‘truce’ to regional war

 The current prisoner exchange negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian resistance include a five-day “humanitarian” truce. This is not a ceasefire by any means nor an opportunity to draw out a further lull in violence. Those familiar with the reality on the ground in the Gaza Strip confirm that any truce will merely be an opportunity for both sides to reorganize their ranks in preparation for intensified battles in the coming weeks.

They based their observations on the fact that Israel continues to adhere to its initial military goals, modified from the plan to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. Tel Aviv’s objectives today are, first, to occupy the entire north of Gaza; second, to displace all of its inhabitants, more than 800,000 of whom are still living under siege and bombardment.

And third, to continue the besiegement of southern Gaza – exerting military pressure through intensive airstrikes and special operations to force Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions to surrender.

This plan is fully supported by the US and its western allies, as well as by Arab states that have normalized relations with Israel, notably those farthest from Palestine’s borders.

In light of these realities, the Axis of Resistance is pursuing its own West Asian escalation to pressure its adversaries to deescalate. That bar jumped considerably this week when Yemen’s Ansarallah captured an Israeli-linked ship in regional waterways. 

This is a disaster for Tel Aviv, which depends primarily on maritime transportation for its imports and exports. If this becomes a pattern, Israeli-linked ships will be uninsurable, and hiring crews will become impossible. It is also a nightmare scenario for Washington, which wants the Gaza war to continue while its regional position enjoys complete calm.

Indeed, the US is desperate to maintain a regional peace, most of all in Iraq. While the multi-factional Iraqi resistance target US occupation bases inside their country and in Syria, both, the current American response has been tame. US military forces have limited their retaliatory strikes to Syrian territory – and only after informing their Russian counterparts in advance.  

Washington has so far avoided striking back in Iraqi territory to avoid drawing a target on its considerable Iraqi interests – commercial, military, political – and also fears triggering the Iraqi resistance to expand operations against US bases in other West Asian states.

No ceasefire ahead

The Resistance Axis’ current assessment of the Gaza war is that both the US and Israel seek a protracted conflict – possibly even an endless war that transforms the Gaza Strip into a permanent battlefield to ensure that Israel no longer faces Palestinian deterrence capabilities.

On the other hand, the Axis continues to pursue all avenues to advance and accelerate a ceasefire in Gaza, including military options. The current “truce” announcement didn’t emerge in a vacuum – it follows painful blows against occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, a sharp escalation of clashes in the occupied West Bank, and a gradual increase in the pace and severity of attacks in the region.

The prisoner exchange truce may be announced at any moment. It will not, however, end the war. The truce is merely a break for the belligerents to prepare for more violent battles ahead, and these will not be limited to Gaza and the Lebanese-Palestinian border.

As 2023 comes to a close, all of West Asia is destined for more tension, battle, and multiple surprises. This scenario can only be eased by the announcement of a Gaza ceasefire and the provision of supplies and staples to its wounded population. It is only Washington that stands in the way, firmly opposing and blocking a ceasefire at every opportunity.

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mysterious military flights between Israel, Lebanon continue

The Cradle | November 21, 2023

Mysterious foreign military cargo flights, potentially carrying equipment for use against Hezbollah, continue to land at the Beirut and Hamat airports, Al-Akhbar reported on 21 November.

Between the 14 and 20 November, nine planes from various NATO countries were recorded landing at Beirut and Hamat airports, including several flying from Tel Aviv, according to Intelsky, a website monitoring aircraft movement in the region.

Sources speaking with Al-Akhbar said the cargo included devices used for jamming, which raises questions about the reason for their transport to Lebanon and whether they will be used to disrupt the communications network of Hezbollah in the event of an escalation of the fighting with Israel in Lebanon’s south.

Since the 7 October Hamas attack on settlements surrounding Gaza, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 more taken captive, Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in deadly tit-for-tat clashes on the Lebanese-Israel border area.

Hezbollah’s communication network played a key role during the July 2006 war against Israel, which later led to US pressure on the government of then-Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to call for dismantling the resistance group’s communications network in 2008.

The same sources speaking with Al-Akhbar confirmed that the security authorities at Beirut and Hamat airports do not seriously inspect the cargo of the planes that land, with Hamat Air Base lacking even a scanning device. The final destination of the cargo in Lebanon is also unknown.

Intelsky reported that the movement of foreign military aircraft is proceeding at a level that Lebanon had not witnessed in years. Between 8 October and 10 November, 32 planes landed, nine of which belonged to the US, Dutch, and British Air Forces and landed at the Hamat base, and 23 planes belonging to the US, French, Dutch, Spanish, Canadian, Italian, and Saudi armies landed at the base designated for military and diplomatic aircraft on the west side of Beirut Airport.

Although Lebanese law prohibits direct flights between Lebanon and Israel, Intelsky monitored three planes landing at Beirut Airport originating in Tel Aviv.

A British Royal Air Force Airbus A400M Atlas landed in Beirut on 14 November, coming from Tel Aviv. The plane carried out a “touch and go” operation (touching the runway and taking off directly without stopping) at a British military base in Cyprus to technically comply with Lebanese law banning direct flights from Israel.

After taking off from Beirut, the plane returned to Tel Aviv after carrying out another touch-and-go operation at the British base in Akrotiri, Cyprus.

On 16 November, a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III also flew from Tel Aviv to Beirut. The Intelsky website recorded that the plane allegedly landed in Cyprus as well but disappeared from radars before landing and reappeared after the supposed take-off. The plane was absent from radars over Larnaca for 4 minutes at an altitude of 1,264 meters, suggesting it did not land in Cyprus.

On 21 November, a British Royal Air Force (Airbus A400M Atlas landed in Beirut after making only a camouflaged landing in Akrotiri, at an altitude of only 375 meters above the base, which means that the flight violated Lebanese law and was in effect a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Beirut.

It should be noted that daily flights between the Akrotiri base and Tel Aviv have been recorded since the outbreak of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on 7 October.

Al-Akhbar notes these flights raise suspicions about whether these trips are part of a broader strategy related to the conflict with Israel and may be intended to enhance the military capabilities of some parties in the region working on behalf of Israel and NATO, or to provide them with logistical support that includes transporting necessary equipment and supplies.

The Israeli army has not commented on the flight, except for a statement issued on 10 November confirming that “part of the air traffic at the airport is a routine movement to transfer military aid to the Lebanese army.”

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Deception, Militarism | , , , , , | 1 Comment

UK GOVERNMENT BLOCKS MP QUESTIONS ABOUT GAZA-RELATED ACTIVITY AT ITS CYPRUS BASE

BY MATT KENNARD AND MARK CURTIS | DECLASSIFIED UK | NOVEMBER 20, 2023

The British government has blocked MPs asking any questions about activity at RAF Akrotiri, its vast air base on Cyprus, Declassified can reveal.

Blocking all parliamentary questions from MPs is a highly unusual move.

Government departments routinely refuse to answer specific questions about military operations for reasons of “national security”, but blocking all questions by elected parliamentarians goes far beyond the usual level of Whitehall secrecy.

It comes after Declassified revealed the RAF has made over 30 military transport flights to Tel Aviv since Israel began bombing Gaza. The Ministry of Defence refused to provide us any detail of the cargo or personnel on the flights.

Just this morning an A400M Atlas military transport aircraft operated by the RAF landed in Tel Aviv from Akrotiri. The aircraft can carry 116 soldiers, a Chinook helicopter or a payload of 37 tonnes.

RAF Akrotiri sits 180 miles from Tel Aviv with a flight time of 40 minutes.

Declassified has also reported that the US is moving arms to Israel using RAF Akrotiri, which has become an international military hub supporting Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza. Half of US planes flying from British Cyprus are said to be carrying weapons for Israel.

Kenny MacAskill, Alba MP for East Lothian, told Declassified he put down a number of parliamentary questions concerning what military support the UK is providing to Israel and the role of RAF Akrotiri in the supply of military equipment.

“Your question has been queried because it is subject to a block by Government,” he was told in an email. “The Department [Ministry of Defence] has stated that it will not comment on operational matters at this base.”

MacAskill, a former Scottish justice secretary, told Declassified: “This is totally unacceptable in a democracy. Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza and we have a right to know what our Government is doing about it.”

MacAskill said he had never experienced such a ‘block’ on asking parliamentary questions before.

He added: “The failure to call for an immediate ceasefire is bad enough but any complicity raises issues of participating in war crimes. We need openness and transparency by our government. This is not in our name.”

Secrecy

The UK military-run Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee – better known as the ‘D-Notice’ committee – has also sent out an ‘advisory’ to all British media to suppress reporting on UK special forces’ activity related to Gaza. The SAS was previously reported to have deployed a force to Cyprus.

No British mainstream media outlets have reported on Declassified’s recent findings about RAF Akrotiri and Gaza despite the President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides having to defend his government from accusations of complicity in Israel’s bombing of Gaza.

In answer to questions about the use of RAF Akrotiri by Cypriot journalists over the weekend, Christodoulides said: “There is no such information, our country cannot be used as a base for war operations”.

However, RAF Akrotiri has long been the staging post for British bombing campaigns across the Middle East. Declassified also recently revealed that 129 US airmen are also permanently deployed at the base.

The censorship of information requests from MPs makes it all but certain that RAF Akrotiri is being used for covert military purposes that the government does not want the public to know about.

It is likely the UK is sending material military aid to Israel during its bombing of Gaza, which has now killed over 12,000 Palestinians, although it previously told Declassified it was not providing “lethal aid”.

November 22, 2023 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment