Yemeni military to expand operations against Israel-linked ships to Indian Ocean: Houthi
Press TV – March 14, 2024
The leader of Yemen’s Houthis has said that the Yemeni armed forces will continue their retaliatory operations against Israeli-affiliated commercial vessels, preventing the passage of the ships even through the Indian Ocean and through the Cape of Good Hope.
About 34 Houthi fighters have been killed since the Yemeni armed forces began to attack shipping lanes in solidarity with the people of Palestine under attack in Gaza by Israel, Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Thursday.
Yemeni forces have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against Israeli and Israel-bound ships since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel’s war on Gaza.
Al-Houthi said 73 ships have been targeted in Yemeni operations in support of Gaza so far, adding rarely does any ship associated with the Israeli enemy pass through Bab al-Mandab.
“This week, support operations included 12 operations targeting ships and barges, executed with a total of 58 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden,” he said.
“Our operations this time reached unprecedented ranges, with 3 operations reaching the Indian Ocean, by the grace of Allah,” he added. “The total number of targeted ships and barges reached 73.”
Al-Houthi said that the operations will continue as long as the aggression and siege on Gaza persist.
The United States and Britain began striking Yemen in January in order to dissuade the country from targeting Israeli ships which carry arms and logistics for the onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip.
Al-Houthi said the Americans and the British have received “painful blows” from the Yemeni armed forces in retaliation.
The American-British “aggression will not affect the escalating course of our operations in terms of range, momentum, precision, and strength,” said Al-Houthi.
“What can stop the Yemeni military’s maritime operations is only the cessation of aggression and siege on Gaza,” he noted.
The American stubbornness and escalation of aggression result in only one outcome: the expansion of the conflict, the widening of the circle of war and events, and the tension of the situation at the regional level in general, he stated.
He went on to say that the Yemeni armed forces will continue and effectively expand the range of the operations to reach areas and locations that the enemy never expected.
Al-Houthi said what insures the navigation security in the Red Sea is for any country not to participate in the Israeli aggression against Gaza.
He said the Americans and those who drag the United States towards the militarization of the Red Sea are the ones who undermine international navigation.
“By the grace of Allah and His assistance, we aim to prevent the passage of ships associated with the Israeli enemy even through the Indian Ocean and from South Africa towards the Cape of Good Hope,” he stated.
“For this important, advanced, and significant step, we have begun to implement our operations related to it through the Indian Ocean and from South Africa towards the Cape of Good Hope,” he said.
There is absolutely no choice for the Americans and the British but to stop the aggression on Gaza and stop starving the people in Gaza, he declared.
“Our human conscience, our religion, our morals, our dignity, our pride, our belonging to Islam, prohibit us from watching the oppression of Palestine or remaining silent about it,” said Houthi.
He added that the Yemeni military is in continuous development of capabilities and in constant expansion of the stance in its range, effectiveness, and impact.
“The American’s actions this week, involving aerial bombings and naval shelling, amounted to 32 bombing raids and strikes, which, as usual, were unsuccessful,” he revealed.
“The impact of the American raids and bombings is negligible regarding our missile and drone capabilities and in terms of continuing operations effectively to counter it, and in preventing ships associated with the Israeli enemy,” he stated.
He concluded by saying that the Yemeni armed forces are continuously escalating, and increasing capabilities to attack enemy ships. “No matter what the Americans do, they will not be able to stop us from supporting the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine’s struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory’s Palestinian resistance movements carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.
The Yemeni Armed Forces have said they won’t stop retaliatory strikes.
The maritime attacks have forced some of the world’s biggest shipping and oil companies to suspend transit through one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.
Tankers are instead adding thousands of miles to international shipping routes by sailing around the continent of Africa rather than going through the Suez Canal.
Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war following Operation al-Aqsa Storm by Gaza-based resistance movements on October 7, 2023, more than 31,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, have lost their lives.
The Israeli military offensive has left a trail of destruction in Gaza, leaving hospitals in ruins and displacing around half of its 2.4 million residents.
Israel has additionally enforced a comprehensive blockade on the coastal sliver, severing the supply of fuel, electricity, sustenance and water to the population residing there.
Confusion reigns between “indemnity” and “immunity”
Health Advisory & Recovery Team | March 12, 2024
We sporadically hear of vaccine injury cases in the UK being contemplated or even launched against covid vaccine manufacturers. We also frequently hear people say that “the covid vaccine manufacturers cannot be sued as they have an indemnity”.
It is very important that this be clarified. An indemnity is not the same as immunity.
In the USA manufacturers have immunity (which can potentially be attacked under certain circumstances – such as in the presence of fraud) imposed by a law known as “The PREP Act”. Immunity is a legal shield. The law simply provides that “these manufacturers shall not have any civil liability”.
But in the UK the manufacturers do not have such immunity. What they have – in their contracts with the UK government – is an indemnity. An indemnity is an agreement that one party shall cover the losses of the other.
In this case it provides that the UK government will pay any damages which the manufacturers are liable to pay to claimants if they are sued. But it doesn’t stop anyone actually suing the manufacturers – it just means that any damages awarded are actually paid by the government (and ultimately by the beleaguered taxpayers). In exchange for this, the government gets to control and direct the defence to any claim – as well as paying the legal bills!
This has a number of implications including these:
- If the government is “on the hook” it may well either directly or indirectly pressure the judicial system so that these cases are impeded in some way. We can hope this is not the case, but experience of other legal cases over the past few years suggests this might be naive.
- If the government sees many claims incoming they may try to “pick off” some more obvious ones and put a “line in the sand”, setting quite a high bar for claimants in an attempt to limit the size of the eventual claims.
- On the other hand, if they see a huge number of claims, they may choose to “fight to the death”.
- One other scenario is that they eventually decide they were duped and they then just tell the manufacturers they are no longer honouring the indemnity.
It is also important to recognise that in the UK Parliament makes, amends, and annuls laws at will. There is nothing – except politics – to stop them just going to the manufacturers and threatening to change the law so as to hold them responsible for claims, and that they will make them easier for claimants (perhaps by extending the “limitation period” – normally 3 years – by which a claim has to be lodged or else it become time-barred). This could, for example, be used as leverage to get the manufacturers to set up schemes of compensation.
Generally speaking, retroactive changes to laws are considered undesirable as they could make companies reluctant to do business in a particular country, since companies prefer legal certainty before committing capital; in this case however it is possible that the political imperative becomes so great that the government is effectively forced into ensuring that the injured receive proper recompense and that the manufacturer – not the taxpayer – foots the bill.
Austrian supermarket giant Spar turns to EU concerning Hungary’s ‘unfair’ taxes
MANDINER | MARCH 14, 2024
Austrian supermarket chain Spar has accused the Hungarian government of breaking EU law to cut food prices and called on Brussels to mitigate the devastating impact of the government’s measures, the Financial Times reported.
The supermarket chain claims that the Hungarian government’s 2022 special tax is discriminatory and breaches a number of EU laws, including on the free movement of goods. In its complaint to the EU, Spar wrote that the special tax and other measures aimed at reducing food prices are clearly incompatible with EU law because they “violate the principle of free movement of goods, freedom of establishment and the Charter of Fundamental Rights.”
According to the complaint, the government’s interference has increased Spar’s costs by around €90 million (3.5 billion forints) and will cause a loss of nearly €50 million (1.9 billion forints) for its Hungarian business in 2023. Spar is the second-largest retail chain in Hungary by turnover.
In 2022, to bridge a growing budget gap, the Hungarian government slapped a windfall tax on large food retailers, which in practice meant foreign-owned supermarket chains, and in 2023, in order to halt rapidly rising inflation, it introduced mandatory discounts on staple foods.
According to the company, the government’s measures “upset the supply and demand balance in the agricultural and food markets; they discriminate in a way that allows small independent retailers and members of the franchise network to avoid losses by buying from large integrated retailers at a discount or reduced prices.”
Of the other major retail chains operating in Hungary, Lidl declined to comment, and Tesco referred questions to the Hungarian Retailers’ Association, which declined to comment.
The European Commission declined to comment to the Financial Times, and the Hungarian government has so far not responded to the paper’s request for comment.
Germany plans to open at least four arms factories in Ukraine
Press TV – March 14, 2024
Germany’s largest weapons, ammunition, lethal systems, and military equipment manufacturer, Rheinmetall, has devised plans to set up arms factories in Ukraine.
Rheinmetall announced on Thursday that it plans to open at least four factories in Ukraine, as it targets a record 10 billion euros ($10.9 billion) in sales this year.
The factories in Ukraine will be modeled on an ammunition factory that Rheinmetall is building in Germany.
The Ukrainian forces war against Russia has boosted Germany’s weapons sales.
Rheinmetall announced that the factories in Ukraine would be for producing shells, military vehicles, gunpowder and anti-aircraft weapons.
“Ukraine is now an important partner for us, where we see a potential of between two and three billion euros (in sales) per year,” Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said at the presentation of the company’s 2023 results.
Rheinmetall, which makes key components for the Leopard tanks, reported record sales of 7.2 billion euros last year, and is aiming to top 10 billion in 2024.
Shares of the Duesseldorf-based company went up five percent in Frankfurt stock exchange after the results were announced.
Rheinmetall, which already operates a joint venture in Ukraine for repairing military vehicles, is also going to build a factory in Lithuania, where Germany plans to deploy a brigade-sized military unit on a permanent basis to help secure NATO’s eastern flank.
Germany’s largest manufacturer of military equipment, which had already announced an agreement with a Ukrainian company in February to build artillery shells in Ukraine, said it was planning to ramp up its production of artillery shells to provide Kiev with more ammunition.
However, German lawmakers in the lower house of parliament rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine.
Lawmakers in the Bundestag on Thursday voted against the delivery of the Taurus cruise missile to Ukraine which had been proposed by the opposition MPs.
On Wednesday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told lawmakers that prudence is a virtue and rejected the call to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Ultimately, lawmakers in the Bundestag voted against the motion by 495 votes to 190, with five abstentions.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were running out of ammunition, complaining that NATO member states were not providing enough arms and munitions.
“Unprecedented aid from NATO allies has helped Ukraine survive as an independent nation. But Ukraine needs even more support and they need it now,” Stoltenberg said talking to reporters at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
“The Ukrainians are not running out of courage, they are running out of ammunition,” Stoltenberg said. “NATO allies are not providing Ukraine with enough ammunition and that has consequences on the battlefield every day.”
“It is an urgent need for allies to make the decisions necessary to step and provide more ammunition to Ukraine. That’s my message to all capitals,” Stoltenberg said.
Last week, European Union (EU) member states agreed to allocate an additional 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) in military assistance to Ukraine at a meeting in Brussels.
The EU agreement came after months of debates among member states, with France and Germany playing a key role in shaping the discussions.
They finally agreed to give priority to the European defense sector, while “exceptionally allowing” for flexibility in cases where it cannot provide within a timeframe compatible with Ukraine’s needs.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), at least 30 countries have provided weapons and ammunition to Ukraine since Russia’s military operation was launched in February 2022.
The US recently approved a new weapons package worth $300 million for Ukraine. However, an additional $60 billion in funding for Kiev has been blocked by lawmakers as Republicans in Congress have put it on hold, arguing that President Joe Biden is only prolonging the war against Russia, with no plans to end the conflict.
Gatwick Airport Tesla Fire Cover Up
By Paul Homewood | Not A Lot Of People Know That | March 14, 2024
Looks like another EV fire is being covered up:
As Geoff points out, there is very little mention of this on the internet, other than the Express. I have located a couple of photos. Fortunately the fire was containable in an outside car park, which would not have been the case in a multi-storey:
https://uknip.co.uk/news/uk/sussex/gatwick-airport-car-park-scene-of-overnight-blaze/
https://twitter.com/GeoffBuysCars/status/1768220704279773374/photo/1
It is strange by the way that Bedfordshire Fire Service don’t seem to have yet published their report into the Luton Airport fire last October, or even provided any updates since the first few days.
One wonders what they are trying to hide!
Ukraine bombs Russian nuclear power plant periphery
RT | March 14, 2024
Ukrainian forces have dropped a bomb near diesel tanks located at Russia’s Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, management at the facility reported on Thursday.
In a video published on social media, plant director Yury Chernuk pointed to a crater in the ground, which he said had been created by an explosive device dropped from a Ukrainian drone.
The bomb itself was composed of explosives wrapped in foil, according to reports, but the location was significant. The crater was just five meters away from the perimeter fence, and tanks storing diesel fuel could be seen in the footage.
The plant has backup diesel generators, which kick in when electricity supply from the power grid is cut off. Its equipment needs to be powered continuously to ensure safe operation, even when nuclear reactors are not online. Blackouts have been a regular occurrence for the site since the beginning of the conflict.
”Destruction of those tanks or a fuel leak may not only cause a fire, but also result in significant loss of diesel reserves. Consequently, the plant’s preparedness for emergencies would be reduced by orders of magnitude,” Chernuk explained.
Another person, who was not identified, suggested that the bombing incident had been part of Ukraine’s intimidation tactics. Kiev considers the plant to be occupied by the Russian military.
The director of the facility noted that Ukrainian forces had targeted the plant days after the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, rotated observers stationed there. The organization told Russian media that it was aware of the incident, but offered no further comment.
Following the incident, the situation was reportedly calm in Energodar, the city where the Zaporozhye power plant is located.
Yemen looks to add hypersonic missiles into domestic arsenal: Report
The Cradle | March 14, 2024
The Ansarallah-allied Yemeni armed forces recently tested a hypersonic missile and are preparing to introduce the technology into the country’s military arsenal, a Yemeni military source revealed to Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency on 14 March.
“[Ansarallah’s] missile forces have successfully tested a missile that is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 8 and runs on solid fuel; Yemen intends to begin manufacturing it for use during attacks in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel,” the source is quoted as saying.
The unnamed official also revealed Sanaa has, over the past three months, “upgraded its missiles and drones, modifying explosive warheads to double their destructive power.”
Last week, Ansarallah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said during a televised speech that Yemen has been making efforts to “produce hypersonic missiles,” saying: “Our enemies, friends, and our people will see a level of achievement of strategic importance that will put our country in the ranks of few countries with these capabilities in the world.”
“The Yemeni forces used new weapons in recent operations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, which surprised the United States and Britain,” the Ansarallah leader revealed during his speech.
Hypersonic weapons fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, can strike targets thousands of miles away within minutes, and pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems. While a traditional ballistic missile travels into the atmosphere and then returns to Earth on top of the target, a hypersonic missile travels much closer to the Earth, allowing it to switch targets on the fly.
Only four countries have successfully developed and tested hypersonic missiles: Iran, Russia, China, and North Korea. The US is also developing hypersonic missiles; however, its program has trailed behind the others due to a lack of planning, technological gaps, and Washington’s belief that ballistic missiles are a better and more cost-effective bet against an adversary.
The US navy – with minimal support from the UK – has been waging its biggest battle since WWII against the Arab world’s poorest country since early January in support of Israel’s genocide campaign in Gaza. Despite launching hundreds of attacks inside Yemen, Washington has not managed to deter the country’s pro-Palestine actions.
Ansarallah leaders have vowed to continue attacking US, UK, and Israeli ships in the waters surrounding the Gulf Arab nation until Israel’s assault on Gaza ends.
EU joins IMF, Gulf states funneling billions into Egypt as Gaza refugee crisis looms
The Cradle | March 14, 2024
The EU is preparing a €7.4 billion ($8 billion) aid package for Egypt, citing “concerns” that the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the ballooning crisis in Sudan could “risk exacerbating financial troubles in the North African nation and raising immigration pressure on Europe,” according to a report by the Financial Times (FT).
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is set to visit Cairo on 17 March alongside the Greek, Italian, and Belgian prime ministers to “finalize and announce the agreement.”
Completion of the deal accelerated following the start of Israel’s campaign of genocide in the Gaza Strip. The terms of the agreement reportedly include support for Egypt’s energy sector, assistance to deal with the rising number of refugees entering the country, and help to fortify the country’s border with Libya.
An estimated €1bn in emergency financial assistance could be paid immediately to Cairo, while another €4 billion in “macro-financial assistance” hinges on implementing reforms under an expanded loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Officials told FT the rest of the funds would be drawn from various EU funding streams.
The funds from Brussels is the latest in a recent string of investment packages coming from the west and Gulf states for cash-strapped Egypt.
“With respect to the question on the potential impact pressures from refugees from Gaza, what we do see in Egypt is that there is a need to have a very comprehensive support package for Egypt. And we’re working … to ensure that Egypt does not have any residual financing needs,” IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack said on 22 February.
The IMF agreed just days later to expand its financial rescue program for Egypt to $8 billion after the Egyptian central bank let loose its currency to help stabilize the economy. Egypt is the second most indebted country to the IMF, behind only Argentina, with an international debt that grew from $37 billion in 2010 to $164 billion in 2023.
In late February, UK oil giant BP announced plans to develop gas projects and drilling in Egypt over the next three to four years at a cost of $1.5 billion. This came just after the North African nation sealed a massive $35 billion real estate development deal with the UAE, which will see Emirati investment vehicle ADQ build a 170 km tourism and financial center in the Ras al-Hekma area.
In recent weeks, Cairo has also been in discussions to sell prime Red Sea coastal land near Sharm al-Sheikh to Saudi investors.
The unprecedented windfall comes as Egypt is putting the finishing touches on a kilometers-wide buffer zone and wall along its border with southern Gaza, allegedly in preparation to take in hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians once the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city begins.
Amnesty International and other NGOs have also accused Cairo of “harassing” the director of the UK-based Sinai Foundation for Human Rights, which revealed the construction of the buffer zone last month.
Geopolitical analysts, including The Cradle’s Mohamad Hassan Sweidan, have speculated that Egypt may be willing to accept refugees from Gaza in exchange for a significant offset of its staggering debt.
Israel attacking historical, cultural Palestinian sites in Gaza, West Bank, Jerusalem
MEMO | March 14, 2024
The ongoing Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip has targeted historic sites and cultural centres destroying them either completely or partially while the indiscriminate killing has led to the death of many of the enclave’s writers, artists and activists, a joint report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Ministry of Culture has revealed.
The report issued yesterday on the Palestinian National Culture Day said Israel has destroyed 32 cultural centres and institutions as well as 12 museums while more than 2,100 pieces of heritage dresses and embroidered items had been lost. As many as 45 writers, artists and activists have been killed by Israel since it started its war in October.
The Israeli aggression has led to the destruction of about 27 murals, and the bombing of more than eight publishing houses and printing presses, three media and art production companies and studios, nine public libraries as well as four religious shrines.
The Israeli bombing has completely destroyed 219 mosques and partially destroyed 287 mosques and three churches, 195 historical buildings, nine archaeological sites and 19 universities and colleges.
In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army’s restriction on movement, repeated invasions and various massacres have caused the halting of many cultural activities including the soap festival in the city of Nablus, which was scheduled in April as part of the Ministry of Culture’s preparations to register the soap on the World Heritage List.
The statement said that Palestinian institutions and associations in the occupied city of Jerusalem “were subjected to attempts to dismantle them… as happened with the Al-Hakawati Theatre,” adding that “the [Israeli] occupation authorities are working to put in place everything that would keep these associations ineffective and completely stop their activity, through stifling administrative and legal processes.”
UN probe finds Israel deliberately targeted journalists
Late Reuters visuals journalist Issam Abdallah
Press TV – March 14, 2024
A United Nations investigation singles out the preventability of an October 13 Israeli attack on a group of journalists in southern Lebanon that led to the death of a Reuters reporter.
The attack consisted of two tank strikes that claimed the life of the agency’s 37-year-old visuals journalist Issam Abdallah, and wounded six other journalists, including Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer Christina Assi, 28, near the Lebanese village of Alma al-Chaab. Assi later had a leg amputated.
The investigation by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) found out that the attack targeted “civilians, in this instance clearly identifiable journalists.”
The attack, it said, “constitutes a violation of UNSCR 1701 and international law,” the UNIFIL report said, referring to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a 33-day-long Israeli military onslaught on the country in the summer of 2006.
The seven-page report dated February 27 said further, “It is assessed that there was no exchange of fire across the Blue Line at the time of the incident,” referring to a temporary line that was drawn after the withdrawal of the Israeli regime from Lebanon during an earlier war in 2000.
“The reason for the strikes on the journalists is not known,” the probe added.
At least 133 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7, when the Israeli regime launched a genocidal war against the Gaza Strip that has so far claimed the lives of 31,300 Gazans, most of them women, children, and adolescents.
Culture Warriors Spread Disinfo on ‘Haitian Cannibals’
By Patrick Macfarlane | The Libertarian Institute | March 14, 2024
In the first few years of the 2020s, the world witnessed a revolution in the dissemination of atrocity propaganda. Thanks to the proliferation of social media, smartphone ownership, and artificial intelligence, atrocity claims can now be manufactured, disseminated, and, thankfully, debunked in real time.
Although technology may be evolving, lies do not change much.
During World War I, the British claimed Germans boiled the corpses of their war dead to make fat and glycerin for munitions. More recently, we’ve seen accusations of industrial organ harvesting in Xinjiang, China and claims that Hamas “beheaded babies” in Israel. A key element of these atrocity stories, and many like them, is their over-the-top cartoonization of violence.
Amidst violent political upheaval in Haiti, a narrative has emerged that Haitian society is devolving into widespread cannibalism. A video even emerged purporting to show popular opposition figure, Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier, cutting the flesh off a burning corpse and eating it.
This propagandistic narrative comes at a crucial juncture where Western powers have for three years failed to drum up yet another foreign military intervention in this ill-fated nation.
After the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021, Haiti was ruled by U.S.-installed President Ariel Henry. Many Haitians viewed Henry as an American puppet leader. Because Henry was unable to stabilize the country, the United States pushed the United Nations to deploy a peace keeping force to his nation.
Two weeks ago, Henry left Haiti for Kenya, attempting to secure Joe Biden’s long-desired UN security deployment. In his absence, Haiti’s organized opposition united under the leadership of Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier. The united opposition launched an armed revolution that dragged Haiti further into discord, albeit with the goal of creating a truly independent and prosperous country. Unable to safely return to Port-au-Prince, Henry resigned on Tuesday.
Last Saturday, reports began to circulate that Haiti was under siege by cannibal gangs. However, the claims were not reported by mainstream outlets. Instead, they were made on X (formerly Twitter) by popular culture war influencers. These influencers used these reports to sow fear that the unrest will spread to the United States through immigration. With 10.4 million views as of this writing, Malaysian national Ian Miles Cheong circulated the first and most viewed Haiti cannibalism report. The report was furthered, among others, by Dom Lucre, Jake Shields, Tim Pool, and Libs of Tiktok.
Given his position as the wealthiest man in the world and the owner of X, Elon Musk has an effect, intended or not, of legitimizing the information he interacts with on the platform. As is the case with Cheong’s cannibalism report, the information might not be reliable. Nevertheless, Musk drove a number of his 176.3 million followers to Cheong’s post by replying to it.
So, just what was the problem with Cheong’s report? He doesn’t have a source.
On Tuesday, Cheong posted a screenshot of an email he ostensibly received from NBC Reporter David Ingram asking where he got his information.
In the email, Ingram asks Cheong if his cannibalism claim originates from the “unnamed source” referred to by a Daily Express U.S. article. Cheong ridiculed the question, saying, “I just received a request for comment from NBC News asking me to prove cannibalism exists in Haiti. I wish I was making this up.”
Despite Cheong’s mockery, Ingram’s question was legitimate. Cheong made a specific claim in his post. He did not claim “cannibalism exists in Haiti.” He claimed “cannibal gangs are besieging the national palace in Port-au-Prince.”
While Ingram did not link to the article in his email, he was likely referring to this March 5 piece, which states:
… a journalist on the ground told Daily Express US that cannibalism has been witnessed on the streets as the violence reaches “unprecedented” levels… Speaking anonymously, they said: “Haiti is living in a total chaotic situation right now. It is total chaos everywhere, especially in the capital where I am right now”… Following the interview, the journalist said via message: “Cannibalism is not widespread, but definitely an indication of the worsening situation. It definitely happens on a few occasions.”
If Cheong did indeed source his report from the Daily Express U.S. piece, the original claim is dubious. The source is hearsay; the anonymous reporter was told by alleged witnesses that they observed cannibalism. The reporter then told the Daily Express U.S. that cannibalism “definitely happens on a few occasions.” He did not say that he had personally witnessed cannibalism, neither did he allege a specific incident where cannibalism took place.
Furthermore, Cheong mischaracterized the Daily Express report. Cheong’s initial tweet claimed “Cannibal gangs are besieging the national palace in Port-au-Prince.” Cheong transformed the report from “cannibalism definitely happens on a few occasions,” to “cannibal gangs are besieging the national palace[.]”
Another popular culture war influencer, Dom Lucore, subsequently circulated a video of a Haitian gangster eating burnt flesh from a charred human corpse. Lucore claimed the man in the video was opposition leader Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier.
Despite being corrected by Dan Cohen, a journalist who personally filmed a documentary featuring Cherizier, Lucore doubled down on the claim.
Although the video probably does depict a Haitian gangster eating human flesh, it is clearly not Jimmy Cherizier. Further, the video is several years old and not connected in any way to what is occurring on the ground in Haiti right now. There is no evidence to suggest that Hatians are eating each other en masse or that criminal gangs are using cannibalism as a weapon of terror.
Does cannibalism exist in Haiti? Apparently, in isolated incidents, yes. But cannibalism has existed there for hundreds of years.
Americans are understandably concerned about illegal immigration. However, they fail to appreciate that this false story supports the case for U.S.-led intervention in Haiti, something the Biden administration has desired for years. A foreign invasion of Haiti would further traumatize the Haitian people and certainly increase the amount of refugees seeking asylum in the United States. As with our prior interventions in Haiti, American taxpayers would be forced to foot the bill.
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The lies about the 1967 war are still more powerful than the truth
By Alan Hart | June 4, 2012
In retrospect it can be seen that the 1967 war, the Six Days War, was the turning point in the relationship between the Zionist state of Israel and the Jews of the world (the majority of Jews who prefer to live not in Israel but as citizens of many other nations). Until the 1967 war, and with the exception of a minority of who were politically active, most non-Israeli Jews did not have – how can I put it? – a great empathy with Zionism’s child. Israel was there and, in the sub-consciousness, a refuge of last resort; but the Jewish nationalism it represented had not generated the overtly enthusiastic support of the Jews of the world. The Jews of Israel were in their chosen place and the Jews of the world were in their chosen places. There was not, so to speak, a great feeling of togetherness. At a point David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding father and first prime minister, was so disillusioned by the indifference of world Jewry that he went public with his criticism – not enough Jews were coming to live in Israel.
So how and why did the 1967 war transform the relationship between the Jews of the world and Israel? … continue
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- No Tricks Zone
- New Study: 8000 Years Ago Relative Sea Level Was 30 Meters Higher Than Today Across East Antarctica
- The Wind Energy Paradox: “Why More Wind Turbines Don’t Always Mean More Power”
- New Study Reopens Questions About Our Ability To Meaningfully Assess Global Mean Temperature
- Dialing Back The Panic: German Physics Prof Sees No Evidence Of Climate Tipping Points!
- Astrophysicist Dr. Willie Soon Challenges The Climate Consensus … It’s The Sun, Not CO2
- Regional Cooling Since The 1980s Has Driven Glacier Advance In The Karakoram Mountains
- Greenland Petermann Glacier Has Grown 30 Kilometers Since 2012!
- New Study: Temperature-Driven CO2 Outgassing Explains 83 Percent Of CO2 Rise Since 1959
- Climate Extremists Ordered By Hamburg Court To Pay €400,000 In Damages
- More Evidence NE China Is Not Cooperating With The Alarmist Global Warming Narrative
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