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Estonia about to ban Russian Orthodox Church

By Lucas Leiroz | September 20, 2025

The Baltic countries continue to advance their Ukrainization process, adopting increasingly anti-Russian measures. Now, the country’s authorities are targeting the Russian Orthodox Church, passing laws that will restrict the religious rights of more than 250,000 Orthodox believers in Estonia. The goal is to achieve complete de-Russification, eliminating any common cultural ties with Russia—including the religious affiliation of a substantial portion of the Estonian population.

The Estonian parliament recently passed a law prohibiting religious groups from maintaining ties with foreign entities considered “threats to national security.” In practice, this description serves only one purpose: to ban Russian Orthodoxy because of its ecclesiastical affiliation with the Moscow Patriarchate.

Moreover, the law was approved by parliamentarians despite intense criticism from the country’s president, Alar Karis. The president argues that the measure is unconstitutional and violates the principles of religious freedom, in addition to directly affecting the Orthodox Church, which is the largest Christian denomination in Estonia. Since April, the president has twice refused to sign the law, but parliament continues to insist on passing the bill repeatedly, openly defying him.

The bill passed with a landslide: 63 votes in favor to just 15 against. This explains the high and worrying levels of Russophobia in Estonian society—as well as in all the Baltic countries, which have deliberately decided to erase the Soviet past and break the historical relations with Russia in exchange for integration with the Collective West, following a path extremely similar to that which led Ukraine to the current war.

Karis currently has two options. He can obey parliament and ratify the law, which in practice will mean officially implementing a regime of religious persecution against Orthodox Christians; or he could refer the law to the country’s supreme court for judges to assess its compliance with constitutional norms. If the judges rule that the law is constitutional (which is likely, considering that many of these judges also have pro-Western and anti-Russian ideological preferences), pressure from parliament for approval will continue and grow increasingly. Karis may even begin to suffer reprisals, such as the loss of support from several parliamentary groups, until he finally agrees to enact the law.

The local jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church is trying to negotiate an amicable solution to the problem with politicians. In recent documents and statements, the local Orthodox clergy have omitted mention to the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate and reaffirmed their broad rights of ecclesiastical autonomy. But even this is not considered sufficient by Estonian parliamentarians, who demand a complete break with the Moscow Patriarchate—which is obviously rejected by religious leaders, as it would be an act of schism.

Attacking the Orthodox Church is a way of attacking the Russian people themselves. By doing so, the Estonian authorities are attempting to destroy Russian identity, which has religion as one of its strongest cultural traits. The history of the Russian people is almost entirely marked by the religious factor. From the Christian conversion of ancient Slavic tribes to the present day, Orthodox Christianity is inseparable from Russian ethnocultural identity. There is no relevant political factor or “security issue” in the affiliation of Estonian Orthodox Christians to the Moscow Patriarchate. The real objective behind the law is simply to endorse Russophobia and undermine the identity of ethnic Russians living in Estonia.

In recent years, Ukraine has passed several similar laws, thus legitimizing the persecution of Orthodox Christians within its territory. Over 80% of Ukraine’s population is Orthodox, but even this doesn’t prevent the government from attacking churches, arresting clergy, and persecuting the faithful. In practice, some signs of persecution have existed since 2014, with churches being destroyed and religious people murdered in Russian-majority regions. It’s important to note, however, that although Ukraine has maintained an openly anti-Russian stance, it only recently enacted an official ban on Orthodoxy—already during the war with Russia. On the other hand, Estonia is banning the Orthodox Church even though it isn’t engaged in any military conflict with Russia, demonstrating that the level of authoritarianism and Russophobia in the Baltic states is truly worrying.

Obviously, this situation raises legitimate concerns for Moscow. Russia has an obligation to ensure the safety of its people in the post-Soviet space. 27% of Estonia’s citizens are native Russian speakers, while 16% of the country’s population is Orthodox. If the current persecution escalates to more advanced levels, such as attempts to physically eliminate ethnic Russians—as occurred in Ukraine—Russia will have no choice but to use any means necessary to save its people.

Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.

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

September 20, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance, Russophobia | , | Leave a comment

US Cranks Up Pressure on India for Refusing to Kneel

By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – September 19, 2025

The US has announced it will withdraw the sanctions waiver granted for Iran’s Chabahar Port, which is being developed by India. The port holds strategic importance for both Tehran and New Delhi. Tehran University professor Mohammad Marandi explains the move.

The US is pursuing two objectives by imposing sanctions related to India’s involvement in Chabahar Port, Tehran University professor Mohammad Marandi tells Sputnik.

  • First, it seeks to cut off the North-South Transport Corridor and break the link between India and Russia that goes through Iran.
  • Second, it cannot reconcile with the fact that Indian PM Narendra Modi didn’t cave in despite tariffs and is now raising the stakes.

“They are trying to force the Indian government to do as they wish. And this is part of that process.”

The US’ intimidation of Russia, Iran, and India is pushing them to unite on solutions beyond US control, according to Marandi.

“They create an incentive for countries to work together and exclude the United States. It is US policy that has effectively made BRICS what it is today. It is US policy that has made the Shanghai Cooperation Organization what it is today. It is their behavior, their lawless behavior, using sanctions as a weapon, using tariffs as a weapon, using financial institutions and the US dollar as a weapon.”

The US wants full control, and they see the Global South on the rise, and they increasingly become irritated, and they behave increasingly irrational in order to preserve that control, according to the pundit.

So what’s the smart play for Russia, Iran, and India now? “To speed in the process of developing the North-South Transport Corridor and developing the Chabahar Port,” Marandi believes.

September 20, 2025 Posted by | Economics | , , , | Leave a comment

Donald Trump corrects Victor Hugo: “Those who live are those who surrender”

By Lama El Horr – New Eastern Outlook – September 20, 2025

The torment that Washington and its satellites inflict on the peoples of the world is so outrageous that it reveals the disarray of the supremacist bloc, which seems to be playing its final card: The resuscitation of a wrecked Empire.

This playbook for restoring fallen hegemony consists of “negotiating” with Beijing through a means of coercion dear to Washington: blackmail. This is done by orchestrating, directly or through proxies, state terrorism of unbridled savagery in every corner of the world where the supremacy of the Euro-Atlantic oligarchy is threatened. In other words, in every corner of the world.

The ensuing funeral ceremonies, also orchestrated by the Axis of the Fallen Hegemon, aim to impose as an irreversible reality the losses of territory, fundamental rights, and power that these destructions and killings are supposed to inflict on the BRICS, the global South, and, of course, China.

“Give me the moon,” Trump asks Xi

Observing the conflagration of conflicts surrounding China, there is no doubt that Washington has raised its level of aggression a notch. The nature of the crises encircling Chinese territory indicates that the US administration has moved from “courteous” blackmail to “martial” blackmail.

“Courteous” blackmail is a traditional coercive tool used by Washington. It might look something like this: “China will be able to strengthen its cooperation with the European Union if it renounces buying Russian energy,” and aims, in this case, to kill two birds with one stone, i.e., to subjugate both Beijing and Moscow.

But this type of blackmail also manifests itself in more ambiguous ways: this is the case with Trump’s announcement of an agreement with Armenia, which has reportedly ceded the development and management of the Zangezur corridor to Washington for a period of 99 years. It goes without saying that such an agreement, if confirmed, can only arouse the fears of Beijing and Moscow and the categorical rejection of Tehran, since it leaves open the threat of an American presence in the South Caucasus. Admittedly, this may be a warning to Beijing and Moscow regarding their security collaboration with Iran: “If you strengthen Tehran’s defense capabilities against Israel, we will deploy troops between Armenia and Iran.” But it may also be that Washington has drawn a parallel with South America: “If China goes ahead with the bio-oceanic rail corridor project, which is supposed to link Brazil to the port of Chancay via Bolivia, there will be a NATO presence on Iran’s northwestern borders”—with all the security implications that such a deployment would entail for Iran, for the North-South corridor, and for the BRI network in Central Asia.

When this “polite” blackmail fails to achieve the set objective, Washington changes its modus operandi. Most recently, for example, Trump asked his satellites to outsource pressure against Beijing: “The G7/NATO/EU bloc must impose sanctions on China and India to force them to turn their backs on Russia.”

But the American modus operandi can also involve resorting to “martial” blackmail. This type of blackmail is more complex than the previous one. While it also involves coercion, it relies on brute force, and it is not always easy to discern the actors or their true level of involvement.

Suddenly, a succession of violent events occurs in more or less strategic areas, which seem to reshuffle the cards of the regional geopolitical chessboard. This is the case of the countless military assaults in West Asia—Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran, and Qatar. It is also the case, in South and Southeast Asia, of the India/Pakistan or Cambodia/Thailand conflict; of the declaration of martial law by former President Yoon in South Korea; of the color revolutions in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal; of the sporadic riots in Mongolia; of the war of attrition in Myanmar; or of the insurrection in Indonesia, a member of the BRICS, on the eve of the Tianjin summit.

From these upheavals, in which Washington’s involvement through regional and local channels has been widely demonstrated (see the work of Brian Berletic), Washington’s ulterior motives become apparent. Although the terms of this “martial” blackmail are never fully acknowledged, it is easy to guess its content:

  • If you ostracize the dollar in your trade with the BRICS and Africa, we will undermine the BRI infrastructure all around your borders;
  • Give us shares in your strategic companies, or we will escalate the trade war against Chinese technology and the maritime industry;
  • We demand the lion’s share of the New Polar Silk Road, or failing that, we will form a military alliance with Somaliland and Taiwan;
  • Stay away from South America and Venezuela, or we will provoke “incidents” on your borders, like in Qatar and Poland, to strengthen the defenses of the countries hosting our military bases.

And so on. These muscular blackmails—in this case, fictions, even if they are inspired by reality—are based on objectives so extreme that they are completely out of reach. They therefore resemble far-fetched threats. Yet, the Axis of the Fallen Hegemon continues to resort to these methods of intimidation, no doubt because they provide it with an excellent pretext to pursue its real objective, which is to intensify hostilities against China.

The objective, in fact, is not the resolution of crises, but their intensification, the Atlantic bloc being convinced that the spread of chaos is the only means within its reach to restore its supremacy. Moreover, the United States is all the less inclined to renounce subjugation by war, or “peace through strength,” as it demonstrates daily through its Israeli clone, its true ambition: to annihilate any desire for diplomacy – even if it means bombing the place where the negotiations are to be held.

For Washington, mourning must precede death

In the midst of these hostilities, it is important not to lose sight of the ultimate goal of the Empire in its death throes: to shift toward a fait accompli by decreeing the death of struggles that are still ongoing. The objective is therefore to push China—and, with it, the rest of the world—into confusing the destruction and killings caused by Atlanticist savagery with defeat.

Clearly, the imperialist bloc is going through a phase of such acute megalomania that it is incapable of making rational decisions. The slightest sign of life from its geopolitical adversaries is perceived as an existential threat. One need only look at the unspeakable abominations that torment the Palestinian people, and that torment us all, to realize how worrying it is to leave the fate of humanity in the crime-hungry hands of the Axis of the Fallen Hegemon.

Under these circumstances, it is up to China, the BRICS, and the Global South to restore what can be restored of human dignity, since “Those who live are those who struggle.”


Lama El Horr, PhD, is the Founding Editor of China Beyond the WallShe is a geopolitical consultant and analyst specializing in Chinese foreign policy and geopolitics

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September 20, 2025 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , | Leave a comment

Harald Kujat: Former Head of the German Army Exposes Lies of the Ukraine War

Glenn Diesen | September 19, 2025

General Harald Kujat is a former head of the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and the former Chairman of NATO’s Military Committee. Having held the top military position in both Germany and NATO, General Kujat offers his expertise on how the West and Russia ended up fighting a proxy war in Ukraine. General Kujat discusses the failure to reach a common understanding after the Cold War, the toppling of President Yanukovych in Ukraine, the sabotage of the Minsk agreement and the Istanbul peace negotiations, and the West’s lies about an “unprovoked” and “full-scale invasion” of Ukraine. When Boris Johnson came to Ukraine to sabotage the peace negotiations in 2022, one of Zelensky’s close associates summed up the essence of Johnson’s visit: “Johnson brought two simple messages to Kyiv. The first is that Putin is a war criminal; he should be pressured, not negotiated with. And the second is that even if Ukraine is ready to sign some agreements on guarantees with Putin, they are not. We can sign [an agreement] with you [Ukraine], but not with him. Anyway, he will screw everyone over”.

September 19, 2025 Posted by | Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

Italian port blocks explosive shipments bound for Israel

The Cradle | September 19, 2025

Authorities at the Italian port of Ravenna refused on 18 September to load two containers filled with explosives bound for Israel, following a request from local officials.

Ravenna’s mayor, Alessandro Barattoni, confirming the intervention in a statement, said, “Thanks to courageous dockers, we were informed last night of the scheduled arrival today of two containers to the Ravenna port.”

The municipality explained that the port is jointly owned by Ravenna, the provincial authorities, and the Emilia-Romagna regional government, which enabled them to block the shipment.

Regional leaders of the Emilia-Romagna government, a major region in northern Italy, formally cut ties with the Israeli government in June, following the earlier decision by the southern coastal region of Puglia.

“You must choose a side, and Emilia-Romagna and Ravenna know perfectly which,” the leaders said in a statement, “the one of innocent victims and hostages, and not the one of criminal governments and terrorist organisations.”

Italian media reports that port workers and unions are preparing further protests, including planned blockades at Genoa and Livorno in the country’s northwestern coasts, reflecting a growing wave of opposition throughout Italy.

On 1 September, in Genoa, dockworkers warned they will escalate further if Israel moves against the Global Sumud Flotilla, which left Barcelona on Sunday carrying humanitarian supplies.

Speaking at a rally on the docks, a representative of the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), which is an Italian trade union, said that any loss of communication with the flotilla would trigger an immediate boycott of Israel-bound shipments.

“From this region 13 to 14,000 containers leave every year for Israel, not a single nail will leave anymore,” the dockworker said in a video circulated widely in Italian media.

He added that “if we lose contact with our boats, with our comrades, even for just 20 minutes, we will shut down all of Europe.”

Elsewhere in Europe, dockers in France, Sweden, and Greece have carried out similar boycotts.

In early June, workers at the port of Marseille refused to load containers of military equipment for Haifa, stating they would not “take part in the genocide being carried out by the Israeli government” or become “complicit in these massacres.”

September 19, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism, War Crimes | , , | Leave a comment

UN Security Council votes to reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran

Al Mayadeen | September 19, 2025

The United Nations Security Council voted on Friday to reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran, citing its alleged violations of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The move, driven by Britain, France, and Germany, has sparked sharp criticism from Russia, China, and Iran, highlighting deepening divisions within the international community over the future of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

The three European signatories to the JCPOA called for the activation of the snapback mechanism, falsely claiming that Iran had breached commitments made under the 2015 deal, which was designed to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities.

The European powers alleged that Iran’s advancements in uranium enrichment and reduced cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) constitute material violations of the agreement.

Iran, Russia, and China push back

In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Tehran had presented a “fair and balanced” proposal to European nations aimed at preventing the reimposition of sanctions.

Russia’s UN Ambassador, Vasily Nebenzia, rejected the European-led move, saying, “There are no grounds for reinstating UN sanctions on Iran.” He emphasized that the E3’s push for snapback sanctions has no legal authority and affirmed that Moscow would not recognize it.

Russia also called on Security Council members to support a joint Russian-Chinese draft resolution on Iran, offering an alternative diplomatic track to avoid escalation.

China’s envoy emphasized that pressure on Iran must stop and urged Tehran to reaffirm the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, noting Iran’s declared willingness to cooperate.

Iran maintains that its nuclear program remains peaceful and has accused Western powers of double standards and bad faith. Chinese Ambassador to the UN echoed this stance, stating, “It was the United States that withdrew from the agreement, attacked Iran militarily, and disrupted negotiations.”

China’s envoy also called on the European trio to immediately withdraw their notifications to reinstate sanctions, stressing that “pressure is not the solution.”

Snapback could nullify Cairo agreement 

Al Mayadeen’s sources warned on Thursday that activating the snapback sanctions mechanism would nullify the Cairo Agreement and end cooperation between the IAEA and Tehran.

This would prevent international inspectors from accessing sensitive facilities, escalating the standoff even further.

According to the sources, the diplomatic window with Iran remains open, but indicators point to the potential activation of the snapback sanctions mechanism. They argued this is largely because Washington is steering the European Troika in the talks.

The sources warned that Washington is expected to call on Tehran to resume negotiations after activating the snapback mechanism, aiming to impose its conditions from what it perceives as a position of strength. They described this approach as a serious miscalculation of Iran’s stance and the way Tehran would respond.

September 19, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump Is Preparing a $6 Billion Arms Package for Israel

By Kyle Anzalone | The Libertarian Institute | September 19, 2025

The White House informed Congress that it is preparing a massive arms sale to Israel, including attack helicopters and military vehicles. The weapons will be paid for with US military aid.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the total value of the weapons deal is $6 billion. The sale is $3.8 billion for 30 AH-64 Apache helicopters and $1.9 billion deal for 3,250 infantry assault vehicles.

Washington will pay for the arms with foreign military financing. The US provides Israel with at least $3.8 billion in military aid annually. Washington boosted assistance to Tel Aviv following the October 7 Hamas attack. In the first year of the Israeli onslaught in Gaza, the US sent Israel nearly $18 billion in aid. The weapons will begin arriving in Israel in two to three years.

The report of the package follows Israel’s attempt to assassinate Hamas leadership in Qatar. The strikes angered Doha, a major non-NATO US ally. Qatar has also committed to investing $1 trillion in the US economy and gifted Trump a luxury aircraft.

Additionally, the assassination attempt prevented Trump from initiating talks to end the war in Gaza and free the Israeli hostages. The strike occurred as the Hamas leadership was meeting to discuss a proposal sent by Trump. Qatar said the attempted assassination ended any chances of reaching a hostage agreement.

The White House has pushed Congressional leadership to endorse the sale even after the Israeli strike in Qatar.

Israel is in the process of ethnically cleansing Palestinians from Gaza. The onslaught has primarily been conducted by Israel using American weapons. A large number of civilians have been killed by Israeli forces. Additionally, an Israeli siege of Gaza has created a famine, and hundreds of Palestinians have starved to death.

Since taking office, Trump has approved multiple arms sales to Israel, including a sale of $3 billion in bombs.

September 19, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , , | Leave a comment

Bernie Sanders Is A Ghoulish Zionist

By Caitlin Johnstone | September 18, 2025

Bernie Sanders finally issued a statement acknowledging the indisputable fact that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza after two years of adamantly refusing to do so. The statement begins as follows:

“Hamas, a terrorist organization, began this war with its brutal attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages. Israel, as any other country, had a right to defend itself from Hamas.

But,”

Dude goes two years refusing to call a genocide a genocide, then issues a statement which begins by placing blame for the genocide on the victims of said genocide. He also lumps the hundreds of IDF troops slain in the attack in with “innocent people”, ignores the large percentage of the death toll that would have been killed by Israeli troops under the Hannibal Directive, and babbles about Israel’s “right to defend itself” against an occupied population.

The rest of the statement is standard liberal Zionist fare, acknowledging the horror of the situation in Gaza while blaming it all on Benjamin Netanyahu and not the murderous apartheid state which would be doing what it’s doing with or without Netanyahu. It’s just progressive-sounding Israel apologia accompanied by a denunciation driven by the inability to escape finally calling this thing what it is.

This is the face of what passes for the “left” in modern US politics. Absolutely ghoulish.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described Gaza as a “real estate bonanza” on Wednesday, saying Israel is in talks with the United States negotiating how the two countries will divide up the enclave.

“We are checking how this becomes a real estate bonanza — I’m not joking — and pays for itself,” Smotrich said, adding, “I’ve begun negotiations with the Americans, and I’m saying this seriously, because we paid a lot of money for this war. We need to work out how we share percentages on the land. The demolition phase, the first stage of urban renewal, we’ve already done. Now we need to build.”

It’s absolutely incredible how often Smotrich and his buddy Itamar Ben-Gvir will just come out and admit that Israel is doing the thing everyone says it’s doing. If this information had come out as a WikiLeaks drop or something it would have been a bombshell revelation, and this guy is right here just bloody saying it.

There’s another report from Haaretz about the horrific things Israeli soldiers say they’ve been doing to civilians in Gaza, including descriptions of the murders of children.

Whenever I read these accounts I can’t help thinking about how there are westerners joining the IDF to participate in this genocide. People travel to Israel to massacre civilians and then fly back home to their real countries and resume their lives as though nothing happened, like they went backpacking in Europe or something. And now they walk among us in our communities, and we’re supposed to be fine with it.

Netanyahu says he has been invited to visit with President Trump for the fourth time this year. At this point they should just save on jet fuel and move him into a room in the White House.

Trump is repeatedly bombing civilian vessels under the ridiculous justification that drug traffickers are “terrorists”, without even providing evidence that they are drug traffickers. Trump has now admitted to the US bombing three Venezuelan boats on these completely evidence-free grounds.

When Yemen was attacking ships to enforce a blockade against a genocide, Trump declared them all terrorists and massacred hundreds of civilians. Now Trump is attacking civilian boats and calling them the terrorists.

Ask a scientist when the universe began and they’ll tell you 13.8 billion years ago.

Ask a Young Earth creationist when the universe began and they’ll tell you six thousand years ago.

Ask a Zionist when the universe began and they’ll tell you October 7, 2023.

September 19, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Progressive Hypocrite, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

US foreign affairs committee approves expansion of secretive arms stockpile for Israel

The Cradle | September 19, 2025

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) on 19 September voted 27-24 to approve the State Department Reauthorization bill (H.R. 5300), which, among other provisions, permits unlimited transfers of US arms to a special Israel-based stockpile in the next fiscal year.

“This bill is not just a reform for today, it is a lasting framework that will strengthen the State Department and benefit every commander-in-chief who follows,” HFAC Chairman and former Israeli army soldier Brian Mast said following the vote.

Hidden deep within the State Department funding bill is a provision that calls for repealing oversight controls on “defense articles” transferred to the War Reserve Stock for Allies-Israel (WRSA-I) – a US “emergency” stockpile that Tel Aviv has been significantly relying on since the start of its genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

“[This is] the least transparent mechanism of providing arms to Israel,” former State Department official Josh Paul told Responsible Statecraft earlier this week.

In December 2023, Paul told The Guardian that Washington was dipping into WRSA-I to restock quickly-depleting munitions Israel has kept dropping inside the Gaza Strip.

“We sort of retroactively build a foreign military sales case, which may or may not need to be notified to Congress, depending on what they took and what quantities […] There’s none of the conventional arms transfer policy review that would normally happen […] Essentially, it’s take what you can and we’ll sort it out later,” Paul said at the time.

Created in the 1980s to supply the US military in case of a regional war, the WRSA-I is the largest node in a global network of US weapons caches. Its full contents are not publicly disclosed.

In August, an investigation by the Department of War’s Office of the Inspector General found that “the Army, Navy, and Air Force appointed officials to account for WRSA-I inventory, but those officials did not consistently comply with property accountability requirements.”

“In addition, the DoD OIG found that Service officials did not conduct all required inventories between FY 2022 and FY 2024,” the report highlights.

By 2024, former US president Joe Biden’s administration had temporarily lifted restrictions on the value and type of US weapons transferred to WRSA-I each year. It also bypassed transparency rules by splitting up larger transfers into smaller packages that fell under the $25 million threshold, which would have required notifying Congress.

H.R. 5300 seeks to build atop those provisions to reduce congressional oversight further and allow Israel unrestricted access to the strategic stockpile.

Since October 2023, Israel has acquired a vast amount of US-made weapons from WRSA-I, fueling what experts describe as the most intense bombing campaign of the 21st century.

HFAC members approved the State Department funding bill just days after an official UN commission of inquiry determined Israel is violating the genocide convention in Gaza.

“The Commission concludes that the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces have the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” the report found.

September 19, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism, War Crimes | , , , | Leave a comment

US vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire

Press TV – September 18, 2025

The United States has exercised its veto power to block a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, marking the sixth such veto since the onset of the genocide nearly two years ago.

The resolution was drafted by the Council’s ten non-permanent members—Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia—and was backed by 14 of 15 council members. The US vetoed it on Thursday.

The resolution demanded the unrestricted entry and distribution of humanitarian aid into Gaza and emphasized the restoration of essential services amid a confirmed famine and escalating military operations.

The resolution urged all parties to comply with the ceasefire and called for the safe, unhindered delivery of aid by the UN and its partners, in accordance with international humanitarian law and principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

It further stressed the need to lift all Israeli restrictions on aid and restore vital services across the territory.

Speaking on behalf of the sponsoring nations before the vote, Denmark’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Christina Markus Lassen, highlighted the dire humanitarian crisis driving the initiative. “We represent the will and expectations of the General Assembly members who elected us,” she said. “The catastrophic situation in Gaza is what drives us to act today.”

After the veto, Lassen added, “Even though this resolution was not adopted today… 14 members of this Council have sent a clear message. We want to see an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and the urgent lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid.”

The Republic of Korea’s ambassador, Sangjin Kim, who holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council, noted the historic significance of the session.

“This meeting marked the 10,000th session in the Council’s history,” he said, also pointing to its coincidence with the 80th anniversary of the United Nations’ founding and the eve of the General Assembly’s high-level week.

He urged members to honor these milestones by fulfilling the Council’s mandate to maintain international peace and security.

US representative Morgan Ortagus described the resolution as “unacceptable,” arguing it failed to condemn Hamas or acknowledge Israel’s right to self-defense.

“Hamas is responsible for starting and continuing this war,” Ortagus stated. “Israel has accepted the proposed terms that would end the war, but Hamas continues to reject them. This war could end today if Hamas freed the hostages and laid down its arms.”

The veto has drawn sharp criticism internationally, with many accusing the US of enabling the ongoing genocide.

Palestinian advocates and human rights observers on social media platforms labeled the action as “complicit in devastation” and a “green light for continuation of crimes,” calling for alternative measures through the UN General Assembly.

Others highlighted the US’s history of shielding Israel, noting this as the 43rd veto on measures against Israel.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023, it has killed 65,062 people and wounded 165,697, most of them women and children.

September 19, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Poland blocks vital China-EU trade artery – Politico

RT | September 19, 2025

Poland’s decision to close its border with Belarus has caused major disruption to a key corridor for rail freight traffic between China and the EU, according to Politico.

The route affected by the closure normally accounts for approximately €25 billion per year in freight traffic between China and the EU. All cargo is currently blocked, including time-sensitive shipments such as medicine and food.

Warsaw has claimed the closure is “related to the Russian-Belarusian ‘Zapad-2025’ exercises,” held in neighboring Belarus on September 12-16. The Zapad drills were attended by international military delegations, including from the US and India, and are staged by Moscow and Minsk roughly every four years.

The closure compounds existing frictions over tariffs, subsidies, and security concerns that have long pressured EU-China trade ties.

Warsaw described the maneuvers as “very aggressive” and conducted “very close to the Polish border.” Moscow has said the exercises were designed to repel attacks, using lessons from the Ukraine conflict.

Beijing has sought to retain the “flagship project” in China’s cooperation with Poland and the EU. However, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who flew to Warsaw for talks on Monday, could not convince his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, to allow the goods to flow into the EU.

According to Sikorski, a noted Russia hawk, “the logic of trade” was being replaced by “the logic of security,” Politico reported, citing Polish foreign affairs spokesman Pawel Wronski. China, according to Warsaw, made no direct demands to reopen the border.

The European Commission has said it is monitoring the potential fallout from the closure, adding that “it’s too early to go into further detail.”

Piotr Krawczyk, former head of Poland’s Foreign Intelligence Agency, suggested the US could be backing Warsaw “in not rushing to reopen it,” saying he is “quite sure Washington is more than happy to see the routes closed – at least temporarily.”

He pointed to Washington’s pressure on the EU to slap extra tariffs on China over its purchases of Russian energy.

September 19, 2025 Posted by | Economics | , , | Leave a comment