Palestinian prisoner dies in Israeli custody within a week of imprisonment
MEMO | December 5, 2024
Palestinian prisoner, Mohammad Walid Hussein Ali, has died while in Israeli custody, announced the Palestinian Prisoners’ Commission and the Prisoners Society.
In a joint statement, the two organisations identified 45-year-old Ali as a resident of the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
He had previously spent approximately 20 years in Israeli prisons and detention centres before being re-arrested last week and taken to the Jalamah interrogation centre in northern Israel.
Yesterday he was transferred to Rambam Hospital in Israel where he was pronounced dead.
According to Anadolu Agency, the details surrounding Ali’s death remain unclear; however, his passing after just a week of detention and interrogation raises concerns that torture may have played a role.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Commission and the Prisoners Society emphasised that Ali was in good health before his detention, with no prior chronic medical conditions. He was married and expecting his second child at the time of his death.
Ali’s death brings the reported number of Palestinian deaths in Israeli prisons and detention facilities to 48 since the start of the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza last October.
It comes a month after two Palestinian prisoners, Sameeh Eleiwi from Nablus and Anwar Esleem from Gaza, also died in Israeli custody, just six days after being moved by Israeli occupation soldiers from the Ramleh Prison clinic to Assaf Harofeh Hospital.
The statement further noted that these figures exclude unconfirmed deaths, particularly of detainees from Gaza, which Israel has not disclosed.
The organisations warned of deteriorating conditions in Israeli detention centres following accounts of torture, overcrowding and lack of medical care, which have led to the deaths of thousands Palestinian detainees over the years.
Germany is preparing for ‘possible outbreak of world war,’ says influential Hungarian professor
Remix News | December 5, 2024
The German army is preparing companies operating in the country for a possible outbreak of world war, said Tamás Kovács, head of the Department of Law Enforcement Theory and History at the National University of Public Service (NKE).
As a part of this effort, the government has begun to assess German industry, which could be a cautious and necessary step, but the timing suggests that the German government is preparing for the war to escalate and become even more brutal.
“The fact that these surveys have begun can be interpreted as a sign of war preparations on the part of Germany,” Kovács told Hungarian news outlet Hirado.hu. “The German army is preparing companies operating in the country for a possible outbreak of world war.”
Hirado notes that German media has reported that the country has begun a census of bunkers and fortified buildings that could serve as shelters in the event of a war, as well as investigating how industry would hold up in wartime. There were at one time 2,000 bunkers and shelters in Germany, but now only 500 exist.
“The German government wants to be aware of what the industry and the economy are capable of: what they can produce, how quickly they can produce it, and of course how much energy they need. There may therefore be a number of practical considerations behind the fact that they have started to assess German industry,” said Kovács.
“These surveys could be cautious, necessary steps, as it is not a problem in itself if a country is aware of its own resources and their limitations, not least the number of potential shelters and their condition. The fact that all this is happening at exactly this time unfortunately predicts, at least in my reading, that the German and Swedish governments are really preparing for this war to escalate.”
The Hungarian expert believes that claims the war will wind down under Trump may not unfold as predicted and that the war will actually expand.
“I will be even rougher. It is questionable what will happen if the relationship between the EU and Russia deteriorates further and becomes so frosty that there will be no communication between the two parties,” said the head of the NKE department.
The professor also deals with the question of how Germany’s massively growing immigrant population would respond to war conditions. When asked what the government would do in a war situation with the recent influx of migrants who are not very motivated in terms of everyday work or national defense, Tamás Kovács said: “It is inconceivable what would motivate these people in a war situation, and especially how. I’m almost certain that their first thought wouldn’t be, ‘Let’s join the German army and defend the Germany that actually took us in.’”
Regarding the upcoming German elections and a possible turnaround, he said: It is questionable whether the new German government will continue Scholz’s policies or return to historical roots and strive for some kind of consolidated relationship with Russia. Although it is also questionable whether the Russians would like to have close relations with Germany after the events of recent years, at least in the short term, he stressed.
“It is a fact that the Hungarian economy is very dependent on the German one; if there are problems in the German economy, the Hungarian economy will also feel it. Obviously, German capital investments and economic influence are generally strong in the region, so the entire region will feel it if the German economy is not doing well. However, if peace were to suddenly break out, or at least a ceasefire were to be signed by the two sides, that would greatly improve economic prospects,” said Kovács regarding the expected domestic and regional effects of the war crisis.
Russia Not Threatening Anyone With Nuclear Arms – Russian Foreign Ministry
Sputnik – 05.12.2024
MOSCOW – Russia is not threatening anyone with nuclear weapons, but in connection with the Ukraine conflict it is warning of the risks of a clash between nuclear powers that could have grave consequences, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
“Russia is not threatening anyone with nuclear weapons, and any claims to the contrary are nothing more than deliberate anti-Russian lies. We treat the policy in the area of nuclear deterrence with the utmost seriousness and responsibility,” Zakharova said.
Russia is forced to warn about the risks of a direct military clash between nuclear powers and, accordingly, about its potentially grave consequences, as well as to send “specific sobering signals” in support of such warnings, the spokeswoman added.
Russia’s doctrinal guidelines remain strictly defensive in nature and continue to outline quite strictly the extreme circumstances under which the country reserves the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons, Zakharova said.
“Russia’s official statements on the aforementioned issues do not go beyond the scope of these guidelines and are fully consistent with our country’s international obligations. This is not the language of threats, but the classic logic of containment,” the spokeswoman added.
Why Biden Allowed Ukraine to Fire US missiles into Russia
By Salman Rafi Sheikh – New Eastern Outlook – December 5, 2024
Washington’s (and London’s) decision to allow Ukraine to fire their missiles into Russia is a clear escalation, but the timing explains most of the puzzle underlying this decision.
It is not just Biden being reckless. It is not simply madness, either. It is politics with a touch of global geopolitics.
The Biden administration, having lost both presidential and congressional elections to the Republicans, appears to be following a scorched-earth policy. Before Trump is sworn in, and before he can move towards a negotiated resolution of the Russia-Ukraine (NATO) military conflict in 2025, the outgoing administration seems willing to make issues much more complicated – and deadly – than they currently are. At the heart of these calculated escalations is the American “deep state” unhappy with Trump’s success and the prospects of him pulling NATO back from Ukraine, thus undoing American hegemony. Trump claimed, during his campaign, that he will end wars. The American “deep state” does not want to let him do this – at least, not easily.
The Timing
For a long time, the Biden administration resisted allowing Ukraine to fire US missiles into Russian territory. This firing represents a “new phase” in the ongoing conflict for Moscow. There is potentially no other way for Moscow to see things. A pro-Democrats response is that the decision was motivated by the Biden administration’s desire to strengthen Ukraine’s position vis-à-vis Russia in the wake of upcoming possible negotiations. However, if this truly was the main intention, why did the Biden administration not reach the same conclusion during the peak time of the presidency, i.e., a year earlier, for instance? The Biden administration could have done the same escalation, hoping that this would push Russia to come to the negotiating table. Except, the Biden administration did not make such a decision for one chief reason.
They understood Moscow’s response would be deadlier, which would escalate the war more than Washington and NATO could handle. A deadly escalation, the Biden administration maintained, could cost them the elections. Now that they have already lost the elections – and there is nothing they can do about it now – they are escalating the war deliberately to scuttle the Trump administration. If the war escalates, it will make it harder for the Trump administration to negotiate with Russia. It will also make it harder for the Trump administration to negotiate with US allies in Europe as well. The more complicated the issue becomes, the more time it will take to find a resolution. Overall, this will give the Democrats a political opportunity to shift the blame to the Trump administration for its failure to quickly end conflicts. For the Democrats, this could be one of the key points they could raise in the midterm elections.
A key official of the Biden administration indirectly acknowledged the politics driving the decision. Matthew Miller, State Department spokesperson, defended the decision during a press briefing saying that the “American people elected Joe Biden to a four-year term, not to a term of three years and 10 months, and we will use every day of our term to pursue the foreign policy interests that, we believe, are in the interests of the American people.” One caveat is that the only interest that matters here is that of the Democrats.
The Reactions
The Trump administration understands this politics. In a post on X, Donald Trump Jr said the change was aimed at getting “World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives”. Trump’s pick for national security adviser, US Representative Mike Waltz, called it “another step up the escalation ladder … and nobody knows where this is going,” he said on Fox News. Former Trump cabinet member Richard Grenell also accused Biden of moving to “escalate the war in Ukraine during the transition period”. “This is as if he is launching a whole new war. Everything has changed now. All previous calculations are null and void,” he added.
This reaction makes sense because Ukraine has received only a few dozen of the ATACMS systems. If the Biden administration really wanted to strengthen Ukraine’s position, a first step would have been to ensure sufficient supplies of this system. If Ukraine is likely to fire up its entire stockpile too quickly to make any meaningful impact, the only sense this escalation makes is that it makes a negotiated end of the conflict much more complicated. Anymore escalation before Trump assumes control in January – and this escalation is very much possible – means the conflict will continue to rage in the months to come.
The End Game
Most people understand that the Trump administration would bring the conflict to an end. For one thing, Trump does not intend to use military conflicts to advance US foreign policy interests. Secondly, Trump has the “America First” policy at the heart of his politics. People who understand how misfit military conflicts are within the Trump camp include not only the Democrats but also Ukraine’s own president, who went on record two weeks ago to say that the conflict will end “sooner” now that Trump has won.
For the anti-Russia camp within the American “deep state”, this expectation is deeply unsettling. It would mean NATO will not be able to expand into Europe any further. NATO’s failure will create fresh openings for European states to chart their own foreign policy courses, including relations with Russia. In fact, this is already happening. When the German chancellor recently spoke with the Russian President, he did not do so to merely talk about the possibility of ending the conflict, but also to get a sense of their post-conflict bilateral relations. More importantly, Germany initiated the call. There is, thus, a possibility of Germany resuming gas supplies from Russia. Indeed, both leaders discussed the possibility of “cooperation” on energy trade.
In Washington, the fear is that this one call is going to encourage other European leaders to pick up their phones and talk to Vladimir Putin. It means Washington will lose control of the situation. These people in Washington do not want to let that happen; hence, a key geopolitical reason to escalate the conflict is to scuttle the end gam, which is very much on the horizon already.
Salman Rafi Sheikh is a research analyst of International Relations and Pakistan’s foreign and domestic affairs.
NATO discussing ceasefire move for Ukraine – Bloomberg
RT | December 5, 2024
Ukraine’s Western backers are shifting from attempting to push for a military victory against Russia towards trying to help Kiev achieve the best position to negotiate a ceasefire, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The report comes as Russian forces advance in Donbass at a rate unseen since 2022, while recapturing ground from Ukrainian forces entrenched in Russia’s Kursk Region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “has shown no willingness to discuss a ceasefire,” and with US President-elect Donald Trump less than two months away from taking office, Kiev’s NATO allies are attempting to steel themselves “as morale starts to fade,” Bloomberg wrote.
While Trump’s plan for Ukraine is unclear, he was elected on promises of curtailing American spending on the conflict and focusing on internal US issues.
Gathering in Brussels this week, foreign ministers from NATO nations discussed how to supply Kiev with more weapons, anonymous sources told Bloomberg, noting that any plans are still private and incomplete. They have also reportedly begun to look at different ways to end the conflict, including discussing which security guarantees could protect Ukraine without antagonizing Putin.
“Those discussions come amid recognition that the situation in Ukraine is unsustainable and negotiations should begin soon,” Bloomberg reported, citing a senior Western diplomat.
One idea floated was to create a demilitarized zone, with European troops responsible for its security, the outlet cited a senior NATO diplomat as saying.
Additionally, even if the US maintains course on future military aid, contrary to Trump’s reelection campaign rhetoric, mounting losses will force Ukraine into talks by next year, Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at Rand, told Bloomberg.
“Ukraine lacks the manpower to stop the Russian offensive, and the West has little left to give in terms of existing stocks of weapons,” he said.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky previously insisted that Kiev is not interested in joining NATO if it excludes Russian territories that were part of Ukraine before 2014.
However, Zelensky told Kyodo News on Monday that Kiev could agree to a ceasefire with Moscow without these territories if NATO membership is guaranteed.
Ukraine’s aim of joining the US-led military bloc has been underscored by Putin as one of the core reasons for the conflict. Russia’s terms are that Ukraine adopt a neutral, non-bloc status, remain free of nuclear weapons, demilitarize and undergo denazification, the Russian leader has said.
Fatigued Ukrainian troops ordered to stay in Russia’s Kursk region until Trump’s inauguration
By Ahmed Adel | December 5, 2024
With no glimpse of victory in sight, Ukraine has ordered its forces to remain in Russia’s Kursk region until the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, the BBC reported on December 2, citing Ukrainian military personnel on the ground. The same report also quoted Ukrainian soldiers as having never seen North Koreans on the battlefield, contradicting Pentagon and Western media reports that 10,000 troops from the Asian country were being deployed to Kursk.
Ukrainian soldiers stationed in the Kursk region speak of terrible weather conditions and chronic lack of sleep caused by Russia’s constant bombardment with 3,000 kg glide bombs. For Ukrainian troops, staying in the region is becoming more difficult every day.
According to the BBC, Ukraine has already lost around 40% of the territories in the region it occupied in early August 2024, with Russian forces gradually retaking occupied territory.
“This trend will continue. It’s only a matter of time,” said one of the Ukrainian soldiers interviewed, who used the call name Pavlo.
He also spoke of the low rotation, with middle-aged soldiers who arrive in the region being redeployed from other parts of the front line without time to rest.
According to the article, the Ukrainian command hopes to keep troops in the Russian region until January 20, 2025, the date of Trump’s inauguration and the new administration’s arrival with its different ideas and plans to the outgoing Democrats.
“The main task facing us is to hold the maximum territory until Trump’s inauguration and the start of negotiations. In order to exchange it for something later. No-one knows what,” Pavlo said.
According to the BBC, even the use of long-range missiles recently authorized by US President Joe Biden is not helping Ukrainian troops turn the tide on the battlefield. In fact, the soldiers do not really care about the use of Western weapons against Russian territory far from the conflict zone.
“No-one sits in a cold trench and prays for missiles. We live and fight here and now. And missiles fly somewhere else,” Pavlo said.
Another soldier, using the call name Myroslav, said, “We don’t talk about missiles. In the bunkers we talk about family and rotation. About simple things.”
The Ukrainian soldiers stuck in Kursk say staying in the Russian region is wrong when territories in Donbass are being lost daily.
“Our place should have been there [in eastern Ukraine], not here in someone else’s land,” Pavlo said. “We don’t need these Kursk forests, in which we left so many comrades.”
Myroslav, a marine officer who served in Krynky and is now in Kursk, described the operation as having a “Media effect, but no military results.”
Ukrainian soldiers speaking to the BBC also revealed that they had never heard or seen any North Korean military personnel deployed in the Kursk region, which was widely reported in Western media, citing the Pentagon.
“I haven’t seen or heard anything about Koreans, alive or dead,” Vadym, another Ukrainian soldier stuck in Kursk, responded when asked about the reports of 10,000 North Korean troops being deployed to the region.
Ukrainian soldiers have been ordered to capture at least one North Korean prisoner, preferably with documents, on the promise of being provided drones or granted extra leave.
“It’s very difficult to find a Korean in the dark Kursk forest,” Pavlo noted sarcastically. “Especially if he’s not here.”
A day after the BBC report, CNN cited Oleksandr, a unit commander with the 225th assault battalion, as saying that he had not seen any sign of North Korean troops.
“When we catch them or see a body,” he said, “then I’ll know for sure that they’re here.”
Oleksandr said his unit had not slept for three days or left the frontline for eight months despite previously being involved in ferocious combat in the Ukrainian cities of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Chasiv Yar.
Yet, he, just like the other soldiers cited by the BBC, is expected to remain in Kursk for many more months in the false belief that holding onto Russian territory will lead to more favourable terms when peace negotiations inevitably begin at some point next year.
Ukrainian officials have admitted that Russian forces have liberated 40% of the territory they took in August. With snow, rain, and freezing temperatures expected in Kursk in the coming weeks, the situation is becoming untenable for the besieged Ukrainian soldiers, which will lead to Russia liberating the remaining occupied territory at a rapid pace. Unfortunately for the Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk, remaining in the region until Trump’s inauguration will just lead to the same outcome – defeat.
Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.
Kenya Temporarily Suspends Diplomatic Immunity for Gates Foundation
By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. | The Defender | December 2, 2024
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation no longer has diplomatic immunity and privileges in Kenya, at least for now. Kenya’s High Court suspended the immunity after the Law Society of Kenya filed a legal challenge against the government.
The Kenyan government in October recognized the Gates Foundation and its employees as a charitable trust with special rights in Kenya, under the Privileges and Immunities Act. The new status exempted the foundation and its employees in Kenya from legal action for acts performed in Kenya as part of official duties.
However, the Nov. 25 ruling by Justice Bahati Mwamuye suspends the immunity until at least Feb. 5, 2025, when a court will “review progress and set a hearing date for oral submissions on the petition.”
The ruling also requires all defendants, including Kenya’s minister of foreign affairs and the State Law Office, “to collect, preserve, and compile all documentation regarding the privileges granted to the Gates Foundation, including details of the cooperation agreement,” under threat of legal consequences for non-compliance.
The Gates Foundation and the Kenyan government have until Dec. 10 to respond, Eastleigh Voice reported.
The diplomatic privileges allowed the Gates Foundation “to engage in contracts, legal actions, and property transactions within the country” and granted the foundation “tax exemptions and immunity from legal actions related to their official duties,” leaving many Kenyans “with raised eyebrows,” Kenyans.co.ke reported.
In its legal challenge, the Law Society of Kenya said the immunity “undermines public interest and constitutional principles” and argued that the government’s decision should be declared null and void.
Gates ‘holds governments ransom’
Dr. David Bell, a public health physician and senior scholar at the Brownstone Institute, said the High Court’s suspension “shows the Kenyan system is functioning as it should.”
“From the point of view of the average Kenyan citizen, granting immunity to a large collection of foreigners working for a private foundation … with financial interests in the drugs they are being told to take should be really alarming,” Bell said.
Shabnam Palesa Mohamed, executive director of Children’s Health Defense Africa and founder of the health advocacy organization Transformative Health Justice, said Gates “operates from a position of immense financial wealth and thus political clout. Through using mechanisms of the carrot (funding) and the stick (withdrawal of funding), he holds governments ransom.”
Mohamed called the Kenyan government’s decision to offer the Gates Foundation immunity “horrifying” and said it shows “our governments are captured.”
She added:
“The negative consequences of this shocking decision are far-reaching. They include the erosion of accountability, unequal treatment in the law, damage to national sovereignty, the mockery of public transparency and participation.”
Tim Hinchliffe, editor of The Sociable, said he believes Gates’ efforts to attain diplomatic immunity in countries like Kenya are connected to a profit motive.
“Wherever Gates goes, he stuffs his pockets under the guise of philanthropy while he sits back and collects his returns on investment, no matter the outcome,” Hinchliffe said.
“When you have that much wealth and power — when you have an organization that contributes more to the annual WHO [World Health Organization] budget than most nation-states — then you can buy your way into anything you want, including diplomatic immunity,” Hinchliffe said. “But, that immunity can only last so long.”
For other experts, Gates’ drive to attain diplomatic immunity is an effort to shield himself from legal consequences for his actions and those of the Gates Foundation.
Dr. Meryl Nass, founder of Door to Freedom, told The Defender, “It should be assumed that no one entity would seek such immunity unless they thought they might be at risk of legal penalties.”
Nass added:
“Gates has been charged with many crimes, including for monopolistic business practices, for conducting a clinical trial involving girls in India that was associated with child deaths and lack of informed consent. He has certainly been accused of false advertising of agricultural products in India and Africa.”
Francis Boyle, J.D., Ph.D., professor of international law at the University of Illinois, said, “It is pretty bizarre that they gave Gates privileges and immunities under their domestic legislation in the first place. Obviously, this was an attempt by Gates to shield himself and his accomplices from criminal prosecution and civil liability in Kenya.”
Gates is currently facing a lawsuit in The Netherlands filed by seven COVID-19 vaccine injury victims, and faces legal challenges in at least one other country, India, for damages connected to the vaccines.
Gates immunity in Kenya sets ‘a dangerous precedent’
The Gates Foundation previously defended the Kenyan government’s decision to grant it diplomatic immunity, stating that the foundation operates “according to the typical agreements Kenya makes with other foundations and nonprofits.”
Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi also defended the decision, describing it as a routine diplomatic practice and noting the foundation’s growing presence in Kenya — including the establishment earlier this month of a sub-regional office in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
“The office will expand and enhance the Foundation’s work in healthcare, agriculture and ICT [information and communication technology] in Kenya,” Tuko reported.
However, according to Capital FM, “The decision to extend diplomatic immunity has sparked widespread debate over accountability. Critics argue that the privileges shield the Foundation from legal scrutiny, setting a dangerous precedent.”
Mohamed told The Defender that granting immunity to Gates in Kenya creates diplomatic and economic pressures on other African countries to offer similar legal exemptions. She said:
“Given Gates’ influence and the reach of his philanthropic initiatives across the continent, neighboring countries might feel compelled to follow Kenya’s lead to attract or retain Gates’ investments and programs, particularly in health, education, and agriculture. This could lead to a domino effect, where more African nations feel obligated to grant immunity.
“This will undermine the autonomy of African countries over their legal systems and create a tier of foreign actors operating outside the jurisdiction of local laws, weakening governance and setting a precedent where exemptions are granted based on wealth or influence, rather than merit or need, posing risks to legal sovereignty and equitable governance across the continent.”
Catherine Austin Fitts, founder and publisher of the Solari Report and former U.S. assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said the immunity granted to the Gates Foundation is part of an ongoing trend in which major international organizations are granted such privileges.
“Ever since we created a central bank with sovereign immunity in 1930 — the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) — we have seen the steady creation of international organizations that enjoy sovereign immunity, as well as international treaties that subvert national and local law,” Fitts said. “Not surprisingly this has been followed by the steady erosion of the rule of law and centralization of ownership and wealth … allowing a handful of elites to make war on the population and take assets.”
In the case of the Gates Foundation, Fitts said she believes “granting diplomatic immunity to the Gates Foundation lowers the cost of the foundation prototyping complete control with digital ID while reducing their population with vaccines.”
According to a 2022 investigation by Corey Lynn, “The U.S. has given 76 public international organizations immunities, privileges, and tax exemptions dating back to 1946, just 10 years after BIS expanded its immunities with the Hague Convention of 1936.”
An organization that enjoys such immunity is Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance — an international public-private partnership promoting vaccination, established in 1999 by the Gates Foundation. The foundation holds one of the four permanent seats on Gavi’s board and heavily funds the organization to this day.
According to Lynn, “Almost immediately after World War II, Congress passed the International Organizations Immunities Act, which was signed into law on December 29, 1945. This established immunities, privileges, and tax exemptions for international organizations that might not be considered international organizations under the rules of international laws.”
Gates’ involvement in Africa involves vaccines, agriculture, digital ID
Gates’ massive investment in Africa includes involvement in sectors such as agriculture, public health and more recently, digital IDs in Kenya.
In October, Business Daily Africa reported that the Gates Foundation will advise Kenya on the rollout of Maisha Namba, a new digital ID system. According to Reclaim the Net, “The plan envisages every newborn being assigned a Maisha Namba, which stays with them throughout their life.”
Many of the Gates Foundation’s investments in African agriculture are funded through the Nairobi-based AGRA, previously known as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. The foundation is AGRA’s co-founder and biggest donor.
Gates/AGRA’s practices have been criticized by human rights and environmental groups — and by some African farmers, who accused the Gates Foundation of “playing God” and using “its enormous political and monetary influence to crowd out alternative ideas.” Research has shown that AGRA-supported initiatives have failed, sometimes leading to increased hunger.
The Gates Foundation’s activities in Africa also include the development and distribution of vaccines, a program to implement mass circumcision in Swaziland and Zambia to curb the transmission of HIV and the “Target Malaria” project, which has proposed ending malaria by introducing genetically modified, or GMO mosquitoes.
According to Mohamed, “The Gates Foundation funds university programs and, in doing so, influences the policies and the programs’ direction.” The Gates Foundation and the European Union have invested over $100 million to establish an African drugs regulator.
Addressing opposition to Gates’ plans in Kenya, Hinchliffe said, “As we have seen time and again, when the people begin to wake up and rise up against injustice, that type of diplomatic immunity begins to disappear rather quickly.”
“If the Gates Foundation is granted immunity again, to me, that would be a red flag of massive corruption.”
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.
Cost of switching off UK wind farms soars to ‘absurd’ £1bn
By Paul Homewood | Not A Lot Of People Know That | December 3, 2024
Cost of switching off UK wind farms soars to ‘absurd’ £1bn
British bill payers have spent an “absurd” £1bn to temporarily switch off wind turbines so far this year as the grid struggles to cope with their power.
The amount of wind power “curtailed” in the first 11 months of 2024 stood at about 6.6 terawatt hours (TWh), according to official figures, up from 3.8 TWh in the whole of last year.
Curtailment is where wind turbines are paid to switch off at times of high winds to stop a surge in power overwhelming the grid. Households and businesses pay for the cost of this policy through their bills.
The cost of switching off has reached about £1bn so far this year, according to analysis of market data by Octopus Energy which was first reported by Bloomberg. This is more than the £779m spent last year and £945m spent in 2022.
The jump in curtailment follows the opening of more wind farms at a time when the country still lacks the infrastructure needed to transport all the electricity they generate at busy times.
The real problem currently is the lack of transmission capacity between Scotland and the South, where demand is. But that is ignoring the real issue, which is that we should never have built wind farms in remote places where there is no demand in the first place. And the cost of new transmission capacity should have been built into the business case before construction went ahead. If that had been done, wind farms in such places would never have been viable.
The Grid of course are now planning to spend over £100 million on upgrading the transmission network, but the real problem going forward is that there will huge amounts of surplus wind power once Miliband has quadrupled wind power capacity. As the Telegraph notes:
According to the National Energy System Operator (Neso), curtailment costs are on course to surge to £6bn by 2030 if the status quo continues
Most Western firms stayed in Russia – Putin
RT | December 4, 2024
Russia has never pressured foreign companies to leave the country amid Western sanctions and the vast majority have stayed, President Vladimir Putin stated on Wednesday at the Russia Calling! forum in Moscow.
Putin noted that despite political pressure from their governments, many companies from the US and Western Europe continue to operate in Russia.
“We never pressured anyone to leave our market,” Putin said. “Half of those firms continue to operate in the country as they did before [sanctions]. Some have transferred operations to local management under their control, and only about a quarter [of such firms] have left or are in the process of leaving the country’s economy,” he added.
According to the president, breaking with Russia has played a major role in the economic problems that the EU countries are currently facing. In particular, this is due to the loss of stable Russian energy supplies at reasonable prices, as well as the opportunity to sell their products and supply components to the Russian market, and to use logistics routes, he explained.
The EU also lost the opportunity to use its currency for settlements, which significantly cuts into profits in the bloc’s economy, Putin added.
Western plot to damage Russian economy has failed – PutinREAD MORE: Western plot to damage Russian economy has failed – Putin
“In particular, large companies [in the EU] are closing… others are suffering losses. Glass, chemical, fertilizer production, and agriculture are suffering serious losses because… they have lost the Russian market,” he pointed out.
Putin emphasized that Germany’s economy in particular has suffered the biggest blow due to sanctions imposed on Russia. “Entire enterprises are closing” due to the loss of Russian energy and raw materials, affecting the country’s most important sector of the economy – the automobile industry, according to the Russian president.
Putin said many Western countries have shown themselves as “unreliable partners,” pointing out that many businesses and entire industries in Russia faced serious challenges due to sanctions and the exit of foreign firms.
Despite this, “our doors are always open,” the president told attendees at the forum.
‘Last shelters’ emptied at gunpoint in Gaza’s Beit Lahia as Israel displaces thousands
The Cradle | December 4, 2024
Israeli troops forcibly displaced thousands of Palestinian civilians from the last shelters in Gaza’s northern city of Beit Lahia on 4 December, as Tel Aviv continues its brutal extermination and expulsion campaign across the strip’s north.
“Occupation forces force displaced people to evacuate the last shelters in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip. The occupation army ordered the evacuation of shelters via loudspeakers in quadcopter aircraft in Beit Lahia,” said Palestinian journalist Anas al-Sharif.
The evacuations are being ordered “under the threat of arms,” he added. Images on social media showed scores of displaced residents fleeing their shelters.
According to Gaza journalist Hossam Shabat, over 6,000 Palestinians have been displaced from schools in Beit Lahia, and have reached the Civil Administration checkpoint.
The Israeli army has stepped up its violent attacks on the area in order to put pressure on civilians to evacuate.
“Airstrikes, artillery shelling, and drones target homes and any citizen moving in the streets of Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip. An Israeli drone is also calling out via loudspeakers to the displaced people inside the shelter schools in Beit Lahia, asking them to leave the schools. The situation in the area is escalating amid the occupation’s attempts to impose more pressure on civilians,” said RT correspondent Saed Swerki.
Israeli forces also committed massacres across Gaza on 4 December. At least five, among them several children, were killed in an Israeli drone strike on central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp.
Eighteen Palestinians, including children and women, have been killed in Israeli bombing across the Gaza Strip since dawn on Wednesday, according to medical sources cited by WAFA news agency.
Overnight, Beit Lahia was subjected to exceptionally violent attacks and forced displacement.
Israeli forces planted and detonated mines and explosive barrels between buildings in an attempt to forcibly expel what remains of northern Gaza.
Gaza’s Civil Defense described Beit Lahia as “uninhabitable” and declared that 60,000 Palestinians are at risk of death.
At least 100,000 Palestinians have been displaced from north Gaza as part of Israel’s unofficial implementation of the Generals’ Plan, which aims to kill or expel all the remaining residents of the northern strip and transform the area into an isolated military zone.
US House speaker rules out more Ukraine aid
RT | December 4, 2024
The US House of Representatives will not consider President Joe Biden’s request to include $24 billion in additional aid to Ukraine in a continuing government funding bill, Speaker Mike Johnson has said.
In the absence of a formal budget, the US government has been funded through “continuing resolutions” that Congress needs to approve periodically. The White House has requested the $24 billion as part of the last such piece of legislation the House would need to adopt before adjourning for Christmas holidays.
“I’m not planning to that,” Johnson said on Wednesday, at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now.”
The Louisiana Republican reminded reporters that he had predicted Donald Trump’s election would change the dynamics of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and make further US funding unnecessary, adding that this is precisely what’s been happening in recent weeks.
“We have a newly-elected president and we’re going to wait and take the new commander-in-chief’s direction on all of that,” Johnson said. “So I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now.”
Since February 2022, the US Congress has approved more than $174 billion to prop up Ukraine in its ongoing military conflict with Russia. The latest batch of funding, amounting to $61 billion, was held up for several months amid a battle between Johnson and the White House.
The previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted last October because a group of Republicans was outraged he had secretly negotiated with Democrats to get the Ukraine funding approved. The funding ended up stuck in Congress for almost six months, before it was approved in both the Senate and the House in April, with no concessions to the GOP.
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Book Review
Book review: Boiling Point, How America Brought War to Ukraine
By Tim Kirby | Strategic Culture Foundation | November 14, 2026
Did Vladimir Putin just wake up one day on the wrong side of the bed and decide to invade Ukraine in February of 2022 or is there a lot more to this single decision that has been reshaping the 21st century geopolitical landscape?
Obviously, from the way that I just posed the question you can see that I am on the side that views the causes for the war in Ukraine to be very deep, long-term, historical and consciously nefarious, and most importantly, not from within the halls of the Kremlin. So it was a pleasure to take a look at the book “Boiling Point, How America Brought War to Ukraine” by author Stephen Kinzer, who like myself, also believes that the real reasons behind military conflicts around the world are not what CNN and the BBC have been telling you. The main thesis of this book was stated clearly by its creator; the war “may have been illegal, but it was definitely not unprovoked.” … continue
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