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A $1.5 Trillion Military Budget is a Gift to the Grifters

By Ron Paul | May 11, 2026

Last week “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth insulted Americans by claiming that a 50 percent increase in the US military budget – from an incomprehensible one trillion dollars to an impossible one and a half trillion – was a “fiscally responsible investment.”

“Thanks to President Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget, this War Department has moved from bureaucracy to business,” he said last Thursday.

In a way he was right, though. The huge increase is much more about “business” than what is needed to protect the United States from potential invasion.

But it isn’t the kind of “business” that most supporters of free markets would applaud. On the contrary, this is the business of transferring massive amounts of wealth from the struggling middle and working classes to the well-connected Beltway elite based on lies and scare tactics.

The US mainstream media is crucial in manufacturing the fairy tale that if we don’t mortgage our children’s and grandchildren’s future to finance this obscene military budget, we will be attacked or invaded by some evil foreign power.

It’s not difficult to do a little research and see why the mainstream – and even some “independent” – media outlets push these scare tactics: they are owned or funded by giant corporations with close ties to military contractors.

This unhealthy relationship is known as “corporatism” – the intermingling of pseudo-private companies with the government. It is the precursor to actual fascism, where the government takes a stake in such companies.
We’re getting there faster than most Americans understand.

The whole scam is not about protecting the citizens of the United States. It’s about protecting the US empire overseas, which actually harms the citizens of the United States.

Yes, they rob us to fund their empire and lie to us that it keeps us safe. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our constant military interventions on virtually every continent of the globe only build resentment among the rest of the world’s population. Anyone who thinks people overseas welcome US bombs has been watching too much Fox News or reading too much Washington Post.

And what do we get for the most expensive military on earth – larger than the combined militaries of the next dozen or so countries? Not much. Iran’s military budget is less than one percent of ours, yet Iran destroyed or disabled every US military base in the Middle East.

It turns out that Iran has destroyed dozens of multi-million dollar US spy drones – and several near-billion dollar spy radar stations – with their own drones costing mere thousands of dollars each.

The US surprise attack was supposed to make Iran cower and beg for mercy, but it did the opposite: it showed that despite the trillions extorted from Americans for the most expensive military on earth, the US military can no longer win the wars that US presidents illegally force them into fighting.

The US military continues to fight World War II – with massively expensive aircraft carriers that do not dare get close to combat – while warfighting has evolved into something entirely different.

The only good thing about the Iran war is that it demonstrates how much the special interests have lied to us about the need to continue our suicidal military spending increases.

It was never about protecting the United States. It is about protecting the ever-growing bank accounts of the special interests at the expense of the rest of us. It needs to stop. Now.

May 12, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Militarism | | Comments Off on A $1.5 Trillion Military Budget is a Gift to the Grifters

Nearly $22 billion secretly shipped to Ukraine – Austrian politician

RT | May 11, 2026

A right-wing Austrian politician has demanded that the country’s Finance Ministry explain how nearly $22 billion in cash and gold was shipped to Ukraine from Austria since 2022 without triggering concerns about money laundering or regulatory oversight.

In a statement published on Sunday, Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) Secretary General Christian Hafenecker called out what he described as Vienna’s “two-class justice system” for overlooking massive payments to Kiev, while keeping a tight hold on taxpayers’ purse strings.

“We’re not talking about play money here: 1,030 registered cash and gold shipments, around €12 billion ($14 billion) plus $7.75 billion, physically transported over 1,300 kilometers into the war zone,” Hafenecker said.

“And the responsible finance minister simply tells me… ‘We know nothing, we’re not investigating anything, we haven’t collected any information.’ That’s not an answer, that’s dereliction of duty,” he added.

By comparison, Austrian money laundering rules require a private citizen withdrawing as little as €12,000 from an inherited account to prove the origin of the funds, and any person crossing the EU’s external border with more than €10,000 in cash must declare it, Hafenecker said. “This is a two-class justice system in finance.”

The politician demanded full disclosure on all cash shipments from Austria to Ukraine since the escalation of the conflict, a full audit by the country’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority, and a report by the Austrian Money Laundering Reporting Office in parliament.

Earlier this year, the Euroskeptic FPO party demanded that Vienna cut all financial aid to Ukraine, denouncing the country as a corrupt “bottomless pit,” following a wave of high-level embezzlement scandals in Kiev.

Major probes by Ukraine’s Western-backed anti-graft agencies have implicated senior officials in Vladimir Zelensky’s government since last year. Two ministers and the Ukrainian leader’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, stepped down following the massive scandal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has slammed the current leadership in Kiev, calling it a “criminal gang” sitting on “golden potties,” and interested far more in personal enrichment than in the fate of ordinary Ukrainians.

May 11, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Deception | , | Comments Off on Nearly $22 billion secretly shipped to Ukraine – Austrian politician

‘Operation Fauxios’: Axios, Israeli spy, and $2 billion oil scam to prop up Trump

Press TV – May 8, 2026

Unknown traders placed nearly $920 million in short positions on crude oil on May 6, just minutes before Axios published a report saying Washington and Tehran were nearing a deal to end their two-month war, according to data from Unusual Whales, a trading surveillance platform that monitors unusual market activity.

The Axios report, written by Barak Ravid—a journalist with close ties to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump—said the one-page memorandum would end the war.

Ravid is a former member of Israel’s elite Unit 8200 intelligence corps. His reporting consistently relies on “unnamed US officials” and has been described as “basically representing the American voice”.

The concern extends beyond journalistic accuracy to potential market manipulation. Each Axios report has been preceded by massive, suspiciously timed trades betting on falling oil prices.

Axios has reported on five separate occasions within a 19-day span that a deal with Iran was “close” or “imminent” — yet no agreement has materialized.

Brent crude prices fell more than 10 percent following the report, from 108 to 97 per barrel, before recovering somewhat to 102 by market close.

Based on that price drop, the unidentified traders would have earned roughly 125 million in profits. The short positions were placed approximately 70 minutes before the Axios story was published, according to Unusual Whales, which shared details on social media platform X.

This is not the first time large bets have preceded major news on US-Iran negotiations. Similar massive positions were identified ahead of previous Axios reports on alleged progress in talks, including a $950 million short position on oil placed on April 8.

Crude prices fell 15 percent after that report. The White House issued an internal staff-wide email that same day warning employees against using confidential information to place trades.

Oil prices have soared since the US-Israeli aggression against Iran began on February 28, coinciding with Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that typically facilitates about 20 percent of the world’s oil trade.

Iranian officials have pushed back against the Axios report.

“The Axios text is the Americans’ wish list rather than a reality,” Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s foreign policy and national security committee, said on social media.

“The Americans will not obtain through a failed war what they failed to gain in previous negotiations.”

Despite Tehran’s denial, Trump cited the Axios report on Wednesday to claim that the US and Iran had had “good talks over the last 24 hours” and expressed confidence that a deal would be reached soon.

Traders with privileged information have also used the prediction market platform Polymarket to profit from US foreign policy moves, according to a report by the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC).

The report found that 52 percent of “long-shot” wagers predicting military action on Polymarket were successful, compared with 25 percent of politics-related bets and 14 percent of all bets on the platform.

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, serves as an advisor to Polymarket, having taken the role in 2025. His firm has invested millions in the company.

The evidence suggests a recurring pattern: Axios publishes “deal imminent” reports citing unnamed US officials, Iranian officials publicly deny any agreement, oil prices temporarily fall, and unidentified traders profit from well-timed short positions, reflecting intentional coordination.

Iranian media has dubbed the pattern “Operation Fauxios” — a play on Axios’ name — suggesting coordinated efforts between the news outlet and unidentified traders to profit from market volatility.

Observers say false claims also serve to drive down oil prices, a key political objective for Trump who faces domestic pressure over high energy costs, offering political cover during an unpopular war.

May 8, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Deception | , | Comments Off on ‘Operation Fauxios’: Axios, Israeli spy, and $2 billion oil scam to prop up Trump

NATO courts screenwriters to embed alliance messaging in film, TV

Al-Mayadeen | May 3, 2026

NATO has been quietly holding closed-door meetings with film and television writers, directors, and producers across Europe and the United States, in what critics are denouncing as a coordinated effort to embed the military alliance’s messaging into mainstream entertainment.

According to The Guardian, the initiative has already spanned sessions in Los Angeles, Brussels, and Paris, with a fourth meeting planned for London next month, where NATO officials are set to meet with members of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB).

The meetings, held under Chatham House rules, meaning participants may use information discussed but are not permitted to identify other attendees, focus on what organizers describe as the “evolving security situation in Europe and beyond.”

A WGGB email reviewed by The Guardian indicated that three separate projects are already in development that were “inspired, at least in part,” by those conversations.

James Appathurai, a former NATO spokesperson now serving as the alliance’s deputy assistant secretary general for hybrid, cyber and new technology, is expected to attend the London session alongside other officials.

In language that alarmed many recipients, the invitation suggested that “even if something so simple,” as NATO’s core message of cooperation and collective security, “finds its way into a future story, that will be enough.”

‘Clearly propaganda’

NATO’s outreach has drawn sharp criticism from within the creative community. Irish screenwriter Alan O’Gorman, whose film Christy won best film at the 2026 Irish Film and Television Awards, called the initiative “outrageous” and “clearly propaganda,” telling The Guardian that many writers come from countries that have “suffered under wars that NATO has joined and propagated.”

O’Gorman said those invited were “pretty offended that art would be used in a way that was supporting war,” and framed the meetings as part of a broader effort to cultivate pro-NATO sentiment in light of fearmongering across European media about weakened defenses.

Screenwriter and producer Faisal A. Qureshi, who applied to attend one session before a scheduling conflict prevented him, raised more structural concerns. He warned that the “risk for any creative who dips into this unattributable world of intelligence or military briefings is that they can get seduced into thinking they now have some secret knowledge,” one that normalizes moral compromise in the name of the greater good.

Qureshi questioned whether writers given such privileged access would genuinely “challenge or interrogate” the information fed to them, or simply absorb it.

A pattern of cultural lobbying

The London meeting is not an isolated effort. In 2024, eight prominent Hollywood screenwriters, including a writer and executive producer on Friends and a producer on High Potential, were flown to NATO headquarters in Brussels, where they met then-Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The trip was organized by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The initiative also mirrors recommendations from the Centre for European Reform, which earlier this year called on governments to directly engage cultural figures, including screenwriters and producers, to build public support for rising defense budgets and “better tell the story” of why military investment is necessary.

NATO, for its part, framed the sessions as demand-driven, saying the meetings “follow from interest expressed by members of the industry to know more about what NATO is about and how it works.”

May 3, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, Mainstream Media, Warmongering | , , | Comments Off on NATO courts screenwriters to embed alliance messaging in film, TV

Leaked audios reveal pro-Israel groups ‘paid’ for US pardon of convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernandez

The Cradle | April 30, 2026

WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram audio messages published by Canal RED and Hondurasgate on 29 April reveal pro-Israel groups “paid” for the release of former Honduran president and convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) from US federal prison last year.

“The pardon money … came from a board of rabbis and people who supported Israel, and they had previously supported Yani Rosenthal,” JOH is heard saying in the leaked audios.

Yani Rosenthal is the former president of the right-wing Liberal Party of Honduras. He was convicted in December 2017 of laundering drug proceeds for a prominent Honduran drug cartel.

In 2024, JOH was convicted in a US federal court of three counts of drug trafficking and weapons conspiracy and received a 45-year prison sentence. He was also found guilty of receiving money from the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquin Archivaldo “El Chapo” Guzman, to finance electoral fraud.

JOH was pardoned late last year by US President Donald Trump, who called the DEA investigation into Hernández a “Biden administration set up.” Trump announced the pardon hours before Honduras’s presidential elections.

In that same social media post, Trump endorsed the current President Nasry “Tito” Asfura and threatened to cut aid to Honduras if he was not elected.

“The Prime Minister of Israel is going to give us his support. They had everything to do with my departure and negotiations,” JOH says in one of the audios released on Wednesday.

According to Canal RED, the leaked audios show that Trump’s pardon for JOH “was secured through intense lobbying led by Roger Stone and the Republican caucus … with the support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

The audios also suggest that Hernandez’s return to Honduras and his upcoming presidential run are being financed by Israel.

“Mr. President, I’m here asking about my case, if there’s any resolution, if you have anything to share with me to see if there’s been any progress with the Supreme Court. I want to believe that you won’t sideline me because, thanks to me, you’re sitting in that chair … And I hope for your support. Because that’s what we discussed with President Trump,” JOH tells President Asfura in one of the leaked audios.

According to the report, Trump and Netanyahu are “seeking millions in compensation” in exchange for securing Asfura’s election and JOH’s possible reelection.

“The negotiations at the Florida residence included the expansion of Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDEs), the construction of a new military base, a free trade agreement, and a law to incentivize investment in AI, whose contracts would be awarded directly to private American companies such as General Electric,” Canal RED reports.

ZEDEs, or “private states”/’model cities,” permit autonomous courts and foreign legal systems in Honduras, which civil groups say surrender sovereignty.

Additionally, a second set of leaked audios released on Thursday involving JOH, Asfura, and Honduran Vice President Maria Antonieta Mejia indicates the formation of a news outlet funded with more than half a million dollars in Honduran public funds, along with contributions from Javier Milei’s government in Argentina, aimed at ‘attacking’ the left-wing governments of Gustavo Petro in Colombia and Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico.

May 1, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Deception | , , , | Comments Off on Leaked audios reveal pro-Israel groups ‘paid’ for US pardon of convicted drug trafficker Juan Orlando Hernandez

Zelensky’s favorite drone company at center of Ukrainian corruption alert

RT | April 30, 2026

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry must cut its ties with a drone maker touted globally by Vladimir Zelensky and linked to fugitive businessman Timur Mindich, his longtime associate, the ministry’s Public Anti-Corruption Council (PAC Council) has said.

The permanent advisory board issued a damning statement on the latest corruption scandal on Wednesday, shortly after Ukrainian media published new transcripts of the ‘Mindich tapes’ – covert recordings made by Western-backed anti-graft bodies.

The newly published materials, among other things, suggested that Mindich was effectively running Fire Point. The transcripts are reportedly of a conversation between the businessman and then Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who currently heads Ukraine’s National Security Council.

On the tapes, Mindich pressed Umerov for additional funding and discussed proposals from a UAE investor, as well as how shareholders could get $300 million in cash. Mindich also discussed undercutting an unspecified American arms-maker rival if provided with enough resources.

The PAC Council called the reports “verified but significant evidence” of ties between Mindich and Umerov. Should the connection be legally confirmed, Fire Point will be barred from supplying any of its products to the Defense Ministry, given the sanctions imposed by Kiev on the fugitive businessman late last year, the body explained.

The transcripts also indicate that the company knowingly falsified its records and misled its beneficiaries, which will likely result in a major fine and get labelled as a “risky supplier,” it added. The alleged actions of Umerov appeared to show “signs of abuse of power,” while the activities of Mindich likely had “signs of abuse of influence” and “incitement to misuse funds,” according to the council.

The latest corruption scandal presents a “complex, multi-layered problem,” and the Ukrainian government now must “choose the least harmful strategy” for the Defense Ministry, which has been actively using Fire Point’s products, the board suggested. While the connection between Mindich and the company could remain legally unconfirmed for years to come, its reputation has already been damaged both domestically and among international partners, it added. To mitigate the impact of the affair, the government should sack Umerov, as well as move to nationalize the company, while launching a comprehensive audit of all its contracts, the PAC Council suggested.

Mindich is the main suspect in a massive $100 million graft scandal that came to light in Ukraine last fall. The Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) alleged he had organized a crime ring to siphon money from the state nuclear operator Energoatom. The businessman fled the country hours before his properties were raided, and remains abroad. Ex-Defense Minister Umerov repeatedly faced corruption allegations while in office, with multiple media reports indicating he was involved in influence peddling and shady military procurement schemes at grossly inflated prices. Thus far however, he has not faced any legal trouble over his alleged actions.

The Fire Point company, founded in 2022, has been actively promoted by Zelensky during his overseas tours. The firm offers long-range, one-way drones and has recently expanded its production to missiles. The only fielded munition of the latter type, the FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile, has reportedly demonstrated extremely poor accuracy and high failure rates, and some experts have suggested its characteristics were grossly inflated by the manufacturer. Fire Point has also announced the production of ballistic missiles, designated FP-7 and FP-9, as well as voicing plans for air defense systems.

April 30, 2026 Posted by | Corruption | , | Comments Off on Zelensky’s favorite drone company at center of Ukrainian corruption alert

Sudan’s RSF leaders build Dubai property empire with UAE backing: Investigative group

Press TV – April 28, 2026

Leaders of Sudan’s so-called Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their network have amassed millions in luxury assets in Dubai, an investigation reveals, as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is accused of helping a financial lifeline for a militant group that committed genocide in the crisis-hit African country.

A detailed investigation by the Sentry, a US investigative group, showed that individuals tied to the RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, have accumulated more than 20 high-end properties in Dubai worth £17.7 million.

The report further exposed a sprawling “paramilitary-industrial complex” stretching across Africa and West Asia, with the UAE functioning as a critical hub for both wealth storage and financial operations linked to the militant group.

The probe by the Sentry maintained that the UAE acted as a “safe haven” for RSF leaders and their relatives, as well as for wealth derived from smuggled Sudanese gold.

After seizing Darfur’s largest gold mine back in 2017, Hemedti and his network reportedly leveraged UAE-based companies to convert illicit gold into hard currency, taking advantage of Dubai’s booming gold trade.

“In addition to arming the militia, the UAE allows the RSF to base part of its paramilitary-industrial complex in Dubai. Our investigation shows the Dagalo family has also found a safe haven for its wealth in the Emirates,” Nick Donovan, senior investigator at the Sentry, said.

Leaked real estate records also indicate that properties linked directly to the RSF network are worth about £7.4 million, while assets held by sanctioned associates add another £10.3 million to it. Among them are luxury six-bedroom villas near Dubai’s Meydan racecourse acquired through a UAE-registered firm – Prodigious Real Estate Management Supervision Services – tied to an individual sanctioned by the United States for supplying funding and military equipment to the RSF.

According to the probe, Dagalo family members clustered in these compounds, while Hemedti’s wife purchased land worth £627,000 in the vicinity of Trump International Golf Club six months into Sudan’s war.

Sanctioned RSF-linked figure Mustafa Ibrahim Abdel Nabi Mohamed is also reported to own a £516,000 apartment in Burj Khalifa.

The RSF – commanded by Hemedti and his sanctioned brothers – has been accused by both the United Nations and the US of atrocities amounting to genocide, including during an assault on El Fasher in the Darfur region.

Despite mounting evidence, the UAE, widely seen as the militant group’s chief foreign backer, “categorically rejects” claims that it has provided “weapons, funding, trainers or logistical support to the RSF.”

Citing a separate report last week, the Sentry also said that UAE-backed Colombian mercenaries played a decisive role in the fall of El Fasher.

Meanwhile, RSF-linked individuals deny any wrongdoing, insisting assets were legally obtained and commercial activities were legitimate, even as Sudan’s war drives what is now the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 33 million people of the country’s 50 million population needing aid and at least 19 million facing hunger.

The RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army over the past few years, currently controls large swathes of the country’s southwestern territories, including most of the region of Darfur.

The militants captured el-Fasher on October 26, 2025, with reports saying they massacred thousands of civilians who failed to flee the city.

A UN fact-finding mission found that RSF actions in el-Fasher show “hallmarks of genocide” against the Zaghawa and Fur ethnic communities.

Despite denials by the UAE, several reports have suggested that the Persian Gulf Arab country supports RSF militants in Sudan in a bid to get access to gold and secure control over Red Sea shipping lanes, as well as agricultural land.

April 28, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , | Comments Off on Sudan’s RSF leaders build Dubai property empire with UAE backing: Investigative group

West Bank is Defenseless – This is Why Israeli Settler Attacks Continue

Israel killed 14-year-old Aws al-Naasan, along with 32-year-old Jihad Abu Naim, who tried to help him. (Photos: via social media)
By Robert Inlakesh | Palestine Chronicle | April 24, 2026

A string of high-profile settler attacks on villages across the occupied West Bank is part of a trend of ever-escalating assaults aimed at ethnically cleansing the territory. These extremists, backed by the Israeli army, are emboldened by the refusal of the Palestinian Authority to act.

Earlier this week, an Israeli settler assault on a school in the village of al-Mughayyer, near Ramallah, resulted in the killing of a 14-year-old school boy, Aws al-Naasan, along with 32-year-old Jihad Abu Naim, who had attempted to come to the aid of the children who had been opened fire upon.

The incident caused an uproar, yet only a day later, another Palestinian man was executed by a settler in the village of Deir Dibwan, after which the Israeli military rounded up dozens of men and placed them under humiliating detention.

These assaults and ongoing series of pogroms, where settlers alongside their army comrades will burn down homes, businesses, and vehicles, are part of a larger effort aimed at ethnic cleansing.

Since October of 2023, at least 75 Palestinian villages and communities have been partially or completely ethnically cleansed, according to the latest statistics published by Israeli rights group B’tselem. Life in general has been greatly impacted throughout the occupied West Bank as a result of the ultra-emboldened settler violence problem.

However, there is a deeper-rooted issue at play here. There is nobody there to help protect or respond to these violent assaults and killing sprees, with the exception of the occasional lone-wolf operations carried out by individuals who grow frustrated with their predicament. Even these kinds of attacks have greatly decreased over the past year or so, however.

There were armed resistance groups that had independently formed in places like Jenin Refugee Camp and Nour al-Shams Refugee Camp, yet they have been largely crushed or driven into hiding for now.

The unescapable fact about how these groups were dismantled was the pernicious role of the corrupt Palestinian Authority, which worked to do Israel’s dirty work for it, even slaughtering Palestinians who dared to pick up arms and fight, including killing innocent bystanders, including children.

Instead of standing up to the illegal settler attacks that are driving tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes and the daily killings of civilians, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has doubled down on its collaborationist approach in support of the occupiers. Even arresting and then extraditing a 75-year-old Palestinian, Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, who was accused of attacking a Jewish restaurant in Paris back in 1982.

The priority of this PA is to protect Israeli interests as they enrich themselves, having completely thrown their national project into the dustbin in search of pleasing the West and Arab despots. Yet, some 30% of the West Bank population is employed by the PA, with another 18% finding employment amongst Israeli settlers and Israeli businesses.

If we consider now that up to 35% of the West Bank population is considered to be unemployed and that the Western NGOs have a major influence on the territory, also employing a considerable number of people, then it begins to become more understandable why the situation remains as it is. The majority of employed Palestinians work for the PA or their occupiers directly.

The PA is said to have around 60,000 men as part of their overall security apparatus, trained by the British, Jordanians, US, and others, yet they aren’t there to protect Palestinians; they are there as another layer of occupation. If you stand up to the PA, you will be arrested and tortured, perhaps even brutally killed in front of your family, like the famous dissident Nizar Banat.

Understanding this is key to comprehending why the territory’s people have been left so incredibly defenseless and why an Intifada has not yet occurred. If such an uprising is to begin, it will mean that it will be totally organic and completely outside the fold of the PA, perhaps even collapsing its corrupt system altogether.

Even on the international level, the Palestinian cause has only been used to drive the selfish interests of a small group of Palestinian elites, while completely abandoning the people’s project. Although many have endless critiques of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, the years under his rule of the PA couldn’t be more different from what the corrupted authority looks like today, it is a hollowed-out shell of what existed in the days of Arafat; although this was by no means perfect.

Unfortunately, the PA is now the main obstacle to Palestinians resisting the ethnic cleansing of the West Bank. It may be so that Gaza’s destruction was quicker and more brutal because it chose to fight, but if the West Bank had risen up, the Israelis would have been in a very tough position.

Unlike Gaza, the West Bank is saturated with Israeli settlers, and the price that they would pay in the event that a real resistance would emerge would be much more painful, which is precisely why the Israelis have gone to great lengths to strengthen their positions and prevent freedom of movement there to such an extent since October 2023.

To the Israelis, they see the West Bank as ‘Judea and Samaria’ – the Israeli biblical heartland – while the Gaza Strip is an afterthought. The senior Israeli leadership, from its PM Benjamin Netanyahu to the opposition leader Yair Lapid, is all in agreement on developing a “Greater Israel” that is currently attempting to expand further into Lebanon and Syria.

As for the fate of the West Bank, left completely defenseless, with a PA that is actively working for its occupier, it appears to be grim. These settler attacks are only going to accelerate and grow more violent. The only way that this will ever be forced to change is in the event of a mass uprising, because individual acts alone are not going to alter the current predicament.

Attempting to predict the future is a difficult task; however, with the ever-growing unemployment rate, alongside the overall decline in living standards and constant settler/occupation army violence against the civilian population, an uprising is only a matter of time away.

– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine.

April 24, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Comments Off on West Bank is Defenseless – This is Why Israeli Settler Attacks Continue

Israeli-backed armed gang kidnaps 25 Palestinians in Gaza’s Zeitoun neighbourhood

MEMO | April 22, 2026

An armed gang backed by Israel has reportedly kidnapped 25 Palestinians, including women and children, in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood.

In a statement issued yesterday, the “Deterrence” force, affiliated with the Palestinian resistance’s security forces, said that the gang attacked families in the Al-Dawla and Al-Sawafiri areas before abducting several people.

The statement added that these areas are effectively under Israeli army control, making it difficult to obtain accurate information about the identities or fate of those abducted.

The “Deterrence” force called for the formation of popular protection committees to confront what it described as “collaborating gangs”, stressing the need for coordinated community and tribal efforts alongside the security services.

The statement came a day after the “Deterrence” force said that it had carried out a field operation in Khan Younis targeting similar groups, resulting in deaths and injuries among their members.

Similar incidents have been reported in other parts of the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, including an attack by an armed group east of Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza. Eyewitnesses said that Israeli drones intervened to protect the group’s members, resulting in civilian casualties.

According Arabic sources, several armed gangs are operating in areas under Israeli control in the east, north and south of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli occupation has previously acknowledged supporting such groups, which openly declare hostility towards the resistance and vow to pursue its members.

Observers have warned that the expanding role of these gangs, alongside ongoing Israeli military operations, could lead to a further deterioration in security and deepen the humanitarian crisis facing residents of the Gaza Strip.

April 22, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Comments Off on Israeli-backed armed gang kidnaps 25 Palestinians in Gaza’s Zeitoun neighbourhood

An Open Letter To President Donald Trump (My Response) | Candace

Candace Owens – April 10, 2026

My response to Trump’s latest unhinged rant on Truth Social name dropping me.

April 15, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Video, Wars for Israel | , , , , | Comments Off on An Open Letter To President Donald Trump (My Response) | Candace

Arms industry given direct influence over university courses

By Martin WILLIAMS | Declassified UK | April 8, 2026 

Arms industry executives have been given direct influence over British university courses, Declassified can reveal.

BAE Systems, Leonardo, Thales and Rolls-Royce are among the firms who have been invited to sit on at least 53 university advisory committees across the country.

They are usually asked to provide “strategic direction” for academic departments – and sometimes also review the progress of research projects.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, Declassified found that at least 21 universities had asked arms companies to sit on their committees. They include the universities of Southampton, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, Cardiff, York and Queens University Belfast.

Some institutions boast that the setup allows them to “respond to the needs of employers”. The minutes of one committee meeting show that arms executives – along with officials from other companies – were thanked for “ensuring that our programmes fit industry requirements and demand”.

During a meeting at the University of Hull, an official from BAE Systems said they would “welcome applications” from students for “industrial placements”, adding that they would “like to develop the relationship”.

And a committee at the University of Cardiff discussed whether “industry” could “teach material to students,” noting that this would be “an appealing prospect for the School but would also offer good exposure for industry”.

They also agreed to meet with Rolls-Royce to discuss “research challenges”.

‘Disturbing’

The finding comes two years after it was revealed how British universities had taken almost £100m from defence companies – including many that are arming Israel.

In one case, BAE Systems gave almost £50,000 in sponsorship to University College London (UCL) to fund its Centre for Ethics and Law – despite the company being accused of being party to alleged war crimes in Yemen in 2019.

Universities including Oxford, Cambridge and Sheffield were all found to have taken huge sums from arms firms – accepting £17m, £10m, and £42m respectively.

Sam Perlo-Freeman, of the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), said: “Declassified’s disturbing findings add to CAAT’s growing concern about deepening ties between UK universities and the military-industrial complex.

“As purveyors of a deeply corrupt and immoral trade that blights human life and the planet like no other, arms company executives should be nowhere near institutions of learning and intellectual freedom.”

He added: “Universities should be treating arms trade representatives as pariahs. Instead, and thanks to Declassified, we now know that they sit on at least 53 different advisory committees across 21 universities.

“We have little doubt that this will have impacted academic freedom and the integrity of higher education research. The question is exactly how. We need answers.”

Responding to our investigation, the co-founder of Demiliterise Education, Jinsella Kennaway, said: “Academic freedom is undermined while arms companies hold such influence over what gets researched, funded, and legitimised on campus”.

“Students deserve pathways into work that make the world safer and more humane, not careers that contribute to mass killing and deepening global insecurity,” they said.

“University leaders have a responsibility to ensure Britain’s knowledge centres contribute to saving lives, rather than allowing education to become a pipeline into the war economy.”

April 15, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Militarism | , , | Comments Off on Arms industry given direct influence over university courses

AIPAC ‘slimeball’ Eric Swalwell leaves the stage

Eric Swalwell’s office door highlights his utility to the forces that propelled his career.
By Max Blumenthal | The Grayzone | April 15, 2026

When he staged his first run for Congress in 2012, Eric Swalwell’s seemingly underdog campaign was aggressively propelled by AIPAC, Big Pharma, and corrupt land developers. Their target was Rep. Pete Stark, a legendary reformer and antiwar stalwart who had infuriated the Israel lobby with his consistent opposition to wars on Iraq and Lebanon.

At the end of their only debate, Stark called Swalwell a “slimeball,” a “fucking crook,” accused him of bribery, and predicted, “you’re going to jail.” Mainstream media condemned Stark as a bully in the throes of cognitive decline, while Swalwell became their darling. After the centrist 31-year-old prosecutor eked out a victory, The New Republic hailed him as a “costume-donning, prop-loving thirty something who ousted Pete Stark.” No mention was made of the bathrobe he donned in his now-notorious role as a liquor-sodden lothario.

In Congress, Swalwell provided a reliable rubber stamp for military aid to Israel while distinguishing himself as the most cartoonish promoters of the Russiagate hoax. When he ran for president in 2019 – polling around 0% throughout his campaign – he branded himself the “Guns and Russia” candidate, meaning he would restrict guns for Americans while forking over billions in military aid to Ukraine.

With Swalwell’s demise, Pete Stark may have gotten the last laugh. But in a Democratic Party that is hostile to class politics, overrun by corporate lobbyists and occupied by Israel, Swalwell was a prototype. In his wake, new slimeballs will rise to the surface.

April 15, 2026 Posted by | Corruption, Russophobia, Wars for Israel | , | Comments Off on AIPAC ‘slimeball’ Eric Swalwell leaves the stage

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