Fired employees call for boycott of Microsoft over its role in Gaza genocide
Press TV – April 19, 2025
Two former Microsoft employees slammed the company for complicity in the Israeli genocide in Gaza and systematic apartheid in the West Bank, urging global boycotts against the tech giant.
Hossam Nasr, a software engineer, and Abdo Mohamed, a data scientist, who were both fired in 2024 for organizing a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza, called for severing Microsoft’s partnerships that support military operations.
According to Nasr, Microsoft provides cloud services, AI capabilities, translation, and data storage to the Israeli military, and “they use Microsoft translation services to translate the data they collect on Palestinians from Arabic to Hebrew.”
“Then they feed that into a pipeline of AI targeting systems that help determine where to bomb in Gaza and help Israel classify innocent Palestinians as terrorists,” he said, citing reports showing a 200-fold increase in Israel’s use of Microsoft’s AI tools between October 2023 and March 2024.
“Their usage of cloud storage increased to 13.6 petabytes,” he added.
“Microsoft Azure also hosts the target bank for the Israeli military,” he said, noting: “It hosts the civil registry of the Palestinian population.”
“These systems allow Israel to accelerate and exacerbate its genocide in Gaza to unforeseen levels,” he said.
Nasr pointed out that Microsoft staff became deeply embedded in Israeli military units, including Unit 8200, the notorious Israeli military intelligence branch.
“Microsoft employees become so embedded… that they become described as soldiers, acting as soldiers within those units,” he said.
“This kind of deep partnership allows Israel to automate and remove any sort of human element to the Palestinians,” he added. “It turns the mass murder of Palestinians into essentially a video game.”
Nasr said Microsoft’s technology is also used in the West Bank through applications such as Al-Munasik, which helps control Palestinian movement.
“Microsoft is enabling the apartheid system and the racial segregation system in the West Bank and the rest of Palestine,” he said.
He also criticized Microsoft’s employee donation program, saying, “They allow donations to illegal Israeli settlements and match them.”
“No Azure for Apartheid” campaign, which they co-founded, was inspired by earlier efforts at other tech companies.
“That campaign started as bombs were dropping on the heads of Palestinian children in Gaza in the wake of the Sheikh Jarrah events in 2021,” Nasr said, adding, “We took inspiration from our colleagues at Google and Amazon… to launch our own campaign at Microsoft in 2024.”
Nasr explained that the goal of their campaign was to sever Microsoft’s partnerships that support the Israeli regime’s forces brutal attacks against Gaza and the West Bank.
He insisted that holding meetings and writing letters did not have the necessary impact, and boycotting the company was the only way to stop its cooperation.
Nasr said that their campaign coordinated the April 4 protests during Microsoft’s 50th anniversary events.
“As soon as we became aware that Microsoft was planning a celebration… we made it clear that we will not allow Microsoft to celebrate while their hands are stained with Palestinian blood.”
“It is no longer sufficient to be in meetings with executives or writing emails,” Nasr highlighted.
“It is imperative for us… to stop materially contributing and materially partnering to the genocide of our brothers and sisters in Palestine,” he emphasized.
“We have made a huge dent in this Microsoft castle,” Nasr concluded. “I do believe that Microsoft’s reputation has never been more tarnished because of its complicity in genocide,” he said.
Nasr said losing his job or being deported from the US was a “cheap price to pay” compared to what Palestinians endure.
“A lot of the time I’m asked… Are you not scared of being fired? Of being deported?” he said. “And my response is always… Are you not scared of being complicit in the Holocaust of our time? Of what you’ll tell your children and grandchildren when they ask… Where were you when the genocide in Palestine and Gaza was happening?”
The Israel regime launched the campaign of genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Since then, it has killed at least 51,065 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 116,505 others.
UK Government and Tony Blair Back AI-Powered Surveillance Push Including Digital ID and Facial Recognition
By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | April 18, 2025
A new push is underway in the UK to promote AI-powered mass surveillance via a number of controversial technologies and tools.
The country’s government, former PM Tony Blair, the College of Policing (the professional body for police in England and Wales), as well as legacy media outlet The Times, and Axon, a surveillance company, have converged behind this latest effort.
Axon was the headline sponsor during The Times’ Crime and Justice Summit this week, organized to present the result of an inquiry launched a year ago by the newspaper under the title, “The Crime and Justice Commission,” meant to look into the future of policing and the criminal justice system.
The final report contains recommendations to introduce mandatory universal digital ID and online age verification, as well as expand the use of live facial recognition, AI, and data analytics.
Age verification and banning users under 16 from social media would be enforced through a universal digital ID system, which would also be used to create what the report refers to as a “single unique identifier from birth.”
And while “ethical dilemmas” around this are acknowledged, the document calls for a single digital case file for the justice system.
Live facial recognition, which is currently tested or used in limited areas, should be expanded across the UK, according to the report, which also urges for AI and data analytics to be more involved in policing and the criminal justice system.
And while civil liberties and privacy campaigner Big Brother Watch slammed what it calls “an obsession” with Orwellian AI-powered surveillance that “reeks of authoritarianism and would be a hammer blow to our civil liberties” – Tony Blair and several other high profile figures emerged as enthusiastic supporters of the recommendations.
According to Blair, digital ID is a necessity (he and his foundation push for the mandatory kind), as is live facial recognition deployment in “busy places like train stations and events.” The former PM wants AI to be used for “spotting crime patterns, guiding patrols, and streamlining decisions.”
UK Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood suggested that some of the recommendations would become law, while other supporters of the report include the Home Office, life peer in the House of Lords Baroness Longfield, Independent Victims’ Commissioner for London Claire Waxman, and the College of Policing.
Weaponized Surveillance: Biden Admin’s ‘Counterterror’ Plan Declassified
By Svetlana Ekimenko – Sputnik – 17.04.2025
America First Legal Foundation (AFL) had appealed to the US Director of National Intelligence to declassify and release the Biden administration’s classified 2021 domestic surveillance strategy, with Tulsi Gabbard promising to comply with the request for transparency and accountability.
The Biden administration’s strategy gave the green greenlight to mass digital stalking and thought-tracking, as evidenced by the playbook newly declassified by Tulsi Gabbard.
The Biden Administration’s Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism empowers federal agencies to:
- Adopt pre-crime tactics, enhancing screening and vetting processes for federal employees, particularly those in sensitive positions
- Improve background checks by policing speech, tracking iconography and phraseology, vetting spending, and improving ideological filtering of public servants
- Incorporate mental health screening and community engagement lines to flag “threats” before a crime is committed
- Expand digital surveillance through tech platform partnerships
- Actively integrate foreign intelligence into data-sharing efforts
- Assess risks among military retirees during their transition to civilian life
American Death Throes
By Georgia Hayduke • Unz Review • April 18, 2025
If the situation was hopeless, their propaganda would be unnecessary.
– Anonymous
They say the most dangerous animal you can encounter in the wild is one that is dying and cornered. A trapped coyote will lash out and attack you with every fiber of its being, even if it’s mortally wounded. Especially if it’s mortally wounded.
The American Empire and the so-called state of Israel are a pair of conjoined coyotes whose paws are clamped in the jaws of a bear trap, hanging on by a few threads of tendon. In their last gasps of life before they enter the great beyond, in one final adrenaline fueled frenzy, these dogs are lashing out and doing everything in their power to destroy financially, legally, and socially anyone who dares speak out against the crimes they are committing in Palestine. I learned this for myself not too long ago.
On a recent afternoon, I attended a march for Palestine hosted by my school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. A few days prior, two Saudi national grad students at my school had their student visas revoked for expressing support for the Palestinian cause on their social media. They had taken the first flights back to Saudi Arabia so they could avoid run-ins with the police. These students weren’t thieves or rapists or anything worthy of being expelled over. The only crime these students had committed was daring to speak out against the middle east’s sex offender capital on Instagram. I found the expulsion of these students personally intolerable.
I had never attended a protest before. The SJP had held protests on campus since October 2023, but I hadn’t gone to any because I am a very private person, and I like to keep my identity hidden from individuals and organizations who would see me fired for my political beliefs. I’m a bit of a coward. I’d rather be at home with my roommates making a pot of spaghetti than marching down the street holding a flag. Plus I didn’t want to get beat up by a cop. Anyway, I figured if I could pull off a disguise, and kept my opsec airtight, I could go to a protest and make it home without my name and address plastered all over the canary mission website. My disguise was simple enough: long pants, boots, and a ski mask, with a hoodie and sunglasses to cover my face and hair. Nothing I had on was personally identifiable. I left my phone and bag at home. I just looked like some hobo. I walked to campus instead of driving, and I didn’t put on my disguise until I got to some bushes near the railroad tracks where the SJP was meeting up. I figured the steps I was taking were overkill, but I found out they were not.
The crowd was about what you would expect. A group of muslim students gathered at the front with a wagon with some water bottles and granola bars in it. A group of dysgenic looking transgender students stood to their right, sallow and lanky pink hair flopping around their shoulders. The enemy of my enemy is my friend I suppose. Other groups of generic looking kids stood around them, talking quietly. Ordinary folks. It was heartening to see them. The annoying preacher who stands on the quad everyday yelling about abortion was there too, which struck me as odd. I would have expected him to have a sign reading “Real Patriots Stand With Israel”, but he seemed determined to defy stereotypes. He carried a sign reading “Free Mahmoud Khalil” and wore the Palestinian flag like a cape. There were a few other older adults there as well, including a mother with her baby. The crowd stood about forty strong.
Off to the side stood a small group of shady looking folks with fluorescent green hats on. I made small talk with a skinny young man who stood by me to my left. He’d been to many protests before, and wasn’t surprised by the makeup of the crowd. New people like me show up every time. I asked him about the green hatted crowd, and he told me that they were marshals whose job was to monitor any policemen who showed up. They were from a police brutality watchdog organization. This was necessary since the time the police savagely beat protesters on UNC’s campus about a year ago. Footage of the cops dragging a girl across the ground by her hair is publicly available. This reaction was obviously serious overkill, and hadn’t been seen at other student protests on UNC’s campus in years past. The Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, while rowdy, had a very subdued police presence. I do not recall anyone getting their hair ripped out by the po-po in 2020. There is one key difference between the attempted race riots of 2020 and the protests for Palestine of today: the protests for Palestine are actually threatening to the powers that be.
We marched in a loop across campus. We went from the student union, to the historic district, to the library, and back to the student union. Overall I’d say we covered about a mile of ground. We had supporters. There’s a large Arab population close to campus, and we’d see Arab guys roll down the windows of their cars and cheer for us. It felt nice to have some people on our side. The trouble that showed up took the form of a small group of nasally enhanced individuals wearing sunglasses who joined our march when we reached the historic district. This group was composed of a bunch of creeps wearing dark clothes and ballcaps, who would slink into the crowd and attempt to covertly take photos of the marchers with phone cameras up their sleeve. I asked my lanky comrade about these freaks, and he told me the ADL hires people, usually Hillel students, to monitor student social media related to Palestine. These losers go to all SJP marches, and they try to dox students that go to them. Completely covering my face and body wasn’t overkill at all. They also try to bait people into losing their cool and punching them, catching assault charges. Little digs to try and ruin the lives of anyone standing against them.
As we were walking, the skinny young man pointed out a loud girl standing at the front of the group. She had on a keffiyeh, and her hair was in a slicked back blonde ponytail. She walked in the street a lot, and the muslim students seemed leery of her. “That’s a fed.” he whispered. “What makes you think that?” I asked. “She’s way older than everyone, and she’s wearing cop sneakers. Ten bucks says she’ll try to get someone to act violent later.” I kept watch on that girl. I had no reason to trust the skinny guy, but better safe than sorry.
Another paranoia inducing character was the driver of a certain grey Dodge Charger with tinted windows that followed the march the entire time we made our way across campus. It is common knowledge that the Dodge Charger has replaced the Crown Victoria as the car of choice for smokey and friends, so I immediately thought it to be an undercover cop. The rest of the crowd came to this conclusion independently. The muslim kids thought it was someone from the ADL coming to take pictures of us. Either was possible, or it could have been some rando. At least I hope it was a rando, and we were being paranoid for no reason. But the loop that car took was not a logical loop. He stayed right behind us the whole time and made no stops. Being leery of him was a smart move.
When we got back to the student union, still eyeing the Dodge Charger, the loud blonde girl spoke up. “That’s a cop no doubt!” She said, a little too loud. “Let’s throw bricks at it!” Her behavior was cartoonish. She was acting in a bizarrely scripted fashion, like a parody of an antifa thug. None of her words felt organic or genuine. If anyone was a fed at that march, it was her. I stayed far away. I walked home as discreetly as possible, thinking about what I saw.
I had a few takeaways from this experience. For one, I was shocked by the amount of effort, time, and money being put into ruining the lives of college students by organizations like the ADL and Uncle Sam. If I hadn’t seen for myself groups of shady thugs trying to get photos of and pick fights with students who have the nerve to stand up to the American Empire, I wouldn’t have believed it if you told me. Especially due to the small scale of this protest. We never left campus, and the crowd was small, especially compared to previous marches, which went directly to the state capitol building. But the powers that be decided that this goofy little crowd was a threat. This group of awkward college students and aging boomers is of top priority for the state. Not murderers, not robbers, but a bunch of kids trying to pass calculus. Really makes you think.
This experience also taught me that there is hope. The ADL and the feds wouldn’t be putting so much effort into crushing dissidence if they weren’t scared. The idea that there are Americans out there who don’t buy the propaganda pushed on us every day, from every angle, from every movie and news source since birth keeps the ADL up at night in a cold sweat. All I can say now is this: Get mad. Get even. Don’t let them see your face. They’re scared. Give them a reason to be.
The silencing of scientific curiosity
Medical journals have became enforcers of orthodoxy—retracting genuine hypotheses while protecting proven fraud
By Maryanne Demasi, PhD | April 14, 2025
As a scientific writer and researcher, I’ve witnessed the decline of medical journals firsthand. Once forums for open debate and intellectual rigour, they’ve morphed into gatekeepers, more concerned with preserving a narrow orthodoxy than pursuing truth.
My previous work has exposed how journals suppress uncomfortable questions, avoid studies that challenge dominant narratives, and operate under a peer-review system distorted by bias and external influence.
But never have I seen a more absurd example of this decay than the retraction of a hypothesis paper—yes, a hypothesis—authored by Dr. Sabine Hazan in Frontiers in Microbiology.
Her 2022 article hypothesised that ivermectin might mitigate Covid-19 severity by promoting the growth of Bifidobacterium, reducing inflammation via the gut-lung axis.
She cited preliminary observations in 24 hypoxic patients who recovered without hospitalisation after combination therapy including ivermectin.
Dr Sabine Hazan, ProgenaBiome, Ventura, CA
She made no claims of definitive proof. Instead, she proposed a mechanism worth investigating. That’s the point of a scientific hypothesis.
But in May 2023—more than a year after the article was peer-reviewed and published—the journal retracted the paper following a series of complaints on PubPeer, offering only a vague explanation about “scientific soundness.”
Seeking clarity, I contacted both the journal’s editorial office and the editor who handled the paper, Professor Mohammad Alikhani at Hamadan University.
Prof Mohammad Alikhani, Department of Microbiology, Hamadan University
Specifically, I sought an explanation for retracting a ‘hypothesis’, but I did not receive a response.
This silence is damning.
Retraction is a serious step, historically reserved for cases of fraud or clear ethical misconduct. But here, no such claim was made—nor could one be substantiated.
The journal simply erased the paper, offering no transparent justification, no engagement with the scientific process, and no accountability.
In fact, it violated the very guidelines that journals are supposed to follow.
The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) advises that publications should only be retracted if they contain seriously flawed or fabricated data, or plagiarism that cannot be addressed through a correction.
Hazan’s paper was transparent about its speculative nature. In a January 2023 tweet, Hazan challenged her critics.
“It’s a hypothesis. PROVE ME WRONG,” she wrote.
After all, that’s the essence of science. But the journal’s decision to retract sends a message that even theoretical propositions are now intolerable.
Having tasted blood, Hazan’s critics kept digging. In January 2025, Future Microbiology retracted another of her studies—this one examining ivermectin-based multidrug therapy.
Hazan, her co-author Australian immunologist Dr. Robert L. Clancy, and others strongly disputed the decision after the journal failed to conduct a meaningful investigation into the alleged data integrity issues.
The irony is palpable.
While pundits argued over ivermectin’s efficacy during the pandemic, Hazan was one of the few actually doing the hard work to test its effects—collecting data, proposing mechanisms, engaging with the science. And yet she’s the one being silenced!
Which begs the question – why?
Is there professional jealousy in the microbiome space? Are pharmaceutical companies, threatened by low-cost alternatives like ivermectin, pressuring journals to kill competing narratives?
If so, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should investigate. Suppressing research that could affect investor decisions—by inflating the perceived value of antivirals or vaccines—could amount to securities fraud.
While there’s no definitive evidence, the pattern is hard to ignore: two retractions, no clear misconduct, and a growing campaign to discredit a scientist whose work challenges a profitable status quo.
Whether coordinated or not, the outcome is the same – the erasure of inconvenient data.
The spinelessness of journals in these episodes is unmistakable. Why do they capitulate so readily?
Just follow the money.
Many journals are financially entangled with the pharmaceutical industry—relying on drug ads, sponsorships, and profitable reprint sales. That financial tether distorts editorial independence.
Editors, often underpaid and overstretched, are understandably risk-averse. They fear litigation. They fear social media outrage. They fear becoming the next target.
Pharmaceutical companies, meanwhile, don’t hesitate to use legal threats to silence dissent because their pockets are deep—as in the case of Covaxin.
In July 2024, Bharat Biotech International Limited sued 11 authors—six of them students—and the editor of Drug Safety, Nitin Joshi, over a peer-reviewed article questioning the safety of their Covaxin vaccine.
The journal, under legal duress, retracted the paper. The authors were left to fend for themselves.
Journals are supposed to stand on principle. But, increasingly, they serve as enforcers of orthodoxy—vulnerable to financial pressure and online activists.
Let’s be honest, the trolls are part of the strategy. Anonymous complaints, often from individuals with no expertise, are weaponised to trigger retractions and smear reputations.
That’s not peer review. That’s mob rule.
The SEC must take a closer look at this ecosystem. If research is being suppressed to protect corporate revenue or manipulate investor confidence, that’s not just unethical—it’s illegal.
During his presidential campaign, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed this very issue, declaring that journals colluding with pharmaceutical companies might be subject to charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
“We’re gonna… file some racketeering lawsuits if you don’t start telling the truth in your journals,” he warned in 2023. It was provocative, yes—but it struck a chord with those of us watching the machinery of science betray its mission.
Retractions have become so casually executed, they’ve lost all meaning. What was once a mark of serious fraud is now a tool of reputational management.
Today, many papers are retracted not because they’re wrong, but because they’re inconvenient.
How else can one explain the demonstrably fraudulent studies funded by industry that remain published?
Whistleblower Dr. Peter Wilmshurst has spent years trying to get the MIST trial retracted—published in Circulation. It’s riddled with false claims, undeclared conflicts, and unreported adverse events, yet the journal continues to protect it.
This exposes the rot. These decisions have nothing to do with science.
They are political, financial, and reputational tools—used selectively to punish dissent.
There’s a growing list of researchers penalised—not for bad science, but for exploring uncomfortable truths.
Journals must reclaim their role as platforms for robust scientific debate. COPE must enforce its standards, not just cite them. Editors must be held accountable for vague or retaliatory retractions. And if corporate suppression of research is distorting public markets, then the SEC must act.
Because what I’m witnessing isn’t scientific curiosity—it’s narrative control. And the death of curiosity is the death of science itself.
French police detain female Iranian academic to silence anti-Israeli genocide voices
Mahdieh Esfandiari has lived in Lyon for eight years. Police have arrested her for pro-Palestine advocacy.
Press TV – April 14, 2025
A female Iranian academic who denounced the Israeli genocidal campaign in the besieged Gaza Strip and expressed her solidarity with Palestinians has been arrested by the police in France.
The Iranian citizen was reportedly detained after publishing messages on a Telegram channel condemning the ongoing genocide in the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The French weekly Le Point identified the woman as Mahdieh Esfandiari, a 35-year-old French language graduate, who has lived in Lyon for eight years.
Her family, worried after losing contact, raised the alarm last month with Iranian authorities, who then contacted their French counterparts, Le Point reported, adding they have yet to hear back.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that France was unwilling to give an explanation on her situation.
“We hope that the French government will provide access to this case as soon as possible and clarify the reasons for the arrest of this Iranian citizen,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.
“Consular access has not been authorized” by French authorities, he told a news conference, adding that Iran was following the matter closely.
Her arrest came amid a crackdown in the US and other Western countries targeting scholars, students, and activists who oppose genocide and advocate for peace, both on campuses and in public spaces.
Her Iranian identity has further compounded this repression, as the Western countries escalate warmongering policies and economic sanctions against Iran while silencing dissent.
Pundits say these attacks aim to terrorize and silence the countless advocates who have courageously amplified Palestinian resistance and the call for freedom.
They say repression of freedom of speech will legitimize the Zionist child-killing forces and would undermine the principles of due process.
US-Funded “Anti-Misinformation” Groups Are Still Quietly Active
By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | April 9, 2025
Despite the big and open push that came in with the new US administration to end the practice of the government funding third-party groups to effectively act as its censorship proxies – some of these arrangements continue to be operational.
Most appear to be working to strengthen previously established “preferred” narratives around health issues – as ever, with “combating misinformation” given as the declarative, overarching purpose behind the effort.
But critics say, that was/remains a smokescreen meant to manipulate public opinion.
The Federalist reports that the National Science Foundation (NSF) – one of the US government’s “independent agencies” designed to channel federal funds – had a number of programs under its “anti-misinformation” umbrella, the Convergence Accelerator.
Among the ones who continue to this day are Chime In, Analysis and Response Toolkit for Trust (ARTT), and Expert Voices Together (EVT).
Chime In’s original name was Course Correct. It was set up at the University of Wisconsin-Madison – with $5 million coming from NSF in 2022 – to provide “anti-misinformation” resources for journalists.
True to the era, its original “mission” was to persuade (Covid) vaccine skeptics to take the jab; and then it went into advocating (“misinformation detecting”) in favor of persuading people there was no reason to be skeptical about genetically modified (GMO) foods, Covid narratives, and vaccines in general, as well as issues like sunscreen product and raw milk safety.
ARTT, meanwhile, came up with its own “AI” chatbot, that focused on political discourse, but according to the Federalist, once again, heavily tied to vaccine hesitancy.
From 2021, ARTT received close to $750,000 from the NSF, and a further $5 million, “to develop practical interventions to build trust and address vaccine hesitancy.”
Another controversial tie-in concerning ARTT was the organization’s plans to partner with, among others, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which the article describes as being “infamous for performing transgender surgeries on, and administering opposite-sex hormones to minors.”
ARTT – now operating as Discourse Labs, a non-profit – was, while one of the groups incubated by NSF’s Convergence Accelerator, backed up by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Wikimedia Foundation, Google, Mozilla, and Meta.
EVT’s “new home” as of 2025 is “the leftist group Right To Be,” the report says.
Some of the issues covered by this group are named, “Bystander Intervention To Support The LGBTQIA+ Community,” “Conflict De-Escalation In Protest Spaces,” and “Bystander Intervention To Stop Police Sponsored Violence and Anti-Black Racism.”
But the Federalist reported earlier that, “a representative from Right To Be” previously told the site EVT “remains under the direction of George Washington University (and) direct inquiries there.”
Bitchute shuts down in UK because of Online Safety Act
To our valued users in the United Kingdom
After careful review and ongoing evaluation of the regulatory landscape in the United Kingdom, we regret to inform you that BitChute will be discontinuing its video sharing service for UK residents.
The introduction of the UK Online Safety Act of 2023 has brought about significant changes in the regulatory framework governing online content and community interactions. Notably, the Act contains sweeping provisions and onerous corrective measures with respect to content moderation and enforcement. In particular, the broad enforcement powers granted to the regulator of communication services, Ofcom, have raised concerns regarding the open-ended and unpredictable nature of regulatory compliance for our platform.
The BitChute platform has always operated on principles of freedom of speech, expression and association, and strived to foster an open and inclusive environment for content creators and audiences alike. However, the evolving regulatory pressures—including strict enforcement mechanisms and potential liabilities—have created an operational landscape in which continuing to serve the UK market exposes our company to unacceptable legal and compliance risks. Despite our best efforts to navigate these challenges, the uncertainty surrounding the OSA’s enforcement by Ofcom and its far-reaching implications leaves us no viable alternative but to cease normal operations in the UK.
Therefore, effective immediately, BitChute platform users in the UK will no longer be able to view content produced by any other BitChute user. Because the OSA’s primary concern is that members of the public will view content deemed unsafe, however, we will permit UK BitChute users to continue to post content. The significant change will be that this UK user-posted content will not be viewable by any other UK user, but will be visible to other users outside of the UK. Users outside the UK may comment on that content, which the creator will continue to be able to read, delete, block, reply and flag. Users outside the UK may share UK-user produced content to other users outside of the UK as normal. In other words, for users in the UK, including content creators, the BitChute platform is no longer a user-to-UK user video sharing service.
We deeply regret the inconvenience and disappointment this decision may cause to our UK users and partners. This decision was not taken lightly. It reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of compliance, protecting our community, and ensuring that our platform remains a safe and sustainable space for creative expression globally. We recognize the value of our UK community and extend our sincerest apologies for the disruption caused by this necessary step. Our support team remains available to answer any queries or concerns regarding this transition.
We appreciate the support and engagement of our community around the world and remain dedicated to providing a platform that champions free expression and innovative content sharing in an environment of regulatory certainty.
Thank you for your understanding.
Max Blumenthal: Banning Protests Against Israel
Glenn Diesen | April 9, 2025
The editor-in-chief of The Grayzone, Max Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist and the author of several books, including best-selling Republican Gomorrah, Goliath, The Fifty One Day War, and The Management of Savagery. He has produced print articles for an array of publications, many video reports, and several documentaries, including Killing Gaza.
Follow Prof. Glenn Diesen: Substack: https://glenndiesen.substack.com/
Israel orders closure of UNRWA schools in Jerusalem’s Shuafat camp
MEMO | April 9, 2025
The Israeli occupation state’s police have informed all school principals working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Shuafat refugee camp, in occupied East Jerusalem, of official orders to close their schools within 30 days, Quds Press reported.
According to Palestinian sources, the Israeli authorities have instructed UNRWA’s school administration in Shuafat to transfer all students to schools run by the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem.
This decision follows repeated incidents targeting UNRWA’s operations in occupied East Jerusalem. Just a week ago, UNRWA reported that its headquarters in the area was deliberately set on fire once again, amid what it described as a sustained and systematic campaign of incitement against the agency.
UNRWA stated that “this condemnable act is part of ongoing and systematic incitement against the agency for months,” warning that UN staff and facilities across the West Bank are facing escalating threats.
The agency also recalled that, in January 2025, its staff were “forced to evacuate” its East Jerusalem premises as Israeli laws aimed at restricting UNRWA’s work came into effect after the Israeli Knesset voted to ban UNRWA’s operations within Israel in October 2024, labelling it a “terrorist group”.
More international students face deportation amid Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine activism
An encampment in support of Palestinians at the University of Minnesota’s campus in Minneapolis, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
By Alireza Akbari | Press TV | April 8, 2025
On Friday, Fordham University President Tania Tetlow confirmed the revocation of an undergraduate student’s visa—marking the school’s first known case amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign targeting international students.
In a campus-wide email, Tetlow described the move as a source of “growing distress and anxiety,” admitting she had no power to reassure students affected by the Trump administration’s campaign.
She noted that it came as part of a broader pattern of student visas being canceled without “explanation or notice” to either the university administration or to the students themselves.
University spokesperson Bob Howe also stated that Fordham was not informed of the reason behind the revocation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“The university does not believe that the student is connected to the protests at Fordham,” he said.
Following confirmation of the revocation, student organizations at Fordham, such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), under the name Fordham SJP, called on the university to “publicly refuse cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the DHS in all forms.”
“We reject these attempts to suppress political expression and collaboration with state violence,” read the statement published on social media.
The group framed the visa revocation as “part of a broader campaign to criminalize dissent,” particularly targeting those who speak out against US imperialism and in support of Palestine.
The Fordham student’s visa revocation came just a month after the detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder and graduate student at Columbia University, who was arrested by ICE agents on March 8 at his New York City apartment.
Following Khalil’s detention, the Trump administration expanded its crackdown, resulting in the revocation of over 300 international student visas at universities across the country.
Among them, the University of California system reported nearly twenty visa cancellations, including cases at UCLA, UC San Diego, and UC Berkeley.
In many cases, students have been accused—without evidence—of supporting the Hamas resistance movement or posing vague “foreign policy” risks.
UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla publicly criticized the visa cancellations, saying federal authorities provided no specific allegations and that students were given no opportunity to respond.
Harvard’s International Office similarly reported that affected students received no explanation for the revocations, which were carried out suddenly and without transparency or consistent legal justification.
Civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Middle East Studies Association, have condemned the visa cancellations as a violation of free speech and academic freedom, warning of the dangers in conflating peaceful political expression with extremism.
At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, at least 13 international students — including six current students and seven alumni on work extensions — have had their Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) records terminated, the university confirmed.
A SEVIS termination typically requires affected individuals to leave the US immediately.
UW-Madison stated that it had no role in the federal decision and has not observed any related law enforcement activity on campus.
The university also stated it has no reason to believe the terminations are linked to political engagement or free speech, though the exact reasons remain unknown.
At least 50 international students at Arizona State University (ASU) have also had their visas revoked, and at least three are reported to have been detained.
According to Arizona Luminaria, the number of affected students has grown quickly from an initial report pf eight cases.
Senior attorney Ami Hutchinson of the Tucson-based law firm Green Evans-Schroeder, which is representing the students, said many are bewildered by the sudden and shocking action.
“They still seem to think that someone made a mistake. That it shouldn’t have happened and this was just all a misunderstanding,” Hutchinson said.“They’re really, really afraid,” she added.
One student has reportedly been held in immigration detention for about 10 days. While ASU declined to confirm the total number of students impacted, Hutchinson estimates that around 1,000 international student visas have been revoked across the country, based on information from immigration attorneys.
Initially, ASU officials said that the cancellations were related to “various legal infractions” and emphasized that they were not connected to campus protests. The identities of the affected students have not been made public.
In response, student organizations—including Students for Justice in Palestine at ASU—organized protests calling for greater protection and support for international students.
Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a 34-year-old assistant professor and kidney transplant specialist at Brown University, was detained upon her return from a trip to Lebanon and deported—despite holding a valid H-1B visa and a federal judge’s order temporarily halting her removal.
US authorities allege that Dr. Alawieh attended the funeral of Hezbollah’s late leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and had photos on her phone showing sympathy toward Hezbollah figures.
Dr. Alawieh maintains that her attendance was for religious reasons and not politically motivated.
Following her deportation, Brown University issued a travel advisory urging international students, faculty, and staff to reconsider or delay international travel due to uncertainty around reentry risks.
Khalil, who has been detained, now faces deportation proceedings. His arrest followed allegations related to his campus activism, though no criminal charges have been made public.
Ranjani Srinivasan, a 37-year-old doctoral student from India, left the US after her F-1 visa was revoked on March 5, reportedly due to her participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus.
Recent federal actions have led to the revocation of F-1 visas for 10 international students across Colorado State University (CSU) and the University of Colorado (CU) system.
At CSU, six students have been affected, including five Kuwaiti nationals and one Saudi graduate student employed on campus. University officials have reportedly advised the impacted students to contact their respective embassies for assistance.
The University of Colorado reported four affected students across its Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses but declined to release additional details, citing privacy concerns.
At Cornell University, international students have also been caught in the wave of federal visa enforcement. Among them is Momodou Taal, a British-Gambian Ph.D. student in Africana Studies who was forced to leave the US after his visa was revoked in March 2025.
The US government cited his participation in “disruptive protests” and alleged that he had contributed to a hostile environment for Jewish students.
Taal, however, denied these allegations and said he chose to leave due to fears for his safety and the “lawlessness” of the Trump administration.
In response, Cornell University advised students who receive any communication regarding visa revocation to contact the Office of Global Learning’s International Services immediately for support.
At Georgetown University, the recent detention of Dr. Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral fellow, also raised significant concerns.
He was detained by ICE agents after his J-1 visa was revoked. The DHS accused him of disseminating “Hamas propaganda” and fostering antisemitism on social media—claims for which no evidence has yet been presented.
Dr. Suri, who is married to a Palestinian woman, is currently being held in a Texas detention facility under overcrowded conditions, and his academic work has been indefinitely suspended.
Following his arrest, his legal team filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging the legality of his detention.
On March 20, US District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles issued an order temporarily blocking his deportation pending further court proceedings.
Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service expressed deep concern over his detention and emphasized the potential chilling effect on freedom of expression within academic institutions.
At NC State, two Saudi graduate students—including Saleh Al Gurad, who was studying engineering management and working on campus—had their visas abruptly revoked on March 25, without explanation or prior notification to the university.
According to his roommate, Al Gurad was apolitical and had no involvement in campus protests.
Both students chose to leave the US voluntarily to avoid possible detention. The university offered assistance to help them complete their semester remotely.
NC State officials expressed deep concern over the lack of communication from federal agencies and the sudden impact these actions have had on its international student community.
At Southern Illinois University, an international student’s visa was revoked on March 28, as confirmed by university officials.
The federal government did not provide a reason for the action, and the student’s identity and country of origin have not been disclosed.
In response, SIU’s administration issued a memo to its international students, advising them to carry photocopies of immigration documents, maintain proof of enrollment and US residence, and exercise discretion on social media and during political demonstrations.
The incident has sparked anxiety across SIU’s international community, with university officials stressing the potential immigration risks tied to protest participation and online activity.
At Temple University, an unnamed international student had their visa revoked by the US Department of State for unspecified reasons.
The student learned of the revocation only after being notified by Temple’s Office of Global Engagement and chose to return to their home country voluntarily.
Although no evidence or formal allegations were disclosed, advocacy groups like CAIR-Philadelphia have voiced concern that the action may be linked to anti-genocide or pro-Palestinian activism—mirroring a broader Trump administration’s pattern of targeting pro-Palestinian activism.
Temple’s Office of Global Engagement provided the student with legal counsel and facilitated communication with officials from the student’s home country.
In a campus-wide message, University President John Fry reaffirmed Temple’s commitment to its international student community and noted that no other student records had been altered at that time.
At Tufts University, Rumeysa Öztürk, a Turkish Ph.D. student and Fulbright Scholar, was also detained by ICE on March 25 while leaving her apartment to attend an Iftar dinner.
Öztürk’s visa was revoked shortly afterward, reportedly in connection with an Op-Ed she co-authored in The Tufts Daily, in which she criticized the Israeli regime and called for divestment from companies linked to Israeli acts of aggression in Gaza.
The DHS further claimed her visa was revoked due to support for Hamas. However, Öztürk has not been formally charged with any crime and remains in a Louisiana detention center.
Tufts University publicly condemned her detention, describing her as a valued member of the community who was in good academic and immigration standing at the time of her arrest.
University President Sunil Kumar stated that Tufts had no prior knowledge of her visa cancellation and reaffirmed the institution’s support for her and other international students.
At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), recent federal actions led to the revocation of several student visas, causing widespread concern across campus.
At least six international students had their visas revoked under unclear circumstances, reportedly linked to arrests or minor convictions, according to campus sources.
Chancellor Julio Frenk confirmed that the Trump administration revoked the F-1 visas of six current students and six former students who were participating in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program—a federal initiative that allows international graduates to gain work experience in their field of study.
Frenk acknowledged the uncertainty these actions have created within the UCLA community and emphasized the university’s commitment to supporting its international students.
Faculty groups have also raised alarm over the lack of transparency and the possibility that students are being targeted based on racial or political profiling.
Similar cases across the country have involved accusations tied to activism-related visa violations.
At the University of Alabama, the March 25 detention of Alireza Doroudi, an Iranian doctoral student in mechanical engineering, has sparked outrage.
Doroudi was arrested by ICE agents at his home early in the morning and later transferred to the Jena-LaSalle Detention Facility in Louisiana, a site previously criticized for human rights violations.
According to the DHS, Doroudi poses “significant national security concerns,” though no formal charges or evidence have been presented.
His attorney, David Rozas, stated that Doroudi has not been involved in any criminal activity or political protests. Doroudi first entered the US on a valid student visa in January 2023. Reports suggest that his visa was revoked six months later.
However, the university’s International Student and Scholar Services office had previously advised him that he could legally remain in the US as long as he maintained his academic status.
At the University of Cincinnati, several international students had their F-1 visas revoked by the DHS.
In a statement, UC President Neville G. Pinto confirmed that a “small number” of international students were affected.
While specific reasons for the revocations were not provided, President Pinto emphasized the university’s support for its international community and encouraged any impacted students to contact International Services for assistance.
At the University of Oregon, an international student had their F-1 visa revoked by the DHS on March 28 due to “unspecified criminal charges.”
The university confirmed it was not notified in advance and has no information about the charges. The student was given 15 days to leave the US unless they could find a legal pathway to remain.
UO expressed concern over the situation, emphasizing its commitment to the student’s privacy.
At the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), two international students had their legal status revoked following federal actions.
University staff discovered through routine checks of the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) that the students’ statuses had been terminated.
One student from India lost his status on April 3, 2025, while another from Lebanon faced termination on March 28.
Both were graduate students participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT), and both students chose to leave the country voluntarily to avoid detention.
Later, UT Austin voiced concern over the cancellations and is actively seeking more information from federal agencies.
Across University of California (UC) campuses, several international students have had their visas revoked due to federal actions.
At UCLA, Chancellor Julio Frenk reported that visas were revoked for six current students and six former students in the OPT program. At UC Davis, officials confirmed visa terminations for seven students and five recent graduates.
“These numbers may change. Federal agents have not entered our campus, and no community members have been taken into custody,” the university said in a statement on Saturday.
At UC San Diego (UCSD), five students lost their F-1 visas without notice. A sixth student was detained at the border and deported. No explanation has been provided.
At UC Irvine, five international students were affected by visa revocations, though details remain unclear. At UC Berkeley, at least six individuals—two undergraduates, two graduate students, and two recent alumni—had their visas revoked. No reasons were given, but advocacy groups believe activism may be a factor.
At UC Santa Barbara, three cases of visa revocations were reported, though no further details have been released.
At Stanford University in California, four students and two recent graduates had their visas revoked. The revocations were discovered during a routine check of the SEVIS database.
Stanford officials stated they were unaware of the reasons behind the actions and confirmed that no immigration authorities had entered the campus.
The affected individuals were notified, and the university is offering external legal assistance. No specific allegations have been disclosed.
At Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU Mankato), federal actions have affected several international students.
In early April 2025, President Edward Inch informed the campus community that the DHS had revoked the SEVIS records of five students.
Inch called the situation “unprecedented and troubling,” urging the community to handle it with sensitivity due to privacy protections.
Neither the students nor the university had received advance notice of the terminations.
At Texas A&M University (TAMU), officials reported that three international students had their legal residency status terminated by DHS.
The university’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) has been providing guidance on immigration policy and connecting the affected students with legal resources.
At the University of Minnesota, a mass deportation effort under the Trump administration led to the detention and visa revocation of an international graduate student.
On March 27, Dogukan Gunaydin, a Turkish citizen and graduate student, was detained by ICE agents near his residence as he was leaving for class.
He reported that the agents did not initially identify themselves, leaving him to fear he was being kidnapped.
The DHS later claimed his visa had been revoked due to a prior DUI conviction. However, his legal team argues that the revocation took place roughly seven hours after his arrest.
Gunaydin has filed a lawsuit challenging his detention, alleging violations of his constitutional rights and seeking immediate release.
The suit contends that the retroactive visa revocation and subsequent detention are unlawful and infringe on his rights to free speech and due process.
At Kent State University in Ohio, four individuals affiliated with the university had their visas revoked.
KSU President Todd Diacon announced that the DHS revoked the visas of one current international student and three recent graduates who were on OPT work permits.
The reasons behind the revocations remain undisclosed. The university expressed concern over the lack of transparency and absence of prior notice.
At the University of Akron, visas for two international students were revoked.
On April 4, 2025, UA confirmed the actions by DHS and stated that the affected students were now working with immigration attorneys to navigate the situation.
The university also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the students during this difficult time.
At Ohio State University, at least five international students had their F-1 visas revoked, according to university spokesperson Ben Johnson.
The reasons for the revocations remain unclear. The students are currently in the US and are working with attorneys and university officials to determine their next steps.
At the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst), five international students had their visas revoked and student statuses terminated by the federal government this past week.
Chancellor Javier Reyes shared the news on April 4, explaining that the university was not notified in advance and only discovered the revocations through proactive SEVIS database checks.
While the reasons are still unclear, similar cases nationwide have been linked to minor infractions or student activism.
UMass stated it is actively supporting the affected students, providing both on-campus and off-campus resources, including legal assistance.
At Central Michigan University, the DHS abruptly terminated the visa records of several current and former international students without prior notice.
The university discovered the terminations during routine checks of the SEVIS. Neither CMU nor the affected students were informed in advance, and no explanation has been provided.
CMU President Neil MacKinnon called the situation “alarming” and noted that the university has no authority to reverse the decisions or offer legal representation.
Students have been advised to consult immigration attorneys. In response, the university has designated certain campus spaces where ICE agents must present judicial warrants to enter.
Several institutions across Minnesota have reported an increasing number of visa revocations involving international students. The reasons for the revocations remain undisclosed, and federal authorities have not commented. Here’s what has been confirmed so far:
Ridgewater College (Hutchinson and Willmar campuses): One international student recently had their visa revoked. College officials have not released further information regarding the timing or cause.
St. Cloud State University: A “handful” of international students had their SEVIS records terminated by DHS. The university has stated it is working directly with affected students to provide support.
Metropolitan State University (St. Paul): One international student’s SEVIS record was terminated. It remains unclear whether their visa was also revoked, and no additional details have been disclosed by the university.
12,000 Brits arrested per year over social media posts – Times
RT | April 7, 2025
Thousands of people in the UK have been detained and questioned by police over online posts deemed threatening or offensive, The Times has reported, citing custody data.
According to figures published on Friday, officers make around 12,000 arrests annually under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and Section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988. These laws criminalize causing distress by sending messages that are “grossly offensive,” or by sharing content of an “indecent, obscene or menacing character” via electronic communications networks.
In 2023 alone, officers from 37 police forces made 12,183 arrests – around 33 per day. The Times said this marks a 58% increase from 2019, when 7,734 arrests were recorded.
At the same time, government data shows that convictions and sentencings have dropped by nearly a half. While some cases were resolved through out-of-court settlements, the most commonly cited reason was “evidential difficulties,” particularly when victims declined to proceed.
The statistics have sparked public outcry, with civil liberties groups accusing the authorities of overpolicing the internet and undermining free speech through the use of “vague” communications laws.
The Times highlighted the case of Maxie Allen and Rosalind Levine, who were arrested on January 29 after raising concerns in a private parents’ WhatsApp group about the hiring process of their daughter’s school. Six uniformed officers arrived at their home, detained them in front of their youngest child, and took them to a police station.
The couple was questioned on suspicion of harassment, malicious communications, and causing a nuisance on school property after the school alleged they had “cast aspersions” about the chair of governors. They were fingerprinted, searched, and locked in a cell for eight hours.
“It was hard to shake off the sense that I was living in a police state,” Allen told the Daily Mail, adding that the messages contained “no offensive language or threat” but were simply a “bit sarcastic.”
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Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu: Leave No Palestinian or Arab Alive
By Jonas E. Alexis | Veterans Today | July 23, 2017
Israeli Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu seems to have picked up where the late Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef left off. The Israeli army, Eliyahu said, must slaughter the Palestinians “and leave no one alive.” The Palestinians, the good rabbi continued, must be “destroyed and crushed in order to end violence.” Here is Eliyahu’s algorithm:
“If they don’t stop after we kill 100, then we must kill 1,000. And if they do not stop after 1,000, then we must kill 10,000. If they still don’t stop we must kill 100,000, even a million.”
There is more to this “logic” than meets the eye and ear. Eliyahu even postulated that the Israeli army ought not to get involved in arresting Palestinians because “If you leave him alive, there is a fear that he will be released and kill other people. We must eradicate this evil from within our midst.”
You may say that this is just an isolated case. No Israeli official believes that, right? … continue
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