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Indonesia Shouldn’t Trade Palestine for OECD Membership

By Dr. Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat | MEMO | June 9, 2025

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto recently signaled that the country may consider recognizing Israel—if Israel, in turn, recognizes Palestinian statehood. The remarks, made during talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, surprised many. Yet they closely reflect Indonesia’s broader strategic ambition: to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

For years, Israel—a member of the OECD—has reportedly blocked Indonesia’s accession, citing the absence of diplomatic ties. Now, with Jakarta eager to elevate its global standing and strengthen economic relationships with the West, a question looms: Should Indonesia trade its decades-long commitment to Palestinian rights for the prestige and potential benefits of OECD membership?

Indonesia has long been a consistent and principled advocate for Palestinian self-determination. That position is not mere posturing—it is grounded in the country’s anti-colonial identity and moral commitments. Since its founding, Indonesia has refused to normalise relations with Israel, viewing its occupation of Palestinian land and repeated military campaigns in Gaza and the West Bank as incompatible with international justice.

To reverse that position now—particularly while Israel continues a devastating campaign in Gaza—would signal a betrayal of these long-held values. It would also risk undermining Indonesia’s standing in the Muslim world and among nations in the Global South that have long looked to Jakarta as a moral voice in global affairs.

Critics of Indonesia’s policy argue that normalisation with Israel is the cost of entry to the OECD. But that is a false choice. Several OECD members, including Turkey and Mexico, maintain complicated or strained relationships with Israel while retaining full membership. There is no reason Indonesia cannot pursue the same path: engaging with the OECD while holding firm to its commitment to Palestinian rights.

Indeed, accession to the OECD could be a powerful platform for Indonesia—not to silence its principles, but to project them. From within the organisation, Indonesia could push for greater scrutiny of member states’ positions on occupation and apartheid, challenge prevailing double standards, and advocate for justice in global governance. It could use its voice to call out the complicity of powerful countries and demand accountability for ongoing violations of international law.

The OECD should not be treated as a reward for political alignment, but as a forum for constructive engagement. If Indonesia joins on the condition that it compromises its moral foundation, its membership will be hollow.

The broader problem is the international community’s continued commitment to a two-state solution—a model that has long failed Palestinians. The facts on the ground, including the unchecked expansion of Israeli settlements and the fragmentation of Palestinian land, make the vision of two viable, sovereign states increasingly implausible.

Indonesia, with its legacy of anti-colonial resistance and principled diplomacy, has the credibility to challenge the outdated two-state framework. It should advocate for a rights-based approach that guarantees equality, dignity, and justice for Palestinians. Whether through a single democratic state or another inclusive model; any viable solution must start with the recognition that the current status quo is untenable.

Prabowo’s statement raises a deeper concern: the risk of transactional diplomacy displacing principled foreign policy. The Indonesian people, by and large, remain steadfast in their support for Palestine. Any move toward normalisation with Israel would likely provoke a public backlash and raise questions about democratic accountability at home.

International legitimacy cannot be bought through silence or moral compromise. It must be earned by standing firm in the face of injustice. Indonesia’s foreign policy has historically exemplified this principle, from its leadership in the Non-Aligned Movement to its outspoken defence of oppressed peoples. That legacy must not be discarded for short-term political or economic advantage.

Indonesia’s true influence in the world has never stemmed from wealth or military might. It has come from moral clarity and bold leadership. If the country seeks a place among the world’s most developed economies, it should do so on its own terms—without abandoning the values that have long defined its role on the global stage.

The world does not need another silent bystander. It needs countries willing to speak hard truths. That is the Indonesia the world respects—and the one its people deserve.

June 9, 2025 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , | Leave a comment

Jury Hears Conflicting Testimony in Trial Alleging Hospital’s Actions — Not COVID — Caused Teen’s Death

By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. | The Defender | June 6, 2025

The parents of Grace Schara, a 19-year-old with Down syndrome who died in a Wisconsin hospital days after being admitted for a COVID-19 infection, testified this week in court that their daughter died as a result of a lethal combination of drugs and a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order the hospital implemented without their consent.

Grace’s family sued Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in April 2023 and filed an amended complaint in July 2023, alleging the hospital’s COVID-19 treatment protocols directly resulted in Grace’s death in October 2021, a week after admission.

The trial began Tuesday at the State of Wisconsin Circuit Court for Outagamie County.

“This isn’t about failing to provide information. This is about providing treatment with no consent whatsoever,” Scott Schara, Grace’s father, testified on Wednesday. “Her passing was a result of combining Precedex, lorazepam and morphine in a 26-minute window and putting an illegal do-not-resuscitate order on her chart.”

The lawsuit names 14 defendants, including Ascension Health, five medical doctors and four John Doe medical providers, two registered nurses, and the Wisconsin Injured Patients and Family Compensation Fund.

The defendants argued that Schara may have died due to “a naturally progressing disease, a pre-existing condition, or a superseding or intervening cause,” Green Bay-based CBS affiliate WFRV reported.

According to the Journal Sentinel, the hospital also argued that the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) provided it and its doctors and staff immunity from liability during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At times during the first three days of the trial, hospital doctors and nurses who testified appeared to contradict themselves over whether Grace had been oversedated and whether her family consented to a DNR order.

Green Bay, Wisconsin-based ABC affiliate WBAY reported, “This is the first wrongful death jury trial in the country for a death listed as COVID-19 on the death certificate.” WFRV reported that “this landmark case could have far-reaching implications for how medical decisions are made, especially during a public health crisis.”

The trial could last up to three weeks. Up to 22 witnesses may testify, WFRV reported, adding that the case may draw attention “to critical issues surrounding informed consent and the rights of patients and their families in the healthcare system.”

Scharas allege lack of informed consent, violation of standards of care

During opening statements Tuesday, Warner Mendenhall, the Schara family’s attorney, said the hospital violated standards of care in their treatment of Grace.

“Instead of recognizing the life-threatening situation and reducing the medications causing the problems, this medical team did the opposite,” Mendenhall said.

Jason Franckowiak and Randall Guse, attorneys for the defendants, said hospital staff provided an appropriate standard of care, which did not lead to Grace’s death. Instead, they argued that a worsening COVID-19 infection led to her death.

Her parents testified that they became concerned after their daughter displayed allergy symptoms in late September 2021, days after the family attended a concert, and that they took her for treatment as a precautionary measure.

“We were just hoping that we would just get some supplemental oxygen,” Cindy Schara, Grace’s mother, testified Tuesday.

Scott Schara told the court that Grace “was not having any trouble breathing,” and that “it wasn’t an emergency, so there was no need to have Grace in the hospital.”

But the hospital told the family they were keeping Grace overnight “for observation” and that they would put her on a steroid “for two to three days,” after which she would be discharged. “But that’s not what happened,” Cindy Schara testified.

Instead, hospital staff gave Grace Precedex, lorazepam and morphine. Mendenhall said that Precedex “dangerously lowered” Grace’s blood pressure and pulse, and that her condition improved after its dosage was lowered.

According to Scott Schara, after Grace’s first oversedation event, Dr. Gavin Shokar, a defendant who was the primary physician in charge of Grace’s care, gave an order to stop administering Precedex, but nursing staff waited 22 minutes to do so.

Shokar testified Thursday that he was uncertain whether his order was immediately implemented. Hospital staff also provided contradictory testimony in response to the Scharas’ claims that Grace had been oversedated with these medications.

Shokar testified that he “was aware” that Grace had been oversedated at least once. Samuel Haines, a nurse at the hospital, said Grace had been oversedated “only for a brief period.”

However, Hollee McInnis, another defendant, said Grace was “not oversedated.”

A witness for the Schara family, Dr. Gilbert Berdine, an associate professor of medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, said Grace was oversedated three times during her hospital stay.

According to Grace’s parents, the family did not consent to the medications and did not find out they were administered until later.

“If they would’ve asked me for consent with those, of course, I would’ve asked a lot of questions,” Scott Schara testified. He said the hospital also didn’t tell him that they reclassified Grace’s hospital room as an ICU room.

McInnis testified that she “personally did not witness” hospital doctors obtaining consent to administer the drugs in question.

Grace’s father removed from hospital after ‘pushing to get her fed’

During his testimony, Scott Schara also recounted a “heated conversation” he had with hospital staff who rejected his request to feed Grace because she was on a BiPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) machine — a type of non-invasive ventilation.

The confrontation led the hospital to order Scott removed from the hospital, and send an armed guard to Grace’s room to escort him out.

“That’s one of the reasons I was kicked out. I was pushing to get her fed,” Scott Schara testified. “That was the last time I saw Grace alive physically.”

Hospital staff testified that Scott Schara was removed because some nurses did not want him in the room, because he was shutting off alarms from Grace’s medical equipment at night. Staff said they also suspected he had COVID-19.

But Mendenhall said Scott’s questioning of medical staff was “exactly what he was supposed to do as a dad and power of attorney for healthcare.”

According to the Scharas’ legal team, Shokar could have overruled the order to eject Scott from the hospital. But Shokar testified that his “primary responsibility was to Grace” and that “these things are non-pertinent to her particular care.”

In subsequent days, Grace’s family was able to communicate with her solely through FaceTime calls — until the hospital took Grace’s phone away.

“Cindy and I had no opportunity to communicate with Grace unless it was initiated by the hospital,” Scott Schara testified.

Hospital repeatedly pressured family to ‘pre-authorize’ a ventilator for Grace

The Scharas also testified that hospital staff repeatedly pressured them to “pre-authorize” a ventilator for Grace, even though, according to Mendenhall, “there was no need for a ventilator.”

Cindy Schara testified that she received several calls from the hospital “asking us for a pre-authorization to put Grace on a vent if something would’ve happened in the middle of the night — that is how it was always presented.”

“There was family there, so there was no need for a pre-authorization,” she added.

Scott Schara testified that Dr. Karl Baum, one of the defendants in the case, told him that “a 20% chance” of saving Grace’s life was “better than no chance” in his efforts to convince the family to pre-approve a ventilator.

“Asking for Grace to be with a pre-authorization for a ventilator at that point was the equivalent of asking somebody for a pre-authorization for a leg amputation when they just have a sprained ankle,” Scott Schara testified.

Grace’s father also testified that Shokar acknowledged during a phone call that placing Grace on a ventilator would not have saved her life.

Shokar also had separate phone calls with Grace’s parents, purportedly to make amends after Scott was removed from the hospital. But the parents testified that the conversation transitioned to renewed efforts to get them to pre-authorize a ventilator for Grace, which they again rejected.

‘We watched her die’

Grace’s parents also testified that they repeatedly told hospital staff that they did not consent to a DNR order.

Hospital staff provided contradictory testimony as to whether Grace’s family provided consent. According to Shokar, Grace’s family ultimately agreed to a DNI — a “Do Not Intubate” order.

“We started to talk about goals of care, what you guys want to do in the worst case scenario, which would be if she were to crash, essentially cardiopulmonary arrest,” Shokar testified Thursday. “I was very confident that we came to a resolution to say, ‘This is what we want to do and this is what the family wants.’”

But according to Mendenhall, Grace’s family later learned that Shokar documented that Grace had both a DNI and DNR order, adding that they did not find out about the DNR until hours before her death. The hospital did not honor their subsequent request to remove the DNR from Grace’s chart.

Cindy Shara said they would not have agreed to a DNR order on their own, without the participation of Grace’s primary care physician, an attorney, their pastor and other family members. “It would be a terrible thing to have to decide,” she testified.

As a result of the DNR, hospital staff did not intervene during Grace’s final moments of life, Grace’s parents said. “We watched her die,” Scott Schara testified.

During her testimony, McInnis acknowledged that she was responsible for placing a wristband on Grace’s arm that would have indicated her DNR status, but could not recall whether she had placed such a wristband on Grace. “If she didn’t have one on, it would be because I had not put it on,” McInnis testified.

“I believe that denying Grace any assistance to help her in her final moments was just horrific,” Cindy Schara testified.

CHD.TV is livestreaming the trial daily.

The family’s lawsuit alleges medical negligence, violations of informed consent, and medical battery — a standard of intentional harm beyond medical negligence by doctors and other providers that, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is rarely invoked in such legal cases.

According to the complaint, the hospital was financially incentivized to implement COVID-19 protocols that allegedly caused Grace’s death.

This article was originally published by The Defender — Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Please consider subscribing to The Defender or donating to Children’s Health Defense.

June 8, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Corruption, Deception | , , | Leave a comment

UK Government Uses Immigration Failures to Justify Digital ID Rollout

By Ken Macon | Reclaim The Net | June 4, 2025

The UK’s Labour government is facing mounting pressure over its failure to stem the rise in illegal immigration, as the number of people arriving via small boats continues to surge to record highs.

Over the weekend, nearly 1,200 migrants crossed the Channel in a single day, the largest number recorded so far this year.

Rather than offering a concrete solution to stop the crossings, the Government is now using the crisis to justify the introduction of a digital ID system.

Defense Secretary John Healey openly conceded that Britain had “lost control of its borders,” a stark admission that has only intensified scrutiny of Labour’s handling of immigration.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper addressed MPs with a proposal that would tie e-visas to a new digital ID for all individuals entering the UK. “We want to have a digital service linked to e-visas and linked to our border management process to be able to determine whether an individual is in or out of the UK, whether they have left at the point at which their visa expires or whether they are overstaying and immigration enforcement action is needed,” she said.

Labour’s growing reliance on digital ID to address immigration failures is unfolding alongside a broader and far more consequential transformation: the nationwide rollout of the Gov.uk Wallet, a centralized digital identity app set to launch this summer.

While pitched as an administrative upgrade, the shift arrives at a politically charged moment, with the government invoking border control failures as justification for embedding surveillance infrastructure more deeply into everyday life.

By presenting digital ID as the answer to immigration enforcement shortcomings, ministers risk normalizing a system that reaches far beyond its initial remit.

This convergence of border policy and digital identity expansion suggests a strategic reframing, where rising migrant arrivals are used not only to defend immigration crackdowns but also to accelerate public buy-in for a permanent digital identity regime.

Starting with digital Veteran cards and driving licenses, and eventually consolidating all state-issued credentials into a single app by 2027.

June 7, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties | , | Leave a comment

Canada’s New Border Law Hides a Surveillance Time Bomb

By Ken Macon | Reclaim The Net | June 6, 2025

Canada’s new Strong Border Act tabled as Bill C-2, is being framed by the federal government as a step toward strengthening border security. But hidden within its lengthy legislative text is a familiar and troubling push for expanded surveillance powers, this time without the need for court authorization.

Nestled deep in the bill are provisions that grant law enforcement sweeping new authority to demand subscriber data from service providers, bypassing the oversight mechanisms long seen as essential to protecting Canadians’ privacy.

The bill revives the “lawful access” agenda, one that law enforcement agencies have been pursuing since the late 1990s. These digital access provisions are not new, but their inclusion in a border-focused bill appears to be a calculated effort to quietly reintroduce them under a different guise. Despite being repeatedly rebuffed by public opposition, parliamentary committees, and Canada’s highest court, the drive to erode digital privacy protections continues.

This legislative maneuver follows years of setbacks for warrantless access advocates. In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled decisively in R. v. Spencer that Canadians have a legitimate expectation of privacy when it comes to subscriber information. The Court stressed that identifying individuals based on their Internet activity could easily expose sensitive personal behavior and that police demands for such information constituted a search requiring proper legal authorization.

According to Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa, law enforcement has continued to seek ways around those constraints. Past efforts to legislate access without judicial oversight have either failed to pass or been dropped due to public backlash.

A 2010 bill mandating the disclosure of customer details, including IP addresses and device identifiers, without a warrant was abandoned.

In 2014, a new bill was introduced, ostensibly to tackle “cyberbullying.” In practice, it reintroduced many of the same provisions that had been defeated under earlier proposals. While dressed in the language of protecting youth online, its underlying purpose was once again to broaden law enforcement access to digital subscriber data with limited oversight.

The Supreme Court’s Spencer ruling remained a major obstacle, reaffirming the privacy rights of Canadians. Then, in 2023, the Bykovets decision extended those protections further, affirming that IP addresses also warrant constitutional safeguards. The Court noted that if digital privacy is to mean anything in the modern age, then these basic digital identifiers must be protected under Section 8 of the Charter.

Despite this legal precedent, Bill C-2 is attempting to carve out a new space for surveillance. Among its more concerning features is a clause that would allow authorities to issue “information demands” to service providers without needing judicial approval. These demands would compel companies to confirm whether they provide services to specific users, whether they hold transmission data related to those accounts, and where the services are or were provided, both inside and outside Canada.

The threshold for triggering such a demand is alarmingly low. Law enforcement must merely suspect that a crime has occurred or may occur and that the requested information could aid an investigation. The demand doesn’t require disclosing the actual data, but it functions as a roadmap to it, alerting police to which providers hold what kind of information and where it might be found. Such indirect searches effectively sidestep the very privacy protections the courts have upheld.

Notably, none of these measures relate directly to border enforcement. Their presence in a border bill serves a strategic purpose: to avoid the scrutiny that such provisions would attract if introduced through standalone legislation. This tactic, often seen in omnibus bills or unrelated amendments, allows controversial policies to advance quietly under the cover of more palatable reforms.

Professor Geist has a full in-depth look at the history of such laws here.

June 7, 2025 Posted by | Book Review, Full Spectrum Dominance | , | Leave a comment

After losing its propaganda war, Israel silencing critics over Gaza genocide: UK scholar

By David Miller | Press TV | June 5, 2025

A British scholar, who is being sued for his pro-Palestine activism on social media, says Israel is seeking to silence its critics after losing a propaganda war regarding the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

David Miller, a producer and co-host of Press TV’s weekly Palestine Declassified show, made the remarks in an X post  on Wednesday, after the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), a pro-Israel NGO, launched a private prosecution against him.

The CCA said it has brought three charges against Miller, alleging that he had used X to send messages of a menacing character.

Miller said the CAA acts on behalf of Israel, which is “a hostile and illegitimate genocidal Jewish supremacist” regime.

“This attempt at a private prosecution is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), and an act of desperation by … Israel in a propaganda war it has already lost,” he added.

“Israel, via the CAA, is attempting to buy its way into the criminal justice system to silence critics of Zionism. They will fail.”

Miller’s three messages mentioned in the case were posted from November 2024 onwards. They also concluded with the hashtag “Dismantle Zionism.”

The first hearing into the case is expected to take place at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on July 2.

Miller previously worked as a professor of political sociology at the University of Bristol, but he was unfairly and wrongfully dismissed in October 2021 over his pro-Palestine advocacy.

Anger against Israel has increased worldwide since October 7, 2023, when the occupying regime launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Almost 20 months into its brutal aggression, Israel has failed to achieve its declared objectives in Gaza despite killing at least 54,607 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 125,341 others.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

More evidence implicates ‘Israel’ in harrowing Gaza aid massacre: CNN

Al Mayadeen | June 5, 2025

A CNN investigation has revealed compelling evidence suggesting that invading Israeli units opened fire on Palestinians gathered at a humanitarian aid site in Rafah, southern Gaza, debunking official Israeli claims and raising serious questions about the safety of the aid distribution system supported by the US and “Israel”.

The “Israeli hunger trap massacre” occurred early Sunday near the Tal al-Sultan distribution site and resulted in the killing of at least 31 Palestinians, with dozens more wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Video evidence, geolocation analysis, and eyewitness testimonies strongly indicate that Israeli gunfire at the Gaza aid site was responsible for the victims, CNN reported.

According to the news network, more than a dozen eyewitnesses, including injured survivors, reported that Israeli troops fired in volleys at the crowd. Footage reviewed by CNN, geolocated to the Al-Aalam roundabout approximately 800 meters from the fenced aid area, shows sustained bursts of gunfire. Forensic analysis confirmed the firing pattern matched machine guns typically mounted on Israeli tanks.

Weapons experts interviewed by CNN noted the fire rate, ranging from 900 to 960 rounds per minute, aligned with Israeli FN MAG machine guns. Bullets removed from the wounded were identified as 7.62mm NATO standard, consistent with Israeli military weaponry.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror as they sought food. Mohammed Saqer, 43, told CNN he witnessed people being shot in the head around him. “We survived a night that was worse than we could imagine,” he said. “The reality for people was one of death and hunger searching for food.”

GHF, IOF deny responsibility despite growing evidence

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US- and Israeli-backed aid mechanism operating outside UN frameworks, confirmed that Israeli forces were active in the area but denied any gunfire within or around the “aid site”. In a public statement, GHF alleged, “All aid was distributed today without incident. These fake reports have been actively fomented by Hamas. They are untrue and fabricated.”

The Israeli occupation military initially claimed no troops had fired at civilians “while they were near or within the aid site.” Later, a military source admitted to firing warning shots at individuals “about 1 kilometer away.” However, the CNN Gaza investigation presents a far more troubling account.

Pressed by CNN, the Israeli military declined to comment further. At a press briefing, IOF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin rejected the report entirely, calling it “false” and accusing CNN of echoing what he described as “Hamas propaganda”. He dismissed the reported casualty numbers without offering an alternative.

Yet survivors and witnesses continue to challenge the official narrative. Ihab Musleh said his 13-year-old son, Yazeed, was shot after waving at an Israeli tank. “Within seconds, he was hit with gunfire and fell to the ground,” Musleh said from the hospital.

Humanitarian fallout, global scrutiny mount

The Rafah aid convoy deaths mark the most harrowing Israeli massacres in recent months and underscore mounting global criticism of the GHF’s heavily militarized distribution system. The United Nations has warned that the initiative risks becoming a “death trap”.

Unlike UNRWA and other UN agencies, the GHF does not register aid recipients or vet civilians approaching distribution points. Despite claims that the system was created to prevent aid diversion, recent attacks suggest it lacks essential safeguards.

CNN’s reporting further revealed that multiple TikTok videos, including some taken by 30-year-old Ameen Khalifa, captured panicked scenes during the attack. Khalifa was later killed in an Israeli drone strike while attempting to return to the site two days later.

Following Sunday’s attack, GHF updated its public aid maps, placing a red stop sign over the Al-Aalam roundabout and warning Palestinians to avoid the area. Nonetheless, similar attacks occurred on Monday and Tuesday, resulting in nearly 30 additional killings. The IOF admitted its forces opened fire again after spotting “several suspects moving toward them.”

UN criticizes GHF framework as political, dangerous

UN officials have sharply criticized the GHF for creating a system that is both politically selective and operationally unsafe. In remarks before the UN Security Council, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher condemned the program:

“It restricts aid to only one part of Gaza, while leaving other dire needs unmet. It makes aid conditional on political and military aims. It makes starvation a bargaining chip. It is a cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement.”

As Israeli assaults against Palestinians escalate around “aid distribution points,” the credibility of Israeli denials of civilian targeting continues to erode under growing visual and forensic evidence. Humanitarian organizations warn that if these patterns continue, the entire aid infrastructure in Gaza may collapse under the weight of mistrust, militarization, and unchecked Israeli brutality.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Subjugation - Torture | , , , , | Leave a comment

How world leaders stand with genocide

By Ramona Wadi | MEMO | June 5, 2025

Do world leaders really want the genocide in Gaza to end? Israel’s arms sales record for 2024 paints a clearer picture of where the international communities’ loyalties lie.

For the fourth consecutive year Israel broke its arms sales record, totalling $14.8 billion in 2024. Israeli media reports note that European countries were the largest purchaser of arms exports at 54 per cent, surpassing Asia-Pacific which amounted to 23 per cent of total sales, down by 2 per cent for 2024. Notably, countries that signed the Abraham Accords and normalised relations with Israel increased their weapons purchases from 3 per cent in 2023, to 12 per cent in 2024.

According to Yair Kulas, head of Israel’s International Defence Cooperation Directorate, there is political pressure on countries to refrain from purchasing Israeli weapons. “The militaries want our top-tier products, but political forces are blocking them. I hope necessity outweighs politics.”

Judging from the record sales, the politics of genocide are reaping profits for Israel and instability in the rest of the world. Between these looming dangers, Palestinians are experiencing the might of Israel’s weapons first-hand. And what does the world do? Encourage further genocide by purchasing more weapons from Israel.

Diplomatically, Israel is far from isolated. Israel will be participating in the EU-Southern Neighbourhood ministerial meeting in which governance, climate change, migration, economic development and energy will be discussed. An unnamed EU official has already stated that “the ongoing war in Gaza” will not be discussed during the meeting. There is also no fixed date for the review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

The EU cannot even pretend that there is a rift in diplomatic relations between the bloc and Israel. It is merely stalling for time, even though genocide is by now acceptable within diplomatic circles that have made a mockery out of international law.

The same governments that feign concern over humanitarian aid in Gaza are supporting the genocidal framework that bans humanitarian aid and causes humanitarian devastation in Gaza. Maybe the international community can articulate which part of genocide it specifically opposes? Not bombs, surely.

It is not necessity that will outweigh politics, to use Kulas’s words. Necessity is created by politics, in this case the politics of colonialism and genocide.

While Israel gloats in its successive terror narrative and its profits, Germany, for example has reiterated its commitment to delivering weapons to Israel. “Germany must know where it stands and say it clearly: alongside Israel,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul stated. But what if Germany clearly stated the meaning of this diplomatic jargon – that it stands with Israel’s genocide in Gaza? Since October 2003, Germany approved over $550 million of arms exports to Israel.

Only a few weeks ago, the EU attempted to give the impression that the tide is turning for Israel. Of course, no one believed the statements. Since then, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund is obstructing aid by killing Palestinians and closing its hubs. More Palestinians have been burnt to death. More Palestinians have starved to death. Just mere hours ago, the US vetoed a resolution for an unconditional and permanent ceasefire because the text is unacceptable, according to the US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea.

World leaders have only left one gap in their narrative – an unequivocal statement that they stand with genocide.

June 5, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Gaza’s ‘humanitarian’ façade: A deceptive ploy unraveled

By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | June 4, 2025

Just one day before the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began operating officially inside the Gaza Strip, its executive director, Jake Wood, resigned.

The text of his resignation statement underscored what many had already suspected: GHF is not a humanitarian endeavor, but the latest scam by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to control the Gaza Strip, after 600 days of war and genocide.

“It is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence,” Wood said in the statement, which was cited by CNN and other media.

This begs the question: why had that realisation become ‘clear’ to Wood, even though the aid operation was not yet in effect? The rest of the statement offers some explanation, suggesting that the American contractor may not have known the extent of the Israeli ploy until later, but knew that a disaster was unfolding – the kind that would surely require investigating and, possibly, accountability.

In fact, an investigation by Swiss authorities had already begun. The US news network, CBS, looked into the matter, reporting on 29 May that GHF originally applied for registration in Geneva on January 31 and was officially registered on February 12. However, in no time, Swiss authorities began noticing repeated violations, including that the Swiss branch of GHF is “currently not fulfilling various legal obligations”.

In its original application, GHF “pursues exclusively charitable philanthropic objectives for the benefit of the people.” Strangely, the entity that promised to provide “material, psychological or health” services to famine-stricken Gazans, found it necessary to employ 300 “heavily armed” American contractors, with “as much ammunition as they can carry,” CBS reported.

The ‘psychological’ support in particular was the most ironic, as desperate Gazans were corralled, on 27 May, into cages under extremely high temperatures, only to be given tiny amounts of food that, according to Rami Abdu, head of the Geneva-based Euro-Med Monitor, were in fact stolen from a US-based charitable organization known as Rahma Worldwide.

Following the CBS news report, among others, and following several days of chaos and violence in Gaza, where at least 49 Palestinians were killed and over 300 wounded by those who promised to give aid and comfort, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that the funding for the operation is coming directly from Israel.

Prominent Israeli politician and Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman went even further, claiming that the money, estimated by The Washington Post to be $100 million, “is coming from the Mossad and the Defence Ministry.”

But why would Israel go through all of this trouble while it can, at no financial cost, simply allow the massive shipments of aid, reportedly rotting on the Egyptian side of the border, to enter Gaza and to stave off the famine?

In Netanyahu’s mind, the aid mechanism is part of the war. In a video message, reported by The Jerusalem Post on May 19, he described the new aid distributing points, manned jointly by GHF and the Israeli army, as “parallel to the enormous pressure” Israel is putting on the Palestinians – exemplified in Israel’s “massive (military) entrance (into Gaza)” – with the aim of “taking control of all of the Gaza” Strip.

In Netanyahu’s own words, all of this, the military-arranged aid and ongoing genocide, is “the war and victory plan.”

Of course, Palestinians and international aid groups operating in Gaza, including UN-linked aid apparatuses, were fully aware that the secretive Israel-US scheme was predicated on bad intentions. This is why they wanted to have nothing to do with it.

In Israel’s thinking, any aid mechanism that would sustain the status quo that existed prior to the war and genocide starting on 7 October, 2023, would be equivalent to an admission of defeat. This is precisely why Israel laboured to associate the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, with Hamas.

This included the launching of a virulent campaign against the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres himself, and other top officials and rapporteurs. On July 22, the Israeli Knesset went as far as to designate UNRWA a “terrorist organisation”.

Still, it may seem to be a contradiction that the likes of extremist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich would agree to such an ‘aid’ scheme just days after declaring that Israel’s intention is to “entirely destroy” Gaza.

However, there is no contradiction. Having failed to conquer Gaza through military force, Israel is trying to use its latest aid scheme to capitalise on the famine it has purposely engineered over the course of months.

Luring people to ‘distribution points’, the Israeli army is trying to concentrate the population of Gaza in areas that can be easily controlled through leveraging food, with the ultimate aim of pushing Palestinians out, in the words of Smotrich, “in great numbers to third countries.”

The latest scheme is likely to fail, of course, like other such stratagems in the last 600 days. However, the inhumane and degrading treatment of Palestinians further illustrates Israel’s rejection of the growing international push to end the genocide.

For Israel to stop scheming, the international community must translate its strong words into strong action and hold, not just Israel, but its own citizens involved in the GHF and other ploys, accountable for being part of the ongoing war crimes in Gaza.

June 4, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | Leave a comment

Former German top diplomat and Zionist cheerleader rewarded with top UN job

By Ivan Kesic | Press TV | June 3, 2025

Former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, a well-known Zionist cheerleader and warmonger, has been elected as the new president of the United Nations General Assembly (UNSC), raising eyebrows worldwide.

Human rights activists and pro-Palestine advocates see it as an affront to the Palestinian victims of the ongoing Israeli-American genocidal war that has claimed more than 54,000 lives since October 2023, most of them children and women.

Craig Mokhiber, a human rights lawyer and former United Nations human rights official, in a post on X, slammed the appointment of Baerbock by the world body to “oversee its accelerating decline.”

“The United Nations was born in opposition to German war criminals. Today, it has elected a German war criminal to oversee its accelerating decline,” he wrote.

“80 years later, the Reich takes its revenge with Annalena Baerbock as UNGA President, in the midst of a genocide that she has enthusiastically abetted.”

He was referring to the Nazi Germany’s horrendous war crimes in the World War II, which prompted world leaders to form a body called United Nations in the aftermath of the war.

The United Nations (UN) was established in 1945 with the signing of the UN Charter by 51 countries, replacing the ineffective League of Nations, and essentially against German war criminals.

Annalena Baerbock, a prominent Green Party politician in Germany, will serve as the president of the United Nations General Assembly for its 80th session, starting in September 2025.

The election took place on June 2, 2025, where she ran unopposed and secured the position with a simple majority of 167 votes. Her inauguration is scheduled for September 9, 2025, just before the UN General Assembly’s general debate.

The role, which lasts one year, is primarily ceremonial and involves organizing and presiding over plenary sessions of the 193 member states, ensuring all voices are heard, and facilitating diplomatic consensus.

Baerbock’s nomination by the German government, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, came after the Green Party’s exclusion from the new German coalition government following the February 2025 elections.

The decision sparked controversy, as Germany had initially nominated diplomat Helga Schmid for the role. Schmid, a former OSCE Secretary-General, had been preparing for the position for nearly a year, meeting over 100 UN ambassadors.

Baerbock’s last-minute nomination was criticized by many, including former German UN ambassador Christoph Heusgen, who called it a “self-serving” move that undermined Germany’s credibility.

Polls indicated 57% of Germans viewed her nomination negatively, which is reflected by social media posts calling her the “dumbest minister ever.”

“German woman Annalena Baerbock, who can’t even speak German properly, let alone English, who was the dumbest minister ever, and even her university degree is fake, now gets the top UN job, proving the West to be a declining entity,” wrote journalist Sonja Van Den Ende.

Zionist cheerleader

In addition to her home country, Baerbock’s nomination and election have drawn criticism around the world, particularly for her approving views of the Zionist regime and its no-holds-barred genocidal war against the Palestinians in Gaza.

As German Foreign Minister from December 2021 to early 2025, she faced significant condemnation for her statements and positions from activists, academics, and political commentators.

Baerbock’s staunch support for the Israeli regime, rooted in Germany’s post-WW2 Zionist policy and the concept of Staatsräson (Israeli “security” as a German national interest), drew sharp criticism for bias and disregard for Palestinian rights.

Her statements often emphasized the so-called Israeli “right to self-defense” while offering limited critique of its genocidal actions, particularly after the events of October 7, 2023.

She legitimized Israeli attacks on civilians and on October 10, 2024, stated in the German Bundestag that “civilian sites in Gaza could lose their protected status if used by Hamas,” which drew widespread backlash.

A letter from 300 academics, organized by the Palestine Academic Group, accused her of “parroting Israel’s old narrative of human shielding,” a Zionist claim that has repeatedly been debunked as a pretext for targeting civilians in Gaza.

They argued that Baerbock disregarded international law, under which the Israeli regime, as an occupying power, cannot claim “self-defense,” and demanded she retract her statement and apologize to Palestinian civilians.

Protests in Berlin on October 21, 2024, echoed this sentiment, with demonstrators chanting, “Annalena Baerbock, shooting pregnant women in the stomach is not self-defense,” accusing her of justifying Israeli genocidal attacks on civilian infrastructure like hospitals and schools.

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, criticized Baerbock’s October 2024 speech, noting that while civilian sites can lose protected status under international law if used militarily, disproportionate harm to civilians remains illegal, a nuance Baerbock’s statements overlooked.

Journalist Afshin Rattansi said she was “enthusiastically backing Israel’s bombing of schools and innocent Palestinians in Gaza, justifying it as targeting Hamas.”

“The fact that this war criminal is allowed to assume the title of President of the UN General Assembly, instead of spending the rest of her days locked away in The Hague, is proof that the ‘rules-based order’ was nothing but a codeword for colonial barbarism,” he wrote on X.

British activist Sarah Wilkinson also took to her social media handle to decry her appointment.

“A disaster for the UN & Int’l Law, if Annalena Baerbock, who funded, armed & endorsed the #GazaGenocide is set to be UNGA’s President,” wrote Wilkinson.

Enabler of genocide in Gaza

Activists worldwide have highlighted Baerbock’s hypocrisy in supporting Israel’s genocidal actions while offering limited humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

Protesters in Berlin accused Germany of “feeding Israel with weapons and money” while sending aid to Palestine to “wash your bloody hands.”

Baerbock was denounced for failing to balance Germany’s support for the Israeli regime with equal concern for Palestinian suffering, with many calling her a “Zionist cheerleader” who led the Green Party to reactionary policies.

Media outlets reported that her six solidarity visits to the occupied Palestinian territories, contrasted with her minimal critique of Israeli genocidal actions, ignored diplomatic decorum and international law, in which she is supposed to hold an academic degree.

MERA25 and DiEM25, two German political parties, launched a petition on October 22, 2024, demanding Baerbock’s resignation, accusing her of complicity in “genocide and apartheid” through Germany’s diplomatic and military support for the Israeli crimes.

They cited her failure to address findings by the Lemkin Institute and UN experts on Israeli genocidal actions in Gaza, where over 42,600 people were killed by October 2024, mostly women and children.

Her “feminist foreign policy” was deemed a mockery, as she dehumanized Palestinian victims, tarnishing Germany’s international reputation.

In March 2024, the US-based Carnegie Endowment noted that Germany’s unconditional support for the Israeli regime under Baerbock isolated it globally, contradicting its stated commitment to international law and democracy.

Critics also accused her of a “Täter-Opfer-Umkehr” (perpetrator-victim reversal), showing little understanding of international security while ignoring Palestinian rights.

Her mild criticism of Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank, calling for prosecution but not imposing sanctions, was seen as insufficient, especially as Germany increased military exports to the Israeli regime tenfold from 2022 levels.

Baerbock’s approach to Iran, particularly her support for the Israeli stance against Iran and the Axis of Resistance, also drew scrutiny. Her critics argued her policies risked fueling a regional war.

June 3, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Progressive Hypocrite, War Crimes | , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Failed Blackmailing of Glenn Greenwald

By Kym Robinson | The Libertarian Institute | June 3, 2025

It is not a new thing to try and shame or blackmail an individual into silence. Whether the evidence is real or doctored doesn’t matter; only the judgement of the public is needed to destroy a person’s credibility.

Governments and criminal organizations have deployed this tactic for a long time. The U.S. government used these methods against civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., in an attempt to discredit his message. Foreign leaders have also been the victims of honey traps, which in turn led to photos of them indulging in sex acts; the Soviet Union used attractive women wisely in their espionage and blackmail for this purpose. During the Cold War, the promiscuous and homosexual nature of key figures in the British government ensured that they spied for the Soviet Union, rather than have such evidence divulged.

Journalist and prominent antiwar voice Glenn Greenwald was recently the victim of such an attempt to sully his character, and it has had mostly the opposite effect.

Greenwald has been a consistent and heroic voice for human rights for many years. The present onslaught against the people of Gaza and the complex nature of the war in Ukraine are just some areas which Greenwald has covered factual analysis and moral clarity. His journalism has drawn denunciation from the political establishment, including online trolls that relish in personal attacks at his expense. And now, video of him performing kinky sex acts is cover for another attempt to discredit him—apparently it’s not “revenge porn” when it’s targeting a political enemy. Further, being an openly gay man has invited personal abuse far harsher than any levied at Douglas Murray or Dave Rubin, who share Greenwald’s homosexual proclivities but are staunchly Zionist in their advocacy.

Greenwald speculated on a recent appearance with Tucker Carlson that it was the Israeli government who leaked the material against him, using spyware such as Pegasus, which he has repeatedly reported on. This is technology that a government can deploy not just against terrorists or malicious criminals, but journalists and civil rights activists.

The footage that has surfaced online of Greenwald performing intimate sex acts were timed after his most recent condemnation of the Israeli government. His critical assessment on the mass murder and starvation of innocent civilians, most of them children, is too contrarian it would seem. Instead of meeting him in debate, he has been met by attempts to discredit his character. Certain consensual sex acts can still draw an ire of condemnation, even from those who consider themselves socially liberal. Drug use, alcholism, gambling, even domestic violence all seem to be rather forgivable and seemingly understood acts of vice and reckless conduct. They can be lovingly interpreted, not as slights on a person’s character, but as a quirk. Consensual conduct between adults in the extremes of normative sex, on the other hand, can ruin a person’s reputation. Is not the narrative being pushed that the killing of children is far better than sodomy or sexual role play dress ups? This is why people are pressured into the closet. But that won’t stop prying eyes, gossip hounds, and blackmailers from trying to dig it up.

With the nature of social media algorithms and the frenzy to share content that gains engagement, even those who do not seek out such imagery saw it. It was pushed in front of many eyes, either as a screenshotted meme or as the raw original video. Greenwald owned his sexuality; he re-posted and replied to the leaks immediately. He took the barb of the attackers away. In doing this, many people from across the political spectrum (including known critics) arose in support. It seems many others did not care. They are not interested in what he does behind closed doors. That’s his business. It’s only the degenerate obsessed, the sexually fixated who find glee in re-posting and attacking a person for sex acts—leaked ones at that.

When David Letterman went through a form of sexual blackmail—he had been having an affair with an employee—he announced it all live on his television show. The blackmailer then had nothing, and the bribery was meaningless. Letterman admitted to infidelity and misconduct. That was for him and those in his personal life, not for the public. It did not ruin his career (but perhaps his marriage). It did not change him as a performer; the world may have learned a little more about the real man that he was. Likewise, Greenwald as a man was stripped naked; we saw things of him that we did not need to or request to. He confronted and shamed those attempting to shame him. He did it with dignity, despite the indignity thrown upon him.

If a performer or a person becomes famous enough, the mob feels entitled to their life. Paparazzi and hackers can hunt them, ambush, and spy into their lives. Now with AI image generation it no longer matters if it’s real or fabricated. How will we know what is real, what is artificially generated? Now we are all naked.

The refreshing result is that, in the case of Greenwald, the old tactics of blackmail and public shaming no longer work. The public is either beyond that sort of attack or they simply are uninterested. What this does mean, however, is that those who would murder innocent people, spy on everyone, censor, and prohibit must themselves adapt. The means of blackmail, leverage, and shaming tactics will evolve accordingly.

The real orgy is the genocidal violence that Greenwald’s remaining critics seem to adore. It’s mature and conservative to indulge in the mayhem and bloodshed, with no disgrace or even sense of hypocrisy. Seeing a respected man like Glen Greenwald in an intimate state is not shocking or disgusting. The truly disgusting act is the killing of children. That is what should matter most. That is what should hang people, what should disgust the public.

Some of those who believe that NATO and Ukraine’s government are above criticism will see the leaks as a win. Those who believe that the Israeli government has every right to murder children and conduct a genocide may also see this as a victory. They never needed this “evidence” to discredit Glenn Greenwald; he was always discredited in their minds because he disagreed with them. The many others who see this for what it is would rather focus on the real issues: when it comes to sex and violence, violence is always far worse.

June 3, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance | , | Leave a comment

Echoes of a Lost Gaza – 2024 version

Al Jazeera

Mariam Shahin has been making films about Gaza for over thirty years. She’s also made many documentaries and short films for Al Jazeera English since it launched in 2006. When she moved to Gaza in 2005, she felt a powerful sense of optimism following the Israeli withdrawal. But by 2009, war had badly damaged its infrastructure, neighbourhoods, businesses and communities – and that optimism had evaporated.

Now, in the wake of the even more destructive war that began on 7th October 2023, Mariam seeks out the people she has met in Gaza over the years – and reflects on the wasted potential and devastated lives after sixteen years of blockade and a year of one of the most destructive wars in Middle East history.

June 3, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, Video | , , , , | Leave a comment

White House covered up chemical spill cancer risk – report

RT | June 2, 2025

The administration of former US President Joe Biden tried to cover up serious public health risks related to a 2023 toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, a whistleblower protection and advocacy group has claimed.

The Government Accountability Project (GAP) has published a set of documents obtained through a lawsuit from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which allegedly prove that the White House deliberately chose to withhold the true scale of the catastrophe while intentionally avoiding contact with affected residents.

On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals, including vinyl chloride, derailed near the village of East Palestine, spilling its hazardous contents into a nearby waterway. Five tankers were later also deliberately ignited in a controlled burn. The incident forced evacuations, was linked to animal deaths, and led to reports of unexplained illnesses in the weeks that followed.

Several months later, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publicly declared that East Palestine residents were “not in danger,” citing air and water monitoring results. Biden had also praised what he called his administration’s “herculean efforts” to resolve the crisis.

The government’s response was heavily criticized at the time, with many calling out Biden for not visiting East Palestine sooner, downplaying the severity of the disaster, and prioritizing public relations over the health and safety concerns raised by residents and experts.

According to GAP investigator Lesley Pacey, the public’s fears have turned out to be justified, with internal documents showing that the White House, the EPA, and FEMA had privately discussed the serious dangers associated with the chemical spill, described internally as “really toxic,” and “deliberately kept this information from the community.”

In an interview with NewsNation published on Saturday, Pacey explained that FEMA knew that the controlled chemical burn resulted in a “really toxic plume” and that it could cause cancer clusters in the region and other health risks that would require 20 years of medical monitoring.

The information was never publicly disclosed or acknowledged by FEMA or the White House as the Biden administration chose to focus on “public reassurances” rather than “worrying about public health,” Pacey told the New York Post.

The emails obtained by GAP have also shown that FEMA’s coordinator – sent to East Palestine to oversee recovery efforts, communicate with residents and assess their needs – was actually directly instructed to avoid engaging with the locals.

“They completely botched this event from the very beginning,” Pacey surmised.

June 2, 2025 Posted by | Deception | , , , | Leave a comment

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