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A Tonkin Gulf Incident in the Gulf of Oman?

BY PAT BUCHANAN • UNZ REVIEW • AUGUST 6, 2021

A week ago, the MT Mercer Street, a Japanese-owned tanker managed by a U.K.-based company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer, sailing in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman, was struck by drones.

A British security guard and Romanian crew member were killed.

Britain and the U.S. immediately blamed Iran, and the Israelis began to beat the war drums.

Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said action against Iran should be taken “right now.”

Tuesday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned Israel could “act alone.” “They can’t sit calmly in Tehran while igniting the entire Middle East — that’s over,” said Bennett. “We are working to enlist the whole world, but when the time comes, we know how to act alone.”

Wednesday, Gantz ratcheted it up, “Now is the time for deeds — words are not enough. … It is time for diplomatic, economic and even military deeds. Otherwise the attacks will continue.”

Thursday, Gantz went further: “Israel is ready to attack Iran, yes. … We are at a point where we need to take military action against Iran. The world needs to take action against Iran now.”

And what do the Americans say?

“We are confident that Iran conducted this attack,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “We are working with our partners to consider our next steps and consulting with governments inside the region and beyond on an appropriate response, which will be forthcoming.”

Iran, however, has repeatedly denied that it ordered the attack.

What makes the attack puzzling is its timing, as it occurred just days before the inauguration of the newly elected president of Iran, the ultraconservative hardliner Ebrahim Raisi.

Query: Would Raisi have ordered a provocative attack on an Israeli-owned vessel, just days before taking office, when his highest priority is a lifting of the “maximum pressure” sanctions imposed on his country by former President Donald Trump? Why?

Would Raisi put at risk his principal diplomatic goal, just to get even with Israel for some earlier pinprick strike in the tit-for-tat war in which Iran and Israel have been engaged for years? Again, why?

If not Raisi, would the outgoing president, the moderate Hassan Rouhani, have ordered such an attack on his last hours in office and risk igniting a war with Israel and the U.S. that his country could not win?

Could the attack have been the work of rogue elements in the Iranian Republican Guard Corps? Gantz and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid claim that Saeed Ara Jani, head of the drones section of the IRGC, “is the man personally responsible for the terror attacks in the Gulf of Oman.”

Or was this simply a reflexive Iranian reprisal for Israeli attacks?

For years, Israel and Iran have been in a shadow war, with Iran backing Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the Shia militia in Syria and Iraq.

Israel has both initiated and responded to attacks with strikes on Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, and by sabotaging Iran’s nuclear program and assassinating its nuclear scientists.

But whoever was behind the attack in the Gulf of Oman, and whatever the political motive, the U.S. was not the target, and the U.S. should not respond militarily to a drone strike that was not aimed at us.

No one has deputized us to police the Middle East, and we have not prospered these last two decades by having deputized ourselves.

With America leaving Afghanistan and U.S. troops in Iraq transiting out of any “combat” role, now is not the time to get us ensnared in a new war with Iran.

Lest we forget. It was in an August, 57 years ago, that the Tonkin Gulf incident occurred, which led America to plunge into an eight-year war in Vietnam.

President Joe Biden’s diplomatic goal with Iran, since taking office, has been the resurrection of the 2015 nuclear deal from which former President Donald Trump walked away. In return for Iran’s reacceptance of strict conditions on its nuclear program, the U.S. has offered a lifting of Trump’s sanctions.

Whoever launched the drone strike sought to ensure that no new U.S.-Iran deal is consummated, that U.S. sanctions remain in place, and that a U.S. war with Iran remain a possibility.

But, again, why would Tehran carry out such a drone attack and kill crewmen on an Israeli-owned vessel — then loudly deny it?

Since he took office, Biden has revealed his intent to extricate the U.S. from the “forever wars” of the Middle East and to pivot to the Far East and China. By this month’s end, all U.S. forces are to be out of Afghanistan, and the 2,500 U.S. troops still in Iraq are to be repurposed, no longer to be designated as combat troops.

Those behind this attack on the Israeli-owned vessel do not want to reduce the possibility of war between the United States and Iran.

They want to make it a reality. We ought not accommodate them.

August 6, 2021 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, False Flag Terrorism, Wars for Israel | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Footage Confirms Islamic Resistance Positioned Rocket-Launcher in Woodlands, Not Residential Areas, to Strike Israeli Enemy

Al-Manar | August 6, 2021

Al-Manar TV Channel broadcast a footage which shows how the Islamic Resistance positioned the rocket-launcher, it used to strike the Israeli-held Shebaa Farms, in woodlands away from the residential areas.

Hezbollah had earlier stressed that the rockets which hit occupied Shebaa Farms in retaliation to repeated Israeli aggression were fired from woodlands which are far from residential areas.

In a statement, Hezbollah War Media Center said a vehicle belong to the Resistance was intercepted by a group of citizens in Hasbayya’s town of Shwayya.

The Islamic Resistance voiced keenness to preserve safety of the Lebanese citizens.

“At 11:15 a.m. on Friday, the Islamic Resistance responded to the Israeli aggression by targeting vicinity of Israeli enemy posts in Shebaa Farms with dozens of rockets fired from woodlands that are far from residential areas,” the statement read.

It added, however, that Resistance fighters as they were returning from their mission their vehicle was intercepted by several citizens in Shwayya in Hasbayya province.

“The Resistance has been and will stay keen to ensure the safety of its people,” the statement added.

August 6, 2021 Posted by | Aletho News | , , | Leave a comment

Pro-Israel group secures ‘stunning’ victory in US primary election

MEMO | August 5, 2021

US Shontel Brown on 1 August 2021 [Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images]The Democratic primary election in the US state of Ohio on Tuesday saw pro-Israel Shontel Brown defeat progressive Nina Turner in a hotly contested race that has left a bitter after taste. It’s alleged that votes were tipped in favour of Shontel with outside money poured in by the pro-Israel Political Action Committee (PAC) Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI).

According to research group tracking money in US politics, OpenSecrets, DMFI, one of many pro-Israel Super PAC, raised nearly $6.5 million in funds to back their preferred candidate.

It’s claimed that DMFI, which has multiple ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), spent more than $1.9 million on TV ads, digital ads, and mailers that were either pro-Brown or anti-Turner. American news agency, Brick House publication reported that this sum is more than the $1.7 million than the Brown campaign had disclosed spending on the race as of its final spending filing, which covers through July.

In her concession speech, Turner blamed what she called “evil money”, which is thought to be a reference to the outside spending in the race from DMFI and other groups that secured her defeat in a close primary.

Ohio’s 11th congressional district is a safe Democrat seat which means that Brown, favoured by pro-Israel right-wing members of her party, is the likely candidate to become  a member of Congress for Ohio. The election was triggered by the resignation of Marcia Fudge, who has been appointed to the position of housing secretary by President Joe Biden.

Turner is an outspoken progressive who came to national prominence as a Bernie Sanders surrogate. She was predicted to win the race. But her surprise defeat has left a bitter after taste. “I am going to work hard to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen to another progressive candidate again,” she said. “We didn’t lose this race, evil money manipulated and maligned this election.”

Like fellow progressives within the Democrat party, Turner has called for conditioning US aid to Israel to “align with significant advances in human rights,” while Brown has said she supports continuing to give Israel $3.8 billion annually in military aid without any strings under a $38 billion aid package approved by former US President Barack Obama in 2016.

Brown thanked her “Jewish brothers and sisters” during her victory remarks, according to a report in the Haaretz. She described how her 2018 trip to Israel gave her insight into the importance of the US-Israel relationship.

Following Brown’s victory, DMFI congratulated the councilwomen saying that it was a “stunning upset” and that the pro-Israel group was “proud to have supported her successful campaign.”

August 5, 2021 Posted by | Corruption, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | Leave a comment

‘Israel’ Dared to Bomb Only Barrens: Balance of Deterrence with Hezbollah Still Valid

Al-Manar | August 5, 2021

Although the latest Zionist aerial aggression on Lebanon is considered unprecedented since the all-out war in 2006, scrutinizing it thoroughly can indicate clearly that the enemy could break the rules of engagement on the Lebanese borders.

Two out of three anonymous missiles, which were fired on Thursday at noon from Lebanon, fell in the barrens of the settlement, Kiryat Shmona, and caused a major fire.

In response, the Zionist artillery bombed immediately an open area in Al-Khiyam plain as well as barrens of other villages.

However, the Zionist circles considered that the response was not up to the challenge, so the enemy decided to escalate the situation.

The Israeli air force decided to participate in the aggression, launching overnight air raids on Al-Mahmoudiyeh barrens as well as other open areas.

Meanwhile, Zionist military circles stressed that the occupation entity is not interested in escalating the confrontation on the borders with Lebanon, adding that this explains why the Israeli air strikes on Lebanon targeted only barrens.

Thus, the enemy did not dare to strike other than barrens during its aggression on southern Lebanon, and the balance of deterrence on the borders, maintained by Hezbollah is still valid.

August 5, 2021 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | Leave a comment

Israel’s Pegasus spyware and its global consequences

By Sari Orabi | Palestinian Information Centre | August 4, 2021

Israel’s export of technology used by repressive regimes to establish their authority, not only over their political opponents, but also against large parts of civil society, is nothing new. News of this has been spreading since 2017 at least and the inauguration of the Arab-Israeli alliance under the auspices of the Trump administration.

There is no doubt that the relationships hidden before the alliance was made public included the use of Israeli technology. This is what mostly unites the repressive Arab regimes with Israel. In 2019, WhatsApp informed 1,400 of its users that they had been under surveillance since 2016. We can guess how much further spyware has been developed over the past five years.

The scandal is the recent revelation about Israel’s Pegasus spyware and the number of those targeted by such technology, as well as the number of the Israeli company’s clients. Even some of Israel’s allies have been spied upon, such as French President Emmanuel Macron.

Israel benefits from this in three ways. There is a direct security aspect, as the database that is created by its customers and their espionage activities will eventually flow into Israeli servers. This turns its customers into security agents for the occupation state. Ironically, they pay for this dubious privilege. Israel not only sells the technology but also gleans the information generated by customers’ espionage. It’s a very profitable deal for Tel Aviv.

This is just part of the economic aspect which benefits Israel enormously. It is worth pointing out that the technology being sold by Israel — whether this sort of spyware or advanced weapons systems — are all “field tested” on the Palestinians. This makes it very attractive to repressive regimes.

This is also ironic because Israeli technological and intelligence development stems, in part, from the state spying on Arab countries, some of which buy the same technology for their own use. Moreover, Israel has become the headquarters and partner of many Western technology companies, especially from America. Since this type of technology is only sold with government approval, it is more than likely that the US itself is involved at the highest level, not just Israel. There are many political indications that this is the case, including the alliance launched by the Trump administration.

There is also a huge political aspect to these developments. Israel has made itself and its technology indispensable to many governments around the world, including regimes in Arab states. It is a complex situation which encourages conflicts to be prolonged — or at least not brought to a peaceful conclusion — so that Israel has a market for its products, and buyers know where to go for what they need to defeat their opponents. Ensuring that conflicts remain ongoing not only guarantees Israel an important industrial sector, security and hegemony, but also guarantees Arab subordination at very little cost to the colonial-occupation state.

The Arab regimes are thus paying large sums to spy on friends and foes alike and, in doing so, are serving Israeli interests. US support for the high-tech sector in Israel is part of the project to help the state protect itself. This is done within a regional environment that is not conducive to Israel’s presence due to its lack of any historical, social or political legitimacy.

The Arab masses do not accept Israel’s presence in their midst. Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2017 that Israel’s problem lies with the Arab people, not the Arab governments. The Zionist state’s policies will, therefore, focus on maintaining the repressive Arab regimes and their alliance with Israel, as well as ensuring their subordination.

In the meantime, of course, Israel’s existence continues to depend on a fabricated historical narrative, the ethnic cleansing and oppression of the people of Palestine and unquestioning Western support. The state has no qualms about doing all it can — legitimate and illegal; good and bad — to promote depravity in human relations around the world because, in short, it needs conflict in order to survive.

The Pegasus spyware scandal illustrates clearly that “Israel the ally” is, simultaneously, “Israel the belligerent”, a state that recognises and respects alliances only as long as they benefit its own interests. Looked at objectively, the whole world is a potential victim of the evil that is Israel and its pernicious ideology, Zionism. The sale and use of Pegasus spyware has global consequences.

Translation by MEMO

August 4, 2021 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | Leave a comment

American Tax Dollars Financing Israeli Tourist Park Atop Historic Palestinian Neighborhood

Illegal colonist throws eggs
By Jessica Buxbaum | MintPress News | July 12, 2021

Roughly 2.5 miles from Sheikh Jarrah — the Palestinian neighborhood that grabbed the world’s attention in May — lies Silwan. This neighborhood in Occupied East Jerusalem is perched atop the steep slopes just outside the Old City. Houses are tightly compacted and stacked on top of each other as they dip into the valley below. And here, Palestinian residents face the same fate as their brethren in Sheikh Jarrah.

Israeli forces raided the al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan with bulldozers on June 29 — razing a butcher shop and dispersing Palestinian protesters defending their homes with tear gas, stun grenades, batons and rubber-coated steel bullets. At least 13 people were injured and six arrested including the owner of the butcher shop, Nidal al-Rajabi, and his sons and brothers.

In regard to the recent demolition, Norwegian Refugee Council’s Palestine country director, Caroline Ort, said in a press release, “Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel has an obligation to protect civilians under its occupation and to refrain from destroying private property.”

Al-Rajabi’s store was destroyed on the pretext of lacking a building permit. Various human rights organizations involved in the issue state conflicting numbers, but according to Fakhri Abu Diab, spokesman for Silwan, 16 buildings in al-Bustan are also at immediate risk of being torn down. About 1,500 Palestinians live in more than a hundred houses in al-Bustan.

On June 7, two structures — including the butcher shop — received notices from the Municipality of Jerusalem to self-demolish their homes within 21 days or municipality authorities would do so and charge the residents the demolition fees, calculated at about $6,000.

Amy Cohen, director of International Relations and Advocacy at Ir Amim, a Jerusalem nonprofit, told MintPress News the second structure, a residential unit, has yet to receive a visit from municipality inspectors. Government officials typically come to a building with a pending demolition order to check whether it has already been demolished by the owners. If not, the inspectors then notify the residents that Israeli authorities will carry out the demolition within days, or even within 24 hours.

Discriminatory housing policies

According to Ir Amim, 68 homes in al-Bustan have pending demolition orders so as to execute the Jerusalem Municipality’s “King’s Garden” plan. The municipality outlined the initiative in 2010, stating:

The King’s Garden area [al-Bustan in Arabic] will be developed into a tourist and residential district. Commercial sections, restaurants, and art galleries will be built, turning it into a bustling tourist zone. For the first time, the local residents will have the legitimate right to live in this neighborhood.

The development plan has not moved forward since 2010, but the municipality’s recent objection to extending the demolition freeze suggests the plan could be reactivated.

In February, the Jerusalem Municipality filed an objection in the Local Affairs Court against al-Bustan residents’ request to extend the demolition freeze, arguing the proposed zoning plan for the area doesn’t follow proper guidelines and isn’t advancing quick enough. In March, the court ruled to extend the demolition freeze until August 15.

Negotiations have been ongoing between the municipality and the residents to develop a suitable zoning plan for al-Bustan since 2005. In 2009, the residents’ plan was rejected by the municipality in favor of the King’s Garden Plan.

According to Murad Abu Shafee, an al-Bustan resident who received a demolition order, the municipality told the residents, “This structure plan can’t happen in Israel. This might happen in Europe or any Arab country, but not here.”

“Our plan was very modern and it doesn’t fit with the Israeli government’s standards for East Jerusalem,” Abu Shafee explained. “[Israel] doesn’t want us to have a modern neighborhood. They want us always to be below the line.”

Despite the local court’s ruled extension, 20 demolition cases (including the butcher shop’s order) were excluded from the freeze due to the Israeli Kaminitiz Law — known as Amendment 116 to Israel’s Planning and Building Law — which was fully enacted in 2019. This legislation intensifies enforcement against unauthorized construction and allows for little legal intervention in preventing demolitions of structures built after 2017. The amendment has been partially frozen since 2020 amid ongoing discussions with Palestinian parliamentary members in the Israeli government.

In a statement to MintPress, the Jerusalem Municipality said:

There is no intention to build a ‘biblical garden’ in the area. This is a false claim. The area is designated for gardens and parks for the benefit of the local residents of Silwan.

The vast majority of demolition orders in Al-Bustan are suspended. There are a very few demolition orders that the court has recently decided to unfreeze. It should be emphasized that these orders are old. No new orders [were] issued whatsoever.

As to the execution [of] these orders, the municipality is obliged to act in accordance with the law and with the court rulings. We are still studying the latest ruling profoundly, and will decide on our next steps according to the situation on the ground.

The municipality noted that al-Bustan is designated as a green area because of its location near the Kidron River. Jeff Halper, director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, explained that when Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967 following the Six-Day War, it declared the entirety of East Jerusalem as open, green space, meaning the area is frozen for future building.

Halper pointed out the hypocrisy of this development policy in how Israel treats settlement building versus Palestinian building, explaining:

Today, more than a hundred thousand Israelis live in East Jerusalem in these big settlements. But if East Jerusalem was frozen 100 percent for building, then how did you get all that building for Israelis? The answer is Israel rezones for Jewish settlements. But when a Palestinian wants to build, [the government] says, ‘Sorry, this area isn’t zoned for residential development but for open, green space. So, it’s really the use of bureaucracy and law and planning as tools of control.”

Construction in al-Bustan was done primarily by Palestinian residents themselves on their own land, but often without the necessary building permits. Ir Amim’s Cohen explained this is mostly owing to a lack of viable zoning plans rather than the municipality’s flat-out rejection of building permits:

With the absence of an outline plan, residents are precluded from acquiring the permits. You either have a lack of a zoning plan or you have such outdated zoning plans, which are from say 30 to 40 years ago, that it’s impossible to then receive building permits. And this is a very acute way that the Israeli authorities have neglected their municipal responsibility to provide this service.”

“Since 1967, this has been a means to suppress Palestinian building and planning within Palestinian areas,” Cohen concluded.

American tax dollars financing settler activity

Silwan is located in the Holy Basin—an  area coveted by religious settlers for its proximity to the Old City and alleged connections to King David. Ir David or Elad settler organization runs the City of David National Park in the al-Bustan area. Since the 1990s, Elad has sought to transform Silwan into a symbol of Jewish biblical past. Al-Bustan is specifically targeted because it stands as an obstacle to achieving Ir David’s vision of a biblical paradise.

Elad’s actions aren’t focused solely on building settlements but also on promoting archaeological excavations, tourist attractions and parks. According to the Foundation for Middle East Peace’s report on al-Bustan, the settlers’ goals became the official policy of the Israeli government in 2005 when then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government approved plans to develop the Holy Basin area.

“In essence, the DNA of Elad’s biblical ideology became the DNA of the Government of Israel in and around the Old City, with [the] Government outsourcing many of its authorities to Elad in order to pursue these objectives,” FMEP wrote in its report. “The lines between government and the settlers became so blurred that they almost disappeared.”

Quteibah Odeh — whose family faces displacement in al-Bustan and in Batan al-Hawa, another neighborhood in Silwan and settler target — described the deep interconnections between settlers and the Israeli government, citing as an example that Arieh King is Jerusalem’s deputy mayor but is also a notorious settler leader responsible for displacing Sheikh Jarrah residents. “These settler organizations are the people running the government,” Odeh said. “They receive full support from the military and any ministry and municipality.”

Ir David isn’t just supported by the Israeli government but also backed by American money. Ir David’s sister nonprofit in the U.S., Friends of Ir David, secures tax-exempt donations for the organization.

According to a January investigation by MintPress News, the Hertog Foundation, Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation, Adelson Family Foundation, Mindel Foundation, Samueli Foundation, Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Foundation, and the Jewish Communal Fund have all donated to Friends of Ir David. The organization’s biggest contributors are the Irving I Moskowitz and Adelson Family Foundations. In 2018, the Irving I. Moskowitz Foundation gave Friends of Ir David $1.5 million and the Adelson Family Foundation contributed about $3 million.

The Ir David Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Congress members speak out

Israel’s forcible displacement of East Jerusalem Palestinians has caught the attention of the international community, including the U.S. government. On July 1, Illinois Representative Marie Newman delivered a speech on the House floor, urging President Joe Biden’s administration to intervene and stop the ongoing demolitions.

“Today I rise on behalf of the thousands of Palestinian families in the West Bank that face the prospect of eviction, demolition and displacement from their homes by the Israeli government,” the Democratic congresswoman said. “We have received word that demolition orders have already begun for homes in the al-Bustan neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem.”

In the face of international condemnations, Silwan spokesman Abu Diab said the recent demolition in al-Bustan demonstrates Israel’s willingness to go against these objections. He elaborated in a statement:

People know members of Congress are speaking out about these issues, yet [the demolition of the butcher shop] proved to the community that Israel is prepared to defy the international community, including members of the U.S. Congress. They assert, yet again, that demolitions and forcible displacement, including Israeli court-ordered evictions, are against international law, are codified as war crimes, and that the occupying power, Israel, has a duty to protect those under its occupation.

The residents of Silwan therefore call on the international community to uphold their third state responsibility, to call on Israel to cease forthwith such illegal policies, with real accountability being the price for any further demolitions or evictions.

As in Sheikh Jarrah, Palestinians remain steadfast against Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing efforts. Demonstrations against the demolitions occur daily, Silwan resident Odeh said, adding:

These are our houses. Our parents, our grandparents and our great grandparents have lived here. We have memories, we have history and the people are the past, the present and the future.”

August 3, 2021 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation | , , , , | Leave a comment

No indication of Iran’s involvement in Israeli tanker attack: Russia

Press TV – August 2, 2021

A senior Russian foreign ministry official strictly rejects existence of any indications pointing to Iran’s likely involvement in a recent attack on an Israeli oil tanker off the Omani coast.

“We have not the slightest reason to believe [that Iran was involved in the attack],” the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Director, Zamir Kabulov told Russia’s Sputnik news agency on Monday.

In a statement on Friday, Zodiac Maritime, the Israeli-owned firm managing the tanker, said that two crewmen, a Briton and a Romanian, had been killed in the assault.

The Israeli regime and its sworn allies, the United States and the UK, rushed to accuse Iran of having a role in the incident, without providing any evidence. The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also alleged that the attack was deliberate and coordinated by Tehran.

Kabulov, however, reiterated Russia’s stance, saying Moscow’s refusal to corroborate such accusations was because “we have no facts.”

“When there are facts, then we will work out our position,” he added.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Britain’s chargé d’affaires and Romania’s ambassador to convey Tehran’s strong protest, reminding the envoys that the source of instability in the Persian Gulf was not the Islamic Republic, but actually extra-regional presence.

Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh has also refuted such accusations as “absolutely groundless,” saying they feature “contradictory,” “hollow,” and “provocative” claims.

The official also sounded a strong warning against any act of adventurism targeting the Islamic Republic’s interests based on the unfounded claims.

August 3, 2021 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , , | Leave a comment

The Delta Helter Skelter. When Dire Delta is the excuse for new lockdowns and vaccine mandates, but the truth keeps dribbling out.

Today more news from Israel

By Meryl Nass, MD | August 3, 2021

‘Helter-skelter’ means ‘in chaotic and disorderly haste’.

It seems a good descriptor of how public health mouthpieces are dealing with the facts oozing out of the public health muck regarding the Delta variant. Considering their strategy has been to use Delta to impose ever more harsh and unjustifiable Great Reset measures. Not to mention vaccine mandates. But now things look a lot worse than they did in that CDC slide deck. Check out these official graphs from Israel: not only are cases rising equally in the vaccinated as the unvaccinated, but the vaccinated are not being spared severe illness, as claimed by our plucky CDC director.

If nearly all the elderly and high risk Israelis have been vaccinated, then there would be some benefit of vaccination in warding off severe illness… but still, 2/3 of those with severe illness have been doubly vaccinated.

How can you spin this into a justification for vaccine mandates? You can’t. And unless the authorities can prove there is no ADE [antibody-dependent enhancement], getting a booster could just make things a whole lot worse.

[I think we should stop talking about this as a pandemic response. It is a coup, a Reset of the world as we knew it. The so-called responses simply served to terrorize the public and prolong the illness. ]

August 3, 2021 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Science and Pseudo-Science | , , , | Leave a comment

Foreign Ministry: Any adventurism will be met with Iran’s immediate, powerful response

Press TV – August 2, 2021

The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry has warned against any possible act of adventurism against the country’s interests, pledging “immediate, powerful, and serious” response to any such move.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate, even for a moment, to defend its security and national interests, and will answer any possible adventurism with immediate, powerful and serious action,” Saeed Khatibzadeh told reporters on Monday.

The Iranian ministry’s spokesman was reacting to recent statements by US and British top diplomats about Iran’s role in the Thursday attack on an Israeli tanker off the coast of Oman.

Without providing any proof, foreign ministers of both the United States and the UK accused Iran of having a direct role in the attack, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken alleging “we are confident that Iran conducted this attack, which killed two innocent people, using one-way explosive UAVs.”

His British counterpart, Dominic Raab, also reflected on the matter, saying that the “unlawful and callous” attack had highly likely been carried out by Iran using one or more drones.

“Their coordinated statements contain contradictory phrases. They first accuse the Islamic Republic without providing any evidence and then speak of the ‘possibility’ [of Iran’s role in the attack],” Khatibzadeh said in reference to Raab saying, “UK assessments have concluded that it is highly likely that Iran attacked the MV Mercer Street in international waters off Oman on 29 July using one or more unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).”

The foreign ministry spokesman stressed that Iran is a country that supports safe and secure marine traffic in the Persian Gulf and international waters, which enjoys the longest water border in the strategic region.

Noting that Iran is always ready to work with regional countries to provide maritime security, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said, “Tehran considers the presence and interventions by transregional forces in the Persian Gulf waters and its littoral countries as detrimental to regional stability and security.”

“It is regrettable that these [Western] countries, which have been supportively silent in the face of terrorist sabotages and attacks on Iran’s commercial ships in the Red Sea and international waters, are now leveling politically-motivated baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, if they have any proof to back their baseless claims they must offer them,” the Iranian spokesman said.

Khatibzadeh’s remarks came after earlier on Monday, an informed Iranian source said that Iran will give a strong and crushing response to any measure taken against its national interests and security, blaming Britain and the US for the consequences of such moves against Tehran.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also talked to media on Sunday, saying that recent accusations leveled against Tehran by Israel and the United States about attacking an Israeli-owned merchant ship in the Sea of Oman are “childish” and influenced by the Zionist lobby in the United States.

“The illegitimate Zionist entity must stop leveling baseless charges against Iran. This is not the first time that this regime brings up such accusations [against Tehran],” he added.

Khatibzadeh noted that such accusations are leveled by the well-known lobby of the Zionist regime in the United States, adding, “The Zionist regime’s officials must know that such projectionist moves will not help them in any way.”

In recent months, several other Israeli-managed ships have come under attack on various maritime routes across the world.

The attacks come against the backdrop of the Israeli regime’s unrelenting assaults on cargo ships across the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere.

August 2, 2021 Posted by | Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

Bill to give Israel billions of dollars passes House, now on to Senate

Bill to give Israel billions of dollars passes House, now on to Senate

House appropriations chair Barbara Lee (D-CA) speaks before the House of Representatives on June 28, 2021. Lee said she was “proud” of H.R.4373, which she sponsored, and noted that it included funding for our “ally” Israel. AIPAC thanked her for working “to include key pro-Israel provisions in the bill.”
By Alison Weir | Israel-Palestine News | August 1, 2021

A bill that would expend over $6.4 billion on behalf of Israel, which was advanced earlier by a House committee, has now been passed by the whole House of Representatives. The bill will next be taken up by the Senate.

The bill was passed on July 28th, in the midst of an Israeli killing spree in which Israeli soldiers shot dead four unarmed Palestinian civilians, including an 11-year-old, a teen, and a 20-year-old attending the funeral.

The day before the House vote, Human Rights Watch had issued a report documenting “apparent war crimes” by Israel in its May attack on Gazans.

Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reports that the bill, “which was advised by numerous pro-Israel organizations, includes $3.3 billion in security assistance to Israel as one of its key provisions,” and includes an additional $3.13 billion on items “relevant to Israel” – In other words, items that are funded because they benefit Israel. The bill is H.R.4373 – Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022.

Pro-Israel organizations AIPAC, the Democratic Majority for Israel, and J Street all praised the pro-Israel provisions.

AIPAC issued a celebratory press release that thanked specific Congress members:

“We appreciate the efforts of several members who worked to include key pro-Israel provisions in the bill. In particular, we thank the leadership of State and Foreign Operations Chair Barbara Lee (D-CA), State and Foreign Operations Ranking Member Hal Rogers (R-KY), House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and House Appropriations Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-TX). In addition, Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Norma Torres (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) and Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) all made important contributions throughout the appropriations process.

Only three members voted in opposition to the Israel funding: Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. (Republican members voted against the bill because of provisions unrelated to Israel, such as abortion and climate change, while explaining that they were in favor of the money to Israel.)

Another bill (H.R.4432) that would give Israel an additional half billion dollars, which was advanced earlier by a different House Committee, has not yet gone to the House floor. The funding to Israel is expected to pass easily.

If both bills are passed and signed into law by President Joe Biden, a total of approximately $20 million per day of Americans’ tax money will be expended on behalf of Israel (part of the money in direct aid; part of it on items because they benefit Israel).

Israel has received more US aid than any other country on earth – on average, 7,000 times more per capita – thanks to the Israel lobby. Experts say that Israel is not a U.S. ally and has often caused the U.S. profound harm.

For more details on the bills see this.

To contact your Congress members to oppose this massive funding for Israel go here.

August 2, 2021 Posted by | Corruption, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | Leave a comment

Haniyeh re-elected as chief of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas

MEMO | August 1, 2021

Ismail Haniyeh has been elected to a second term as head of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, two Palestinian officials told Reuters on Sunday.

“Brother Ismail Haniyeh was re-elected as the head of the movement’s political office for a second time,” one official told Reuters. His term will last four years.

Haniyeh, the group’s leader since 2017, has controlled its political activities throughout several armed confrontations with Israel – including an 11-day conflict in May that leftover 250 in Gaza and 13 in Israel dead.

He was the right-hand man to Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in Gaza, before the wheelchair-bound cleric was assassinated in 2004.

Haniyeh, 58, led Hamas’ entry into politics in 2006 when they were surprisingly won the Palestinian parliamentary elections, defeating a divided Fatah party led by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Haniyeh became prime minister shortly after the January 2006 victory, but Hamas – which is deemed a terrorist organisation by the United States, Israel, and the European Union – was shunned by the international community.

Following a brief civil war, Hamas seized Gaza from the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, which has limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, in 2007. Israel has led a blockade of Gaza since then, citing threats from Hamas.

August 1, 2021 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular | , , | Leave a comment

Informed sources: Raid on Israeli-managed vessel was retaliation for Israeli raid on Syria

Press TV – July 30, 2021

Informed sources have told Al-Alam television that an attack on an Israeli-managed petroleum products tanker off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea that killed two crew members was in response to an Israeli missile attack on Syria that killed two resistance forces.

The Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned ship, came under attack about 152 nautical miles (280 km) northeast of the Omani port of Duqm on Thursday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), which provides maritime security information.

In a statement on Friday, Zodiac Maritime, the Israeli-owned firm managing the oil tanker, claimed that two crewmen, a Briton and a Romanian, had been killed in the assault.

“Details of the incident are still being established and an investigation into the incident is currently underway. We continue to work closely with the UKMTO and other relevant authorities,” London-based Zodiac said on its website.

It also said it was “not aware of harm to any other personnel” than the British and Romanian crewmen who were allegedly killed.

According to Refinitiv ship tracking, the medium-size tanker was headed to Fujairah, a port and oil terminal in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from Tanzania. Earlier on Friday, the firm described the incident as suspected piracy, but the UKMTO categorized it as not piracy-related.

The company said the vessel was now sailing under the control of its crew and on its own power to a safe location with a US naval escort.

In recent months, several other Israeli ships have come under apparent attacks on various maritime routes across the world. Earlier in the month, a fire broke out on an Israeli-owned cargo ship after it was struck by an “unidentified weapon” in the northern Indian Ocean. Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network said the Israeli vessel had been on route to the coast of the UAE when it was attacked.

Back in February, an Israeli-owned ship was hit by an explosion in the sea of Oman. In April, another Israeli ship came under attack off the coast of the UAE.

The attacks come against a backdrop of the Israeli regime’s various assaults on cargo ships across the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere.

July 30, 2021 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | Leave a comment

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