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Facebook “Fact Checks” Prof. Will Happer

Dubious doubters challenge eminent scientist

By Angela Wheeler | CO2 Coalition | January 13, 2025

The only way to combat censorship is to shine a light on it whenever we see it.

In censoring material that contradicts the popular – though increasingly feeble – fiction of a climate crisis, Facebook is quick to discount the credentials of one of the world’s leading scientists while honoring sources of dubious credibility.

Our latest encounter with Facebook came in a message from the platform’s corporate entity, Meta, on December 4, which read: “Your Page, CO2 Coalition, didn’t follow the rules, so it isn’t being suggested to other people right now.”

Sorting through CO2 Coalition’s vast content to find what post could have been so egregious to prompt this reprimand, we found it to be a quote from the renowned Dr. William Happer, professor emeritus of physics at Princeton University and Chairman of the CO2 Coalition Board of Directors. Dr. Happer’s provocative quote?

“Nothing but good can come from more atmospheric CO2. The Earth has experimented with much higher CO2 concentrations than today many times over the Phanerozoic eon, the last 540 million years or so, where the fossil record of life is especially good. Life flourished at four times more CO2 than today. There is no geological evidence that more CO2 will be anything but good for life on Earth.”

Facebook’s “fact check” of Dr. Happer’s quote referenced a group called Climate Feedback that, based on an appearance on CNN, said Dr. Happer “misleads about the impact of rising carbon dioxide on plant life.”

We did a little fact-checking of our own. Having seen the group’s website and a list of financial backers, we believe there is ample reason to be doubtful of Climate Feedback’s adherence to science and veracity.

According to InfluenceWatch.org, Climate Feedback has the same parent company as “the left-leaning fact-checker Politifact.” Both appear to be part of a loose amalgamation of postmodern censors, whose hallmark is to spread misinformation in the form of half-truths and outright falsehoods by accusing others of doing the same.

Perhaps in this case, Facebook’s greatest sin is its willingness to discount – or utterly ignore – Dr. Happer’s record of accomplishment.

In addition to a distinguished career at a prestigious university, Dr. Happer has received numerous awards for service in government and private enterprise. He invented a laser-based technology that made possible President Reagan’s “Star Wars” defense initiative and has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers.

In a recent paper, “The Role of Greenhouse Gases in Energy Transfer in the Earth’s Atmosphere,” Dr. Happer and his coauthor say that whatever greenhouse warmth may be in store for the planet that “basic physics and the geological record indicate that the warming will be small and probably good for life on Earth.”

This and other statements by Dr. Happer are supported by evidence accumulated over many decades – even centuries – by myriad researchers drawing on various disciplines that include physics, geology, biology and history.

Putting up Climate Feedback’s lame challenge against such a legacy of scientific exploration would be laughable if it weren’t for its furtherance of a “green” movement that has cost the world trillions of dollars in wealth that could have been used for something useful. Billions of people suffer for lack of energy resources made more expensive and less available by a fearmongering climate agenda of the ignorant and ignominious.

Facebook also noted on the CO2 Coalition account that they “covered” the offending post “so people can choose whether they want to see it.”

We believe it behooves seekers of truth to examine posts that Facebook chooses to obscure.

February 8, 2025 Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance, Science and Pseudo-Science | | Leave a comment

Jim Jordan Challenges EU Over Its Censorship Laws

By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | February 6, 2025

US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has written to the EU Commission’s Executive VP for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen regarding the bloc’s censorship law, the Digital Services Act.

Jordan wants the EU to, by February 13, inform the committee of how it plans to enforce the law when it comes to US tech companies, and also about investigations that are at this time underway, against Meta and X.

Jordan, as usual, doesn’t mince words and has no problem with referring to the DSA as legislation that has “censorship provisions” – to express what he said was the committee’s serious concern over how those might affect free speech in the US.

Here, he was referring to the nature of social platforms that are global, and how they typically use the same set of policies regarding speech – meaning that if those policies were aligned with the EU’s restrictive legislation, the result could be the setting of “de facto global censorship standards.”

Even though for a long time criticized by speech and privacy advocates, the DSA was flying under the radar of the previous White House, now it is emerging as a significant point, as the two sides clash on a number of issues.

Under the DSA, which the EU and the law’s supporters treat as a set of “moderation” rules for the good of the internet – companies can be forced to pay up to six percent of global turnover or even get blocked.

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and President Trump have been among those who previously publicly criticized the DSA. Previously, Virkkunen denied that the DSA enabled censorship and even claimed that free speech is “respected and protected” by the law.

Jordan and the commission he heads have been involved in multi-year efforts to expose online censorship practices in the US, but this is not the first time that these investigations have also turned toward the EU.

Last summer, during the presidential campaign in the US, he wrote to then Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton because of this EU official’s scandalous warning issued to Musk regarding a live stream of an interview with then-candidate Trump.

The letter to Virkkunen was reported by Politico, but the EU Commission is yet to publicly comment on its contents.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , | Leave a comment

UK Government Secretly Orders Apple to Build Global iCloud Backdoor, Threatening Digital Privacy Worldwide

The UK government’s extremism is a global threat to privacy, a new report shows

By Christina Maas | Reclaim The Net | February 7, 2025

Imagine waking up one morning to find out your government has demanded the master key to every digital iPhone lock on Earth — without telling anyone. That’s exactly what British security officials have tried to pull off, secretly ordering Apple to build a backdoor into iCloud that would allow them to decrypt any user’s data, anywhere in the world. Yes, not just suspected criminals, not just UK citizens — everyone. And they don’t even want Apple to talk about it.

This breathtakingly authoritarian stunt, first reported by The Washington Post, is one of the most aggressive attempts to dismantle digital privacy ever attempted by a so-called Western democracy. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect from regimes that plaster their leader’s face on every street corner, not from a country that still pretends to believe in civil liberties.

The Order: Total Access, Zero Oversight

This isn’t about catching a single terrorist or cracking a single case. No, this order — issued in secret last month by Keir Starmer’s Labour government — demands universal decryption capabilities, effectively turning Apple into a surveillance arm of the UK government. Forget warrants, forget oversight, forget even the pretense of targeted investigations. If this order were obeyed, British authorities would have the power to rifle through anyone’s iCloud account at will, no justification required.

The officials pushing for this monstrosity are hiding behind the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, a law so Orwellian it’s lovingly referred to as the “Snoopers’ Charter.” This piece of legislative overreach forces tech companies to comply with government spying requests while making it illegal to even disclose that such demands have been made. It’s the surveillance state’s dream—limitless power, zero accountability.

Apple’s Answer: Thanks, But No Thanks

Apple, to its credit, has not rolled over — yet. Instead of turning itself into an informant for MI5, the company is reportedly considering pulling encrypted iCloud storage from the UK entirely. In other words, British users could lose a major security feature because their government is hell-bent on playing digital dictator.

But even that isn’t enough for UK authorities, who aren’t just demanding access to British accounts. They want a skeleton key to iCloud data worldwide, including in the US That’s right—British intelligence, in a stunning display of overreach, is trying to force an American company to compromise American users on American soil.

The “Appeal” Process: A Kafkaesque Farce

Technically, Apple has the right to challenge this order. But in true dystopian fashion, its only option is to plead its case before a secret technical panel, which will then determine if the request is too expensive. If that doesn’t work, Apple can go before a judge, who will decide whether the demand is “proportionate” to the government’s needs. Because if there’s one thing we know about government surveillance, it’s that it’s always reasonable and restrained.

Meanwhile, Apple has refused to comment, likely because doing so would be a criminal offense under UK law. That’s right — even talking about the demand could land Apple executives in legal trouble. Nothing screams “free society” like threatening jail time for discussing government overreach.

Here’s the wider issue: even if Apple were to challenge this draconian demand, it wouldn’t matter. The law requires immediate compliance — meaning that even as Apple fights the order, it would still be forced to hand over the keys in the meantime. It’s the legal equivalent of being forced to serve a prison sentence while appealing your conviction. By the time the courts make a decision, the damage is already done.

Apple, to its credit, saw this Orwellian nightmare coming from a mile away. Last year, it explicitly warned British lawmakers that such a demand would be nothing less than an assault on global privacy. The company made its stance clear:

“There is no reason why the U.K. [government] should have the authority to decide for citizens of the world whether they can avail themselves of the proven security benefits that flow from end-to-end encryption.”

In other words: Who the hell does Britain think it is? The UK government, in its wisdom, apparently believes it should have the power to determine how encryption works for everyone, everywhere, not just in its own backyard. Because why stop at surveillance when you can have global surveillance?

The Official Non-Denial Denial

Of course, when asked about this breathtakingly bold power grab, the UK Home Office fell back on the bureaucrat’s favorite escape hatch: refusing to confirm or deny reality itself.

“We do not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”

In other words, “We won’t admit we’re demanding this, but we won’t deny it either.” Because why be transparent when you can keep the public guessing?

How the UK Plans to Kill Encryption by Exploiting the Cloud

For those still clinging to the idea that end-to-end encryption will protect their messages from prying eyes, here’s the bad news: the UK government already has a backdoor, and most people don’t even realize it.

Yes, apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, and Signal use end-to-end encryption, meaning only the sender and recipient can read the messages. But the moment you back up those encrypted chats to the cloud? They become fair game. Law enforcement can demand access through legal orders, bypassing encryption entirely.

Apple’s Advanced Data Protection was designed to close this loophole, giving users a way to keep their cloud backups as secure as their messages. And that, of course, is precisely why the UK wants to kill it.

Because for governments that dream of unlimited surveillance, letting people secure their own data is simply unacceptable.

The UK Is Now Outpacing the US in Anti-Privacy Extremism

For years, the US has led the charge in trying to undermine encryption, with the FBI repeatedly demanding backdoors and government officials throwing tantrums whenever a tech company refuses to play ball. But even America has never gone this far.

Now, Britain is attempting to leap ahead, pushing for surveillance powers that would force not just UK companies, but global tech giants to comply — regardless of where their users live. And Apple? It’s just the first target.

Google, which has offered default encrypted backups for Android since 2018, could easily be next. When asked whether the UK or any other government had made similar demands, Google spokesperson Ed Fernandez gave a carefully worded response:

“Google can’t access Android end-to-end encrypted backup data, even with a legal order.”

That’s a fancy way of saying “We don’t have the keys, and we’re not planning to give them up.” But how long until the UK demands that Google build a key, just like it’s demanding from Apple?

And then there’s Meta. WhatsApp’s encrypted backups are another thorn in the side of surveillance-hungry governments. When pressed on whether they had received any secret orders for access, Meta, predictably, refused to comment.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Deception, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel used toxic gas to suffocate Palestinian resistance fighters, captives in Gaza’s tunnels, report finds

MEMO | February 7, 2025

Israeli occupation forces bombed Gaza and “intentionally weaponised toxic byproducts of bombs to suffocate” Palestinian resistance fighters they believed were hiding underground, an investigation by +972 Magazine and Local Call revealed yesterday.

The report is based on information obtained from 15 Israeli Military Intelligence and Shin Bet officers who have been involved in tunnel-targeting operations since 7 October 2023. It found that occupation forces tried to “compensate for the army’s inability to pinpoint targets in Hamas’ subterranean tunnel network”.

This policy allowed for the killing of “triple-digit numbers” of Palestinian civilians as “collateral damage”, while senior Hamas commanders were being sought out.

The report highlighted that some of these strikes “which were the deadliest in the war and often used American bombs, are known to have killed Israeli hostages.”

“Pinpointing a target inside a tunnel is hard, so you attack a [wide] radius,” a Military Intelligence source told +972 and Local Call. This radius would be as large as “tens and sometimes hundreds of metres,” meaning these bombing operations collapsed multiple apartment buildings on their occupants without warning. This was referred to by Palestinians as “fire belts”.

Bunker-buster bombs release the lethal gas carbon monoxide as a byproduct, which can kill people inside a tunnel through asphyxiation even at a distance of hundreds of metres, the report adds, explaining that Israel has known about this since 2017.

“The gas stays underground, and people suffocate,” Brigadier General (reserves) Guy Hazoot said. “[We realised] we could effectively target anyone underground using the Air Force’s bunker-buster bombs, which, even if they don’t destroy the tunnel, release gases that kill anyone inside. The tunnel then becomes a death trap.”

Three Israeli hostages — Nik Beizer, Ron Sherman and Elia Toledano — were definitively killed by asphyxiation as a result of a 10 November 2023 bombing that targeted Ahmed Ghandour, a Hamas brigade commander in northern Gaza, the report said.

Military officials told +972 and Local Call that the intent was to use the chemical byproduct solely to kill Hamas operatives “who intended to fight the IDF [Israeli occupation forces].”

Israel’s efforts to maximise the chances of killing senior militants hiding underground also included attempts to crush parts of a tunnel network and trap the targets inside.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

US Envoy Ortagus Meets President Aoun, Imposes Dictations on Lebanon

Al-Manar | February 7, 2025

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met on Friday with US Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus who said that Washington has set a “red line” over participation of Hezbollah in the new government.

“We are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah,” Ortagus said in a press conference, following a meeting with President Aoun.

“It is thanks to the Lebanese President Aoun and the Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam and everyone in this government who is committed to an end of corruption, who is committed to reforms and who is committed to making sure that Hezbollah is not a part of the new government in any form,” the US diplomat added.

“We have set clear red lines from the United States that (Hezbollah) won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people and that includes by being a part of the government,” she added, as quoted by Associated Press.

Ortagus’ remarks sparked ire in Lebanon, with some commentators, even those who oppose Hezbollah, considering them as imposed dictations and a violation to the Lebanese sovereignty.

For his part, President Aoun, emphasized that “permanent stability in south Lebanon is closely linked to the completion of the Israeli withdrawal from the territories it occupied during the last war, and the full implementation of Resolution 1701, including the provisions of the November 27 ceasefire agreement.”

“The release of Lebanese prisoners is an integral part of this agreement,” the president added, as cited by Lebanon’s National News Agency.

Later on Friday, the Lebanese Presidency Press Office issued a statement in which it said: “The presidency is not concerned with some of remarks made by US deputy Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus in Baabda.”

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

Iran condemns ‘illegitimate’ US sanctions targeting oil exports

Press TV – February 7, 2025

Iran has strongly condemned new sanctions slapped by the administration of US President Donald Trump on the country’s oil industry, saying they run contrary to international rules and standards.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei denounced the bans as “completely unjustified” on Friday.

The remarks came a day after the US Treasury Department targeted more than a dozen individuals and companies, as well as vessels, claiming that they are facilitating the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China.

The sanctions were the first on Iran after Trump restored his so-called “maximum pressure” campaign on the country.

“The decision of the new US administration to put pressure on the Iranian nation by preventing Iran’s legitimate trade with its economic partners is an illegitimate, illegal and wrongful act, whose responsibility lies on the US government,” Baghaei added.

“The Islamic Republic holds the US accountable for the consequences of such unilateral and bullying measures.”

On Tuesday, Trump signed the presidential memorandum reimposing a tough anti-Iran policy, which he practiced in his first presidential term after unilaterally withdrawing Washington from the historic 2015 nuclear deal.

In an X post, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Trump’s measure a failed experience.

He said the decision to restore maximum pressure policy will only compel “maximum resistance” on the part of Iran again, adding, “Smart people ought to choose ‘Maximum Wisdom’ instead.”

During his campaign trail for a second term, Trump had stated at an event in New York in September that, if re-elected, he would minimize the use of sanctions. He argued that employing sanctions excessively “kills your dollar and it kills everything the dollar represents.”

“Look, you’re losing Iran. You’re losing Russia. China is out there trying to get their currency to be the dominant currency, as you know better than anybody,” Trump remarked.

On Tuesday, The New York Times said Trump had also implemented a strategy of maximum pressure in 2018, following his decision to withdraw the US from the nuclear accord with Iran that had been established under the Obama administration three years earlier.

“Mr. Trump still claims that was a major victory, but most outside analysts say it backfired,” the newspaper wrote.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Economics, Wars for Israel | , , | Leave a comment

Khamenei: Negotiations with US have no effect on solving problems

Press TV – February 7, 2025

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says experience has shown that negotiations with the US have no effect on solving Iran’s problems.

His remarks in a meeting with Air Force personnel in Tehran on Friday came hours after the US imposed its first sanctions in the wake of President Donald Trump’s signing of an order to reimpose his “maximum pressure” on Iran.

“Some people pretend that if we sit at the negotiating table, some problem will be solved, but the fact that we must understand correctly is that negotiating with the US has no effect on solving the country’s problems.”

He cited the experience of 2015 when Iran and six other countries, including the US, signed the now-dormant Joint Comprehensive of Plant of Action (JCPOA) after two years of negotiations, only to be discarded by President Trump in 2018.

Ayatollah Khamenei recalled the grueling back and forth, which included a 15-minute stroll by then-US Secretary of State John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif in downtown Geneva and along the Rhone River which landed the former Iranian foreign minister in hot water.

“Our government at the time sat down and negotiated – they continued to come and go, they sat down and stood up and negotiated, they talked, laughed, shook hands, made friends, everyone worked, and a treaty was formed.

“In this treaty, the Iranian side was very generous, giving many concessions to the other side. But the Americans did not implement the same treaty,” the Leader said.

“The same person who is in office now tore up the treaty. He said he would tear it down and he did; they didn’t act upon” the agreement, he said, referring to Trump.

“Therefore, negotiating with such a government is unwise, unintelligent and dishonorable and there should be no negotiation with it.”

Before Trump, even the US administration which had accepted the agreement, did not comply with it, the Leader said, referring to the government of president Barack Obama which had signed it.

“The treaty was meant to lift US sanctions, but they were not lifted. Adding insult into injury, they had the UN to have a constant threat hanging over Iran. This treaty was the product of negotiations that lasted about two years.”

Iran is currently in the midst of celebrations marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution which sealed the fate of the US-backed Pahlavi regime in 1979.

Every year on February 8, Iranian Air Force personnel meet the Leader to relive the historic allegiance of Air Force officers with the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini in 1979. The event is viewed as a turning point which led to the victory of the Islamic Revolution three days later.

Ayatollah Khamenei said the Americans are busy working “on paper to change the map of the world”, with Iran also being the subject of their plans.

“Of course, it’s only on paper, it has no reality. They also talk about us, make comments, and threaten us,” the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei said, “If they threaten us, we will threaten them. If they put their threat into practice, we will do the same. If they attack the security of our nation, we will attack their security without hesitation.”

“This is a lesson taken from the Qur’an and the teachings of Islam, and it is our duty to act as such. We hope that God Almighty will make us successful in carrying out our duties,” he added.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Deception, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

USAID or SorosAid? How US Tax Dollars Fund Chaos Worldwide

By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 07.02.2025

Soros’ vast NGO network has spent over $20 billion since 2000 on radical liberal causes across the world. Tens of millions or even billions of US taxpayer dollars were funneled through USAID, observers suspect.

  • The Soros-linked East-West Management Institute received over $260 million from USAID to influence foreign affairs in Georgia, Uganda, Albania, and Serbia.
  • Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center, backed by Soros, began receiving USAID grants in 2014 – the same year the US-backed Euromaidan coup ousted elected President Viktor Yanukovych with neo-Nazi support. Over $1 million has been funneled by USAID to the center.
  • In August 2024, a coup against Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina was allegedly fomented by USAID, IRI, and Soros-linked groups. Her successor, Muhammad Yunus, is a known Clinton and Soros ally. According to The Grayzone, US taxpayer money funded rappers, transgender activists, and LGBT initiatives to create a “power shift.”
  • Soros and USAID have long sought to unseat Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, who has actively opposed the globalist billionaire since 2017. During the 2022 elections, the Soros-linked NGO Action for Democracy funneled $7.6 million to his opposition.

Election Meddling at Home?

  • Soros-linked groups, backed by USAID, led resistance efforts against Donald Trump during his presidency, influenced the 2020 election through Black Lives Matter protests, and worked to flip battleground states in 2020–2021.
  • Soros funded the Electoral Justice Project, Black Lives Matter’s voter mobilization effort, and gave $22 million to Tides Advocacy, which supported the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s pre-election nationwide protests aimed against Trump in 2020.
  • USAID and Soros allegedly spent $27 million on anti-Trump prosecutions, claims journalist Mike Benz. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg was also accused of being “bought” by Soros.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Corruption, Deception | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

USAID’s Color Revolutions: Destabilizing States for US Interests

By Ekaterina Blinova – Sputnik – 06.02.2025

USAID openly acknowledged its role in regime change operations through “democracy” programs by 2006.

“USAID played a critical role in influencing color revolutions by providing financial, logistical, and strategic support to opposition movements” in Ukraine, Lebanon, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan, Dr. Marco Marsili of the Portuguese Catholic University’s Institute of Political Studies tells Sputnik.

These regime change operations advanced US geopolitical interests but brought no real benefits to the affected nations, he argues.

“USAID’s activities were framed as democracy promotion, electoral assistance, and civil society development,” Marsili notes. However, the results tell a different story:

“Ukraine and Georgia faced ongoing political instability, Lebanon remained sectarian, and Kyrgyzstan suffered repeated upheavals,” he says.

Here’s a breakdown:

Georgia – Rose Revolution (2003)

  • US aid: $103M (2002), $141.16M (2003)
  • “Democracy programs” received $23.5M (2002), $21.06M (2003) via USAID, IRI, and NDI for NGOs, activists, and media.
  • In 2004, the US admitted it “helped” prepare Georgia’s 2003 election, with US-funded NGOs playing a key role in the regime change.
  • USAID noted Georgians “borrowed” Serbia’s 2000 pro-democracy tactics, later influencing Ukraine in 2004.

Ukraine – Orange Revolution (2004)

  • US aid: $188.5M (2003), $143.47M (2004)
  • “Democracy programs” received $54.7M (2003), $34.11M (2004) via USAID, NED, and the Eurasia Foundation.
  • To push a pro-US candidate, USAID launched the Strengthening Electoral Administration in Ukraine Project (SEAUP) in Dec 2003, influencing Ukraine’s parliament and judiciary.

Kyrgyzstan – Tulip Revolution (2005)

  • Inspired by Georgia and Ukraine, USAID heavily funded local NGOs, activists, and media before the Feb 2005 election.
  • US aid: $56.6M (2003), $50.8M (2004), with “democracy programs” receiving $13.5M (2003), $12.2M (2004).
  • George Soros’ Open Society Institute funneled $5M (2003) to Kyrgyzstan’s American University of Central Asia.

Lebanon – Cedar Revolution (2005)

  • In March 2005, 1M Lebanese protested, demanding Syria’s military withdrawal, paving the way for pro-US leader Saad Hariri.
  • USAID’s 2006 report claimed years of work laid the foundation for the uprising.
  • US aid to Lebanon tripled in the early 2000s from $15M to $45M.

February 7, 2025 Posted by | Deception | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump sanctions ICC

RT | February 6, 2025

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigating the US and its allies. Last November the Hague-based court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in a move that angered US officials.

Trump’s executive order will enforce financial and visa-related sanctions on individuals and families who support ICC investigations into US citizens or allied nations.

The ICC has been preparing for a “swift assault” from the new US administration, the Guardian reported last month, citing sources within the organization. The measures could affect the ICC’s access to banking and payment systems, IT infrastructure, and insurance providers, the publication said. It could also “paralyze” the court’s work and pose “an existential threat” to its functioning.

Earlier this month, the US House of Representatives voted to impose sanctions that would cancel US visas and place financial restrictions on any ICC officials prosecuting US “allies.”

The US adopted the American Service-Members’ Protection Act in 2002 – nicknamed “The Hague Invasion Act.” The legislation was designed to protect American military personnel, as well as elected and appointed officials, from prosecution by international legal bodies which Washington has not recognized.

The act authorizes the US president to use “all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any US or allied personnel” detained or imprisoned on behalf of the ICC, since the US is not a party to the Rome Statute regulating its activities. The authorization implies potential military action, leading to the act’s informal name.

The ICC’s attempt to investigate alleged American war crimes in Afghanistan in 2020 resulted in the US placing sanctions on then prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

The court has accused Netanyahu and Gallant of using starvation as a method of warfare in Gaza, as well as deliberately depriving the enclave’s civilian population of essential supplies such as food, water, and medicine without any “obvious military necessity.” Washington says the ICC lacks jurisdiction over Israel, since it is also not a signatory to the Rome Statute.

Last year, however, the US praised Karim Khan, the same ICC prosecutor who requested arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, when he brought charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow is not a party to the agreement establishing the court.

February 6, 2025 Posted by | Aletho News | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump hands “best friend” Israel gift for false-flag assassination

By Finian Cunningham | Strategic Culture Foundation | February 6, 2025

Iran will be obliterated if it assassinates U.S. President Donald Trump. He told reporters this week of his “dead man’s switch” while announcing tougher sanctions on Iran in a renewed maximum pressure campaign.

Asked about the danger of being assassinated by Iranian operatives, Trump appeared to dismiss such fears but disclosed that he had left instructions with his aides to destroy Iran in the event of being killed.

“If they did that, they would be obliterated. I’ve left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left.”

It is unclear who the aides are to whom Trump has entrusted the instructions for retaliation. And it is not a done deal that his orders would be carried out if such an extreme scenario materialized.

Several news media reported his dramatic remarks, including ABC, the New York Times, and Sky. The Associated Press editorialized: “If Trump were assassinated, Vice President JD Vance would become president and would not necessarily be bound by any instructions left by his predecessor.”

Nevertheless, the 47th Commander-in-Chief may be tempting fate. His death wish for Iran could be taken as an opportunity for a false-flag operation by Israel.

Bluntly put, if Israeli agents were to kill Trump in a way to frame Iran, then the Israelis stand to gain their big prize of wiping the Islamic Republic off the map, or so they might calculate.

It would, of course, be a treacherous double-cross by Israel. This week Trump hosted Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the American president was praised as the “best friend” Israel has ever had in the White House. The praise was in response to Trump’s proposed resettlement of all Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to neighboring Arab countries. No wonder Netanyahu was beaming with delight, as Trump’s proposal effectively completes Israel’s long-held desire to ethnically cleanse the enclave.

So would the Israelis really contemplate whacking “best friend” Trump?

Knowing how the Israelis are serial violators of international law, a rogue regime that exults in war crimes, it is not beyond their thinking or doing.

False flag operations are, by definition, designed to be carried out to blame someone else for the foul deed. If an “executive action” job on Trump were done well, Israel would not be seen as the perpetrator. Instead, all the American fury would be directed at Iran.

There is precedent for such treachery. On June 8, 1967, Israeli forces launched a deadly attack on the USS Liberty in the Mediterranean, killing 34 American Navy crew. The incident was during the Six-Day War between Israel and Arab countries. The Israelis tried to blame Egypt for the deadly attack until an official investigation found that it was Israel. The Israelis later apologized and said it was a mistake in the fog of war. U.S. crew members, however, testified that it was a deliberate attack by a supposed ally.

Another alleged false-flag operation was the 9/11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, DC, in 2001, in which 3,000 Americans were killed. Some investigators believe that Israel masterminded that atrocity to mobilize American military intervention in the Middle East to weaken Arab nations. Investigators pointed to the strange case of the “dancing Israelis” – a group of Mossad agents who watched the planes from a distance as they crashed into the Trade Center towers and duly celebrated the spectacle. The offensive revelers were reported by witnesses (who suspected them of being Arabs) and were later arrested by U.S. law enforcement, only to be released weeks later without charge and sent back to Israel, where they were feted on TV shows and disclosed to be Mossad agents.

Several analysts contend that Israel’s priority goal is to inveigle the United States into a war against Iran. That has been Tel Aviv’s de facto policy for many years, viewing Iran as its top threat. Over the past year, Israel has become emboldened by inordinate U.S. military support and its impunity despite genocide in Gaza and aggression towards Lebanon and Syria.

With the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance across the Middle East subdued by a relentless Israeli onslaught, Netanyahu and the Israeli leadership may feel that Iran is vulnerable. But Iran’s firepower is formidable, having struck Israel twice in recent months with large-scale air assaults that broke through Israel’s defense systems.

The Israelis know that they cannot succeed in attacking Iran alone. They need the U.S. to assist in a calculated devastating blow.

During his election campaign last year, Trump endorsed Israeli air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, but even the impulsive Trump does not seem ready to launch a war on Iran.

That’s where the Israelis may be tempted to carry out a daring false-flag operation to assassinate Trump and bet on his death wish to obliterate Iran being delivered.

Iran has already been fingered for plotting to kill Trump ever since he ordered the assassination of the revered Iranian military commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, in Baghdad in January 2021, during his first term in the White House.

Last November, the U.S. Department of Justice under the Biden administration claimed to have uncovered an Iranian plot to murder Trump. The claim was dismissed by Iran as an Israeli psyops to ramp up tensions with the U.S. Tehran has denied any such intention to assassinate Trump. Iran said Trump’s latest speculation was “provocative”.

The DOJ’s allegations of an Iranian plot were flimsy and not credible. But, conveniently for Israel, the reports may have planted the seed of thought in the public mind that the Iranians are out to get Trump.

Israel’s crimes against international law seem to know no bounds. Its military intelligence operates on the principle of “waging war by deception.”

Israel has viewed the Islamic Republic as its nemesis since the Iranian revolution in 1979. All the proxy threats surrounding Israel emanate from Iran – the “head of the snake”. If Iran could be wiped out to install a more pliant pro-Western regime then Israel will feel free to expand its “Greater Israel” ambitions in the Middle East. The prospect of knocking out Iran for the Israelis is the ultimate prize.

Trump’s rashly outspoken arrangement to destroy Iran if he is assassinated just handed Israel a nefarious, golden opportunity.

As Iran said, Trump’s loose talk about assassination is provocative. The question is: provoking who?

February 6, 2025 Posted by | Deception, False Flag Terrorism, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

US President resets ‘maximum pressure strategy’ on Iran but adds a nuanced message on US-Iran deal

By M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | Indian Punchline | February 7, 2025

France’s distinguished former career diplomat Sylvie Bermann, wrote an op-ed recently in the leading financial paper Les Echos that a new chapter of ‘transactional geopolitics’ has begun with Donald Trump. 

Extremely unlikely events can be expected, metaphorically called ‘black swans’. The so-called ‘black swan theory’ characterises events that come as a surprise, have a major effect, but can be rationalised only after the fact, with the benefit of hindsight. 

One may say, on February 4, a black swan appeared in the White House, as President Donald Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) restoring “maximum pressure” on Iran, denying that country “all paths to a nuclear weapon.”  

A White House Fact Sheet detailed that NSPM establishes the following truism: 

  • “Iran should be denied a nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missiles”;
  • “Iran’s terrorist network should be neutralised”; and, 
  • “Iran’s aggressive development of missiles, as well as other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities, should be countered.” 

The black swan was intriguing. On the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrival in DC on Tuesday, Jerusalem Post had written: 

“The Trump administration is in the process of formulating its Iran policy, and Netanyahu’s visit at this early stage in the president’s second term affords him a golden opportunity to give his input. And Iran remains Israel’s number one threat and problem… 

“While his (Trump’s) administration still seeks to contain Iran’s regional influence and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon, there have been early signs of shifts in tone and priorities.

“These shifts may reflect internal divisions within the administration – between Iran hawks like Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and isolationists like Vice President JD Vance, who said in October: “Our interest very much is in not going to war with Iran… this is where smart diplomacy really matters.”

At any rate, Trump decided to sign the NSPM without waiting for Netanyahu’s “input.” Equally, Marco Rubio was conspicuous by his absence in Trump’s team for the talks with Netanyahu. And Vice-President Vance not only assisted Trump at the talks but the president made it a point to ostentatiously convey his appreciation by hailing him in the presence of Netanyahu and his entourage, which was striking. 

And the mother of all surprises was that the NSPM document as such studiously avoided any threat of war against Iran. Trump avoids anti-Iran rhetoric, which used to be a running feature of his first term as president. Trump, although a mercurial personality, is not tweaking, either, the complex web of unwritten ground rules and norms of conduct that kept the four decades-old US-Israeli standoff from turning into military confrontation (which of course neither side wants). 

Meanwhile, all indications are that Trump senses that the Iran question has transformed as Tehran’s deterrent capability began  surging, and is no longer a ‘stand-alone’ challenge for the US, as the external environment has changed phenomenally since the Ukraine war began. Russia and Iran are in a quasi-alliance today. That said, Russia is also a stakeholder in nuclear non-proliferation and has a congruence of interests with the US that Iran abides by the NPT.  

A sense of proportions is always necessary to assess the US-Iran tensions. Therefore, Trump’s remarks after signing the executive order on NSPM need to be properly understood. Suffice to say, It was a carefully choreographed performance by Trump, caught on camera and speaking with an eye on a prompter — rather unusual for Trump who is famous for his stream of consciousness on such occasions.  

An announcer in the background introduced almost apologetically that NSPM  seeks to impose “maximum pressure” on Iran, but qualified it saying that many provisions in the document are only  “similar to action taken” during the first Trump administration. 

He continued that the “basic idea” is to ensure every government department and agency acts in unison, “and the intent here is to give you all the possible tools to engage with the Iranian government.” 

Trump spoke calmly in a measured tone of resignation. He noted stoically, “This is what everybody told me to sign. It is very tough on Iran. The Iran situation — hopefully, we don’t have to do very much. 

“We will see whether we can arrange to work out a deal with Iran and everybody can live together. Maybe it is possible, maybe it is not possible.” 

Trump continued: “So, I am signing this and am unhappy to do it. But I really have not so much choice because we have to be strong and firm. And I hope that it does not have to be used in any great measure at all. 

“We could have a Middle East and a world in total peace. Right now, we don’t have that. I like to have peace all over the world but now you have the world blowing up.” 

Trump repeated, “I am signing this but, hopefully, it will be a document which will be important but hardly has to be used.” 

When asked what kind of a deal is envisaged with Iran, Trump replied, “We will see. They (cannot) have a nuclear weapon. With me, it is simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want to be tough on Iran…This (deal) could have been done long ago.” But Biden did nothing for whatever reason. 

When asked about alleged Iranian plots to assassinate him,  Trump reacted, “They (Iranians) have not done that. That will be a terrible thing to do. Not because of me, but they will be obliterated… I have left instructions. If they do it, they will get obliterated. There won’t be anything left. If anything like that happens (from any quarter), there will be total obliteration of that state — not only Iran…

Trump concluded by repeating again, “So, I am signing this. It is a very powerful document (read maximum pressure strategy) but, hopefully, I will not have to use it.” 

In essence, Trump conveyed a nuanced message to Tehran before Netanyahu’s arrival that he has an independent line of thinking regardless of what the hotheads in Tel Aviv might be saying. And that is to work for a deal through smart diplomacy — the JD Vance line. 

Trump understands that the Masoud Pezeshkian government also seeks dialogue and negotiations. Trump does not believe that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, no matter the Israeli propaganda to the contrary through the past decade. 

Without doubt, Tehran will grasp Trump’s nuanced message of ‘transactional geopolitics’. Iranian officials have welcomed Trump’s remark that he is willing to work out a deal. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a message on X: “In addition to being one of the committed parties to the NPT and other global non-proliferation treaties, Iran has already explicitly declared that ‘Iran will not seek to produce or acquire nuclear weapons under any circumstances’.” 

Araghchi added: “Obtaining practical guarantees that Iran will not attain nuclear weapons is not difficult, provided that, in return, concrete assurances are given to effectively end hostile actions against Iran—including economic pressures and sanctions.”

Tehran has taken note that Trump did not rule out a meeting with Pezeshkian. When asked about Trump’s remark, the government spokeswoman  Fatemeh Mohajerani told reporters at a press conference in Tehran on Wednesday, “Our international issues have been founded upon the principles of dignity, wisdom and expediency. All issues, specifically relations with other countries, are being pursued on the basis of these three principles.” 

In effect, Iran has responded positively to Trump’s estimation that a deal is possible and signalled flexibility and pragmatism on its part. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told Fox News today that his country is ready to act as mediator. 

February 6, 2025 Posted by | Militarism, Wars for Israel | , , , | Leave a comment

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