Fair Use Notice: This site may contain some copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of vital issues which already exist in the public domain. – Note: These links are posted at the top of the page as the week progresses. Links from previous weeks can be found under the “Current Quicklinx” button.
US Declines Israel’s Invitation To Start WW3 (For Now) – by Caitlin Johnstone – https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/us-declines-israels-invitation-to – “Iran has carried out its long-promised retaliation for Israel’s attack on its consulate building in Damascus, launching a massive barrage of drones and missiles which it claims hit and destroyed Israeli military targets, while Israel says they dealt only superficial damage with a few injuries. The US and its allies reportedly helped shoot down a number of the Iranian projectiles… Just as we discussed in the lead-up to the strike, the western political-media class are acting as though this was a completely unprovoked attack launched against the innocent, Bambi-eyed victim Israel. Comments from western officials and pundits and headlines from the mass media are omitting the fact that Israel instigated these hostilities with its extreme act of aggression in Syria as much as possible. Here in Australia the Sydney Morning Herald write-up about the strike didn’t get around to informing its readers about the attack on the Iranian consulate until the tenth paragraph of the article, and said only that Iran had “accused” Israel of launching the attack because Israel has never officially confirmed it… In any case, Iran says the attack is now over. Given that we’re not seeing any signs of massive damage, Iran’s reported claim that its retaliation would be calibrated to avoid escalation into a full-scale regional war seems to have been accurate, as does Washington’s reported claim that it didn’t expect the strike to be large enough to draw the US into war… A new report from Axios says Biden has personally told Netanyahu that the US will not be supporting any Israeli military response to the Iranian strike. An anonymous senior White House official told Axios that Biden said to Netanyahu, “You got a win. Take the win,” in reference to the number of Iranian weapons that were taken out of the sky by the international coalition in Israel’s defense. Apparently helping to mitigate the damage from the Iranian attack is all the military commitment the White House is willing to make against Iran at this time… And thank all that is holy for that. A war between the US alliance and Iran and its allies would be the stuff of nightmares, making the horrors we’ve been seeing in Gaza these last six months look like an episode of Peppa Pig… But Washington merely declining to get involved is nowhere near enough. As the Quincy Institute’s Trita Parsi quipped on Twitter, ‘Biden needs to PREVENT further escalation, not just declare his desire to stay out of it.’.. Indeed, Israel has already made it clear that it is going to be moving forward with an escalation against Iran. Israel’s Channel 12 cites an unnamed senior official saying the Iranian counter strike is going to receive an “unprecedented response”… ‘Israel has already informed the Americans and governments in the region that its response is inevitable,’ The Economist reports. ‘Its military options include launching drones at Iran, and long-range airstrikes on Iran, possibly on military bases or nuclear installations.’.. It’s unclear at this time how much the latest message from the Biden administration will affect the calculations of this position, but the mass media are reporting that White House officials are worried Israel is getting ready to do something extremely reckless that could draw the US into a war it would rather avoid… NBC News reports the following: ‘Some top U.S. officials are concerned Israel could do something quickly in response to Iran’s attacks without thinking through potential fallout afterward, according to a senior administration official and a senior defense official… ‘Those concerns stem in part from the administration’s views of the approach Israel has taken to its war against Hamas, as well as the attack in Damascus.’.. ‘President Joe Biden has privately expressed concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to drag the U.S. more deeply into a broader conflict, according to three people familiar with his comments.’.. People have been raising this concern for some time now. Earlier this month Responsible Statecraft’s Paul Pillar wrote up a solid argument that Netanyahu stands a lot to gain personally from drawing the US into a war with Iran to help him with his legal and political troubles and take the focus off of Israel’s genocide in Gaza… Whether that’s the case or not it’s pretty absurd for the Biden administration to just sit around passively hoping this doesn’t happen as though it wouldn’t have a say in the matter, and as though there’s nothing it can do to prevent such an occurrence right now. Biden has had the ability to end this insane cycle of escalation in the middle east since it started six months ago by demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and demanding that Israel rein in its murder machine, just as US presidents have done successfully in the past… Biden could end all this with one phone call. The fact that he doesn’t means he’s a monster, and no amount of mass media reports about how “concerned” and “frustrated” he is regarding Israel’s actions will ever change that.”
David Rogers Webb on how to stop “The Great Taking” – Interview by Paul Buitink (59 minutes) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GHXe0PbNG4 – “Paul Buitink interviews David Rogers Webb, former hedge fund manager of Varus and author of “The Great Taking”. David states in his book that there is a global elite implementing a system to take everything from everyone. David emphasizes that this agenda is particularly evident in the realm of property rights concerning securities. According to him, a closer examination of the terms and conditions, such as those of a bank or stockbroker, reveals that individuals are not the rightful owners of their securities… Paul asks David about the motivations driving these “elites” and when they will execute the great taking? Paul thinks that the people will revolt when everything will be taken from them and asks David to reflect on that. And finally, what can be done to stop the great taking.”
TN working to stop The Great Taking as outlined by David Rogers Webb – Good news from Foster Gamble our deep researcher champion of Truth – From a friend: A bracing 6 minute video from Foster Gamble of the Thrive movement he helped found.- Here is good news from TN. Chem trails banned, MRNA banned… Tennessee: A Fractal Hologram of Good News
An outstanding article, which deserves careful consideration: What if it’s all long-term conditioning? – by Axel BC Krauss – https://www.theburningplatform.com/2024/04/11/what-if-its-all-long-term-conditioning/ – “I wrote this commentary in response to Todd Hayen’s article “Did the Covid PsyOp fail?”, to which I would add a few remarks… I agree with Hayen: something about the alleged failure of the “Covid PsyOp” feels strange. It “feels” fishy. But what could that be? I will explain this below… I have written two books on this myself, “Corona – Krone der Technokratie?” (Corona – Crown of Technocracy?) and “Das globale Technat” (The Global Technate). In the latter, the title of which was inspired by Iain Davis‘ outstanding articles “Understanding Technocracy” and “Technocracy: The Operating System For The New International Rules-Based Order”, one of the points I made was that the lockdowns had no medical reason, but economic reasons: By paralysing the economic cycles, i.e. by artificially triggering a deflationary phase (which is characterised, among other things, by a decline in demand), inflationary overheating was prevented, which would have been caused by the monetary policy of the years since 2008 (the last major financial crisis). (For further information on this, please read Michael Bryant’s article “COVID-19: A Global Financial Operation”)… This policy, also known as “Quantitative Easing”, in conjunction with the deliberate zero interest rate policy – which in my opinion served as bait to lure more people into a spiral of debt – could have triggered a severe recession, or even hyperinflation at worst, on a global scale. The so-called “Covid Aids” gave the elite even more power over the economy and society… Rising public and private debt naturally means a gain in power for them, because debt always and without exception also means a relationship of dependency between creditor and debtor. In other words: You can more easily dictate your conditions if someone depends on your credit supply… If you want to find out more about the background, I highly recommend the article “Sustainable Debt Slavery” by Whitney Webb and Iain Davis… What is certain is that German newspapers published articles on this potentially imminent recession or depression throughout 2019 – and with increasing frequency. These signs weren’t just on the wall, they were dancing Lambada on coke. Then – purely by chance, of course -, a “new type of virus” emerged, which conveniently allowed the press to only talk about the “Corona Recession” – and not mention the monetary policy causes at all anymore. That alone was telling enough – at least for me… Anyway, instead of focusing only on the “medical” aspects of the “pandemic”, I think we should rather consider the possibility – as Hayen rightly suspects – that this “event” with all its already tragic consequences for so many people was “only” a first step in a longer, ongoing process… It is probably no coincidence that the World Economic Forum has already spoken of the age of “Polycrises” into which humanity has now entered. By “Polycrisis” is meant: Climate, War, Terror and Pandemics… We had the first Pandemic – “Corona”. We have a war (Ukraine), which in my estimation is NOT a “classical” or “conventional” geopolitical conflict, but allowed the elites – via a chain of sanctions and counter-sanctions – to further raise the cost of living (rising prices for fossile fuels like natural gas which have already been targeted by the so-called “Sustainable Development Goals“, aka “Agenda 2030” of the UN)… Shortly after the war began, German mainstream television networks coined the phrase – yes, in all seriousness – “Frieren gegen Putin” (“Freezing against Putin”). You gotta be kidding me… We had a terror attack in Moscow, allegedly perpetrated by the “Intelligence State”. Sorry. What was I thinking? I meant the “Islamic State”, of course. Shortly after, German newspaper “Die Welt” (The World) warned about a possibly upcoming chain of “worldwide terror attacks” by the Intellige … Islamic State… It’s just my very humble opinion, but I get the strange feeling that all of this is meant to keep the populaces “on their toes”, to make them live in constant fear, to occupy their minds and distract them from the fact that on the level of international treaties, i.e. UN-level, all three “Power Blocks” – Ozeania (USA), Eurasia (EU) and East Asia (BRICS) – are already making “ends meet” by signing contracts that will bind them legally to “global goals”… I call this the “Multipolarity Hoax“. – When it comes to the much-discussed Covid Vaccines, I would like to suggest that we stop focusing solely on them and instead look at NEW vaccines that are currently being developed. Why is that? Because we have to consider the possibility that the ingredients administered with the Covid vaccinations will only trigger the desired overall effect in COMBINATION with future vaccinations… Anyone who has ever done research in this area – especially with regard to vaccination trials in court – knows that it can be difficult under certain circumstances to attribute side effects or damage to the vaccination. This depends very much on the time that elapses between the vaccination and the occurrence of possible harmful effects. If I get vaccinated and just two or three days later, or even a few weeks later, such side effects occur, the matter is pretty clear. But if years pass between the vaccination and the possible consequential damages, it becomes much more difficult to prove this in a legal case. Because in the meantime, many other factors could have triggered these side effects… My thesis is therefore: Instead of betting everything on one card, i.e. on ONE vaccination, it would be much more ingenious (in an evil way), if only for reasons of possible consequences under criminal law, to rely over many, many years on effects that only result from a combination of several different vaccinations. This would not only make it increasingly difficult, but almost impossible, to find the medical “needle in the haystack”… I couldn’t agree more with Hayen when he warns of the possible long-term consequences… Yes, it’s quite possible that the vaccinations will have after-effects that we don’t even know about yet. Some of these possible effects were described by a German author, Michael Nehls, PhD, MD, who habilitated in molecular biology, in his book “Das indoktrinierte Gehirn” (“The indoctrinated Brain”, not available in English yet). He writes about possible long-term effects of these “Covid-Vaccinations” on a very important process in the human brain called “Hippocampal Neurogenesis” which is essential for the development of a stable personality and, most of all, a healthy memory… But as mentioned before, I don’t think that the Covid vaccines alone will “do the trick”… In his article, Hayen wrote: ‘Yes, all this could still happen, but it seems there have been more false starts – starts that didn’t go anywhere. But if so, you would think they wouldn’t have put them out there just to not have them continue.’.. Exactly. But how could this continue?.. To further support Hayen’s argument, I would like to introduce readers to a quite astonishing quote from a book by Bertrand Russell. It was published in 1953 and was entitled “The Impact of Science on Society”… This quote made me sit up like a Jack-in-the-box and take notice; I am convinced that we are guinea pigs in a long-term conditioning process… In his book “The Impact of Science on Society” Bertrand Russell wrote (my emphases): ‘Fichte [german philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte, my remark] laid it down that education should aim at destroying free will, so that, after pupils have left school, they shall be incapable, throughout the rest of their lives, of thinking or acting otherwise than as their schoolmasters would have wished. But in his day this was an unattainable ideal: what he regarded as the best system in existence produced Karl Marx.’ – Russel, The Impact of Science on Society, 1953, US-Library of Congress, Catalogue Number 68-54290, p. 50… As if those words alone wouldn’t be mindblowing enough (and already been confirmed by today’s state of public “education”, if you can call it that anymore, especially in Germany), please forgive me for pushing you over the edge now. Russell continues, but please believe me, any resemblance to actual events is purely coincidental, it’s all just stupid conspiracy theories, folks (my emphases): ‘In future such failures are not likely to occur where there is dictatorship. Diet, injections, and injunctions will combine, from a very early age, to produce the sort of character and the sort of beliefs that the authorities consider desirable, and any serious criticism of the powers that be will become psychologically impossible. Even if all are miserable, all will believe themselves happy, because the government will tell them that they are so.’ – Russel, The Impact of Science on Society, 1953, US-Library of Congress, Catalogue Number 68-54290, p. 50.. Erm. Wait a minute. Diet? You mean, like “Eat Ze Bugs”? Like “Processed Foods”, delivered by companies which are owned by people who are members of think tanks like the CFR, the Trilateral Commission, like Bilderbergers, like Club of Rome and the sorts? Or by financial giants like Blackrock, which are also driving forces behind the “Agenda 2030” (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs), CBDCs (total financial control) and so on?.. Woah. And injections? You mean, like “Covid Vaccinations”, for instance? And maybe many more to come in future pandemics (or against other illnesses) because this could very well be a long-term conditioning process? And injunctions? You mean, social distancing etc.?.. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not telling you all this because I believe we don’t stand a chance. I’m not writing these lines to “demoralize” and depress you. Quite the opposite… I’m just asking you NOT to fall for every single “event” that they’re serving us to occupy our minds and to distract us from their possible long-term goals… In Germany right now, they’re serving the public the so-called “RKI-files” or “RKI-Protocols” (RKI stands for Robert Koch-Institut). Unfortunately, even large parts of German alternative media have fallen for it. I mean the sincere parts. Not the bought-and-paid-for disinformants, because it is a sad fact that 90% of the “most popular” names in German alt-media are controlled opposition, gatekeepers and limited hangouts… These supposedly sensational, new “revelations” contain nothing – absolutely nothing – really “new”. They’ve just – thanks a lot, how merciful – released information that has been known for at least two years now… But most of all, it seems to be one of the oldest tricks in the state’s book for psychological warfare: make the serfs and slaves believe that they should only accept information that has been “officially confirmed”… “Officially confirmed” by the very same state that lied to and deceived them for years, by the way… That ruined many of their businesses during the Reset- and Build Back Better-demic and is deliberately destroying German industry according to the “Degrowth”-agenda outlined by organizations like the “Club of Rome” decades ago. It really couldn’t be more obvious at this point, but well: ‘… education should aim at destroying free will, so that, after pupils have left school, they shall be incapable, throughout the rest of their lives, of thinking or acting otherwise than as their schoolmasters would have wished.’.. If we are aware of the possibility that it may be a conditioning process that could span years, maybe even decades, we can learn to think how the elites do: not in the sense of daily doses of fear porn to keep us busy so that we never come to our senses, but to think in longer time spans… This way, we could develop a sharper sense for long-term strategies… I believe what we’re experiencing right now is a build-up to the “Managerial Revolution” that James Burnham talked about in his book of the same title, published in 1941. Burnham wrote that after the end of the Second World War, “many more wars” would have to be fought – until the “Manager Class” can take control of all production. Hm…. That sounds a lot like the “Global Public-Private Partnership” that the WEF has been proposing for some time now. A certain Eric Arthur Blair alias George Orwell adapted this idea for his dystopic novel “1984”, in which he described a world that is mainly divided between three great power blocks. Well, you know: USA, EU, BRICS. Sorry. Too much coffee this morning. I meant Oceania, Eurasia and East Asia, of course… And don’t you forget: It’s all just purely coincidental.”Islands That Climate Alarmists Said Would Soon “Disappear” Due to Rising Sea Found to Have Grown in Size – by Chris Morrison – https://dailysceptic.org/2024/04/06/islands-that-climate-alarmists-said-would-soon-disappear-due-to-rising-sea-found-to-have-grown-in-size/ – “An amount of land equivalent to the Isle of Wight has been added to the shorelines of 13,000 islands around the world in just the last 20 years. This fascinating fact of a 369.67 square kilometre increase has recently been discovered by a group of Chinese scientists analysing both surface and satellite records. Overall, land was lost during the 1990s, but the scientists found that in the study period of three decades to 2020 there was a net increase of 157.21 km2. The study observed considerable natural variation in both erosion and accretion. Of course, the findings blow holes in the poster scare run by alarmists suggesting that rising sea levels caused by humans using hydrocarbons will condemn many islands to disappear shortly beneath rising sea levels. By means of such flimsy scare tactics, as we have seen in many other cases, desperate attempts are made to terrify global populations to accept the insanity of the Net Zero collectivisation… The scientists said their data suggested that sea-level rise has not been a widespread cause of erosion for island shorelines in the studied regions. “Presently, it is considered one of the contributing factors to shoreline erosion but not the predominant one,” they explained. Needless to say, none of this will detain the attention of climate hysterics in both mainstream media and politics. The Guardian was in fine form last June stating that rising oceans will extinguish more than land. “It will kill entire languages,” it added, noting the effect on Pacific islands such as Tuvalu. Those areas of the Earth that were most hospitable to people and languages are now becoming the “least hospitable”… Silly emotional Guardianista guff of course, but happily it does not seem to apply to Tuvalu. A recent study found that the 101 islands of Tuvalu had grown in land mass by 2.9%. The scientists observed that despite rising sea levels, many shorelines in Tuvalu and neighbouring Pacific atolls have maintained relative stability, “without significant alteration”. A comprehensive re-examination of data on 30 Pacific and Indian Ocean atolls with 709 islands found that none of them had lost any land. Furthermore, the scientists added, there are data that indicate 47 reef islands expanded in size or remained stable over the last 50 years, “despite experiencing a rate of sea-level rise that exceeds the global average”… The Maldives is also a poster scare for rising sea levels, with the attention-seeking activist Mark Lynas – he of the nonsense claim that 99.9% of scientists agree humans cause all or most climate change – organising an underwater Cabinet meeting of the local Government in 2009. As it happens, the Maldives is one of a number of areas that have seen recent increases in land mass. Other areas include the Indonesian Archipelago, islands along the Indochinese Peninsula coast, and islands in the Red and Mediterranean Seas. Notably, the coastal waters of the Indochinese Peninsula had the most substantial gain, with an increase of 106.28 km2 over the 30-year period. Of the 13,000 islands examined, the researchers found that only around 12% had experienced a significant shoreline shift, with almost equal numbers experiencing either landward (loss) or seaward (gain) movement… The scientists identify many reasons why islands can grow in size despite the small annual rises in sea level seen in many parts of the world. It is noted that island shorelines are constantly changing due to factors such tides, winds, nearshore hydrodynamics and the transport of sediment. On inhabited islands, human action such as fish farming and land reclamation can be important… Of course, humans action can have a number of unintended consequences, notably the mining of coral and the breakdown of natural water barriers. Island states such as the Maldives have not been slow in coming forward to claim ‘climate reparations’ from guilt-tripped citizens in the developed world. But tourism has dramatically boosted income in the Maldives to first world levels at a time when the locals have mined coral in industrial quantities to build ports, airports and resort developments. In the process, ocean life diversity has been lost and the islands are often less protected from storm waves that can flow direct to the shoreline. In a recent essay, a group of scientists and economists charged that coral mining “has resulted in massive degradation of shallow reef-flat areas, with important negative impacts on coastal protection”… The Chinese findings are important in helping destroy the claim that many low-lying islands will simply disappear beneath the waves in the near future due to human-induced climate change. They show how shoreline changes are a persistent and ongoing process that is subject to many natural and human influences. Most of the poster islands used for climate scares such as Tuvalu and the Maldives have increased in size of late, and are hardly suitable to whip up fear of a claimed climate ’emergency’. Sea level rise is not a “predominant” cause of the changing coasts, the scientists note… Chris Morrison is the Daily Sceptic‘s Environment Editor.”The Missiles of April – Iran’s retaliatory attack on Israel will go down in history as one of the greatest victories – by Scott Ritter – https://informationclearinghouse.blog/2024/04/15/the-missiles-of-april/13/ –
“I’ve been writing about Iran for more than two decades. In 2005, I made a trip to Iran to ascertain the “ground truth” about that nation, a truth which I then incorporated into a book, Target Iran, laying out the US-Israeli collaboration to craft a justification for a military attack on Iran designed to bring down its theocratic government. I followed this book up with another, Dealbreaker, in 2018, which brought this US-Israeli effort up to date… Back in November 2006, in an address to Columbia University’s School of International Relations, I underscored that the United States would never abandon my “good friend” Israel until, of course, we did. What could precipitate such an action, I asked? I noted that Israel was a nation drunk of hubris and power, and unless the United States could find a way to remove the keys from the ignition of the bus Israel was navigating toward the abyss, we would not join Israel in its lemming-like suicidal journey… The next year, in 2007, during an address to the American Jewish Committee, I pointed out that my criticism of Israel (which many in the audience took strong umbrage against) came from a place of concern for Israel’s future. I underscored the reality that I had spent the better part of a decade trying to protect Israel from Iraqi missiles, both during my service in Desert Storm, where I played a role in the counter-SCUD missile campaign, and as a United Nations weapons inspector, where I worked with Israeli intelligence to make sure Iraq’s SCUD missiles were eliminated… “The last thing I want to see,” I told the crowd, “is a scenario where Iranian missiles were impacting on the soil of Israel. But unless Israel changes course, this is the inevitable outcome of a policy driven more by arrogance than common sense.” – On the night of 13-14 April 2024, my concerns were played out live before an international audience—Iranian missiles rained down on Israel, and there was nothing Israel could do to stop them. As had been the case a little more than 33 years prior, when Iraqi SCUD missiles overcame US and Israeli Patriot missile defenses to strike Israel dozens of times over the course of a month and a half, Iranian missiles, integrated into a plan of attack which was designed to overwhelm Israeli missile defense systems, struck designated targets inside Israel with impunity… Despite having employed an extensive integrated anti-missile defense system comprised of the so-called “Iron Dome” system, US-made Patriot missile batteries, and the Arrow and David’s Sling missile interceptors, along with US, British, and Israeli aircraft, and US and French shipborne anti-missile defenses, well over a dozen Iranian missiles struck heavily-protected Israeli airfields and air defense installations… The Iranian missile attack on Israel did not come out of the blue, so to speak, but rather was retaliation for an April 1 Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate building, in Damascus, Syria, that killed several senior Iranian military commanders. While Israel has carried out attacks against Iranian personnel inside Syria in the past, the April 1 strike differed by not only killing very senior Iranian personnel, but by striking what was legally speaking sovereign Iranian territory—the Iranian consulate… From an Iranian perspective, the attack on the consulate was a redline which, if not retaliated against, would erase any notion of deterrence, opening the door for even more brazen Israeli military action, up to and including direct attacks on Iran. Weighing against retaliation, however, were a complex web of interwoven policy objectives which would probably be mooted by the kind of large-scale conflict between Israel and Iran that could be precipitated by any meaningful Iranian retaliatory strike on Israel… First and foremost, Iran has been engaged in a strategic policy premised on a pivot away from Europe and the United States, and toward Russia, China, and the Eurasian landmass. This shift has been driven by Iran’s frustration over the US-driven policy of economic sanctions, and the inability and/or unwillingness on the part of the collective West to find a path forward that would see these sanctions lifted. The failure of the Iranian nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA) to produce the kind of economic opportunities that had been promised at its signing has been a major driver behind this Iranian eastward pivot. In its stead, Iran has joined both the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS forum and has directed its diplomatic energies into seeing Iran thoroughly and productively integrated into both groups… A general war with Israel would play havoc on these efforts… Secondly, but no less important in the overall geopolitical equation for Iran, is the ongoing conflict in Gaza. This is a game-changing event, where Israel is facing strategic defeat at the hands of Hamas and its regional allies, including the Iranian-led axis of resistance. For the first time ever, the issue of Palestinian statehood has been taken up by a global audience. This cause is further facilitated by the fact that the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, formed from a political coalition which is vehemently opposed to any notion of Palestinian statehood, finds itself in danger of collapse as a direct result of the consequences accrued from the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent failure of Israel to defeat Hamas militarily or politically. Israel is likewise hampered by the actions of Hezbollah, which has held Israel in check along its northern border with Lebanon, and non-state actors such as the pro-Iranian Iraqi militias and the Houthi of Yemen which have attacked Israel directly and, in the case of the Houthi, indirectly, shutting down critical sea lines of communication which have the result of strangling the Israeli economy… But it is Israel that has done the most damage to itself, carrying out a genocidal policy of retribution against the civilian population of Gaza. The Israeli actions in Gaza are the living manifestation of the very hubris and power-driven policies I warned about back in 2006-2007. Then, I said that the US would not be willing to be a passenger in a policy bus driven by Israel that would take us off the cliff of an unwinnable war with Iran… Through its criminal behavior toward the Palestinian civilians in Gaza, Israel has lost the support of much of the world, putting the United States in a position where it will see its already-tarnished reputation irreparably damaged, at a time when the world is transitioning from a period of American-dominated singularity to a BRICS-driven multipolarity, and the US needs to retain as much clout in the so-called “global south” as possible… The US has tried—unsuccessfully—to take the keys out of the ignition of Netanyahu’s suicide bus ride. Faced with extreme reticence on the part of the Israeli government when it comes to altering its policy on Hamas and Gaza, the administration of President Joe Biden has begun to distance itself from the policies of Netanyahu and has put Israel on notice that there would be consequences for its refusal to alter its actions in Gaza to take US concerns into account… Any Iranian retaliation against Israel would need to navigate these extremely complicated policy waters, enabling Iran to impose a viable deterrence posture designed to prevent future Israeli attacks while making sure that neither its policy objectives regarding a geopolitical pivot to the east, nor the elevation of the cause of Palestinian statehood on the global stage, were sidetracked… The Iranian attack on Israel appears to have successfully maneuvered through these rocky policy shoals. It did so first and foremost by keeping the United States out of the fight. Yes, the United States participated in the defense of Israel, helping shoot down scores of Iranian drones and missiles. This engagement was to the benefit of Iran, since it only reinforced the fact that there was no combination of missile defense capability that could, in the end, prevent Iranian missiles from hitting their designated targets… The targets Iran struck—two air bases in the Negev desert from which aircraft used in the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate had been launched, along with several Israeli air defense sites—were directly related to the points Iran was trying to make in establishing the scope and scale of its deterrence policy. First, that the Iranian actions were justified under Article 51 of the UN Charter—Iran retaliated against those targets in Israel directly related to the Israeli attack on Iran, and second, that Israeli air defense sites were vulnerable to Iranian attack. The combined impact of these two factors is that all of Israel was vulnerable to being struck by Iran at any time, and that there was nothing Israel or its allies could do to stop such an attack… This message resonated not only in the halls of power in Tel Aviv, but also in Washington, DC, where US policy makers were confronted with the uncomfortable truth that if the US were to act in concert with Israel to either participate in or facilitate an Israeli retaliation, then US military facilities throughout the Middle East would be subjected to Iranian attacks that the US would be powerless to stop… This is why the Iranians placed so much emphasis on keeping the US out of the conflict, and why the Biden administration was so anxious to make sure that both Iran and Israel understood that the US would not participate in any Israeli retaliatory strike against Iran… The “Missiles of April” represent a sea-change moment in Middle Eastern geopolitics—the establishment of Iranian deterrence that impacts both Israel and the United States. While emotions in Tel Aviv, especially among the more radical conservatives of the Israeli government, run high, and the threat of an Israeli retaliation against Iran cannot be completely discounted, the fact is the underlying policy objective of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the course of the past 30-plus years, namely to drag the US into a war with Iran, has been put into checkmate by Iran… Moreover, Iran has been able to accomplish this without either disrupting its strategic pivot to the east or undermining the cause of Palestinian statehood. “Operation True Promise,” as Iran named its retaliatory attack on Israel, will go down in history as one of the most important military victories in the history of modern Iran, keeping in mind that war is but an extension of politics by other means. The fact that Iran has established a credible deterrence posture without disrupting major policy goals and objectives is the very definition of victory.”
Zelenskyy calls for same defense from allies as for Israel – from Collective West Propaganda – https://www.voanews.com/a/zelenskyy-calls-for-same-defense-from-allies-as-for-israel-/7571223.html – “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Western allies Monday to display the same “unity” toward Ukraine as they did toward Israel when they thwarted an Iranian aerial assault against the Israeli skies over this past weekend… “By defending Israel, the free world has demonstrated that such unity is not only possible, but also 100% effective,” he said… In a post on Telegram, Zelenskyy thanked allies who had come to Ukraine’s aid for more air defenses but said “the intensity of Russian attacks requires greater unity,” as they showed in the defense of Israel… “The same is possible in defending Ukraine, which, like Israel, is not a NATO member, from terror,” he continued. He called for “political will” from Ukraine’s allies, as Ukraine is growing short of ammunition and desperate for more air defenses to repel Russian attacks… Zelenskyy issued his latest call for allies’ help, saying Russia is inflicting “significant damage” every day… In a news conference earlier Monday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also addressed the readiness of Western allies to defend Israel and called for more support for Ukraine “as soon as possible.” – “We see that when allies act as one in a very coordinated way, not a single missile falls on the targets, reaches targets in Israel,” Kuleba said alongside his Norwegian counterpart, who is visiting Kyiv… Israel’s military said it intercepted 99% of the aerial threats with the help of the United States and other allies, and that the overnight attack caused only minor damage… “Everything we are asking from partners, even if you cannot act the way you act in Israel, give us what we need, and we will do the rest of the job,” Kuleba added… Speaking via video to the Second Black Sea Security Conference in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, Kuleba said increasing Ukraine’s air defense will also strengthen regional and global stability, as it in turn protects the security of Ukraine’s neighbors and the entire Black Sea region from Russian aerial terror… “Today, there’s no other language Moscow understands better than the language of force. This is what they respect, anything else is seen as a weakness,” the Ukrainian foreign minister said… Kuleba also said the Black Sea must become “the sea of NATO, of peace and stability,” calling on the alliance to implement “a comprehensive and ambitious Black Sea strategy aimed at reducing Russia’s malign influence.” – In the same conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke via video and underscored the importance of investing in the Black Sea region’s security to ensure peace and freedom across Europe… US aid bill – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to decide this week on how to handle President Joe Biden’s $95 billion aid package, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel. The bill also includes the Indo-Pacific and addresses aid for the U.S. southern border with Mexico. The package was passed by the Senate but stalled in the House… The aid initiative has gained new urgency after Iran’s weekend missile and drone attack on Israel, despite fierce opposition in the deeply divided Congress… Many conservative Republican lawmakers, especially those closely allied with former President Donald Trump, fiercely oppose sending billions more dollars to Ukraine. Trump has been skeptical of assisting Kyiv in its fight against Moscow. Johnson could be ousted as speaker if he allows the Ukraine aid to move ahead… On the ground – Ukraine’s air defense shortages and the Kharkiv region’s proximity to the Russian border is leaving the area especially vulnerable to strikes on energy infrastructure, which have caused large-scale power cuts… Russian forces killed two people and injured four more after striking an education facility in the Kharkiv region on Monday, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on the Telegram messaging app… Syniehubov added that the four wounded people were hospitalized with blast injuries and shrapnel wounds… With the weather getting warmer, Russia has intensified its strikes in the eastern front with the Kharkiv region bearing the brunt of the attacks… Ukrainian officials reported deadly Russian shelling in the eastern region of Donetsk, while Russia said it thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack in an area near the Black Sea… Vadym Filashkin, regional governor of Donetsk, said on Telegram that Russian shelling killed four people in the town of Siversk… Russia has repeatedly hit the area since invading Ukraine in early 2022… Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the Krasnodar area, which is located near Crimea… Some information for this report was provided by Reuters, The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse… House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, arrives for a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, April 15, 2024.”NSA ‘just days from taking over the internet’ warns Edward Snowden – The FISA 702 bill has been described by critics as a “dramatic and terrifying” expansion of the United States government’s surveillance powers. – by Tom Mitchell – https://cointelegraph.com/news/nsa-days-from-taking-over-internet-whistleblower-edward-snowden – “The United States National Security Agency (NSA) is only days away from “taking over the internet” with a massive expansion of its surveillance powers, according to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden… In an April 16 post to X, Snowden drew attention to a thread originally posted by Elizabeth Goitein — the co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice — that warned of a new bill that could see the U.S. government surveillance powers amplified to new levels.
The bill in question reforms and extends a part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) known as Section 702… Currently, the NSA can force internet service providers such as Google and Verizon to hand over sensitive data concerning NSA targets… However, Goitein claims that through an “innocuous change” to the definition of “electronic communications surveillance provider” in the FISA 702 bill, the U.S. government could go far beyond its current scope and force nearly every company and individual that provides any internet-related service to assist with NSA surveillance… “That sweeps in an enormous range of U.S. businesses that provide wifi to their customers and therefore have access to equipment on which communications transit. Barber shops, laundromats, fitness centers, hardware stores, dentist’s offices.” – Additionally, the people forced to hand over data would be unable to discuss the information provided due to hefty gag order penalties and conditions outlined in the bill, added Goitein.
Source: Elizabeth Goitein – The bill initially received heavy pushback from privacy-conscious Republicans but passed through the U.S. House of Representatives on April 13… Part of the pushback saw the bills’ proposed spying powers time-frame cut from five years to two years, as well as some minor amendments to the service providers included under the surveillance measures… However, according to Goitein, the amendment did very little to reduce the scope of surveillance granted to the NSA… In her view, the amendment could even see service providers such as cleaners, plumbers and IT service providers that have access to laptops and routers inside people’s homes be forced to provide information and serve as “surrogate spies,” claimed Goitein… The bill has seen strong pushback from both sides of the political aisle, with several government representatives claiming the bill violates citizen’s constitutional rights… Democratic Senator Ron Wyden described the bill as “terrifying” and said he would do everything in his power to prevent it from being passed through the Senate… “This bill represents one of the most dramatic and terrifying expansions of government surveillance authority in history.” – Republican Congressperson Anna Paulina Luna, who voted against the bill in the House of Representatives, said Section 702 was an “irresponsible extension” of the NSA’s powers. Luna added that if government agencies wanted access to data, they must be forced to apply for a warrant… The bill is slated for a vote on April 19 in the U.S. Senate.”
