Tag: perpetual war

American journalist handcuffed & forcibly removed from Blinken’s last presser

A journalist was dragged out of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s final press briefing on Thursday, after trying to ask a question about the Gaza ceasefire.

Blinken claimed that the past four years have seen successful diplomacy, including the truce, even though both Israel and Hamas gave President-elect Donald Trump the credit for the deal.

Sam Husseini, a well known reporter focused on the Middle East, began to put questions to Blinken on his personal reaction to the ceasefire, and reminded the official of the findings of genocide against Israel by multiple international NGOs.

Blinken responded that journalists had to “respect the process” and that he would take questions after he was done with his speech.

In a video posted by Ryan Grim of DropSite News, several uniformed Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) officers can be seen approaching Husseini, who is seated in the briefing room.

“Get your hands off me!” Husseini cried out as the guards seized him. “Answer my damn question.”

“You pontificate about a free press!” he called out. “I am asking questions after being told by [State Department spokesman] Matt Miller that he will not answer my questions.”

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America’s Merchants of Death Are Making a Killing

Yesterday, the Merchants of Death Tribunal concluded with a verdict of “guilty” for all those U.S. dealers and exporters of weapons globally. Yes, the merchants of death are guilty as sin, even as they account for 40% of the global trade in deadly weaponry. Who says nothing is made in America today? We make plenty of things that go “bang.”

In our culture today, it’s considered “patriotic” to make loads of money, especially by selling guns. Just look at the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its enablers in Congress and all the gun companies domestically.

Assault weapons are highly profitable, much more so than pistols, and isn’t it all about making money? Thoughts and prayers to those innocents caught in the crossfire, of course. No worries – more “good guys with guns” will save us from the bad guys with guns.

If we Americans embrace (or, refuse to stop) the sale of firearms, especially dangerous assault weapons, domestically, indeed, if we fetishize it with ideas of potency and manliness, is it any surprise we brag of weapons sales overseas and our dominance of that trade? If we don’t care (or care enough) about the safety of our own children, why should we care about dead kids in Gaza?

Our culture is violent and sick, and until we reform it, there’s little hope of meaningful change.

That said, it’s encouraging to hear of a ceasefire in Gaza. Perhaps the Trump administration can achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine as well. The problem is there always seems to be another war or wars looming on the horizon for the U.S., more conflicts that America’s merchants of death can make a killing on.

That said, it’s encouraging to hear of a ceasefire in Gaza. Perhaps the Trump administration can achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine as well. The problem is there always seems to be another war or wars looming on the horizon for the U.S., more conflicts that America’s merchants of death can make a killing on.

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Israel massacres dozens in Gaza after Biden announces ceasefire

In a video statement Wednesday afternoon, US President Joe Biden announced that a ceasefire agreement had been reached between Hamas and Israel and would be implemented on Sunday. “A ceasefire and a hostage deal have been reached between Israel and Hamas,” Biden said.

Biden claimed that the first phase of the agreement would include the “withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza and the release of a number of hostages held by Hamas.”

Israel reacted to Biden’s announcement by continuing to massacre dozens of people in Gaza. More than 30 people were killed in bombings on refugee camps, residential neighborhoods and hospitals Wednesday following the announcement, on top of 50 that had been killed earlier in the day.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following Biden’s announcement, “An official statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be issued only after the completion of the final details of the agreement, which are being worked on at present.”

It subsequently said in a statement, “The Israeli negotiations team in Doha reported to Netanyahu of a last-minute attempt by Hamas to withdraw from a clause in the agreement,” adding, “Netanyahu instructed the negotiations team to uphold the understandings that were agreed upon and to reject the last-minute blackmail attempts by Hamas.”

Regardless of whether an agreement is finally reached and whether Israeli troops formally withdraw from Gaza, any “ceasefire” would continue the illegal Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and the brutal apartheid regime to which the Palestinians are subjected.

Notably, the Israeli “ceasefire” with Lebanon worked out in November has been followed by almost daily bombardment of Lebanese territory by Israel, and there is every reason to believe this would be the case for Gaza as well.

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China’s new microwave weapon challenges US tech dominance

A new energy weapon has emerged in Beijing’s arsenal. HPM (High-power microwave), which uses microwaves, can affect electronics on a large scale, such as in drones, disrupting their operations without causing visible damage.

The Chinese solution is based on Stirling engines, which allow for the efficient conversion of thermal energy into mechanical energy, potentially generating electromagnetic pulses similar to those produced by atomic bomb explosions. The efficiency of this solution reaches – according to Chinese sources – 96.6 percent.

This weapon was developed by a team from the National University of Defense Technology in Changsha, and it can target not only drones but also military aircraft and satellites.

HPM also allows for precise energy focusing and adjustment of the effective range. The pulse it emits is similar to those accompanying nuclear explosions.

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Stealing Credit for the Gaza Ceasefire

Shortly after the ceasefire in Gaza was announced on Wednesday, President Joe Biden issued a statement taking credit for the deal, never mentioning who is really responsible for it.  Biden said: 

“I laid out the precise contours of this plan on May 31, 2024, after which it was endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council. It is the result not only of the extreme pressure that Hamas has been under and the changed regional equation after a ceasefire in Lebanon and weakening of Iran — but also of dogged and painstaking American diplomacy. My diplomacy never ceased in their efforts to get this done.”

In an eight-minute address Wednesday night from the White House, Biden again never mentioned Trump, giving all the credit to himself and his team.  When a reporter asked him who the history books would credit, Biden replied, “Is that a joke?”

“This plan was developed and negotiated by my team and will be largely implemented by the incoming administration. That’s why I told my team to keep the incoming administration fully informed,” Biden said.

Actually, it wasn’t Biden’s ceasefire plan at all, according to Israel journalist Ben Caspit:

“In fact, the deal being finalized now could have been achieved last May, and was actually formulated by Netanyahu. It was Biden who unveiled Netanyahu’s plan at the time. … ‘Trump forced Netanyahu to finally accept Netanyahu’s plan,’ an Israeli diplomatic source familiar with the events told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.”

Biden at no time seriously sought any ceasefire. Instead he unceasingly facilitated Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza in a 15-month crime spree, punctuated by pro forma attempts at “ceasefires,” which Biden allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sabotage every time. 

Biden’s “attempts” at “ceasefires” were actually electoral stunts to try to con voters, who were opposed to his genocidal policy, into thinking he was really concerned about thousands of innocent lives being systematically snuffed out with American bombs.

He was also trying to make Americans believe he was earnestly attempting to stop the daily massacres. But a majority of voters knew all along that he, and his replacement Kamala Harris, had no intentions whatsoever of forcing a ceasefire.

Biden had all the leverage over Netanyahu. But instead of using it to force him to accept a hostage exchange at anytime over 15 months to stop the killing, he instead pushed the lie that Israel was merely defending itself. 

This war was never about the hostages, defeating Hamas or defending Israel. It was about ethnically cleansing Gaza in a genocide to further the 1948 project to establish Greater Israel on all of historic Palestine, and the Biden administration was on board with it. 

If Biden had really wanted a ceasefire, like the one he’s now trying to take credit for, all he had to do was telephone Netanyahu and tell him no more guns, no more ammo, no more diplomatic cover and Israel would have been forced to cease its fire.

But Biden never did that.

In his dwindling days in office he fraudulently wants to be remembered as a peacemaker and a statesman, just like he waited until the very end in another stunt to take Cuba off the terrorism list but never restored relations with Havana the way Barack Obama did. 

That Trump is the one instead who forced Israel to accept this ceasefire is beyond doubt, based on credible sources. 

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Joe Biden’s Legacy: Waging Proxy Wars, Spreading Terrorism and Killing Diplomacy

As the sun sets on Joe Biden’s presidency, the Commander-in-Chief and his top staffers are using their final moments in power to convince the American people that we live in a safer and more stable world.

“The United States is winning the worldwide competition compared to four years ago,” Biden declared Monday. “America is stronger. Our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are weaker.”

The claims that America is winning and strong are as laughable as when the mainstream media repeatedly attempted to convince the American people that Biden is as “sharp as a tack.”

Americans have witnessed Joe Biden’s physical and cognitive decline over the past four years, which perfectly personifies the American empire. Rather than becoming stronger, the treasury and arms depots were exhausted for the benefit of Ukraine and Israel. America is bankrupt; economic prosperity is increasingly elusive for the average citizen and enjoyed only by an exclusive class with access to government power.

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The Houthis Are Challenging Washington’s Zones of Imperial Domination

Washington DC is an imperial city. It masks as Athenian democracy housed within Roman republicanism and underpinned by Judeo-Christian values. But behind the mask is a cold monster: the “interagency.” And the monster is committed to global domination.

The imperial agenda has met with great resistance, most stunningly in Ukraine, where Russia has been degrading Washington’s proxy forces with extreme lethality. But the most poetic resistance has come from a group of Zaidi Shi’ites in Yemen, the Houthis. Formally known as “Ansarullah (a.k.a. Ansar Allah),” the Houthis control Yemen’s central state.

DC hates them so much it continues to have its captive media refer to them as “rebels” and “militants” more than a decade after they seized the capital city Sana in downright Shakespearean style. The Houthis are the unintended consequence of previous imperial intervention in Yemen. They have been terrorizing Red Sea shipping and attacking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians since October 2023. And they have been withstanding (and responding to) direct U.S. counterstrikes. All this could escalate to front page New York Times blowback. There is the very real possibility that the Houthis could do massive damage to (maybe even sink) a U.S. Navy warship.

How did we get here?

DC maintains different zones of domination (domi-nation). There are the fifty states, the zone of “domestic imperialism.” As Libertarian Institute Managing Editor Keith Knight said, “The domestic population is the group that the government is at war with but has surrendered.”

There are the Federal Indian Reservations throughout the mainland and Alaska. These are “permanent tribal homelands…where the federal government holds title to the land in trust on behalf of the tribe.” So, basically museums of Manifest Destiny or imperial trophies.

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Arab Officials Say Trump’s Team Did More for Hostage Deal in a Single Meeting Than Biden Admin Did in a Year

An official appointed by President-elect Donald Trump for his next administration was the deciding factor in securing a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but President Joe Biden nevertheless took a victory lap over the breakthrough on Tuesday.

Steve Witkoff, who Trump appointed as his Middle East envoy for his second administration, emerged successful from a critical meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, according to The Times of Israel.

Witkoff apparently did more to move Netanyahu toward a ceasefire in a single meeting than Biden did in the past year, according to two Arab officials who spoke with the outlet, which is based in Jerusalem.

Witkoff, a real estate attorney and investor, was in Doha, Qatar, last week to take part in the talks, capping the trip with the stop in Jerusalem to meet with Netanyahu.

Two days later, negotiators from Israel and Hamas confirmed that they accepted the ceasefire agreement in principle.

“A deal could have been reached much earlier, but both sides led to talks falling apart at various times,” one Arab official told the Times.

But the Biden administration was swift to take credit for the ceasefire, overlooking the fact that the approaching Trump administration seems to have been the catalyst for the deal.

Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement from the White House that the ceasefire was reached “thanks to the leadership of President Joe Biden.”

“President Biden and I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans, and are determined that all the American hostages be returned home as part of this deal,” she insisted.

Harris also appeared to pat herself on the back for the deal.

“In my many conversations with leaders in the region, my unwavering focus has been to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination,” Harris said.

“I will never stop working to achieve a future of greater peace, dignity, and security for all people in the region,” she continued.

The play here from Biden and Harris is rather obvious.

Biden is concluding a dismal four years in the Oval Office.

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Analyzing Ukraine’s Attempted Drone Strike On TurkStream’s Russian Infrastructure

Here are five observations about Kiev’s latest provocation in terms of the bigger picture.

Russia accused Ukraine of attempting a drone strike against one of TurkStream’s gas compressor stations, which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described as “energy terrorism” while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that the US greenlighted it in order to obtain an energy monopoly over the EU. This comes less than two weeks after Ukraine cut off Russian gas exports to Europe across its territory. Here are five observations about Kiev’s latest provocation in terms of the bigger picture:

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1. This Isn’t The First Attempted Ukrainian Attack Against TurkStream

Ukraine tried to destroy this pipeline at least three times in late 2022 alone, with two of its failed sabotage attempts being analyzed here and here, but this is the first time that it tried using drones. What this shows is that TurkStream remains a priority target for Kiev, yet strangely enough, this hasn’t led to a downturn in ties with Ankara as proven by their continued military cooperation that even includes a drone factory. The latest attempted attack therefore isn’t expected to harm their relations either.

2. Neither Turkiye Nor NATO As A Whole Cares About This Provocation

Turkiye’s stance is difficult to understand, but it either doesn’t believe Russia’s claims of Ukraine attempting to attack TurkStream or it inexplicably believes that it has more to gain from continuing to arm Ukraine in spite of these provocations than to cut it off in response. As for NATO, while member state Hungary condemned this as a violation of its sovereignty due to the country’s partial dependence on that pipeline’s exports, the bloc as a whole predictably doesn’t care since it’s anti-Russian to the core.

3. Ukraine Wanted To Complete Russia & The EU’s Pipeline Decoupling

Ukraine’s motive was to destroy the last operating pipeline between Russia and the EU, which it believed would then make it more difficult for them to enter into a meaningful rapprochement after the conflict ends while also depriving the Kremlin of revenue for financing its ongoing special operation. It was essentially meant to complement September 2022’s Nord Stream terrorist attack in the sense of serving as a geopolitical power play for influencing Europe’s post-war future.

4. Was This A Rogue Deep State Operation Or Was It Approved By Biden?

The first scenario would align with the hypothesis posited here last spring regarding Ukraine’s attacks against Russia’s early warning systems, which were thought to be a desperate attempt at escalation that was later brought under control, while the second would align with the Nord Stream II precedent. Lavrov already blamed the US so the question is the extent to which its elected government was aware of this. The answer will help predict whether or not Trump’s return to office next week will make a difference.

5. How Might Trump React To This Development After Returning To Office?

Building upon the above, rogue deep state behavior would be more difficult for Trump to rein in if he was against what they did, but the precedent of Biden (or rather those who control him) being able to stop Ukraine’s attacks against Russia’s early warning systems suggests that it’s not impossible. On the flip side, it can’t be ruled out that he might support sabotaging TurkStream in order to obtain an energy monopoly over the EU and/or leverage over Turkiye, in which case more such attempts might follow.

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Switzerland violates its historical neutrality as it promptly approaches NATO

Switzerland, a country historically neutral regarding Europe’s geopolitical disputes, is quickly becoming yet another “devoted” ally of the West, in violation of its own diplomatic tradition. Instead of reaffirming its neutrality and attempting to act as a peacemaker amid the current tensions, Switzerland appears to be giving in to ongoing Western pressure, which could have negative consequences for the country in the near future.

In a recent statement, the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), a leading conservative political party in Switzerland, urged the country’s decision-makers to act with caution in light of the government’s recent pro-NATO shift. The party warned that the current Swiss government is failing to uphold neutrality, a fundamental principle of Swiss foreign policy, by taking a pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine position in its international relations.

The statement harshly criticized Viola Amherd, former president of the Swiss Confederation and current head of the defense department. According to the SVP,  Amherd has proven herself unable of ensuring Swiss security, as the violation of neutrality has allegedly created substantial problems for national defense.

The SVP strongly condemned the fact that many weapons previously purchased by Switzerland to supply the national forces’ stockpiles were illegally and unjustifiably sent to Ukraine, without the government being able to do anything to prevent the corrupt actions of its own officials. Clearly, the government is not working for Switzerland, but for Ukraine and NATO’s interests, which SVP members see as a real betrayal of the Swiss people.

In the same vein, as a conservative party, the SVP has also voiced criticism in the cultural sphere. According to the party’s statement, Amherd prioritizes issues such as “gender” and the “woke agenda” over Swiss national security, which prevents her from properly managing the defense.

Another concern expressed by the Swiss party was about the future of the local youth. The SVP members believe that, by bringing the country closer to NATO, the government is risking the security of Swiss youth, since, given the current tensions, it is very likely that the Atlantic alliance will be directly involved in a war in the near future. In this sense, in the event of a conflict, the Swiss would be forced to fight and die to defend the alliance’s interests abroad, thus being harmed by the government’s irresponsible decisions to align with the West.

“Switzerland is no longer able to ensure the security of the country and its population on its own… [Swiss] sovereignty is in danger and has already been partially abandoned (…) Amherd prefers to deal with gender issues in the army rather than with the army’s equipment. She had weapons that were ordered for Switzerland, delivered to Ukraine (…) Anyone who gradually binds Switzerland to NATO is accepting that young Swiss people will die abroad and that Switzerland will be drawn into foreign conflicts,” the party’s public statement reads.

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