Tag: perpetual war

Putin Signs Military Assistance Deal With North Korea

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a military assistance pact with North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un during the former’s visit to Pyongyang.

The deal promises “immediate military assistance” from either should the other be attacked. Due to Russia’s vast size compared to North Korea, this seemingly provides a security guarantee to the latter, though it is unclear what exact form the promised “protection” and “military and other assistance” would take should hostilities on the Korean peninsula break out. Kim described the treaty as an “alliance,” although Putin did not. 

While many of the terms are still unknown, Putin stated that he would not “exclude the development of military-technical cooperation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in accordance with the document signed today.”

Throughout most of his presidency, Putin has worked with China and the United States to contain North Korea, especially with regard to nuclear weapons. This current deal between Russia and North Korea seems to mark the end of any U.S.-Russia partnership to contain North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

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War What Is It Good For? Money, Money, Money

Israel’s war on Palestine has generated the equivalent of burning 675,000 tons of coal and causing 166.5 million tons of debris.  Thousands of zoo animals have died of starvation.   Pets have been bombarded with bombs and died due to lack of water.   Solid waste up to 300,000 tons have accumulated in makeshift dumps.   Contamination by asbestos and heavy metals, dust and fine particles, toxic waste from hospitals and industries, and diseases spread by decomposing bodies.   Where are the Climate Protesters?

“US’s “War on Terror” has released 1.2 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases, which is more warming than the annual emissions of 257 million cars.”  War Games kill an uncounted number of sea mammals and consumable fish.  The US military has the largest climate footprint in the world with Qatar coming in second.  In one year Lockheed Martin contributed 33 megatons of GHG emissions.  Airbus’ contribution was 444 megatons and Raytheon 12.7 megatons.  To charge one electric vehicle uses the same energy for 257 homes.Holcombe, Randall GBest Price: $5.00Buy New $12.90(as of 09:02 UTC – Details)

The Economist, “The exponential growth of solar power will change the world”.  Also from The Economist, “China’s giant solar industry is in trouble”.   Why?  Overcapacity.

Europe is transitioning away from natural gas to hydrogen as their newest green initiative.  The Steam Method of producing hydrogen requires natural gas, water and biomass.  The production of one ton produces 6.7 to 9.3 tons of carbon dioxide.   Electricity from the grid can be used to produce hydrogen through water electrolysis.   What powers the grid?  Don’t we have a water crisis?  Brought to you by our ever evaporating – Scientists.   Those ‘experts’ who routinely falsify their reports to satisfy a quotient.

Call in the aliens – we are making a MESS!

One megaton TNT hydrogen bomb can destroy 80 square miles. Israel dropped 70,000 tons of bombs on Gaza Strip since last October, exceeding World War II bombings in Dresden, Hamburg, and London combined.  36 prisoners in Israeli jails have been tortured to death.   723 health workers have been killed and another 900 injured. 151 journalists have been killed.   And Netanyahu posts a video asking the world for more bombs in order to ‘get it done’.   As in no more Palestinians.  Does The Middle East even know they are all NEXT?

Blinken has made fourteen visits to Israel – flying with his security entourage that includes two US Air Force crews.  More climate change and fossil fuels…  The joke of the century.

Manipulating climate in the Middle East is common.  Manipulating climate for ski resorts is common.   Manipulating climate for war is common.  Eleven US states manipulate climate routinely.  Despite the fact that climate manipulation is human derived, it is not added to the equation.  Why?   Because it would skew their expert scientific dramatization.

According to the DoD, weather manipulation is based on the ‘chaos theory’.  “Any input into the atmospheric “system” via weather modification will result in some unknown and unforeseen output somewhere else. The more chaotic a system is, the more sensitive the system is to small perturbations”.  Some states actually charge a tax for the privilege of their ability to modify OUR weather.  Even though citizens don’t own the sky or the weather –

In Colorado, the state issues ‘permits’ to companies which desire to modify the weather.  The permit costs $100 plus a 2% commercial fee for a five year renewable applicant.  Wind turbines can be shifted or manipulated to cause greater wind speeds.  The larger the wind farm, the more it can alter/shape wind speeds.  The higher wind speeds dry up the land causing droughts.   Droughts require cloud seeding and cause fires.  Cloud seeding alters where the rain will fall.  A circle of events that can destroy a state.

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Biden Team Ignores Israel’s History of Deceit and Deception

Question: How do you know when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is lying?

Answer: He moves his lips.

Israel’s history over the past 76 years is replete with examples of deceit.  This was true from the start, when the Israelis denied their role in expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes during Israel’s War of Independence.  The Arab world refers to the expulsion as the “nakba” (the catastrophe), which is largely denied in Israel.  The Israeli legacy of denying the “nakba” is no different from those who deny the Holocaust.

The mainstream media bends over backwards to defend Israel’s case, and over the years it has said very little about the history of Israel’s deceit and deception.  As recently as last week, for example, the Washington Post carried a bizarre headline that read “Israel is on its honor to comply with U.S. intelligence limits.” The accompanying story was a significant one, detailing the importance of the U.S. intelligence provided to Israel to conduct the rescue of four Israeli hostages, an operation that took the lives of nearly three hundred Palestinians, mostly women and children.  By any definition of the requirement for proportionality in wartime, this was indeed a war crime.

The Post article went on to cite National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, an apologist for Israel since the start of the war on October 7th, who explained that the United States has “provided an intense range of assets and capabilities and expertise to Israel,” and that the provision of intelligence  is “not tied or conditioned on anything else.  It is not limited.  We are not holding anything back.  We are providing every asset, every tool, every capability.”  These remarks are dispositive of our complicity in Israel’s brutal and unconscionable assault against Palestinian civilians.

At the same time, U.S. officials disingenuously claim that Israeli is prohibited from using U.S. intelligence for targeting in Gaza in any military operations, including airstrikes.”  They argue that there are “long-standing formal arrangements that are scrutinized by lawyers in the U.S. intelligence community, as well as directives from the White House following the October 7th attacks.”  This is particularly disingenuous because of the long record of deceit and deception from both the U.S. intelligence community regarding U.S. wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and the Israeli lies over the years regarding their wars in 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982.  I’ve written extensively about U.S. and Israeli lies in my articles for CounterPunch and my various books and articles.  And I will return to this deceit in future articles.

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Slovak Defense Ministry Accuses Former Government of Sabotage and Treason Over Ukraine Jet Transfer

The Slovak Ministry of Defense said on Friday that it considers the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets and air defense systems to Ukraine in 2023 as an act of sabotage by the former leadership of the ministry.

“Based on the results of the discovery of a number of failures of the former government, we, as the Ministry of Defense, are filing an application [to law enforcement agencies] on suspicion of committing sabotage, that is, treason, abuse of power and violation of duties to manage other people’s property,” ministry spokesman Igor Melicher told reporters.

After the inspection, the ministry did not find a document that would justify the legality of transferring fighter jets and air defense to Ukraine, the official added.

Earlier, Melicher stated that the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in 2023 was illegal, and legal measures would be taken against former Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď. Melicher pointed out that Slovakia’s constitution prohibits a caretaker government from making significant foreign policy decisions, such as transferring fighter jets to Ukraine worth over 500 million euros.

Slovak Ombudsman Robert Dobrovodský reported that the Slovak Ministry of Defense could not find any legal analysis confirming the legality of the MiG-29 transfer to Ukraine by Eduard Heger’s government in 2023.

In December 2022, the Slovak parliament passed a vote of no confidence in Heger’s government, but his cabinet continued to perform its duties with limited powers. In March 2023, Heger’s government decided to transfer 13 MiG-29 fighters and part of the Kub air defense system to Ukraine. The party of the current Prime Minister, Robert Fico, sought an investigation into the circumstances of this transfer, claiming that Heger’s government lacked the authority to make such decisions. Former Defense Minister Naď, who was part of Heger’s cabinet, argued that a legal analysis conducted before the decision confirmed the procedure’s legality.

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Israeli war chief demands extended mandatory service to overcome troop shortages

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to schedule an urgent meeting to discuss extending compulsory military service to three years, Hebrew news outlet Makan reported on 21 June. 

The request comes in light of a serious enlistment crisis and shortage of soldiers in the Israeli army. 

“The new security reality requires finding means to continue the war effort,” Gallant was quoted as saying. Gallant has requested that Netanyahu approve this in government within the coming days.

The war minister’s request also comes less than two weeks after Israel’s Knesset voted in favor of a controversial draft conscription bill to delay the enlistment of Haredim (ultra-Orthodox Jews) to the army. 63 voted for the bill, and 57 opposed it. 

The conscription of the Haredim has been a source of much tension in Israel lately. Far-right parties, on which Netanyahu’s coalition relies, favor continued exemption for the Haredim, while others, including Gallant, believe the burden of military service is a responsibility for all Israelis. 

Ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews of military age have been able to avoid compulsory enlistment into the army for decades by enrolling in yeshivas (religious schools) and obtaining repeated one-year service deferrals until they reach the age of military exemption.

The government has been unable to reach a consensus on the matter. 

“For many months, the security and military establishment has been working to advance the draft law and reach agreements with the Ministries of Finance and the Judiciary, without success or progress in meeting the immediate and urgent needs of the army,” Gallant said. 

The issue of the Haredim has contributed to severe shortages of soldiers in the army during wartime. 

An Israeli army radio correspondent, Doron Kadosh, reported on Monday that the military is setting up a new division for reservists over the retirement age of 40 in order to meet the “urgent need for more troops.”

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New legal powers for Jewish settlers open door to ‘actual annexation’ of West Bank

The Israeli military has quietly handed over significant legal powers in the occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the Guardian reported on 21 June, in a move that will help accelerate Israel’s illegal annexation of the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military announced the transfer of responsibility for dozens of bylaws at the Civil Administration on its website on 29 May. The Civil Administration governs the West Bank under the military’s direction.

Michael Sfard, an Israeli human rights lawyer, said: “The bottom line is that [for] anyone who thought the question of annexation was foggy, this order should end any doubts. What this order does is transfers vast areas of administrative power from the military commander to Israeli civilians working for the government.”

The transfer will allow Smotrich and his civilian appointees from his religious settler movement to further remove domestic legal obstacles to the theft of Palestinian land for Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

It will also allow Smotrich to further limit Palestinians from building new homes on their own land, which are needed as their population grows.

Israel captured the West Bank and militarily occupied it in 1967. It is home to millions of indigenous Palestinian Christians and Muslims.

Acquiring territory through war and establishing foreign settlements therein is illegal under international law.

The Guardian notes that Israeli politicians have long sought to​ find ways to annex the occupied Palestinian West Bank and make it formally part of Israel.

The transfer of laws, which received little attention in the Israeli press, follows a years-long campaign by pro-settlement politicians to acquire legal powers in the West Bank previously held by the Israeli military as the occupying power.

The laws cover everything from building regulations to the administration of agriculture, forestry, parks, and bathing locations.

Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst for Israel–Palestine at Crisis Group, said, “The big story is that this is no longer ‘creeping annexation’ or ‘de facto annexation,’ it is actual annexation.”

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US-Built Gaza Pier To Be Dismantled Early Amid Ongoing Failures

Following the latest weather and choppy seas setback, the US-built aid pier off Gaza has resumed operations as of the end of this week (Thursday), the Pentagon said, after it broke apart last month. It’s been an on-again off-again situation and the controversial and costly pier project has by and large proven ineffective.

But despite aid reportedly now rolling off the pier once again, Israeli media on Saturday has documented more embarrassing issues, including apparently broken off parts from the pier still washing up to shore far away from its location…

Following significant repairs it underwent at an Israeli port, the pier was transferred back in place amid a series of problems largely due to turbulent seas in the eastern Mediterranean..

The Associated Press has written in a fresh report that “Aid groups have sharply criticized the plan to bring aid by sea into Gaza, saying it’s a distraction to take pressure off Israel to open more land border crossings that are far more productive.”

This week The New York Times essentially declared that the expensive Biden project is an utter failure and that it will be dismantled earlier than expected.

“The $230 million temporary pier that the U.S. military built on short notice to rush humanitarian aid to Gaza has largely failed in its mission, aid organizations say, and will probably end operations weeks earlier than originally expected,” the Times wrote.

“In the month since it was attached to the shoreline, the pier has been in service only about 10 days. The rest of the time, it was being repaired after rough seas broke it apart, detached to avoid further damage or paused because of security concerns,” the report continued.

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Largest European Companies Arming Israel and Their Financiers – Report 

From 2019 to 2023, six of the world’s largest arms producers – Boeing, General Dynamics, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Rolls-Royce – have sold weapons or weapon systems to Israel.

A new report published by a group of 19 civil society organizations and trade unions has exposed the largest European financial institutions investing billions of euros in international arms producers that sell weapons to Israel.

Titled The Companies Arming Israel and Their Financiers, the report “reveals European financial institutions have provided 36.1 billion EUR in loans and underwritings, and hold 26 billion EUR in shares and bonds in companies selling weapons to Israel,” the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said in a statement on Thursday. The FIDH is one of the organizations involved in the exposé.

From 2019 to 2023, six of the world’s largest arms producers – Boeing, General Dynamics, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Rolls-Royce – have sold weapons or weapon systems to Israel, the statement said.

It mentioned that French bank BNP Paribas is by far the largest finance provider to companies that have sold weapons to Israel, having provided 5.7 billion EUR in loans and underwritings since 2021.

Other large investors identified by the report include the banks Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, Barclays and UBS, as well as the Norwegian government pension fund GFPG and the insurance company Allianz. It also mentioned banks such as the UK’s HSBC and Standard Chartered.

“According to international standards on business and human rights, financial institutions have a clear responsibility to ensure that they do not invest in companies that contribute to human rights violations”, said Gaëlle Dusepulchre, Deputy Director of FIDH’s Business, Human Rights & Environment Desk.

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Former UN Weapons Inspector Warns About Looming Threat of Nuclear War

“You will die,” Scott Ritter warned Americans on Wednesday morning in a press conference hosted by the Schiller Institute. “The danger is real,” he said, “and Amercians should be scared.”

Ritter noted that, as the war in Ukraine escalates and the U.S. is providing weapons to directly attack Russia, “Anatoly Antonov, the top Russian nuclear weapon expert and lead negotiator on past nuclear treaties with the U.S., is sitting in the Kremlin and his phone is not ringing. We are not even attempting at diplomacy.”

Ritter was joined by Helga Zepp-LaRouche and former intelligence professionals Lawrence Wilkerson and former Republican state senator and Vietnam veteran Richard Black. They urged the people of the United States and the world to awaken to the danger of mutually assured destruction. 

Their dire warning comes as tensions escalate to a point reminiscent of, or even exceeding, the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis during the first Cold War period, when the world came within a heartbeat of nuclear war breaking out.

The Western media are simply not covering developments. Ritter, a former UN weapons inspector who exposed the deceit surrounding the WMD and Iraq, urged Americans to take the urgency and sense of danger to the polls in the next election to prevent World War III, and to pressure decision makers every step of the way. 

While the Russian nuclear doctrine is defensive, the American doctrine has been under pressure to miniaturize the nuclear capabilities into conventional use and to develop first strike capabilities in recent years. 

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British-Israeli Soldiers in the War-Crimes Zone

British nationals are serving in some of Israel’s “craziest” combat units in Gaza where they view Palestinian fighters as “rats” and “animals”.

The soldiers have pledged to “kill these sons of whores” and “start pummelling them again.”

Declassified has gathered names and photographs of 15 Britons who have recently fought for Israel, and has partially identified another 10.

They are among at least 80 U.K. nationals who the Foreign Office knows to have enlisted in the IDF but is doing nothing to stop.

One of the soldiers, master sergeant Sam Sank, filmed himself fighting in Gaza between December 2023 and January 2024.

Declassified showed the footage to open source intelligence analyst Alysia Alexandra who located the neighbourhood where it was taken.

The tape puts Sank in the Gazan border settlement of Khuza’a while it was being flattened by the IDF during his two-month tour.

Israel’s top human rights group, B’Tselem, has described the IDF’s operation to create a buffer zone in Khuza’a throughout that period as a “war crime”.

“The military demolished the entire town, including residential buildings and mosques,” B’Tselem said, warning that the level of destruction was disproportionate and “violates a basic principle of international humanitarian law.”

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