Debt Rattle December 3 2024
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Baseline Is Different Now https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/baseline-is-different-now
Thought-provoking today is the last 10 minutes of Gilbert Doctorow’s “Dialogue Works” interview where he discusses the progress of the European Economic community from the early 1990s until today, based largely upon the premise that nation-state rivalries are the proximal cause of war, and the assumption that merging nation-states into a larger union would prevent the wars which have torn Europe for thousands of years now.
It didn’t work out, essentially because nation-states are not a primary driving actor, but that individual urges-to-power use the construct of nation-states, as they use constructs of religious difference and ethnic difference to manipulate groups of people into war. I will point out that the biggest change in the scale of warfare came when supranational entities became financiers to either side or both sides of a war, notably during the “Crusades”, which cost more than any king could afford to invest, and sacked Constantinople and other areas for profit. Another key development was when forms of representative government were able to pledge future taxes of the citizens of their nation to even more vast wartime indebtedness, the arrangement which funded World War-1.
Doctorow looks at the current crop of European heads-of-state as being essentially like mayors of large cities, without any autonomy in larger matters, which have been assumed by Ursula Von Der Leyen at the EU level. Their incompetence is readily apparent, but less important than their obedience.Gilbert Doctorow, “Dialogue Works,” 3 December 2024: Russia’s Solid Response Coming!
The opening segments deal with the latest international crises – the ‘rebel’ takeover of Aleppo and threat to the Assad regime in Syria and the political struggle for power being fought out in the streets of Tbilisi, Georgia...
..From there we moved on to a variety of currently hot issues including the likely Russian reaction to the Trump-Kellogg plan for peace in Ukraine and the risks of Russia’s using its new hypersonic ballistic missile Oreshnik against NATO countries leading to further escalation towards a nuclear exchange.
My overarching observation is that the Kremlin has written off any possible contribution by Donald Trump to ending the war in Ukraine and are relying solely on their own efforts to subdue Kiev in the coming weeks and ending the war on their own terms.
I am hopeful that viewers will find the discussion of the foregoing to be worth their time. However, I am particularly pleased with the final 10 minutes in the interview in which I was given the opportunity to explain my position calling for the deconstruction of the European Union and the return to an economic alliance such as the European Economic Community before the creation of the Union in 1992. I see this as feasible, while retaining many of the benefits of the EU, such as the common currency, if the Euro is changed from a Fiat valuta to a gold-backed currency. In any case, the pitiful collective EU leadership consisting of nonentities is the direct result of the abandonment of sovereignty in the 1992 constitution which leaves the 27 “leaders” with no powers and no responsibilities to deal with the crises at Europe’s doorstep and beyond that we see today. https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/dialogue-works-3-december-2024-russias Simplicius, Europe’s Bigs Scramble Across Globe for Last Minute Jockeying … Meanwhile, the Russian steamroller rolls on.
For the first time since early 2022, German Chancellor Scholz arrived to Kiev by train to a series of bad-optics photo ops. Ostensibly his visit was announced as one centered on the same old “solidarity” drive for Ukraine. But reading between the lines, we quickly find the real hidden purpose of the jaunt...
..Summary for those who don’t want to read the full article:
Scholz will try to find out at a meeting with Zelensky what the Ukrainian side is ready to do for the sake of peace, — Bild
Analysts believe that ahead of the early Bundestag elections, the Chancellor is seeking to present herself as a leader ready to negotiate a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
This position is an order for him: if US President Donald Trump starts negotiations to end the war, as announced, Scholz intends to defend Ukraine’s position, the publication writes.
The globalists who write Scholz’ marching orders have likely sent him to gauge Zelensky’s mood for capitulation, knowing that Trump may come pitching hard balls from the first inning. Scholz is likely sent as emergency reassurance to ensure Zelensky doesn’t give in to Trump’s opening volley of threats or offers. The MIC globalists want to at least make sure Russia gets as unfavorable a deal as possible, if it comes down to true negotiations.
Annalena Baerbock seemed to confirm this angle by simultaneously traveling to China to likewise apply negotiations pressures... “To protect our own German and European security, it is now important to support Ukraine and to clearly engage in the peace process together with the international community, and that is why I am here in China today,” Annalena Baerbock said in Beijing...
..Peace in Ukraine without territorial losses is now unrealistic, – former NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg. The former NATO Secretary General suggested that Kyiv could agree to temporary territorial concessions in order to end the war... Earlier, Zelensky also made it clear that he considers it possible to end the war without returning all the territories. But in return, he wants an invitation to NATO.
I wrote about this last year, that if Russia began winning too decisively the West would do anything, including giving up currently held territory, to stop the war to prevent Russia from seizing truly geostrategically vital targets like Odessa or even Kiev itself. Landlocking Ukraine would obviously be the biggest blow to NATO of all, as would creating a land corridor to Transnistria, which would allow the solving of that entire issue.
These figureheads are now getting desperate because it’s clear it has come to that: Ukraine has nothing to withstand Russia and a freeze is vital to ensure Russia is not allowed to go further...
..Now Trump’s Ukraine envoy Kellogg’s plan reportedly sketched in April has been making the rounds which depicts a much clearer negotiating angle:
1. End Russia’s political isolation…
2. Apply pressure to Kiev and Moscow to negotiate (more or fewer armament supplies)…
3. Russian incentives: Keep territories already taken, Delay Ukrainian NATO membership 10 years, Partially lift sanctions against Russia (and Europe, regarding gas and oil)…
4 & 5: Status-quo carrots and sticks for Ukraine and Russia, not including demilitarization or denazification of Ukraine, which will be unacceptable to Moscow, but serve to open discussions…
..Now Putin-linked Russian billionaire tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev has shaken things up by announcing that Putin stands to abruptly reject these proposed opening offers…
Given that it’s said Malofeyev has Putin’s ear, his words carry weight. And not surprisingly, he refers back to Putin’s long-held requirement that any closure to the Ukrainian conflict must include a grander reconfiguration of the entire broader regional security architecture…
Donald Trump’s pledge to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is doomed to failure if the US president-elect does not involve broader talks on Moscow’s security concerns, an influential hardliner close to the Kremlin has warned… [Entire world order returning to Westphalian principles of international law]… This is a good sign: it means Putin could be holding to his word, and not slipping toward watering down Russia’s terms...
..Again he reiterates that Russia is looking to use Ukraine as the basis for an unprecedented new global reorganization of the Westphalian variety:
He said Moscow would only see it as a lasting condition for peace if Trump was willing to discuss other global flashpoints including the wars in the Middle East and Russia’s burgeoning alliance with China — and a US acknowledgment that Ukraine is part of the Kremlin’s core interests.
What does this consist of, exactly? It is a return to first principles, the cessation of political ‘games’ and the acknowledgment of geopolitical realities: such as that Great Powers have critical zones of influence and national security interests which must be respected; i.e. you don’t get to use Russia’s regional backyard as your personal sandbox, which would theoretically affect China and the China Sea issue as well. In other words, it’s an actual codification of a new and real “Rules Based Order” rather than the fictive one presently used by Western neocons to justify a lawless form of modern imperialism...
..Lastly, SVR director Naryshkin has not budged from the stance on negotiations in a new statement, reiterating that any settlement must be broader than just Ukraine:
Russia is against “freezing” the conflict according to the Korean scenario, the SVR director said
Naryshkin also said that a peaceful settlement is possible in the event of an agreement that includes “peace for the entire European continent.”
“Russia categorically rejects any freezing of the conflict according to the Korean or any other option. We need a strong and long-term peace for many, many years to come. Moreover, this peace must be ensured first of all for us, Russia, the citizens of the Russian Federation. But this peace must also be ensured for the entire European continent.”
He also said that Russia is ready for peace talks in Ukraine on the terms that Putin announced in June. These terms include Ukraine handing over to Russia the entire territory of four regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia...
..Also, one interesting food for thought: The long awaited Zaporozhye offensive has been said to potentially target Zaporozhye city itself, so that Putin can capture all four new Russian regions, including their capital cities. This is particularly the case with potential negotiations coming up in the future: Russia my seek to hold off talks until the required regions are all back under Russian control. Recall that Kherson city would have to likewise be captured, and so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Russia could seek to recapture it. It’s impossible to tell without further information about the state of the Dnieper river. Some have suggested winter would be a perfect time to cross the dried out river bed since its loamy soft-soil bottom would be hardened under freezing temps, potentially allowing easy passage across in some sections.
But thus far, there is no indication Russia has made any large buildups near the river to give this theory any real credibility. Buildups on the Zaporozhye line, on the other hand, have been reported on by Ukrainian sources for a long time now. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-12224-europes-bigs-scrambleGermany will soon have more elections. Germany prepping nuclear bunkers as WWIII with Russia looms https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-12-02-germany-prepping-nuclear-bunkers-wwiii-russia-looms.html
Alastair Crooke, The Long War to reaffirm Western and Israeli primacy undergoes a shape-shift
America has piled the pressure on Russia through the incremental delivery of additional weapons systems to Ukraine; through stationing intermediate range nuclear-capable missiles ever-closer to Russia’s borders; and most recently, by shooting ATACMS into ‘old Russia’.
The aim has been to pressure Russia into a situation where it would feel obliged to make concessions to Ukraine, such as a to accept a freezing of the conflict, and to be obliged to negotiate against Ukrainian bargaining ‘cards’ devised to yield a solution acceptable to the U.S. Or, alternatively, for Russia to be cornered into the ‘nuclear corner’.
American strategy ultimately rests on the conviction that the U.S. could engage in a nuclear war with Russia – and prevail; that Russia understands that were it to go nuclear, it would ‘lose the world’. Or, pressured by NATO, the anger amongst Russians likely would sweep Putin from office were he to make significant concessions to Ukraine. It was a ‘win-win’ outcome – from the U.S. perspective.
Unexpectedly however, a new weapon appeared on the scene which precisely unshackles President Putin from the ‘all-or-nothing’ choice of having to concede a bargaining ‘hand’ to Ukraine, or resort to nuclear deterrence. Instead, the war can be settled by facts on the ground. Effectively, the George Kennan ‘trap’ imploded.
The Oreshnik missile (that was used to attack the Yuzhmash complex at Dnietropetrovsk) provides Russia with a weapon, such as never before witnessed: An intermediate range missile system that effectively checkmates the western nuclear threat.
Russia can now manage western escalation with a credible threat of retaliation that is both hugely destructive – yet conventional. It inverts the paradigm. It is now the West’s escalation that either has to go nuclear, or be limited to providing Ukraine with weapons such as ATACMS or Storm Shadow that will not alter the course of the war. Were NATO to escalate further, it risks an Oreshnik strike in retaliation, either in Ukraine or on some target in Europe, leaving the West with the dilemma of what to do next.
Putin has warned: ‘If you strike again in Russia, we will respond with an Oreshnik hit on a military facility in another nation. We will provide warning, so that civilians can evacuate. There is nothing that you can do to prevent this; you do not have an anti-missile system that can stop an attack coming in at Mach 10’.
The tables are turned...
..The British, and others in Europe, want the war to continue, because they are on the financial hook from their holdings of some $20 billion Ukrainian bonds which are in a ‘default-like status’, or from their guarantees to the IMF for loans to Ukraine. Europe simply cannot afford the costs of a full default. Neither can Europe afford to pick up the burden, were the Trump Administration to walk away from supporting Ukraine financially. So they collude with the U.S. interagency structure to make the continuation of the war proofed against a Trump policy reversal: Europe for financial motives, and the Deep State because it wants to disrupt Trump, and his domestic agenda.
The other wing to the ‘global war’ reflects a mirror paradox: That is, ‘Israel is strong and Iran is weak’. The central point is not only its cultural underpinning, but that the entire Israeli and U.S. apparatus is party to the narrative that Iran is a weak and technically backward country...
..Iran seems to have solved the problems associated with an adversary enjoying air dominance. Iran has created a deterrence fashioned from the evolution of cheap swarms drones matched up with Ballistic missiles carrying precision hypersonic warheads. It puts $1,000 drones and cheap, precision missiles up and against hugely expensive piloted airframes – An inversion of warfare that has been twenty years in the making.
The Israeli war however, is metamorphosing in other ways. The war in Gaza and Lebanon has strained Israeli manpower; the IDF have sustained heavy losses; its troops are exhausted; and the reservists are losing commitment to Israel’s wars, and are failing to show up for duty.
Israel has reached the limits of its capacity to put boots on the ground (short of conscripting the Orthodox Haredi Yeshiva students – an act that could bring down the Coalition).
In short, the Israeli army’s troop levels have fallen below present command ordered military commitments. The economy is imploding and internal divisions are raw and bruising. This is especially so due to the inequity of secular Israelis dying, whilst others stay exempt from military service – a destiny reserved for some but not others.
This tension played a major part in Netanyahu’s decision to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon. The growing animus about Orthodox Haredi exemption risked bringing down the Coalition... Many Israelis now see war with Iran as the catharsis that will bind a fractured people together again, and – if victorious – end all of Israel’s wars.
Outside, the war widens and shape-shifts: Lebanon, for now, is put on a low flame burner, but Turkey has triggered a major military operation (reportedly some 15,000 strong) in an attack on Aleppo, using U.S. and Turkish trained jihadists and militia from Idlib. Turkish Intelligence no doubt has its own distinct objectives, but the U.S. and Israel have a particular interest to disrupt weapons supply routes to Hizbullah in Lebanon.
The Israeli wanton onslaught on non-combatants, women and children – and its explicit ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population – has left the region (and the Global South) seething and radicalised. Israel, through its actions, is disrupting the old ethos. The region is ‘conservative’ no more. Rather, a very different ‘Awakening’ is gestating. https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/12/02/long-war-reaffirm-western-and-israeli-primacy-undergoes-shape-shift/ Russia and China May Have Severed NATO Cables to Block an Attack and Delay World War III
In a move that could have seismic implications for NATO’s strategic capabilities, two critical undersea communication cables in the Baltic Sea—lifelines of military coordination among NATO allies—were severed in what increasingly appears to be a calculated act of hybrid warfare…
..The severing of these cables appears to be more than a mere act of sabotage. It may well represent a brilliant and calculated geopolitical move designed to delay NATO’s escalation until President Donald J. Trump, known for his aversion to endless wars and commitment to diplomacy, is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025.
A Timeline That Demands Attention:
– November 16, 2024: The [Obiden Regime] authorizes Ukraine to employ long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian targets, marking a significant escalation in the U.S.’s involvement in the war.
– November 17, 2024: The first of two undersea cables, the BCS East-West Interlink connecting Lithuania and Sweden, is severed.
– November 18, 2024: The C-Lion1 cable, which links Finland and Germany, is also cut...
..The severing of the C-Lion1 and BCS East-West Interlink cables has left NATO temporarily reliant on slower and less secure backup systems, such as satellite communications. These cables are not mere civilian communication lines; they are the backbone of NATO’s real-time military coordination between its Nordic and Baltic allies. By severing these lines, Russia and China have potentially achieved several strategic objectives:– This act underscores NATO’s reliance on undersea infrastructure and its vulnerability to hybrid warfare. The inability to restore real-time communication quickly between key member states like Finland, Germany, Lithuania, and Sweden places NATO in a precarious position during this critical window, and
– With President Donald Trump poised to take office in less than two months, Russia and China may see this as an opportunity to stall NATO’s war machine. Trump’s track record of avoiding entanglements and seeking diplomatic solutions could mean a potential cooling of tensions in the new year—a stark contrast to the escalation strategy pursued under the Biden administration.
The Criticality of These Cables:
– C-Lion1 (Finland-Germany): A high-capacity line enabling secure communications and data transfer between Nordic countries and NATO’s central command in Germany. This cable is integral for military logistics and real-time decision-making.
– BCS East-West Interlink (Lithuania-Sweden): Provides vital connectivity between the Baltic states and NATO-aligned Sweden, crucial for regional security in a region bordering Russia.
The loss of these cables has effectively hampered NATO’s ability to synchronize responses, share intelligence, and execute operations in the Baltic Sea, a theater of immense strategic importance. For Russia, this creates a temporary but critical advantage...
..The methods used—deliberately dragging a multi-ton anchor across undersea cables—are both rudimentary and effective. Given the size of the anchor and the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea, the likelihood of completely severing these cables was extraordinarily high. This was not an act of chance; it was a calculated move designed to ensure maximum disruption. https://defconnews.com/2024/12/01/commentary-for-a-sunday-russia-and-china-may-have-severed-nato-cables-to-block-an-attack-and-delay-world-war-iii/ EU has turned into ‘war union’ – Russian senator
The bloc is now the main divisive force in Europe, a member of Russia’s Federation Council believes
The senator criticized the EU in a Telegram post on Tuesday, pointing to the bloc’s support for the ongoing turmoil in Georgia, which has been hit by mass anti-government, pro-EU protests.
The unrest has been going on since Thursday, when Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that he would freeze accession talks with the bloc until 2028. He accused Brussels of persistent “blackmail and manipulation” of Georgia’s internal affairs in justifying the decision.
“The first Molotov cocktails were thrown by protesters at Georgian police immediately after the new EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, publicly called the crowd’s protests legitimate and the response of the authorities – illegal,” Kosachev wrote. https://swentr.site/russia/608577-eu-aggressive-war-union/ Kremlin compares Georgia protests to Maidan coup
Commenting on the events in Georgia, Peskov stated that “there is an obvious attempt to destabilize the situation” and that similar events have taken place in “a number of countries” in recent years.
“The most direct parallel that can be drawn is the events of the Maidan in Ukraine,” Peskov said, referring to the Western-backed coup in Kiev in 2014 which ousted the country’s democratically-elected president and precipitated the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Peskov added that the anti-government protests in Georgia have “all the signs of an attempt to carry out an ‘orange revolution’.”
However, the spokesman stressed that “everything that happens in Georgia is Georgia’s internal affair.” He said that as the country’s authorities take measures to stabilize the situation, Moscow would not interfere.
Prime Minister Kobakhidze has slammed the rallies as an “attack on the constitutional order in the country” and blamed the civil unrest on “EU politicians and their agents.” He further accused the West of trying to orchestrate a coup similar to the US-backed Maidan revolution in Ukraine.
Kobakhidze has insisted that “unlike Ukraine in 2013, Georgia is an independent state with strong institutions and, most importantly, experienced and wise people. The Maidan scenario cannot be realized in Georgia. Georgia is a sovereign state and will not allow this.”
Meanwhile, the US has responded to Georgia’s decision to freeze EU accession talks by suspending its strategic partnership with the country and condemning the move, claiming it is a “betrayal of the Georgian constitution.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has also stated that sanctions are being considered against Tbilisi for its crackdown on protesters. https://www.rt.com/russia/608576-kremlin-georgia-protests-maidan/ Fyodor Lukyanov: Can the West still engineer a ‘color revolution’? We’re about to find out
The significance of events in Georgia now extends beyond its borders, especially in light of the escalating tensions over Ukraine and political shifts in the US. The West’s desire to undermine what it perceives as pro-Russian forces has made Georgia a symbolic battleground, amplifying the consequences of any perceived defiance. The fact that Georgian Dream is in no way pro-Russian, but simply seeks to maintain a detached position, does not change the situation.
Tbilisi’s decision to freeze EU accession talks was a bold move, signaling its willingness to challenge Western demands. The EU sees its ability to influence its applicants as a point of pride, and any setback, like Georgia’s hesitation, will be seen as a failure of its policies. Those who are seen as clients of the West must now swear an oath. And unwillingness to follow the common path is equated with treason.
This situation raises questions about the degree of public support for the government’s stance. The Georgian population has long been divided on the issue of European integration. The government’s position resonates with some, particularly those who see the West’s influence as counterproductive, while others demand a clearer path toward EU membership.
For the opposition, this is an opportunity to exploit popular discontent and mobilize protests. The key challenge for both sides will be managing the potential for violence. Color revolutions have always relied on the ability to escalate tensions and frame the government as authoritarian. The authorities, for their part, must maintain a delicate balance, avoiding provocations while standing firm against external pressure.
The ‘European future’ is a popular image among Georgians, and the majority of Georgian Dream supporters share this aspiration too. The party itself is firmly committed to the goals of European integration, but with its own conditions. The opposition’s argument is that the government is blocking the European path, which automatically means that Tbilisi will return to Moscow’s sphere of influence. The only question is how persistently and passionately this argument will be repeated...
..The term ‘color revolution’ has evolved from a symbol of popular democratic uprisings to a tool of political engineering used by the West for influence. The question now is whether these revolutions still have the power to destabilize countries like Georgia – or if the state can resist the pressure and secure its sovereignty in a new world order. https://www.rt.com/news/608595-fyodor-lukyanov-can-west-still/ New head of European diplomacy Kallas allowed sending EU troops to Ukraine
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas has allowed for the deployment of European military personnel to Ukraine. The day before, immediately after her official confirmation in office, she went to Kyiv together with the new head of the diplomatic service of the European Council, Antonio Costa.
“Until today, the discussion was about which countries are ready to send their troops to Ukraine. I think we should not exclude anything and allow ambiguity in strategic issues.” https://www-kommersant-ru.translate.goog/doc/7344217?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp Ukraine desperate to hold Kursk pocket until Trump takes office – BBC
Several brigades pushed into the border region in early August, aiming to reach a nuclear power plant, with the objective of diverting Russian forces from the Donbass front, the Ukrainian military admitted to Western media.
Messages received by the BBC from Ukrainian soldiers via Telegram “paint a dismal picture of a battle they don’t properly understand and fear they might be losing,” the BBC said. “The situation is getting worse every day,” a soldier told the UK state broadcaster in a text message, according to an article published on Monday.
The messages were “almost uniformly bleak,” according to the BBC. One soldier said defeat was “only a matter of time.”
“They speak of dire weather conditions and a chronic lack of sleep caused by Russia’s constant bombardment, which includes the use of terrifying, 3,000kg glide bombs,” the outlet noted. “They’re also in retreat.”
Some soldiers have argued that the original mission to divert Moscow’s resources had failed. Russian forces have made major advances in southern Donbass since early August. Either way, the current mission is to hold on until US President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in at the end of January. https://www.rt.com/russia/608597-ukraine-kursk-orders-trump/Philip Giraldi on Israel’s ceasefire-of-convenience: When Is a Ceasefire Not a Ceasefire? When it is set up by Washington and Israel is involved
Bibi has repeatedly declared that he will not accept any halt to the fighting, presumably until all the Palestinians are dead, but would accept some kind of suspension of the conflicts as long as he has the option to return to unleashing the mass murder whenever it suits him. He deceptively labels that “making sure that the bad guy ‘terrorists’ abide by the agreement.” https://www.globalresearch.ca/when-ceasefire-not-ceasefire/5874154Israel conducts military operations in southern Lebanon despite cease-fire Israeli forces have committed at least 10 cease-fire violations since early Sunday https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-conducts-military-operations-in-southern-lebanon-despite-cease-fire/3410493
Israel attacks southern Lebanese town despite ceasefire
The Israeli military continues to strike Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah resistance movement, striking residential buildings in the south.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported on Monday that Israeli forces used machine guns to fire at houses in the town of Naqoura, situated on the border with the occupied territories.
This is not the first time that the Tel Aviv regime breached the truce that went into effect last week.
Israel was forced to accept the ceasefire with Hezbollah after suffering heavy losses following almost 14 months of fighting and failing to achieve its goals in its aggression on Lebanon.
The truce deal came into effect before dawn on Wednesday. It will last for 60 days in the hope of reaching a permanent cessation of hostilities. Under the agreement, an international monitoring committee, headed by the US, is tasked with overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire.
On Sunday, France, a member of the monitoring group, said Israel had violated the ceasefire 52 times, including a Saturday attack that killed three Lebanese civilians. Citing French officials, Israel’s Ynet news site reported that Israel had waged its attacks without consulting the truce committee and that the regime’s actions risk undermining the fragile cessation of hostilities...
..Israeli raids killed almost 4,000 people in Lebanon, displaced over a million people, and caused more than $8.5 billion in damage to the country, according to the World Bank.
Hezbollah opened a support front for Palestinians in Gaza only a day after Israel unleashed its war against the besieged territory in October 2023, launching numerous retaliatory attacks against Israeli targets in the occupied lands. https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/12/02/738330/Israel-attacks-Lebanon-Naqoura-violation-truce After Days of Israeli Strikes on Lebanon That Violated Truce, Hezbollah Fires Back
UNIFIL sources say Israel violated the ceasefire deal 100 times before Hezbollah fired, and now Israel is threatening a major escalation
On Monday, Hezbollah fired back for the first time, launching two rockets toward Israeli-occupied territory as a “warning” shot, causing no casualties…
..“Hezbollah’s firing at Mount Dov constitutes a serious violation of the ceasefire, and Israel will respond forcefully,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “We are determined to continue enforcing the ceasefire, and to respond to any violation by Hezbollah — a minor one will be treated like a major one.”
Shortly after Netanyahu’s threat, Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on areas of south Lebanon, killing at least five people. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/02/after-days-of-israeli-strikes-on-lebanon-that-violated-truce-hezbollah-fires-back/Meryl Nass MD has been catching a lot of flak. Israel is Committing “Ethnic Cleansing and War Crimes in Gaza” according to Israel’s own former Defense Minister/ NYT
To all the IDF troll farmers, you can stop piling on with your cries of antisemitism now. The Jewish State became Nazi Germany, so horrific that few can get their heads out of the sand and believe it. https://merylnass.substack.com/p/israel-is-committing-ethnic-cleansing UN chief warns of alarming amputation rates among Gaza children
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Gaza now has “the highest number of children amputees per capita anywhere in the world.” https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/12/02/738365/Palestine-Gaza-UNRWA–Antonio-Guterres-Homes, businesses, orchards; sewer systems… Israel demolishes over 1,500 Palestinian structures in occupied West Bank in 2024 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241202-israel-demolishes-over-1500-palestinian-structures-in-occupied-west-bank-in-2024/
Israeli hostages, not Hamas hostages, get tortured and starved. Israel detained 11,900 Palestinians in West Bank since October 2023 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241202-israel-detained-11900-palestinians-in-west-bank-since-october-2023/
Cause for hope? Far-right Israeli minister slams ‘coup’ after arrests
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir condemned Monday the arrests of a senior prison official and two police officers linked to him as an attempt to oust him.
The three, who media say are close to Ben Gvir, were arrested on suspicion of bribery, abuse of office and breach of trust, according to reports.
Police have not commented on the arrests.
“This is a coup d’etat… a political decision,” Ben Gvir said in televised comments. He called the arrests “an attempt to bring me down, me, the government and the prime minister,” Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The decision to investigate police officers and a senior prison service official who are clearly and fully implementing my policy… is a political decision,” Ben Gvir added. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2581569/middle-east ICC says facing threats over arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Gallant
The International Criminal Court (ICC) says it has faced coercion and intimidation after judges issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ousted war minister over war crimes in Gaza.
Addressing the ICC members in The Hague, ICC President Tomoko Akane said the court faced “coercive measures, threats, pressure, and acts of sabotage.” “We are at a turning point in history… International law and international justice are under threat. So is the future of humanity.”
“The International Criminal Court will continue to carry out its lawful mandate, independently and impartially, without giving in to any outside interference.”
The ICC issued the arrest warrants on November 21.
The court determined there were “reasonable grounds” that Israel’s siege and assault on Gaza “created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population.”
Following the issuance of the warrants, the United States, Israel’s great benefactor and an accomplice in the Gaza genocide, swiftly rejected the ICC decision.
Some US Republicans called on the Senate to sanction the ICC. President Joe Biden said the warrants were “outrageous.” “Several elected officials are being severely threatened and are subjected to arrest warrants from a permanent member of the UN Security Council,” the ICC president stated. https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/12/02/738350/ICC-arrest-warrants RAY McGOVERN: Neocons Try Again in Syria
“Real men go to Tehran!” was the muscular brag. But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was persuaded to acquiesce in a less ambitious plan — to “do Iraq” and remove the “evil dictator” in Baghdad first.
As the invaders/occupiers got bogged down in Iraq, it seemed more sensible to “do Syria” next. With the help of “friendly services,” the neocons mounted a false-flag chemical attack outside Damascus in late August 2013, blaming it on President Bashar al-Assad, whom U.S. President Barack Obama had earlier said, “had to go.”
Obama had called such a chemical attack a red line but, mirabile dictu, chose to honor the U.S. Constitution by asking Congress first. Worse still for the neocons, during the first days of September, Russian President Vladimir Putin pulled Obama’s chestnuts out of the fire by persuading Syria to destroy its chemical weapons under U.N. supervision.
Obama later admitted that virtually all of his advisers had wanted him to order Tomahawk cruise missiles into Syria. https://consortiumnews.com/2024/12/02/ray-mcgovern-neocons-try-again-in-syria/ Resistance factions arrive to Hama to back Syrian Army
A source from the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Iran stated to Al Mayadeen that the recent terrorist attack on Syria has prompted the return of Iranian military advisors to the country. These advisors had previously left when the political process in Syria began to progress years ago. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/resistance-factions-arrive-to-hama-to-back-syrian-army–excl Re-opening key supply roads. Syrian Army advances in Aleppo countryside, as terror lines collapse
A counteroffensive led by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on the road linking the towns of Khanaser, in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, to the town of Ithriyah in the northern outskirts of Hama’s countryside, is achieving great success.
The towns, nearly 50 km apart, link the two governorates and the extermination of terrorists in the area will allow for a deeper advance of SAA and allied forces into the southern countryside of Aleppo. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/syrian-army-advances-in-aleppo-countryside–as-terror-linesChina vows support for Syria: Beijing is willing to aid Damascus to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian has said https://swentr.site/news/608575-china-support-syria-terrorists/
US Military Says It Intercepted Houthi Attack on US Commercial Vessels A US bombing campaign has failed to deter Houthi attacks
“US Navy destroyers USS Stockdale (DDG 106) and the USS O’Kane (DDG 77) successfully defeated a range of Houthi-launched weapons while transiting the Gulf of Aden,” CENTCOM said in a press release.
The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah, took credit for the attack, saying they targeted three US “supply ships” and one US destroyer. According to Al Mayadeen, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said Yemeni forces carried out “precise hits,” but CENTCOM said there was no damage or injuries.
CENTCOM said the destroyers “successfully engaged and defeated three anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs), three one-way attack uncrewed aerial systems (OWA UAS), and one anti-ship cruise missile (ASCM).” https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/02/us-military-says-it-intercepted-houthi-attack-on-us-commercial-vessels/Hunter was the bag-man for the whole family. Why Did Joe Biden Pardon His Son?
Which of Joe Biden’s crimes did Hunter Biden threaten to reveal to thereby extort his father into pardoning him? https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/12/why-does-biden-pardon-his-son.htmlThe pardon stands, but so do the convictions. Special Counsel Rejects Hunter Biden’s Pardon, Files Scathing Rebuke In Court Case https://www.zerohedge.com/political/special-counsel-rejects-hunter-bidens-pardon-files-scathing-rebuke-court-case
Marjorie Taylor Greene Breaks Down the Hunter Pardon and Warns About What’s Next
Joe did not pardon Hunter because he is a father who loved his son like the mockingbird media and Democrat liars are saying.
Joe pardoned Hunter all the way back to 2014 when Hunter started bio labs in Ukraine, started with Burisma, and began money laundering through dozens of LLC shell companies through business deals in many foreign countries including China.
Hunter is not just Joe’s son, he is his business partner, and Hunter sold his Dad’s power and influence for millions while Joe was VP and beyond. That’s why the wide sweeping pardon from 2014 to now. It covers VP to 4 yrs running for president to 4 yrs being president – 11 years of all kinds of crimes.
But the bigger crimes are all the people in the FBI, DOJ, State Department, CIA, and other agencies that all knew about the Biden family corrupt business and crimes yet stayed quiet, provided cover, lied about it all, but instead went after their political enemies.
The 51 intel officials who signed their name to a lie that Hunter’s laptop, with all the evidence, wasn’t real. https://discernreport.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-breaks-down-the-hunter-pardon-and-warns-about-whats-next/ The Tina Peters Story Is the MOST IMPORTANT STORY in America
Former Mesa County Colorado Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters is rotting away in prison with a 9 year sentence. She is incarcerated for being THE Premiere Whistleblower on a State and Federal level who unequivocally exposed how the Deep State Rigs and Steals Elections in the US and Worldwide. Rigged and Stolen Elections are the front door into all layers of Government infiltration and corruption...
..So why is the “Tina Peters Story” the most important issue in America? It all gets down to her doing her sworn Election Clerk duties by backing up her Election Management Server (EMS) election records prior to a scheduled software ‘upgrade’. Turns out that this ‘upgrade’ was anything but an upgrade. It was specifically designed to illegally erase all election records which were required to be held for approximately 2 years, and these were only a few months old. The ‘upgrade’ (known as “The Trusted Build”) was also done all around the country to purposely destroy all evidence that could show how the 2020 Presidential Election was a stolen sham.
By her taking a before and after image of the EMS hard drive, the following blatant violations of law were discovered: 1) A secret and illegal Secondary Election database is illegally created within the EMS, essentially creating a ‘second set of books’ that reports out false vote totals for the Media’s Election coverage. 2) Illegal programs are installed such as Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio that gives backdoor access to the vote total database, allowing for illegal vote flipping. 3) Numerous wireless devices were installed along with controlling software hooks, despite claims that the machines cannot be connected to an external network. This allowed off-site malicious actors to manually intervene in real-time, flipping votes anytime as required...
..To end this era of tyranny, the ending of the Machines must be Synonymous with Tina being vindicated and released. Tina deserves to be heartedly exonerated and heralded as the Election Clerk who bravely exposed the fraudulent election system, which was designed to steal America, and next the World. THIS entire infrastructure must be gone within a year to save the 2026 Midterms from massive fraud once again. https://joehoft.com/the-tina-peters-story-is-the-most-important-story-in-america/This energy-driven economy is our life support system. Big cuts will kill some folks. Climate Change Committee in the UK – Change Your Diet, Drive EVs, Travel Less https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/climate/climate-change-committee-in-the-uk-change-your-diet-drive-evs-travel-less/
RFK: “I Will End Gain-of-Function Research” https://www.independentsentinel.com/rfk-i-will-end-gain-of-function-research/
It’s not sugary junk food that’s racist… RFK Jr.’s plan to remove fluoride from drinking water is “racist,” MSNBC
MSNBC offered up a history lesson about when fluoride first started getting added to water in the United States – it was in 1945. The purpose, we are told, was to “stop tooth decay, especially in young children.”
The establishment continues to tell Americans that artificial water fluoridation is one of the greatest “public health achievements,” but Kennedy has repeatedly spoken out against it.
Instead of explaining the many dangers associated with drinking fluoridated water, MSNBC instead tries to argue that removing fluoride from water will come with “real consequences.”
In 2007, the city of Juneau in Alaska removed all fluoride from its drinking water. Dental procedures related to cavities reportedly increased after that, “particularly among children in socioeconomically disadvantaged families.”
“I would go as far as to say that community water fluoridation is probably our best health equity-oriented public health intervention that we have,” gushed Jennifer Meyer, a nurse and professor of health sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
MSNBC uses the same types of arguments to attack other things that millions of Americans want in addition to fluoride-free water: Examples include ivermectin and raw milk. According to MSNBC, ivermectin and raw milk are dangerous and should not be allowed. https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-12-02-rfk-jr-remove-fluoride-water-racist-msnbc.html Mark Crispin Miller, Four years after “vaccination” started, “experts” are still “baffled” by the rising global surge in strokes, “rare” cancers, “long COVID” and “unnatural deaths” They blame blood type, unwashed produce, radon, “climate change,” cigarettes, alcohol and/or weed, etc.—i.e., anything and everything EXCEPT for the “vaccines”. https://markcrispinmiller.substack.com/p/four-years-after-vaccination-started-experts-still-baffled
New Study Urges Immediate Halt to COVID-19 mRNA Injections Over Alarming Levels of DNA Contamination
Researchers find DNA contamination in COVID-19 mRNA injections exceeding regulatory limits by over 300%, confirming findings from earlier studies. https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/breaking-new-study-urges-immediate Meryl Nass MD, Can schools just vaccinate children against the parents’ and child’s wishes? Vermont’s Supreme Court said yes. Will the US Supreme Court weigh in on this issue? The Supreme Court only takes 1% or less of cases it is asked to decide. This is a critically important case the court needs to take. https://merylnass.substack.com/p/can-schools-just-vaccinate-children
Steve Kirsch prefers collected-data to computer-models. House COVID report claims the COVID vaccines saved millions of lives by citing statistical models as the proof
Why they ignored direct measures of case rates and case fatality rates is a mystery to me. https://kirschsubstack.com/p/house-covid-report-claims-the-covidCan you find $2T saving
The statutory debt ceiling was most recently suspended from June 3, 2023 to January 1, 2025. The United States has never defaulted on its debt, but lawmakers frequently wait until the last minute to raise or suspend the debt ceiling.
As of April 2024, the five countries owning the most US debt are
Japan ($1.1 trillion),
China ($749.0 billion),
the United Kingdom ($690.2 billion),
Luxembourg ($373.5 billion),
and Canada ($328.7 billion).Earl Butz?
“If you love what you are doing, you will be successful”…earl never mentioned you won’t get paid because a psychopath’s or narcissist’s life’s mission will be to rob you of credit for your love and success. Leadership in a nutshell as modern embodiment of management, directors and C-suite creatures passes for corporatism.
What else can one expect from folk solely motivated by avarice, the profit motive. The latter is protected above all else even life itself by each branch of Government, DoD most of all.Folk, citizens united are down with it.
Bamboozled by ascendant Spellbinders and Psychopaths, the People didn’t stand a chance.…dismounting the high horse.
Trying to keep track of what the other side is doing as they’ve gone a but quiet:
It’s bit complicated, subtle, and extremely feminine. Existence is “safety” and “Access” to our bodies, etc. Also have an supernaturally high opinion of themselves. And this would also work, except that, when you actually open a discussion, they won’t allow it, and as this video shows, won’t admit it. Denying all discussion and outreach is “your consequences” for a thing we already said cannot be discussed.So, as if written by a very, very astute cult member. Cut off all family. Only the cult loves you. They’re trying to murder you, acktshully. All your bodies are belong to us now. And the comment section.
WHY?
————–
Trying to make sure Trump has too many fires to put out.
———-
I get the impression that Biden’s mafia has decided to create the mother of all poison pills for Trump.
It seems most unlikely that Israel, Houthi, Gaza, Palestine, Syria, Georgia, South Korea and Ukraine, Rusia, deep strike capability, immigrants, budget, debt ceiling, would all have happened together weeks before Trump’s investiture by pure coincidence.
It seems much more plausible that Biden’s mafia decided to put their thumb on the scale for their deeply hated successor.———
I wonder if they, (bankers), need to bum-rush WW3 before the Golden Billion figure out UK, Japan, Germany, France and USA are tits up, flat out dead broke bankrupt. Unlike 1929 they’ve been hiding it since 2008 but the toxic heap is about to go critical, it’s all around you, it’s going to be a mega impossible bitch hiding France and Germany going kaplooi.Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Dec 3 2024
—————-OK, guys. Could this relate to conservative elements in SK that foresee the death of their nation? They have the worst birthrate on planet earth. Weirdly worse than NK. They are going extinct. Could some men in the Deep SK State realize that, they are screwed,done, facing cultural oblivion. You don’t turn this around in a few months….or even years. Do or die (off)
Posted by: Eighthman
——–
This is what it looks like when empire falls apart.
———-The Kursk Salient @Andrei Martyanov’s Blog.
Why Tiny Kursk Salient…
… is a grave for the whole NATO proxy combined arms army (two army corps annihilated!).
The Russians are slaughtering the last and best elements of the Ukronazi=ZATO Proxy Army in Kursk.
60,000 dead in one month, that’s TWO entire army corps! Nazilensky’s last gasp.
“Russians never fight wars for PR (like the West) they fight them to kill the enemy”
Amen Brother
Meanwhile Russian naval exercises and target practice with:Russian version of P-800 Onyx flies to 800+ km at the speed near Mach=3.
Latest Onyx version flies to 1,000+ km.
Zircon flies to 1,500 km.
Kalibr anti-shipping missile flies to 700+ km with acceleration at the terminal to Mach=3
{while performing a violent maneuvering)
Houthis could really get some Mojo on with these babies. Maybe sink some Westard naval ships.
Not ‘hit’, but SINK.
Just sayin’
FAFO
This past weekend we closed the island cottage, the lastest closing ever!
However, when taking the boat out of the river, we noticed the boat’s 2 anchors were missing!
Now, I know where we probably lost both of thse anchors!These days Nato is busy sending Ukraine thousands of portable power generator sets to keep critical infastructure powered up.
Now every Ukrainian pub and night club has 1 or 2 (back up power generators, so they can support the war effort by keeping the beer and women flowing all night long!Missing Ukrainians are now being classified as deserters so the government doesn’t have to pay their families death benefits and also to reduce the number of reported casualties.
Here is a nice little map from ZH showing the slow turtle like but steady Russian progress in taking the Donbass region. https://twitter.com/i/status/1862854852663206243
The Russians really outta unplung their washing machines before hurling them at the Ukrainians. Just saying. Ukrainians are using these Russian powered washing machines to launder US/NATO’s dirty money!
Zerosum:
LOL! Closed the cottage before the first snow flakes, which only fell in Toronto last night!
There was a little bit of ice starting to form along the river’s shoreline though.
Outboard engines were all running rough/stalling due to the cold temperatures.
Often had to run them with some choke to keep them from stalling.
But a killer frost didn’t come at the island cottage until the 3rd week of November, finally killing off all of the women’s summer flowers.Out west in BC and Alberta, you guys have really experienced strong cold winter snow storms, recently.
Have a friend who used to live in Whiterock, BC, now retired in Red Deer, Alberta due to lower housing costs..
They just returned from a 2 week long Pacific cruise to a sudden deep freeze winter shock!Here in Toronto it was was merely Jack Frost giving us our first light dusting of white!
Somehow we have managed to avoid all of old man winter’s snow storms so far.
Snow to the north of Toronto.
Snow to the south of Toronto in Buffalo.
Snow in Baltimore too.In the real good olde days, the local Indians always wintered here in the Toronto area, because it tended to escape most of winter’s snow fall.
Toronto is in the sweet spot, on the upper west end of Lake Ontario, free from that lake’s eastern snow belt (hits upper New York state), north of Lake Erie’s snow belt (hits poor Buffalo hard), and south of Lake Huron’s snow belt (hits Midland -Barrie).I remember when we lived in northern Quebec, we often got hit with very heavy snow falls, measured in feet, until Hudson Bay completely froze over, usually about Xmas. (I remember my Father saying that it wasn’t until after WW2, with surplus 4 engine bombers available, that they knew for sure Hudson Bay completely froze over, every winter back then.)
Since you were several hundred miles further south in Quebec, I don’t know if you were as affected by Hudson Bay freezing over or not?
I am guessing you got most of your snow fall before Xmas too.
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