Henri Matisse Nu Blue IV 1952
Iran FM
Gaza hospital
https://twitter.com/i/status/1714352506204045320
NYC last night
Mr. Fish: The Obscenity
Poilievre
This clip is fantastic.
A pathetic excuse for a journalist tries to attack Pierre Poilievre with buzzwords he cannot define and melts in the sun under simple scrutiny of his ridiculous accusations.
Poilievre munching on an apple only makes it better.pic.twitter.com/NXOJQsxzbI
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) October 17, 2023
Trump
https://twitter.com/i/status/1714071667847094541
Judge Chutkan has released the official gag order on Donald Trump –
He is prohibited from criticizing the Special Counsel.
The Special Counsel could engage in the most egregious behavior – threatening witnesses, etc. – and Trump couldn't say a thing. pic.twitter.com/CB3mdQL1EQ
— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) October 17, 2023
Twitter files
PREMIERE: PART 1 of @JudicialWatch documentary CENSORED AND CONTROLLED — "The Hearing" — Deep Dive Into @ElonMusk @Twitter Files with @Jim_Jordan @mtaibbi and @SenEricSchmitt! pic.twitter.com/IOGduk1RdQ
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) October 16, 2023
Schwab
https://twitter.com/i/status/1714363458030850421
“People left their homes thinking they were more dangerous and they moved to our schools and hospitals to be safe. And in one minute, all of them have been killed at a hospital.”
• Hospital Bombing A ‘Massacre’ And ‘Genocide’ – Palestinians (RT)
A Palestinian Red Crescent representative on Tuesday described the destruction of the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City as a war crime and genocide, while a local doctor called it a massacre. Over 600 people have been reported dead, but it is feared the final death toll may exceed a thousand. “This is genocide. This is a war crime,” Nebal Farsakh of the Red Crescent told Al Jazeera. She explained that in addition to the patients inside, many Palestinian civilians had sought shelter in the hospital compound, after Israel ordered everyone in the north of Gaza to leave. “Those who were in front of the hospital were forced to leave their homes under the evacuation order. They can’t even afford to evacuate to the south. There’s complete destruction of the infrastructure and transportation,” she said, speaking from Ramallah in the West Bank.
“What’s happened is terrible because those people, all of them, are civilians. They fled their homes and reached a place that they believed was safe – a hospital, which according to international law, is a safe place,” Ziad Shehadah, a doctor in Gaza, told AJ. “People left their homes thinking they were more dangerous and they moved to our schools and hospitals to be safe. And in one minute, all of them have been killed at a hospital.” According to Shehadah, the final death toll could easily reach more than 1,000. “It is a massacre,” he added. Al-Ahli hospital is run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, an Anglican Christian denomination. Its destruction was denounced by the World Health Organization, Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, among others.
Israel has denied striking the hospital, however. IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said that “an enemy rocket barrage was carried out towards Israel, which passed through the vicinity of the hospital when it was hit.” “According to intelligence information, from several sources we have, the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization is responsible for the failed shooting that hit the hospital,” Hagari added. The same claim was echoed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly afterwards. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh insisted that such “brutality” by Israel confirmed its “defeat” on October 7, and said the US was ultimately to blame. “The US holds the responsibility of the hospital attack because of the cover it gives to the Israeli aggression,” Haniyeh said. He also called for Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up against Israel.
Within minutes of Haniyeh’s statement, a riot broke out in Ramallah, as hundreds of Palestinians protested against President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to meet with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday. Abbas has reportedly canceled those plans since, citing the hospital attack. In nearby Jordan, dozens of protesters attempted to break into the Israeli embassy in Amman, but were dispersed by police. Russia and the United Arab Emirates have called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, to discuss the Gaza hospital attack.
h t t p s : / / t w i t t e r . c o m / j a c k s o n h i n k l l e / s t a t u s / 1 7 1 4 4 0 5 3 2 8 3 8 7 8 1 3 8 1 8
Street protests literally everywhere in the world.
“There is no point in doing anything at this time other than stopping this war..” “There is no benefit to anyone in holding a summit at this time.”
• Arab Leaders Refuse To Meet Biden As Protests Rage Around The World (ZH)
Update(1820ET): As expected, the fallout from the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital bombing has been swift, with a domino effect of negative consequences both for diplomacy and on the ‘Arab street’. The situation outside the US Embassy in Beirut is deteriorating tonight, with reports of riot police and tear gas being deployed against large crowds waving Hezbollah flags. But more importantly, and just as Air Force One is departing Washington for Israel, the White House has canceled the entire leg of Biden’s trip to Jordan. The confirmation was issued within the same hour that Arab leaders announced they were unwilling to meet with Biden, given the US is Israel’s biggest funder and supporter.
Biden issued a statement “deepest condolences” to victims of Gaza “hospital explosion,” according to the White House official statement: “After consulting with Jordan King Abdullah II & in light of the days of mourning announced by Palestinian Authority President Abbas, President Biden will postpone his travel to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and Egypt President Sisi. The President sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.”
So even before arriving in Israel, the Tuesday massacre – which Israel is actually blaming on Palestinian militants (specifically PIJ) – has effectively served to box-in Biden. France’s Macron has just issued a condemnation to boot, saying “nothing can justify targeting civilians” in a statement which appears to place blame squarely on the Israelis. Biden will now also face the pressure to join the chorus of international condemnation. “International humanitarian law is binding on all and must enable the protection of civilian populations. Humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip must be opened up without delay,” the French foreign ministry said in the statement. Here’s what Jordan had to say: “There is no point in doing anything at this time other than stopping this war,” Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Al Jazeera Arabic early Wednesday morning. “There is no benefit to anyone in holding a summit at this time.”
No longer feasible. Those days went by rapidly.
• Jordan FM Says Summit With Biden’s Participation Cancelled (TASS)
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the October 18 summit in Amman, expected to be attended by US President Joe Biden, has been cancelled. “We made the decision not to hold the four-party summit in Amman,” the minister said in a comment to Al Jazeera. He said the top-level meeting was cancelled after consultations with other partners – Egypt, the United States and Palestine. “Our decision not to hold the four-party summit was made after consultations with the Palestinian authorities, Cairo and Washington,” Safadi said. Meanwhile, the White House said early on Wednesday that Biden had cancelled his visit to Jordan. “After consulting with King Abdullah II of Jordan and in light of the days of mourning announced by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Biden will postpone his travel to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and President Sisi of Egypt,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the release, the US president “looks forward to consulting in person with these leaders soon, and agreed to remain regularly and directly engaged with each of them over the coming days.” Biden also conveyed his condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza. The summit was scheduled to take place on October 18, in the Jordanian capital of Amman. It was expected to bring together US President Joe Biden, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. A spokesperson for the Fatah movement, led by Abbas, said late on Tuesday that the Palestinian president refused to participate in the talks.
Failure guaranteed even before his plane touches down.
“Palestine belongs to the great three religions and this is only going to put the Jewish state at stake, at risk, if these kinds of things are going to be done wrongly.”
• Failure of Biden’s Israel Trip Would be ‘Curse’ on 2024 Election Campaign (Sp.)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden would visit Israel in the coming days as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) prepare to launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Speaking in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv, Blinken said Biden would “reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security,” and would “receive a comprehensive brief on Israel’s war aims and strategy” as it amasses 350,000 troops to invade Gaza. Having traveled to Israel a day prior, Blinken has pressured the Israeli government to allow humanitarian corridors to open into Gaza, which has been under “complete siege” for more than a week.
The IDF bombing campaign has killed more than 2,800 in Gaza since October 7, when Hamas launched an unprecedented raid into Israeli territory that killed more than 1,300 Israelis in several border settlements near Gaza. Blinken said Biden would oversee implementation of “a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza” without “benefiting” Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip. Riyadh-based political analyst Dr. Ahmed al-Ibrahim told Sputnik on Tuesday that regional trust had waned in Washington’s ability or willingness to mediate the 75-year-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, but noted that the conflict would continue until both sides are willing to make hard choices to satisfy the others’ concerns.
“Traditionally, the United States is the custodian of Israel and they have unlimited support for Israel. Biden wants to show that to the world – that the United States is standing behind Israel at anything that Israel needs and has unconditional support for the Israelis. Of course, let’s not forget that he’s taking this opportunity to position himself [in] the presidential election that’s coming up, so he can get the Jewish votes inside the United States and show that he can turn things in the Middle East and use it in the favor of Israel.” “Definitely, this is going to be held as a kind of campaign for Biden, that he can still solve issues in the Middle East, and he’s going to use it for his campaign,” Dr. Al-Ibrahim said, noting that ”it is very sensitive. It is not uncomplicated, because if he does not do it right, this thing is going to accelerate so much that it will be beyond control. So if Biden doesn’t come with the right formula in order to solve it, it could be a curse on his election in 2024.”
Dr. Al-Ibrahim said that after arriving in Israel, Biden would most likely not attempt to position himself as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but to support Israel as it prepares for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, which the commentator said would be “a big mistake.” “It’s only going to fuel [strife in] the whole Middle East and it’s going to fuel probably 2 billion Muslims and 2.5 billion Christians. Palestine belongs to the great three religions and this is only going to put the Jewish state at stake, at risk, if these kinds of things are going to be done wrongly.”
“We know that Gaza is the most geographically dense location in the world. However, we all agree, Saudi Arabia agreed from before, that Hamas is not the government that should control Gaza. It should be another government, not radical, like Hamas. And this issue needs to be put on the table. If Biden doesn’t balance the situation between the Palestinians and the Israelis, this can be expanded geographically. And it’s a very sensitive issue for the Israelis right now and for the Palestinians to really have a permanent solution and to go back to the two-state solution. This is what basically [Saudi] Prince Mohammed bin Salman has conveyed very strongly to Secretary Blinken,” Dr. Al-Ibrahim said. However, Dr. Al-Ibrahim said that people in the Middle East have “given up” on US policy in the region and “lost trust” that any American politician is actually interested in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Is it incompetency? Is it the strategy? Nobody knows. The Middle East region lives off of conspiracies, these conspiracies are an issue with them. The Palestinian file is very close and dear to the Middle Eastern people and they are looking at the Palestinians and they see that their rights have been taken, and the Israelis are only gaining more land and not giving anything to the Palestinians – no dignities, no land, nothing.” “Everybody blames America in this region for what’s happening, everybody. It’s not necessarily that they have an evil strategy in order to execute things,” he explained. “It’s maybe incompetence. They are looking at the matters in their own country and not getting them right. Look at Iraq, look at Afghanistan, look at Ukraine – look at all these countries. The war starts, and there is no right execution, chaos and hell starts happening in the region.
“We may be about to see massive ethnic cleansing” – a clear indication that Western capitals know exactly what Israel is doing.”
• US Opposes Peace as Israel Ethnically Cleanses Palestinians (Norton)
The Israeli government is in the process of ethnically cleansing more than 1 million Palestinians, pushing them out of their homes in Gaza. According to senior Israeli officials, the plan of the far-right Benjamin Netanyahu government is to force Palestinians into the desert of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where they will live in so-called “tent cities”. At the same time, Israel is brutally bombing the besieged Gaza strip – one of the most densely populated areas on Earth. There are even reports that Israel has attacked convoys of Palestinian civilians who were abiding by its evacuation order and fleeing from the north to the south of the 40-kilometer strip. Meanwhile, the United States has adamantly refused to support calls for peace. Instead, the State Department told US diplomats not to mention the phrases “de-escalation/ceasefire”, “end to violence/bloodshed”, and “restoring calm” when discussing Gaza, according to a memo obtained by HuffPost.
[..] According to Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, Israel’s plan is to ethnically cleanse Palestinians and force them into Egypt. Citing an anonymous high level source, Hersh wrote, “I have been told by an Israeli insider that Israel has been trying to convince Qatar, which at the urging of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a long-time financial supporter of Hamas, to join with Egypt in funding a tent city for the million or more refugees awaiting across the border”. This plan was in fact confirmed by Israel’s former deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, who previously served as the Israeli ambassador to the United States and a foreign policy adviser for far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In an interview with Al Jazeera reporter Marc Lamont Hill on 12 October, Ayalon stated:
DANNY AYALON: “This was, this is thought out. It’s not something that we tell them, go to the beaches, go drown yourselves, God forbid, not at all. There is a huge expense, almost endless space in the Sinai desert, just on the other side of Gaza. The idea is – and this is not the first time it will be done – the idea is for them to leave over to the open areas where we and the international community will prepare the infrastructure, you know, tent cities, with food and with water – you know, just like for the refugees of Syria that fled the butchering of Assad a few years ago to Turkey; Turkey received 2 million of them. This is the idea. Now Egypt will have to play ball here, because once the the population is out of sight, then we can go… I’ll tell you in a practical manner what we should do, and what we can do: create, like in the past, in history, a humanitarian corridor. When there is a humanitarian corridor – and we have been discussing this with the United States – then we can guarantee in this corridor that nobody will get hurt. Now, again, I say, there is a way to receive them all on the other side for temporary time, on the Sinai, because what did Hamas turn –
MARC LAMONT HILL: On the other side? Are we talking about Rafah? Are you saying the other side, they go to Egypt? DANNY AYALON: Yes, absolutely, absolutely. And Egypt will have to play ball. While Israel is ethnically cleansing Palestinians and killing large numbers of civilians, Western governments have showed unflinching support. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen both traveled to Tel Aviv to symbolically back the far-right Netanyahu government. The Financial Times reported that some EU officials are concerned “that the European Commission president could look as if she is endorsing military actions that will cause mass civilian casualties — and that will swiftly be labelled as war crimes”.
An unnamed EU diplomat told the Times, “We may be about to see massive ethnic cleansing” – a clear indication that Western capitals know exactly what Israel is doing. “Our fear is that we’ll pay a heavy price in the global south because of this conflict”, an anonymous EU official confessed to the newspaper. The vast majority of countries in the Global South support the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israeli colonialism. A rare exception is the far-right government in India, whose Prime Minister Narendra Modi represents a vehemently anti-Muslim Hindu-nationalist party, the BJP, which sees Israel’s religious ethnostate as an inspiration and potential model for its own plans for a so-called “Hindu rashtra”.
The operation looks less likely by the minute. First it was on, then postponed due to bad weather (which was fine), and now the IDF says it’s “still undecided about whether to launch a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip..”
• Israeli Ground Operation In Gaza An ‘Ugly Blot On Humanity’ – Türkiye (TASS)
Israel’s potential launch of a ground military operation in the Gaza Strip would result in the deaths of thousands of innocent people and represent an “ugly blot on humanity,” Omer Celik, a spokesman for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said on Tuesday. “A potential ground military operation by Israel in the Gaza Strip would lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent people, including women and children,” Turkish television news channel TRT Haber quoted Celik as saying. “It would be a catastrophe and an ugly blot on humanity.” According to the spokesman of the AKP, which is led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can be settled through peaceful methods only. “First of all, the anti-humane bombardments of the Gaza Strip must be stopped and the blockade must be lifted and only then should the parties sit down at the negotiating table to reach a lasting and stable peace,” Celik added.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht announced earlier in the day that Israel was still undecided about whether to launch a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and has been delivering rocket attacks on Gaza as well as some districts in Lebanon and Syria. According to the latest official data, more than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 11,200 others have sustained wounds. In Israel, over 1,500 people have lost their lives and over 4,200 have been wounded in clashes, including on the West Bank of the Jordan River.
And the Guardian fired a cartoonist after 40 years of service.
• How Media Outlets Work With Israel To Control Gaza Narrative (Adley)
This week’s coverage by Western corporate media underlined its inability to hold the world’s 4th largest military to account for war crimes and instead give airtime to Israeli military officials to incite genocide against Palestinians, who are caged like animals in the world’s largest concentration camp. Western corporate journalists cannot report neutrally on Israel/Palestine. And here’s just a few examples as to why: Let’s take The New York Times, for example. Not only has the newspaper constantly supported Israel’s expansionist policies, but it has also directly participated in the dispossession of Palestinians from their homes. The New York Times’ Jerusalem bureau is built on a Palestinian house that belongs to a noted Palestinian writer Ghada Karmi, a survivor of the Nakba.
The Times also often cooperates with Israeli officials. In 2014, for example, it received and obeyed an Israeli gag order to suppress the news that Israel had arrested a Palestinian journalist. From 2008 – 2012, The New York Times Israel bureau chief, Ethan Bronner, was exposed to having his 20-year-old son enlist in the Israeli army while he was actively covering the region for the newspaper. The so-called paper of record never made this public to its readers, raising serious questions of bias and a conflict of interest. The New York Times also fired Gaza photographer Hosam Salem following an intervention from Israel lobby group Honest Reporting. However, the paper had no problem employing Ethan Bronner and others like Isabel Kershner and David Brooks to write about Palestine while all three had offspring fighting in the Israeli military.
In general, the consolidation of corporate media since the 1980s has led to ownership by billionaire oligarchs or gigantic multinational corporations that have a strong stake in preserving the status quo of ensuring forever wars continue, and neither of whom want to see nationalist liberation struggles succeed. The orders come down from up high that news organizations have to support Israel. Axel Springer – a giant German broadcaster that owns Politico – has explicitly told its staff that it is their duty to support Israel and those that don’t should leave. A wave of firings of Arab journalists across Germany underlined this message. The BBC, meanwhile, is the state broadcaster for the United Kingdom, a nation that helped create the state of Israel in 1948. Many of its top foreign affairs journalists go on to work for NATO or big think tanks funded by weapons manufacturers who directly profit from war.
The BBC has been continuously criticized for not providing historical context to the crisis in Gaza and linking it to its own British colonial history of helping create the state of Israel through the Balfour Declaration and providing it with weapons to occupy Palestinian land ever since. American journalists who don’t toe the line on Israel/Palestine are frequently made examples of. CNN fired anchor Marc Lamont Hill for calling for a free Palestine. Katie Halper was fired from The Hill for (accurately) calling Israel an Apartheid state. And The Guardian sacked Nathan J. Robinson after he made a joke mocking US military aid to Israel.
“.. none of this is going to happen,” because Biden has “already forgotten what he said.” “Dementia is a useful thing,” Medvedev added.
• Putin Responds To Biden ‘Put Down’ Comments (RT)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday addressed the comments made by US President Joe Biden about “putting down” Moscow, suggesting that the octogenarian American politician still has a lot to learn. “You live, you learn. One must learn, and then there won’t be a desire to ‘put down’ anyone, since that leads to problems. One needs to learn to respect others and seek compromise,” Putin said in Beijing, where he is attending the international Belt and Road Forum. The Russian leader was responding to a reporter who had asked for a comment on Biden’s statements, voiced in a ‘60 Minutes’ interview broadcast on Sunday by the US network CBS.
“Imagine what happens if we, in fact, unite all of Europe and Putin is finally put down where he cannot cause the kind of trouble he’s been causing,” Biden told interviewer Scott Pelley at one point, arguing that the US has “enormous opportunities to make it a better world.” Putin’s response was more diplomatic than the reaction of his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev, who currently chairs the Russian security council. Commenting on Biden’s words on Monday, Medvedev thanked the US president for clarifying his mission, but noted that “none of this is going to happen,” because Biden has “already forgotten what he said.” “Dementia is a useful thing,” Medvedev added.
Biden, 81, is the oldest US president to be sworn in. He has been dogged by persistent rumors about his deteriorating physical and mental health, driven by a history of mis-speaking in public. In a CBS poll last month, only 26% of respondents said he was physically and cognitively fit for the job, and only 34% believed he would make it to the end of his second term, if re-elected in 2024. At a campaign event in Pennsylvania in early September, Biden argued that his advanced years were actually an asset, because “the only thing that comes with age is a little bit of wisdom.”
As the US is setting one part of the world on fire, Xi and Putin build a new world elsewhere.
• Why Vladimir Putin’s Visit To Beijing This Week Is So Important (Babaev)
Vladimir Putin’s visit to Beijing this week marks the second Russia-China summit this year. This time, the president is paying a visit to his friend and strategic partner, following agreements reached during Xi Jinping’s trip to Moscow in March. At that time, the Chinese leader invited Putin to attend the third forum of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which marks its tenth anniversary. The presence of the Russian leader at the event is especially notable given the occasional view (mostly from the West) that the project has reached a dead end. The scheme, launched by Xi in 2013 to link Chinese goods to European markets via trans-Eurasian land and northern sea routes, is indeed facing a dilemma. By erecting a new “iron curtain” on the borders of Russia and Belarus, Western Europe has fallen into its own trap, depriving itself of low-cost energy sources – the main driver of its economy since the 1970s.
At the same time, Western European countries are also closing off the possibility of importing cheap Chinese goods by land since Russia was the critical link in the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project. Meanwhile, sanctions on the supply of high-tech products to China and the refusal to allow Chinese investment in their markets are also jeopardizing Sino-European trade along the Northern Sea Route. Under these conditions, the BRI is looking for new points of growth, one of which could be fast-growing Russian-Chinese trade and the coupling of the initiative with the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The EAEU and the Belt and Road pairing would be important for Russia in the context of its ‘pivot to the East,’ which is largely complete in exports and imports. China understands that trade with the EAEU is much more reliable than interaction with Western countries, albeit in smaller volumes.
After reaching almost $200 billion last year, trade between the two countries could exceed $300-350 billion in the medium term. The current transport infrastructure is struggling to cope with the growing flow of goods, and new solutions are needed. The leaders of Russia and China will discuss this at the Beijing summit. This could include new railway lines across their common border and through Central Asian countries, as well as pipelines. Given the full capacity of Power of Siberia, many expect Putin’s visit to finalize agreements on the construction of Power of Siberia-2, which will benefit both Russia, which is turning its gas flows eastwards, and China, which is looking for a cheap replacement for dirty coal. Likely, the conversation will also focus on building financial infrastructure.
Both countries are actively developing national digital currencies that could replace modern fiat currencies for settlements within two to three years. This will eliminate sanctions risks in this regard by removing the need for correspondent settlements while significantly automating cross-border payments. At the same time, it is crucial to convince Beijing of the need to allow large Russian banks to enter the Chinese financial system: Sberbank, Alfa Bank, and Gazprombank have already announced their intention to open branches, and the approval of the regulator will help to balance cooperation between the two countries, as Chinese banks have long and fruitfully worked in Russia. Of course, it is also essential for the leaders of Russia and China to discuss political issues, both within the framework of bilateral coordination and in the context of the activities of international organizations.
The expansion of BRICS presents both new opportunities and challenges. The activities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization require long overdue improvements and a transition to a new level of interaction. Putin and Xi may also discuss the implications of the recent summit between China and the Central Asian states, as Beijing’s intention to turn it into a permanent institutional format is unlikely to please Moscow. In any case, it is time for the partners to synchronize their policies and outline new prospects for cooperation. Every meeting between Putin and Xi gives an impetus to the development of economic, scientific, technological, and humanitarian ties. Given that 2024 will be the year of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries, this should be particularly strong.
“People’s striving for a better life and the aspiration of all countries for common development and prosperity are irresistible..”
• Trend Toward Mutually Beneficial Cooperation Unstoppable – Xi Jinping (TASS)
The historical trend toward peace and mutually beneficial cooperation among countries cannot be stopped, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a reception for the heads of delegations participating in the Belt and Road forum at the Great Hall of the People. “The historical trend toward peace, development and mutually beneficial cooperation cannot be stopped. People’s striving for a better life and the aspiration of all countries for common development and prosperity are irresistible,” the Xinhua news agency quotes him as saying. As he addressed the participants, Xi said that cooperation in the Belt and Road project pursued development goals, was aimed at yielding mutual benefits and carried “a message of hope.”
He also said that all the successes achieved in implementing this initiative were a collective merit of the governments, businesses and peoples of the participating countries. “In the past 10 years since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, China and its partners have worked together to uphold the spirit of the Silk Road, contribute to global connectivity, to build platforms for international economic cooperation and to give an impetus to global economic growth,” Xi stated, adding that the initiative would create a brighter future for the whole of humanity.
A photo session preceded the meeting. Russian President Vladimir Putin took a place on the right hand-side of the summit’s host Xi Jinping. Before that, immediately upon arrival, the Russian president and the Chinese leader shook hands and exchanged a few remarks. The third Belt and Road forum is taking place in Beijing on October 17 and 18, with over 4,000 participants from more than 140 countries in attendance. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived as the chief guest of the event. The Belt and Road initiative is a concept Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed in 2013 with the aim to intensify multilateral trade and investment projects with the participation of countries concerned and Chinese and foreign capital. More than 150 states and more than 30 international organizations have already joined it.
“If they [US] have no other tasks but to build relations with Russia, then in a sense this is not bad..”
• US Must Learn to Respect Other States, Find Compromises – Putin (Sp.)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday, commenting on a recent remark of US President Joe Biden about the need to “put down” the Russian leader that the United States need to learn to respect others and be able to find compromises, then no one will need to be suppressed. In a recent interview with an American broadcaster, Biden stated that he is sure about running for the second presidential term. “All of Europe and Putin is finally put down where he cannot cause the kind of trouble he’s been causing,” the president claimed when asked to imagine what would happen if the US unites. “They need to learn to respect others and then no one will have to be suppressed. But the desire to suppress someone all the time for some reason or for no reason at all leads to problems. They [US representatives], of course, with their usual brilliance, love and do it well – they smile during protocol events, pat everyone on the shoulder.
But respect for other people, for other countries, for other peoples lies elsewhere, lies in taking into account their interests,” Putin told Pavel Zarubin, a Russian news agency reporter. If the United States has no other tasks than building relations with Russia then it is not bad, Putin said.”I believe that Biden is certainly one of the most experienced politicians in the world as a whole – in terms of time spent in the so-called upper echelons of power. He has been in politics for a long time. Of course, a person is experienced and knows what tasks to set for himself, how to achieve them. If they [US] have no other tasks but to build relations with Russia, then in a sense this is not bad,” Putin said, emphasizeng that Russia’s interests cannot be suppressed, but will have to be respected.
Views are shifting despite the media.
• Majority Of Americans Believe Both Biden And Trump Committed Crimes (Turley)
We recently discussed a poll showing that 68% of voters believe that President Joe Biden acted either criminally or unethically in connection to the foreign dealings of his son, Hunter Biden. Now a Fox poll has found largely that same response — a majority believes that both Biden and former president Donald Trump have committed criminal acts. It is an extraordinary political and legal moment where the two frontrunners for the presidency are believed to be criminal actors by many voters. The Fox polls shows that 52% of voters believes Trump did something illegal in connection to efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents. Only 23% believe that Trump did not commit criminal acts.
Obviously, the results are driven by the overwhelming view of Democrats (86%) but independents (53%) also think Trump did something illegal. On the Bidens, 52% think Hunter Biden did something illegal in relation to his business dealings in Ukraine and China. That worsening situation is again driven on one side with Republicans. However, there was an 18% shift in independents that should worry the President. Some 40 percent believe that Joe Biden committed crimes. That is close to the 36 percent who shared that view in the earlier poll. What is particularly notable is that 69 percent now believe that Joe Biden acted with criminally or unethically — virtually identical to the other poll.
As I wrote earlier, the most striking aspect of these polls is the disconnect with the mainstream media. Despite overwhelmingly protective coverage for the Bidens, the public is simply not buying it. While both the Democrats and the media have been unrelenting in opposing investigations into the Bidens, the public has long supported such efforts. These consistent polls show that the public is tuning out the media spin on the corruption scandal involving the Bidens. It also shows (with both Trump and Biden) that the same roughly 25% remain constant for both candidates. NB: The headline and two lines were changed to reflect that the view of Joe Biden as a criminal actor has increased but remains under 50 percent. However, 69% now view the President as acting either criminally or unethically.
“..legal protection granted to Pfizer by the PREP act will cease to protect it if significant fraud on the part of Pfizer is discovered.”
• Pfizer May Go Bankrupt, Financial Markets Realize (Chudov)
The stock market may be waking up to the possibility that Pfizer may go bankrupt due to the upcoming Covid vaccine claims. Many parallels can be drawn between the corporate behaviors of Pfizer and Purdue Pharma, another pharmaceutical concern that dishonestly and aggressively marketed harmful products. Purdue Pharma went bankrupt due to the greed and depravity of its leaders, as their “legal protections” evaporated. The same may happen to Pfizer. Old, experienced vaccine companies like GSK refused to participate in “Covid vaccines” – and we now see why they made the right choice. Take a look at this chart: Pfizer’s stock (PFE) is valued at 25% less than it was five years ago, despite the billions of dollars it received from the sales of COVID vaccines, and the stock market and the pharmaceuticals index having gone up:
At first sight, Pfizer, a worldwide pharmaceutical juggernaut, should not be worth less than before the pandemic. Pfizer’s COVID vaccine made it billions and should have added value to the company, even if future sales of COVID-19-specific products cannot be assured. And yet, PFE has inexorably fallen since last November and is worth 25% less than five years ago, defying the general upside tendencies seen for other pharmaceuticals and the stock market. Since November of 2022, Pfizer has deviated from the trend of the pharmaceuticals index, underperforming by 35%. This can only be explained by the capital markets seeing something uniquely troublesome for Pfizer. This post will explore what it may be.
I am far from the first person suggesting that Pfizer, which aggressively marketed its COVID vaccines and underwrote a worldwide influence operation to mandate its product, may face ruinous liabilities. Ed Dowd, a former asset manager, was one of the first people to realize that. He explained that legal protection granted to Pfizer by the PREP act will cease to protect it if significant fraud on the part of Pfizer is discovered.
Elephant Seal
The size of this elephant seal
pic.twitter.com/DWEm0muys8— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) October 17, 2023
Barracuda
https://twitter.com/i/status/1714220443173798290
Condor
Andean condors live to about 50 years old in the wild, and up to 75 in captivity. This one is only a big fluffy baby that loves an ice cream for some reason. pic.twitter.com/yJmzxDNXOh
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) October 17, 2023
Best friends
https://twitter.com/i/status/1714289662834155878
Yellow lane
How beautiful!pic.twitter.com/rUodQYjSea
— Figen (@TheFigen_) October 16, 2023
Strandbeest
Theo Jansen’s “Strandbeests” , wind-powered sculptures that walk on the beach.pic.twitter.com/dGBiCEBI9Z
— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) October 17, 2023
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