Monday, September 30, 2024

Killing The Messengers

 ​Memo Recipients,


  Josh Mitteldorf, Slide toward Totalitarianism, Media and mind control have taken the place of Secret Police
 ​ You may have noticed that in recent decades freedoms we formerly took for granted have narrowed, as power accumulates in the hands of the Usual Suspects. Last week, I read two articles that put these trends in historical context, and help us understand them.
​  David A. Hughes tells us that the roots of the Deep State are in a class struggle, going back to the robber-barons of the 1890s. The Rockefellers and the Bushes know that their power cannot survive true democracy, and have worked over decades to subvert democratic government. The JFK assassination in 1963 was a turning point and their influence has increased steadily since then.
​  Barry Lynn, writing in Harpers, tells us that Google has the power to control what people think, combining individually-targeted messages with mob psychology, and they have put their mind control at the service of the Deep State, which helps explain their success (as Hughes documents) in undermining democracy.​..
..Hughes begins his story in the 1920s, when a Who’s-Who of American Businesses actively supported Hitler’s rise to power, not just with rhetoric, but also loans and investments. Ford and GM, IBM, bankers led by Brown Brothers Harriman, J P Morgan, Prescott Bush, and John D Rockefeller were all cheerleaders for Hitler.
​  Hughes reminds us that in 1933, Wall Street sponsored a military coup against Franklin Roosevelt, seeking to install General Smedley Butler as a dictator. Gen. Butler played along to gather evidence, then came out dramatically as a whistle-blower, denouncing the plot. Here is how the New York Times reported at the time. Prescott Bush was a prime mover, as were prominent members of the DuPont family and executives of J. P. Morgan.
​  Not one of these was ever charged with a crime...

..After the Second World War, the Nazi braintrust was recruited to come to America and design weapons systems, rockets, and biowarfare for the USA. The Dulles Brothers represented the monied interests that had supported the Nazis in forming America’s foreign policy under Eisenhower. Allen Dulles, as head of the CIA, created a secret government within the government, subverting populist movements abroad, overthrowing legitimate, elected governments in Iran, Panama, Guatemala, Syria, Brazil, and, later Chile. Operation Gladio engineered terrorist bombings and blamed them on “communists” in order to de-legitimize the European trend toward democratic socialism.
  Eisenhower was aware of the Deep State, and warned us on his way out, in the speech which introduced America to the term “military-industrial complex”. Kennedy learned about the Deep State during his first months in office, when the CIA tried to snooker him into invading Cuba at the Bay of PigsBobby Kennedy, as Attorney General, took firm steps to rein in the CIA and for two years it looked as though the elected government had the Deep State under control.
  On November 22, 1963, history turned about face, and the elected government has been under the thumb of the Deep State ever sinceTruman wrote a WaPo op-ed a month after the assassination.​..
​..9/11 was engineered by the Deep State as an excuse for a permanent emergency (“terrorism”), providing a rationale for suspending the Constitution. The Patriot Act legitimized jailing Americans without a trial and surveillance of innocent civilians without a warrant. Terrorists lost all their Constitutional rights, and the definition of “terrorist” was gradually broadened to include people who took pictures through the fence of factory farm conditions and doctors who argued that ivermectin was a better COVID strategy than mRNA.
  Voting was computerized beginning in 2001, making possible the central manipulation of elections.
  Starting with “Operation Mockingbird” in the 1960s, the Deep State had infiltrated the mainstream media, Republican and Democratic newspapers and broadcast stations on which Americans relied for a “balanced” picture of the world. During the first two decades of this century, the Deep State consolidated control over the digital media as well.
  In 2016, the Democrats and the Obama Administration actually promoted the candidacy of Donald Trump because of the ease with which he could be painted as a dangerous despot. Thus was born the idea that the First Amendment only protected speech that was truthful, and it was up to government agencies to decide what was the truth. The crime of “misinformation” was invented​ and handily, in time for the COVID deception of 2020-22. Totalitarian control reached the everyday lives of Americans and most other peoples around the world.​..
..How could they have gotten away with a lie this big, with a deception so pervasive, with demanding and receiving cooperation from a docile public? This is where Lynn’s story takes over.​..   https://mitteldorf.substack.com/p/slide-toward-totalitarianism

  ​Here is the David Hughes interview (& machine transcript) with Kim Iverson, which may be the one Josh used for his essay.  Interview with Kim Iversen, September 25, 2024
Wall Street and Nazi Germany; the Business Plot; the Great Reset; censorship; technocracy and totalitarian control; the West v China; left/right; the potential return of slavery; divide and rule​   https://dhughes.substack.com/p/interview-with-kim-iversen-september

​  John Kerry Says The Quiet Part Out Loud: "First Amendment Stands As Major Block" To "Govern"
The World Economic Forum held its 'Sustainable Development Impact Meetings' during last week's United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Speaking at the meeting, far-left elitist and former presidential climate envoy John Kerry expressed frustration to fellow globalists, stating that the First Amendment frequently obstructs their agenda.
​  "Our First Amendment stands as a major block to the ability to be able to hammer [disinformation] out of existence. What we need is to win...the right to govern by hopefully winning enough votes that you're free to be able to implement change," Kerry said.​..  "It's very hard to govern today​."​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/john-kerry-says-quiet-part-out-loud-first-amendment-stands-major-block-govern

​  'Bombed To Dust': A Look At Beirut's Night Of Hell
Lebanon and the whole Arab world is in shock after Hezbollah on Saturday confirmed the death of Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
​  But common Lebanese civilians are reeling after mass destruction was unleashed by Israeli warplanes overnight. The attacks continued on Beirut's southern suburbs, leaving entire buildings turned to dust.
​  This comes at the end of a week which already witnessed at least 700 killed, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. It is unclear how many casualties are militants vs. civilians - but very clearly the civilian casualty toll has been high.​..
​..For eight hours straight and counting, Israel has been carpet-bombing densely populated neighbourhoods of Beirut and greater Lebanon. A new bomb dropped, a new tragedy—every 5 minutes. Videos out of Tel Aviv show Israelis dancing at celebration parties.​..
.."I’m talking to you and there’s a drone flying over the southern suburb where I live some 500-600metres from. Bombings have not stopped all night long – you can see pictures of people on the streets, on the roads, sleeping in open-air spaces"...​  He continued, “So Lebanon today is a complete mess, it’s a country in chaos and I think that the worst is to come regardless of the political and military results of the strike on Hassan Nasrallah or no​t".   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/bombed-dust-look-beiruts-night-hell

​  President Biden has called Nasrallah's death 'justice' for the hundreds of Americans who perished over what the US called a 'four-decade reign of terror'.
"Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror.  His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians," Biden said. The White House says the Pentagon has been ordered to enhance America's defense posture and readiness in the Middle East.
​  Biden has further repeated that the US "fully supports Israel's right to defend itself"...
​  "The US fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against Hezbollah. I have ordered Defense Secretary Austin to increase US forces in the Middle East to deter aggression from Iran and its proxies and reduce the danger of a wider regional war," Biden said.
​  Politico and some other publications have said the assassination of Nasrallah, apparently without US knowledge (that's the current official line anyway), has put more distance between Biden and Netanyahu"Biden administration officials were trying to figure out how to publicly respond Saturday to confirmation that Israel had killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group," the publication said.
​  "The initial reaction from inside the White House was positive, even though U.S. officials had been trying to convince Israel to pause its operations against Hezbollah, according to two senior administration officials," it added.
​  Russia's reaction has been the opposite, with the foreign ministry saying, "This forceful action is fraught with even greater dramatic consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East."
​  "The Israeli side could not fail to recognize this danger, but took the step of killing Lebanese citizens, which would almost inevitably provoke a new outburst of violence. Thus, it bears full responsibility for the subsequent escalation," the Russian statement said...
​..PM Netanyahu had ordered or monitored the strike from New York, after just stepping away from a speech before the United Nations General Assembly:​..
​..American-supplied heavy bombs were likely used in the strikes that killed Nasrallah:
​  Israel media says about 85 so-called “bunker-buster” bombs were used. Also known as “ground penetration munition”, these missiles burrow deep into the ground before they detonate.
​  They have the power to destroy underground facilities and reinforced concrete buildings. The bombs each weigh between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds.​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hezbollah-confirms-its-leader-hassan-nasrallah-killed-israeli-strike

​Hasan Nasrallah 2012 interview with Julian Assange (28 min.): 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M1fHfKenTM

​  Pentagon Chief 'Blew Up' as Israel Shortly Notified US of Strike on Nasrallah
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Israel gave a "few minutes notice" to the United States about its intention to strike the secretary general of Lebanese movement Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, enraging Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, US media reported.
​  Defense Secretary Austin "blew up" when Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed him about the strikes on Nasrallah, as there are many US troops stationed in the Middle East, and they had a very short time to prepare for possible hostile military response to the assassination, the publication explained.​   
https://sputnikglobe.com/20240929/pentagon-chief-blew-up-as-israel-shortly-notified-us-of-strike-on-nasrallah---reports-1120340403.html

​  Nasrallah’s Death ‘Devastating Blow’ That Will Trigger Escalation of Violence – Lebanese Scholar
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination marks “a devastating blow to Hezbollah” and the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance alliance, and will inevitably mark a major uptick in tensions and violence in the region, veteran Lebanese Middle East affairs observer Dr. Imad Salamey says.
​  “Nasrallah was not only the face of Hezbollah, but also a figure of immense symbolic and strategic importance within the broader Iranian-led regional alliance. He has been instrumental in Hezbollah’s military and political successes against Israel, its support of [President Bashar Assad's Syria], and its backing of the Houthis in Yemen. His death represents a major moral and leadership setback, leaving a vacuum that’s difficult to fill,” Salamay, an associate professor of political science and international affairs at the Lebanese American University, told Sputnik.​..
​..Dr. Salamay expects Nasrallah’s assassination to result in a sharp spike in attacks on Israel by Hezbollah and its allies to try to exact revenge, and more broadly, to potential “shifts in regional alliances, a recalibration of Iran’s strategies in Lebanon, and possibly more aggressive Israeli policies aimed at capitalizing on Hezbollah’s weakened position.”
​  The IDF’s decision to code-name Friday’s attack on Nasrallah “New Order” is also an obvious reference to Israel’s ultimate goal of reshaping “the political and security dynamics in Lebanon and the broader region” to a political and security arrangement “more favorable” to Tel Aviv, according to the academic.
Salamay believes Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, the chief of Hezbollah’s executive council, Nasrallah’s “number two” and the late leader's maternal cousin, is the most likely candidate to succeed him, presuming he himself hasn’t yet been targeted by Israel.
​  “While he lacks the same public charisma as Nasrallah, his close ties to both Nasrallah and Iran make him a natural successor. However, his ability to command the same level of trust and authority among Hezbollah’s base and the broader Shiite community remains uncertain,” according to the professor..
​..The Israeli Air Force F-16 strike on Hezbollah's HQ in a densely populated area of Beirut on Friday reportedly involved the use of over 80 bombs, including US-made 2.3 ton bunker busters, which killed at least six people and injured nearly 100 others, and razed or heavily damaged at least six nearby apartment buildings.
​  Hezbollah has vowed to continue its campaign against Israel.​..
..The Russian Foreign Ministry "strongly condemned yet another political murder committed by Israel," and expressed concerns that the operation "will almost inevitably provoke a new surge in violence" in the region.​   https://sputnikglobe.com/20240928/nasrallahs-death-devastating-blow-that-will-trigger-escalation-of-violence--lebanese-scholar-1120333561.html

​Not just a list, but biographies and explanations:  Hezbollah, Hamas and Iranian figures whose killings were blamed on Israel   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/28/list-of-hezbollah-hamas-iran-leaders-killed-by-israel-in-recent-months

​  Iran's Supreme Leader Transferred To Secure Location As Region Braces For What's Next
"The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Lebanon's Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel announced that it had killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on south Beirut on Friday," the report added.
​  Given Israel's surprise and bold decapitation strike against Hezbollah, Iran likely fears that Israel could go after the Islamic Republic's top leadership in Tehran next. Netanyahu had warned this week, "There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach."
​  There are unconfirmed reports that one or more Iranian IRGC offers were killed in the strike that took out Nasrallah.
So far Iran has been mute in terms of a military response. Will it launch ballistic missiles on Israel? Will it mount attacks on other Israeli assets in the region or across the globe?
​  Did Khamenei go to a secure location in order to oversee a new war?​ 
(He's not that kind of "leader", so​ "no".)​   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/irans-supreme-leader-transferred-secure-location-region-braces-whats-next

​  Moon of Alabama,  Zelenski's U.S. Trip Ends In Failure
The (former) Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelinski has failed. During his current travel in the U.S. his 'victory plan', a wishlist designed to drag the U.S. and NATO deeper into the war, did not gain support.
​  Even his most urgent request, to allow Ukraine to use supplied long range missiles for long-range strikes within Russia, has been rejected.
To justify its decision the Biden administration even 'leaked' an intelligence assessment which warned of allowing such:
​  Intelligence agencies concluded that granting Ukraine’s request to use Western missiles against targets deep in Russia could prompt forceful retaliation while not fundamentally changing the course of the war.
​  A promise of another US$8 billion gift in military supplies was offered as a consolation gift. But the package does not include what the Ukrainian military needs or wants:
​  In the absence of looser restrictions to let Kyiv use Western missiles, the White House has shipped the Joint Standoff Weapon (Jsow), a precision-guided glide bomb with a range of about 80 miles, for the first time.
​  A statement by Mr Biden said the F-16-launched weapon would “enhance Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities”.
Even if Jsow is allowed to be dropped on Russia — Mr Biden’s statement does not make reference to the possibility — it does not have the range to cause significant harm.
​  Because of the density of Moscow’s air defences near the front line, Ukrainian F-16s would need to drop the bombs from a safe distance, effectively meaning Jsow would be able to hit targets just 25 miles inside Russia.
​  Aside from a rather small amount for additional ammunition most of the $8 billion will be in payments to U.S. companies for the production of weapons which Ukraine will only receive years from now.​   
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/09/zelenskis-us-trip-ends-in-failure.html

  Simplicius,  Israel's Short-Lived Glory Celebrated by Kneejerk Polemicists, + Ukraine War Updates​  
Moody's Downgrades Israel's Economic Rating Again Due to War with Hezbollah​.  The agency predicts that the already difficult economic situation in Israel will worsen due to ongoing fighting in Gaza and a new conflict on the Lebanese border. Israel's economic rating fell from A2 to Baa1 — the decision was made even before the IDF attacked Hezbollah HQ in Beirut.
​..Israel's rating has been downgraded for the 2nd time this year: in February, from A1 to A2 due to a reduction in the country's GDP by 20%. And by the end of next year, the costs that military conflicts will entail will amount to another 12% of GDP, according to Israeli officials. However, the Israeli Finance Ministry believes that the country is doing well financially...
..The above NYT piece in particular is elucidating, because it covers in more detail the chariness with which US is approaching the topic of long range strikes into Russia. In a new ‘previously unreported’ secret intelligence assessment, they write:
​  U.S. intelligence agencies believe that Russia is likely to retaliate with greater force against the United States and its coalition partners, possibly with lethal attacks, if they agree to give the Ukrainians permission to employ U.S., British and French-supplied long-range missiles for strikes deep inside Russia, U.S. officials said.
​  In particular, the intelligence agencies highlight Russia’s ability to escalate the hybrid war into Europe in a way that apparently terrifies the US:
​  The intelligence assessment describes a range of possible Russian responses to a decision to allow long-range strikes using U.S. and European-supplied missiles — from stepped up acts of arson and sabotage targeting facilities in Europe, to potentially lethal attacks on U.S. and European military bases.
​  U.S. officials say the G.R.U., Russia’s military intelligence agency, has been responsible for most of the acts of sabotage in Europe that have taken place thus far. If Mr. Putin decides to expand the shadowy campaign in response to the use of U.S. and European missiles deep inside Russia, U.S. officials believe the Russians will continue to do so covertly, rather than conduct overt attacks on U.S. and European facilities and bases, to reduce the risk of a wider conflict.
​  Here you finally see it fully bared and naked, what I’ve been reporting since the beginning: unlike the feckless shrilling from the pro-UA commentariat on Twitter and such, the US itself knows full well what Russia can bring to bear if red lines continue to be crossed.​   
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/israels-short-lived-glory-celebrated

​  Dennis Kucinich: Mistaking Militarism for Statecraft, Empire for Democracy and Debt for Prosperity
​ For decades I have led opposition to war and advocated for the transformation of America’s prevailing policy of “Peace through Strength” to a forward-looking  policy of “Strength through Peace.”
​  I challenged the Bush II Administration’s foreign policies, and introduced Articles of Impeachment against President George W. Bush  and Vice President Dick Cheney over Iraq and the lies which led us into war. Illegal and unnecessary, the Iraq war (debt-funded and authorized by both Democrats and Republicans) has cost our nation over $3 trillion, and the loss of 5,000 of our brave men and women who serve and injuries to countless more troops.
​  The war caused the deaths of over one million Iraqis.  Let that sink in. One million Iraqis perished in a war based on lies. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. The war further damaged America’s global reputation and set us upon a path where, since 9/11, America has borrowed $8 trillion to keep the war machine in tune as our own nation’s pressing domestic needs for housing, health care, education, child care, and retirement security have been set aside.
​  When I heard Vice President Harris brag about former Vice President Dick Cheney endorsing her candidacy, that put the exclamation point on the fact that the leaders of the Democratic party are for war.  I am not.    
​  Why else would Vice President Harris become the front person for such virulent bravado, invoking lethality abroad?
​  A paradox of this campaign is that the much-villainized former President Trump, (representing a party that has also taken us into unnecessary wars) is the one who speaks to the need to negotiate and to talk directly with potential foes in order to avoid war, or to end it.  ​ 
https://scheerpost.com/2024/09/28/dennis-kucinich-mistaking-militarism-for-statecraft-empire-for-democracy-and-debt-for-prosperity/

​  Good Westerners Don't Start Off Hating Israel, But Truth Eventually Leads Them There.  Caitlin Johnstone
Good westerners don’t start off hating Israel. When our hearts are in the right place we start off giving Israel the benefit of the doubt and assuming the situation must be more complicated than it appears, because we’re not just going to reflexively assume the Jewish state is evil like some kind of neo-Nazi. We grew up learning about the persecution of the Jewish people, watching movies and reading books about it and vowing “never again” like everyone else.
​  So for entirely sensible and good-natured reasons we tend to start off viewing anything to do with Jews and Judaism in a sympathetic light.
​  It’s not until we start learning and paying attention to Israel’s actions that this view begins to change. We come to understand that Israel is in fact profoundly evil, not because it is full of Jews but because it’s a western settler-colonialist project that’s inflicting the same kinds of genocide, ethnic cleansing, theft and abuse on the indigenous population of the land that other western settler-colonialist projects like Australia, the US and Canada inflicted in earlier centuries.
    https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/good-westerners-dont-start-off-hating

​  Austrian Right-Wing Freedom Party Scores Historic Victory In National Elections
​  Less than a month after a crushing loss for Germany's ruling coalition saw the the first victory for a German right-wing party since World War II, Austria's right-wing Freedom Party scored a historic victory of its own on Sunday, winning the most votes in the country's national election for the first time after the eurosceptic party campaigned on mass deportation, cracking down on illegal immigration, and halting aid to the giant money laundromat that is Ukraine.​   https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/austrian-right-wing-freedom-party-scores-historic-victory-national-elections

​  Swedish Foreign Minister Says Country Must Speak Openly Of The Downsides Of Mass Immigration
In Sweden, the consequences of the policy of opening up to mass migration from Africa and the Middle East cannot be hidden, with the current government taking moderate steps to improve the situation.​ This is part of an agreement with the Sweden Democrats, a party opposed to destructive migration policies​.   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/swedish-foreign-minister-says-country-must-speak-openly-downsides-mass-immigration

​  The 'Chemical War' Killing 70,000 Americans Each Year
The United States needs to ramp up enforcement against every step of the manufacturing and trafficking of fentanyl and other deadly synthetic drugs if it hopes to stem the crisis.​   https://www.zerohedge.com/political/chemical-war-killing-70000-americans-each-year

​  Coronavirus bioweapons engineering:  The Greatest Coverup in History
NIH Director Francis Collins on EcoHealth Alliance/WIV partnership: "There's a lot more to this story than we have been able to talk about."​   https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/the-greatest-coverup-in-history

  ​A Midwestern Doctor,  The Vast Pharmaceutical Conspiracy to Silence Dissent Online,  Millions of dollars were spent to weaponize the public against all of us
Story at a Glance:
​  •There has been a coordinated campaign to attack and defame anyone who has spoken out against the COVID-19 response. This has primarily been restricted to social media (e.g., getting people deplatformed) but it has also been weaponized in real life (e.g., getting medical licenses revoked).
​  •This coordinated campaign was the result of a “non-profit” known as The Public Good Project (PGP), which was actually directly linked to the pharmaceutical industry. The PGP used the industry funding it received to defend industry interests.
​  •Vaccine safety advocates were able to get into the group where these campaigns were coordinated. There, they discovered numerous public figures working hand in hand with healthcare workers to descend like a hive of bees on anyone “promoting misinformation.” Likewise, we learned that the most belligerent doctors we keep encountering on Twitter belonged to these groups.
​  •Some of the influencers advancing PGP’s message through “Shots Heard” (and its sister United Nations initiative “Team Halo”) were hucksters who faked their own credentials. My overall impression from looking at everything was that this group operated in a very similar manner to many of the sleazy internet marketing operations I’ve seen in the past. Fortunately, the public appears to be seeing through what they did.
​  •Earlier this year we exposed them. Unfortunately, their abhorrent tactics continue and recently have been aimed towards Angela Wulbrecht RN because she advocated for a patient with a widely publicized vaccine injury.​  
(Alexis Lorenze)
​  Note: I posted an earlier version of this article six months ago. Due to recent events, I revised it and am re-releasing it.​   
https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/the-vast-pharmaceutical-conspiracy-ae0

  ​"Modeling projected":   Those Published “17,000 Hydroxychloroquine Deaths” Never Happened  [One HCQ study for COVID killed some folks with intentional overdoses]   https://brownstone.org/articles/those-published-17000-hydroxychloroquine-deaths-never-happened/ 

  Hard-Selling measles vaccine:  Maine Warned Public About a Measles Case — But Didn’t Mention It Was Caused by the Vaccine
According to documents released Tuesday by Informed Consent Action Network, a single case of measles in 2023, reported by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and hyped by mainstream media, was caused by the MMR vaccine.​   https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/maine-vaccine-induced-measles-case-ican/

​  Steve Kirsch interrogates Chat-GPT:  I have been fully vindicated by the world's most objective epidemiologist. The COVID vaccines are not safe.
I should have done this sooner. I used gold-standard record-level Medicare data and had it analyzed by an objective expert. The result: 10% higher all-cause mortality risk by brand.​   https://kirschsubstack.com/p/i-have-been-fully-vindicated-by-the

​  Meryl Nass MD,  My talk at the Japanese Parliament yesterday, revealing that we are in WW3 and approaching the culmination of a 50 year process toward one world governance   https://merylnass.substack.com/p/my-talk-at-the-japanese-parliament

 "So this is the tale of our castaways, they're here for a long long time"  SpaceX Launches Rescue Mission For Two Stranded Boeing Starliner Astronauts On ISS   https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/spacex-launches-rescue-mission-two-stranded-boeing-starliner-astronauts-iss

Keeping Score  (pictured with "new" 2006 Toyota with bad front wheel bearing and 5-speed manual transmission)


Friday, September 27, 2024

Seeking The Way

 Seekers,


  I presume that we are all looking for a way forward as a world, inhabited everywhere by human families, without nuclear World War-3. If I'm wrong, you might still find some interest in this view of the horizon, as events shape the near-future into potential forms. I will focus on the forms which don't entail vast global destruction over a couple of hours.

  Gilbert Doctorow yesterday,  Russia’s revised nuclear doctrine per today’s speech by Vladimir Putin
​  A little more than a week ago, just before British Prime Minister Starmer arrived in Washington for what was expected to be an announcement of joint approval of such use of the Storm Shadow, Vladimir Putin told journalist Pavel Zarubîn on the sidelînes of the St Petersburg Cultural Forum that Russia will consider use of British., American or other long range missiles against its territiory as changing the nature of the present proxy war into a direct Russia NATO war and will respond appropriately.
​  That was a vague threat. After all he did not specify what appropriately meant. However it was a sufficient change of tone from Moscow for the Pentagon to have taken note and for the Starmer visit to have been emptied of content: the White House said there was no change in its policy on the prohibition on strikes inside Russia...
..Moscow was proceeding on the assumption that Washington would give Zelensky the permission he seeks in a week or two when the furor died down.
​  Tonight’s Great Game has provided a lengthy video clip from Putin’s new and latest restatement of Russian nuclear doctrine which it explained in the lapidary clear terms of its own expert panelists​.
​  Underlying the new doctrine is a changed understanding of Washington’s nuclear strategy as it has evolved from global strike from the US triad to use of massive combined attack using tactical and strategic aircraft plus medium to long range cruise and hypersonic missiles based in Europe and in the Far East
​  The evolving situation in Ukraine fits into the new US vision of a decapitating strike on Russia that first destroys Russia’s land based nuclear force​.
​  Accordingly Russia now declares that any attack on its territory by a non nuclear state using missiles and other long range weapons such as the F-16 provided by and guided by a nuclear state (meaning the USA, Britain or France) will be considered as a joint attack by the nuclear and non nuclear state and will prompt a Russian nuclear attack on both.
​  Note the timing of the Russian announcement: it comes just before Biden’s meeting in Washington with Zelensky and while the UN General Assembly is in session. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavr​ov is presently in New York and is explaining the new nuclear doctrine to all those interested, of whom there are assuredly a great many world leaders.​   https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/russias-revised-nuclear-doctrine

​  Scott Ritter clarifies 2024 US doctrine to win against Russia, China and North Korea as pre-emptive decapitation, and explains the new nuclear precision-detonation technology, which optimizes missile-silo-destruction, which makes it feasible. Key term: "Launch on Detect".    Life, Pre-empted
​  Last week we came closer to a nuclear conflict between the US and Russia than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
Today we are even closer.

​  Most scenarios being bandied about in the western mainstream media that involve a nuclear conflict between Russia and the United States have Russia initiating the exchange by using nuclear weapons against Ukraine in response to deteriorating military, economic, and/or political conditions brought on by the US and NATO successfully leveraging Ukraine as a proxy to achieve the strategic defeat of Russia.​ Understand, this is what both Ukraine and the Biden administration mean when they speak of Ukraine “winning the war.”...
..In early 2020 US Strategic Command conducted an exercise where the Secretary of Defense gave the launch instructions for a US Ohio class submarine to launch a Trident missile carrying W-76-2 low yield nuclear warheads against a Russian target in a scenario involving Russian aggression against the Baltics in which Russia used a tactical nuclear weapon to strike a NATO target.
​  The insanity of this scenario is that it ignores published Russian nuclear doctrine, which holds that Russia will respond with the full power of its strategic nuclear arsenal in the case of a nuclear attack against Russian soil.
​  Once again, US nuclear war planners believe that Russia is bluffing.
There is another twist to this discussion.
​  While the US might assess that Russia would not seek a general nuclear war following the use by the US of low yield nuclear warheads, the problem is that the means of employment of the W-76-2 warhead is the Trident submarine launched ballistic missile...

​..The United States has long embraced a nuclear posture which not only incorporates the potential of a nuclear first strike, but, through declaratory policy statements, actively encourages America’s potential nuclear adversaries to believe such an action is, in fact, possible. David J. Trachtenberg, the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy during the Trump administration, said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in 2019 that a key aspect to the US nuclear posture was “keeping adversaries such as Russia and China guessing whether the US would ever employ its nuclear weapons.”
​  But the US takes the guesswork out of the equation. Theodore Postol points out, in a recent article in Responsible Statecraft, that a new fuse used on the W-76 nuclear warhead (not the low yield W-76-2, but rather the 100 kiloton version) has turned the 890 W-76 warheads loaded on the Trident missiles carried onboard the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines into weapons capable of destroying hardened Russian and Chinese missile silos with a single warhead...
.
.This means that, firing in a reduced trajectory profile from a position close to the shores of either Russia or China, the United States possesses the ability to launch a nuclear first strike that has a good chance of knocking out the entire ground-based component of both the Chinese and Russian strategic nuclear deterrent. As a result, Russia has been compelled to embrace a “launch on detect” nuclear posture where it would employ the totality of its silo-based arsenal the moment it detected any potential first strike by the United States.​  https://www.globalresearch.ca/life-pre-empted-scott-ritter/5868756

​  "NO, NO, No, No, NOOO!  I'm NOT LISTENING!"   US and EU strongly reject Russia's 'nuclear threat'
The US and EU really did not expect such a move by the Russian Federation and therefore became noticeably tense.
​  US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called Russian President Vladimir Putin's words "irresponsible." According to this "gentleman," the US needs to declare that such nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable, especially when the UN General Assembly is taking place in New York, where the need for non-proliferation of nuclear weapons is being discussed, among other things.
​  In turn, no less an inveterate Russophobe, the press secretary of the European Commission for Foreign Affairs and policy Security Council Secretary Peter Stano said the EU strongly rejects the "nuclear threat" from Russia.​   
https://en.topcor.ru/51942-ssha-i-es-reshitelno-otvergajut-jadernuju-ugrozu-so-storony-rossii.html

​  Kremlin Says Russia’s Nuclear Doctrine Changes Are a Message to the West
“This should be viewed as a certain message,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “This is a message that warns these countries of the consequences should they participate in an attack on our country by various means, not necessarily nuclear.”
​  Putin said the new doctrine will consider an attack on Russia by a non-nuclear state that’s supported by a nuclear-armed power as a joint attack, and it allows the use of nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack that poses a “critical threat to Russian sovereignty.”​   
https://news.antiwar.com/2024/09/26/kremlin-says-russias-nuclear-doctrine-changes-are-a-message-to-the-west/#gsc.tab=0

​  Zelensky makes urgent in-person plea to Biden and Harris who highlights her contrasting approach to Trump
​  “In candor, I share with you, Mr. President, there are some in my country who would instead force Ukraine to give up large parts of its sovereign territory, who would demand that Ukraine accept neutrality and would require Ukraine to forego security relationships with other nations,” she said outside her ceremonial office next to the White House. “These proposals are the same of those of Putin, and let us be clear, they are not proposals for peace. Instead, they are proposals for surrender, which is dangerous and unacceptable.”​ While Harris did not specify who she was talking about, the implication was clear.​     https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/26/politics/zelensky-biden-harris-washington-visit/index.html

​  Not mentioned: Depth of strikes into Russia which will be carried out by NATO specialists operating these systems.  Biden drains remaining Ukraine aid funds
The US president’s authorization from Congress to spend the money expires next week​   https://swentr.site/news/604723-biden-ukraine-aid-drawdown/

​  Biden announces transfer of JSOW guided munitions to Ukraine
US President Joe Biden announced the allocation of $8 billion to support Ukraine. He also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would receive another package of military aid. It will include long-range guided aerial bombs JSOW.​  
​  The statement said that Ukraine would also receive Patriot air defense systems and ammunition from the United States. The aid package would also include an expansion of the training program for Ukrainian F-16 pilots.
​  Politico wrote that the US is considering transferring JSOW guided munitions to Ukraine for use from F-16 fighters. The range of JSOW is 110 km. Navigation systems and thermal imaging homing heads were used in its creation.​  ​ 
https://www-kommersant-ru.translate.goog/doc/7183140?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Trump says Ukraine is ‘demolished’ and dismisses its defense against Russia’s invasion​   https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-ukraine-putin-zelenskyy-0f4d539aa73a943474d779716e5fe42a

​  Look at Ukraine, please.  NATO outlines plans in event of war with Russia
NATO would have to deal with a large number of frontline casualties without the capability to airlift them for treatment in the event of a major war with Russia, the bloc's logistics chief has said.
​  Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, the head of NATO’s Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC), outlined the difficulties that troops would face in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.​ “The challenge will be to swiftly ensure high-quality care for, in the worst case, a great number of wounded,” Sollfrank said.
The environment of a hypothetical conflict with Russia would be completely different from what the US and its allies faced in Afghanistan and Iraq, he added.​   
https://swentr.site/news/604713-nato-medical-schengen-russia/

​  Thanks Eleni. Russians obliquely mention "knowing who the enemy is":  How the Rothschilds Сashed In on Ukraine Since Neo-Nazi Coup in 2014
Multinational asset firm Rothschild & Co was instrumental in the restructuring of Ukraine’s $20+ billion debt in July 2024, according to Western press.
​  It had reportedly been involved in arranging face-to-face meetings between Ukrainians and asset management firms, including Black Rock and Amundi, less than two months before the two-year payment moratorium expired on August 1.
​  The Rothschilds reportedly engaged IMF’s experts in the talks while the plan of grabbing Russia’s frozen sovereign assets was also on the table.
The clan is believed to be cashing in on the Eastern European state through various schemes, including the future “restoration of Ukraine.”
​  Then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko tapped a Rothschild & Cie to sell his assets in 2014. It turned out later that the companies weren’t sold but handed over to Rothschild Trust.​..
​..In 2017, Rothschild S.p.A. won the bidding for investment and banking services to Ukraine’s oil and gas company Naftogaz.
The same year, the supervisory board of Ukraine’s state-owned lender PrivatBank asked a consortium of Rothschild, EY and FinPoint companies to restructure its funds.​..
​..In July 2023, Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vovan) and Alexey Stolyarov (Lexus) tricked Alexandre de Rothschild, the executive chairman of Rothschild & Co, who told them that the banking clan has cooperated with the Kiev regime since 2017.
​  “We had excellent relationships with people in your government. We were mainly involved in attracting of lending funds,” de Rothschild told Vovan and Lexus thinking that he was talking to Volodymyr Zelensky.​ De Rothschild told the pranksters that the family company intends to take part in “the restoration of Ukraine”, including in energy, housing construction, and logistics. “You expressed the need for reconstruction financing in the total amount of more than $750 billion, starting in 2023 for a period of about ten years, and this is quite adequate,” the banker said.​   
https://www.defenddemocracy.press/how-the-rothschilds-%d1%81ashed-in-on-ukraine-since-neo-nazi-coup-in-2014/

​  This man is Vladimir Putin's personal messenger and negotiator, clothed in mystery, and not much liked by the Russian military. He is ready to negotiate at any time.
SENDING A BOY TO DO A MAN’S JOB – VLADIMIR MEDINSKY TO NEGOTIATE  ISTANBUL-II
​  On January 24, 2020, the Kremlin announced that Putin had removed Medinsky from the culture ministry, and instead appointed him an assistant to the President. There were no other details in the official announcement;  nothing leaked then or later to the press on whether this was a demotion or promotion.   What is certain is that Medinsky’s talk of cultural events was camouflage. Putin had told Medinsky he was changing his role for one of the most personal foreign policy operations on Putin’s agenda.
​  This didn’t materialize in public until Medinsky appeared as the leader of the Russian delegation to negotiate end-of-war terms with the Ukrainian government in Istanbul between March 29 and April 1, 2022.  
​  Medinsky was sharply criticized by the General Staff, State Duma, and press for the terms he initialed in the draft agreement.​..
..He reappeared publicly at the Kremlin on July 5, 2024, when Medinsky was listed by the Kremlin in negotiation of end-of-war terms between Putin and Hungarian prime minister Victor Orban, and through Orban, US presidential candidate Donald Trump.  In the Kremlin communiqué of the Orban talks, Medinsky was ranked ahead of foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin’s foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov.   The Kremlin has not explained what the former expert on Russian culture and history was doing there...
​..A Moscow source confirms Medinsky was identified to Orban as Putin’s personal messenger. “He remains the chief negotiator but he has not been seen with the Chinese or with the Indians. This means that Putin is only serious about Orban – of course not about Orban, but Trump whom Orban went on to meet in Miami on July 11.”​.....(Putin)​ "I propose that we discuss this today. We have two speakers, Mr Medinsky and Mr Lavrov.”  
  What Medinsky had to say about Russian history remains top secret. His Security Council speech has not been quoted on the Kremlin website; the Kremlin’s Telegram platform has ignored it.   Asked for a copy or a summary of Medinsky’s remarks, the Kremlin press office replied:  “If we get it, we’ll add it. Follow the website”. So far as Moscow political observers can remember, this is the first time that an official statement on Russian history has been classified.

​  Russian sources believe the reason is the same as Medinsky’s November 2019 meeting with Putin. It is camouflage. Only this time, the sources add, Putin’s purpose is to expose the camouflage himself, confirming he is ready for Istanbul-II, and is employing Medinsky in the president’s effort to override opposition to the end-of-war negotiations​...  “Whatever Medinsky says is Putin’s thoughts exactly, more powerfully than Medvedev,” a Moscow source explains.  “Putin wants the Americans to understand this.”
​  By making public Medinsky’s presence with Orban on July 5, and now at the Security Council on September 20, Putin is sending a signal to Trump, and also to the Biden Administration, that they should reciprocate with a negotiating signal of their own and stop the Kiev regime’s plans  to escalate on the battlefield, with F-16 operations, and with long-range missile attacks on Russian territory.​..
​..He went on to study journalism and political science at universities in Moscow and then, at an unusually young age, he was posted to the Soviet (then Russian) Embassy in Washington in 1991-92. His arrival at the press department of the Embassy was registered by US counterintelligence as likely to indicate KGB cover.  A Russian source comments: “Medinsky was definitely a KGB officer but low-level.  Still, these guys have very high opinion of themselves just as Putin has of himself in Germany.”​.
​  Medinsky went on to a career in a variety of political party and government posts ever since.​..
​..At the end of February this year, Medinsky told the press he is ready to resume his end-of-war negotiations with the Kiev regime in Istanbul. “If they give us the assignment,” he is quoted as saying, “we’ll go.”  In another press report of the same remarks, Medinsky responded to announcement of a new mediation effort by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by saying: “They will give the instructions – let’s go.”  
​  In his version of Istanbul-II, Medinsky has implied — just as he has insisted on his interpretation of Istanbul-I — that Russia is not at war with the US and NATO, dismissing the range of demilitarization of Ukrainian territory required by the General Staff and the Security Council, and ignoring the terms of regional security proposed by the Russian Foreign Ministry in the  draft treaties presented to the US and NATO in December 2021.  
​  The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has confirmed Medinsky’s status in preparing for Istanbul-II.  Medinsky “has conducted negotiations, so, of course, the entire array of developments is supervised by him,” Peskov said.​..
..Medinsky’s version of the end-of-war terms is flatly opposed by the General Staff. In the Security Council their case is argued by Deputy Chairman MedvedevMedinsky’s appearance at the Security Council last week is a sign, Moscow sources believe, of the intensification of the debate between the Army and the President...
​..For the time being, no Russian mainstream media nor alternative press have reported Medinsky’s reemergence as Putin’s personal negotiator of end-of-war terms. ​  The military bloggers Boris Rozhin (Colonal Cassad) and Mikhail Zvinchuk (Rybar) refused to respond to questions about Medinsky’s roleDmitry Rogozin, currently the senator representing Zaporozhye and a future presidential succession candidate, has not commented publicly on Medinsky as Putin’s spokesman for negotiations.
​  The Communist Party, which fiercely attacked Medinsky’s performance in Istanbul-I, has warned against the prospects for Istanbul-II but party leaders and the party spokesman refuse to answer questions on Medinsky’s current role.​   
https://johnhelmer.net/sending-a-boy-to-do-a-mans-job-vladimir-medinsky-to-negotiate-istanbul-ii/#more-90348

​  Zelensky Visibly Agitated As Trump Dominates Meeting, Citing 'Very Good Relationship' With Putin
​  Tensions were certainly on display before and during the Trump-Zelensky meeting at Trump Tower in New York. Going into the meeting, both men looked stern-faced, with Trump making a series of casual remarks which appeared aimed at gently belittling the Ukrainian leader and putting him in his place. This comes days after Zelensky went after J.D. Vance, and came close to directly criticizing Trump himself for calling for ceasefire and talks with Moscow.
​  "We have a very good relationship, and I also have a very good relationship, as you know, with President Putin. And I think if we win I think we’re going to get it resolved very quickly," Trump said in comments made before the press going into the meeting. But that caused an agitated Zelensky to poke back:
​  "I hope we have more good relations," Zelensky cut in.
​  "Oh, I see," Trump responded. "But it takes two to tango, you know, and I we’re going to have a good meeting today. And I think the fact that we’re even together today is a very good sign."​   
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-criticizes-zelensky-reveals-private-message-just-friday-meeting

Desperate-Looking Biden Administration Attempt to Get 21-Day Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire​   https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/09/desperate-looking-biden-administration-attempt-to-get-21-day-israel-lebanon-ceasefire.html

​  Again. Sirens Blare Overnight As Yemeni Houthis Target Tel Aviv With Ballistic Missile
Israel's military has said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, and explosions were widely heard in the early night hours of Friday (local). "Following the sirens that sounded in central Israel, the surface-to-surface missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted by an 'Arrow' interceptor outside of Israeli territory," the army said in a statement. "There is currently no change to the IDF Defensive guidelines," it added.​   https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/netanyahu-tells-military-keep-fighting-hezbollah-full-force-rules-out-ceasefire

​  Detailed investigative reporting on this one-way street.  How Israel Torpedoed Washington’s Global Strategy. Mike Whitney​   https://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-torpedoed-washington-global-strategy/5868661

​  Netanyahu rubs it in.  Times of Israel, US, frustrated, says ceasefire plan rejected by Netanyahu had been coordinated with him
PM had been expected to welcome initiative on arrival in NY, relate to it in UN speech. But after outcry at home, PMO says he never backed it and he vows to keep hitting Hezbollah​   
https://www.timesofisrael.com/pms-rejection-of-lebanon-ceasefire-plan-shatters-ties-with-biden-tv-report/

​Anyway...  Israel says it secured $8.7 billion military aid package from US   https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4901552-israel-us-aid-package/

​  US Congress ‘Happy to Be Lied to’ in Service of American Imperialism – Analyst
One analyst claimed lawmakers were “very happy to be lied to” by the US Secretary of State, claiming they “would have denounced Blinken for the truth.”
​  Secretary of State Antony Blinken is facing calls to resign after a damning report suggested he willfully misled Congress to keep US military aid flowing to Israel.
Analysis by the investigative reporting nonprofit ProPublica revealed that Blinken defied the findings of multiple government bodies that concluded Israel was deliberately blocking humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Blinken ignored the advice of multiple officials with the State Department and US Agency for International Development (USAID), testifying before lawmakers that Tel Aviv was not interfering with the flow of aid.​ 
​  US law forbids the provision of military equipment to any country obstructing American humanitarian assistance.​   https://sputnikglobe.com/20240926/us-congress-happy-to-be-lied-to-in-service-of-american-imperialism--analyst-1120293423.html

​  Israeli Military Chief ‘Preparing’ for Ground Offensive in Lebanon​, At least 72 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon so far on Wednesday
Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), said Wednesday that the Israeli military was “preparing” for a potential ground offensive in Lebanon.
​  Halevi told a group of IDF soldiers that their “military boots will enter enemy territory” and said Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon are part of the preparations for a ground invasion.​ “You can hear the planes above, we are attacking all day. Both to prepare the area for the possibility of your entry [into Lebanon], and also to continue causing blows to Hezbollah.”​   
https://news.antiwar.com/2024/09/25/israeli-military-chief-preparing-for-ground-offensive-in-lebanon/#gsc.tab=0

​  Israel calls up to 8000 reserves to enter conflict with Hezbollah
The Israeli military announced Wednesday afternoon that two reserve brigades will be called up for deployment in Operation Northern Arrows.
​  “In accordance with the situational assessment, the IDF is calling up two reserve brigades for operational missions in the northern arena,” the IDF said.
“This will enable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the defense of the State of Israel, and create the conditions to enable the residents of northern Israel to return to their homes.”​   
https://endtimeheadlines.org/2024/09/israel-calls-up-to-8000-reserves-to-enter-conflict-with-hezbollah/#google_vignette

Lebanon braces for 1982-type Israeli invasion​, Lebanese civilians fleeing the south in expectation of an Israeli offensive to push Hezbollah out of border regions​   https://asiatimes.com/2024/09/lebanon-braces-for-1982-type-israeli-invasion/

​  Russian Missile Defences Block Israeli Attack on Western Syria
The Russian Armed Forces have reportedly shot down 13 Israeli missiles over Syrian airspace, after the Israeli Air Force attempted to launch an attack on the city of Tartus in Western Syria on the Mediterranean coast...​ The Russian military presence in Syria is heavily concentrated in the Western province of Latakia, primarily around Khmeimim Airbase and a naval facility in the city of Tartus. Both facilities have gained growing strategic importance for Russia in recent years​... Russian air defence systems deployed at Khmeimim Airbase include the long range S-400 and S-300V4, the medium range BuK-M2 and the short range Pantsir-S, as well as various electronic warfare assets... While Israeli cruise missile attacks on Syria have consistently used subsonic missiles, the S-400 and S-300V4 have proven capable of intercepting targets travelling at hypersonic speeds of over Mach 8. Both can have engagement ranges of up to 400 kilometres, depending on the missiles they are equipped with, allowing them to engage targets across Israeli airspace and beyond. If either of the systems did fire on Israeli missiles, it would likely be their first ever kinetic use in the Syria theatre.​   https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/russia-defences-block-israel-syria

  ​Andrew Korybko,  Lavrov Reminded The World That Russia Is Committed To Ensuring Israel’s Security
​  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov used his latest interview with Sky News Arabia to remind the world about the true state of his country’s relations with Israel, to which Russia remains committed in ensuring its security contrary to what the MSM and AMC have claimed. He’s not “playing 5D chess” to “psyche out the Zionists” like some from the second media camp might imagine but is simply doing his job by articulating Russia’s foreign policy as it objectively exists. Here’s what he told his interlocutor:
​  “When some officials justify their actions by saying that they - the Jewish people - were victims of the Holocaust and therefore can be forgiven, this is a troubling trend. It is a sign of the exceptionalism characteristic of Hitler’s Germany and its ideology.
​  I have many friends in Israel. The vast majority of them understand that the issue of a Palestinian state must be resolved and that suppressing the natural rights of the Palestinian people is unacceptable
.
​  Personally, I have good relations with many of my Israeli colleagues, including former ones. When speaking about the Middle East policy, President Vladimir Putin highlights Russia’s full commitment to security and fundamental interests of the State of Israel.
​  It is not for nothing that I mentioned the necessity of implementing the resolutions that require resolving the Middle East issues on a two-state basis, so that two independent and sovereign states, Israel and Palestine, exist as good neighbours, safely for each other and for the entire region. This essential approach needs no explanation; it complies with the interests of both Israel and Palestine.
​  We always stress in all our actions that no solutions are going to be viable if they fail to ensure Israel’s security, among other things, but not at the expense of the security of others.” ...

​..The caveat though is that this should “not (be) at the expense of the security of others”, ergo why Russia continues to adhere to UNSC Resolutions calling for a two-state solution since it sincerely believes that this is essential to sustainably resolving the so-called ‘Palestinian Question’. This policy contrasts with Israel’s, which has unilaterally decided to ignore international law, thus lending false credence to the MSM and AMC’s claims that Russia is against Israel even though the aforesaid insight disproves that.​ Russian diplomats have worked hard to carefully balance between Israel and the Iranian-led Resistance Axis.​   https://korybko.substack.com/p/lavrov-reminded-the-world-that-russia

​  Israel Kills 39 More Palestinians in Gaza, Bombs Another School
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that Israeli forces killed another 39 Palestinians and wounded 86 in the previous 24-hour period.
​  The latest violence brings the ministry’s death toll since October 7, 2023, to 41,534 and the number of wounded to 96,092. The toll is an undercount since it doesn’t include the estimated 10,000 people who are missing and presumed dead under the rubble.
​  “There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry said on Telegram.​   
https://news.antiwar.com/2024/09/26/israel-kills-39-more-palestinians-in-gaza-strikes-another-school/#gsc.tab=0

  ​Destroying water lines and sewage systems causes cholera epidemics:  Israeli bulldozers do extensive damage to West Bank infrastructure
The military vehicles, deployed in Tulkarem and Jenin during two weeks of intense raids beginning in late August, “tore up mile after mile of streets and alleys, leaving sewage to seep into the deep ruts left behind,” the Times report said.​  https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/09/25/733960/Israeli-bulldozers-wreak-havoc-on-West-Bank-infrastructure

​  Iraqi resistance drone attack hits Israel’s Eilat port
Iraq’s Islamic Resistance has launched a drone strike on the Israeli-occupied port of Umm al-Rashrash (Eilat) in response to Israeli atrocities in Lebanon and Gaza.​.. Social media videos showed smoke rising from the port area following the strike.​   https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/09/25/733965/Iraqi-resistance-drone-attack-hits-Israel-Eilat-port

​  Hezbollah's rocket salvos pummel Israeli sites, settlements​   
Hezbollah's resistance fighters launched 130 rockets in two operations, responding to the Israeli aggression on Lebanon.
​  On Thursday noon, Hezbollah announced that its fighters fired salvos of rockets at the settlement city of Kiryat Motzkin, one of four small cities that make up the densely-populated Krayot settlement to the north of Haifa.
​  The Resistance then renewed its rocket attacks on the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems military-industrial complex, located to the north of occupied Haifa, in the Zvulun Valley.
​  Islamic Resistance fighters then fired salvos of Falaq-2-type rockets at the settlement city of Kiryat Shmona, near the Palestinian-Lebanese border. Impacts of multiple rockets were recorded on Thursday.​   
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-s-rocket-salvos-pummel-israeli-sites--settlements

​  Hezbollah bombs Israeli arms factory, forces fighter jets to withdraw
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah announced Wednesday that its fighters launched rockets targeting a bomb material factory in Zikhron, occupied southern Haifa, using a barrage of Fadi-3 rockets.
​  For the second time on Wednesday, Hezbollah struck the settlement of Kiryat Motzkin with volleys of Fadi-1 rockets. Concurrently, Hezbollah's air defense units engaged two hostile fighter jets near the Lebanese towns of Houla and Mays al-Jabal to force them out of Lebanese airspace.​   
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-bombs-israeli-arms-factory--forces-fighter-jets-to

​  Israel's war on Lebanon: What arms does Hezbollah have?
Group's capabilities include missiles and drones as well as a large number of battle-hardened fighters, should Israel invade south Lebanon​   
https://www.middleeasteye.net/explainers/israel-war-lebanon-what-arms-hezbollah-have

​  Reuters, 9/24/24, Exclusive: Iran brokering talks to send advanced Russian missiles to Yemen's Houthis, sources say   https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-brokering-talks-send-advanced-russian-missiles-yemens-houthis-sources-say-2024-09-24/

  Pravda, 9/26/24,  Russia to transfer long-range anti-ship P-800 Onyx missiles to Yemeni Houthis, Yemeni Houthis to use Russian P-800 Onyx missiles to sink US aircraft carriers.   https://english.pravda.ru/news/world/160745-russia-onyx-yemeni-houthis/

​  Yemen’s Houthis claim attacks on Israeli cities, US warships​,  Iran-aligned group says it will continue its attacks on Israel until its ‘aggression on Lebanon and Gaza stops’.​   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/27/yemens-houthis-claim-to-have-targeted-israels-tel-aviv-and-ashkelon

  ​I read that there were 5 teams of assassins gunning for Trump. He needs protection. Iran is not in the room...  Trump Pushes Narrative That Iran Is Trying to Kill Him
The Trump campaign was briefed on alleged threats from Iran by Biden's Office of the Director of National Intelligence​   https://news.antiwar.com/2024/09/25/trump-pushes-narrative-that-iran-is-trying-to-kill-him/#gsc.tab=0

​  India can never trust China. they have a long history.  Indian Foreign Minister Throws Cold Water on the Idea of a BRICS Currency  
​  The remarks by the highly respected Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar should put paid to the idea that a BRICS currency is coming soon, if ever. Jaishankar raises a series of particular issues consistent with a point we have made: that a common currency would require a very substantial legal and systems architectureAgreeing on the legal structure would entail a reduction of sovereignty (BRICS rulings would have to supercede national courts) which seems contrary to the notion that BRICS is meant to increase, rather than reduce, national sovereignty. Jaishankar also points out, as we have, that the BRICS nations are too economically diverse (as in often divergent) to make a common scheme work easily if at all.
​  Jaishankar points out that bi-lateral currency deals work well enough and appear satisfactory to most BRICS members. That does leave unsolved the point that your humble blogger and Michael Hudson have raise: that absent mechanisms to encourage balanced trade such as the ones that were part of Keynes’ Bancor, many countries are likely to wind up with sustained trade deficits relative to particular trade partners. What happens when those countries wind up with a lot more of that currency than they want?   
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/09/indian-foreign-minister-throws-cold-water-on-the-idea-of-a-brics-currency.html

​  Holding to many bad loans...  China Weighs $142 Billion Capital Injection Into Top Banks
​  China is considering injecting up to 1 trillion yuan ($142 billion) of capital into its biggest state banks to increase their capacity to support the struggling economy, according to people familiar with the matter.
​  The funding will mainly come from the issuance of new special sovereign bonds, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The details have yet to be finalized.​   
https://archive.is/rZyFa#selection-1687.0-1691.189

​  Boeing merged with failing and corrupt McDonnell-Douglas ​in 1997. Engineering principles lost to ​money-suckers.​ Boeing Machinists on Strike Have a Historic Opportunity
 In a potentially game-changing move, 33,000 Boeing machinists in the Pacific Northwest, unionized with IAM District 751, are on strike after rejecting the company’s initial insulting contract offer. A stunning 96 percent of the rank and file voted to go on strike, marking a sea change for the fight of working people at Boeing. For decades, Boeing’s executives and wealthy shareholders have, with the active help from Democrats and Republicans in Washington state and Washington D.C., enforced a decades-long brutal regime that has thrown both workers and safety standards under the bus in favor of short-term profit maximization for themselves.​   https://scheerpost.com/2024/09/26/boeing-machinists-on-strike-have-a-historic-opportunity/
​  Trump's Plan To Bolster The Economy
​  In a bid to build a broader coalition, former President Donald Trump has outlined a vision of tax cuts, import tariffs, and “reciprocal trade” to preserve and restore American industries...​ “So, as your president, here is the deal that I will be offering to every major company and manufacturer on Earth,” he said at a Tuesday event in Savannah, Ga. “I will give you the lowest taxes, the lowest energy costs, the lowest regulatory burden and free access to the best and biggest market on the planet, but only if you make your product here in America.”​ “It all goes away if you don't make your product here and hire American workers for the job,” he warned.​   https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/wedtaxes-and-tariffs-and-trade-oh-my-trumps-plan-bolster-economy

​9.9% of respondents to EPA poll believe that humans are the dominant cause of climate change.  EPA poll shows 90% reject the climate hoax.   https://x.com/JunkScience/status/1838573685772255684

​  Lawfare​: Censorship by Wealth and Power​ Works Again:  Journal pressured to retract study on covid-19 vaccine harms
Vaccine manufacturer sues researchers for defamation and demands retraction of a study describing adverse events after covid-19 vaccination.​   
https://blog.maryannedemasi.com/p/breaking-journal-pressured-to-retract

​  Get 'em if you can:  Website for free COVID tests crashes as FDA appears to show September’s availability date
Some visitors to the government’s website received a ‘service unavailable’ error message on Monday, indicating high demand for the tests.​   https://www.fastcompany.com/91195734/free-covid-tests-2024-website-crashes-fda-appears-availability-date

​  Fluoride in Water Poses ‘Unreasonable Risk’ to Children, Federal Judge Rules
A federal judge rejected the EPA’s argument that the exact level at which fluoride is hazardous is too unclear to determine if the chemical presents an unreasonable risk, and ruled the agency must take regulatory action.​   
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/fluoridation-risk-kids-landmark-decision/

  ​I enjoyed talking to one of my med-school classmates, who had an undergraduate degree in Nutrition. She noted out loud one day that I was "a healthy snacker". ;-)
Diet-Related Diseases Are the No. 1 Cause of Death in the US – Yet Many Doctors Receive Little to No Nutrition Education in Med School​   https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/09/diet-related-diseases-are-the-no-1-cause-of-death-in-the-us-yet-many-doctors-receive-little-to-no-nutrition-education-in-med-school.html

Former CDC Director Robert Redfield Praises "Make America Healthy Again"​   https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/former-cdc-director-robert-redfield-praises-make-america-healthy-again

​Healthy Snacker (pictured again with second hand frog bowl full of tomatoes and peppers)