Caravaggio Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence 1600
Trump
Zelensky and Putin must meet with me immediately at get this war solved! Ukraine has just launched 5 ballistic US ATACMS missiles at Kursk, Russia. This must stop! Joe Biden and NATO are pushing the United Stated into WWIII! pic.twitter.com/YI9CCyNXzZ
— Donald J. Trump – Parody (@realDonParody) November 23, 2024
Tucker
Wow. Look at that. Real journalism. pic.twitter.com/y4OBHyBwUt
— Dr. C (@OG_DrC) November 23, 2024
Rogan
https://twitter.com/i/status/1860499743039979980
Rogan moon landing
Joe Rogan wrecking NASA’s version of the pretend moon landing for 5 minutes straight is truly delicious.
I think we’re quickly reaching point of full disclosure. NASA soon will have no choice. pic.twitter.com/sLEUZWBsdn
— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) November 23, 2024
Shanahan
https://twitter.com/i/status/1860562968150159568
Tucker Maddow
Elon Musk should buy MSNBC and have Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow co-host a show together.
Just look at this chemistry. pic.twitter.com/Pgl3UMbSqO
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 23, 2024
Bakery
https://twitter.com/i/status/1860497525167264173
McCaul
https://twitter.com/i/status/1860443088629694611
“..82% of respondents want Trump to use immigration and border patrol agencies to carry out the deportations, while 40% support the use of the US military.”
• Majority of Americans Support Trump’s Mass Deportation Plans (RT)
Some 57% of Americans approve of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed deportation of every single illegal immigrant in the US, a CBS News poll has found. Democrat mayors and governors have vowed to resist the incoming president’s plans. Published on Sunday, the poll found broad satisfaction with Trump’s defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris in this month’s presidential election, with 55% of respondents saying that they felt ‘happy’ or ‘satisfied’ with the result, and 44% feeling ‘angry’ or ‘dissatisfied’. The poll also found that 57% of respondents approve of one of Trump’s most controversial proposals: the deportation of all immigrants in the US illegally. 43% disapprove of the policy. Trump has promised since last year that, if elected, he would lead “the largest deportation operation in American history.”
With anywhere from 11 million to 35 million illegal immigrants living in the US, Trump’s proposed border czar, Tom Homan, has said that those who commit crimes in the country or otherwise threaten national security will be prioritized for deportation. The incoming president said before the election that he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to “remove all known or suspected gang members, drug dealers, or cartel members from the United States.” This law gives the president authority to bypass immigration courts, although critics argue that it only applies when the US is at war with a foreign government and cannot be used to deal with transnational gangs and their members. Last week, Trump shared an article on his Truth Social platform suggesting that he would declare a national emergency and “use military assets to reverse the [President Joe] Biden invasion through a mass deportation program.”
According to the CBS poll, 82% of respondents want Trump to use immigration and border patrol agencies to carry out the deportations, while 40% support the use of the US military. Harris repeatedly criticized Trump’s deportation plans on the campaign trail, arguing that it would “tear families apart.” Speaking to CBS last month, Homan dismissed this concern, declaring that “families can be deported together.” Several Democrat mayors and governors have pledged to resist any deportation operation, with Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey stating that she would “absolutely not” allow state police to assist federal immigration agents, and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy telling reporters that his administration would take any “action we deem to be necessary” to stymie Trump’s plans. ”If you’re not going to help us, get the hell out of the way because we’re going to do it,” Homan told Fox News earlier this month.
Is the West, Lost in its Own Lies, Trapped in the Pending Disaster Washington Has Brewed?
• Can Armageddon Be Avoided? (Paul Craig Roberts)
The situation in the world is more threatening than ever before. Putin has had to make it clear that a continuation of missile attacks on Russia will result in retribution. The new missile Putin has revealed can destroy all US and NATO military forces in the West and Middle East without the use of nuclear warheads. If the US then goes nuclear, Russian nuclear forces will destroy the entirety of the West. Indeed, Steve Starr shows that the entire world will be the victim of American psychopaths. In the face of such a warning, only totally irresponsible psychopaths would persist. The sway of psychopaths over the US and Europe means we have to be concerned that Washington will “test the waters” by expending the permissible area and distance for the ATACMs to be fired into Russia. I have been convinced that it would come to this crisis from day one of Putin’s limited military operation.
Russia needed to immediately knock Ukraine out before the West could get involved. Now the West’s prestige is on the line. Putin tolerated provocations in order to avoid widening the conflict, but his patience with the West backfired as it resulted in the belief that Putin’s warnings are meaningless as “he never does anything.” Putin has backed up as far as he can. His back is against the wall. Putin cannot accept missiles being fired into Russia by the US and NATO. At this point only psychopaths would “test the waters” which means playing with nuclear armageddon. But psychopaths are in charge. The Ukraine conflict was prepared and unleashed by US neoconservatives in the belief that it would destabilize Russia and perhaps lead to the breakup of the Russian Federation. Putin should not have let it go as far as he did before he acted. Putin was too slow to realize that Washington intends Russia’s destruction.
That a few Zionist neoconservatives can push the world to the brink in their pursuit of US hegemony indicates the failure of Western governance. The situation in the Middle East is equally dangerous. It is being driven by clearing out obstacles to Greater Israel and Washington’s desire to control oil flows and waterways. A bad outcome seems inevitable, because the Western world is lost in the lies of its official narrative. There is no reality recognition. If you read Johnson’s Russian List, a daily collection of foreign affairs and military articles by “experts,” what you mainly see is stupidity and self-delusion. Most of the authors are supported in one way or the other by military/security grants, so there is no questioning. To tell the truth in the Western world today you must be independent. Without readers’ support of truth-telling websites, there will be no truth.
Propaganda has implanted the mistaken belief that Russia, China, and Iran are enemies that must be opposed and defeated. Yet Russia, China, and Iran have taken no hostile actions against the West. All three have accepted illegally imposed sanctions and other hostile actions without responding in kind. The Pentagon and the US military/security complex see in their image of the enemies that propaganda has created for the West a danger that must be countered by a nuclear buildup. One trillion dollars are to be spent “modernizing” nuclear weapons whose only possible use is world destruction. No thought and no attention is given to defusing the situation. Remember, in 2016 the CIA, FBI, and Deep State turned violently on President Trump when he said he intended to defuse the situation by normalizing relations with Russia. The Establishment’s response was “Russiagate,” impeachments, indictments.
Without enemies, the profits and power of the military/security complex diminish. Now the Establishment is trying to saddle President Trump with a war with Russia as he enters office. This is the work of psychopaths. When Americans accepted the stolen 2020 election, they accepted the reign of psychopaths who define peace as Washington’s hegemony. Any government in the way of Washington’s hegemony is defined as an enemy. They are enemies not because they threaten the US. They are enemies because they insist on their independence from Washington’s hegemony. Americans have been deceived that Russia, China, and Iran are enemies out to get them. Belief in this lie makes the Western world blind to the fact that its leaders are evil psychopaths leading the world to Armageddon.
“All of our allies and partners need to be carrying this burden going forward..”
• New Trump Admin Focus on Ukraine Conflict Resolution – Security Advisor (Sp.)
Donald Trump’s incoming administration plans to prioritize efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine starting in January 2025, said Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick for national security advisor. “The president-elect has been very concerned about the escalation and where it’s all going,” Waltz said in an interview with Fox News, when asked about Trump’s reaction to the crisis escalation. “And so what we need to be discussing is who’s at that table, whether it’s an agreement, an armistice, how to get both sides to the table, and then what’s the framework of a deal. That’s what we’ll be working with this administration until January and then beyond,” he highlighted.
According to Waltz, European countries are expected to play a “key role” in the negotiation process. “All of our allies and partners need to be carrying this burden going forward,” the congressman emphasized. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously noted that Biden’s outgoing administration is doing everything it can to escalate the Ukraine conflict and keep it going.
Mike Waltz, the incoming National Security Advisor, says he has met with Jake Sullivan, the current National Security Advisor, and declares the Trump and Biden administrations are "hand in glove" and "one team" — after a week in which Biden introduced huge escalations in Ukraine pic.twitter.com/4oQRQnqVCT
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) November 24, 2024
“..at a certain moment, and the responsible people today have to determine that moment, we will need conversations.”
• Dialogue Is Only Way Out Of Ukraine Conflict – Merkel (RT)
Western nations will eventually have to engage in dialogue with Russia to put an end to the Ukraine conflict, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said. She added that Kiev’s backers should ensure that Ukraine remains independent following the cessation of hostilities. Merkel served as chancellor from 2005 to 2021, and was one of the guarantors of the 2014-15 Minsk agreements, which aimed to reintegrate Donbass into Ukraine, while granting the region greater autonomy. In 2022, she admitted that the accords had in fact been an “attempt to give Ukraine time” to build up its military. In an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times published on Saturday, Merkel said she was generally supportive of the Ukraine policies of the current German government, as well as those of the EU. Since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, Berlin has emerged as the top provider of military aid to Kiev in Europe, second only to the US globally.
The former chancellor, however, noted that “at a certain moment, and the responsible people today have to determine that moment, we will need conversations.” On Thursday, Die Zeit published excerpts from Merkel’s new book titled ‘Freedom: Memories 1954-2021’. In it, she recounts the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, where Ukraine and Georgia’s applications for Membership Action Plans were put up for discussion. The then-chancellor opposed the idea at the time, arguing that the move would be seen as a provocation by Russia, with the potential applicants not being provided with any meaningful security guarantees. While a number of officials, including Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, have since criticized Merkel for her stance, she stands firmly by her view to this day, as evidenced by her memoirs.
Moscow has repeatedly indicated a willingness to negotiate a settlement with Kiev. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently reiterated that any peace talks should be based on the agreements reached in Istanbul in 2022, which envisaged a neutral, non-aligned status for Ukraine, as well as certain restrictions on deploying foreign weaponry. However, the Kremlin has also stated that any further negotiations must take into account the “reality on the ground.” This implies that Ukraine is expected to make territorial concessions, rather than retaking the regions that have voluntarily joined Russia, including the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Crimea.
“The damage would be unacceptable, it is impossible to intercept them with modern means, and we are talking about a matter of minutes..”
• Stop Supporting War – Medvedev To Europe (RT)
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a stark warning to European nations that continue to support Kiev. In a Telegram post on Sunday, Medvedev referenced the recent deployment of Russia’s Oreshnik hypersonic missile system against a Ukrainian military facility. “Europe is wondering what damage the system could cause if the warheads are nuclear, whether it is possible to shoot down these missiles, and how quickly they would reach the capitals of the Old World. The answer: The damage would be unacceptable, it is impossible to intercept them with modern means, and we are talking about a matter of minutes,” Medvedev wrote. “Bomb shelters will not help, so the only hope is that kind Russia will warn in advance about the launches. Therefore, it is better to stop supporting the war,” he added.
Earlier this week, Medvedev shared a video showing an Oreshnik missile strike on a Ukrainian defense industrial facility in Dnepropetrovsk (known as Dnipro in Ukraine). The footage, originally published by Ukrainian media, shows several warheads impacting the military site at night. Medvedev accompanied the video with a post on X, saying, “So, that’s what you wanted? Well, you’ve damn well got it!” In a public address on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the use of Oreshnik missiles against a Ukrainian military-industrial facility. He described the strike as a direct response to Ukrainian attacks on internationally-recognized Russian territory earlier in the week, which involved US-made ATACMS and HIMARS systems, as well as British-made Storm Shadow missiles. Putin accused the US and NATO of intentionally escalating the conflict and stated that Russia would fulfill all of its military objectives, regardless of the weapons used by Kiev.
“Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union.”
• US and European Officials Discussed Giving Ukraine Nuclear Weapons (Antiwar)
According to the New York Times, US and European officials have discussed a range of options they believe will deter Russia from taking more Ukrainian territory, including providing Kiev with nuclear weapons. The outlet reports that Western officials believe the Kremlin will not significantly escalate the war before Donald Trump is sworn in as President in January. Following the election of Trump earlier this month, the US and its NATO allies began taking steps to rush weapons to Ukraine and give Kiev the ability to strike targets inside Russian territory with long-range weapons. American officials who were briefed on the intelligence community’s assessments told the Times that weapons will not alter the challenging situation that Kiev is currently facing.
“US spy agencies have assessed that speeding up the provisions of weapons, ammunition and matériel for Ukraine will do little to change the course of the war in the short term,” the Times reports. Desperate to bolster Ukraine’s standing in the war before the transition of power on January 20, the Biden administration is looking at a range of serious escalations. “US and European officials are discussing deterrence as a possible security guarantee for Ukraine, such as stockpiling a conventional arsenal sufficient to strike a punishing blow if Russia violates a cease-fire.” The article continues, “Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union.” According to some officials who spoke with the Times, the administration believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t significantly escalate the war until Trump returns to the Oval Office.
“But the escalation risk of allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with US-supplied weaponry has diminished with the election of Mr. Trump,” adding,” Biden administration officials believe, calculating that Putin of Russia knows he has to wait only two months for the new administration.” That assessment is based on the belief that Trump and his incoming Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, will take a more favorable stance on Russia. However, Trump proved to be a Russia-hawk during his first administration by ramping up sanctions on Moscow, providing lethal arms to Ukraine, and expelling a large number of Russian diplomats from the US.
In September, Putin said he preferred Vice President Kamala Harris to win the White House. “Trump has imposed as many sanctions on Russia as any president has ever imposed before, and if Harris is doing well, perhaps she will refrain from such actions,” he explained. Much of the American political class has cast Trump and Gabbard as agents of Russia. However, extensive investigations into Trump’s ties to the Kremlin have come up empty. Additionally, the Times reported last week that there was no evidence Gabbard was in any way an asset of Putin.
“This is not support for Ukraine, but rather it is a way to finish it off..”
• France Wants To ‘Finish Off’ Ukraine – Zakharova (RT)
France’s greenlight for Kiev strikes on internationally-recognized Russian territory will only hurt Ukraine and further escalate the conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned on Saturday. Her remarks followed a statement by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. In an interview with the BBC, Barrot said that Paris does “not set and express red lines” on its support for Kiev, and that long-range strikes on Russian soil may be carried out by Ukraine “in the logics of self-defense.” “This is not support for Ukraine, but rather it is a way to finish it off,” Zakharova told TASS, referring to Barrot’s statements. The French minister did not confirm whether missiles from his country had already been used by Kiev for long-range strikes on Russia. When asked by the BBC whether his “no red lines” comment meant Paris could send French troops to fight alongside Ukrainians, he said he “does not discard any option.”
Barrot’s comments came mere days after Ukraine struck Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk regions with US-made ATACMS and British Storm Shadows. The attacks followed a reported decision by outgoing US President Joe Biden’s administration to greenlight Kiev’s use of long-range US-supplied weaponry to hit areas Washington recognizes as Russia. The Kremlin slammed the reported decision as a deliberate escalation of the conflict and as making the US and NATO direct participants. Earlier this week, Vladimir Putin said that the “regional” Ukraine conflict has now “assumed elements of a global nature,” and warned that further attacks with Western weapons would result in retaliatory strikes on targets of Moscow’s choosing.
In response, the Russian military on Thursday test-fired a new cutting-edge hypersonic ballistic missile, targeting a military industrial facility in the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk (called Dnipro in Ukraine). The nuclear-capable missile, called the Oreshnik, cannot be intercepted by existing Western missile defense systems, and is capable of reaching targets across Europe within minutes, Sergey Karakayev, commander of Russia’s strategic missile forces, told TASS earlier this week. The new weapon will be mass produced and incorporated into Russia’s arsenal in the coming months.
“Long out of willing recruits..”
• Most Ukrainian Soldiers Ready To Give Up Territory – The Economist (RT)
Ukrainian troops are growing more open to the prospect of territorial concessions and a ceasefire amid flagging morale and mounting pressure from Russian forces, The Economist reported on Sunday, citing sources from Ukraine. Russian forces are advancing in Donbass at a rate unseen since the earliest days of the conflict, the magazine noted. Earlier in November, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the liberation of more than a dozen settlements in Russia’s Donetsk Region and Ukraine’s Kharkov Region. The problems faced by the Ukrainian army are exacerbated by its worsening manpower issues, The Economist wrote. “Long out of willing recruits,” the conscription push has met barely two-thirds of its target, the magazine said, citing one Ukrainian official as worried that the situation could become “irretrievable” by springtime. Recruits that are pressed into service are more often than not over the age of 45, unhealthy and unmotivated, The Economist said, citing a Ukrainian officer.
The worsening battlefield situation coupled with these issues, and exacerbated by a lack of rotation, is reportedly taking a toll on morale. Fewer and fewer soldiers are willing to “fight to the end” and are less against the idea of giving up territories, one officer told The Economist. “It’s not even 50-50 any more, but 30-70.” In late October, Ukrainian lawmaker Aleksey Goncharenko claimed that Kiev is seeking to conscript an additional 160,000 people in the following three months, amid mounting losses and desertions. Soon afterwards, Ukrainian media reported that more than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have deserted or left their positions without leave since the escalation of the conflict in 2022. In spring this year, faced with heavy casualties on the battlefield, Ukraine lowered the mobilization age from 27 to 25 and increased the penalties for draft dodgers.
In addition, the tightened conscription rules require men to report to the authorities for “data validation,” which often results in them being immediately pressed into service and sent to the front lines. Videos circulating on social media show recruitment officers trying to catch Ukrainian men in public, often leading to violent confrontations. In October, a Ukrainian MP warned of a legal crackdown on social media against people seeking to aid men in avoiding conscription officers. While Moscow has said it is open to peace negotiations, it has stressed that they must account for the “reality on the ground.” As Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out the possibility of giving up the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Crimea, a peace deal would have to include territorial concessions by Ukraine. All five regions joined Russia after voting in a series of referendums.
“Donald Trump is going to do a deal to get our money back, to enrich ourselves with rare earth minerals. A good deal for Ukraine and us.”
• Ukraine Can Make America Rich – Lindsey Graham (RT)
Ukraine could be extremely useful to the US because it is brimming with valuable natural resources and is willing to negotiate an agreement with Washington on extraction, Senator Lindsey Graham has said. The Republican senator from South Carolina told Fox News that the Ukraine conflict is ultimately “about money.” An extract of the interview was published on the senator’s YouTube channel on Wednesday. “You know that the richest country in all of Europe for rare earth minerals is Ukraine?” he said, estimating the worth at 2 to 7 trillion dollars. Graham added that Ukraine is ready to “do a deal with us,” but not Russia. “So it’s in our interest to make sure that Russia doesn’t take over the place,” he said, describing Ukraine as the “breadbasket of the world.” “We can make money and have an economic relationship with Ukraine. It would be very beneficial to us, with peace,” Graham went on to say.
“Donald Trump is going to do a deal to get our money back, to enrich ourselves with rare earth minerals. A good deal for Ukraine and us.” The president-elect, he added, will also help settle the conflict by concluding an “honorable deal” that would avoid “humiliating” Russian President Vladimir Putin and setting the stage for another conflict. “Donald Trump knows how to end wars. All Joe Biden knows how to do is start wars,” he said. Graham is known for his hawkish stance on aiding Ukraine and containing Moscow. In February, he was added to Russia’s list of ‘terrorists and extremists’, after the senator advocated for designating Russia as a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’. In 2023, Moscow expressed outrage over Graham’s remarks during a meeting with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, when he said: “The Russians are dying. The best money we’ve ever spent.”
In mid-October, Zelensky presented his ‘victory plan,’ which stated that Kiev is ready to sign with its Western backers “a special agreement on the joint protection of the available critical resources” in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Mikhail Podoliak, a top adviser to Zelensky, also stressed that Ukraine has “deposits of rare minerals, such as lithium and titanium, which we can exploit together [with the US].” Trump has vowed to quickly end the Ukraine conflict. Media reports have suggested that he may try to force Ukraine to drop its NATO ambitions and negotiate a freeze of the conflict. Moscow has ruled out a freeze along the current front line, insisting that all the objectives of its military operation must be achieved.
“Moscow’s position: a settlement is only possible on the basis of the formula approved by the UN Security Council with the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.”
• Lindsey Graham Threatens Allies With Sanctions For Netanyahu Arrest (Sp.)
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has threatened US allies with sanctions if they try to help the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “To any ally — Canada, Britain, Germany, France — if you try to help the ICC, we’re gonna sanction you,” the senator said on Fox News. When asked about the nature of such sanctions, Graham doubled down on his threat, saying the US should “crush” the economies of countries that support the ICC’s efforts. On Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant over alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. The court also dismissed Israel’s objections to its jurisdiction over such cases. Israel has consistently challenged the ICC’s authority to hear cases related to Palestine as a whole. US President Joe Biden called the ICC’s decision “outrageous.”
Since October 1, Israel has been conducting a ground operation against the forces of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon and continues aerial bombardment of the neighboring country, where more than 2,500 people have already been killed, including leaders of the Shiite movement, and more than a million people have become refugees. Despite losses, including in the command staff, Hezbollah is waging ground battles and does not stop firing rockets at Israeli territory. On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. After that, Hamas militants penetrated the border areas, opened fire on the military and civilians, and took more than 200 hostages. According to the authorities, about 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords, which included strikes on civilian targets, and announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food, and medicine were stopped. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 43,500 Palestinians have died since the beginning of the conflict, and over 102,000 have been injured. The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to cease hostilities. According to Moscow’s position, a settlement is only possible on the basis of the formula approved by the UN Security Council with the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
“We support international courts, and we apply their warrants..”
“..the crime of exterminating the Palestinian people cannot go unpunished..”
• Netanyahu ‘Wanted’: A Landmark Legal Moment In The Palestinian Struggle (Mehdi)
“The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision is one of the largest legal developments in the history of Israel. The 124 member states of the court will be legally obligated to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter its territory … and it may have broader repercussions that limit the ability of third parties to cooperate with the Israeli army.” This is how Eliav Lieblich, a professor of international law at Tel Aviv University, summarized the potential consequences of the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The decision marks a historic step toward international justice for the Palestinian cause after decades of impunity for Israeli leadership, especially given the immense pressure from Tel Aviv and its US ally on the ICC’s prosecutor and judges.
The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant hold them accountable for acts of torture, violence, murder, rape, and the destruction of property by occupation forces under their command. The court found “reasonable grounds to believe that the defendants intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population of Gaza of things necessary for their survival, such as food, water, medicines, and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least 8 October 2023 until May 20, 2024.” It also noted that “by restricting or preventing the arrival of medical supplies and medicines to Gaza – including anesthesia materials and machines – the two defendants are responsible for inflicting great suffering through inhumane acts against people in need of treatment.” Can the arrest warrants be enforced?
The ICC lacks its own enforcement arm, relying on member states to act. Once arrest warrants are issued, they become binding for the 124 countries that are party to the Rome Statute. If Netanyahu or Gallant visit any of these countries, local authorities are obligated to detain them and send them to The Hague. History has shown that such warrants significantly limit travel options for indicted leaders, who risk arrest in participating countries. But what happens if some countries refuse to comply? International law expert Dr Mohamed Habhab informs The Cradle that the ICC’s decisions are binding on its General Assembly members, with three possible responses if a country refuses to implement the warrants:
First, if the UN Security Council refers a case to the ICC, the Security Council can take further action against countries that do not comply with the court’s decision. This means that the UNSC has the authority to impose measures or sanctions on non-compliant countries to ensure enforcement of the arrest warrants. Second, when the prosecutor initiates a case, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute can take measures against countries that refuse to comply. This means that the Assembly, which consists of representatives from all member countries, can put pressure on non-compliant states by taking appropriate actions, which may include diplomatic measures or sanctions. Third, if member states themselves refer a case to the ICC, as happened in the case of the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, actions can be pursued either through the Assembly of States Parties or through the UNSC.
This means that the referring member states, along with the Assembly, can collectively push for compliance and ensure that the arrest warrants are implemented. Habhab believes that although it is unlikely that Netanyahu will be seen behind bars anytime soon, the court’s decision is a “moral victory” for the Palestinian cause, and can be used to build global public opinion against the occupation state. Moreover, legally, it could pave the way for more states to compile joint cases over other crimes committed by Israeli forces. In addition to the initial referral by Palestine, the ICC has received further referrals from South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, Djibouti, Chile, and Mexico, indicating a growing international effort to hold Israel accountable for its egregious and widespread criminality in Gaza. While Netanyahu and Gallant may avoid arrest in Israel-allied countries, the ICC warrants create a major diplomatic problem for Tel Aviv.
Austria’s foreign minister called the arrest warrants “incomprehensible and ludicrous,” but nonetheless reiterated his country’s commitment to international law. Similarly, Italy’s defense minister said Italy would fulfill the ICC’s demand if Netanyahu or Gallant arrived, despite calling the ruling “wrong.” The country’s foreign minister also stated, “We support the ICC … the court must play a legal role and not a political role.” Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris responded “Yes, absolutely,” when asked if Ireland would arrest Netanyahu. “We support international courts, and we apply their warrants,” he said. The Deputy Prime Minister of Spain and Minister of Labor also supported this position, stressing that Spain always stands on the side of justice and international law, and that the crime of exterminating the Palestinian people cannot go unpunished.
“[Washington] received a clear message that being anti-crypto is a good way to end your career..”
• Crypto Won the 2024 Election (ET)
Although President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican Party swept the 2024 general election, the cryptocurrency industry feels it is the real winner. Powered by donations from some of the biggest figures in cryptocurrency and venture capital, three political action committees poured more than $100 million into efforts to influence the 2024 election. “This election was a huge win for crypto,” co-founder and CEO of Coinbase Global Inc. Brian Armstrong wrote on Nov. 7 in an article on X. Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012, donated about $55 million to the super PAC Fairshake, according to Federal Election Commission records. Armstrong personally donated $1 million. As Armstrong wrote, the industry had much to celebrate in early November. It saw its preferred candidates take the White House and win key seats in both houses of Congress.
He declared that the 119th Congress will be the “most pro-crypto Congress ever.” In his message, Coinbase’s leader wrote something that is usually implied but rarely said in the world of political spending, too. “[Washington] received a clear message that being anti-crypto is a good way to end your career,” Armstrong said. Twenty years ago, few people had heard of cryptocurrency—a term used to refer to decentralized digital currencies as opposed to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) that are controlled and backed by a government or central bank. One week after the Nov. 5 election, a Bitcoin was trading for more than $89,000. Gold, by comparison, traded for about $2,600 an ounce on the same day.
Between 2007 and 2009, a person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto conceived of and launched Bitcoin. It was a new type of digital money secured via encryption technology. Unlike traditional currency, Bitcoin can transfer value online without a bank or a payment processor. It is not backed by any government, central bank fiat currency, or physical asset. Bitcoin began as an obscure novelty worth less than 10 cents per token. However, its price has exploded in the last decade, creating significant public interest in the digital asset. According to the crypto website Coinranking, as of Nov. 13, Bitcoin’s market capitalization was about $1.83 trillion. Nevertheless, public opinion polling shows that a majority of Americans are not confident in cryptocurrency as an investment. A Pew Research Center study published in October found that just 5 percent of the people it surveyed in February said they were “very” or “extremely” confident in the reliability and safety of cryptocurrency.
The same report found that 17 percent of Americans have ever invested in, traded, or used a cryptocurrency. As an investment, about 38 percent of respondents said cryptocurrency has done “worse than expected.” Rick Claypool, the research director in the president’s office of Public Citizen, told The Epoch Times that cryptocurrency, generally, is an extremely volatile investment vehicle without any intrinsic value—one that is now very risky for the average investor. Public Citizen, founded in 1971, is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. In May, it published a report describing the cryptocurrency industry’s investment in politics as part of a “strategy of combating enforcement crackdowns and designing a regulatory system that meets the industry’s specifications.”
“..Beijing-linked hacking group ‘Salt Typhoon’..”
• US Suffered ‘Worst Telecom Hack’ In History – Senator (RT)
National security advisers and other senior officials from the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden held a meeting with top executives from major telecommunications companies on Friday to discuss what is being described as “by far” the worst breach in the country’s history. Earlier this month, the US authorities accused alleged Beijing-linked hacking group ‘Salt Typhoon’ of intercepting surveillance data gathered and stored by the telecoms for American law enforcement agencies. The perpetrators allegedly intercepted text messages and audio from an unknown number of calls during a large-scale operation that lasted for months. Senator Mark Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the breach the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history – by far,” following a hearing this week. “The barn door is still wide open, or mostly open.”
On Friday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger hosted a meeting with the telecommunications industry at the White House, though it is unclear who exactly was present. “The meeting was an opportunity to hear from telecommunications sector executives about how the US government can partner with and support the private sector in hardening against sophisticated nation-state attacks,” the White House said in a statement. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint statement on November 13, blaming the intrusion on China and admitting that the stolen information had been gathered and stored as part of “legal” surveillance on American suspects.
“Specifically, we have identified that PRC-affiliated actors have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies to enable the theft of customer call record data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to US law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders,” they wrote. The scope of the breach is still under investigation. Reports indicate that fewer than 150 victims have been notified by the FBI so far, most of whom are located in the Washington DC area. However, since those affected likely called or texted numerous people, the number of records accessed by hackers could be significantly higher.
An unnamed adviser to the campaign of President-elect Donald Trump is also said to be among those whose conversations were intercepted, according to a report last month by the Washington Post. It remains unclear whether the adviser’s information was also “subject to US law enforcement requests.” In 2016, the FBI used the fabricated Steele Dossier to obtain court permission to spy on Trump’s campaign and undermine his presidency. Beijing has repeatedly denied hacking allegations and claims by Washington that it is attempting to meddle in the US electoral process. The Chinese Embassy in Washington previously stated that it was unaware of the activities of ‘Salt Typhoon’ and accused the US of fabricating evidence of Beijing’s involvement in cyberattacks to “smear China.”
I still don’t get who they think they would pay for it.
• US Unlikely to Let American Investor Buy Nord Stream 2 (Sp.)
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipeline network was rocked by explosions in September 2022, just months after President Joe Biden threatened to “bring an end” to the energy project in the event of an escalation in Ukraine. Now, a US investor reportedly wants to buy Nord Stream 2. Sputnik asked a renowned economist what this means. If the Ukraine crisis were to end, there would “likely…be huge pressure to get the pipelines repaired” from a Europe starved of energy. “Any new owner would become immensely rich,” the economist stressed.government, widely suspected of playing an instrumental role in the energy infrastructure’s sabotage, would be unlikely to allow it, veteran British economist Dr. Rodney Shakespeare told Sputnik. “America destroyed the pipelines because secret American policy is to keep Germany and Europe dependent on (expensive) American gas supplies. So the businessman is unlikely to get permission,” Shakespeare, a visiting scholar at Indonesia’s Trisakti University and co-founder of the Global Justice Movement, explained.
If the Ukrainian crisis were to end, there would “likely…be huge pressure to get the pipelines repaired” from a Europe starved of energy. “Any new owner would become immensely rich,” the economist stressed. But even then, Shakespeare warned that given the hostility of US policy toward the project, there’s no guarantee that the repaired pipelines wouldn’t “be blown up again.” “My guess is that the businessman will not get permission and that the risk of deliberate destruction in future is such that the pipes will not get repaired,” Shakespeare said. Lynch reportedly applied for a license with the US Treasury that would allow him to negotiate initiating repair work on the damaged $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline with entities under US sanctions, and has reportedly lobbied officials to allow him to invest in the damaged pipeline network to secure “American and European control over European energy supply for the rest of the fossil-fuel era.”
Nord Stream 2 AG is owned by a subsidiary of Russia’s Gazprom, with a consortium of five European energy companies financing to the project. A Swiss court has repeatedly extended the moratorium on Nord Stream 2 AG’s bankruptcy, most recently until January 2025. It’s unclear whether Russia would ever allow foreign investors, particularly from unfriendly countries, to gain a stake in the project. Nord Stream 2 was completed in September 2021, but never commissioned amid heavy US pressure on its European NATO allies to wean themselves off reliance on cheap and dependable Russian energy in favor of more costly US liquefied natural gas exports to Europe. In September 2022, three of four strings of the combined Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipeline networks were damaged in a series of explosions, causing the largest-ever man-made release of methane and deprived Europe of the capacity to import up to 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas per year.
In December 2022, a source told US media that repairing the damaged energy infrastructure could cost $500 million or more to repair, and that consultants were engaged in research into how long the damaged pipes could withstand exposure to saltwater. In February 2023, veteran US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh alleged, citing insider information, that US Navy divers carried out the sabotage attack targeting Nord Stream. US officials dismissed these allegations, and maintain that Russia may have blown up its own pipeline. “I don’t want to get our country in trouble, so I won’t answer…But I can tell you who it wasn’t – Russia. It wasn’t Russia,” President-elect Donald Trump told US media in April 2023. “How about when they blamed Russia. You know they said ‘Russia blew up their own pipeline.’ You got a kick out of that one too,” Trump said.
After the release of Hersh’s bombshell story, US and German media have coordinated the release of a series of articles alleging that amateur Ukrainian saboteurs, not the US Navy, was responsible for the attack on Nord Stream. In an interview with Tucker Carlson in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was “clear to the whole world” that the US was responsible for the Nord Stream sabotage. Germany’s silence on the matter shows that its leaders are “guided by the interests of the collective West rather than its [own] national interests,” Putin added.
“I saw an America that is not just Brad Pitt and George Clooney, but an America that has around 40,000-50,000 people without [a] home, and that’s only California..”
• Film Director Kusturica Thanks RT For Opening His Eyes On America (RT)
Renowned Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica has lauded RT for covering topics sidelined by other media, and particularly for showing him aspects of life in the US that are glossed over by Hollywood and official narratives. The director was speaking at an RT international film festival featuring dozens of documentaries on the Ukraine conflict. The event dubbed ‘RT.Doc: The Age of Our Heroes’ kicked off on Friday in the Serbian village of Drvengrad in the west of the country. The village was originally built by Kusturica as a film set two decades ago and has since become a venue for film and music festivals, as well as a tourist attraction. Speaking at the festival, Kusturica described documentaries as the very essence of television.
“[The] actual idea of television can be found exclusively in documentary programs,” he said, adding that various TV formats like news or other information programs tend to lean towards one side or another when covering certain events. Documentaries, on the other hand, demonstrate “the truth about the meaning of television” and are “every television’s… strongest program.” He explained that the festival provides a chance to see such works. The filmmaker also specifically praised documentaries produced by RT, saying that they showed him things he had not even thought about, particularly when it comes to the US. “Thanks to Russia Today, I saw an America that is not just Brad Pitt and George Clooney, but an America that has around 40,000-50,000 people without [a] home, and that’s only California,” Kusturica said.
“I got to know the side of America that didn’t exist in my thoughts, yet alone in those films that I loved from the 70s.” RT covers topics from various parts of the globe, including Europe, the US and Africa, opening “a new view for us in the whole world,” according to the director. He then expressed his hope that Drvengrad would be able to host “another good film festival” in this “most important” genre and thanked the event organizers for choosing the venue. The festival, which runs through Sunday, features more than 60 documentaries, including those filmed by Russian war correspondents, as well as Italian, French, and US crews. Kusturica made one of them himself. His documentary focuses on Kiev’s persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which it accuses of having ties to Russia.
“Tony believed that the best way to prepare for the next pandemic, was to create it..”
• Bombshell Fauci Documentary Nails The Whole COVID Charade (ZH)
A new must-watch documentary by two-time Peabody Award-winning and four-time Emmy nominated director Jenner Furst, a self-described progressive who has broken with the Democratic party, ties it all together. In early 2020, Furst was contacted to direct a puff piece on former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Dr. Anthony Fauci. The project was scrapped, however three years later, Furst began investigating what actually happened and created “Thank You, Dr. Fauci” – a project which has received virtually no press coverage, and even Rotten Tomatoes critics won’t touch.
Next week, a documentary called “Thank You, Dr. Fauci is releasing and will expose everything you have ever wanted to know about the worst doctor this country has ever known.
Meta has already blocked the trailer from airing.
Make sure you share this clip and get ready for what… pic.twitter.com/OrR2IXta1i
— Joey Mannarino (@JoeyMannarinoUS) October 26, 2024
If you’re thinking ‘you had me at Fauci’ and just want to watch it, a free preview of “Thank You, Dr. Fauci” is available, and the film can be rented directly on the film’s website, or by using Vimeo On-Demand or Gathr. People can also use Gathr to Book Private Screenings and Partner on TVOD Sales. If you’re like Elon Musk and you believe that ‘Prosecute / Fauci’ should be your pronouns, this is what you need to watch to understand why we should prosecute Fauci. While it’s difficult enough to find “Thank You, Dr. Fauci” thanks to search engine shadowbans and downrankings, perhaps the most notable form of censorship is the ongoing media blackout of the film according to Furst – whose previous work has been heavily reviewed, critically acclaimed, and streamed across Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Paramount.
But not this one. “The media blackout of the film just proves that the real Covid story is still highly censored,” Furst told ZeroHedge, adding “Journalists still can’t cover Covid truthfully at major outlets, and the problem is way bigger than them or their editors. The most powerful lobbies on the planet, and the weight of the US government is still sitting on the free press like an 800 pound gorilla.” Given the level of censorship the film has been subject to, Furst firmly believes that a massive free speech platform such X would be ideal to get the word out – if even for a couple of days.
“I feel like Elon could change this conversation overnight, the country is divided only due to the success of propaganda on the left. No democrat can sit thru this movie and see Fauci or the pandemic the same way again. That’s why MSM doesn’t want to acknowledge this,” Furst told ZeroHedge. The documentary features notable figures at the heart of the pandemic response, including Dr. Robert Redfield – the former director of the CDC during the outbreak – who was completely shut out of Anthony Fauci’s inner circle while the NIAID boss and top virologists conspired via secret back channels to shape the narrative around COVID origins. Also featured are former State Department COVID investigator David Asher, and Richard Ebright – a Rutgers molecular biologist who’s spent years pushing back against the Fauci wagon-circling by the scientific community.
"Tony believed that the best way to prepare for the next pandemic, was to create it." – Dr. Robert Redfield, Virologist and Former Head of the CDC.#ThankYouDrFauci is now streaming at https://t.co/WOIVYpts5Q.#FauciKnew #FauciLiedMillionsDied #WatchNow #Covid19 #documentary pic.twitter.com/ZwCWdhZir9
— Thank You Dr Fauci (@ThankYouDrFauci) November 3, 2024
Nicole Shanahan: “Pharmaceutical companies and their investors have had emergency meetings” since Trump named RFK Jr. to be HHS Secretary
“The increase in their stock price over the last 10 years has been directly tied to many injuries that have been swept under the rug.”… pic.twitter.com/VGbd3CLKPK
— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) November 24, 2024
Frens
You're my friend now.. pic.twitter.com/3MJrCN7vXs
— B&S (@_B___S) November 23, 2024
Ducks
This is how farmers control pests in rice fields using ducks! pic.twitter.com/mkRd7RVQyh
— Jean Claude NIYOMUGABO (@jcniyomugabo) November 24, 2024
Horse
Anytime I sees horse running free tells me heaven is real. ✨ pic.twitter.com/l3j1G0um6u
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) November 23, 2024
Street art
Incredible street art
Wait for it
pic.twitter.com/kbaUwqgngg— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) November 24, 2024
Donkey
Bros rescuing a stranded donkey. This just made my day!! pic.twitter.com/goFuKikUJg
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) November 24, 2024
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