[John Day]

Professor Anthony Hall, Dr. William Makis In the Spotlight
Alberta’s Dr. Makis is Emerging as a World Expert on the Role of mRNA Shots and the Growing Plague of Turbo Cancers. Why Can’t Our Canadian Authorities Support Him in This Vital Work? https://anthonyjhall.substack.com/p/dr-william-makis-in-the-spotlight

​ “Long Vaxx Syndrome” can’t be medically coded for reimbursement. Post-Acute COVID Vaccination Syndrome (PACVS): Biomarkers Uncovered
New study links PACVS to the vaccine-induced Spike protein, uncovering autoimmune dysregulation and chronic, persistent symptoms.​ https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/post-acute-covid-vaccination-syndrome

This took a long time. Malaria can be diagnosed in the field by looking at microscopic slides of blood in a clinic. Congo’s Health Ministry Confirms ‘Disease X’ is Malaria
Outbreak began shortly after Congo’s rollout of the novel R21 virus-like particle malaria vaccine. https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/congos-health-ministry-confirms-disease

Drone Activity Closes Airspace Over Wright Patterson Air Force Base https://www.zerohedge.com/military/drone-activity-closes-airspace-over-wright-patterson-air-force-base

​ President-elect Donald Trump called on the government to provide more information to the public on the drone situation.
“Our military knows, and our president knows, and for some reason they want to keep people in suspense,” he said during remarks at Mar-a-Lago on Monday. “Something strange is going on and for some reason they don’t want to tell the people. And they should.”
​ When asked by a reporter if he had received an intelligence briefing on the drones, Trump said, “I don’t want to comment on that.”
​ White House national security spokesperson John Kirby pushed back on Trump’s characterization of the government’s knowledge of drone sightings, telling reporters Monday that the government is not “obfuscating” any information.​ https://abcnews.go.com/US/east-coast-drones-latest-somethings-new-jersey-mayor/story?id=116820553

[John Day]

Unusual Bomb? Ammo Depots? Both? Israel drops ‘earthquake bomb’: Colossal explosion ‘so big it registered on the Richter scale’ hits Syrian coast as air strikes target weapons depots after fall of Assad regime https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14195915/Massive-explosions-skies-Syria-Israeli-air-strikes-hammer-munitions-depots-major-port-city-heaviest-onslaught-decade.html

Media Mobs RFK. Jr Upon Arrival To Capitol Hill Screaming Out Provocations Demanding He Bless The Polio ‘Vaccine,’ Abortion, Vaxx School Mandates, or Vaccines Not. Being Cause Of Autism. Trump Says He Is A ‘Big Believer’ In Polio Vaccines, And That RFK Jr. Will Be “Much Less Radical Than You Think.” https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/media-mobs-rfk-jr-upon-arrival-to

Pfizer mRNA ‘Vaccinated’ Children Significantly More Likely to Get COVID-19 Than Unvaccinated Peers
New study finds Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 ‘vaccinated’ children are 159% more likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and 257% more likely to develop symptomatic COVID-19 than unvaccinated peers. https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/pfizer-mrna-vaccinated-children-significantly

Steve Kirsch, Pfizer’s own study shows their COVID vaccines increase your risk of serious adverse events (up to 71% higher)
The full study results were obtained via a FOIA request because Pfizer and the health authorities won’t voluntarily disclose it. https://kirschsubstack.com/p/pfizers-own-study-shows-their-covid

Celia Farber, Biden Extends Liability Protection For Pfizer and Moderns For Covid Injection Damage or Deaths Until 2029—In The Wake Of RFK Jr. Saying He Is Exploring Removing These Protections They Sure Need A Lot Of Protections For A Bunch of People Whose Products Are “Perfectly Safe.” https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/biden-extends-liability-protection

[John Day]

Russia defended its Syrian ally despite Al Qaeda’s siege
It is important to remember that the economic crisis, foreign sanctions and the lack of satisfactory reforms had created precarious conditions in the Syrian army. Syrian generals had extremely low salaries, of just a few tens of dollars, which explains why they were easily co-opted by foreign powers.
There was a betrayal of Assad, but it came from within Syria itself, not from external allies like Russia or Iran. Several factors could explain this. Assad had recently begun to engage with Gulf powers, traditional rivals of Iran, who pressured Syria to reduce foreign military presence. Some Syrian generals supported this narrative, creating pressure that limited Assad’s ability to seek further Russian and Iranian assistance during the terrorist offensive.
Numerous videos have surfaced showing Syrian soldiers frustrated that they were prohibited from fighting. Ordinary soldiers were ready to defend the country against Al Qaeda, but their commanders ordered them not to engage. There is enough evidence to support the claim that the betrayal of Assad came from within the Syrian military, with possible connections to external actors, including Turkey and the Gulf states.
From Russia’s perspective, aside from its commitment to traditional allies, there were pragmatic reasons to protect Assad. A pro-Russian Syria prevented the construction of a Qatari-Turkish gas pipeline that could have supplied Europe. Additionally, Russian military bases in Syria allowed Moscow to secure a strategic foothold in the Mediterranean and maintain a balanced relationship with Turkey.
More importantly, Russia had security concerns. Al Qaeda fighters in Syria had received training from Ukrainian instructors and were equipped with Western weapons from aid packages to Kiev. The HTS also included a significant number of Salafist mercenaries from Central Asia. Russia faces significant security risks from terrorist infiltration among Central Asian immigrant groups, making the return of war experienced terrorists from Syria a serious concern.
It was not in Russia’s interest to allow these experienced terrorists to return to Central Asia, nor to see the Kiev regime benefit from military reinforcements from Wahhabi militias that had fought in Syria. Had Assad remained in power and defeated the terrorists, these risks would have been minimized. https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/12/14/russia-defended-its-syrian-ally-despite-al-qaeda-siege/

Assad says he didn’t intend to leave Syria, statement claims
In it he says that, as the Syrian capital fell to rebels, he went to a Russian military base in Latakia province “to oversee combat operations” only to see that Syrian troops had abandoned positions. Hmeimim airbase had also come under “intensified attack by drone strikes” and the Russians had decided to airlift him to Moscow, he says. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yd0zz5edqo

Russia warns Israel against annexing Golan Heights
Israel should avoid being “intoxicated by opportunities” presented by the ongoing crisis in Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has warned after Israeli troops launched an incursion into the neighboring country. https://swentr.site/russia/609447-russia-israel-syria-annexation/

Russia, Germany, Turkey Condemn Israeli Land Grab In Syria https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-germany-turkey-condemn-israeli-land-grab-syria

Narcissistic? Israel Closes Embassy In Ireland Over ‘Extreme Anti-Israel Policies’ And ‘Antisemitic Rhetoric’ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-closes-embassy-ireland-over-extreme-anti-israel-policies-and-antisemitic

[John Day]

US affirms Türkiye’s right to go after PKK but dodges questions on YPG
State Department says it understands Türkiye’s ‘legitimate’ right to go after PKK terrorist organization but adds its Syrian branch the SDF plays ‘important role’ in fighting Daesh/ISIS https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-affirms-turkiye-s-right-to-go-after-pkk-but-dodges-questions-on-ypg/3426286

Alastair Crooke, A new geo-political map is unfolding – The end of Syria (and of “Palestine” for now)
Syria has entered the abyss – the demons of al-Qa’eda, ISIS, and the most intransigent elements of the Muslim Brotherhood are circling the skies. There is chaos, looting, fear, and a terrible passion for revenge scalds the blood. Street executions are rife.
Maybe Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and its leader, Al-Joulani, (following Turkish instruction), thought to control things. But HTS is an umbrella label like Al-Qa’eda, ISIS and An-Nusra, and its factions have already descended into factional fighting…
..The Israelis – within days – totally eviscerated the defence infrastructure of the state in more than 450 air strikes: missile air defences, Syrian air force helicopters and aircraft, the navy and the armouries – all destroyed in the “largest air operation in Israel’s history”.
Syria no longer exists as a geo-political entity. In the east, Kurdish forces (with U.S. military support) are seizing the oil and agricultural resources of the former state. Erdogan’s forces and proxies are engaged in an attempt to crush the Kurdish enclave completely (although the U.S. has now mediated a ceasefire of sorts). And in the south-west, Israeli tanks have seized the Golan and land beyond to within 20 kms of Damascus. In 2015 the Economist magazine wrote: “Black gold under the Golan: Geologists in Israel think they have found oil – in very tricky territory”. Israeli and American oilmen believe they have discovered a bonanza in this most inconvenient of sites…
..As powerful states in the region, Israel and Turkey will wish to exercise control not just over resources, but over the vital regional crossroads and passageway that was Syria. Inevitably however, ‘Greater Israel’ is likely, at some point, to butt heads with Erdogan’s Ottomanesque revanchism…
..Moscow likely will draw the conclusion that ceasefire ‘deals’ such as the Astana Agreement on jihadist containment within the boundaries of the Idlib autonomous zone in Syria are not worth the paper on which they were written. Türkiye – an Astana guarantor – stabbed Moscow in the back…
..Iran seemingly, will revert to its earlier stance of gathering together the disparate threads of regional resistance to fight the Al-Qa’eda reincarnation. It will not turn its back on China, nor the BRICS project. Iraq – recalling the ISIS atrocities of its civil war – will join with Iran, as will Yemen. Iran will be aware that the remaining nodes of the former Syrian Army might well, at some point, enter into the fight against the HTS cartel. Maher Al-Assad took his entire armoured division with him into exile in Iraq on the night of Bashar Al-Assad’s departure.
China will not be pleased at events in Syria. The Uyghurs played a prominent part in the Syria uprising (there were an estimated 30,000 Uyghurs in Idlib, under training by Türkiye (which sees Uyghurs as the original component of the Turkic nation)…
..Western interests have been fighting over Middle Eastern resources for centuries – and ultimately that is what lies behind the war today.
Is he, or isn’t he, pro-war, people ask about Trump, since he has already signalled that energy dominance will be a key strategy for his Administration…
..The Anglo-Americans would love to have Iran’s oil again – as they did until the 1970s – to collateralise and build a new money system tied to the real value inherent in commodities.
But Trump says he wants to ‘end wars’ and not start them. Does the re-drawing of the geo-political map make some global entente between east and west more, or less, likely? …
..Seemingly, Trump has to secure the domestic ‘deal’ first, before he will know whether he has the scope for foreign policy deals.
It seems that the Ruling Structures (notably the ‘Never-Trump’ element in the Senate) will allow Trump considerable latitude on key nominations for domestic Departments and Agencies that manage U.S. political and economic affairs (which is Trump’s key concern) – and will also permit a certain discretion on, shall we say, the ‘warfare’ Departments that targeted Trump over the last years, such as the FBI and the Department of Justice.
The putative ‘deal’ seems to be that his nominations will still need to undergo Senate confirmation and must broadly be ‘on-side’ with Inter-Agency foreign policy (notably on Israel).
The Inter-Agency grandees, however, reportedly insist on their veto over nominations affecting the deepest structures of foreign policy. And therein lies the crux of matters. https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/12/16/new-geo-political-map-unfolding-the-end-syria-and-palestine-for-now/

The U.S. Strategy of Controlled Anarchy: Syria, Ukraine, and Beyond
MICHAEL HUDSON: Well, the bigger picture is that, as you say, it’s much bigger than Syria. The United States says, “We are ending up with total war with Russia and with China.”
Russia is saying, “We hope that there’s peace in the Near East.”
China is saying, “We want peace. We don’t want war.”
I don’t understand why they’re saying this. Why don’t they say, “We realize that this is a war to the death.”
Russia talks about a proportional response, certainly in Ukraine, for instance.So if there’s just an attack and bomb, it will have a proportional response.
But what’s the real proportion at work? The proportion is the Cold War. “We want to control the whole world. We want to break up Russia into parts. We want to break up China into parts. And we’re going to make step after step after step until there’s a response.”
And the fact is, the Americans, if you’re a general, the Americans, you never know how far you can push until somebody else pushes back. And there really hasn’t been any pushback. And if you’re told by Russia that there is a proportional response, then Russia and the Americans and NATO can do whatever they want, step up and step up and know that there will only be a response to the local tactic, not to the overall strategy.
I don’t see any strategy on the part of NATO.
Well, your question is about Syria. And obviously, the whole country is now in motion. There really isn’t any Syria anymore, much as there probably won’t be a Ukraine anymore. You see Israel taking Western Syria. You see Turkey taking the Kurdish areas and what it can.
And the Americans saying, well, we’re taking all the oil to give to Israel, is our agreement.
You have the leaders of the ISIS al-Qaeda group wearing T-shirts made by Mossad. Apparently people have seen that.
So this has completely cut off Lebanon from support by Iran. I don’t know what Iran is thinking.
Probably Saudi Arabia is thinking, well, they’re really trying to grab the whole Near East. Maybe we should be very careful about joining BRICS and threatening to move our assets out of the dollar because we could be next.
America has turned on one so-called ally after another, you know, starting with Saddam Hussein, who was put in by the CIA originally, just all the way rest.
It looks like the U.S plan to take over all of the Near East and its oil is working, using Israel as its battering ram for that. Israel will get the land. America will get the oil and control of that. And that’s sort of the, it looks like the division of labor.
Now, what does all this mean for BRICS and for Russia and China? They’ve talked about having alternatives to the dollar, de-dollarization. They’ve been talking about having alternative institutions to the International Monetary Fund in the World Bank. But the question is now, do they need an alternative institution to NATO? Do they need some kind of coordinated military plan?
I can understand Russia not intervening in Syria at all because Assad was utterly incompetent, utterly rigid. He refused, he refused to make any kind of accommodation to anybody else. He was almost a nutcase.
And the Russians quite properly said, well, if the Syrian army will not fight, we’re not going to send our army into there because this really isn’t our fight. If we can keep our naval bases and our air bases there, that’s all we care about. Russia can lose Syria and it’s not serious. It’s not vital to them.
But what is vital is the United States being able to now move against Iran.
You’d think that China that gets a lot of oil from Iran would be worried and have some desire to intervene in the area. But China is sitting it out. And so the Americans think, well, we can pick off one country after another, one area after another. And it’s more than salami style. We’re now going in big chunks, much more than salami. I don’t know what a good medical or culinary metaphor there would be. But everything’s up in motion and all of the initiative is in NATO.
Russia and China have said, we will only react. We won’t act. We will react. And they’re not reacting. I don’t know what to make of that. I just, I don’t think anyone can foresee what’s going to happen in Syria, because all these myriad of special interests are now going to be fighting among themselves.
And even within the jihadis, one jihad group will fight against the other. And I’m sure they’ll be set against each other by the American and Israeli and British interveners. So it’s anarchy.
Anarchy is what the U.S. plan is. That’s U.S. foreign policy, to back terrorists everywhere and make it impossible for other regions to have a reasonable response.
And you’d think that the British countries would try to have an alternative to anarchy. I don’t see any alternative in sight. So I think the anarchy is going to continue moving further and further eastward. https://michael-hudson.com/2024/12/the-u-s-strategy-of-controlled-anarchy-syria-ukraine-and-beyond/

US Conducts New Strikes In Syria & Yemen, Still With No Congressional Authorization https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-conducts-new-strikes-syria-yemen-still-no-congressional-authorization

The Assad regime was expensive for Iran. Other needs exist. There are workarounds. Iran’s Assad Calculus: Actual Costs of Support vs Benefits to Iran https://mahendrarajah.com/2024/12/15/irans-assad-calculus-actual-costs-of-support-vs-benefits-to-iran/

[John Day]

EU’s top diplomats to ‘fight’ over Ukraine arms supply
“A big fight” is looming in Brussels on Monday over the allocation of billions of euros earmarked to arm Ukraine, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has warned… They “want to free up more than €6 billion” to purchase arms for Ukraine, Szijjarto wrote on Facebook, before the meeting began.
“Even the approach of Christmas cannot dampen the mood of war,” he claimed. “Even with the possibility of a Christmas ceasefire and mass prisoner exchanges on the table,” the EU’s top diplomats will nevertheless discuss further arming Ukraine, he lamented. https://swentr.site/news/609423-eus-top-diplomats-fight-ukraine-weapons/

“Always accuse your opponent of what you are doing.” What we know about Russian general killed in Moscow blast
Kiev declared Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov a suspect in alleged use of chemical weapons against its forces
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces (RChBZ), has died in a blast together with his aide. According to investigators, an explosive device hidden in a scooter was detonated on Tuesday morning near the entrance of a residential building in Moscow’s south-east.
Here’s what is known about Kirillov:
From September 2014 to April 2017, he served as the head of the Military Academy of the RChBZ named after Marshal of the Soviet Union Semyon Timoshenko.
In April 2017, Kirillov became the chief of the RChBZ troops.
Kirillov dealt with anti-terrorism both domestically and abroad. He exposed the provocations of the controversial White Helmets volunteer organization in Syria, and participated in mitigating the consequences of natural and man-made disasters.
Since the beginning of the military operation against Ukraine in February 2022, Kirillov has spoken at briefings held by the Ministry of Defense, where he shared information about Ukrainian developments in the areas of radiological, chemical, and biological weapons. In March 2022, he announced that Ukrainian biolaboratories were studying the potential for transferring highly dangerous infections through migratory birds.
The same month, Kirillov presented copies of documents that, according to him, confirmed the Pentagon’s funding of biological laboratories in Ukraine.
In June 2024, Kirillov stated that spent nuclear fuel and hazardous chemical waste were being imported into Ukraine for a potential “dirty bomb” creation. He added that radiochemical substances were still being brought into Ukraine for disposal. According to him, these supplies were overseen by Andrey Yermak, Vladimir Zelensky’s right-hand man, with primary routes passing through Poland and Romania.
In October 2024, the UK slapped Kirillov with sanctions after he accused Ukraine of preparing a false-flag chemical weapons attack with the aim of framing Russia and undermining its position at the OPCW. Kirillov noted that NATO had provided Ukraine with a much larger amount of chemical protective equipment than the country actually needs, calling it further evidence of an impending plot.
In November 2024, Kirillov said that Ukraine planned to seize a nuclear power plant during its large-scale incursion into the Kursk Region.
Kirillov was killed in the blast one day after Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) formally declared him a suspect in the alleged use of chemical weapons against Kiev’s military. The general rejected claims that Russia had been attacking Ukraine with riot control agents and chemical weapons, recalling that the OPCW had confirmed the complete destruction of all Russian chemical weapons stockpiles in 2017. https://swentr.site/russia/609471-kirillov-explosive-blast-key-takeaways/

Türkiye behind Syria regime change – Trump
Türkiye is behind the regime change in Syria, US President-elect Donald Trump claimed on Monday in his first press briefing since the November election. Trump called the overthrow of Bashar Assad and his government an “unfriendly takeover” by Ankara…
..“Those people that went in are controlled by Türkiye, and that’s OK,” Trump stated. He added that he considers Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “smart” and “very tough” guy for succeeding in the overthrow of the Syrian leadership.
“[Türkiye] wanted [Syria] for thousands of years, and he got it… Türkiye did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost,” Trump added. He also praised what he described as Türkiye’s “major military force” which “has not been worn out with war.”…
..“Nobody knows what the final outcome is going to be in the region. Nobody knows who will rule in the final… Right now, Syria has a lot of indefinites, but I think Türkiye is going to hold the key to Syria,” the president-elect predicted. https://swentr.site/news/609469-turkiye-syria-regime-change-trump/

Turkiye masses troops on Syria border, invasion ‘imminent’​ https://thecradle.co/articles/turkiye-masses-troops-on-syria-border-invasion-imminent-report

Trump says he wants to talk to Putin​. The incoming US president has refused to comment on whether any contact with the Kremlin has already taken place​ https://swentr.site/news/609500-trump-talk-putin-ukraine/

[John Day]

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was mercilessly heckled on Monday after a Liberal Party fundraiser at the Canadian Museum of History, as his administration teeters on the verge of collapse. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/youre-done-trudeau-mercilessly-heckled-government-implodes

Caitlin Johnstone on the impression that “wealth” just exists like air and gravity. Peter Thiel Reveals How Scared Oligarchs Are Of The People
Billionaire Peter Thiel had a fascinating televised moment the other day when asked by Piers Morgan what he thought about the public making a hero of the man suspected of murdering health insurance CEO Brian Thompson…
..“And to those who think this shooter is a hero, because he did it because he said this healthcare executive is presiding over a healthcare system which kills thousands of Americans by denying them cover, what would you say to them?” Morgan asked.
Thiel paused for a long time, and then stuttered for a long time, and then eventually got out the words, “It’s, I don’t know what, what to say? I, I think I still think you have, you should try to make an argument. And I, I think this is, this is you should, you know, there may be things wrong with our health care system, but you have, you have to make an argument, and you have to try to find a way to convince people and and change, change it by by that, and this is, you know, this is not going to work.”
For those who don’t know, Thiel is a proper deep state oligarch who owes his vast fortune to his enmeshment within the US military-intelligence machine. His company Palantir is a CIA-backed surveillance and data mining tech company with intimate ties to both the US intelligence cartel and to Israel, playing a crucial role in both the US empire’s sprawling surveillance network and Israeli atrocities against Palestinians. He backed Trump in 2016, and Vice President-Elect JD Vance was a protégé of his, so this man is thoroughly entrenched in the halls of power… [Thiel KNOWS what people are thinking.]
..As Michael Parenti once put it:
“I tell students when they say, ‘Oh they don’t care what we think. They ignore us’, and all that, and I say, ‘Oh no, no. That’s the only thing they care about you. The only thing they care about you is what you’re thinking. They don’t care if you eat correctly, they don’t care how your living conditions are, they don’t care that they’ve built up an inhuman and irrational traffic system that’s strangulating us and polluting our air, they don’t care about anything. The only thing about you they care about is what you’re thinking. In the morning, they start, ‘What’s going to be the story today? How do we manipulate, how do we control, how do we contain, how do we influence, how do we act upon what it is that they have in their minds?’” https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/peter-thiel-reveals-how-scared-oligarchs

Yves Smith: Tom Neuburger gives a wonderfully subversive argument as to why our CEOs and other overlords deserve only the very best in security.
Why CEOs and the Very Rich Should Receive Enhanced Protection
In keeping with Tom’s theme, the first time I saw snipers on rooftops (and yes, one more than one building) was in the nice suburb of Mexico City where McKinsey had its offices, I assume in the embassy district, in 1984. I thought it could not be very pleasant to be rich if you had to live that way. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/12/tom-neuburger-why-ceos-and-the-very-rich-should-receive-enhanced-protection.html

New Crisis Hotline for CEOs? Governor of New York wants to protect CEOs
New York state is considering creating a special hotline exclusively for CEOs to report perceived threats, CNN reported this morning. https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/new-crisis-hotline-for-ceos

Simplicius has lots of updates as Ukraine waits for the ground to freeze for a last, mysterious winter-offensive. Negotiations Talk Curdles as Ukraine Loses More Territory
Last Friday Russia again launched a series of devastating energy grid attacks, proving once more that the latest campaign is in fact a systematic one to disable Ukraine’s grid rather than reflexive retaliation…
..Despite claims Gerasimov had spoken to head of Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown and that ATACMS strikes subsequently immediately stopped on Russian territory, Ukraine in fact launched another ATACMS strike on Taganrog, between Mariupol and Rostov…
..Either way, the MOD claimed negligible damage as the ATACMS were reportedly both shot down and deflected by EW.
Trump has now stated allowing ATACMS to be launched into Russia was a big mistake…
..Now as we get closer and closer to Trump’s term, Ukraine scrambles for any propaganda edge possible. There are now even rumors that Zelensky plans to launch another ‘Christmas offensive’ into some remote part of the Russian border—perhaps Bryansk, or elsewhere in Belgorod region. There are ‘claims’ of Ukrainian buildups with photos of a new “tactical sign” on vehicles…
..The new 150-series reserve brigades Zelensky was putting together for future operations have been marred with problems. A new report highlighted how 1000 men have already deserted the 155th of this series, not to mention confirming that the brigades have already been utilized merely to fill gaps in critical areas of the Donbass…..Russia on the other hand is also rumored to be building up new strike forces in the Zaporozhye direction…
..Trump seeks to shift militarily to Asia, with Ukraine being left as Europe’s problem—a Europe too politically divided to stand any chance of guaranteeing or securing anything…
..A Foreign Policy article again demonstrates that Ukraine has no agency when it comes to its masters… The author argues for the US to negotiate with Russia on Ukraine’s behalf, lest Zelensky and co. prematurely set fire to the negotiations with unrealistic demands.
It further admits both sides have issues that are non-starters and the negotiations are unlikely to work anyway. For Russia, the stationing of foreign ‘peacekeeping troops’ is just as bad or worse than Ukraine joining NATO. And for Ukraine, the US forcing the AFU to abandon currently held territory in Zaporozhye, Kherson, etc., which Russia demands as part of its terms will be an impossible ask…
..On the front, Russian forces continue to make gains, including in Zaporozhye where the larger claimed offensive is set to debut…
..Lastly, there are gains in Kursk as well, but it is far more slow going because Zelensky continues to pump this salient with the most reserves, not to mention best trained and most experienced troops. As such, Russia is suffering much larger losses in Kursk than many other areas, but it still likely pales in comparison to Ukraine’s losses…
..Some may ask, by the way, why North Korean troops are necessary in Kursk if Russia is doing ‘so well’ with troop replenishment. And it is a good question, but my personal take is that the potential North Korean contingents don’t have as much to do with troop replenishment as they do with Russia cementing and formalizing the strategic partnership agreements with North Korea as a show of force against NATO. It is Russia’s way of showcasing the deepening of ties as deterrent, as if to send a message: see, if you invade us, we will stand together and become your worst nightmare…
..Secondly, the North Korean troops could have very well been sent at Kim’s request, not Russia’s. That’s because Kim—seeing the buildup of provocations and aggression against North Korea—was likely interested in getting real life combat experience for his own troops, so that they can return and seed it all back into the DPRK’s larger military structure…
..On Ukrainian TV, journalist Yuriy Butusov admits that the AFU is taking much larger losses than Russia on the Kurakhove front, given that the encirclement position is so unfavorable and causes retreating Ukrainian units to be struck from every side. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/sitrep-121624-negotiations-talk-curdles

[John Day]

“The Timing Is Absolutely Terrible”: German Government Collapses Just One Week After French Implosion
Just one week after Marine Le Pen precipitated the collapse of the French government, on Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz lost a confidence vote in the German Parliament on Monday, a defeat that effectively ended the increasingly unpopular government he has led since 2021 and ushered in elections early next year.
German lawmakers voted to dissolve the existing government by a vote of 394 to 207, with 116 abstaining.
The collapse of the government just nine months before elections had been scheduled was an extraordinary moment for Germany, once Europe’s powerhouse but now a laughingstock at the mercy of both China and Russia. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/timing-absolutely-terrible-german-government-collapses-just-one-week-after-french

Monopoly Round-Up: FTC Revives the “Magna Carta of Small Business”, The Federal Trade Commission went after the middleman economy.
The big news itself of the week is that the Federal Trade Commission finally attacked illegal price discrimination, after forty years of neglect. The FTC used an old and often neglect antitrust law, the Robinson-Patman Act, to sue a dominant liquor distributor you’ve likely never heard of, a company called Southern Glazer…
..Southern Glazer is the tenth largest private company in the U.S., with $26 billion of revenue, and it is the exclusive distributor in certain states of a host of liquors, such as Hennessy, Tanqueray, Bacardi, Captain Morgan, Grey Goose, Jameson, and Johnnie Walker. And the FTC’s allegation is Southern Glazer gives better prices to big stores than small ones.
Since at least 2018 and continuing today, Southern has repeatedly discriminated in price between disfavored independent purchasers—which include neighborhood grocery stores, local convenience stores, and independently owned wine and spirits shops—and favored large chain purchasers of wine and spirits, such as Total Wine & More, Costco, and Kroger…
..Price discrimination, like gambling, usury, or even liquor itself, is the kind of political question that used to provoke deep reservoirs of anger and righteousness, a touchstone of the American character.
“Let’s keep Hitler’s methods of government and business in Europe,” said Wright Patman in 1940, noting that consolidation wrought by price discrimination had the potential to turn America fascist. He was not alone. “I would rather have thieves and gangsters than chain stores in Louisiana,” echoed Huey Long. Chain stores, wrote Louis Brandeis in 1933, were “converting independent tradesmen into clerks” and “sapping the resources, the vigor and the hope of the smaller cities and towns.” Former FTC Chair Paul Rand Dixon once said of the law barring price discrimination, “I think it compares favorably with the Magna Carta or the Sherman Act.” https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/monopoly-round-up-ftc-revives-the

The Global South Is on the Brink of a Disastrous Debt Crisis. Reform Is Urgent.
The coming debt crisis will surpass that of the 1980s and disproportionately impact women, economist Ilene Grabel warns.
Countries across the Global South are experiencing climate, poverty and development crises — all made worse by the unbearable costs of debt servicing. Indeed, according to Development Finance International, “Citizens of the Global South now face the worst debt crisis since global records began.” Low-income countries, which have seen the amount paid on foreign debt payment increase by 150 percent since 2011, are being hit especially hard. https://truthout.org/articles/the-global-south-is-on-the-brink-of-a-disastrous-debt-crisis-reform-is-urgent/

Meryl Nass MD forwards this article about US government debanking nonconformists, like Melania Trump. Debanking and the Return of Operation Choke Point/ WSJ today
Allysia Finley provides the backstory to explain the wholesale debanking due to the USG pressuring banks, revealed recently by Marc Andreesen https://merylnass.substack.com/p/debanking-and-the-return-of-operation

Rats jumping overboard: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is considering interrupting Parliament (prorogation) or resignation according to unnamed sources.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/canadian-finmin-freeland-quits-warns-trudeau-trump-tariffs-are-grave-challenge

[John Day]

It’s The Economy https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/its-the-economy

Alex Krainer starts with a constructive note about investing, rather than asset-stripping: The magical essence of economic development That magic is us (+ credit)
Up until about ten years ago, Germany was the world’s No. 1 exporting superpower. But contrary to what one might assume, most of Germany’s exports were not products of known and recognized brands like Bosch, Mercedes or BMW. More than 50% of German exports were products and services developed by her (once) burgeoning small and medium-sized enterprises, most of them companies you may have never heard of. But such businesses were the engine of German industrial dynamism…
..Germany was the home base of the world’s largest number of hidden “champions” – market leaders that occupied either first, second or third spot in terms of the global market share of whatever product or service they produced. Some 1,500 German firms qualified as market champions.
For perspective, the distant second in terms of number of market champions was the U.S.A. which has about 300 such companies. So, how did Germany create fully 1,500 market champions? We always heard stories about the excellence of German engineering and the well educated and disciplined workforce, etc. But those are children’s tales that miss the mark and explain nothing…
..The secret of Germany’s success, which has had a 200-year continuity in spite of suffering through biblical crises over this period, is in her banking system which Werner said was the best in the world. American economist Michael Hudson also wrote extensively about German industrial banking. Germany had the largest number of banks in Europe: about 1,500 small, local banks.
Fully 70% of these banks were non-profit community banking institutions. Their core business was funding local small and medium-sized enterprises. They tended to have close relationships with their clients and actively participated in their business development. https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/the-magic-essence-of-economic-development

Under sustained attack… German economy is ‘unraveling’
Facing a second year of zero growth, the EU’s largest economy is on a path to decline that threatens to become irreversible, the outlet warned.
Estimates show that after five years of stagnation, the German economy is now 5% smaller than it could have been if the pre-pandemic growth trend had persisted.
The global economic slowdown, along with years of “poor” decisions has hit Germany hard, the article stated. Its export-driven industry, accounting for about 30% of its GDP, faces structural challenges, such as the loss of cheap Russian energy and the struggles of automotive giants Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, hit by soaring energy costs and increased competition from China. https://swentr.site/business/609422-germany-economy-unraveling/

BINGO! German Politician Slams Anti-Russian Sanctions As ‘State Coup’ Against European Industry
The European Union’s continued sanctions against Russia harms member states that still import Russian oil and is akin to a “state coup” against Europe’s industry, Ralph Niemeyer, head of the German Council for the Constitution and Sovereignty, told Sputnik.
On Wednesday, the Hungarian EU presidency announced that ambassadors from member states had agreed on the EU’s 15th package of sanctions against Russia. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said the new package of restrictions targeted Russia’s “shadow fleet.” https://sputnikglobe.com/20241216/anti-russian-sanctions-are-crazy-coup-against-european-industry—german-politician-1121183643.html

The European Council adopted its 15th package of sanctions against Russia on Monday, focusing on efforts to weaken Moscow’s military and industrial capabilities and targeting its export revenues. The measures address the “circumvention of EU sanctions” by targeting what is called Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers, the Council said in a statement.
EU slaps new sanctions on Russia.
The EU targeted primarily Russian defense firms and shipping companies that transport crude oil and oil products by sea. A chemical plant and a civilian Russian airline, “an important provider of logistical support” to the Russian military, were also sanctioned.
A travel ban, asset freeze, and a ban on providing economic resources were placed on “various Chinese actors supplying drone components and microelectronic components” to Russia, stated the Council.
Some of the targeted entities are located in third countries such as China, India, Iran, Serbia, and the United Arab Emirates, it added. The EU said it “remains ready” to consider “further sanctions.” https://swentr.site/news/609426-eu-slaps-new-sanctions-russia/

[John Day]

@Oroboros: My Grandmother Day assured me that I am actually descended from Pocahontas and her one daughter. That was a lot of genetic halvings ago.

[John Day]

@Oxymoron: Good-on-Ya, Mate!

2) Liz Cheney is “family”… They can’t do anything to her for jury-tampering, right? Right?

[John Day]

Thanks Phoenixvoice. We are a communal species.

[John Day]

Documents show Biden’s State Department deliberately left Gonzalo Lira to die in a Ukrainian prison..<strong https://x.com/peacemaket71/status/1868613909768241579

[John Day]

“Unfriendly takeover” of Syria by Turkey.
Trump confirms Dima’s take at Military Summary.

[John Day]

Pretending they don’t know and do care… Federal Officials Will Deploy High-Tech System To New York After Drones Shut Down Airport, Governor Says https://www.zerohedge.com/military/federal-officials-will-deploy-high-tech-system-new-york-after-drones-shut-down-airport

Schumer Urges Feds To Deploy Declassified Technology That Can Identify Drones​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/schumer-urges-feds-deploy-declassified-technology-can-identify-drones#google_vignette

​Make it look legitimate: New Jersey Receives Report Radioactive Medical Device “Lost In Transit” https://www.zerohedge.com/political/radioactive-medical-device-lost-transit-new-jersey-nuclear-regulatory-commission-reports

​ Radiation-Detecting Drones over New York and New Jersey?
U.S. Department of Energy press release in 2023 offers possible clue about identity of flying objects in the sky over New Jersey and New York
​ It strikes me as extremely unlikely that the DoJ, FBI, CIA, and FAA do not know the identity of the flying objects spotted over New Jersey and New York City. According to multiple news reports, the FBI claims to be investigating these sightings, with an official acknowledging public concern while suggesting there might be a “slight overreaction.” The Pentagon has repeatedly stated the drones are not of foreign origin.​ https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/radiation-detecting-drones-over-new

​Hal Turner reports 2 specific types of military drones that meet some of the descriptions. Drone Mystery Solved . . . . U.S. Military . . . . Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/national-news/drone-mystery-solved-u-s-military-naval-air-warfare-center-aircraft-division-nawcad

[John Day]

​ Court in Australia (belatedly) upheld Physician’s right to give his expert opinion to patients. Australia’s Dr. William Bay Says His Triumph Restores Freedom Of Speech in Medicine to All Australian Doctors​ https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/australias-dr-william-bay-says-his

Celia Farber, A Must Read Article About The Global, Orchestrated “Pedophilic Wasteland”—Much Worse Than You Know, Even If You Know A Lot [Trigger Warning] https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/a-must-read-article-about-the-global

​ Daniel Baldwin Claims There Are “Bidding Wars” In Hollywood Over Diddy Blackmail Sex Tapes
​Appearing on the PBD podcast, Baldwin stated “He has videos of the parties… I’ve heard from friends that are attorneys… there’s a bidding war going on right now.”
​ The brother of Alec Baldwin continued, “They’re driving that price up because if you want your client and your famous actor to not be involved, a famous singer to not come out, here’s the price, and that they’re just selling to the individuals that are in those.”​ https://modernity.news/2024/12/16/daniel-baldwin-claims-there-are-bidding-wars-in-hollywood-over-diddy-blackmail-sex-tapes/

​ CNN Legal Analyst And Former Manhattan Prosecutor To Represent Suspect In Killing Of UnitedHealthcare CEO
​ The dramatic case of Luigi Mangione, accused of the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, took a legal turn Friday when prominent defense attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo – a Trump critic who’s married to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ attorney, officially joined his team.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/cnn-legal-analyst-and-former-manhattan-prosecutor-represent-suspect-killing

​ Suspicious OpenAI Whistleblower Death Ruled Suicide
Balaji had publicly accused OpenAI of violating US copyright law with ChatGPT. According to the NY Times;
​ He came to the conclusion that OpenAI’s use of copyrighted data violated the law and that technologies like ChatGPT were damaging the internet.
In August, he left OpenAI because he no longer wanted to contribute to technologies that he believed would bring society more harm than benefit.
​ “If you believe what I believe, you have to just leave the company,” he said during a recent series of interviews with The New York Times.
​ The Times named Balaji a person with “unique and relevant documents” that the outlet would use in their ongoing litigation with OpenAI – which claims that the company, and its partner Microsoft, are using the world of reporters and editors without permission.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/suspicious-openai-whistleblower-death-ruled-suicide

[John Day]

​ The US Postal Service has been repeatedly restructured to lose money and shift profits to private corporations. That can also change. Trump Considers Privatizing US Postal Service That Lost $9.5 Billion In FY2024 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-considers-privatizing-us-postal-service-lost-95-billion-fy2024

​ It would be ​a great​ precedent if the plaintiffs prevail. ‘First-of-its-kind’ Lawsuit Alleges Addictive Ultraproccessed Foods Caused Teen’s Illnesses​ A Pennsylvania teenager sued Coca-Cola, Nestlé USA, PepsiCo, General Mills, WK Kellogg Co and six other Big Food companies alleging that ultraprocessed foods engineered to be as addictive as cigarettes caused him to develop fatty liver disease, Type 2 diabetes and other health problems.​ https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/lawsuit-ultraproccessed-foods-teen-health-problems/

​ High-fructose Corn Syrup is Everywhere — Scientists Say It May Make Cancerous Tumors Grow Faster
Consuming fructose boosts the growth of cancerous tumors, according to a new peer-reviewed study. “In some cases, the growth rate of the tumors accelerated by two-fold or even higher,” said the study’s corresponding author Gary Patti, Ph.D.​ https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/high-fructose-corn-syrup-scientists-cancerous-tumors-grow-faster/

​ FDA Has Authority to Recall COVID Vaccines — A Growing Number of Scientists Are Demanding the Agency Take Swift Action
​ The latest round of calls began in January when Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo called for a “halt in the use of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines” over safety concerns that the mRNA technology is delivering DNA contaminants into people’s cells​.
​ A few weeks later, the journal Cureus published the first peer-reviewed paper to call for a moratorium on the COVID-19 vaccines. The paper included a sweeping review of “lessons learned” from the clinical trial data and the many adverse events associated with the shots.
​ Just last week, elected officials, organizations — including the World Council for Health and Door to Freedom — and hundreds of doctors and researchers sent a letter to the heads of state of 10 European countries calling for a suspension of the “modified mRNA vaccines,” citing serious health concerns associated with the shots. https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/fda-authority-recall-covid-vaccines/

​ There is a new Polio vaccine that shirked safety testing (somehow). It needs testing. The old Polio-vaccines are not the topic.
Corporate Media Misleads the Public About the Polio Vaccine to Discredit RFK Jr.​ Their attacks omit the irresponsible 3-day safety follow-up period upon which the current polio vaccines (IPOL) are licensed.​ https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/corporate-media-misleads-the-public

[John Day]

[John Day]

​John Helmer, THE NEW TIME OF TROUBLES, PART III – DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY
​ A Moscow source comments: “I think the Russian public will not be convinced to risk a presence there especially when the propaganda has changed its tune to the line, ‘it’s impossible to help those who can’t help themselves.’ With Syrian statehood gone, this battle is lost.”
​ This is the rationale, several Moscow sources believe, for Putin to cut his losses and run from Syria without risking the appearance to Russian voters of having done either. The military and strategic implications of Putin’s decision-making on Syria, argued behind closed doors with the General Staff, are unmentioned in the Duma and the media.
​ The Moscow source adds: “What happens in Ukraine and when are the main questions now. There could well be more surprises from the US. There might be a new ground assault into Russian territory and continuing missile attacks deep into Russian territory. So far, these are not disturbing the national mood of confidence and optimism. So for the time being Russians are not expecting and are not prepared for any escalation on any front – at least not on the ground. If Putin can negotiate to keep the four [Donbass] regions and a demilitarisation accord with [President Donald] Trump, there will be what the Defense Ministry calls retaliation, but no escalation. At least not for now, not for six months after Trump takes office if the talks head nowhere.”
​ “What is needed now from Russian point of view is time to build the army and the economy for a bigger war. That, according to everyone I talk with, is going to be war with Turkey when the stakes will be much higher than they are with Ukraine. Putin is adopting a wait-and-see stance.​” https://johnhelmer.net/the-new-time-of-troubles-part-iii-dont-worry-be-happy/#more-90819

Trump team studying Orban’s ceasefire initiative​, Kiev has already rejected the proposal and did so in an “unprecedented” manner, Budapest has said​ https://swentr.site/news/609401-trump-orban-christmas-truce/

​ CIA puppet leaves… Georgia’s New President, An Ex-Soccer Player, Solidifies Anti-EU Leadership
Kavelashvili was one of the authors of a controversial law requiring organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/georgias-new-president-ex-soccer-player-solidifies-anti-eu-leadership

The US is selling Taiwan a bunch of Abrams tanks. Don’t laugh. ​Taiwan Leaders Shocked By Size Of Chinese Military Drills, US Remains Mute
A week ago, Taiwan was bracing for a Chinese military exercise to “punish” its president, Lai Ching-te, for a trip abroad that included two short visits to the US. It would have been another show of force from Beijing in retaliation for Taiwanese leaders asserting their country’s independence.
​ But what happened next took Taipei by surprise. Its military and national security officials observed what they called the largest Chinese naval deployment in nearly 30 years. At the same time, Beijing announced partial restrictions on air traffic in seven zones hugging its coastline from Shanghai to Hong Kong for two days.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/taiwan-leaders-shocked-size-chinese-military-drills-us-remains-mute

​ The Honest Sorcerer draws parallels between the US and late-USSR. Before Societal Implosion Comes…​ On hypernormalisation and elite failure
​ Although there are many reasons behind the fall of great civilizations (ecological, economical, climate, resource and many more), allow me to focus on one particular area: the role of leadership. One could not find a better example in recent history, then the dissolution of the Soviet Union thirty-three years ago. In his book Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More: The Last Soviet Generation (2006), author Alexei Yurchak wrote about the paradoxes of Soviet life during the 1970s and 1980s. According to his account of Russian history, everyone in the Soviet Union knew the system was failing, but no one could imagine any (true) alternative to the status quo. Instead, politicians and citizens alike were resigned to maintaining the pretense of a functioning society. Over time, the mass delusion became a self-fulfilling prophecy, with everyone accepting it as the new norm rather than what it was, a pretence — an effect Yurchak named hypernormalisation.​..
..Today we are witnessing the same phenomenon in western democracies with ever weirder and weirder things happening, only to be (hyper-)normalized in a few days time. ‘Oh, look how the economy is growing…!’​ … Thus we see a doubling then tripling down on failed strategies, instead of implementing badly needed structural reforms …
..Most people in the West believe they live in a democracy, while the rest of the world has to suffer unbearable oppression under terrible autocrats and omnipotent dictators. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Simply put, neither part of the story is true: the West is not a democracy, and the rest is not an autocracy. Both worlds are somewhere in-between…
​..Nothing of importance gets decided on elections. Sorry, but when you have to choose between two preselected, thoroughly vetted candidates, who will say and do exactly what their sponsors think they should say and do, that is not a democracy…​ It’s — by definition — an oligarchy, the rule of the wealthy.​..
..As a result western nations, and many other countries around the world, are effectively run by what Aurelien calls a ‘professional managerial class’…
..What we have at hand is the logical endpoint of a complete PMC takeover, turbocharged by ‘neoliberal economics’ appearing first in the U.K. and the U.S., then spread across most of the world…
..The relentless search for higher profits, together with rent seeking, has turned the economy into a wealth pump: with ever costlier to maintain institutions, endless wars waged for the enrichment of the few, and companies hardly doing useful products or services anymore. Outsourcing manufacturing to places where material, energy and labor inputs were still cheap was just one (important) step in the process. Now, that there is nowhere left for production to be outsourced to (and when in fact we would need to bring industries back home), we are left with an economy wholly dependent on financialization and imports based on global supply chains spanning across the globe… And when Ivy League graduates shoot healthcare corporate execs on the street in a city filled with homeless people, you know that the brick wall at the end of this one-way street is not that far away anymore…

..Once you understand that all economic activity is underpinned by energy, and that the most indispensable form of energy comes from oil, a divorce between the growth of monetary claims and that of the oil powered economy can mean only one thing. Inflation. Inflation of prices, together with an inflation of debt and stock market bubbles. And when the physical limits of extraction is finally reached then production begins to decline, the problem turns into a predicament.​..
..The inconvenient truth is, that our predicament has no technological solution, only an outcome.​..
​..Meanwhile both the public and the elite failed to register that we in the West have slowly become the late stage Soviet Union. Of course, the term ‘perestroika’ was replaced with a myth of a ‘green revolution’, but just like in the case of the late USSR, it was done without addressing the heart of the problem: a complete corporate takeover, resulting in the plundering of this planet and its peoples. Now, it’s too late to avoid collapse. The pretence went on too long, deep seated problems were left to be “resolved” for a later day​…
..But if we survive the coming existential crisis of the oligarchic system without a nuclear war, the coming collapse of stock markets and asset prices could leave us with a power vacuum. You see we live in a house of cards with tightly interconnected financial institutions, where a single glitch can result in a cascade of unwanted events. Make no mistake: the end to financialization won’t be a pleasant or smooth ride, and surviving extreme hardship will be the name of the game.​ https://thehonestsorcerer.substack.com/p/before-societal-implosion-comes

[John Day]

Military Summary has Mideast updates at 14:15, notably that Israeli military forces keep advancing rapidly into Syria, occupying towns and military bases. US military forces are moving into bases in NE Syria, abandoned by Syrian army and Russian armed forces, presumably to block Turks from attacking Kurdish US-proxy forces holding oilfields and farmland there. The Russians Entered Zelenivka: Unstoppable Koreans Military Summary For 2024.12.16​ https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/israel-occupies-3-new-villages-in-southern-syria-3695757

​ HTS officials order Palestinian resistance factions to disarm, close bases in Syria: Report
The new rulers in Damascus are taking actions to prevent the Palestinians from defending themselves or resisting Israel
​ Representatives from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the new ruling extremist organization in Damascus, informed the representatives of the Palestinian factions in Syria they would no longer be allowed to possess any weapons, training camps, or military headquarters, Ibrahim Amin of Al-Akhbar reported on 13 December.
​ Amin further reports that the factions must dissolve their military formations as soon as possible in exchange for political and charitable work under the roof of the new Syrian state.
​ Palestinian factions, including Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), the Saiqa, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Martyr Ali Aswad Brigade, have had a presence in Syria as guests of the government for decades.
​ A source in the PFLP-GC revealed to Erem News that the factions were informed of the decision in meeting headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Muhammad al-Julani, in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in the capital, Damascus.
​ Palestinians came to Syria as refugees during the 1948 Nakba. That year, pre-state Zionist militias ethnically cleansed some 750,000 Palestinians from the land that became the state of Israel, making them refugees in neighboring countries.
​ Many Palestinian refugees settled in Syria in the Yarmouk Camp on the southern outskirts of Damascus. The camp became the capital of the Palestinian diaspora.​ https://thecradle.co/articles/hts-officials-order-palestinian-resistance-factions-to-disarm-close-bases-in-syria-report

​ Spending the Syrian treasury reserves on foreign consumer goods and wage increases, while removing all arms from other hands, is politically adept if it can be done.
All factions in Syria to be dissolved, no mandatory draft: al-Sharaa
​ The head of the Military Operations Administration in Syria says the new administration’s primary priorities are rebuilding destroyed homes and returning displaced individuals.
​ In a press meet on Sunday, al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, confirmed that “there will be no mandatory military conscription, except for certain specialties, which will be obligatory for short periods.”
​ Additionally, increasing salaries by 400% in Syria is being considered, said al-Sharaa, who is also the leader of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that managed, as part of an alliance, to capture most of the Syrian territory and lead to the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week.​..
​..In parallel, the Central Bank of Syria issued a decision allowing importers to finance their imports of permitted goods for domestic consumption.​ https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/all-factions-in-syria-to-be-dissolved–no-mandatory-draft–a

al-Jolani appears to be a long term asset of the CIA, MOSSAD and MIT (Turkish intel.), who is now trying to serve their rapidly-diverging interests, and still keep Syrians and Palestinians on his side. How long can he do this? If he has to choose, what will he choose? How expendable is he to these masters?
​ From ‘Terrorist’ to ‘Freedom Fighter’: How the West Rebranded Al-Qaeda’s Jolani as Syria’s ‘Woke’ New Leader
​ Britain’s Daily Telegraph that suggests that Jolani will construct a new Syria, respectful of minority rights. The same newspaper also labeled him a “moderate Jihadist.” The Washington Post described him as a pragmatic and charismatic leader, while CNN portrayed him as a “blazer-wearing revolutionary.”​ …
..When asked by host Jomana Karadsheh about his past actions, he responded by saying,
​ “I believe that everyone in life goes through phases and experiences…As you grow, you learn, and you continue to learn until the very last day of your life,” as if he were discussing embarrassing teenage mistakes, not establishing and leading the Al-Nusra Front, Al-Qaeda’s franchise in Syria…​
​..It is far from clear whether the tens of thousands of soldiers he commands – units made up primarily of former fighters from al-Qaeda/al-Nusra and ISIS – will be in a charitable mood once they cement their power.
​ “Syria is being purified,” he told a crowd in Damascus on Sunday. “This victory is born from the people who have languished in prison, and the fighters broke their chains,” he added.
​ Jolani – whose real name is Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a – was born in 1982 in Saudi Arabia to parents who fled the Golan Heights area of Syria after the 1967 Israeli invasion. In 2003, he went to Iraq to fight against American forces. After three years of war, he was captured by the U.S. military and spent over five years in prison, including a stint at the notorious Abu Ghraib torture center.
​ While in Iraq, Jolani fought with ISIS and was even a deputy to its founder. Immediately upon release in 2011, ISIS sent him to Syria with a rumored $1 billion to found the Syrian wing of al-Qaeda and participate in the armed protest movement against Assad that arose out of the Arab Spring.
​ Realizing the extremely poor reputation al-Qaeda had in the region and across the world, Jolani attempted to rebrand his forces, officially shuttering the al-Nusra Front in January 2017 and, on the same day, founding HTS. He claimed that HTS preaches a very different ideology and that it will respect Syrian diversity. Not everyone is convinced of this, least of all the British government, who immediately proscribed HTS, describing it as merely an alias of Al-Qaeda.
​ “Al-Qaeda/ISIS man didn’t ‘reinvent himself.’ He had the whole propaganda and intelligence apparatus of the ‘West,’ including the BBC, doing it for him,” remarked co-founder of The Electronic Intifada, Ali Abunimah​.
The name “al-Jolani” translates to “From the Golan Heights.” And yet, the leader appears distinctly unconcerned with the Israeli invasion of his homeland. The IDF has taken much of southern Syria, including the strategic Mount Hermon, overlooking Damascus. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that this is part of a permanent operation. “The Golan Heights…will forever be an inseparable part of the State of Israel,” he proclaimed.
​ Jolani has already said that he has no intention of confronting Israel.​ “Syria is not ready for war and does not intend to go into another war. The source of concern was the Iranian militias, and Hezbollah, and the danger has passed,” he said.​ https://www.globalresearch.ca/from-terrorist-to-freedom-fighter-how-the-west-rebranded-al-qaedas-jolani-as-syrias-woke-new-leader/5875034

Openly, if not officially: US In ‘Direct Contact’ With Designated Terror Group HTS, Blinken Admits​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-direct-contact-designated-terror-group-hts-blinken-admits

[John Day]

Israeli military personnel, held as hostages by Hamas, are Hamas-assets, so… Abu Obeida: IOF bombed captives repeatedly to ensure they were killed
The military spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades says the group has intel that the IOF deliberately and repeatedly bombed a location housing captives knowing they were inside. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/abu-obeida–iof-bombed-captives-repeatedly-to-ensure-they-we

UNICEF calls for urgent action as Gaza children endure daily violence
The Executive Director of UNICEF issues an urgent call to “all parties to the conflict, and on those with influence over them, to take decisive action to end the suffering of children.” https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/unicef-calls-for-urgent-action-as-gaza-children-endure-daily

Finding the Unmentionable: Amnesty International, Israel and Genocide
In a 296-page report sporting the ominous title “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman”, the human rights body, after considering the events in Gaza between October 2023 and July 2024, identified a “pattern of conduct” that indicated genocidal intent. These included, among other things, persistent direct attacks on civilians and objects “and deliberately indiscriminate strikes over the nine-month period, wiping out entire families repeatedly launched at times when these strikes would result in high numbers of casualties”; the nature of the weapons used; the speed and scale of destruction to civilian objects and infrastructure (homes, shelters, health facilities, water and sanitation infrastructure, agricultural land”; the use of bulldozing and controlled demolitions; and the use of “incomprehensible, misleading and arbitrary ‘evacuation’ orders’”. https://www.globalresearch.ca/amnesty-international-israel-genocide/5875031

​ Israel To Expand Settlements in Occupied Golan Heights
Israeli troops captured more Syrian land and the defense minister says they will continue to occupy it through the winter​ https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/15/israel-to-expand-settlements-in-occupied-golan-heights/

​ Israel occupies 3 new villages in southern Syria
Israel has occupied three new villages in southern Syria as Tel Aviv deepened its military incursion into the country following the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Israeli army forces seized Jamlah in Daraa province and the villages of Mazraat Beit Jinn and Maghar al-Mir in the Damascus countryside, according to Anadolu reporters.​ https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/israel-occupies-3-new-villages-in-southern-syria-3695757

[John Day]

Maximal Politics https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/maximal-politics

Massive destruction, dozens killed in new Israeli massacre in central Gaza
Over 100 people have been killed and injured, with dozens missing after Israel’s brutal attack on densely populated civilian buildings in Nuseirat camp https://thecradle.co/articles/massive-destruction-dozens-killed-in-new-israeli-massacre-in-central-gaza

Israeli Attack on School-Turned-Shelter in Southern Gaza Kills 20
Israeli strikes in central Gaza earlier in the day killed a journalist and five civil defense workers
On Sunday night, an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in southern Gaza killed at least 20 Palestinians, including children, as the daily US-backed slaughter continues.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, the strike hit a UN-run school in western Khan Younis near the Nasser Medical Complex. The breakdown of the casualties is unclear, but photos and videos of the aftermath show children among the dead and wounded. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/15/israeli-attack-on-school-turned-shelter-in-southern-gaza-kills-20/

Charred bodies found after Israeli raid on school shelter in Gaza
Israeli occupation forces besieged, bombed, and stormed a school sheltering displaced people in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, resulting in at least 15 martyrs and dozens of injuries. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/charred-bodies-found-after-israeli-raid-on-school-shelter-in

Corpses pile up in northern Gaza as Israel continues deadly onslaught‘
Stray dogs and cats are devouring the piled-up bodies, which portends a serious environmental disaster,’ Palestinian medics warns https://www.yenisafak.com/en/news/corpses-pile-up-in-northern-gaza-as-israel-continues-deadly-onslaught-3695754

[John Day]

Canadian FinMin Freeland Quits, Warns Trudeau That Trump Tariffs Are “Grave Challenge” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/canadian-finmin-freeland-quits-warns-trudeau-trump-tariffs-are-grave-challenge

[John Day]

Crush the ​little cockroach people​! Florida mom arrested for saying ‘Delay Deny Depose’ on call with BlueCross BlueShield health insurer: ‘You people are next’​ https://nypost.com/2024/12/12/us-news/florida-mom-arrested-for-saying-delay-deny-depose-on-call-with-bluecross-blueshield/

​ The U.S. Congress is The “Conspiracy Theorist” that spread the “medical misinformation” That Vaccines May Cause Autism
Wakefield did not launch the vaccine-autism inquiry in 1998, Congress did in 1986, after a German queried it in 1976, after Johns Hopkins gave us our first vaccine-autism case in 1943.​ https://gingertaylor.substack.com/p/the-us-congress-is-the-conspiracy

​ Don’t expect an even-break: COVID-19 Self-Amplifying mRNA Injection Nears European Approval
CHMP recommends authorization despite grave safety concerns; final regulatory approval now rests with the European Commission.​ https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/covid-19-self-amplifying-mrna-injection

​Caitlin Johnstone has: Some Thoughts On The Mystery Drones https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/some-thoughts-on-the-mystery-drones

Unknown UAVs actively monitor Ramstein air base and other strategic facilities in Germany​ https://en.topcor.ru/54592-neizvestnye-bpla-aktivno-nabljudajut-za-bazoj-ramshtajn-i-drugimi-strategicheskimi-obektami-v-frg.html

[John Day]

​ Meetings at The Hague reveal crisis and turmoil, as state representatives grapple with Israeli warrants
At a recent convening at The Hague, state representatives to the ICC agonized over the disastrous implications for the international rules-based order should Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant evade accountability for war crimes in Gaza.​ https://mondoweiss.net/2024/12/meetings-at-the-hague-reveal-crisis-and-turmoil-as-state-representatives-grapple-with-israeli-warrants/

​ South Korea – National Assembly Impeaches President Over Failed Putsch Attempt
On December 3 the President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol launched a coup against the opposition ruled National Assembly. He declared martial law and ordered military special forces and police units to block law makers from assembling.​ But the assembly members did win the race​. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/12/south-korea-national-assembly-impeaches-president-over-failed-putsch-attempt.html

​ Surplus Energy Economics calls it: AT THE END OF TECHNOLOGICAL HUBRIS
There’s a fair chance that this might be the last article published here in 2024.
​ That being so, I’d like to start by thanking you for your interest and participation in our discussions during the year, and wishing you a very merry Festive Season and a happy and prosperous New Year.
​ Until quite recently, the idea that the global economy might reverse – my preferred term is inflect – from growth into contraction lived in the realm of radical and unwelcome theory.​ But this has been the year in which theory has been borne out by experience.​ https://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2024/12/12/295-beans-on-tech/#like-43774

​Celia Farber: Jaw Dropping Candace Owens Interview With USS Liberty Survivor Goes Viral, Truth Now Undeniable, But Not Many Caught The Significance Of The Name Mentioned As An Irgun Agent Who Cast Spells On LBJ
​ Mathilde Krim Was Not Only Behind The Israel Agenda After JFK But Also The Murderous Money Laundering Machine And Terror Organization AMFAR. I Reported In 1992 How Krim INVENTED “Heterosexual AIDS”​ https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/jaw-dropping-candace-owens-interview

​They say nothing about assuming the expense of providing wholesome food to poor people. Tax Junk-Food To Lengthen Children’s Lives, UK Chief Medical Officer Says https://www.zerohedge.com/political/tax-junk-food-lengthen-childrens-lives-uk-chief-medical-officer-says

[John Day]

Simplicius: Pieces Begin Slowly Falling into Place in ‘New Syria
‘On one hand, many statements and videos testify to the HTS-controlled Syria becoming a kind of proxy of Israel, while a deluge of new evidence shows Turkey slowly fortifying its position as future hegemon of the region…
..As soon as Damascus fell, the director of the MIT—Turkey’s CIA equivalent—Ibrahim Kalin was spotted visiting Jolani, touring Damascus, as well as paying homage to the ancient Umayyad mosque.
​ Several videos showed Jolani acting as personal chauffeur to Kalin, driving him around Damascus with an armed escort. Photo of Jolani behind the wheel… Video with Kalin seen in the passenger seat as onlookers are shocked Jolani is chauffeuring him…
​..Think about that: Jolani as personal driver to the head of Turkey’s top intelligence agency—that’s not to mention that Kalin was senior personal advisor to Erdogan and is member of his AK Party.
​ So, Erdogan’s personal henchman is already shadowing Jolani, whispering in his ear—what can that mean? And what does that say about rumors that HTS had long ago cut ties with Turkey, with the same going for SNA/FSA/TFSA?​ https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/pieces-begin-slowly-falling-into

​ 12/13/2024 and already looking outdated, the multifaceted view from Inside Turkey: Erdoğan’s Syria?
​ Turkish pro-government circles are euphoric – not only because an Islamist-led coalition toppled the dictator they detested, but also because they believe that their president orchestrated the whole operation.​..
..Islamist newspapers have hailed Erdoğan as the commander of the ‘Syrian Revolution’, ‘the Conqueror of Syria’ and ‘the greatest revolutionary of the 21st century’. While some on the Turkish right had begun to doubt the government’s Syria policy, holding it responsible for the refugee crisis, now the Erdoğanists seem vindicated. With Assad toppled, they are expecting both a domestic reconsolidation of power around the ruling AKP and a massive increase in Turkish influence across the region – with many announcing the effective end of Western control…
..Turkey controls several armed factions in northern Syria, which are organized under the coalition known as the Syrian National Army (SNA, formerly the Free Syrian Army). Turkey’s hope is that the SNA will wipe out the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and subordinate the Syrian Kurds to an Islamic government in Damascus…
..All this poses the question of what HTS really represents. With roots in the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, and a place on Washington’s official list of terrorist groups, it seems an unlikely darling of the West. Yet the US and EU have made relatively optimistic noises about its seizure of Damascus, which has further unravelled the ‘Axis of Resistance’, weakening Iran’s regional role. In Turkey, opinion about the group is divided. The opposition is adamant that HTS is a creation of the US and Israel, while Erdoğanists insist that Turkey has armed and trained them over the last several years. Another rumor is that HTS was trained by British intelligence. Some experts claim that the assault on Damascus couldn’t have been successful without the involvement of Western intelligence agencies; others argue that those agencies were tricked or outflanked by HTS…
​..Whoever the exact sponsors of HTS might be, the group is clearly an expression of a long-term trend: the mainstreaming and partial taming of jihadi organizations, their infiltration or capture of institutions, and their popularization. These three dynamics sometimes undermine each other, but the latest twist in the Syrian drama has seen them combine in the form of HTS.​..
..The Turkish opposition, including the left, insists that this is an American-friendly Islamism. Yet the fluctuations of Erdoğanism itself over the years show that there are risks for the West when it plays with fire in this way…
..The main danger for Turkish imperialism would be the growing formalization of Kurdish power. Any stable peace will have to involve autonomy or independence for the Syrian Kurds, now officially recognized by Western states. For the Kurds themselves, the consequences of this formalization would be ambiguous. They would no longer be the heroes of the global left, but they would also break free from their isolation and become a ‘normal’ part of the decaying international state-system. Turkish Kurds would meanwhile be left to their fate, while also being emboldened by the process of normalization to their south…
​..Now, the potential for investment – to rebuild from the ruins – has whet the appetite of entrepreneurs across the world. Back in 2018, when Turkey lost 56 soldiers in a military operation, one of Erdoğan’s chief advisors famously remarked that ‘We are giving martyrs, but Turkish contractors will get a bigger share of the pie.’ The markets seem to agree, with the stocks of construction-related businesses rising sharply over the last few days.
​ It is not clear whether this kind of infrastructural investment can really take off, however, given the uncertain trajectory of the military conflicts, especially in the north and south of the country. The US and its allies have been able to destroy many of their regional enemies, but they have not been able to build functional, long-lasting arrangements of their own.​ https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/erdogans-syria?pc=1647

We Are Not Looking For A Fight With Israel: HTS Leader Jolani​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/we-are-not-looking-fight-israel-hts-leader-jolani

​ Today’s actions from Turkey may have overtaken the analysis of Alex Krainer, The big picture: Syria and Ukraine are two parts of the same war
​ Time will tell, but here are a few dots that might make coherent sense if connected. First off, the conflict in Syria is part of the same conflict that’s also being fought in Ukraine. On 29 November in Astana (two days after HTS launched their incursion into Syria), Vladimir Putin said the following with regards to war/peace in Ukraine:
​ “Let me underscore the key point – the essence of our proposal is not a temporary truce or ceasefire, as the West might prefer, to allow the Kiev regime to recover, rearm, and prepare for a new offensive. I repeat: we are not discussing freezing the conflict, but its definitive resolution.”
​ And what is Putin’s definitive resolution? It’s nothing less than the creation of a new security architecture between the “heartland and the rimland” to use Halford Mackinder’s terminology. In other words, Putin is determined to end British geopolitics once and for all.​..
..Today’s wars are driven by the Western imperial oligarchy as they struggle to maintain their dominance and to impose their “rules-based” global order. The central element of their agenda is an overarching imperative to preserve their hegemony over the Eurasian landmass. This long-held obsession draws roots from the British Empire. It was explicitly articulated at the turn of the last century by the British scholar and statesman Sir Halford Mackinder…
..Mackinder hypothesized that the long-term viability of states therefore critically depended on their space and location and concluded that optimum conditions of space and location were only to be found in the inner regions of Eurasia which he named the Pivot Area: a large expanse roughly encompassing Russia, the Caucasus region, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Afghanistan.
​ In Mackinder’s framework, the Pivot Area is surrounded by the Inner or Marginal Crescent which includes Europe, Northern Africa, Asia Minor, the Arabian Peninsula, India, China and Japan, while the lands of the Outer, or Insular Crescent included the rest of the world. For Mackinder and the British imperial cabal, the Pivot Area was strategic because it was capable of emerging as an independently viable economic power that could spawn a powerful rival empire…
​..Russia was seen as the most likely nation to emerge as the pivot land power.​.. British Empire considered this to be an existential threat which had to be neutralized and destroyed.​.. In plain English, Mackinder suggested surrounding the Pivot Area with a crescent of crisis flashpoints and inducing nations like France, Italy, Egypt, India and Korea to bait the pivot power (Russia) into an unending series of exhausting, crippling quagmires. His suggestions were taken entirely seriously and have defined the foreign policy of the Western empire ever since.​..
..Today, Ukraine and Syria (and Israel) make part of the rimland, or the “arch of crises” which the empire arranged from the Mediterranean to the Koreas in order to keep Russia and its allied powers constantly at war. Weakening these pivot power and preventing the emergence of a rival empire on Eurasian continent is an absolute imperative for the Western oligarchy.​ https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/syria-will-it-prove-to-be-the-empires

​He has a left hand. Caitlin Johnstone has: Meditations On A Six Year-Old Amputee Crawling Through Gaza With The Help Of A Roller Skate https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/meditations-on-a-six-year-old-amputee

[John Day]

Initiatives https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/initiatives

The battlefield initiative in suddenly-vacated Syria has been taken by Turkey, based on this report by Dima at Military Summary Channel, who seems to mostly get Russian intelligence, but does lots of homework. At 9:40, for about 4 minutes, he lays out that Turkey is claiming Syria as part of Turkey, as it was under the Ottoman Empire, until after WW-1. Turkey is saying that the fight against the Kurdish forces in Syria, who have functioned as an American proxy army, is essentially existential to Turkey, and will be prosecuted to Turkish satisfaction, which will happen to give Turkey control of Syria’s oilfields and best farmland. Turkey is telling Israel to withdraw it’s armed forces from recently taken Syrian territory. turkey has the largest military in the region, not counting Turkish proxy forces like HTS, which is claiming now to rule. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2wocyrPoFE

Times of India has a 3 minute news clip of this: ‘Get Out From Syria Now’: Turkey’s Big Ultimatum Shocks U.S.; Turkey For Exit Of Kurd Fighters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC73hKH8wRs

12/15/24 Military summary says North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region have begun another assault on Ukrainian positions there, and (from 16:35) that Russian troops in Syria have abandoned bases deep inside Syria to concentrate in Coastal bases and avoid increasing conflict between Turkish and US proxy forces. HTS head, Al Jolani says that Israeli forces consolidating in Syria have no reason to do so, because their enemies are no longer there, a gentle nudge to get out, though non-confrontational. North Korean Troops Have Begun Their Assault The Kurds Await The Turkish Offensive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8FNfq6vRbE

Gilbert Doctorow points out a very important peace-initiative: Did Viktor Orban achieve anything during his mission to Mar-al-Lago this past week?
​ We have all seen video images of Viktor Orban’s visit with Donald Trump on Monday, 9 December, which featured the two leaders smiling broadly and showing thumbs up to photo journalists. We know that during the same visit, Orban met with Elon Musk: and major media showed them in a friendly conversation during which Musk was carrying one of his children on his shoulders. These were all heart-warming images to Trump supporters, awful signs for dyed-in-the-wool Democrats of the prospective collaboration between what they believe to be hard right authoritarian leaders during the Trump years to come. Some reporting also carried mention of Trump’s designated national security adviser Mike Waltz as having been present for the talks.
​ On Wednesday, 11 December, Reuters and other U.S. media reported briefly that Orban had a one-hour telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin during which he evidently recounted what he learned in Mar-al-Lago and sought Putin’s agreement for a Christmas Day cease-fire and large-scale exchange of prisoners to be arranged with Kiev. We may assume that Putin gave his consent, but subsequently Vladimir Zelensky rejected Orban’s initiatives on both matters and roundly attacked the Hungarian Prime Minister for speaking to Putin at all. Some of our media did quote Orban as saying that this week was the most critical in the entire Ukraine war, meaning that the fate of the world was hanging in the balance.​
​ On this same Wednesday, we learned that Kiev had used six ATACMS missiles in a strike against the military airfield in Taganrog, a Russian port city on the Sea of Azov.
​ The week closed with Russia’s massive missile and drone attack Friday, 13 December, on Ukraine’s already shattered electricity generating infrastructure, which even compelled Kiev to shut down the nuclear plants which till now had been the mainstay of residual electricity supply to the country. One half of Ukraine was now said to be totally without electricity. Nearly 100 Russian hypersonic short range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles together with a still greater number of killer drones were deployed in what Moscow called a successful mission in retaliation for Kiev’s ATACMS strike on Taganrog.​..
..Orban’s mission to Mar-al-Lago and his subsequent debriefing for Putin had a strong influence on the way that the Kremlin chose to retaliate for the attack on Taganrog. Clearly, as I have said in my interviews this past week, there were options on the table that were sharply escalatory…
​..It is clear to me that Orban was able to provide Putin with persuasive evidence from his talks with Trump, Musk and Waltz that it would be far better to show restraint, not to take the bait from the Biden administration to escalate and thereby not upset Trump’s likely plans to stop funding the war upon taking office. Accordingly, the Russians only ravaged what remains of Ukraine’s power supply and did not touch NATO assets inside or outside Ukraine.
​ For this, as I say, we all owe a great debt of gratitude to the Hungarian prime minister.​ https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2024/12/15/did-viktor-orban-achieve-anything-during-his-mission-to-mar-al-lago-this-past-week/

[John Day]

Check Military Summary at 9:30 for Syria update. Turkey claims Syria, will fight US-backed Kurds (oil + farmland sitters) and tells Israel to back-off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2wocyrPoFE

[John Day]

I’m guessing these things cost $12,000 each, but can’t find an answer. Admin Rushes the Sale of Border Wall Panels for $5 Apiece https://www.independentsentinel.com/admin-rushes-the-sale-of-border-wall-panels-for-5-apiece/

Texas Will Buy the Border Wall Materials the Regime Is Selling for $.05 a Panel​ https://www.independentsentinel.com/texas-will-buy-the-border-wall-materials-the-regime-is-selling-for-05-a-panel/

​ Texas Lt Gov Patrick wants to buy construction materials auctioned by DHS, donate them to Trump
“Message to the White House right now: I will bid on all of that wall and we will buy it in Texas and we will give it to Donald Trump,” Dan Patrick said.​ https://justthenews.com/government/security/texas-lt-gov-will-try-purchase-construction-materials-auctioned-dhs-donate-them

[John Day]

Pilots report UFO ‘moving at extreme speeds’ while flying over Oregon​ ​ https://endtimeheadlines.org/2024/12/pilots-report-ufo-moving-at-extreme-speeds-while-flying-over-oregon/#google_vignette

Airspace Above U.S Navy Weapons Station Breached by Multiple ‘Unidentified Drones’​ https://slaynews.com/news/airspace-above-us-navy-weapons-station-breached-multiple-unidentified-drones/

Former Governor Posts Footage of ‘Dozens of Drones’ Over His House, Demands ‘Answers and Action Now’​ https://www.westernjournal.com/former-governor-posts-footage-dozens-drones-house-demands-answers-action-now/

​ Trump on Truth Social: Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113647906240301335

[John Day]

DARPA Paper!!! mRNA KILLER VACCINES Ready Before COVID PANDEMIC, Military Agency’s Dossier proves Plot among Pentagon, Gates & Moderna
They confirm, as claimed by the American patent expert David E. Martin, author of the book The Fauci Dossier, that the NIAID directed by Fauci played a fundamental role in this research…
..The DARPA document also highlights that Moderna started its clinical trials on Covid-19 already in 2019, well before the Wuhan outbreak (which occurred after the shipment of US soldiers to China for the Military Games in October 2019) became a global threat due to the first genotype of SARS-Cov-2, much more lethal than the subsequent Delta and Omicron variants.
According to the evidence collected by Martin, Moderna’s patent for the Covid mRNA Spikevax vaccine prototype was patented and registered in March 2019, that is, 9 months before the discovery of the first outbreak and almost a year before the WHO declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/12/exclusive-darpa-paper-mrna-killer-vaccines-ready-before-covid-pandemic/

Chinese official praises Trump invitation but does not say if Xi will attend inauguration
Trump spokesman confirms inauguration invitation, but Qiu Wenxing of Chinese embassy does not discuss whether Xi Jinping will attend https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3290577/chinese-official-praises-trump-invitation-does-not-say-if-xi-will-attend-inauguration

We don’t know what they are, or whose they are, but… FBI, DHS Say “No Evidence” New Jersey Drones Pose National Security Threat https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fbi-dhs-say-no-evidence-new-jersey-drones-pose-national-security-threat

Drones spotted over main US military base in Europe – Der Spiegel, UAVs of unknown origin have reportedly buzzed the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany https://www.rt.com/news/609316-drones-us-base-germany/

Alert! The East Coast Is Being Buzzed By “Very Sophisticated” Giant Drones Every Night That “Go Dark” When Approached By U.S. Aircraft
These drones have been spotted over military facilities, water reservoirs, transportation hubs, police departments and other sensitive installations. But even though some of these drones are the size of cars, and even though they are buzzing us at rooftop level in some cases, we can’t seem to track them effectively and when our aircraft do approach they “go dark” and disappear. https://conservativefiringline.com/alert-the-east-coast-is-being-buzzed-by-very-sophisticated-giant-drones-every-night-that-go-dark-when-approached-by-u-s-aircraft/

[John Day]

Who were all the crew-cut guys with the same shoes, then? 26 FBI Informants Were at the Capitol on J6, 14-17 Broke the Law
The DOJ inspector general said Thursday that while no undercover agents were at the rally, 26 confidential human sources – or paid FBI informants – were in Washington that day. Not one was authorized to break the law themselves or encourage others to do so. Yet, as many as 17 did break the law. https://www.independentsentinel.com/26-fbi-informants-were-at-the-capitol-on-j6-14-17-broke-the-law/

Trump: RFK Jr. Will Study Possible Link Between Childhood Vaccines and Autism
“I think somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.” https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/trump-rfk-jr-will-study-possible

RFK Jr. blows the whistle on the DREADED FLU SHOT: Influenza vaccine makes you highly susceptible to other viruses, especially COVID-19​ https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-12-13-rfkjr-blows-whistle-on-dreaded-flu-shot.html

A Midwestern Doctor: The HPV Vaccine Disaster Was A Blueprint For COVID-19 Dissecting the despicable playbook for covering up vaccine injuries
Story at Glance
Two decades ago, Merck introduced Vioxx, a profitable NSAID, despite knowing it could cause numerous heart attacks. After facing overwhelming lawsuits and ultimately withdrawing Vioxx, Merck quickly pushed Gardasil, an HPV vaccine, to market to recover losses.
Gardasil proved to be extremely dangerous, yet both Merck and the FDA ignored the alarming data and continued promoting it, even as it resulted in unprecedented injuries, including autoimmunity, POTS, infertility, and death. Notably, many of these issues mirror those associated with the COVID-19 vaccines.
This article examines the dangers of the HPV vaccine, the reasons behind its risks—including its tendency to cause rather than prevent cervical cancer—and the extensive negligence of the FDA and CDC. These lessons are crucial for understanding the events surrounding COVID-19…
..Note: RFK Jr. has previously filed lawsuits against Merck over Gardasil (something which is very challenging to do due to the blanket immunity vaccines are afforded, but RFK Jr. found a way to do due to the egregious fraud on Merck’s part). Given this, I feel very hopeful MAHA will at last bring justice to the generation betrayed by this horrific vaccine. https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/the-hpv-vaccine-disaster-was-a-blueprint

New Study Links Ozempic To Vision Loss, Confirms Harvard Research
Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is blocked, causing sudden vision loss…
..The results indicate that a type 2 diabetes patient taking Ozempic for two decades would have a .3% to .5% chance of developing NAION.
“The vision loss is usually irreversible and there is no treatment. Given the serious nature of this potential adverse effect of semaglutide, we leveraged the nationwide Danish and Norwegian health registries to further investigate this association,” https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/new-study-links-ozempic-vision-loss-confirms-harvard-research

[John Day]

Russian Forces Positioned To Take Key City Of Pokrovsk As Ukrainian Manpower Falters​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russian-forces-positioned-take-key-city-pokrovsk-ukrainian-manpower-falters

Andrew Korybko, Five Takeaways From The Historic Russian-Indian Oil Deal
Russia is recalibrating its balancing act within the RIC triangle.
Reuters reported that Russia agreed to supply India with nearly half a million barrels of discounted oil a day for 10 years in a deal that’s worth $13 billion a year at today’s prices and amounts to 0.5% of global supply. It follows Defense Minister Singh’s visit to Moscow…
Russia will receive reliable budgetary revenue while India’s growth will accelerate from the large-scale import of discounted oil, thus enabling the first to better manage sanctions pressure while the second will approach its goal of becoming the world’s third-largest economy at a faster pace…
..Russia’s South Asia energy pivot, which also includes Afghan and Pakistani dimensions that were elaborated on here in terms of the larger context. The Kremlin plans to preemptively avert potentially disproportionate dependence on China by relying on the South Asian market, with India at its core…
.. OPEC+ Probably Won’t Mind All That Much…
..Trump Isn’t Expected To Sanction India…
..China’s Basement-Bargain Price Demands Backfired … To be sure, relations are at an historic high and bilateral trade has never been better, but this bitter experience led to the Kremlin preferring India over China as Russia’s most strategic energy partner. https://korybko.substack.com/p/five-takeaways-from-the-historic-f85

We gotta’ make profits, Boss: U.S. Oil Industry Hesitates as Trump Promises Energy Revolution
President-elect Trump has vowed on the campaign trail to support the oil, gas, and coal industries.
The new Trump Administration will lift the pause on LNG export permits.
The U.S. oil and gas industry is not expected to significantly increase oil production in the short term. https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/US-Oil-Industry-Hesitates-as-Trump-Promises-Energy-Revolution.html

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Stuns Lefty Reporters By Going Full MAGA
New York City mayor Eric Adams continued his recent pivot away from the Democratic Party and toward the incoming administration by declaring in a press conference that he will not provide any sanctuary for criminal illegal aliens…
..“From what I heard from the incoming head of ICE is that we have the same desire to go after those who are committing violent acts, repeated violent acts among innocent New Yorkers and among migration asylum seekers.”…
..“We have 500,000 children who had sponsors in this country that we can’t find. We can’t find them. We can’t find them. We don’t know if they’re doing child labor. We don’t know if they’re doing sex crimes. We don’t know if they’re being exploited – 500,000 children. There’s a level of hypocrisy…” Adams said. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/nyc-mayor-eric-adams-stuns-lefty-reporters-going-full-maga

Bill Clinton Says He’s ‘Open’ to Discussing ‘Preemptive Pardons’ with Biden for Himself & Hillary https://slaynews.com/news/bill-clinton-says-hes-open-to-discussing-preemptive-pardons-with-biden-for-himself-hillary/

[John Day]

North Korean Special Forces walked across a minefield and took the town in 150 minutes, from what I heard at Military Summary. They “Took no prisoners”.
North Korean Troops Engage Ukrainians in Battle in Russia’s Kursk: Reports
Between December 6 and 7, North Korean soldiers captured the village of Plekhovo, which had a prewar population of 627. More than 300 Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly killed in the attack.
“Plekhovo was taken exclusively by special operations forces of North Korea. In two hours, they passed through like a hurricane, did not take prisoners. The enemy lost more than 300 servicemen,” the Telegram channel “Romanov Light” reported. https://www.newsweek.com/north-korean-troops-seize-first-village-ukraine-battle-kursk-region-reports-2000359

War correspondents reveal details of the first battle of North Korean special forces in the Kursk region​ https://en.topcor.ru/54565-voenkory-raskryli-detali-pervogo-boja-severokorejskogo-specnaza-v-kurskoj-oblasti.html

​ US to transfer thousands of missiles and hundreds of pieces of equipment to Ukrainian Armed Forces in five weeks
The administration of current US President Joe Biden plans to deliver “massive amounts of weapons” to Ukraine within five weeks, CNN reported, citing a senior administration official. Earlier, Mr. Biden approved a $500 million military aid package for Ukraine.​ https://www-kommersant-ru.translate.goog/doc/7378782?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

​ Six major NATO states sign document on Ukraine’s accession plans​, The countries have backed Kiev’s “irreversible path” to eventually joining the bloc​.
Moscow has previously rejected Zelensky’s insistence on restoring Ukraine’s 1991 borders as unacceptable.
​ The foreign ministers of the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Poland signed a declaration after meeting with the Ukrainian leader in Berlin on Thursday.
https://swentr.site/news/609282-nato-declaration-ukraine-membership/

Trump wants EU to send troops to Ukraine A rumored ceasefire proposal would rule out US boots on the ground​ https://swentr.site/news/609280-trump-eu-troops-ukraine/

[John Day]

Trump Says He ‘Vehemently’ Disagrees With US-Backed Long-Range Missile Strikes on Russia, Ukraine launched more ATACMS strikes on Russia this week https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/12/trump-says-he-vehemently-disagrees-with-us-backed-long-range-missile-strikes-on-russia/

The big threat: Kash Patel wants to investigate Zelensky’s spending of US taxpayer money https://english.pravda.ru/news/world/161353-kash-patel-zelensky/

Ukrainian special services eliminate designer of top level Russian cruise missiles, Chief engineer of top level Russian cruise missiles killed in Moscow https://english.pravda.ru/news/hotspots/161355-russian-missiles-designer-killed/

Pushing Ukraine to collapse this winter: Russia Launches Massive Attack On Ukrainian “Critical Fuel & Energy Infrastructure”
Russia launched a massive drone and missile strike against Ukraine on Friday in retaliation for Kyiv’s recent use of the US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against a Russian military base. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-launches-massive-attack-critical-fuel-energy-infrastructure-ukraine

​ Ukraine instructs its troops to kill civilians in front-line areas, POW testifies
Valentin Zubreichuk cited his fellow soldiers who have long been in military service in Ukraine as saying that civilians have been taken out not only in the South Donetsk region but also in the village of Kleshcheyevka and in Artyomovsk​ https://tass.com/world/1886891

[John Day]

US, Turkey and Israel are cooperating on dividing the kill so far: Blinken meets Erdogan as forces backed by US, Turkiye clash in Syria
Earlier this week, Turkish-backed forces seized the northern city of Manbij from the US-backed SDF, which then headed east of the Euphrates River. A Syrian opposition source told Reuters the US and Turkiye had reached an agreement on the withdrawal. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241212-blinken-meets-erdogan-as-forces-backed-by-us-turkiye-clash-in-syria/

Sen. Rand Paul Urges Immediate US Withdrawal From Syria Amid Failed State & ‘ISIS 2.0’ Fears https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/sen-rand-paul-urges-immediate-us-withdrawal-syria-amid-failed-state-isis-20-fears

Israel blew a lot of it up, already. State Sec. Blinken Heading to Turkey to Discuss Sending Syria’s Massive Weapons Stockpiles to Ukraine
Following the defeat of the Syrian government on December 8, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on December 11 initiated an unscheduled visit to Syria’s immediate neighbours Jordan and Turkey. The shaping of Syria’s future is expected to be central to discussions, with the country’s territory currently being split between Turkish-backed Islamist paramilitaries, many of which have Turkish officers within their ranks, as well as the Israel Defence Forces which have advanced deep into the country, and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in the country’s oil rich northeastern regions…
..A number of sources have reported that a central objective of State Secretary Blinken’s visit to Turkey will be to secure access to Syrian arsenals for transfer to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which have faced growing equipment shortages after over two and a half years of high intensity engagements with Russian forces. The discrepancy between Russian and Ukrainian armaments has continued to grow as the Western world’s weapons stockpiles rapidly dwindled, while Russia has not only massively expanded its production capacities, but also received very large scale supplies from North Korea. Syria’s arsenals, which are estimated to include over 1 million 152mm and 122mm artillery rounds, close to 4000 T-54/55, T-62, T-72 and T-90 main battle tanks, and over 2000 armoured personnel carriers, among other assets, could provide a tremendous boost to the Ukrainian Army. https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/blinken-heading-turkey-discuss-syria-stockpiles-ukraine

They own Syrian airspace now, so it’s much closer. Israel Sees Opportunity To Bomb Iran After Downfall of Assad
The Times of Israel reports the Israeli military has increased preparations for a potential attack on Iran
Israeli military officials said in the wake of the regime change in Syria, the Israeli Air Force has increased its preparations for a potential attack on Iran.
The Times report said the IDF is considering launching strikes on Iran’s nuclear program. While Israeli officials are constantly claiming Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, there is no evidence that’s the case, a fact recently acknowledged by the CIA.
In the wake of Assad’s ouster, Israel launched a massive bombing campaign in Syria, launching 480 strikes in just 48 hours. The Israeli military said it decimated the former government’s military assets, destroying about 80% of the equipment that was left behind.
Israeli officials now say they have total air superiority over Syria due to the lack of air defenses, which could make it easier to launch airstrikes on Iran. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/12/report-israel-sees-opportunity-to-bomb-iran-after-downfall-of-assad/

Trump Team Weighing Options For Preemptive Airstrikes On Iran’s Nuclear Program
A significant Friday report in The Wall Street Journal says that “President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the longstanding policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy and sanctions.”
“Trump has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent calls that he is concerned about an Iranian nuclear breakout on his watch, two people familiar with their conversations said, signaling he is looking for proposals to prevent that outcome,” the report continues.
“The president-elect wants plans that stop short of igniting a new war, particularly one that could pull in the U.S. military, as strikes on Tehran’s nuclear facilities have the potential put the U.S. and Iran on a collision course.” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-team-weighing-options-preemptive-airstrikes-irans-nuclear-program

[John Day]

Airwars Finds Israel Killed Over 5,000 Civilians in Gaza in October 2023
In that same 606 incidents Airwars reviewed, the group only found 32-60 militants were killed, a ratio of about 85 civilians killed to one militant https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/12/airwars-finds-israel-killed-over-5000-civilians-in-gaza-in-october-2023/

Netanyahu tightens grip on power through Gaza genocide https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241212-netanyahu-tightens-grip-on-power-through-gaza-genocide/

Good looking guys, like Jeff Epstein. Israeli-American real estate giants charged with sex trafficking, sexual assault in New York court
Three Israeli-American real estate moguls have been charged with sex trafficking and rape, in a case which casts further shadow on their Manhattan luxury real estate empire.
According to an unsealed federal indictment in New York, Tal and Oren Alexander and their brother, Alon, have been charged with sex trafficking after being accused of drugging and raping “dozens of victims” over more than a decade.
Having reportedly “used their wealth and positions to create and facilitate opportunities to rape and sexually assault women”, the brothers were said to have often “lured” women with luxury trips, in which they then allegedly committed sexual assault.
They were also accused by the eight-page indictment in US District Court in Manhattan of having “worked together and with others known and unknown” to carry out such a sex trafficking scheme, leading to their arrest in Miami on Wednesday morning. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241212-israeli-american-real-estate-giants-charged-with-sex-trafficking-sexual-assault-in-new-york-court/

‘The plan is just to kill’: personal testimonies of Israel’s genocide in Gaza​ https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241213-the-plan-is-just-to-kill-personal-testimonies-of-israels-genocide-in-gaza/

Israeli Drone Strike Kills Two in South Lebanon Town of Khiam, Hours After IDF Withdrew, Lebanese military deployed to outskirts of Khiam, urges civilians to stay away https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/12/israeli-drone-strike-kills-two-in-south-lebanon-town-of-khiam-hours-after-idf-withdrew/

[John Day]

Negotiating from a less vulnerable position: Russia Rapidly Packing Up Military Equipment At Bases In Syria https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/russia-rapidly-packing-military-equipment-bases-syria

Russia makes all preparations to evacuate military bases from Syria https://english.pravda.ru/news/hotspots/161360-russia-syria-military-base/

Reports: Talks to transport thousands of Soviet tanks to Ukraine https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2024/12/13/reports-talks-to-transport-thousands-of-soviet-tanks-to-ukraine/

Israeli warplanes kill, injure 100+ Palestinians in Nuseirat camp
Israeli bombardment on the Nuseirat refugee camp is ongoing as Israeli occupation forces continue to massacre Palestinians. https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-warplanes-kill–injure-100–palestinians-in-nuseirat

Israel Kills Dozens More in Gaza, Including an Orthopedic Surgeon
Israeli strikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Thursday evening killed 33
Gaza’s Health Ministry said an Israeli quadcopter drone shot and killed Dr. Saeed Joda while he was traveling from Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia to Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia. Both northern Gaza cities have been under a total Israeli siege since early October as part of an ethnic cleansing campaign.
Dr. Joda was believed to be the last orthopedic surgeon in northern Gaza and was injured in a previous strike but continued to work. https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/12/israel-kills-dozens-more-in-gaza-including-orthopedic-surgeon/

[John Day]

This Fall https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/this-fall

Mike Mihajlovic at Black Mountain Analysis has a good, succinct strategic analysis from October 7, 2023 through the fall of Syria. He’s not missing a lick, here.
Israel and the Fall of Syria and Beyond “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”
Israel, a tiny strip of land surrounded by hostile (to some degree) Arab nations but supported by mighty allies across the big pond called the Atlantic Ocean and a small pond called the Mediterranean Sea, is the de facto ruler of the Middle East.
One can hate Israel or love Israel, but one thing is a fact: Israel is more than competent in achieving its national goals and has the necessary means to do that.
The Israeli military, combined with its mighty intelligence apparatus, is the most competent in the Middle East, regardless of setbacks against Hamas and Hezbollah.
The “Fall of Syria” is a victory for Israel, and this event creates a whole set of ”new opportunities”….
..When one connects the dots between October 7th (10/7) and now (the collapse of Syria), there is a pattern: Hamas was established and financed by Mossad, and it is more than certain that Mossad operatives or assets are present at the very core of Hamas and other Palestinian groups. Events of 10/7, no matter how it may appear to be a surprise, may have been planned as an excuse to take action, and what better excuse than an attack on its border?
You may ask what twisted mind could allow that and sacrifice innocent civilians, but to simplify, “You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs” means that it is simply impossible to get something important done without creating a problem for someone else. In other words, sacrifice is necessary for the greater goal. Holly’s books also speak about sacrifice at the altar, after all.
Palestinians, after 75 years of oppression and humiliation, reached a boiling point, and to release the pressure, a valve was open, and that valve was the heavily fortified border of Gaza. The “Surprise” attack stunned the public; civilians and soldiers were captured, and rockets pounded Israeli settlements. Israel ordered a “Hannibal Directive” in which Israel killed more of their citizens than Hamas did… https://bmanalysis.substack.com/p/israel-and-the-fall-of-syria-and

Jeffrey Sachs, How the US and Israel Destroyed Syria and Called it Peace
American interference, at the behest of Netanyahu’s far-right Israel, has left the Middle East in ruins, with over a million dead and open wars raging in Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, and with Iran on the brink of a nuclear arsenal.
The story is simple. In stark violation of international law, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers claim the right to rule over seven million Palestinian Arabs. When Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands leads to militant resistance, Israel labels the resistance “terrorism” and calls on the U.S. to overthrow the Middle East governments that back the “terrorists.” The U.S., under the sway of the Israel Lobby, goes to war on Israel’s behalf.
The fall of Syria this week is the culmination of the Israel-U.S. campaign against Syria that goes back to 1996 with Netanyahu’s arrival to office as Prime Minister. The Israel-U.S. war on Syria escalated in 2011 and 2012, when Barack Obama covertly tasked the CIA with the overthrow of the Syrian Government in Operation Timber Sycamore. That effort finally came to “fruition” this week, after more than 300,000 deaths in the Syrian war since 2011. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/us-israel-syria

Israeli troops push deeper into Syria, hinder UN peacekeepers​ https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/12/12/738970/Syria%EF%BF%BDQuneitra-Israel-Golan-Heights

Pepe Escobar, Death of a nation: Black Flags, massacres, land grabs as vultures feed on the carcass of Syria
The iron axis of Straussian neocons, Zio-cons and Old Testament psychos in Tel Aviv is no-holds-barred obsessed on destroying the Axis of Resistance, using their transnational network of bloody killers to extend chaos and sectarian civil war all across West Asia. Throughout this ideal scenario they dream of mortally hitting the head of the snake: Iran.
Sultan Erdogan, playing the role of useful patsy, has proclaimed: A “bright period” for Syria has begun.
Indeed. A bright period for Black Flag head-choppers and Tel Aviv bombers and land grabbers – feeding on the carcass of Syria. https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/12/11/death-nation-black-flags-massacres-land-grabs-as-vultures-feed-on-carcass-syria/

[John Day]

Martin Armstrong’s “Socrates” program: Beware Last 2 Weeks of December – Something is Not Right https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/beware-last-2-weeks-of-december-something-is-not-right/

[John Day]

Still not getting a good lead on the drone/UFO proliferation in the Northeast. Hal Turner, At least FIVE Drones Over Cliffside Park, NJ Aimed at New York City
I did hear a “RUMOR” a few days ago, which I did NOT pass along to anyone because, well, you’ll figure it out now as I tell you:
​ RUMOR: These are RUMORED TO BE Pentagon Drones equipped with highly sensitive radiation detection gear because they’re looking for a DIRTY BOMB allegedly being transported for detonation in New York City.​ There. I said it. But it is just a RUMOR and you need to treat it like a RUMOR and not go off, half-cocked, or panic. It’s a RUMOR. Nothing more!​ https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/national-news/7-08-pm-est-at-least-five-drones-over-cliffside-park-nj-aimed-at-new-york-city

​ Pentagon Denies Congressman’s Claim Of Iranian ‘Mothership’ Launching Drones Off US Coast
Singh said: “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States … and there is no so-called ‘mothership’ launching drones towards the United States.”
​ “They were not US military drones,” she continued, adding, “These are not drones or activities from a foreign entity or foreign adversary.”…
..If it’s not Iran, a foreign entity, or the US MIL, that would leave:​ -Intelligence community -Private entity/civilian -Extraterrestrial​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/watch-congressman-warns-iranian-mothership-behind-nj-drone-scare-urges-military-action

[Author]

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