Press TV are reporting leaked documents that the Israeli Military Censors have banned the reporting of eight subjects relating to the war in The Gaza:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/12/24/716944/Israeli-military-censor-Intercept-eight-subjects-Gaza-Strip-

Posted by: Menz | Dec 25 2023 0:39 utc | 103

I correct the spelling or grammar for the sake of enlightening the poster not to diminish him or her or their contributions. . . .
if I attempted to write in French and I misspelled or my grammar was incorrect I would be thankful to whomever, of any political stripe, to correct me for the proper form.
. . .
Posted by: canuck | Dec 24 2023 13:57 utc | 23
================
Pul-lease.
If you want to solicit corrections, fine. That is you.
Although it may not be welcome to others.
Imposing your corrections on others who have not solicited them is rude.
And obnoxious. And often turns out to be somewhat obsessive.
Not to mention that other commenters really don’t need this kind of puerile distraction and red herring within a serious discussion.
Not to mention that people who do this often make quite a few mistakes of their own. In their eagerness to find trivial mistakes to correct they often see error where there is none, and introduce their own errors.
I am a life-long professional (career) editor. In list-servs for editors, the general rule is:
Do not correct other members’ posts.

Posted by: Jane | Dec 25 2023 0:45 utc | 105

Posted by: Giyane | Dec 24 2023 23:18 utc | 90
############
I will never be confused with a member of the Ullumah, but it seems to me that people should get their own Deen correct before they judge others. As I understand it, judgment is reserved for Allah SWT alone.
We will all have to answer for our choices and decisions before our Creator one day.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Dec 25 2023 1:19 utc | 107

@countrumford | Dec 24 2023 13:27 utc | 7
The Houthis, too. The troubles in the Red Sea caused by the Houthis will primarily hurt Egypt.
——————————
Methinx Egypt had already been courted with offers of paying out IMF debts etc, but 2 issues –
one is Egypt’s military, which has shown before that it can take independent action if it so feels, especially with an angry population behind them. And Egypt is also suffering trying to deal with a flood of Sudanese refugees in the south.
and 2, the BRICS10 accession from 1 January — its possible that Russia, China and Company have put in financial deals and plans to help Egypt “weather” the storm, I expect BRICS10 may also help with easing Sudan’s war impacts on Egypt, and Ethiopia, which is also joining BRICS10. And, those 2 need to sort out their ongoing messy political conflict over the hydro dam on the Blue Nile too….
Busy, busy times for BRICS10 !
but they do promote diplomacy, and FAIR trade, and win-win solutions, aimed at promoting regional stability etc 🙂
I guess we’ll see how that works out for them in due course.

Posted by: Rain | Dec 25 2023 1:44 utc | 109

* No video or photos were provided to western audiences of the kinds of damage only possible with IDF helicopter fired munitions, tank fire, large caliber machine guns, etc.
By this I meant that we were not shown the craters in the ground which would have resulted from the types of munitions needed to do that to cars, nor were we shown the blown up Kibbutzim on fire, having been struck by Israeli aircraft, missiles, etc. The kinds of evidence that would naturally be present in the event that so many residents of said Kibbutzim were burned beyond recognition – such as the media accurately reported. We were only shown snippets of bodies, damaged cars, etc. But we weren’t shown the invariable damage to surrounding structures or earth which would also have occurred.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Dec 25 2023 1:54 utc | 111

SOS @ 34
That image of the Fateh-110 looks AI created or so it appears in my eyes.

Posted by: circumspect | Dec 25 2023 2:55 utc | 113

Posted by: Jane | Dec 25 2023 0:45 utc | 105
Hi Jane … FYI this storm in a tea cup originated here:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/12/open-neither-ukraine-nor-palestine-thread-2023-302-1.html?cid=6a00d8341c640e53ef02c8d3a63274200b#comment-6a00d8341c640e53ef02c8d3a63274200b
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/12/open-neither-ukraine-nor-palestine-thread-2023-302-1.html?cid=6a00d8341c640e53ef02c8d3a6471b200b#comment-6a00d8341c640e53ef02c8d3a6471b200b
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/12/open-neither-ukraine-nor-palestine-thread-2023-302-1.html?cid=6a00d8341c640e53ef02c8d3a69d02200d#comment-6a00d8341c640e53ef02c8d3a69d02200d
Hi canuck (smiling)
Sometimes people’s self-importance and self-righteousness is only matched by their deeply Ingrained Myopic Self-Centred Ignorance….. or is should that be “self-centered” – oh no, that would be wrong for me! But what about https://grammarist.com/spelling/engrain-ingrain/ ?
Oh the Vagaries of the Diversity of Life 🙂
Oh dear me, I think I’m going to have a feinting spell! LOL
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/feinting
imo canuck deserves all the disapprobations that could possibly be deluged upon him.
Or is it a Her?
@ canuck | Dec 24 2023 13:57 utc | 23 was NOT correcting other people’s spelling
canuck was unjustifiably criticising people for writing and spelling CORRECTLY in the King’s English as found in the UK, NZ, Australia, across the Commonwealth of nations and the Literature Classics for centuries.
A cultural supremacist tosser who foolishly believes his way – the DUMBED DOWN USA WAY – is the ONLY way to spell. Daftly attempting to impose his version of bland cultural conformity onto everyone on this forum …. well I and others have got news for him.
He was intentionally being an self-righteous arrogant asshat … unlike all other Canadians I have ever met or dialogued with on the internet. He was not being Humorous, refuses to Apologise, and is Colourless not Colourful.
He should hang his head in shame for his pretentious haughty hubris, petty putdowns, and the callous disruptions caused. “Apologise” is the correct spelling … let’s see how long it takes this pseudo-highbrow Apologist to Apologise!

Apologise or Apologize?
Grammar
Apologize is the standard American English spelling.
Apologise is the standard British English spelling.
Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to have a spelling error in a letter of apology? And it’s even more cringe-worthy if the word you spell wrong is one of the key elements of your message!
So before you say you’re sorry, find out whether apologize or apologise is the right word.
“>https://www.grammarly.com/blog/apologise-apologize/

So COLOUR me stupid already! LOL

red, blue, green, yellow, etc.:
What’s your favourite colour?
She wears a lot of bright colours.
What colour are your eyes?
in a colour Does the shirt come in any other colour?
I like rich jewel colours, such as purple, blue, and green.
in colour Are the photos in colour or black and white?
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/colour

Now I’m really ROTFLOL
‘Literally’ Yours 😛

Posted by: Lavrov’s Dog | Dec 25 2023 5:00 utc | 115

The Muslims of political Islam in the West have set up spy networks to spy on reverts/ converts to Islam in alliance with Western intelligence agencies.
This is illegal in Islam and illegal in Western countries. It criminalises anybody who rejects Western prejudices.
Islam says that if anybody puts their eye to a keyhole, the person being spied on has a right to spike that eye with total impunity. The Muslims incessantly scrabble for power and CASH from the PTB through this evil trade of spying.
Its a disease from the corruption of the Ottoman Empire, which the Israelis supply all the software for.
If you look at what people do in private in their own homes, you will end up seeing them as animals. This is what political Islam does. It trades the privacy of Muslims for power from the enemies of Islam.
This is the Muslim Brotherhood and other groups that infest the the Muslim World.
They call themselves Ulama, but their character is from the invisible Satan.

Posted by: Giyane | Dec 25 2023 5:48 utc | 117

I have analysed IDF operations in Gaza, in my blogpost. This is part 2 of my series on the gaza war.
https://rpdeans.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-gaza-war-by-numbers-2-months-later.html
I am from India and blog on geopolitics, Indian national security and business. I am independent. My blog is free and I don’t solicit advertising.

Posted by: Rahul Deans | Dec 25 2023 6:32 utc | 119

OSINTdefender
@sentdefender
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have reportedly told the President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas that he must Resign as President and Dissolve the current Government in order to Appoint a Saudi and UAE-Approved Government, or else they will Halt all further Financial Aid to the Palestinian Territories.
https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1739052007166488820

Posted by: Menz | Dec 25 2023 7:48 utc | 121

Posted by: Menz | Dec 25 2023 7:50 utc | 122
Amen.
I may be half white but the next snownigger that comes up to me talking about morality, principles and ‘international law’ is going to get an earful.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Dec 25 2023 7:59 utc | 123

But in reality cctv in the privacy of Muslim homes feeds the prejudices of the enemies of Islam. This is why Israelis are seeing Palestinians as animals, because Muslim Brotherhood spying has fed their prejudices aganst Islam.
Posted by: Giyane | Dec 25 2023 6:35 utc | 120
Giyane, Giyane, izzraelies have seen Palestinians as animals before CCTV was even invented …

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Dec 25 2023 9:04 utc | 125

welcome New Barfly Rahul Deans !
His article is a solid deep dive into the military minutia and order of battle of the IDF attack on Al-Qassem brigades. Anyone who wants some insight into units and the management issues the IDF faces should read Rahul‘s article. I don‘t agree with everything Rahul writes but it’s a decent deep dive.
https://rpdeans.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-gaza-war-by-numbers-2-months-later.html
Ragul‘s takeaway quoted below roughly aligns with my guesstimate – namely although the IDF is getting the worst beating in 75 years, the Likud gov’t will not suffer until 4-5 total months into a hot conflict.

Based on the current trend, my view is that Israel will only face real pressure from its population on IDF casualties and the economic cost and from the world community on Palestinian casualties, after another 2 months. Israel has more time than I projected, since it has a casualty averse strategy and so far, the Arab world is not prepared to act – neither is the UN.
Based on current consumption and stocks, Israel will run out of guided bombs and 155mm artillery shells, as well as interceptor rockets for their Iron Dome anti missile system, even after US replenishment of stocks, within 2 months, which would mean they have to significantly scale down operations in Gaza, particularly if ammunition is needed for a war against Hezbollah. Bombing Gaza has already starting yielding diminishing returns.
So….Barflies the critical question is can the various Arab fighting groups keep the war hot for anothe 2-3 months ? If the IDF withdraws its ground forces from Gaza, can the Al-Qassem brigades make raids outside the Gaza fence ?

Posted by: Exile | Dec 25 2023 9:55 utc | 127

Sorry, the previous should have referred to: Posted by: Arch Bungle | Dec 25 2023 7:59 utc | 123

Posted by: Menz | Dec 25 2023 10:36 utc | 129

I was thinking more about the recent surge on the US border which is 5+ million
Posted by: Scorpion | Dec 24 2023 22:19 utc | 84
Thanks for the Christmas haiku.
TLDR: I see refugee and immigrant flows as an inevitable consequence of “Rules Based Order” policies.
The media deliberately overhypes the issue by
a) inflating the “threat” within OECD: NATOstan does not have its fair share of refugees relative to its shot disturbing activity, to share of global refugees and share relative to domestic population. Iran Turkey, Sub Saharan Africa, Pakistan etc. have way more as a consequence of NATOstan (aka mostly US UK Fr Zioland)activity.
b) focusing on symptom rather than root cause. Origin country is different for Europe vs US but root causes are the same: NATO wars, regime change activities, corporate neocolonialism, corrupt domestic policies within OECD and “rules based order” impoverishing Global South through IMF, World Bank etc. I intend very specific policies on banking, finance, etc.
These impoverish people within and outside NATOstan.
A high unemployment rate prevents unionization and lowers the cost of personal services for high income earners (nanny, gardener etc.). This used to be “third world” but now its common in OECD. I just don’t see how the Collective Waste can continue like this with an out of control parasitic class.
I look at Yemeni guys interviewed on the street and ask myself: how come these people are more compassionate and media literate than the average person here?
If economic conditions were good here people would not be so upset about R/I.
Identity politics and LGBQTADFKAJH+£$%&* are used to divide people. Deliberately incompetent diversity hires in prominent positions like Kamala ffs/ Karim Khan ICC / that woman of UN Genocide Prevention Office add fuel to the fire.
US Border: Tbh I did not research this. I see sensational stories. To have an informed opinion, I need to know exactly how many by country over what period, what entry method, current status etc. All I get is MSM reporting and no proper stats. The US does not keep proper EXIT data. We NEVER know the exact balance.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-biden-us-mexico-border/
If the graph on apprehensions is correct, the level today is similar to the level 20 years ago.
“Another seismic demographic shift recorded under Mr. Biden is the growing share of migrants from countries outside of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador entering U.S. border custody. Record numbers of Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Colombians, Haitians and other nationalities have been processed by U.S. border officials in the past year and half.”
If this is true, these are the exact countries US NGOs are trying to overthrow governments. That raises questions.
I read an interview with a Venezuelan woman. She finds the US is not El Dorado. These poor people have been so brainwashed. Even skilled ex Iron Curtain immigrants who are doing well tell me the West is “not what they imagined”. Debt and mortgages were unknown concepts to them.
Call me PC but I am not worried about refugees. I am worried about the broken institutions and policies.
Peace!
ps: so many killed in Palestine on Xmas Eve and everyone tells me “Merry” Christmas without mentioning it.

Posted by: pq | Dec 25 2023 11:48 utc | 131

The common Muslim hated the Sharia police. They just wanted to be left the hell alone. from the USA and from the Sharia police.
Posted by: RLTW | Dec 25 2023 1:31 utc | 108
There is absolutely no basis for compulsion in any form. In fact it is contrary to Islamic Shariah.

Posted by: sal | Dec 25 2023 12:33 utc | 133

Re: Migration into U.S.
Note net migration from Mexico (legal and illegal) has been modestly negative since around 2007.
Also note – Nigerian immigrants have a slightly higher average household income versus native born Americans

Posted by: Exile | Dec 25 2023 12:37 utc | 135

Churchill cut Kurdistan into four parts.
That’s 100 year old integrity to the day.
An integrity that infuses all of Kurdish society I can’t respect a leader who has no integrity. Kafaa billahi shaheeda.
Posted by: Giyane | Dec 25 2023 5:13 utc | 116
Churchill was only executing a ‘divide and conquer(‘divide and impera in Latin) strategy employed throughout history. Phillip III and Alexander the Great in subjugating Greece; Caesar in Gaul; the Belgians and the Germans in Africa-Hutu and Tutsi tribes; the early Americans dividing the Indigenous tribes against each other. The list goes on.
Trigger Warning: It may be ‘immoral’ but it is an effective tool for political, economic and military control.
“Integrity”, to conquerors, is a totally irrelevant idea.

Posted by: canuck | Dec 25 2023 13:34 utc | 137

These impoverish people within and outside NATOstan.
Posted by: pq | Dec 25 2023 11:48 utc | 131
Only because the leaders, or should I say gangsters who run these countries play along with it. Sri Lanka which is the example above has a corrupt political system dominated by a single family. It is nearly always the case in the global south.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Dec 25 2023 13:44 utc | 139

I questioned an important point ie the responsablilty of the wider jewish comunity for this war in Palistine.
I feel ther is a case to be anserwed. —Mark2
====================
Indeed.

Posted by: Jane | Dec 25 2023 14:05 utc | 141

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Dec 25 2023 1:50 utc | 110
Tom, you have convinced yourself that that is what happened and that that is the ONLY possibility and only possible explanation of what happened.
It is not. Just because there were numerous false flag operations not everything that occurs is a false flag. That’s just lazy, instead of applying critical scrutiny of complex and contradictory events that sometimes seem impossible. But, ‘impossible” things do happen.
I am not persuaded at all. A lot of what you are convinced happened is not logical.
I am patient, keeping an open mind. The facts will surface.
I see no point in the frequent repetition at MoA of this version of events on 7 October. We are all familiar with this version. Can we put it to rest and discuss relevant current issues, which often are not getting the attention they warrant.

Posted by: JB | Dec 25 2023 14:28 utc | 143

Posted by: Giyane | Dec 25 2023 14:00 utc | 140
All of these psychos actually think they can control the money supply. Their wet dream is there should only be a fixed amount. Which comes from their insane belief in the Quantity theory of money and the wrong assumptions applied to the equation of exchange.
M: That which is money is easily defined and identified and only the central bank can affect its supply, which it can do with autonomy and precision.
V: The velocity of money is related to people’s habits and the structure of the financial system. It is, therefore, relatively constant.
P: The economy is so competitive that neither firms nor workers are free to change what they charge for their goods and services without there having been a change in the underlying forces driving supply and demand in their market.
y: The economy automatically tends towards full employment and thus y (the existing volume of goods and services) is as large as it can be at any given moment (although it grows over time).
Remember that Friedman used a helicopter–indeed, he had to, for there was no other way to make the example work. This wasn’t just a simplifying device, it was critical, for it allowed the central bank to raise the money supply despite the wishes of the public.
However, that can’t happen in the real world because the actual mechanisms available are
Fed purchases of government debt from the public.
Fed loans to banks through the discount window.
Fed adjustment of reserve requirements so that the banks can make more loans from the same volume of deposits.
All of these can raise M, but, not a single solitary one of them can occur without the conscious and voluntary cooperation of a private sector agent.
You cannot force anyone to sell a Treasury Bill in exchange for new cash.
You cannot force a private bank to accept a loan from the Fed.
Private banks cannot force their customers to accept loans.
Supplying money is like supplying haircuts: you can’t do it unless a corresponding demand exists.
The truth is
M: A precise definition and identification of money is elusive in a modern, credit-money economy, and its volume can change either with or without direct central bank intervention. In addition, the monetary authority cannot raise the supply of money without the cooperation of the private sector. Because central banks almost always target interest rates (the price of holding cash) rather than the quantity of money, they tend to simply accommodate demands from banks. When private banks communicate that they need more reserves for loans and offer government debt to the Fed, the Fed buys it. It’s the private sector that is in the driver’s seat in this respect, not the central bank. The central bank’s impact is indirect and heavily dependent on what the rest of the economy is willing to do.
V: The velocity of money is, indeed, related to people’s behavior and the structure of the financial system, but there are discernable patterns. It is not constant even over the short run.
P: While it is true that factors like production bottlenecks can be a source of price movements, the economy is not so competitive that there are not firms or workers who find themselves able to manipulate the prices and wages they charge. The most important inflationary episode in recent history was the direct result of a cartel, i.e., OPEC, flexing its muscle. Asset price bubbles can also cause price increases (as they are now). The key here, however, is that P CAN be the initiating factor– in fact, it has to be, since M can’t.
y: The economy can and does come to rest at less than full employment. Hence, while it is possible for y to be at its maximum, it most certainly does not have to be.
The myths are Why the gold bugs, Austrians, Mises who are obsessed with a fixed amount of money in the end, end up supporting the neocolonial imperialist view. If they actually understood what the first settlers in the US had to go through to try and get around these ” fixed amount ” imperialist colonialist policies. They would hang their heads in shame.
Money is NEVER fixed and you can’t control it using interest rates.It is liquid and breathes in and out as economies grow and contract.
When they attach wrong assumptions to Quantity theory of money and the wrong assumptions applied to the equation of exchange. The rest of the World suffers.
The American colonial governments were always short of British coins (but prohibited by the Crown from coining their own) they had to export to get the coins. Their debts were in coins they couldn’t produce themselves. All the while, continuous growth and a trade balance favouring England constantly tapped the money supply, leading to near constant calls for more liquidity. A trick later applied to Scotland.
Is still the policy of the neocolonialists today. Within the EU and the global south and within the UK.
As soon as they each came up with their own money of account (for example the Virginia pound) The European bankers in Canada and New York. Screemed it should be backed by gold. Thus, trying to put American colonial governments back into a position where they started. Completely obsessed with a fixed amount of money, universally run by wealthy, politically connected and conservative individuals, often with direct ties to England.
Is it any surprise whatsoever the ideology still comes from and funded, by a certain type of Conservative today.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Dec 25 2023 14:42 utc | 145

Echo (neé Derek Henry),
Could you try summarizing your presentation into a 5 sentance paragraph my 95 year old great aunt Sally would understand ?

Posted by: Exile | Dec 25 2023 14:57 utc | 147

“Faisal Devji, Muslim Zion: Pakistan as a Political Idea”, London, 2013
https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/3846
Hundreds of thousands of non-Muslims were massacred in that Muslim Zion, hundreds yearly till today but zero complaints from woke Western left-overs. Land and houses were taken without any compensation, BUT done by non-white or non-Jewish/Christian/Hindu men, so totally ‘understandable’- by warped minds. Socialist PM Bhutto was hanged till death in 1979 in Rawalpindi by Zia ul Haq, know for commanding the Jordanians killing of thousands of Palestinians in operation Black September
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September#Role_of_Zia-ul-Haq_and_Iranian_leftist_guerillas

Posted by: Antonym | Dec 25 2023 15:12 utc | 149

Posted by: Giyane | Dec 25 2023 14:39 utc | 144
This shows very clearly the Quantity theory of money is complete bunkum. Applies mainly to fixed exchange rates and not to what we have today.
Weimar Republic Hyperinflation through a Modern Monetary Theory Lens.
https://gimms.org.uk/2020/11/14/weimar-republic-hyperinflation-through-a-modern-monetary-theory-lens/

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Dec 25 2023 15:20 utc | 151

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIMfc1y59mM
Israeli contradicts official narrative about hostages.

Posted by: Eighthman | Dec 25 2023 15:36 utc | 153

Posted by: Giyane | Dec 24 2023 23:35 utc | 95
‘They are genociding the Ukrainians. Their modus operandi is genocide. ‘
This is true. The ‘Ukrainians’ (a historically recent construct) are either very slow to understand that they are being genocided by the Zio-nazis, or are just too frightened to stand against the tyranny. If they were thinking clearly, their best and only good option would be to coordinate a revolt siding with Russian forces, to wipe out their genociders, the nazis in power, quickly and efficiently.

Posted by: Áobh Ó’Sheachnasaigh | Dec 25 2023 16:03 utc | 155

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/the-egyptian-proposal-for-a-ceasefire-in-gaza-text/
What do barflies think of this?
At the end I see this:
8- Egypt, Qatar and the US are responsible for coordinating the formation of a non-factional and political government (technocrats) that will administer the Gaza Strip and the West Bank once a full ceasefire is announced.
9- The agreement is implemented with the guarantee of Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
The US? The major arms supplier (along with long suffering taxpayers) is now going to guarantee peace in a convoluted process that seems to me like a minefield for the resistance.
Anyone have a more optimistic view?

Posted by: pq | Dec 25 2023 16:14 utc | 157

Posted by: pq | Dec 25 2023 11:48 utc | 131
A much better reply! Thank you.
The simple fact that the whole border is so wide open with so many tens of thousands streaming through as shown in many photos is cause for alarm in itself. This is not normal migration, it is encouraged, facilitated and in many cases subsidized with debit cards. For you this is not a news item of interest; fair enough. I just happen to think that this is
a) an important phenomenon and
b) will have consequences which
c) will not be good for the citizens of the US who
d) are obviously in the crosshairs.
You may not see it this way – most don’t – but I happen to think that the US is now a ‘post-constitutional republic’ or a ‘Republic In Name Only’ i.e. fundamentally lawless.
Lawless societies usually become first kleptocracies and then living hells. My concern is that immanent socio-political convulsions will cause the deaths of millions, like after both the French and Russian Revolutions. People then – as now – think ‘it can’t happen here’ or ‘it can’t happen to us’ but they were wrong then and are wrong now. To me this facilitated mass immigration is a sign of impending catastrophe. Hopefully, am wrong.

Posted by: Scorpion | Dec 25 2023 16:58 utc | 159

Posted by: Scorpion | Dec 25 2023 16:58 utc | 158
Yes: lawless = Rules Based Order.
Forget the law (at least the part that was properly written) and make up rules as you go along. Enforce with guns.
Fundamentally we agree.
Photos can be frightening. Deliberately so. When I look at a photo on any topic I think: what message are they trying to make me believe? Photos and videos are a key instrument of manipulation.
Whereas the stuff from Gaza, most of it (not all) is raw and unedited. It’s even too horrifying to watch.
About the debit cards I don’t know.
I haven’t heard of that.

Posted by: Pq | Dec 25 2023 17:31 utc | 161

No better example than this – With examples how to fix it.
Posted by: Echo Chamber | Dec 25 2023 13:40 utc | 138
Thank you. Your link elaborates on my reply to Scorpion with respect to IMF. That predatory loan shark IMF model operates over decades (since 1977 in Sri Lanka’s case) and is responsible for much of the economic misery in Global South.
MMT is not a real theory. It didn’t exist as a “theory” until recently when it was thrown around to cover for policy failure.

Posted by: Pq | Dec 25 2023 17:43 utc | 163

Exile 159
I have a small phial of deadly poison.
Should I mix it into a main water tank where nobody will die or give it to my enemy who will die in convulsions instantly?
The number of Palestinians sacrificed for MB power struggles is quite high, but the cost to IDF is negligible. If I give up the fight most Palestinians can return to normality relatively quickly.
Is it necessary to ask?
Qatar and Muslim Brotherhood and Likud and the US are proved to be 100 % responsible for this catastrophe.
The ICJ should and must convict them for genocide. If it can’t , Putin says a time will come when it will be able to, or somebody else.
Take a look at Voltairenet, Qatar , the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and Israel.

Posted by: Giyane | Dec 25 2023 18:00 utc | 165

psychohistorian | Dec 25 2023 18:13 utc | 165–
Merry Christmas and thanks for posting that link! Here’s Russia’s MFA’s readout on the recent UNSC Resolution:

On December 22, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2720 with the stated tasks of increasing and monitoring the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Prior to that, on November 15, UN Security Council Resolution 2712 was adopted with an emphasis on the need to protect children in armed conflict.
Against the backdrop of 80 days of bloodshed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, primarily Israel’s military cleansing of the Gaza Strip (the world’s most densely populated area of 350 square kilometers with a population of 2.3 million people), it is alarming and regrettable that these decisions of the Security Council remain “on paper.” They do not contain the most important thing – the demand for an immediate and widespread humanitarian ceasefire, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called for, including in his special address to the Security Council under Article 99 of the UN Charter.
Even at the stage of approving the documents, the relevant passages are categorically “erased” by US representatives. Already in voting, Washington has no compunction about using its veto power, as it did with the Russian, Brazilian and Emirati drafts, as well as with the Russian amendment to the current text. The Americans are only ready to let through extremely emasculated formulations that can be used to cover up the continuation of Israel’s military operation in Gaza. As a result, the UN Security Council, as the main body for maintaining international peace and security, has been unable to fulfill its direct mandate for three months now.
After the adoption of the resolution, American representatives (who could not even vote for, in fact, their own “product”) declared it a great success that would help their diplomatic efforts on the ground. The fruits of such efforts are well known: more than 20,000 dead in Gaza, 70% of whom were children and women, about 53,000 wounded and about 10,000 more are missing and under the rubble. According to WFP, more than half a million people in the enclave have faced horrific hunger, and children who have fled to the south of the Gaza Strip receive only 10% of their daily water intake. One of Israel’s six crossings, Kerem Shalom, was opened only 71 days after the start of the military operation.
The new UN Security Council Resolution 2720 cannot remedy this catastrophic situation without a key demand for a cessation of hostilities. The UN Secretary-General and the heads of specialized humanitarian agencies have repeatedly pointed out that it is impossible to deliver aid to Gaza in the face of massive strikes and bombardments, that the cargo that is allowed to pass is a “drop in the ocean” of human suffering and needs, and that civilian infrastructure, including medical facilities, has been almost completely destroyed.
Russia abstained from voting on the resolution, responding to the relevant calls of Palestinian and Arab representatives, who are responsible for their decisions. My country reaffirms its unwavering approaches: it condemns the terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October, which should not serve as an excuse for the continued collective punishment of millions of Palestinian civilians, and advocates an urgent ceasefire as a prerequisite for humanitarian access to those in need.
It is important to work now to restore the political horizon in the process of a Palestinian-Israeli settlement on the universally recognized basis of international law, which provides for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting in peace and security with Israel. [My Emphasis]

IMO, there’s more that needed to be said. But the descriptive words about why the Outlaw US Empire is abetting and furthering the crime its committing with the Zionists was good. In his talk with Napolitano on the 22nd, Crooke cited several polls from Saudi Arabia to back his assertion that “the region is boiling mad,” and he also talked about why this UNSCR is a failure. As I wrote in my Christmas note, we should think of those who only possess their priceless lives as well as those who will lose them today and afterwards as we go about our year end holiday season.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 25 2023 19:04 utc | 167

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-air-strike-syria-kills-senior-iranian-revolutionary-guards-member-2023-12-25/
Israel is busy, fuckin’ up their future

Posted by: 600w | Dec 25 2023 19:18 utc | 169

CHALLENGE TO Echo Chamber | Dec 25 2023 14:42 utc | 145
I can’t be bothered to argue endlessly with you on the merits of gold or a gold standard for currencies.
On this topic I am quite confident that I won’t change your mind, nor that you won’t change mine.
However, we can take our acute differences on the subject and put them to a test, empirically; I propose a simple wager: A one year bet from Dec. 31 2023 to December 31, 2024.
I choose spot gold price as my bet you can choose any asset (you seem to love fiat Sovereign bonds) whatsoever as your choice.
The asset that gains the most or loses the least in value in the named period is the winner.
We can put the wage at a symbolic $1 or an amount or thing that you choose.
Put your money where your voluminous mouth is!

Posted by: canuck | Dec 25 2023 19:25 utc | 171

Crooke’s SCF essay, “Netanyahu Outsmarted by ‘Wily’ Biden? No, Biden Is the One Being Played”, recaps what was said in his conversation with Napolitano. Netanyahu’s attempt to continue his fantastical narrative about Iran being the Deep Evil and the Zionist attempt to confiscate all Palestinian land in its Genocidal Project as being a Manichean conflict between Iranian Evil and Zionist Good is being seen very differently by the Global Majority with the Evil and Good poles being the opposite. Crooke writes:
“A destitute 2 million Gazans will be all refugees with no government to provide basic functions and services. Does Netanyahu get it? Of course. Do the vast majority of Israelis care? Nope. But the rest of the world does, and sees a dark stain spreading across the map, and leeching into the West.”
Both Biden and Netanyahu are trapped and ought to swing from the scaffold together. But what of all the Zionists within Palestine that favor and promote the Genocide? What ought to be done with them? And what global force is going to apply that discipline? For as with the Hitlerian Nazis before them, the Zionist Nazis will need to be completely defeated in Palestine for Justice to prevail and the Palestinian crisis solved. Current Zionist opinion and actions are what mandate that solution. The West outside of the Outlaw US Empire has two very distinct choices: It can continue to abet the Genocide and end up being found guilty of War Crimes, or it can attempt to absolve itself and join the Global Majority to force an end and the Just solution that end requires.

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 25 2023 20:42 utc | 173

PQ: Get in touch with psychohistorian at his website (click on his name), and he will pass it along to me. Thanks. — RJPJR

Posted by: RJPJR | Dec 25 2023 20:58 utc | 175

Posted by: pq | Dec 25 2023 16:14 utc | 156
Posted by: RJPJR | Dec 25 2023 20:42 utc | 171
Hamas will not accept the Egyptian proposal.
This is the Hamas response coming from their leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar:
Al-Qassam Brigades are fighting a fierce and unprecedented battle against the Israeli occupation forces,” Sinwar said.
The brigades are “smashing the Israeli army and will continue to do so,” they “will not submit to the conditions of the occupation.”
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/12/25/717022/Hamas-Yahya-Sinwar-smashing-Israeli-occupation-forces-Gaza-war
Hamas representatives have stated numerous times their “fixed position” – first total cessation of Israeli aggression, unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, then exchange all-for all.
They have also stressed repeatedly that Palestinians, not others, will determine the future of Palestine.
In this they are consistently and vocally supported by Iran.
Here is one articulation of the Hamas position on 30.11.2023:
Dr. Naim confirmed that Hamas is trying to negotiate a permanent ceasefire.
“We are ready to release all (Israeli) soldiers, in exchange for the release of all our prisoners… But this should not be the only condition to reach a permanent ceasefire”.
The movement, he explained, is calling for an immediate and unconditional “end to the aggression” by Israel; border crossings to be opened for basic humanitarian aid to reach the people; and a political process to be initiated that will lead to an independent Palestinian state with its people being allowed “to return to their homes and villages”.
On the two-state solution, Dr. Naim believed it had been “totally destroyed or undermined by Israel.”
He said Hamas has declared that if all Palestinians “agree to accept a state on 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, and preserving the right of return, we are ready to accept it.”
The Egyptian proposal, which is actually a US plot, is contrary to Hamas positions, as well as the positions of Islamic Jihad.
It is contrary to the right of the Palestinians to fight for their liberation from the terror and humiliation the Zionism and the Zionist state has been inflicting on them for a century; it is contrary to the right of the Palestinian people to determine their own future and to govern themselves the way they choose to.
It is contrary to the principles of justice and fairness and is an affront to the aspirations, dignity and honor of the Palestinian people and its representatives and soldiers, dead and alive.

Posted by: JB | Dec 25 2023 21:25 utc | 177

Posted by: pq | Dec 25 2023 16:14 utc | 156
8- Egypt, Qatar and the US are responsible for coordinating the formation of a non-factional and political government (technocrats) that will administer the Gaza Strip and the West Bank once a full ceasefire is announced.
—————-
The proposal would work with just a couple changes to paragraph 8:
Egypt, Qatar and China are responsible for coordinating the formation of a non-factional and political government (technocrats) that will administer Israel once a full ceasefire is announced.

Posted by: Chas | Dec 25 2023 21:47 utc | 179

Middle East Eye just put this up:
In an interview on Israeli channel 13, Danny Neumann, a former Israeli Knesset member, calls for the destruction of Gaza.
“I tell you, in Gaza without exception, they are all terrorists, sons of dogs. They must be terminated, all of them must be killed,” he said.
“We will flatten Gaza, turn them to dust, and the army will cleanse the area. Then we will start building new areas for us, above all, for our security.”
Can’t be any clearer then this, and not a lonely voice.
Really swell pals of the US and the West ruling criminals.

Posted by: JB | Dec 25 2023 22:16 utc | 181

Posted by: canuck | Dec 25 2023 13:34 utc | 137
Western borders of Iran have been fairly stable for the past 200 years. Churchill did not “cut” “Kurdistan” since the choice cut was and remains Iran. I assume the other parts of the fabled Kurdistan were in Syria, Turkey, and Iraq. The claim that Churchill was even in a position to carve out pieces from Iran is questionable. Syria and Iraq, sure since UK and France drew those maps. Rump Ottoman Turkey and Iran however are two different stories. Stalin tried that with Azerbaijan btw with no success.
Kurdish leadership does not seem to have been very effective. A fairly common pattern is their leadership making alliances with powers (near and abroad) that want to use them and them discard them. Whether this is due to gullibility or some other factor is an open question. Kurds themselves are imo the most vital Iranian tribe standing and will have a key role to play in the future of Iran after IR has gone the way of all projects.

Posted by: robinthehood | Dec 25 2023 22:38 utc | 183

Salaam to you too, brother. Not sure how to parse that response of yours as it does not address two important points raised.
1 – There has never been a Kurdistan. Kurds were, are, and will remain an Iranian people. They can have Iran. They have my blessing.
2 – Churchill offering a country to Kurds and someone taking him at his word reminds me of our Christian brothers and sisters in faith in the one God — and a very merry Christmas to you all — reading the Gospel and believing their Christian Mullahs that “Satan has power to give kingdoms and is actually “prince of the world””. Right. Whereas you and I know as Muslims that only ALLAH raises to power and brings down from power. So these sort of misunderstandings — taking the word of known liars — is an error.
Wasalaam

Posted by: robinthehood | Dec 25 2023 23:05 utc | 185

> Keep drinking the MB koolaid brother.
This is a bizarre and somewhat twisted read on me and my posts.. The Israeli and Palestinian matter is a colonial matter. There was never a Kurdistan to be colonized. They were the original Iranian kingdom of Medes. They are Iranian and unlike your Indian self, I have Kurdish blood in my veins and Kurdish relatives and stand on firmer ground here.
BTW, for the record, you are entirely in error regarding your notion of “anti-Christ” being a system, government, organization, or any such construct. The false ones will be individual persons. For the interested reader. These false ones are specifically noted in prophecy for your protection. Think of it as Allah’s poison pilling prophecy so no one can fake it for the attention (aka God fearing) human.

Posted by: robinthehood | Dec 26 2023 0:09 utc | 187

Well, be a friend and enlighten me.

Posted by: robinthehood | Dec 26 2023 0:22 utc | 189

You say the the Kurdisn nation wasn’t carved up. The Eastern third of Turkey is Kurdish and was once part of Kurdistan.
The Eastern part of Iraqi Kurdistan is traditionally part of Assyria and they were expert fighters in Jewish, Christian and Muslim times. This ancient people are till called Ashuri. The people of Babylon converted to Judaism at the invitation of prophet Yunus AS. Their Aramaic language was passed to the Jews and was spoken by Eesa AS on the Jews return to the Holy Land. Kurdistan resisted Islam only in remote areas which were brought by force into Islam by Genghis Khan. It was one country, of ancient peoples united in Sunni Islam.
As to the Antichrist, this is not the time. What leads up to the Antichrist is the kind of total whoppers propagated by
Israel that Al Qaida and Daesh represent Islam. They are wholly owned, trained and controlled by USUKIS for geopolitical conquest which is illegal in international law for them , USUKIS. This helps USUKIS denigrate Islam.
The current crisis in Palestine is a geopolitical threat to the Palestinians legal rights to oil in the Eastern Mediterranean that belongs to them.
Same old same old blood curdling massacres by hired, gullible young Islamists who were extinguished by Iran and USUKIS in Mosul after USUKIS got Kurdishvand Syrian oil free of charge.
The Kurdish people know full well that their own Islamist groups like Mullah Krekar who signed for Daesh to comevfrom Jordan to Iraq sold out to USUKIS in exchange peace and a place in the Kurdish mosques and parliament. I don’t disagree with their decision, I merely note that the Daesh were a non-Muslim tool of USUKIS to extract oil by terror using Erdogan.
This is what I mean by the Antichrist, the 100 % deception that precedes that later phenomenon. After three months of genocide , I have seen the evidence of a false flag, similar to Daesh, by Qatar.
You can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all.of the time.
Our prophet SAW told us that lying is incompatible with being Muslim. Now there is little left of Islam except lying.

Posted by: Giyane | Dec 26 2023 1:02 utc | 191

MMT is not a real theory. It didn’t exist as a “theory” until recently when it was thrown around to cover for policy failure.
Posted by: Pq | Dec 25 2023 17:43 utc | 162
MMT came about when the monetary system changed in the last several decades- MMT does not propose a new way of doing things. MMT simply describes how the current monetary system works- that’s all, and if you do not like it, you’ll have to take it up with the current monetary system, and those that put and kept the system in place.

Posted by: Arkady Bogdanov | Dec 26 2023 2:03 utc | 193

“Both Biden and Netanyahu are trapped and ought to swing from the scaffold together. But what of all the Zionists within Palestine that favor and promote the Genocide? What ought to be done with them? And what global force is going to apply that discipline?…The West outside of the Outlaw US Empire has two very distinct choices: It can continue to abet the Genocide and end up being found guilty of War Crimes, or it can attempt to absolve itself and join the Global Majority to force an end and the Just solution that end requires.”
Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 25 2023 20:42 utc | 172
well said, Karlof1, all of it.
yes, both those guys ought to swing, but who will take them to trial, and how? well, that’s unlikely in the near future, or perhaps even forever, but still a good idea worth discussing.
my own felling would be that many of those (neo-nazi/fascist/right wing) zionists in israel who can’t and won’t live in peaceful co-existence, will flee the zionist state to the USA, EU or Canada before this is over, and it won’t be over soon……
Economically, israel is a sinking ship, and so that’s a big and effective lever for the Resistance at the moment, too.
beyond that I surely don’t see the USA changing course on its bedrock support for israel, regardless of which US political party is in power. They’re all psychopaths, if you ask me.
So the rest of the third world/global south will have to work things out, along with some of the progressive forces in Europe that are sick of the israeli thing too.
there won’t be an greater israel, if you ask me, but rather in the long-run a one-state solution, Palestine.

Posted by: michaelj72 | Dec 26 2023 2:21 utc | 195

Posted by: pq | Dec 25 2023 16:08 utc | 155
That is very true and an excellent piece of thinking PQ and I agree with all of it 100%.
However,they changed education departments and business schools and universities with the George Soros’s sponsered iNET initiative (the so-called CORE curriculum) and the latest versions of the dominant macroeconomics book Mankiw’s textbook (now in its 8th edition).
https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=28435
These countries send their brightest students to the West and get indoctrinated in GROUPTHINK. When they come back home they are the equivalent of a Trojan Horse.
Elvira Nabiullina the head of the Russian Central bank being a prime example.
This a massive problem because universities and PHD students are always looking for funds. From the private sector.
The advisory boards of each university are gatekeepers for neoliberalism and neoconservatives. Why it is very difficult to change the blob.
You’ve done very well at secondary school and then go to university and shine through and achieve academic progress. The selction process as you go through university is that by the time your at the end of your undergraduate years. The bright sparks go through their post graduate studies and a PHD and they get an academic job the creme da le creme.
So you’ve invested a lot of your early years to get this PHD to get into the academy. With economics you end up with a very defined set of work tools and foregone a lot of income to get to this stage.
Not many academics become top line researchers most of them become text book pushers. So by the age of 45 you’ve risen to a certain rank in the academy and normally that’s the end of your progression. Good researchers can move up further and get a chair and get to be called a professor. Where a lot of people have reached their ceiling and pump out stuff from a textbook that the publishers brings around every year. Fill up your time as an administrator or a teacher.
The end of life syndrome approaches and all you are waiting for then is to retire on your pension and live the life and hope your health holds. So why on earth at that point would these people abandon their life’s work and admit that large parts of it are wrong. What’s the motivation for that. Particulary when you are in a group that have incredibly rigid rules with respect to promotion, with respect to asigning status, with respect to getting any publications or research money. In a very disciplined community in economics.
You’ve learned to play the game and jump through hoops along the way. You’ve learned not to rock the boat. You’ve reached your career progression and waiting for your retirement.
To come out then and say alot of the textbook pushing has been wrong is to defy your scholastic community. Stop the brightest when they are young from getting promotion, publications and research money. The group membership becomes your priority and when new imperical evidence presents itself to show the textbook pushing has been nonsensical. They’ll forego the oppertunity of a revision of their ideas as maintaining membership and status within the group is more important.
Groups work out all sort of ways to behave like that. When anomolies come in from the real world they revise history. They rewrite history to reflect the group
It’s foundational and social psychology of group behaviour. Eventually when some rebels do come along the Paradigm collapses.
The leisure class and capital use the slogan shouting and placards waving ideologues on both sides and identity politics to keep everyone divided.
So we get a formulaic approach to publications in macroeconomics that goes something like this:
Assert without foundation – so-called micro-foundations – rationality, maximisation, rational expectations.
Cannot deal with real world people so deal with one infinitely-lived agent!
Assert efficient, competitive markets as optimality benchmark.
Write some trivial mathematical equations and solve. Tractability means the maths has to be very baby-like, but bluster makes it appear complicated to the outsider and full of authority.
Policy shock ‘solution’ to ‘prove’, for example, that fiscal policy ineffective (Ricardian equivalence) and austerity is good. Perhaps allow some short-run stimulus effect.
Get some data – realise poor fit – add some ad hoc lags (price stickiness etc) to improve ‘fit’ but end up with identical long-term results.
Maintain pretense that micro-foundations are intact – after all it is the only claim to intellectual authority.
Publish articles that reinforce starting assumptions.
Knowledge quotient – ZERO – Garbage in, garbage out.
This is effectively what these so-called “rigorous, scientific methods” involve. Create the Trojan horses.
Paradigm shifts happen one death at a time. When the gatekeepers die off.

Posted by: Echo Chamber | Dec 26 2023 2:56 utc | 197

Posted by: Giyane | Dec 26 2023 1:02 utc | 190
Thank you . I’ll return the favor. You give the impression of being an older gentleman (children were mentioned). It is really not too late to appreciate the distinction between differences of opinion and ignorance.
Equating the condition of the Kurds in Iran to Palestinians is fanciful and ahistorical. And Qajar Iran and Ottoman Turkey are also two entirely distinct matters. Turks have relatively recently arrived and they have displaced many people. This is certainly not the case with the Iranian people. When we arrived in this plateau the genociding was already done by Assyrians (who did away with Elamites). Kurds were part of the people that came over. Kurd and Persian are just descendants of different tribes of Iran.
As to anti-Christ (which is not mentioned in Muslim scripture or Hadith) you continue to conflate trends and transitional structures with a specific individual. The fact that X contributes to Y and precedes it does not mean X = Y. Naturally this shit show has something to do with it but this show is a show. When they call curtain on this series the fake utopia will be ushered in. This is prophesied to feature a specific individual in a leadership position, claiming also a spiritual station. tldr: sorry, end of USA is not the beginning of thousands of years of peace under a benevolent world government. It promises to be the oppressive system ever — AI + pervasive mandatory use of portable bugs and tracking systems. Good times. “But it’s multi-polar”. But not at ‘home’.
And the figure of Dijall quite clearly referring to an individual. Now whether this Dijal and the false messiah are the one and same is not spelled out but also not critically important.
The powers that be have historically paid attention to prophecy. As we celebrate Christmas we recall the story of baby Jesus, Magi, and a nervous and concerned Herod. Herod was nervous because of prophecy. He decided to act on the basis of his knowledge of prophecy. This I assert continues to this day, for the baseline and evident reason of the grip of religion on mankind, regardless of whether Herods of the age believe it or not: they know 1/2 of humanity does. So, “why not make use of these ‘goat herders fireside stories’?”
These end-time prophecies of Christian and Muslim faiths feature an interesting anti-hacking element. Knowing them provides NO benefit to the Herods of this age if you pay attention. What does give them benefit in context of these speculated goals are the false notions that permit them to proceed with their fakery, such as misidentifying the villain in the story.

Posted by: robinthehood | Dec 26 2023 3:15 utc | 199