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Zionists Use Food-Baits To Attract And Kill Starving Civilians
The Zionist occupation forces send food into the northern Gaza strip to then kill starving Palestinians who try to collect it.
Food aid reaches north Gaza for first time in weeks, Israeli officials say – AP, Feb 28 2024
Aid convoys carrying food reached northern Gaza this week, Israeli officials said on Wednesday, the first major delivery in a month to the devastated, isolated area, where the UN has warned of worsening starvation among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians amid Israel’s offensive.
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Across Gaza, more than 576,000 people, a quarter of the population, are a step away from famine, the UN says.
But northern Gaza in particular has been gutted by hunger. The north has largely been cut off and much of it has been levelled since Israeli ground troops invaded in late October.
Several hundred thousand Palestinians are believed to remain there, and many have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive.
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A convoy of 31 trucks carrying food entered northern Gaza on Wednesday, the Israeli military office that oversees Palestinian civilian affairs said.
The office, known by the acronym COGAT, said nearly 20 other lorries entered the north on Monday and Tuesday.
Associated Press footage showed people carrying sacks of flour from the distribution site.
It was not immediately clear who carried out the deliveries.
The UN was not involved, said a spokesman for the UN’s humanitarian co-ordination office, Eri Keneko.
The trucks were sent by the Zionists. No other organization was involved. But when people came near to the trucks to collect the food they had carried into Gaza the Zionist went berserk:
‘Massacre’: Dozens killed by Israeli fire in Gaza while collecting food aid – Al Jazeerah, Feb 29 2024
Cont. reading: Zionists Use Food-Baits To Attract And Kill Starving Civilians
Putin’s Address To The Federal Assembly
Today President Vladimir Putin addressed the Russian Federal Assembly.
After taking stock on how Russia responded to recent challenges, Putin asserted that the western attempts against Russia had failed:
The so-called West, with its colonial practices and penchant for inciting ethnic conflicts around the world, not only seeks to impede our progress but also envisions a Russia that is a dependent, declining, and dying space where they can do as they please. In fact, they want to replicate in Russia what they have done in numerous other countries, including Ukraine: sowing discord in our home and weakening us from within. But they were wrong, which has become abundantly clear now that they ran up against the firm resolve and determination of our multi-ethnic people.
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Together, as citizens of Russia, we will stand united in defence of our freedom and our right to a peaceful and dignified existence. We will chart our own course, to safeguard the continuity of generations, and thus the continuity of historical development, and address the challenges facing the country based on our outlook on the world, our traditions and beliefs, which we will pass down to our children.
Putin continued by reviewing the introduction of new strategic Russian weapon system which are superior to those in the West. He again offered a dialogue over limiting those:
Cont. reading: Putin’s Address To The Federal Assembly
Palestine Open Thread 2024-065
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The current open thread for other issues is here.
Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators.
Ukraine Open Thread 2024-064
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The current open thread for other issues is here.
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Peinlich
The daily embarrassment about the current government of Germany has reached a new level.
German Embassy London @GermanEmbassy – 15:24 UTC · Feb 28, 2024
German frigate FGS Hessen, part of the EU-led defensive maritime security operation EUNAVFOR Aspides in the Red Sea, shot down two drones yesterday.
Pic: FGS Hessen
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Disclose.tv @disclosetv – 16:34 UTC · Feb 28, 2024
JUST IN – German frigate "Hessen" mistakenly fired at a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Red Sea on Monday; both missiles malfunctioned and fell into the sea — BILD
Such happens to ones defense forces when consecutive governments prioritize the support of imperial adventures on the other side of the planet over serious territorial self defense capabilities.
France Wants To Fight Russia In Ukraine
The little French rascal is leaning over his skis a bit:
Sending Western troops to Ukraine “cannot be ruled out," French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday after hosting a conference in Paris where European leaders discussed the prospect.
There was “no agreement this evening to officially send troops onto the ground but we cannot exclude anything,” he told reporters.
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“We will do anything we can to prevent Russia from winning this war,” Macron said. “And I say this with determination, but also with a collective humility that we need to have, in the light of the last two years."
After two years of following a losing U.S. strategy against Russia one would expect a little more humility than that.
None of Macron's colleagues agreed with him:
Germany, Britain and other European countries said on Tuesday they had no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine, after France hinted at the possibility, and the Kremlin warned that any such move would inevitably lead to conflict between Russia and Nato.
French President Emmanuel Macron had said on Monday that Western allies should exclude no options in seeking to avert a Russian victory in Ukraine, though he stressed there was no consensus at this stage.
“Nothing should be excluded. We will do everything that we must so that Russia does not win,” Macron told reporters at a hastily convened gathering of European leaders in Paris to mull how to bolster support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
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However, Germany, Britain, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic distanced themselves on Tuesday from any suggestion they might commit ground troops to the Ukraine war, now in its third year.
“ … There will be no ground troops, no soldiers on Ukrainian soil sent there by European countries or Nato states,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on the sidelines of an event.
The Russian government declared that any positioning of western troops in Ukraine would inevitably lead to a larger war:
Cont. reading: France Wants To Fight Russia In Ukraine
Ukraine Open Thread 2024-063
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The current open thread for other issues is here.
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Aaron Burned Himself To Make Us Look At Gaza
Like many readers here I feel helpless about the ongoing genocide against Palestinians committed by U.S. supported Zionist settlers in the West Bank and Gaza. I can not even find the right words to express myself about it.
Others are more consequential. And powerful. Disgust about the cruelty imposed on Palestinians can induce the utmost will to change things.
U.S. Air Force Member Sets Self on Fire Outside Israel’s Embassy in D.C. to Protest War in Gaza – Time, Feb 25 2024
An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, in apparent protest of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which he described as a “genocide.”
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The burn victim, who identified himself in video of the incident as 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell, reportedly succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night, according to independent journalist Talia Jane, who posted on social media that she is in contact with Bushnell’s family and friends.
bigger
Bushnell reportedly sent a message to media outlets before his planned self-immolation. “Today, I am planning to engage in an extreme act of protest against the genocide of the Palestinian people,” he warned. …
Cont. reading: Aaron Burned Himself To Make Us Look At Gaza
Palestine Open Thread 2024-062
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Ukraine Open Thread 2024-061
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The MoA Week In Review – OT 2024-060
Last week's post on Moon of Alabama:
Ukraine:
Middle East:
Election:
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Other issues:
Cont. reading: The MoA Week In Review – OT 2024-060
Ukraine Open Thread 2024-059
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The current open thread for other issues is here.
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Trump Wants NATO To Be The Same Racket That It Has Always Been
There is this weird claim in librul media that Donald Trump, should he be reelected as president, would shun NATO.
Fears of a NATO Withdrawal Rise as Trump Seeks a Return to Power – NY Times, Dec 9 2023
I have found no evidence that would justify the headline. In fact the authors remark:
Yet as he runs to regain the White House, Mr. Trump has said precious little about his intentions. His campaign website contains a single cryptic sentence: “We have to finish the process we began under my administration of fundamentally re-evaluating NATO’s purpose and NATO’s mission.” He and his team refuse to elaborate.
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Trump’s incendiary NATO remarks send very real shudders through Europe – CNN, Feb 12 2024
What causes the actual 'shudders' is that Trump attempts to use NATO to blackmail member countries into buying more U.S. produced weapons:
[W]hen the former president suggested on Saturday that he would let Russia do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member that doesn’t meet spending guidelines, the impact was acute.
He recalled what he said was a conversation with a “large” NATO ally – it was unclear who he was referring to or when the conversation took place – which, according to his telling, had declined to spend the 2% recommended equivalent of their GDP on defense, but nevertheless wanted assurances from the US that they would be protected if Russia attacked. Trump said he would not give such an assurance, as the ally was “delinquent,” and Russian President Vladimir Putin should feel free to have his way.
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Trump’s NATO Threat Reflects a Wider Shift on America’s Place in the World – NY Times, Feb 15 2024
This 'threat' was again purely about blackmailing other countries to spend more money on defense:
Cont. reading: Trump Wants NATO To Be The Same Racket That It Has Always Been
Palestine Open Thread 2024-058
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The current open thread for other issues is here.
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Ukraine Can No Longer Win – It In Fact Never Had A Chance To Win
A former U.S. Colonel opines in The Hill:
Ukraine can no longer win – The Hill, Feb 22 2024
Welcome to the club, I'd say, but its nearly two years to late for that. Ukraine lost the war on February 24 2022, the day the Special Military operation had started.
There never was a chance for Ukraine to win.
I will first let the Colonel recap the established narrative to then add my observations to it:
Two years ago, the Ukrainian Armed Forces defied expectations immediately. Days before Russia’s massive combined arms incursion, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley spoke for the U.S. military when he predicted to Congress that Kyiv would fall within 72 hours.
Many military analysts similarly predicted the Russian Armed Forces would quickly rout the overmatched Ukrainians. American leaders encouraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to leave the country, lest Russian troops assassinate him.
These projections of immediate success for Russia misread the progress Ukraine had made in capability and readiness since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. They also overestimated the Russian forces’ readiness, air superiority, and command cohesion.
That is all – somewhat – true.
There were expectations that the Russian forces would quickly conquer Kiev and overthrow the sitting government. However, the Russians never applied the necessary manpower to do so. Pacifying and holding an enemy city in modern times generally requires abound 1 soldier per 40 inhabitants. When the war started Kiev had about 3 million inhabitants. Taking and holding the city would have required some 75,000 troops. But the Russian forces never deployed more than 40,000 troops into the general direction of Kiev.
Thus the military aim was not to take the city. It was to apply pressure to achieve a political aim.
Cont. reading: Ukraine Can No Longer Win – It In Fact Never Had A Chance To Win
Palestine Open Thread 2024-057
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The current open thread for other issues is here.
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Ukraine Open Thread 2024-056
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Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2024-055
News & views (not related to the wars in the Ukraine and Palestine) …
“A Final Solution”
The Wikipedia entry for 'final solution':
The Final Solution (German: die Endlösung, pronounced [diː ˈʔɛntˌløːzʊŋ]) or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question (German: Endlösung der Judenfrage, pronounced [ˈɛntˌløːzʊŋ deːɐ̯ ˈjuːdn̩ˌfʁaːɡə]) was a Nazi plan for the genocide of individuals they defined as Jews during World War II. The "Final Solution to the Jewish question" was the official code name for the murder of all Jews within reach, which was not restricted to the European continent. This policy of deliberate and systematic genocide starting across German-occupied Europe was formulated in procedural and geopolitical terms by Nazi leadership in January 1942 at the Wannsee Conference held near Berlin, and culminated in the Holocaust, which saw the murder of 90% of Polish Jews, and two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe.
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Yesterday the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution which demanded an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, flouted her own resolution which, for lack of support, was not put to a vote.
At the press stake-out after the vote Thomas-Greenfield remarked:
Good afternoon, everyone.
You just heard me make the case for a resolution that I believe all of us can agree to. In fact, the points in the proposed resolution have all been articulated by the other 14 members of this Council.
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The draft we’ve presented is a forward leaning resolution. And it is one that we intend to work on in good faith with other Council members to ensure it gets over the finish line.
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We are eager to continue working with the Council on this proposal: One that would see a temporary ceasefire as soon as practicable, based on the formula of all hostages being released. And one that would get aid into the hands of those Palestinians who so desperately need it.
All told, we intend to do this the right way, so that we can create the right conditions for a safer, more peaceful future. And we will continue to actively engage in the hard work of direct diplomacy on the ground until we reach a final solution.
A final solution – one way or the other …
Screw The Facts – Europe Commits Itself To Further Escalation
International relations professor Andrew Latham opined in a recent piece that the idea of total Ukrainian victory is delusional.
Unfortunately some people, predominantly in Europe, still stick to the delusional idea:
In professional journals, on influential websites and across the full spectrum of media outlets, observers, analysts and pundits alike continue to inform us that, yes, there is a way for Ukraine to prevail over Russia, expelling the latter from all of its territory, including Crimea.
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[That's nonsense.]
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In short, Russia is winning the war and there is little to suggest that any foreseeable political, economic, tactical or technological developments are likely to alter that fundamental reality. So why are we seeing arguments about an ultimate Ukrainian battlefield triumph, in the face of all the devastatingly contradictory evidence?
Well, applying Occam’s razor — the principle that “other things being equal, simpler explanations are generally better than more complex ones” — I would suggest that the delusional belief that there is a pathway to total victory for Ukraine is based less on evolving military or geopolitical realities than on a simple psychological dynamic, one best summed up in the concept of “commitment escalation.”
According to this concept, individuals or groups sometimes exhibit a tendency to persist with a failing argument, even as that argument becomes increasingly untenable in light of the facts. This behavior is marked above all by an adherence to prior commitments — sunk costs, as the economists might put it — regardless of their present plausibility or rationality. It is a psychological dysfunction.
The German government under chancellor Scholz is one group which has stuck to the fallen argument. There is no way the Ukraine can win or that Russia could lose that war and any additional price paid for attempts to invalidate that is just wasted.
Since the start of the war the EU's and Germany's reaction to it have been on the wrong path.
As I wrote on February 28 2022:
Cont. reading: Screw The Facts – Europe Commits Itself To Further Escalation
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