Newbie | Jul 20 2024 18:06 utc | 71
The local news says the attack was coordinated with Saudi. Nato was involved
Posted by: rk | Jul 20 2024 18:55 utc | 77
At least they deny
Saudi Arabia not involved in attack on Hodeidah, official says
Brigadier General Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman for Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry, said the kingdom “has no relation or participation in targeting Hodeidah” in Yemen.
He added that Saudi Arabia will not allow its airspace to be infiltrated by any party.

Posted by: Newbie | Jul 21 2024 2:39 utc | 103

The riders of the holocaust upping the anti a bit. Be interesting what the Yemen response is.
Russia says it will not remain an observer forever.
Looking like zionists in the holy land will end up just a blip in history.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 21 2024 3:20 utc | 105

ZH has a posting up with the title
Speaker Johnson Threatens To Arrest Lawmakers Who Disrupt Netanyahu’s Congress Speech
It is encouraging to see at least some CongressCritters and staff not going along with the program on the 24th.
I am going out on a limb here and say it will be cancelled at the last minute and Nutty will be forced to stay and deal with Occupied Palestine defeat.
Is the temperature in here cranked up high enough for everyone? Phew…
It may be getting hot enough to pop the God Of Mammon social pimple and rid humanity of that anti-humanistic cancer…..a few dominoes need to fall first though

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 21 2024 3:49 utc | 107

Posted by: Mînaa | Jul 21 2024 3:39 utc | 106
A stiff necked people.

Posted by: lex talionis | Jul 21 2024 4:59 utc | 109

Considering the scale and complexity of the strike on Hodeidah it must have taken quite some time to plan and execute.
Pre-meditated.
Can the israeloids keep up the punch rate, or is this one of the few ‘haymakers’ they have?

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 21 2024 5:16 utc | 111

https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1814423322949464392
the ICJ did not just rule that the West Bank is illegally occupied territory but also Gaza, as the genocidal Israeli regime always retained de facto control over it. In other words the ICJ reaffirmed that October 7 was a legitimate act of self-defense against a genocidal occupier
https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1814424611272176090
you can tell the BBC’s Raffi Berg, who is one of the most odious Zionist propagandists there, was enraged as he was forced to write that the ICJ ruled Gaza to be occupied territory, which of course makes the BBC and the rest of the Western media class complicit in genocidal Israeli propaganda as they always denied and will continue to deny this truism
https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1814426722437124466
this is also why Zionists and the Western media class had to fabricate the most deranged atrocity propaganda hoaxes about October 7 and demonize Hamas as pure anti-Semitic monsters, all meant to erase the occupation as Mearsheimer brilliantly explains:

Posted by: michaelj72 | Jul 21 2024 6:05 utc | 113

IDF and tankers:
7 (KC)707 ( i.e. comparable US KC135 )
7 KC 130H
KC-46A
4 of 8 ordered for delivery in 2025:
https://www.zona-militar.com/en/2024/01/26/the-israeli-air-force-to-receive-the-first-boeing-kc-46a/
They got a nogo for 767 conversions from the US.

Posted by: MAKK | Jul 21 2024 9:47 utc | 115

I think we all know that FIFA is utterly corrupt anyway via bribes and bungs so there should be no surprise by this, I mean Israel was allowed to play in the Euro’s even though it is committing genocide, as it was allowed to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest, where it was miraculously shot up the table by public support if you believe that which I don’t.
“The international anti-Israel movement of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) has taken a swipe at the world football governing body, FIFA, over its decision to postpone the vote on suspension of Israel from international football until after the Paris Olympics.
The BDS and various human rights organizations criticized FIFA for shielding the occupying regime from accountability for its atrocities and brutal aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The BDS movement said in a statement that the Israeli military offensives have killed several young Palestinian footballers over the past few days, resulting in the injury of Sayyed Yousef Odeh, 16, 11-year-old Yazan al-Sarsawi, and Shadi Abu al-Arraj, 36.
It further noted that at least 30 Palestinians, including children playing football, were killed on July 9, when Israeli forces bombed the UNRWA-ran al-Awdah School in the town of Abbasan, east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.”
The BDS movement, supported by various UN officials, footballers, and politicians, further argued that FIFA’s continued inaction contributes to a climate of “total impunity” for Israel which is perpetrating genocide in Gaza.”

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jul 21 2024 10:27 utc | 117

From Palestine Chronicle live feed:
Sunday, July 21, 12:00 pm (GMT+2)
BEN-GVIR: We have submitted a bill to the Knesset that grants immunity from criminal investigation to any soldier or citizen who went out to fight on October 7.
============
Comment – immunity from the IDF slaughtering Israelis ?

Posted by: Exile | Jul 21 2024 11:19 utc | 119

Huwaida Arraf
@huwaidaarraf
South Africa was banned from the Olympics from 1964 to 1988 due to its racial segregation policy. Today, the ICJ – the World’s highest court – determined Israel was practicing racial segregation & apartheid, and denying Palestinians the right to self-determination. Time to #BanIsraelFromOlympics @Olympics
Israel must be banned completely. But, as a secondary matter, Israel’s Olympic team includes a number of athletes living in illegal settlements. The ICJ determined that international organizations, which includes the International Olympic Committee, have an obligation not to recognize the unlawful situation created by Israel in the OPT. This means no legitimating settlers & settlements. At min the IOC cannot allow settlers to compete.
https://x.com/huwaidaarraf/status/1814402858164596752

Posted by: Menz | Jul 21 2024 11:30 utc | 121

Korobochka (コロボ) 🇦🇺✝️🇷🇺
@cirnosad
Say goodbye to these gas fields, Judeodemons!
https://x.com/cirnosad/status/1814698780975116755

Posted by: Menz | Jul 21 2024 11:34 utc | 123

and in Osaka, Japan:
https://x.com/Palestine001_/status/1814618381674246210

Posted by: Menz | Jul 21 2024 11:39 utc | 125

Crimes against humanity, genocide and still the board of the (IOC) is allowing the Zionists to participate in the Olympic Games in Paris later on in this month.
Here is a piccy of the board and who they are below it.
https://olympics.com/ioc/executive-board

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jul 21 2024 12:10 utc | 127

Looks like Peter Thiel and Palentir will win the presidency. Whitney Webb on Jimmy Dore
https://rumble.com/v57nxjx-mind-blowing-interview-w-whitney-webb.html
The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Posted by: Blue Dotterel | Jul 21 2024 12:41 utc | 129

So after ICJ….is there now a feeling of legitimacy by the axis of resistance and associates willing to adjust Israeli persepectives ..and or waiting fo further confirmation by UNGA.. who can might will take legal action against Isr??? What else can be done,?
What will it take for Isr to halt all actions .. should there be a public announcement that those who support the ICJ will take action against those who are not? Can those continuing to support Isr be named and shamed?

Posted by: Jo | Jul 21 2024 12:49 utc | 131

Here is a piccy of the board and who they are below it.
Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jul 21 2024 12:10 utc | 127
This is testimony to the power of fat brown envelopes filled with Epstein’s finest photography.

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 21 2024 13:40 utc | 133

To Blue Dotteral. Apparently that Whitney Webb interview is behind a paywall. But, if the gist was that Vance and Peter Thiel are buddies, yes indeed. He’s another Izzy-firster tool and a spy-guy dirty tricks item. Trumpstein better watch his back. Which is not to say I like Trump. He’s already pledged the keys to the kingdom to Adelson, Bibi the Butcher, et al. Sigh. MAGA. hahaha Make ‘Murika Give All to Izzyhell.

Posted by: Formerly Miss Lacy | Jul 21 2024 14:25 utc | 135

The article of the catechism that declares the God Trump couldn’t possibly be fascist apparently requires that the faithful deny the grossly bigoted and also grossly unpatriotic threats by Mike Johnson against American representatives daring to criticize a foreign leader. Netanyahu outranks any mere US citizen. The insinuation in charges of disruption against Democrats is a version of redbaiting them as antifascists. Psychotic historians may approve such shameless and vicious toadying to a genocidal Zionist. Decent people, and loyal Americans, don’t. My opinion of course.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jul 21 2024 14:59 utc | 137

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 21 2024 14:46 utc | 136
Palestine eventually becoming free?
“What were the odds of that?”
In the end the universe was saved by a chance event. As we it would be. As it always is.

Posted by: David G Horsman | Jul 21 2024 15:24 utc | 139

Trubind, above.
Good points all, also worth remembering Egypt’s massive importation of Russian wheat. Really not something they could afford to jeopardise.

Posted by: rag | Jul 21 2024 15:28 utc | 141

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jul 21 2024 14:59 utc | 137
Hi steven, whether you use the 14 or 20 characteristics for fascism Mr Trump gets high score.
It doesn’t seem like there are a lot of Americans like yourself that are aware that Biden and his faction score equally High. It’s fascism but just packaged differently. This has been a topic for decades but particularly the last 10 years evolution in politics.
Have come to the conclusion that it can no longer be stopped in the west. But as psychohistorian, and Isaac Asimov, have said, we might be able to shorten the lifetime of these regimes. shorten the period of Darkness.
Fiction is a reliable guide. We need something like the Brotherhood. A selfless and dedicated group working behind the scenes to serve Humanity.

Posted by: David G Horsman | Jul 21 2024 15:37 utc | 143

Re: Board Members of the International Olympic Committee
Seems to be ripe for lawfare after Friday’s ICJ opinion

Posted by: Exile | Jul 21 2024 15:58 utc | 145

Posted by: laguerre | Jul 21 2024 16:06 utc | 146
My bad, there are some oil wells in the east, not much.

Posted by: laguerre | Jul 21 2024 16:08 utc | 147

“Israel is a rogue regime engaging in international trade of weapons that it has historically tested on humans it caged in big prisons around Palestine.”
Posted by: michaelj72 | Jul 21 2024 15:37 utc | 142
I believe that about 10 years ago they even tested chemical weapons on palestinians. This was in the form of a tear gas like weapon.
It wasn’t tear gas. Their allegation was that it was a neurological compound. The symptoms included uncontrollable shaking among other things.
I found the video convincing but I would never be able to provide a link for that. It was on Twitter.

Posted by: David G Horsman | Jul 21 2024 16:59 utc | 149

/cheep
Current Israeli aggression looks to taunt Yemen & Lebanon Resistance into a display that can “rally the ally” in Casus Belli during Netanyahu’s USA Congressional speech. Given the control the Resistance has, I am sure the response will be measured so as to not be enough to induce rally at that time. Slow and srteady to win the race seems to be the working strategy; it punches Zionism in the wallet as much as elsewhere.
/preens and watches

Posted by: titmouse | Jul 21 2024 18:06 utc | 151

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 21 2024 13:40 utc | 133
##########
Some of them don’t need graft to side with genocide. Politicians aren’t famous for being people of great moral courage and integrity.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jul 21 2024 19:51 utc | 153

Genocide Joe Biden stands down as the Democrats candidate for POTUS, Biden thinks his deputy Kamala Harris should be the designated candidate for the Democrats, but nothing has been decided yet.

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jul 21 2024 20:44 utc | 155

Channels are lively now (as I post) alerting of imminent retaliation behalf of Yemen. Activity reports, warnings etc. Doesn’t always play out (sometimes are psyop by the occupation for example) but they seem accurate.

Posted by: Ornot | Jul 21 2024 21:34 utc | 157

Biden thinks his deputy Kamala Harris should be the designated candidate for the Democrats, but nothing has been decided yet.
@Posted by: Republicofscotland | Jul 21 2024 20:44 utc | 155
It has been decided. “Nothing” Harris has been officially designated.
Next up…
Who is Nothing running with? Her VP choice?

Posted by: librul | Jul 21 2024 22:10 utc | 159

“I wouldn’t go along with your “evil empire” theorising. The US is acting on the Middle East because Israel wants it to do so, and they won’t let the US pass on to to China, because that doesn’t interest the Israelis.”
Posted by: laguerre | Jul 21 2024 16:06 utc | 146
I don’t think US as an “evil empire” is a “theory” anymore.
But I can’t go along with the theme that “Israel” “controls” the U.S. Empire.
They are simply all cut from the same genecidal nature and cloth. Israel and Netanyahu are a mirror of one another. It’s why some Americans can’t stand “Israel”… they know that it is the arrogant, boastful, race supremacy, take whatever I want, kill whoever I want, all with impunity. The “mirror” of the U.S. staring back.

Posted by: Trubind1 | Jul 21 2024 22:54 utc | 161

Essentially the IDF has opened a fourth front with their retaliatory airstrikes against the Yemeni Houthi Republic.
Now the IDF is dealing with the Hamas and PIJ forces in Gaza, who are fighting asymmetrically in the ruins of Gaza City, Younis and Rafah, and inflicting heavy losses on IDF ground troops and armor.
As the IDF deals with Hezbollah’s missile, artillery, rocket and mortar strikes on Northern Palestine and the Northern Galilee Valley. These continuous strikes have forced the evacuation of 110k civilians, with tremendous impacts on the Israeli economy and agricultural output. Hezbollah continues to hit IDF barracks, radar sites and EW stations.
The IDF still has thousands of troops tied up in supporting radical Israeli settlers in the West Bank areas of Judea. Sporadic attacks continue not allowing the IDF to use these troops elsewhere.
The fourth front has now opened with the airstrikes on the Houthi’s. This is no easy rollover either. Its a 2000km round trip from IDF bases to Yemen, and the Houthi’s have plenty of AA missiles provided by the RF and Iranian forces. Plus the Houthi’s have absorbed numerous US and UK airstrikes in the last six months without any noticeable reduction in their ability to strike shipping targets in the Red Sea. The Houthi’s appear capable of hitting all of Israel with long range drones and missiles ala their attacks on Tel Aviv and Eilat……….
Expect a peace deal soon……the IDF reserve and regular troops are worn out after eight months of fierce urban warfare in the ruins of Gaza, have had significant armor losses, have a constricted ammo supply from the US, and have zero hopes of ‘complete victory’ over Hamas and the PIJ.

Posted by: Tobias Cole | Jul 22 2024 0:05 utc | 163

Thank you for posting that story about the doctors in Gaza.
We must not be allowed to forget for a day or an hour the horrors that a sadistic occupation army is inflicting on children and their families.

Posted by: Jane | Jul 22 2024 0:22 utc | 165

165 Jane. You are right.

Posted by: Lavieja | Jul 22 2024 0:50 utc | 167

https://x.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1760548502348701804
Saw this clip on Jimmy Dore. This monster is the Minister of Social Equality (or some such nonsense). Hard to watch.

Posted by: KMRIA | Jul 22 2024 1:05 utc | 169

Essentially a slow burn strategy
Posted by: Exile | Jul 21 2024 19:30 utc | 152
Dien Bien Phu on a massive scale.
And parallels will probably be identical:

. It was fought between the French Union’s colonial Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The United States was officially not a party to the war, but it was secretly involved by providing financial and material aid to the French Union, which included CIA-contracted American personnel participating in the battle. The People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union similarly provided vital support to the Viet Minh, including most of their artillery and ammunition.

… Wikipedia

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 22 2024 1:37 utc | 171

Mariam Barghouti م
ريم البرغوثي@MariamBarghouti – Journalist and policy analyst / Palestine
https://x.com/MariamBarghouti/status/1815001344001872298
Israel has been giving evacuation order to Palestinians all over the West Bank from Hebron to Tulkarem to Jordan Valley.
We need immediate cutting of all diplomatic relations with Israel and closure of all exports to Israel.
https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1815068111147610588
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt
@FranceskAlbs Int’l Lawyer | Scholar | Former UN Official |
Violent settlers must be held accountable. As Israel has proven unwilling or unable to bring them to justice, other countries must do so.
One of the implications of the ICJ AO is that UN member states may now be under an obligation to disclose the list of their nationals residing in the oPt, especially as they commit crimes against the illegally occupied population.

Posted by: michaelj72 | Jul 22 2024 3:58 utc | 173

Blowing Up a Tunnel – Resistance Roundup – Day 288

(excerpt) As the Israeli army carried out a major bombing campaign against Yemeni civilian targets, all Resistance fronts across the Middle East once more escalated.
While Hezbollah continued to strike at Israeli military positions in northern Israel, Al-Qassam carried out several major operations in Gaza.
In one of its operations, the military arm of the Hamas movement blew up a tunnel after luring a number of Israeli soldiers inside, “leaving them dead and wounded”……

https://www.palestinechronicle.com/blowing-up-a-tunnel-resistance-roundup-day-288/
Comment – re: Tunnel Ambush; IDF making same mistakes over and over and over again. Unclear if the root cause is poor leadership, lack of training, or simply no lessons-learned process. Tragic.
Couple of videos – the first is of a mine placed under front of Merkava (where motor is located) then scene of Merkava being towed away. This is treated as a disabled Merkava. Noteable that Merkava was utterly unsupported by infantry.; AGAIN.
Tally remains unchanged at 206 destroyed.
Tit-for-tat Escalation is now the established pattern. No idea who prevails in a slow and steady escalation scenario. TBD

Posted by: Exile | Jul 22 2024 6:40 utc | 175

Posted by: Exile | Jul 22 2024 6:40 utc | 175

Comment – re: Tunnel Ambush; IDF making same mistakes over and over and over again.

Can someone explain to me why a conventional force would ever want to go into a tunnel to begin with? It sounds insane and pointless. Funnelling the enemy into a narrow gorge or tunnel is a standard technique of resistance warfare from the Basotho tribes of South Africa to the Viet Minh of ‘IndoChina’.
Tunnels are an “equalizer” – one would think conventional forces would avoid them.

Couple of videos – the first is of a mine placed under front of Merkava (where motor is located) then scene of Merkava being towed away. This is treated as a disabled Merkava.

Ritter opines on one of his many interviews (youtube) that a disabled Merkava is a good as destroyed because the IDF is essentially unable to repair these at this time. Nice, if true.

Noteable that Merkava was utterly unsupported by infantry.; AGAIN.

I can’t see how infantry support would help, especially since these would all be soft targets for the Resistance.
Take the First Chechen War, Grozny as an example (which, to me, Gaza resembles closely).

Tally remains unchanged at 206 destroyed.

With probably double that “on bricks” for the next year …
One thing is for sure – no Merkavas for Ukraine …

Tit-for-tat Escalation is now the established pattern. No idea who prevails in a slow and steady escalation scenario. TBD

The historical trend shows The Resistance capacity merely growing with time.
Ansarallah, the Hashd, Hezbollah, Hamas in Lebanon have all increased their escalation capacity.
No decrease observed over the last 3 decades.
Even if Gaza is clinically erased, ‘Israel’ will not be able to sustain a constant onslaught at the current rate for the next few years, let alone decades.
And it will continue for decades …

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 22 2024 6:56 utc | 177

☀️👀
@zei_squirrel
I’m seeing some people say they feel sorry for Joe Biden. Just to be clear: I hope every waking moment of his life is filled with suffering, humiliation, degradation, and endless pain. That depraved genocidal senile rapist Zionist scumbag is directly responsible for the mass murder and rape of not just Palestinians, but Iraqis, Afghans, Syrians, Libyans, every single US genocidal war going back decades, millions of lives, babies, children, men and women destroyed by this monstrous ghoulish freak.
If only a tiny bit of that is returned to him through personal suffering, it is not just an expression of the only bit of justice his victims can ever have, but it is what he deserves a million times over.
I hope he passes away soon utterly humiliated, shamed and despised by everyone, from the liberal class that propped up his genocidal rapist corpse, up to his closest friends and relatives. I hope he goes knowing he was hated and despised by everyone the world over, as he is.
https://x.com/zei_squirrel/status/1815117583743635597

Posted by: Menz | Jul 22 2024 7:26 utc | 179

presumably since ICJ
U.N. can sue Isr. for all damages to its buildings supplies vehicles, murder of its peoples, cost of reparations to restablish infrastructure..
Similarly countries and aid organisations that also funded hospitals, workers loss of lives supplies infrastructure ….reparations etc.
Oil and any other resources eg in the Med ,water minerals on land is now confirmed as belonging to Palestine, and illegal taking and attempts at pissession by Isr. are theft.
Perhaps conscription by IDF such as for the ultra orthodox starting today can be declared illegal as that supports an illegal occupation?

Posted by: Jo | Jul 22 2024 7:54 utc | 181

Quds News Network
@QudsNen
French Member of Parliament Thomas Portes has sparked a political controversy by declaring that Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Paris Olympics due to Israel’s war on Gaza.
In an interview with the Parisien newspaper, Portes elaborated, “France’s diplomats should pressure the International Olympic Committee to bar the Israeli flag and anthem, as is done for Russia.”
“It’s time to end the double standard” he added.
https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1815116630361317383

Posted by: Menz | Jul 22 2024 7:59 utc | 183

…. Can someone explain to me why a conventional force would ever want to go into a tunnel to begin with ?…..
Arch, those IDF lured into the tunnel ambush are likely “trained” engineering fighters. The IDF also uses a nifty breadbox sized tractor with video etc. sensors to check out the tunnel first.
Going into the tunnels is the ONLY way to defeat a entrench military using a tunnel fortress. The Pentagon found this out after years of trying to destroy the Tunnel Fortress of Chu Chi in Vietnam.
history channel Tunnel Rats ( US perspective)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kM6JX0xZpEc
Training film for Tunnel Rats
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R1wsbwdifc4

Posted by: Exile | Jul 22 2024 10:07 utc | 185

I hope Biden lives a long time …
Posted by: canuck | Jul 22 2024 10:44 utc | 186
—
He is not lucid enough to feel shame. Only anger.

Posted by: too scents | Jul 22 2024 10:55 utc | 187

A sage like post; people who try to generalize, lump together a 300MM plus population are quite senseless.
Posted by: canuck | Jul 22 2024 11:11 utc | 188
I think we can reduce it (slightly) down to anybody who votes.
Because a vote for either one of two genocidal fucks is a vote for genocide.
Correct?

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 22 2024 11:14 utc | 189

Arch, those IDF lured into the tunnel ambush are likely “trained” engineering fighters. The IDF also uses a nifty breadbox sized tractor with video etc. sensors to check out the tunnel first.
Posted by: Exile | Jul 22 2024 10:07 utc | 185
A contest of the Tunnel Rats against the Tunnel Rat Traps …

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 22 2024 11:45 utc | 191

He is not lucid enough to feel shame. Only anger.
Posted by: too scents | Jul 22 2024 10:55 utc | 187
______
True, although sociopaths never feel shame, no matter how lucid they are.

Posted by: malenkov | Jul 22 2024 12:19 utc | 193

I hope Biden lives a long time-such that before he dies history will have vilified him nd his horrendous regime so that he dies in deep disgrace..
Posted by: canuck | Jul 22 2024 10:44 utc | 186
As I am unaware of any previous US president who committed suicide after feeling pain from their execution of false flag operations or commiting de facto war crimes through the CIA and funding local terrorists, so I have no hope that any sense of sin will develop in the leadership ranks of the US empire or that they will ever be remorseful.
I do not think measures such as conscience, kindness and integrity have any effect on the psyche of the above-mentioned species.
There is no aching heart left in them.
But the imprialist will only feel the pain when the pyramid they built to measure their greatness rattles and collapses.
So i hope that the NATO old leaders will see a spectacle of furious Western decline as de-dollarisation, the rise of the Global South and the expulsion of Western capital from public infrastructure in developing countries accelerate.
And the history books saying, ‘The maggots with their military-industrial complexes and CIA who have ravaged the world with false flag attacks finally met a miserable end. because this era, the West is what we ahould call a ‘reactionary’.
Their power reduced and so to do evil thing more difficult it has made human history more ‘progressive’ than before.
This is the correct progressivist perspective of looking at human history.’
I would be satisfied if books would written in such tone.

Posted by: Nokaz | Jul 22 2024 12:57 utc | 195

‘17,000 orphans’: Borrell blasts Israel for ‘catastrophe of unbearable dimensions’ in Gaza
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has denounced the relentless Israeli offensives against Palestinians in Gaza as “unacceptable”, emphasizing that the bloc cannot continue normally its relationship with the Tel Aviv regime in the wake of unfolding redevelopments.
press tvtelegram
those that are only currently alive

Posted by: Jo | Jul 22 2024 14:09 utc | 197

Frankly I’d love to get you started Arch. Tell us how you really feel good sir. There’s no need to hold back. Even if that means you might tread upon my dreams. LOL
Posted by: David G Horsman | Jul 21 2024 17:08 utc | 150
I wasn’t about to tread on your dreams just amplify the dangerous one, namely: The matter of a new “secret society” to somehow work towards preventing the atrocities we’re witnessing in this era.
It’s a matter I’ve been thinking about for decades and have arrived at the conclusion that in fact, the only hope for humankind (at this stage of human evolution) lies in the existence of such a “secret society”.
Put aside the dramatic, fantasy fiction aspects of secret societies, the popular media representations of “illuminati”, the “Rosicrucians” etc. and consider it as a practical matter:
For sure it must be a secret society because such an organisation would not survive long in the open.
For sure it’s methods may be against the interests of states, individuals, corporations and therein may lie the seed of it’s own demise: What’s to stop such an organisation from becoming purely a terrorist organisation?
For sure such a society would have to be defined and guided by a mandate so clear, so unambiguous in it’s goals that it must remain incorruptible throughout the ages.
The first corruption of such societies occurs when the true purpose of it’s existence is subverted by the personal ambitions of it’s members. This is perhaps why the members of such a society must be drawn from those without personal ambition but with great sensitivity to human suffering (if such a blend is at all possible!).
For sure, such an organisation will have to be trans-generational, as it’s enemies and the enemies of humanity are trans-generational and persist across centuries.
And being trans-generational, the problem of transmitting purpose, vision and knowledge across the centuries raises it’s head …
For sure the structure of such an organisation must be carefully designed, resilient to damage, resilient to subversion , yet with all these protections amenable to both quick action and long, steady plodding towards a goal.
I paint here with broad strokes, laying out the meta-structure of such an organisation – a “secret society” constructed for the purposes of averting mass politically-manufactured human tragedies.
Let me add some detail to the above skeletal planks I’ve laid. To recap the most important characteristics:
1. The purpose and ethics of the society must be known and unambiguous to it’s members. It must be incorruptable by sophistry and interpretation
2. The means of achieving the ends of the society need to be carefully guided. Regarding violence: once men become used to using violence to achieve their ends, even in the name of “Good” they quickly become intoxicated with the taste of blood and delighted with the ease and facility of violence. Yet, there are occasions where it’s the only means available to the common men, as can be seen in Gaza, Yemen, Vietnam etc …
3. The objectives, knowledge and plans of the society must persist across generations and be transmissible to new recruits across all cultures, religions, ethnicities and generational gaps. If ever diversity and inclusion had a value it would be here for the prevention of human tragedy should the duty of all.
4. The identity, plans, knowledge and movements of the society must be secret, with the identity of it’s members hidden from each other.
5. The structure of the society must discourage the seeking of egotistical power to satisfy personal ambitions and yet foster individuals who are willing to shoulder the responsibility to make the ultimate sacrifice.
1) Purpose and Ethics
The simple dichotomy of Good vs. Evil is vulnerable to corruption, for every charlatan that enters the door will bring with him his own definition of “Good” and “Evil” and find fools to believe in them.
The purpose (“Good”) of the society should simply be to prevent these manifestations of “Evil”:
a) The mass murder of vulnerable populations, including ethnic cleansing, genocide, cultural genocide
b) The removal of self-determination of vulnerable populations within the larger political context in which they exist.
Outside of these two characteristics, no other definitions or variations of “Evil” should be accepted.
In any case, the Society should be equipped with an intrinsic filter which ensures only those driven by a need to prevent the suffering of vulnerable populations ever make it into it’s structure at all.
2) Means
The primary means of achieving these objectives should be the control of one geopolitical lever:
“The maintenance of a balance of power between empires of the day and weaker countries”
“The maintenance of the balance of power between small non-state actors and their states”
Controlling (influencing) the balance of power between political entities (including population groups) could potentially mean:
– Supplying weak, persecuted groups with deterrent arms (while not promoting regional destabilization)
– Subverting and destroying the strategic arms of powerful entities who are threating vulnerable populations (while not disrupting the balance of geopolitical power)
– Subverting the political and economic foundation of support of great powers to distract them from harming others (but only to the degree that civilian populations are not harmed).
The means of control could potentially take many forms. I speculate here:
The provision of intelligence, subversion of political processes, provision of advanced weapons and technology, blackmail, bribery, sabotage, media manipulation, information manipulation and various forms of electronic and technological warfare, social engineering.
Under no circumstances should the engineering and instigation of revolutions and wars be attempted. However, the engineering of peace treaties ending wars and the controlled, peaceful change of government should be permitted.
The means, would most likely be executed by individuals, perhaps:
– An engineer in a nuclear submarine throwing a spanner in the works
– An MI6 whistle-blower dumping the entire contents of an intelligence database online
– A military gunpowder factory worker pissing into the lignite vat
– A border guard looking the other way as a hundred thousand refugees flee silently from the oncoming hunters
– …
3) Persistence across the Aeons
Traditionally, ‘secret’ societies (at least the ones we know of in the popular literature) have persisted through a combination of support by the elites and physical meetings including inductions, ceremonies, rituals, initiations etc.
None of these are appropriate means, in principle and practice for a secret society of this nature as they all lead to the perversion of the objectives and structure of a society created to perpetuate human life.
Perhaps, simply a corpus of knowledge, including a charter is sufficient. A written call to action written upon a piece of paper, corked in a bottle and tossed into the waves.

A year has passed since I wrote my note
I should have known this right from the start
Only hope can keep me together
Love can mend your life, but love can break your heart
I’ll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle (Yeah)
Walked out this morning, don’t believe what I saw
Hundred billion bottles washed up on the shore
Seems I’m not alone at being alone
Hundred billion castaways looking for a home

Perhaps, a virus infecting the world’s computers, imbued with a.i to seek out and observe personalities who might be ideal candidates for the secret society? Operating across the years, upgrading and transmuting itself undetected across the decades, preserving the collective plans of thousands, perhaps millions of individuals, coordinating their actions and issuing signals to act at just the right time and place and to just the right hero.
… This is woefully incomplete, I know but it’s a work for a lifetime (perhaps several).

Posted by: Arch Bungle | Jul 22 2024 16:22 utc | 199