Why Does the US Support Israel? – Michael Hudson 11/13/23

Source: Unz.com

BEN NORTON: Why does the United States so strongly support Israel?

In this video today, I’m going to be explaining the geopolitical and economic reasons why Israel is such an important part of U.S. foreign policy and Washington’s attempt to dominate not only the region of the Middle East, but really the entire world.

For this analysis today, I had the privilege of being joined by the economist Michael Hudson. I will bring him in later to provide further details about this topic. But first, I want to highlight some very important basic context to understand this relationship.

It is crucial to stress that Israel is an extension of U.S. geopolitical power in one of the most critically important regions of the world.

Continue reading “Why Does the US Support Israel? – Michael Hudson 11/13/23”

West ‘Stomps’ on Russian-Drafted Resolution for Gaza Ceasefire – The Cradle 10/17/23

Source: New.TheCradle.co

A Russian-drafted resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza failed to pass at the UN Security Council (UNSC) on 16 October.

China, Russia, Gabon, Mozambique, and the UAE voted in favor of the resolution, while the US, UK, France, and Japan voted against it. Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland all abstained from voting.

Continue reading “West ‘Stomps’ on Russian-Drafted Resolution for Gaza Ceasefire – The Cradle 10/17/23”

Putin’s Valdai Speech, What You Need to Know – Ted Snider 10/12/23

Source: Antiwar.com

On October 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club near Sochi, Russia. The session was attended by scholars and diplomats from forty-two countries. Putin spoke for half an hour and then answered questions for about three hours. Several interesting things were said.

In western discourse it is always said that Russia started an unprovoked war in Ukraine. There has been much discussion – though not in the mainstream media nor in statements issued by western governments – about whether the war was unprovoked. But there has been little discussion about whether Russia started it.

Continue reading “Putin’s Valdai Speech, What You Need to Know – Ted Snider 10/12/23”

Nord Stream 2.0? Finland-Estonia Undersea Pipeline In Baltic “Has Been Deliberately Damaged” – ZeroHedge 10/10/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Months after famed journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh revealed the US blew up the Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea in September 2022 during a covert operation under the guise of the BALTOPS 22 NATO exercise, yet another undersea gas pipeline, this time, connecting Finland and Estonia has allegedly come under attack.

Continue reading “Nord Stream 2.0? Finland-Estonia Undersea Pipeline In Baltic “Has Been Deliberately Damaged” – ZeroHedge 10/10/23″

How US Gov’t Prosecution of Uhuru Activists Threatens a ‘First Amendment Exception’ – Anya Parampil 10/5/23

Source: TheGrayzone.com

Defense attorneys representing three US citizens accused of operating a Russia-directed “malign influence campaign” to “sow discord” in the United States urged Federal Magistrate Judge Anthony E. Porcelli to dismiss the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) case against their clients this September 28, arguing their continued prosecution threatens to “blow a hole in the 1st Amendment.”

Continue reading “How US Gov’t Prosecution of Uhuru Activists Threatens a ‘First Amendment Exception’ – Anya Parampil 10/5/23”

Putin to Stage First Nationwide Exercise Simulating Nuclear Attack from the West – Jasper King 9/29/23

Source: Metro.co.uk

Russia will stage its first nationwide nuclear attack exercise across 11 time zones in preparation for potential nuclear war.

It is scheduled to take place on October 3 and will see Vladimir Putin’s regime present the West as a nuclear aggressor.

Continue reading “Putin to Stage First Nationwide Exercise Simulating Nuclear Attack from the West – Jasper King 9/29/23”

Contempt for Press Freedoms: U S Officials Bar Tucker Carlson from Interviewing Putin – Ted Galen Carpenter 10/3/23

Source: Antiwar.com

Tucker Carlson reports that the U.S. government prevented him from interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Carlson told the Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche that he had sought to arrange an interview with Putin, but U.S. officials blocked him. “I tried to interview Vladimir Putin, but the U.S. government prevented me from doing so. Think about [the implications],” Carlson told the newspaper on September 24.  Worse, according to Carlson, no one in the U.S. news media supported his right as a journalist to report on the Russian leader’s views regarding the Ukraine conflict.

Such obstructionism reflects a growing contempt on the part of officials in the United States and other supposedly liberal democratic countries for freedom of the press.  It is merely the latest episode in a lengthening parade of restrictions, ranging from petty to truly alarming.  The highest priority targets are critics who dare condemn or even dispute the accounts that Western leaders put forth regarding key foreign policy objectives….

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Are We Really to Believe that the Canadian Government Isn’t In Fact a Pro-Nazi Establishment? – Cynthia Chung 9/28/23

Source: cynthiachung.substack.com

Yet another “deeply embarrassing” scandal for the Canadian government, this time involving a 98-year old Ukrainian Nazi who received a standing ovation in the Canadian Parliament during Ukrainian President Zelensky’s address this past Friday, on September 22, 2023. Hmmm, coincidence?

According to the PR damage control, this is all the fault of House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota who had extended an invitation to Yaroslav Hunka to witness Ukrainian President Zelensky’s address to the Canadian Parliament. Thus, we are told that the Trudeau government and Zelensky are simply innocent bystanders of this unfortunate blunder by one man’s oversight.

Even more bizarrely, was Rota’s actual speech during Zelensky’s appearance in Parliament, which went like this:

Continue reading “Are We Really to Believe that the Canadian Government Isn’t In Fact a Pro-Nazi Establishment? – Cynthia Chung 9/28/23”

Untold Story of How Canada Became a Safe Haven for Ukrainian WWII-era Nazis – Ilya Tsukanov 9/25/23

Source: SputnikGlobe.com

Before World War II, Ukrainian Canadians were among the most tightly knit, pro-labor, pro-Moscow, and anti-fascist migrant communities living in the True North Strong and Free. That began to change after the war and the arrival of thousands of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators wanted for war crimes across Eastern Europe. This is their story….

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Fact Checking Biden’s UN Speech: Words Versus Action – Ted Snider 9/21/23

Source: Antiwar.com

US President Joe Biden’s speech before the General Assembly on September 19 spent surprisingly little time on Russia and the war in Ukraine and, in many ways, hit many of the right notes with its praise of “Sovereignty, territorial integrity, human rights . . . the core tenets of the U.N. Charter, the pillars of peaceful relations among nations. . ..” But America’s past performance on these very issues weaken the persuasiveness and sincerity of the appeal.

Continue reading “Fact Checking Biden’s UN Speech: Words Versus Action – Ted Snider 9/21/23”

Russia: The United States Is At War Against Us – ZeroHedge 9/19/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in fresh statements made to reporters has said the Untied States in waging war against Russia through the Ukraine proxy war.

Lavrov in the Russian-language comments described that Washington is not only transferring some $100 billion in military aid to Kiev, but is actually controlling its decision-making. He further said this is in order to try and inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia.

The top Russian diplomat was speaking on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum on Sunday morning. “No matter what it says, it [the US] controls this war, it supplies weapons, munition, intelligence information, data from satellites, it is pursuing a war against us,” he said, according to a translation….

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American Pravda: Mutually-Assured Political Destruction – Ron Unz 9/18/23

Source: Unz.com

I launched my American Pravda series just over a decade ago and during the last five years it has grown enormously, now including many dozens of individual articles and encompassing more than a half-million words of text. I’d still stand behind at least 99% of its contents, and the series probably constitutes one of the most comprehensive historical counter-narratives of the modern era found anywhere on the Internet.

Yet its roots actually go back a few years earlier than that and the entire series might never have come into existence if a link on a fringe website hadn’t caught my eye. I told that story in a short piece I published in 2010:

Continue reading “American Pravda: Mutually-Assured Political Destruction – Ron Unz 9/18/23”

Ukraine Used British Cruise Missiles In Devastating Sevastopol Attack, UK Confirms – ZeroHedge 9/14/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

This week’s major Ukrainian attack on the Russian port of Sevastopol in Crimea was likely the largest strike on Russian naval targets since the war’s start.

Significantly, the UK’s Sky News has confirmed that British-supplied long range missiles were used in the overnight Sept. 12-13 attack which likely damaged a Russian submarine and warship. “A Ukrainian and a Western source said that British Storm Shadow cruise missiles were deployed,” Sky News reports….

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In Ukraine, the Best Plan B Is the Plan Before Plan A – Ted Snider 9/7/23

Source: Antiwar.com

There is a dawning realization that the war in Ukraine is not going to end with the Ukrainian counteroffensive. It is not going to end with a military victory for Ukraine, and it is not going to end by attaining the goals necessary to force Russia to concede Ukraine’s key demands at the negotiating table.

Continue reading “In Ukraine, the Best Plan B Is the Plan Before Plan A – Ted Snider 9/7/23”

Biggest Drone Attack On Russia Since War Began Destroys At Least 4 Military Planes – ZeroHedge 8/30/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Another huge drone attack on Russian territory has taken place in overnight and early hours of Wednesday morning, this time against an airport in the north-western Russian city of Pskov, which hosts military planes. It came amid broader drone attacks on six Russian regions.

Crucially, Pskov is a mere 20 miles from NATO member Estonia’s border, which sparked internet rumors that Estonia could have been involved, also given the city of Pskov is over 400 miles from Ukraine itself. International outlets are citing Russia’s TASS to report that at least four military transport planes were damaged in the attack.

Continue reading “Biggest Drone Attack On Russia Since War Began Destroys At Least 4 Military Planes – ZeroHedge 8/30/23”

Iran and Saudi Arabia are Among 6 Nations Set to Join China and Russia in the BRICS Economic Bloc – AP 8/24/23

Source: APNews.com

Iran and Saudi Arabia were among six countries invited Thursday to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies in a move that showed signs of strengthening a China-Russia coalition as tensions with the West spiral higher.

The United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia were also set to enter BRICS from Jan. 1, 2024, joining current members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to make an 11-nation bloc….

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Neocon Dark Money Front Launches Desperate Ad Blitz as Support for Ukraine Forever War Craters – Alexander Rubinstein 8/21/23

Source: TheGrayZone.com

A PR offensive to inundate the American public with pro-Ukraine war advertisements during the 2024 election is the latest initiative of neocon chickenhawk Bill Kristol. While targeted at GOP voters, the campaign appears to be another Democratic Party front.

Continue reading “Neocon Dark Money Front Launches Desperate Ad Blitz as Support for Ukraine Forever War Craters – Alexander Rubinstein 8/21/23”

Wagner Decries ‘Murder’ Of Prigozhin Amid Reports Anti-Air Missile Struck Plane – ZeroHedge 8/24/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

At this point it’s looking like the entire top command of Russian mercenary outfit Wagner Group was aboard the private plane that was downed northwest of Moscow hours ago. Wagner itself is confirming Yvgeny Prigozhin’s death, with Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel Grey Zone calling it a “murder”.

Continue reading “Wagner Decries ‘Murder’ Of Prigozhin Amid Reports Anti-Air Missile Struck Plane – ZeroHedge 8/24/23”

RFK Jr Discusses ‘Proxy’ War Against Russia, Biolabs, and JFK Assassination with Tucker Carlson – Patrick Delaney 8/15/23

Source: LifeSiteNews.com

In an explosive interview with Tucker Carlson, Democratic presidential primary candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provided extensive critiques of the neoconservative “proxy” war against Russia along with the U.S. bioweapons development program and who he believes assassinated his late uncle, President John F. Kennedy, in 1963.

Continue reading “RFK Jr Discusses ‘Proxy’ War Against Russia, Biolabs, and JFK Assassination with Tucker Carlson – Patrick Delaney 8/15/23”

Mercedes, BMW Sever Russian Dealers From Diagnostic Software – ZeroHedge 8/19/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

Under pressure of the western sanction regime, Mercedes-Benz has cut Russian dealers off from its software, severely impacting their ability to diagnose and service vehicles. BMW has implemented its own restrictions.

“Dealers have been disconnected from the manufacturer’s online software systems,” distributor Mercedes-Benz Russia told Izvestia. “Due to the withdrawal of Mercedes-Benz AG from the Russian market, the joint-stock company Mercedes-Benz Russia does not have any additional opportunities to check and carry out other service measures set for Mercedes-Benz cars by the manufacturer.”

Continue reading “Mercedes, BMW Sever Russian Dealers From Diagnostic Software – ZeroHedge 8/19/23”

Prigozhin is Gone, but Wagner is Everywhere – Ted Snider 8/16/23

Source: Antiwar.com

At the end of June, 2023, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin’s coup attempt quickly began and quickly ended. Officials in the political West were quick to diagnose the weakness in Putin’s government and the vulnerability in Russia’s forces in Ukraine.

Neither diagnosis turned out to be true. Putin seems to have emerged, not only unscathed by the rebellion, but buttressed by many advantages. The publicly damaging infighting between Prigozhin and Shoigu and Wagner and the Russian military has entirely stopped. Wagner is safely exiled from Russia while, having been largely integrated into the Russian military, it goes on fighting for Russia in Ukraine. Wagner forces are training Belarusian forces and guarding the Belarusian border, while Wagner goes on doing Russia’s work in Africa. Having, in some not entirely clear way, reined in Prigozhin, Putin seems to be deriving increased benefit from Wagner now free of the risks.

Continue reading “Prigozhin is Gone, but Wagner is Everywhere – Ted Snider 8/16/23”

Niger May be the Next US Proxy War – Ted Galen Carpenter 8/13/23

Source: Antiwar.com

People who recall how the United States and its NATO partners (along with their propaganda mouthpieces in the news media) generated public support for a proxy war in Ukraine may be experiencing a sense of déjà vu.  A similar effort is now underway with respect to Niger and other countries in West Africa.  Washington is upset about a recent military coup in Niger, which was the latest ouster of a pro-Western government in that region.  U.S. leaders are concerned not only because the coups have underscored the fading influence of France, the former colonial master, but because the insurgents have adopted a friendly stance toward Russia.

Continue reading “Niger May be the Next US Proxy War – Ted Galen Carpenter 8/13/23”

Is the Multipolar Alliance ‘Controlled Opposition’? The Case of Two Green Paradigms – Matthew Ehret 7/29/23

Source: matthewehret.substack.com

On February 4, 2022, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin unveiled a 5000 word Joint Declaration on the International Relations Entering a New Era and the Global Sustainable Development.’

The words “sustainable development” tied to “international relations” have obviously caused more than a few concerned citizens of western nations to gasp in fear that these two Eurasian powers who are apparently in a conflict with the unipolar death cultists managing the NATO cage, are in reality, simply controlled opposition.

Continue reading “Is the Multipolar Alliance ‘Controlled Opposition’? The Case of Two Green Paradigms – Matthew Ehret 7/29/23”

Pentagon Approves Hazard Pay For US Troops In Ukraine, Paving Way For Possible Expanded Presence – Zerohedge 7/28/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

There’s been more confirmation to emerge concerning the American military presence in Ukraine, and its expanding role in the conflict, bringing NATO dangerously closer into a potential hot war with Russia.

Continue reading “Pentagon Approves Hazard Pay For US Troops In Ukraine, Paving Way For Possible Expanded Presence – Zerohedge 7/28/23”

Putin Signed Digital Ruble Law Making a CBDC Possible in Russia – CoinDesk 7/24/23

Source: CoinDesk.com

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin signed the digital ruble bill into law today, allowing the country’s central bank to issue its own digital currency.

The digital ruble, which the Bank of Russia has long been mulling over, will be used for payments along with other methods, according to the new amendments to Russia’s Civil Code. The digital ruble accounts will be managed by the central bank, the law says. The bill passed its third, final hearing on July 11 and had been waiting for the president to be signed.

Continue reading “Putin Signed Digital Ruble Law Making a CBDC Possible in Russia – CoinDesk 7/24/23”

Russia Decides Not To Renew Grain Deal: Some Context – Ted Snider 7/27/23

Source: Antiwar.com

Like the war that necessitated it, Russia’s decision not to renew the UN-Turkish brokered grain deal is bad for the world but not entirely unprovoked.

The deal allowed Ukraine safe passage for its grain laden ships through the mined and blockaded Black Sea ports so it could export its grain to the world.

On July 17, Russia announced the decision not to renew the deal

Continue reading “Russia Decides Not To Renew Grain Deal: Some Context – Ted Snider 7/27/23”

US Reaper Drone “Severely Damaged” By Russian Jet Intercept Over Syria – ZeroHedge 7/25/23

Source: ZeroHedge.com

The Pentagon has announced a new major incident involving Russia over the skies of Syria, after a string of hostile close encounters between Russian fighter jets and US drones which were ostensibly conducting ‘counter-ISIS’ missions.

The military says a US MQ-9 Reaper drone was damaged after being intercepted and harassed by an Su-35 fighter, during which time the Russian warplane released flares close to the American drone.

Continue reading “US Reaper Drone “Severely Damaged” By Russian Jet Intercept Over Syria – ZeroHedge 7/25/23″

Hitler, Churchill, the Holocaust, and the War in Ukraine – Ron Unz and Mike Whitney 7/17/23

Source: Unz.com

Question 1: Hitler

In the West, we’re taught that Hitler is the embodiment of all evil, but it’s more complicated than that, isn’t it? The more I read about Hitler, the more convinced I am that his views about the Versailles Treaty were fairly commonplace among Germans living at the time. It seems to me that if Hitler hadn’t emerged as the leader who promised to restore Germany (to its original borders), someone else would have taken his place. The real problem was the injustice of the treaty itself which exacted reparations that could not be repaid along with the partitioning of the German state. It was the onerous settlement of Versailles that ensured there would be Second World War not Hitler.

Continue reading “Hitler, Churchill, the Holocaust, and the War in Ukraine – Ron Unz and Mike Whitney 7/17/23”

FBI Serves as a Conduit for Ukraine’s Censorship Campaign – Ted Galen Carpenter 7/24/23

Source: Antiwar.com

The U.S. government has long tolerated and excused Ukraine’s authoritarian behavior even as Washington and its NATO partners have lavished financial and military aid on Kyiv. Evidence has now emerged, though, that the US national security apparatus has actively assisted Volodymr Zelensky’s regime to undermine the Constitutional rights of Americans. CNN notes damning revelations in a new report from the House Judiciary Committee. “The committee says SBU [Ukraine’s top security agency] sent the FBI lists of social media accounts that allegedly ‘spread Russian disinformation,’ and that the FBI then ‘routinely relayed these lists to the relevant social media platforms, which distributed the information internally to their employees in charge of content moderation and enforcement.’”

Continue reading “FBI Serves as a Conduit for Ukraine’s Censorship Campaign – Ted Galen Carpenter 7/24/23”