What’s happening in Lebanon: interview with former British Ambassador Craig Murray
11 December 2024 – 19:00
The current situation in Lebanon is more delicate than ever. Despite the entry into force of
the fragile cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, the Jewish state continues to violate the
terms of the agreement, claiming that it is only conducting defensive operations. At the same
time, in Syria, the opposition front to Assad has conquered Damascus, bringing down a
dynasty that lasted over half a century without its ally Hezbollah being able to do anything.
Against this backdrop of uncertainty, Craig Murray travelled to Beirut to report on what is
happening from the ground.
Craig Murray is a former British diplomat, writer and human rights activist. He served as
UK ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004, exposing human rights abuses in that
country, and dedicated his post-diplomatic career to global justice issues. At the top of the
list was the Palestinian cause, for which – in the current climate of repression in the UK –
he was detained by the police, as has happened to other journalists.
I know you are currently in Lebanon: where exactly are you and what is the current situation in the
country?
Right now I am in the capital, Beirut. The city is relatively quiet, but there are Israeli drones flying
overhead all the time. They have not bombed Beirut since the agreement came into force, but there have
been many violations by Israel in the south of the country. I have been there three or four times since the
agreement was signed, and the situation is still very tense. A few days ago, Israel killed about six people,
including a shepherd, while other shepherds have disappeared. As these small-scale violations continue,
so does the bombing. The problem I think lies in the fact that the ceasefire agreement is extremely one-
sided. It stipulates that all Lebanese groups must cease all operations against Israel, while Israel must
cease only offensive operations against Lebanon: the qualification ‘offensive operation’ applies to only
one party to the agreement.
In southern Lebanon, the Israeli army is advancing and conquering more territory?
Yes. And, again, this is a problem with the agreement. The ceasefire establishes a demilitarised zone
extending from the Litani river southwards: both sides have to leave the area completely. During the
conflict, Israel had not managed to take any territory in the demilitarised zone. It only got as far as the
Litani river once, helicoptering troops there to take a few photo-ops and bringing them quickly back. In
short, Israel is exploiting the ceasefire agreement to claim the right to operate as far as the Litani river,
despite never having arrived there during the fighting. In addition, Israel is claiming that all its current
violations are only defensive in nature. Even when they shoot shepherds and kill people at funerals. The
fact is that Hezbollah is designated by the US and Israel as a terrorist organisation; for them, the Israeli
attacks therefore do not count as violations of the agreement because they are considered anti-terrorist
operations.
At present, what role does the United States play in this picture?
The United States is in charge of the ‘mechanism’ – as it is called – for monitoring compliance with the
agreement. The document introduces a distinction I have never seen in any agreement – something
extraordinary, indeed. It says that the UN will ‘host’ the monitoring committee, although that the US will
‘chair’ it. However, ‘hosting’ has no meaning in diplomatic or practical terms. What that comes down to is
this: the UN will be allowed to provide tea and biscuits, while the US will actually run the show, although
– and this is indeed extraordinary – they are one of the parties in the conflict, not an arbiter! The bombs
that fall in Lebanon are supplied and paid for by the US.
What about the rest of the Western powers? What interests of theirs are at stake?
UNIFIL, which is the only Western force on the ground, is to have a role in monitoring the ceasefire
agreement. France, the former colonial power, will also work with the US in monitoring the cease-fire.
Paris is very anxious to maintain its role here in Lebanon, and its status as the former colonial power is
very important to Macron. So much so that, in exchange for being included in the committee, Paris agreed
to reverse its position on the ICC and Netanyahu and announced that the Israeli prime minister could visit
the country without fear of being handed over to the ICC.
Given the composition of the monitoring committee and the continuous violations that we mentioned
earlier, what do you think is Israel’s ultimate goal?
I have no doubt that Israel’s ultimate goal is the annexation of southern Lebanon, which is part of the
expansion plan for Greater Israel. The Jewish state has a long history of Zionist propagandists claiming
the Litani river as its northern border, which would mean moving the country’s current border some 25
miles further north. And there are Zionists who believe it should go even further north. An interesting
story to better understand this point concerns one of the Israeli soldiers killed during the invasion. He was
a man wearing a full military uniform and carrying a weapon, but who turned out to be a 72-year-old
archaeologist: the Israeli army takes archaeologists along to look for signs of ancient Jewish settlements
and thus come up with an excuse for annexation. Moreover, it would seem that these objectives have been
coordinated with the rebel forces in Syria, supported by Israel and the US. It is no coincidence that the
rebel attack started on the day the ceasefire in Lebanon came into effect.
Speaking of Syria, how is the front line in Lebanon changing now that Damascus has fallen?
Hezbollah now finds itself caught in the middle. These Syrian rebels are the same people who were in al-
Qaeda and ISIS, and ISIS previously occupied the mountains above the Beqaa valley. They were defeated
by Hezbollah in the past, but they still want to regain the Beqaa Valley and northern Lebanon. Thus, what
Hezbollah is likely to face in the near future, is a simultaneous attack from the north and south, Israel
attacking Hezbollah’s southern flank. And Hezbolloah is not that big in size, so I don’t know if it would
be able to deal with such a double threat. Moreover, it is by no means certain that the Lebanese army
would fight against the Syrian rebels if they entered the Beqaa valley, because the Americans also support
the Syrian rebels – the Americans pay about 50 per cent of each soldier’s salary.
What about Palestine?
Obviously the situation for the Palestinians is already disastrous, but what is happening in Syria makes it
even worse, because it removes the corridor connecting Iran to Lebanon and Hezbollah and eliminates the
possibility of opening a northern front against Israel. Now the Israelis will no longer have to fear an attack
by Hezbollah when they decide to proceed with their ethnic cleansing and annexation of the West Bank –
because, you see, I believe that the ethnic cleansing and annexation of Gaza have effectively already been
accomplished. The Israelis still have some extermination to do, they will kill many more people, but their
plans for annexation are now quite public. The West Bank, on the other hand, is still under the control of a
subservient Palestinian authority. The Israelis have yet to complete this process, because what remains of
the Palestinian population is still hanging on: but the plan is extermination, ethnic cleansing, or expulsion
The regime change in Syria saves Israel from the risk of a northern front while they are at it.
In a recent article, you raised the prospect of a final solution in the Middle East, which would consist
of the creation of two blocs: Greater Israel and, to all effects, a Sunni caliphate. Wouldn’t this go
against what has been US policy so far, namely to preserve and play on the Sunni-Shia conflict?
Eliminating the Shias would eliminate the conflict, and there would no longer be any leverage to
counter a future Sunni rebel government in Syria or parts of Lebanon.
I agree. In the Sunni-Shia divide, the balance would end up tilting decisively in favour of the Sunnis,
potentially eliminating the Shia minorities in Lebanon and Syria. I now believe that the US is prioritising
the elimination of that threat to Israel, at the expense of maintaining the divisions, thus taking a short-term
view. I think this is an example of the fact that, when it comes to formulating its Middle East policy, the
US cares more about Israel than they do about themselves. For example, when they eliminated Saddam,
they probably did not fully realise that the consequence would be a Shia-majority regime in Iraq, and
therefore an Iraq close to Iran. For now the US thinks the balance is too much in favour of Iran and
Russia and that, to a certain extent, it should be rebalanced by helping the Israelis. However, this is
terribly short-sighted; indeed, I believe it is a disastrous miscalculation: true, these groups are subordinate
to the US but only for the time being; as happened with Al-Qaeda, as well as with the Taliban, and with
all these organisations that the US supports in the short term, there will be a backlash. Before long, once
they have consolidated their power, these groups will attack the US.
A final question, perhaps the most trivial and at the same time due to be asked in this turbulent context.
What is the future of the Middle East? Can there be a peaceful future for the region?
Right now, the future of the Middle East looks very bleak. Syria looks like it will regress into a failed
state, as happened with Libya. Should the Turks increase their repression of the Kurds and deprive them
of their territories, it will be the US and Turkey who will run the oil fields there, exactly as happened in
Iraq. The rest of Syria will see a continued attempt by the Salafists to impose very strict legislation, which
will increase in intensity in this culturally diverse country. All I see with the fall of the Assad dictatorship
is the lack of control from the centre, and this could lead to massacres and repression. For the
Palestinians, of course, the situation at the moment is just as bleak.
However, I do not think that Israel can survive for long. I think Israel has now proven itself to be
essentially a fascist, racial supremacist, and genocidal entity. People around the world are forming an ever
stronger idea of what is Israel is: a pariah state, an illegitimate entity. Eventually, through moral suasion,
Israel will disappear because people will want to have nothing to do with it, and a large part of the world
will promote an enormous economic boycott.
What are the possible repercussions in the Western world?
Senior politicians in Western countries, if they do not change, will share a similar fate, because people
will, at last, find a way to get rid of them. Indeed, it is interesting to note that the situation in the Middle
East has made the people around the world realise that politicians do not serve the interests of their
electorates and do not respond to their needs. One way or another, the Middle East scenario will help
trigger a revolutionary change in the West. The consequences of what the Israeli genocide will have
brought about, should be fascinating for future historians. Its effects will be seen in the decades to come.
The probable end result will be the abolition of the State of Israel, leading to a radical political change in
our so-called ‘democratic systems’ here in the West.
[by Dario Lucisano translation Patrick Boylan].
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Very interesting interview, in one of the leading Italian newspapers. Mr. Murray, the remarkable intellectual insight that you show may change the way many of us can perceive the stakes at play in the Middle East. No surprise then that you dedicated 6 weeks of your time to assessing events from Ground Zero in Beirut, despite the constant looming threats of hovering hostile drones.
Once again, Happy Holiday Season wherever you are…
@Craig -👍 for including the transcript. Much appreciated.
France
“in exchange for being included in the committee, Paris agreed to reverse its position on the ICC and Netanyahu and announced that the Israeli prime minister could visit the country without fear of being handed over to the ICC.”
Compare this with the government of Ireland, which has shown backbone to such an extent that the terrorist state has shut its embassy in Dublin.
Curiously Israel still keeps an embassy in Pretoria. The South African government has also shown backbone, but it would be good if they went further and booted the Israelis out.
I suspect France may have been earmarked as a source of new Jewish immigrants to Palestine and that Macron and the “200 families” are quite willing to provoke an ethnic war (and I mean war) in France to help out. A prediction here is that there is not simply a statement that Netanyahu is welcome in Paris but Netanyahu actually visits Paris. If he does there will certainly be violence and it could be major.
The aim in this scenario would not only be to help Israel but to have a repression in France the likes of which have not been seen for a very long time – a re-run of the Algerian war but with a different result, not in Algeria but in France itself, with a despotism that’s much stronger than was seen during Covid. Wait and see.
The constitutional problem that there is not allowed to be another parliamentary election until next summer, and yet parliament has already brought down one prime minister – and may bring down another one, and then another one, and then what?? – is seen by those who call the shots as an opportunity, not a difficulty.
West Bank
Re. the West Bank and what will probably be a Zionist assault there, it’s important that NATO are setting up shop in Jordan.
The West
“One way or another, the Middle East scenario will help trigger a revolutionary change in the West.”
What are you taking and where can I get some?
Craig, it is to your great credit that you have taken on the mantle of Robert Fisk – an independent, trusted source of information and analysis, who reports from the ground and explains to the rest of us the historical forces at work there. There is no equivalent in all of the well-resourced mainstream and it is of course to their discredit that they fail to explain to their readers what is going on. You have proved that you can do so, intelligently and dispassionately, with a shoestring budget, and also a commitment to the people of region, giving them a voice where they have none, here in the land of ‘freedom’, now rebranded as authoritarian, censored and lackeys to Israel.
Your point in your most recent video about the limits of crowd-sourced journalism, as opposed to the bedroom studios of the myriad opinion jockeys is very well made. Of course an organisation committed to genuine news would assist your work, but we have seen in the last few years how compromised and bought all of these sources now are. Fisk had a platform which he would never get in today’s media landscape.
It is therefore even more important that your work is widely seen and heard. I wish you the best for the festive season, and look forward to more next year, at least what you can afford. I do hope the public step up and contribute to your invaluable work and steady commitment.
Goodness knows why you have these concepts of “genuine news” and “independent analysis”.
Goodness knows why you commented.
@Ian – I’m not some smart alec internet dude. I am seriously and courteously questioning your use of those two concepts. I manage to do without them, and without any analogues of them. If you wish to defend or explain them, perhaps do so without sarcasm?
I didn’t see any serious or courteous question, and I don’t have to justify myself to you. The meaning is plain, and if you have another opinion that’s fine. I have no issue with that.
Ian
Thank you for articulating what many of us who followed this website for a long time. I fully agree with what you say.
Craig.
There are some of us who are not keen on watching videos and prefer transcripts. Can you get transcripts made and added to your previous posts that have been video only?
On accurate news reports I am not so pessimistic. There are many good journalists available on non-MSM media. You are one of them but there are also Jeremy Scahill, David Sirota, Glenn Greenwald, Jonathan Cook, Ken Klipperstein, Ryan Grim and many others. The Intercept is not as non-MSM as it used to be, before its three founding editors fled due to its editors in some cases censoring news not in favor of Western Empire orthodoxy – but it still is mostly non-MSM.
Carlyle. Here’s an idea: as Craig is probably very busy and strapped for funds, why don’t you use the free online facilities to provide transcripts for his videos? I’m sure he would appreciate that.
Thank you Craig..All so Heart breaking .. Where are real warriors anymore.. BBC NYT STV SKY CH4 ..are all part of this horror..
And yes the transcript is great Thank you..stay safe
The interview stopped just when it was getting interesting! What “radical political change in our so-called ‘democratic systems’ here in the West” do you foresee? I guess like viewers of the TV Batman series (too long ago), to find out we need to be back here at the same time, same channel.. 🙂
(My guess: the rise of smaller parties, for better or worse).
Nobody thinks there’s going to be radical political change, or radical social change, in the west, in a good direction – which just for the sake of argument let’s define as a more equitable distribution of wealth and power.
When I say “nobody”, well perhaps a 15yo neo-Corbynite may think so, but I doubt anyone here fits into that category.
The basic mistakes made include
1. A lack of recognition of what the internet is all about.
2. A lack of recognition that Britain – just to take an example country – became fully fascist in early 2020 and there is no exit door on the horizon. (Parliamentary democracy doesn’t count for shee-yit.) Some really should examine what they did and didn’t do, and how they did and didn’t act, during Covid, if they want to be taken seriously as ostensible fellow resisters of oppression and The Man.
3. A starry eyed belief in decent pure honest journalism – y’know, not like the posho Sunday Times with the thalidomide story, but even decenter, purer, and honester, like those USA blokes with their Hasselblad cameras in ‘Nam.
So many people have posted here to say they liked Craig’s videos. Well that’s fine. The more important question while very real slaughter is going on is what effect they have had.
Sorry to be a miserable b******, but there you have it. Y’know, the truth above all things, always da troot, mon.
I’m not sure I would agree with everything you said, but I can think we can agree about valuing honesty, as you do in your last sentence.
let’s test that.
does the West bear responsibility for the holocaust in Gaza?
The problem with your question is that the West isn’t one person. But we can ask who bears responsibility for the ongoing massacre.
IMO The government of Israel primarily, and of the USA for supplying the weapons. Germany as well. But the UK government shares in it insofar as some weapons and parts of weapons and intelligence from spy planes were supplied by it or by companies in the UK.
Many people in the UK and other Western countries (including the USA), though, do not support the slaughter in Gaza, especially readers of blogs such as this. Are they not also part of the West? We do well to exert our influence to stop or restrain the slaughter.
thank you and well said.
many are trying to hide and hide from from this reality, especially the degree of British involvement.
the journalists and politicians obviously do not want people to know. but nobody who reads Craig Murray can pretend ignorance.
A final question, perhaps the most trivial and at the same time due to be asked in this turbulent context.
What is the future of the Middle East? Can there be a peaceful future for the region?
-Right now, the future of the Middle East looks very bleak
While the resistance axis is severely weakened it is also true that the arab leaders and also considerable part of the arab population are obviously ok where things are going. Just right now I read how Israel and Saudi Arabia have conducted secret talks during the genocide and are apparently very close to finalizing a normalization deal. A deal that will no longer include the establishment of a palestinian statehood.
Israel and Saudi Arabia Reach Normalization Breakthrough, Clearing Path for Hostage Deal
“Sources familiar with the negotiations said that instead of explicit Israeli recognition of a Palestinian state, as Saudi Arabia had previously demanded, the sides agreed that Israel would provide the kingdom with a vague commitment to a “path towards Palestinian statehood.” This would allow Saudi Arabia to fulfill its pledge not to abandon the Palestinians.
https://archive.is/uLPxU
As I said earlier, we are talking about wilful slaves. The arab world have now sunk so low that they could just finish off their treachery by letting Israel annex the whole of the region.
There are also reports that Netanyahu is or is going to Egypt to sign a hostage-deal. Hopefully a rumour because Egypt cannot be that imbecilic that they would let the ICC-wanted man Netanyahu into their nation?!
Jack it is not just the Arabs that have abandoned Palestine, with lip service to various verbal condemnations whilst some maintain full diplomatic relations and even contribute to Israeli defense. It is telling that the Arab spring has not occured in the real autocratic dictatorships. The only thing that can save the Palestinians is coups or revolutions in these kingdoms.
The other sad thing is that Russia has never resisted the impunity that Israel enjoys. Their attacks on what Israel is doing have remained rather weak and I am sure they have mutual agreements on the limit of support that Syria would have had as Israel has never ceased to bomb Syria even after Russia intervened in 2015.
As to Syria, it was shocking to see all the BBC presenters flocking to the terrorist occupied Syria and reporting in complete safety. Jeremy Bowen seems to have been given carte blanche to explore Syrian prisons. The EU and others are flocking to establish relationships with the newly reformed terrorist leader who now is even abandoning his nom de guerre.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor:
https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6569/Israel-expands-urbicide-as-a-tool-of-genocide-in-Gaza
“Israel expands urbicide as a tool of genocide in Gaza”
^ “Urbicide” seems like a useful concept if one wants to get a handle on what’s specific about the genocide currently being committed by Zionist Jews, as compared with previous genocides carried out by Turkish Muslims, German Nazis, Croatian Catholics, and Hutu forces.
You forgot the Largest Genocide in History of Earth ..WHY ?
We really shouldn’t get into a politically motivated pissing contest over who has killed the most. One death is too many.
There have been so many, and Brian R has given a few examples. It’s surely not a competition?
Ok John and Stevie..Understood.. John..I said largest Not the many..
And Yes every murder is evil. and the murder of Unborn babies.
Israel needs to face real Warriors..NOT Children.
@Brianfujisan – Genuine question – which one are you alluding to?
First Nations of the America’s Brian..I have Native Amarican friends.. I make Dream Catchers with wire and Feathers and beads.. So many are now Amercanised – Genocide
perpetrated by the world’s last best hope on a massive continent-wide scale, well into the age of liberal-capitalist modernity.
interesting one to omit.
the five million whom they crossed the earth to slaughter in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia also ignored.
You mean Genghis Khan and his sons? I think that was perhaps the largest area to be genocided, though the Armenian genocide was the most openly viciously misogynist. And Congo is full of evil men. The horror of Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, and southern Lebanon is because these monsters are our monsters and we cannot tell them to stop because we elected their and our leaders, when we didn’t believe they would break the rules based order. But they have and we know that was against the rules, so how can our leaders be held accountable when peace becomes an option?
Speaking on genocide, the german based human rights group ECCHR concluded the other day that based on available evidence, what Israel has been doing in Gaza could be understood as a genocide
https://www.ecchr.eu/en/press-release/gaza-and-the-matter-of-genocide/
Not sure how big ECCHR is, (maybe AG could help us out), but nevertheless an important conclusion, especially by a german organisation.
The Palestinian Authority is actively shooting Palestinians on behalf of the Zionists.
https://nitter.poast.org/yarahawari/status/1869103104412819869#m
As Malcolm X pointed out:
“There were two kinds of enslaved people,” explained Malcolm in “Message to the Grassroots.” “There was the house Negro and the field Negro. The house Negros, they lived in the house with master.”
https://www.learningforjustice.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/TT-Podcast-Transcript-Diverse-Experience-May2018.pdf
Mahmoud Abbas: collaboration with Israeli army, secret police is “sacred”
Video in link: https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/mahmoud-abbas-collaboration-israeli-army-secret-police-sacred
Palestinian Authority “does our job for us” says Netanyahu
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/palestinian-authority-does-our-job-us-says-netanyahu
I read a study somewhere that the Palestinian Authority’s rule in the West Bank is one of the most securitized/controlled rule in the whole world. And it is not their own people, the palestinians the PA protect , but protection for PA/Abbas and Israel.
Jack
Thanks for that Jack – in Scotland we already have a name for Scots, who would rather sell Scotland out than rid it of Westminster and the illegal union – they are called House Jocks.
UK FCO reps meet with the western backed terrorist Al-Jolani – a reminder, that this terrorist, and his terrorist outfit – are proscribed in the UK, which means anyone supporting them or voicing support for them – could find themselves in prison.
There is only an illusion of democracy in the UK.
https://nitter.poast.org/kennardmatt/status/1868764558900507011#m
From the Terrorism Act 2000, section 12:
“A person commits an offence if he arranges, manages or assists in arranging or managing a meeting which he knows is (…) to be addressed by a person who belongs or professes to belong to a proscribed organisation.”
““meeting” means a meeting of three or more persons, whether or not the public are admitted”
No get-out clause for civil servants.
You have to wonder what the legal advice has been. It doesn’t seem to have been that the HTA has got to be un-proscribed first, which it could be by the Home Secretary. They’re totally in yer face. They might as well snort cocaine off the despatch box while saying they’ll introduce longer sentences for cocaine possession “on the estates”.
Imagine if we could go back a few years with the culture as it is now. Boris Johnson could have had a live link to his Covid restriction-breaking knees-ups in Number 10, while the great unwashed were banned from going within 2 metres of family at funerals, and there’d be no inquiry or anything. He’d probably still be in office.
I do not know whether to cry or laugh anymore. The west have absolute zero morals. Zero! For 14 months we have heard how terrorism is the worst thing there is…in Gaza. And then, suddenly al-Qaeda/ISIS affiliates take power in Syria. … and they are hailed as freedom fighters. And there is no repercussion, reaction by the media that have the same worldview that politicians have. They have merged and become 1, just like any other dictatorship.
It’s been going on for a lot longer than 14 months Jack. One example would be northern Ireland, another would be south America. The west and its MSM are the real terrorists.
I’m not so optimistic about a change in Western ‘democracies’ in our lifetime (~20years) as our host seems to suggest. Change comes about when the old guard dies, unfortunately most western politicians are relatively young, so we’ll be stuck with them for a while. Revolutionary change isn’t the western way, particularly whilst we have relatively comfortable lives. Also, the hegemon, USA, would be unlikely to allow dissent in its backyard, and let’s not forget most western states have large hegemonic forces already stationed within their borders. No, change will happen but it will be slow and gradual.
The same with extremist Muslims and zionists, they will eventually go the way of Chinese and soviet communism, but it will take decades. People don’t want extremism, they want a happy, peaceful, stable life. It will just take a while to educate and remove the nutters.
WW3 apart, I may be wrong but not being an optimist I don’t expect to be surprised.
In comparison with times in living memory when there have been revolutionary movements in western European countries and North America – e.g. 1968 in France, 1974 in Portugal – there is far more intensive mindcontrol now.
You may be confusing politicians with the ruling class.
What’s your take on say Latin America? Dunno if you’d count it as the west, but many there don’t view themselves as living relatively comfortable lives.
Even in Britain, the idea that most people are better off than they were in the 1970s is largely chimerical. (House prices literally contribute to economic growth statistics! Most official stats of that kind are worth as little in boxticky bullsh*t Britain as they were in the boxticky bullsh*t USSR.)
IMO: ‘The West’ is essentially five eyes plus Israel plus NATO plus EU. Latin America falls under the Monroe doctrine and as such is seen by the West as their asset-rich n*ggers. They are not respected, although some may wish to be part of the West, they never will be as the West is a white supremist entity.
Politicians may not be the ruling classes but they are a facet of the criminal enterprise, useful tools.
Only pensioners realise that the UK of the past was better than the current iteration. That’s why they are targetted. The younger generation only know the chaos we have now as the normal.
A brilliant interview offered by our host, which seems to beg the question, vis a vis the now incontrovertible evidence of Israeli mythological revanchism in the region (i.e. Greater Israel): namely, did the determining ruling forces in Israel have advanced and actionable knowledge of Oct 7 and choose to remain passive in the face of the latter in order to have what their master, the US imperial regime, considered sufficient casus belli to unwind this otherwise classic fascist war of aggression for Lebensraum in the Middle East?
Thank you, Craig. Excellent reporting and analysis.
Here is Jeffrey Sachs.. in a long but great talk with Tucker Carlson –
2hours – Jeffrey Sachs on how Joe Biden has been the most destructive president in American history, and how Donald Trump can repair the damage.
(0:00) The Regime Change in Syria
(8:48) What Is Greater Israel?
(21:45) Were Americans Involved in the Overthrowing of Assad?
(34:26) War With China by 2027
(40:22) Biden’s Attempt to Sabotage Trump
(46:10) The Attempted Coup of South Korea
(51:20) Jeffrey Sachs’ Warning to Trump of Potential Nuclear War
(55:18) Will We See the Declassification of the 9/11 Documents?
(1:07:11) Will Trump Pardon Snowden and Assange?
(1:16:43) The Most Important Appointment of Trump’s Cabinet
(1:26:29) Biden’s Attempt to Kill Putin
(1:35:58) Can Trump Bring Peace?
(1:45:44) Is War With Iran Inevitable?
(1:51:21) Why Corporate Media Hates Jeffrey Sachs
https://x.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1868789953443832205?
And this too is a very rare sight:
Germany´s biggest alt. news site NACHDENKSEITEN has an excerpt of the conversation between Chris Hedges and Alastair Crooke:
“The coup in Syria, its background and possible consequences”
https://archive.is/JPxnV
Only question: Why not do such a post every single week.
Like above.
And that coordinated by all decent German sites.
Only repetition can break through the wall of iron.
p.s. I “love” these filters they use in the news rooms when photoshopping. Craig above suddenly looks like a Prime Minister (with all the necessary baggage to be a PM encapsulated in those contrasts). Isn’t the harshness of his chin stunning. I am sure this man would bring back British military might. But: with some humane touch!
(Sorry for being sarcastic. It just sometimes bothers me that message and form in today´s media very often contradict each other. Many are not even aware of what they are doing when providing the visuals for a news content. i.e. the medium is indeed the message.)
Yes, image is an issue. I wonder if some people in the ME see an ex-ambassador parading around in a suit and a tie as an affront? Do some people in the West see a Muslim in robes, beard and with a postbox wife as an affront? Just a thought.
That’s perhaps not the point.
What the previous commenter was trying to ask is : would a muslim in robes, beard and with a post box wife try to pass for an independent journalist struggling to get his foreign travel funded.
Just asking. And the answer is : we like our host so much we could watch him in any outfit, except with a MAGA cap.
Some European and Nato countries love Neo-Nazi’s.
“The UN General Assembly has approved a Russian-proposed resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism, despite opposition from Ukraine and a significant group of Western countries.
The vote on a draft document titled ‘Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance’ took place on Tuesday. The resolution was adopted with 119 votes in favor, 53 against, and ten abstentions.
Those opposing the resolution included Ukraine – which Russia has long accused of promoting neo-Nazi ideology – and many of Kiev’s supporters, including NATO members Canada, France, Germany, the UK, the US, the Baltic states, and Poland.
Notable abstentions included Switzerland and Turkey.”
” Prior to …. adoption, the Committee approved — by a recorded vote of 66 in favour to 43 against, with 51 abstentions — amendment (document A/C.3/79/L.51), inserting a new operative paragraph that “notes with alarm that the Russian Federation has sought to justify its territorial aggression against Ukraine on the purported basis of eliminating neo-Nazism, and underlines that the pretextual use of neo-Nazism to justify territorial aggression seriously undermines genuine attempts to combat neo-Nazism”.
Introducing the amendment, Norway’s delegate stressed that this year’s draft was again incorrectly presented as a “technical rollover”. While the text is designed to combat the glorification of Nazism, “the Russian Federation is doing the exact opposite,” she cautioned, condemning the instrumentalization of history, which turns the draft into “a vehicle for propaganda”.
Many delegates echoed the concern that the draft continues to be misused by Moscow to justify its illegal invasion of Ukraine on the pretext of neo-Nazism, citing it as “a glaring example of its efforts to further its geopolitical aims”. ”
Russia needs to get its own house in order.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/28/neo-nazi-the-base-recruitment-russia
Pears Morgaine
Blah, Blah, Blah.
You can try and spin it any way you want – but those countries either abstained or voted against – incidentally, thinking of Nazi’s, its good to see that Chrystia Freeland (we know what she is) has resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet – Freeland is best buddies with that other evil wretch of a woman Victoria Nuland.
It’s necessary to understand why those countries abstained or voted against. Russia, as always, had an ulterior motive.
“Russia needs to get its own house in order.”
Pears Morgaine.
I forgot to address the above.
A link to the Guardian….really?- a UK security service outlet – next you’ll be quoting Zakharov and the exiles hoax of Gennady Rakitin.
Oh – on shitrags that are UK security services outlets – the Times has praised the terrorist murder of Oleg Kirillov – of which former Russian President Medvedev said, that the Times had just painted a huge bullseye on its back – at 1 London Bridge Place.
Ah yes, if you can’t play the ball go for the man instead.
Ros
“the terrorist murder of Oleg Kirillov “?
Did you mean the killing of Russian General Igor Kirillov?
He was a senior active duty Russian military officer, killing him is a legitimate act of war. Certainly not terrorism.
For a Russian propaganda view: https://youtu.be/DVOWENz6S-8?si=qVQUxXJ1nfMGz3WW
Especially since he had exposed the secret chemical and biological weapons labs run by the US in the Ukraine (conspicuous by their absence in western reporting).
JK redux.
For some it wasn’t.
General Keith Kellogg, on behalf of Trump, denounces Kirillov’s assassination:
“In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Kellogg was asked whether the murder of Kirillov would hinder peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, which Trump hopes to broker once inaugurated next month.
“I don’t think it’s really a setback,” he responded, “but I would say this: there are rules of warfare and there are certain things that you just kind of don’t do. When you’re killing flag officers, general officers – admirals or generals – in their hometown, it’s kind of like you’re extending it and I don’t think it’s really smart to do it. It’s not kind of the rules of war,” he continued, reiterating that the bombing was “not a good idea at all, in my opinion.””
https://www.rt.com/russia/609564-russian-general-trump-envoy/
Republicofscotland
Gen. Keith Kellogg, as you say on behalf of Trump, disapproves of killing “flag officers” off the battlefield.
As Mandy Rice Davies once said, “he would say that, wouldn’t he”.
I seem to remember Trump authorizing the killing of an Iranian general, also not on a battlefield.
@JK_redux – Ukraine and Russia are at war. I agree with you that one side killing a general on the other side is not in itself terrorism. It’s an attack on a military target. It doesn’t matter where he is. He’s a general in the army FFS.
Sometimes I wonder whether people understand war – or terrorism, for that matter. The attack on the Crocus City Hall was terrorism.
What is a “flag officer” in this context??
Pears Morgaine.
No expert on the UN but don’t Israel claim that they are bombing Gaza to get rid of Hamas – A Terrorist organisation? Both leaders are on the Most wanted list – for different reasons.
Of course the UN don’t want to make it all political. Just Moralising and handwringing.
Meanwhile the one country that could stop most of this killing occurring is supplying the means to do it in Israel.
Very unfair when the other side does it – but that’s what happens when you moralise. Hands up those who are for Fairer Wars?
The west loves Nazis and the West loves ISIS. What the west hates is peace and true democracy. Why is the west in such a mess, Go figure.
@Stevie – Where is this “true democracy”?
I just saw a hilariously truncated headline regarding Elon Musk:
“Elon Musk says the real threat to democracy is the people” 🙂 🙂
The next words were “who accuse Trump of endangering it”.
But anyway, Elon Musk FFS is talking about democracy at the same time as he is talking about possibly bunging a British political party, Reform UK, USD100m to influence how people vote in Britain. <- That's a competely unbiased statement of the facts. And no part of the MSM asks WTF is "democratic" about a multibillionaire (and a foreign one at that) buying votes. If there were any sanity or integrity in the MSM, that would be an obvious point.
"Democracy" just means "people's-ruliness", i.e. sweet FA. As for being able to vote Tweedledum out every five years and replace him with Tweedledee, one tends to think who gives a sh*t. "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal" <- an oldie but a goodie.
The capacity for change and renewal is what makes us human. Look at Al-Jolani. Not so long ago he was a head chopping, sexist, sectarian, Sunni slayer of Shias but now in his green ensemble (like a new Zelensky), he’s a liberal, democratic, secular, statesman. A man we can do business with. And, to further burnish his credentials, some of his colleagues are sponsoring him for a Children in Need event next year, which I think we can all look forward to!
This inspiring turn of events can only strengthen the conviction that change must come…
Johnnyoh45
You forgot also their assured entry into The Eurovision Song Contest 2025.
It’s not in Dublin this year. I don’t know why?
And the singer most likely will not be a woman. Not even a Bearded Woman/Man.
Yes I hear they’re going to go for the old Sinatra number but with a contemporary twist
” I did it their way “
I’d heard they were reprising Sandie Shaw’s 1967 number: ‘Puppet on a String’, as a duet between Bibi and Al-Jolson.
The Taliban are going to win Eurovision next year with their catchy little number ‘Stop The Music Or We’ll Behead You’.
And the Evil ones will win the World cup ..Thank you Norway team for refusing to play Israel
😁
This reminds me of a joke from William M. Gaines’ MAD books (I forget which, please remind me if it rings a bell). It shows depictions of people in films before and after WW2. I remember one about a Nazi arrest. It went something like this.
Before the war:
CRASH! ‘All right schwein, let’s go! But first, ve vill torture you a little, for beink non-Nazi, for beink non-Aryan, and above all for leaving the door unlocked, so that we sadistic stormtroopers didn’t have the pleasure of smashing it down!’
After the war:
‘Excuse me, but the Fuhrer has organised a dinner, to which you are all given an invitation, that you can’t refuse! Ach, after this war I will become ein doktor! Healing ist so much better than heiling!’
I wish I could share your optimism.
The vast majority of the population in the UK, for example, expose themselves only to Establishment propaganda. They believe that the USA is a valuable ally of the UK, they believe Israel is a model democracy threatened by barbaric regimes, they believe Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation – because that is what they have been told. Informed comment is available – here, and on other independent websites like Juan Cole, Declassified UK, the Intercept, and several others. But these sources have hundreds to (at most) thousands of readers: about 0.1% of the electorate.
@Townsman – “The vast majority of the population in the UK (…) believe that [1] the USA is a valuable ally of the UK, they believe [2] Israel is a model democracy threatened by barbaric regimes, they believe [3] Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation”
3 – Agreed. (The countermove is to ask “What terrorism have Hezbollah carried out then?”)
2 – Disagree. Most people in Britain who care one way or the other don’t like Israel at all. They just don’t like people who go on about it too much.
1 – Their minds are configured so as not to be able to ask the question. Same goes for US domination of British culture.
An Example of what Scots..and the rest of the West should have been doing..
Irish actor Liam Cunningham, known for his role in Game of Thrones, speaks out for justice in Gaza
3;30 mins –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAcktMAyfuM&t=2s
Thanks, great interview, reminds me of the spanish actor Javier Bardem, that also spoke out against Israel recently:
Actor Javier Bardem denounces Israel’s war on Gaza , 2,12 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Af8nSNvhY
Thanks for that one Too Jack..
I was always so disappointed in the Silent voices of – Peter Gabriel, for example – His beautiful BIKO song captured me… then I seen him live 5 times… But Silence on Julian’s Torture… I respect that we are all getting older.. and want a peaceful life.. but so does Craig, and look what he is doing now.. Well here is a compassionate Rock star –
https://x.com/GUnderground_TV/status/1868297402915946515?
BBC interview, Ahmed al-Sharaa (AKA Al-Jolani) with Jeremy Bowen:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c05p9g2nqmeo
His handlers will allow him to do what he likes to women and minorities. The only things that matter are that he permits systematic looting by western Capital, large-scale annexation by the zionists and use of Syrian territory to attack Iran.
The fact he’s a Saudi, born in Riyadh, you’d imagine, would bother ordinary Syrians the most?
The true priority of anyone truly representative of Syrians, would be ensuring that country’s territorial integrity and resources, including water are protected. The fact Israel are on the move, deep into Syria’s territory, is outrageous. Ultimately, the US is facilitating this affront to international law, much as they are facilitating the extermination programme underway in Gaza. On which, I can’t imagine GCHQ staffers are completely Ok, with a situation whereby ministers are happy with staff being accessories to murder; by providing data (even that passed first via the NSA) that is being used in drone strikes, against what are clearly non-combatants in Gaza?
Politics is v. volatile in the West, and any ministerial assurances of impunity, may not be worth a thing, with the way politics could easily be turned upside down at any moment.
No, not a Saudi. His father was a Syrian exile, a wealthy landowner from the Golan who was forced out by Israel in 1967, and couldn’t get on with Hafiz al-Asad. Evidently a typical aristocrat, he wrote books about economy, nature, and ecology; like our own dear royals, he loved nature because he owned a lot of it.
The Empathic Soul that is Francesca –
UN Special Rapporteur EXPOSES Crime Of The Century – 11 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd6bM0ETG-I
At the 2008 Arab League summit in Damascus, Muammar Gaddafi, the then-leader of Libya, issued a stark warning to his fellow Arab leaders, including Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, about the potential political downfall they could face. Gaddafi’s comments, which were largely dismissed or laughed off at the time. During the summit, Gaddafi expressed concerns about the future of the Arab world, predicting that many of the leaders present could soon face challenges to their rule. His remarks were reportedly met with laughter, particularly from Assad, who did not take the warning seriously. However, recent events have caused many to reflect on Gaddafi’s words with a sense of irony.
He warned that many Arab leaders hated one another far more than they hated the western leaders. He said the US came to Iraq, toppled then hung its leader, he warned that they themselves would face the same fate. Prophetic words.
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/gaddafis-2008-warning-to-arab-leaders-revisited-amidst-political-instability-1845333
Professor Norman Finkelstein in an interview with a Lebanese journalist after the 2006 war explains how easily a more powerful state can subdue a weaker one, he used the German Occupation of France as an example, The Germans invaded France and installed Marshal Philippe Pétain a Vichy leader who served the interests of the Nazis in a similar way Mahmoud Abbas serves the Israelis. Less than 10% of the French supported the resistance, on the grounds that the Nazis were ruthless, for every German that was killed, 100 French men would pay the price. This worked for a long time and the French just accepted the occupation and got on with life. On reflection Finkelstein asks, who do the French venerate today, the resistance or the collaborators? There is only one answer. Unfortunately there are so many jackals wanting to share the carcass, with US/Israel and Turkey with their own agendas and who are relentless and ruthless in their objectives, it will take many years of struggle to overcome them, it sure as hell will not be achieved without using the same methods against them as they use against the ‘Arc of resistance’.
The lesson from North Korea is that the only way a smaller, weaker state can survive is by having the ultimate means to destroy their enemies. Maybe, Iran should push to get Russian Nukes in place !
Also, without choking on western BS propaganda, it does seem that Assad’s arrogance played a part in his own downfall.
Stevie Boy
By your logic, Ukraine should also push to get Nukes in place…
You got me there Johnny boy, I bow down to your logic.
Of course, Ukraine was never in any danger until it got into bed with the West and started acting aggressively to its neighbour. North Korea and Iran are acting defensively, whilst Ukraine is acting offensively. Ukraine had (Russian) nukes but the west, with Russia agreed to remove them. Maybe they all feared the rise of a stunted, Jewish, nazi pianist.
If you hadn’t noticed it was Ukraine that got invaded. What neighbour did it get ‘aggressive’ with and why shouldn’t it move closer to the west if that’s what they want?
Stevie Boy
(Use my username like a good man.)
Thanks for the acknowledgement that Ukraine needs a nuclear deterrent just like other small countries with hostile neighbours.
It’s not the Russian government’s aim to destroy Ukraine. It’s true they don’t want Ukraine in NATO, but NATO membership and being destroyed aren’t the only two possibilities.
Iran is the only power in or near the Middle East that might conceivably stand up to Israel, except for the far weaker Hezbollah and the Palestinian resistance organisations – Hamas, PIJ, PFLP, etc. There is no anti-Israel equivalent of NATO that Iran could be neutral in respect of.
” It’s not the Russian government’s aim to destroy Ukraine. ”
Really? They’re doing a passable imitation.
JK Redux
By definition once Ukraine was in NATO they would have got some ‘installed’ by NATO.
For The Russians this is what it’s all about.
Of course NATO could install some nukes now if they so wished – unofficially but they are a bit wary because the US could be nuked to oblivion.
US dead people worries them for the simple reason that they might die alongside them. As far as Europe goes the US would be sanguine about say the UK being nuked flat and would scramble around the negotiating table to do a deal.
Why? Because instead of all this ‘Putin’s bluffing’ crap, that act would show that he wasn’t and isn’t.
Mark Cutts
Is it your opinion that:
• If Ukraine acquired nukes that Russia would nuke W Europe and Britain? (And Ukraine too of course.)
• And that Russia would do this without fear of retaliation?
• And that France and Britain would not retaliate against Russia following a Russian nuclear attack on their territories?
• And that a nuclear armed Ukraine would not retaliate against Russia following a Russian nuclear attack on Ukraine?
If yes to all the above, I have a bridge in New York that you might consider purchasing.
The idea that had Ukraine retained Soviet nukes that would’ve somehow prevented the invasion is built on numerous false assumptions. Plus, the use of any such weapon against Russia – not easy btw, as you need viable modern delivery systems – would’ve seen Ukraine obliterated in retaliation, within minutes.
Ukraine couldn’t afford the infrastructure required and associated maintenance costs either. Warheads of differing production ages, need to be serviced regularly. Tritium is a radioactive isotope that’s key to a warhead’s yield in the(first) fission stage of a hydrogen warhead (fusion being the 2nd stage), and tritium has a radioactive decay, half-life of 12 years. The US, Russia, China and others are constantly servicing warheads, it costs a fortune.
When Zelensky talked about simply “acquiring nukes” recently, he was talking out of his backside. The only way they would ‘acquire’ them would be for the US to station theirs there, as per Europe and also the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey. That was Russia’s main concern related to Ukraine wishing to join NATO; the idea they’d permit US strike capability to be placed on the eastern border. Initial promises from NATO and the US not to do that could easily be broken by new leaderships, that is once NATO’s supposedly ‘defensive only’ missile housing facilities were established.
I’ll have to reply to myself in order to reply to JF Redux.
JF redux.
You are making the grave error that the US gives a crap about Europe or plucky little Britain. Ditto Plucky little Ukraine.
Definitely no crap about Russia. But what they give a crap about most is the US that God blesses.
So it may start off with an Oreshnik on Poland then after a bit of non-nuclear retaliation upgrade to an attack on the UK (both are in NATO and ‘An attack on one is an attack on all’) and further upgrade to small restricted nukes on Berlin (note carefully – the US has not been attacked yet) and then some EU country nukes back (the US are still not in the ‘being nuked’ game), and depending on which way the wind is blowing they will call for a ceasefire before any Americans get hurt. It will only get completely out of control if the US particularly wants it to.
But first as usual the US will bomb and Nuke by Proxy. It’s all the rage at the moment, indirect Wars. Unless you don’t watch telly of course.
Special Relationship my arse. Neither with the UK-Europe or Plucky Ukraine.
By the way the US’s ‘Buffer Zone’ has always been the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. China and Russia would struggle to install nukes in the sea – the fuse would keep getting wet after lighting it. I have to say your faith in the US is touching.
p.s. Forget the bridge, I’ve got some pre-loved Nuclear Missiles to sell you.
They are similar to the ones the UK subs trialled off the coast of Florida. The ones the US palmed off on a fellow NATO member (‘all for one and one for all’, don’t forget). The ones that swirled round and round in the sky and nearly landed back from whence they came. They were nothing like the salesmen suggested on the side of the box.
@Stevie Boy – Agreed – North Korea having nuclear weapons and the capability to deliver them at long range do seem to be major factors in why the US has not attacked them militarily. (I put it like that because the sanctions have had effects.)
Interesting fact: according to Bernard Coard, it was the US invasion of Grenada in 1982 that led Kim il-Sung to decide to get himself some nukes.
“On reflection Finkelstein asks, who do the French venerate today, the resistance or the collaborators? There is only one answer.”
The answer is “neither of them”.
I don’t know which French people Finkelstein is friends with, but many of them believe the “Resistance” was largely a myth invented in 1944. (I realise this is an exaggeration. But not very many people at all were involved in it. Same goes for various other countries, e.g. Norway, and Germany itself.) If Finkelstein thinks lots of French people venerate The Resistance, he can’t have met a wide range of French people. Most of The Resistance were Gaullist or Stalinist.
I suspect the reason you don’t like Norman Finkelstein is because of his seething contempt for the Genocide-Cheney Democrat party.
Btw, what did “a wide range of French people” tell you the Resistance needed to be in order to be venerated?
Shitlibs?
I have a friend, he is well educated, a Medical Doctor, 66 years old, ethnically Jewish. He grew up non-religious in Southern California, then went to medical school in Tel Aviv because they offered him a deal on tuition. Over the years, he met a man, another MD, and they had a son together by IVF and surrogacy. As is often the case, they got more religious with parenthood. Now they are all quite committed to their Reform temple in Southern California.
The son is now about 20 years old and off at college. Theirs is a wealthy, respectable family.
I see today that the son is in Israel on a ‘birthright’ visit. A few hours after his arrival, he had to take shelter from ‘Houthi’ aerial attack. All of this is on Facebook.
The commenters to the post are universally appalled. “Why can’t the UN stop those Houthis from bombing our people in Israel?” they ask. “There have been 300 Houthi attacks on Israel, this needs to stop!” “Hopes and prayers for the safe return of your son.”
Nobody mentions anything about the genocide or the war of expansion or Israel ignoring the UN, and certainly nothing about any Palestinians.
FYI
And, I guess the fundamental christians don’t mention their god’s displeasure at sodomites … 😂
Stevie.. Bit below the belt Comment..Eh
I meant a Bit Harsh uncalled for .
Brian. IMO, hypocrisy should always be called out.
“Nobody mentions anything about the genocide or the war of expansion or Israel ignoring the UN, and certainly nothing about any Palestinians.”
Or the fact that only ethnic-supremacist colonialists could possibly believe that some guy has a right to settle in Palestine, having never been there before (at least this is the implication), simply because his rich father and his father’s rich boyfriend (this is assuming one of them donated the sperm that made him) are Jewish.
You find yourself in a Strange World when you nod sagely at ex CIA people and Republican Patriots (some ex military ) on Youtube but in The Hall of Mirrors called The West this is the reflection.
Larry Wilkerson (ex US Colonel ) said and I’m paraphrasing:
In the Arab world forget the religion and follow the money.
A lot of the leaders riches are from oil/gas and for all that I know the poor don’t have any money and that’s why they are the most fervent prayers/believers.
They ( the rich ones ) will protect their Wordly Goods at all costs and pay lip service to religion.
No different from the West and their religion – greed is Universal and that greed is playing out before our very eyes.
There may be a few atheists billionaires out here but I’m not one of them.
Every bomb that drops anywhere is worth a lot of money to the suppliers.
Death equals money and it doesn’t matter at all who you drop the bombs on – money is made.
Then you re-stock and do it all over again and again and again.
This is called ‘ Civilisation ‘
My personal view is that The Middle east is heading into Nuclear Arms race.
Why?
Because the only way you can stop bullying countries who are armed with Nukes is to get them yourself.
The theory being, that the only way to stop a bully is to make sure that if they fire nukes you fire some back.
Sound familiar?
it’s heading that way for my money.
@Mark –
“Larry Wilkerson (ex US Colonel ) said and I’m paraphrasing:
In the Arab world forget the religion and follow the money.”
As opposed to in which other “world”? Did he come up with something different but equally pithy for, say, the USA itself, western Europe, Russia, China, or Turkey>?
“My personal view is that The Middle east is heading into Nuclear Arms race.
Why?
Because the only way you can stop bullying countries who are armed with Nukes is to get them yourself.
The theory being, that the only way to stop a bully is to make sure that if they fire nukes you fire some back.”
No Arab UN-member (or Arab League-member) regime is willing to put up a fight against Israel. I think George Galloway has made this point. It would be very hard to argue against it. The most powerful Arab regimes are the Gulf ones and they won’t fight against Israel in a month of Sundays, not even if Israel launches nuclear warheads at cities in Iran.
I’m surprised people aren’t making more of the fact that NATO is setting up shop in Jordan.
At the time of writing, Russia seems to have been walloped out of the Middle East. Sure they were walloped out of Afghanistan, and the USA and bumsniffer countries then took their place and were walloped out a few decades later. But things are much crazier today.
Brian Red
No he didn’t.
Why? Because he’s a US Patriot.
It’s OK for the ‘sensible nations’ to have Nukes but not savages.
To be fair like a lot of US Patriots he thinks the US is run by lunatics but
as an Imperialist in an Imperialist nation he would prefer less lunacy but still be happy with US hegemony.
Just a mention:
When only the US had Nukes, and The Soviet Union didn’t – British/European CND didn’t exist.
When The Soviet Union acquired them, CND sprung up like a rash across the civilised (non-savage world)..
I also read (may be true may be not?) that Pakistan offered to ‘lend’ Iran some nukes.
The USA has thousands of soldiers in Syria….ostensibly to fight Daesh. That doesn’t make any sense.
“The USA has thousands of soldiers in Syria….ostensibly to fight Daesh. That doesn’t make any sense.”
======
The way things are going, these GIs might soon be training the Da’esh soulmates of the 9/11 attackers
A great comment by Putin on the, unelected, nazi government in Ukraine:
“They are not even atheists, these people. Atheists are people who believe in something, they believe… that there is no God. But it is their faith, their conviction. But these people are not atheists. These are simply people without any faith at all, infidels,” he said of the Ukrainian leadership.
Putin noted that Zelensky and many of his associates are “ethnic Jews,” adding: “But who has seen them in a synagogue? I think no one has seen them in a synagogue. They are apparently not Orthodox [Christians] because they do not go to churches either. They are certainly not followers of Islam because it is unlikely for them to appear in a mosque.”
“These are people without kith or kin. They do not care about anything that is dear to us and the overwhelming majority of the Ukrainian people,” Putin added.
The members of the current government in Kiev will “flee [Ukraine] some day” to faraway countries and “they will be going not to church, but to the beach,” the president concluded.
https://www.rt.com/russia/609671-putin-ukraine-church-zelensky/
That’s right: life is a beach!
Some rare people, even on this blog, may disagree with Putin, call him a fascist autocrat. And this is obviously very debatable. But one thing is for sure. His command of the English language is admirable. Randomly using phrases like “without kith or kin” tells you everything. Do you think Genocide-Biden could say even ‘good night’ in Russian? Of course not, unless his son Hunter would help him.
And Vladimir is also very, very pious. Unlike the whole Western world. Not even atheists, capitalist bas*****
@Madison – Putin’s English is great, but what’s the reason for thinking he made these quoted remarks in English?
Cus nowhere does it say ‘transcript’. Btw, more and more people mistake ‘transcript’ for ‘translation’. If Craig’s interview in this article is a transcript, where’s the original soundtrack? It really doesn’t matter actually…
As you say, Vlad’s English is great. I think back in the day he had a 6-month crash course for the KGB. Like others in French. Crème de la crème.
Otherwise, the real question is: does Putin believe in God ? And if not, in what else…
Six months of top-quality teaching and study would be enough to take him to high fluency. A year would take him to native-speaker level.
Putin probably believes in God. But what is Shoigu into? The bond between them seems strong. Putin was willing to say goodbye to Prigozhin and keep Shoigu.
I hope the leaders in Kiev stand trial. They have sacrificed so many people in an unwinnable war for a totally crap cause.
He certainly said goodbye to Prigozhin in the most eloquent way.
I don’t think anyone will ever stand trial for a war that is as you say unwinnable, on either side.
Madison.
Yes, I’d say the Anglo’s – have a superiority complex when it comes to the English language – even the mediocre English astronaut Tim Peake, said the most difficult part of becoming an astronaut was having to learn Russian – a language which our host can speak.
The context is the Kiev regime’s crackdown on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This relates not only to the Moscow-Constantinople schism of 2018, but to a schism within Russian-area Orthodoxy.
The Ukrainian Orthodox church that’s pro the Kiev regime has changed the date of Christmas from 7 January to 25 December. This year will be the first time they celebrate it according to the Gregorian calendar. I don’t know how successfully they are managing to sell this change to their believers. Their problem is that no kind of Orthodoxy has ever been big on reform or reformation.
Contrary to what the western MSM is required to say to its punters, Orthodox Christianity in Ukraine is very Russian and it will remain very Russian. Kiev was of course the capital of Rus’. Kievan Rus’ basically was Russia. I would imagine that the way the Kiev regime is selling what they’re doing involves playing to a derogatory caricaturing of Muscovites. I.e. where religion is concerned they aren’t so much saying down with Russia as down with Moscow.
This then relates to eschatology. Every Russian-area orthodox believer knows that “Moscow is the third Rome – and there shall be no fourth“. Being anti-Moscow has a deep religious meaning to it – and it’s not a reformist meaning. It’s more an “End of Times” meaning.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the idea is being spread that Moscow is in the hands of the Anti-Christ. But journalists may not hear that kind of thing if they hang out in Ukrainian bars with the kind of people journalists like to hang out with, i.e. “interesting” well-funded well-connected types who’ve never waited at a bus stop in their lives, but who can tell you about airport VIP lounges, expensive equipment, when they met a billionaire, and all that kind of sh*te. The number of people in whatever city it is who believe Putin is the Anti-Christ and the end of the world will come within a year may have risen from 1% to 80% and those tossers wouldn’t have noticed, because neither the journalists nor the “international white trash” types ever meet any proper people, except maybe those who clean their hotel rooms.
Hopefully religion won’t stand in the way of the exchange of POWs.
Putin’s quoted comments about atheism and Judaism are mistaken. Atheism is not a “faith”. As for Judaism, it is essentially racist and there are many racist Jews who view themselves as in continuity with the racist effort and who have respect for others who “work for the community” using religion but whose own “work for the community” doesn’t involve much (or any) religion. I’m talking about people who are pleased there was a liberation from the rabbinically-controlled ghettos a few generations ago because then they could set about taking over the world. Meanwhile Putin should try to wrap his head around the fact that many rabbis today privately admit they’re atheists.
But I haven’t seen the Russian-language original, so maybe something was lost in translation. What you have in Kiev is basically a Jewish government manipulating Orthodox beliefs in the population. It could get very nasty. I’m sure they will make a big push – “look how western we all are, we have Christmas on 25 December just as they do in the USA and western Europe”. Whether they will be successful is another matter.
It’s true that this is the country where people voted for Princess Leia from Star Wars, a ticket called “Punch” run by a highly successful boxer, and an actor from the equivalent of “Yes Minister”.
But religion is another matter. “Father Ted” wouldn’t work in the Orthodox zone/
Interesting. My simple understanding from the translation of what Putin said on this issue was that the Ukraine regime attack on the Ukraine (Russian) Orthodox church was “godless” i.e. motivated by malice and hate by people who might otherwise profess to Christian beliefs. He distinguished this from atheism, which, as a set of seeming opposing beliefs, still does not necessarily result in this kind of evil conduct.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was officially formed in 1990 in place of the Ukrainian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), under the leadership of Metropolitan Filaret, as the Ukrainian branch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
On 27th May 2022, following a church-wide council in Kyiv, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church announced its full independence and autonomy from the Moscow Patriarchate. The council made this decision in protest of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and particularly in response to Russian Orthodox Church head Patriarch Kirill’s support for the invasion.
What else would anyone have expected?
Putin must be pretty desperate to be playing the religion card. Does he think he’s leading a Crusade against heretics?
It was the Ukraine parliament that banned the Church in March 2022. Ukraine regime wants to legitimise a church that has its roots in and allegiance to its nationalist (“neo-nazi”) ideology. This is from a pro-Ukraine website. https://www.ukrainer.net. Spot the giveaways.
“Since Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine — the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church Moscow Patriarchate, has been controversial, particularly in the context of war. For instance, he didn’t honour Ukrainian independence defenders in 2015 and blessed Russian prisoners of war, offering them best wishes, prayer books and chocolates despite their involvement in the war crimes against Ukrainians”.
“Russian prisoners of war” in 2015 clearly means the Ukraine anti-Maidan protestors from the Donbass.
@Pears – It’s unwise to rely on Wikipedia. What would you have expected French Roman Catholics in the city of Nice to do in 1940 when Italy occupied it?
“UOC-MP” for “Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate” is largely a propaganda term used by those who aren’t in it. Its website is here:
http://church.ua
^ It calls itself simply the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
It’s not autocephalous. The authorities in Kiev have been harassing it for years, increasingly portraying it as basically a bunch of Muscovites and of those who like the Muscovites.
The Orthodox church organisation with the most adherents in Ukraine, which is pro the Kiev regime, is the Orthodox Church of the Ukraine, which has its website here:
http://www.pomisna.info
^ It calls itself the Orthodox Church of the Ukraine.
(“Pomisna” is cognate with “местный”, meaning “local”. Perhaps they too still recognise Moscow as the “third Rome” but possibly that doctrine is becoming rather attenuated? If it snaps altogether, there will be trouble, because of the apocalyptic meaning behind the words “and there shall be no fourth”.)
Ukraine’s government was democratically elected in 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Ukrainian_parliamentary_election
Please tell me who the Nazis are?
Yes elections have been suspended because of the illegal invasion and ongoing war.
Like Putin really cares about their religion.
Pears Morgaine.
Zelensky’s tenure is over – effectively he’s now a dictator – and he acts like one – as for Neo-Nazi’s the dictator Zelensky, uses Neo-Nazi brigades which are part of the country’s national Guard – when asked about the likes of the Azov Battalion (now the 32 Assault Brigade, a name change to try and hide what they are) a few years back – Zelensky said, they are what they are.
On the terrorist murder of Kirillov.
“A German “Russia expert” tells DW that Ukraine’s SBU assassinated Igor Kirillov specifically because he accused the US of setting up biolabs in Ukraine”
https://nitter.poast.org/MaxBlumenthal/status/1869447880865698297#m
Ukraine’s parliament votes to extend martial law for another 90 days.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/10/29/7481911/
Odd sort of dictatorship.
Azov Regiment. The Battalion ceased to exist years ago.
https://lens.monash.edu/@politics-society/2022/08/19/1384992/much-azov-about-nothing-how-the-ukrainian-neo-nazis-canard-fooled-the-world
PM
The Ukrainian constitution doesn’t allow the parliament to prolong Zelensky’s mandate.
The Azov battalion was just renamed, as RoS said. Much like Julani in Syria has simply been renamed from a bloodthirsty headchopper to a diversity-oriented liberal democrat. The US is very familiar with how to do the necessary.
Indeed RoS – Hunter Biden’s laptop went for repairs and its contents were uploaded in order to reload them on a new laptop. It was then widely discovered that Hunter was in the pay of Kolnoyski for his involvement in the 26 bio weapons labs. Kolnoyski of course was the dual national Ukrainian Israeli billionaire producer of the television series starring Zelensky, and is now allegedly the person who funds the real president Zelensky. He has his own wiki page with some info about him. Hunter’s notoriety as revealed on the hard drive was also allegedly pornographic, but his Daddy has pardoned him for whatever it is mainstream media has suggested he should have been prosecuted for….
Pear Morgaine
Those would be the ones waving guns in the Parliament, threatening Deputies.
It was on the BBC so it must be true.
As were a lot of members of the Azov regiment.
Just out of interest (because I am interested) do you know what the composition of the current Ukrainian Parliament is? How many Left Liberals, or even the Ukrainian version of the Lib-Dems, have seats?
Because when the BBC interviews Ukrainian MPs they never say which parties they represent.
They do in the UK – strange that?
‘ It was on the BBC so it must be true. ‘
Well you said it…
If you look back to the link I posted earlier the Servant of the People party hold by far the largest number of seats in the Ukrainian parliament. They’re described as Liberal/Populist and are members of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party along with our very own Liberal Democrats.
https://www.aldeparty.eu
I don’t think they’d allow neo-Nazis to join, do you?
I’m sure that won’t open the eyes of some but the whole Ukraine/Nazi thing is a piece of cheap propaganda to try and justify an illegal invasion.
Pears Morgaine
‘Liberal/Populist’
Would you care to explain what a Liberal/Populist is please? Orban meets – Ed Davey?
Theoretically Zelensky can be War President as long as the War continues? Remind you of anyone at present? I think his name’s Bibi.
If you think like Al Jolani that a re-branding is OK then you can delude yourself that the Neo-Nazis have no say.
By the way, Trump is toying (as a pre-condition for his version of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine) with Ukraine having elections before deciding his pitch.
Now if true – that will be interesting. Particularly for the Populists. Might find out how popular they are if that happens.
An earlier scene from Ukraine’s parliament:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGTpD0-VakE
Russia and Ukraine are both mafia states in the sense that everyone holding an official position – even something like hospital medic or school headteacher – is on the take at all levels.
But oh wait, a billionaire called Kolomoisky ran an actor in the presidential election who was big on his TV channel for playing a schoolteacher who became the president… I don’t think Paul Eddington would see anything amusing about this.
Ten years ago. A punch up between nationalists and separatists. A genuine Nazi assembly would be more ordered with no dissent allowed.
Cubicle logic to suck up to the line manager as usual. Desperate, Pears.
A lot of the MI6-vetted commentariat has gone awfully quiet about the Syrian “revolution” now the horrifying reality is dawning. No borders, no territory, no water, no crude oil, no air defence and no weapons (except those held by murderous jihadis and foreign proxies).
A Mad Max, rent-McJihadi hellhole that will make Libya look like a paradise. This was probably always the plan.
fonso.
Yeah, I’ve read that the genocide-committing Zionists – which are a horrifying 62 weeks into their genocide and still the world does SFA to stop it – have stolen more land in Syria that contains significant water supplies; I also read (ICAN) that the Zionists have whopping 90 nukes in store.
Meanwhile, the USA has supposedly just found out that instead of having 900 troops on the ground in Syria, that it actually has around 2,000 troops, in Syria on the ground – and it gets better – the USA has dropped the $10 million dollars reward for the capture of the KNOWN PROSCRIBED TERRORIST Al-Jolani.
US offered bounties are subject to US needs – which are fickle.
https://nitter.poast.org/aaronjmate/status/1870175731956752855#m
https://nitter.poast.org/aaronjmate/status/1870175956796645731#m
It’s still a mystery how the Syrian regime was removed. What “offensive” was there really? It’s got to have been cyber.
Meanwhile Trump’s soon to be head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Satan willing), Elon Musk, is talking about helping the white nationalists of Reform UK, he’s also saying only the white nationalists of AFD can “save Germany”, you’d have to be very brave to bet on Macron staying in office until spring 2027 – info about the contempt he shows for black people, women, and homosexuals has been released…but how long until damning evidence about his “wife” comes out? – and so it goes…
More overt international coordination is a possibility… Peter Mandelson is loving this…
Brian Red.
Brian, from what I’ve read Putin has organised a defence pact – in a similar fashion to that of Nato – well if one’s attacked the others will come to their aid, surprisingly Syria wasn’t included in this defence pact – apparently – Assad was at the time of the discussion on it, he was fraternising with the Gulf States, they were whispering sweet nothings into his ear – and by the time he realised what was going on it was too late.
Russia, put up a medicore defence – when the Western backed terrorists invaded Syria, but it was never going to amount to much – what with the USA, Turkey, Israel and a few other states backing and actively participating in the coup.
@RoS – In your analysis the Russian government couldn’t help much in Syria (despite having given Assad a lot of military assistance in the past) because of its commitments in the war against Ukraine?
It could be that Russia and the Syrian government were both taken by surprise.
Not sure I’d call it a coup when one of the sides in a multi-side civil war that’s been going on for 13 years takes over all the territory of its main enemy within a few days – unless they had inside help at top level.
The Russian air force flew some sorties at the beginning and Iran prepared to send in the Republican Guard but when they realised the SAA weren’t putting up any resistance they halted operations and concentrated on getting their people out.
It’s a massive failure of Russian intelligence that they didn’t realise this was coming and were caught with their pants down. There would’ve been a noticeable build up of men and material close to the border of the rebel held area and an increase in communications all of which seems to have gone unnoticed.
Not widely known that Syria was paying Russia for their help, $250 million in 2018/19 alone, and that source of income and invaluable foreign currency has now been lost.
PM
The Russians knew well what was coming, but Asad didn’t want to cooperate and preferred the sweet nothings being whispered in his ear from the Gulf. He was a fool. Optometrists don’t make good statesmen, it seems.
There’s a trend ongoing in Gaza right now – where Zionist D9 Bulldozer drivers – decorate their huge bulldozers with toys, taken from the houses of displaced or murdered Palestinian children – these are the same Zionist D9 bulldozer drivers – who ran over tents killing Palestinians, inside, at supposedly safe zone/refugee camps in Gaza.
https://nitter.poast.org/yanisvaroufakis/status/1869881676626870406#m
What sick murdering f***ers they are.
Who in their right mind hates any small children?
They want to be seen as monsters by those they are fighting. And they are monsters.
What to make of this.
“House Republicans just introduced the DOGE Act. The bill cuts non-military spending by $114 billion, shrinking programs for energy, climate, health, transportation, veterans, education, economy, and more.
The DOGE Act reduces Pentagon spending by $0.”
https://nitter.poast.org/stephensemler/status/1869453785032253872#m
Musk logic, cut social programes to fund war.
The screw is being tightened in the USA, France, Britain, and Germany.
Things are happening that can’t be explained using stupid-idiot assumptions about the oversight of the executive by the legislature.
E.g. Macron gets walloped in the EU elections in France, so he calls a national parliamentary election. (Uh?)
A similar development occurs in Germany, and the federal parliamentary election is brought forward to Feb 2025 while the AFD continue to rise in the polls. (The “old” parties all agree the AFD are toxic, but clearly not as toxic as they consider each other to be, otherwise they’d be able to sort themselves out a coalition against them. That’s just the application of simple logic. But it’s also to argue from stupid-idiot assumptions. The reality is that the local part of the global ruling class – as is also true for the global ruling class – is far more centralised and united than they admit.)
In Britain the authorities have put armed police on the streets in many areas “to protect Christmas shoppers”. This started *before* the murderous attack in Magdeburg.
Senior police are lying. It is not routine to patrol shopping areas with armed police in this country. The racist far right are of course in seventh heaven, geeing the white population up to fear non-white Muslims hating them and wanting to kill them for celebrating Christmas.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2wrrdd18do
https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/24809778.armed-police-patrols-east-yorkshire-christmas/
And we’re, what, 4 weeks away from Trump, Musk, and (Charles) Kushner entering USA government office.
A Saudi Zionist doctor has attacked a Christmas market in Germany. He was working as a psychiatrist. Five dead and 200 injured.
Incidents provoking division do need to be prevented where possible.
@Alyson – “Incidents provoking division do need to be prevented where possible.”
The official scaling up of fear by state authorities and the ordering of the attacks by “have a go” “nutters” are being done by the same people.
Cui bono?
“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.”
^ Goebbels knew about propaganda.
And (this time a quote from pacifist Randolph Bourne):
“War is the health of the state“.
That’s what “terrorism” is about ^. The question is supposed to be “Are you with the state, or are you with the terrorists?” But in fact terrorism is being imposed by the state.
Taleb Al Abdulmohsen, the alleged suspect in the Magdeburg attack, is a medic (a consultant psychiatrist) from Saudi who is a strong AFD supporter and has been involved in “assisting ex-Muslims to flee from Saudi Arabia”. He has expressed admiration for Alex Jones, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump. He reckons “Germany wants to Islamise Europe”.
He was obviously – it is plainly obvious – known to the German security service. If you want direct evidence, the Financial Times has confirmed that the Saudi authorities warned Germany about him several times:
https://www.ft.com/content/5e2f3cd2-0a8f-4ac8-9afa-ca3d892d55f7
“Saudi authorities repeatedly warned Germany about the man alleged to have carried out Friday’s attack on a Christmas market in the east German city of Magdeburg that left five dead and dozens injured, according to German security officials. The officials said Riyadh warned the German authorities the suspected attacker, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a Saudi dissident who described himself as an ex-Muslim, had boasted on social media that “something big will happen in Germany”. ”
^ And that actually comes from “German security officials”. This is what they are admitting already, at this early stage.
Al Abdulmohsen has also circulated statements written by the Israeli military’s Arabic-speaking spokesman, Avichay Adraee:
https://www.newarab.com/news/who-taleb-abdulmohsen-saudi-behind-magdeburg-attack
(Adraee has posted forced evacuation orders to people in Gaza – i.e. “Get out of where you live, now, because we’re going to kill everyone who doesn’t.”)
Those who are interested in what Musk posts to his website X may wish to look out for what he posts to it in relation to the Magdeburg attack.
Reminder: Musk and Al Abdulmohsen both support the AFD, and Al Abdulmohsen has expressed his admiration for Musk. So in the interests of preventing innocent people from being murdered by terrorists, one might expect Musk to open his fat mouth and explain his Nazi self…
Of course Brian, (IMO) the rise of the, so called, far right is 100% caused by an understandable reaction to the repressive policies of the liberal left, the wokerati. For example, Immigration IS an issue, regardless of what the MSM may say, but it’s not just Muslims it’s Africans, Europeans and Arabs. It’s not about race or religion specifically, it’s about numbers. Numbers require accommodation, numbers require services but our governments don’t address the needs of the numbers they just throw open the gates to increase the numbers and meanwhile spend billions on making sure foreign lands are uninhabitable.
Don’t blame Trump, AFD or Farage, blame Biden, Starmer, Scholtz, von der Leyen, Blair, Soros.
A D-Notice, was issued to the press 14 months ago – to stop reporting on what British troops were doing in Gaza.
This was 18 October 2023.
“The S*n reported: “Official sources said that SAS personnel were working alongside Israeli and US forces to collect intelligence to locate the missing hostages.”
A D-Notice went out soon after.
We have no idea what they’ve been doing past 14 months.”
https://nitter.poast.org/kennardmatt/status/1869834435094589728#m
Have the pro-Gaza MPs of the Independent Alliance noticed this?
Israel has to rely on foreign armies to help it with its tracking?
Without foreign aid Israel would not and could not exist.
The media have scrupulously suppressed all aspects of the British Army’s role in the Genocide.
It was reported very early on by the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz that RAF Akotiri was the international hub for the Genocide. The UK media decided, as one, that fact was of no interest to the British public. Nor the fact Britain is supplying components for Israel’s main killing machine in Gaza, the F-35 fighter jet; nor that the RAF is servicing those Israeli jets and supplying Israel with most of its surveillance over Gaza.
Given that context it’s little surprise they have been willing to abide by a D-notice on what British troops are doing on the ground in Gaza.
D notices haven’t existed for about 2 decades. The DA then the DSMA (Defence Security and Media Advisory) replaced them years ago. There is a standing DSMA regarding reporting the activities of special forces such as the SAS.
https://www.dsma.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20211103_DSMA-Notices.pdf
So this is a total non-story.
The notices are voluntary anyway.
Exactly, they have been under no legal compulsion to cover up Britain’s outsized role in the Genocide.
They are simply showing you once again what they are, writ large.
Suppressing the essence of Britains role in the world has always been part of the mass media’s stock-in-trade.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-03-11-britain-backs-most-of-the-worlds-repressive-regimes-new-analysis-shows/
@Pears – What does it matter what D Notices are officially called or whether they are officially “voluntary”?
Is it good always to emulate and internalise every twist and turn and change in what the rulers call something?
If prisons were renamed “help clubs”, would those who continued to call them “prisons” deserve
a) derision, or
b) praise for retaining at least two brain cells?
Is it cool to be a … zombie?
“Actually prisons were abolished in the emergency statute of 4 May and since then the role of the Ministry of Public Safety is to administer help, civil defence, and community advice, in accordance with democratic preventive principles, as any fool obviously is aware, little man. Only terrorist sympathisers call them ‘prisons’.“
My favourite fact about the D Notice committee is that Paul Kunert, at The Register, is a member of it.