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Large scale U.S. military buildup in the Middle East: Is America preparing to launch World War III?

Asad Ismi, Nick Allen. Global Research,Thu, 19 Oct 2023  https://www.sott.net/article/485270-Large-scale-U-S-military-buildup-in-the-Middle-East-Is-America-preparing-to-launch-World-War-III

Hawkeye spy plane launches from flight deck“With an Armada of 13 Warships, Over 100 Fighter Jets, Cruise Missiles, Spy Planes and 2,000 Amphibious Special Forces Massing in the Region”

An October 18 article by Nick Allen in London’s Daily Mail confirms that the U.S. had “foreknowledge” of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack directed against Israeli civilians.

The report acknowledges that:

“Within hours of the horrific onslaught on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 the U.S. began moving warships, jets and special forces to the region.”

Known to military analysts, such a deployment requires considerable advanced preparation and cannot be improvised “within hours.”

This fits in with the scenario that the Hamas attack initiated on October 7, 2023 was a“false flag” operationon behalf of Israel’s military and intelligence apparatus (which also coordinates such actions with the U.S.).

Amply documented, Hamas was created by Israel in 1987 and funded by hundreds of millions of dollars via Qatar, a transfer facilitated by Israel.

“The Hamas Partnership” is confirmed by Netanyahu

Netanyahu told a meeting of his Likud party’s Knesset members in March 2019:

“Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas. This is part of our strategy – to isolate the Palestinians in Gaza from the Palestinians in the West Bank.”
–Haaretz, October 9, 2023

“Transferring Money to Hamas” on behalf of Netanyahu is confirmed by a Times of Israel October 8, 2023 Report:

“Hamas was treated as a partner to the detriment of the Palestinian Authority to prevent Abbas from moving towards creating a Palestinian State. Hamas was promoted from a terrorist group to an organization with which Israel conducted negotiations through Egypt, and which was allowed to receive suitcases containing millions of dollars from Qatar through the Gaza crossings.”

These facts have been detailed in articles by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky, Dr. Philip Giraldi (former intelligence officer for the CIA) and veteran reporter Seymour Hersh:

An arrangement was made with Qatar, which began sending hundreds of millions of dollars to the Hamas leadership with Israeli approval. The insider told me that “Bibi was convinced that he would have more control over Hamas with the Qatari money” — let them occasionally fire rockets into southern Israel and have access to jobs inside Israel — than he would with the Palestinian Authority. He took that risk. – Seymour Hersh

The Daily Mail article is titled:

“How the U.S. is ramping up firepower in the Middle East to deter Iran from starting WW III – with an armada of 13 warships, over 100 fighter jets, cruise missiles, spy planes and 2,000 amphibious special forces massing in the region.”

The first sentence of the report reads:

“The United States is amassing a war machine in the Middle East in a clear message to Iran to stay on the sidelines as Israel prepares to launch a ground invasion into Gaza to destroy the terror group Hamas.”

So the very quick, dangerous and aggressive massive deployment of U.S. forces to the Israel area is presented in the DailyMail article as a defensive measure aimed at deterring Iran. Even for the obedient pro-imperialist Western mainstream media, this is an incredible stretch.

However, if one reads the body of the article carefully it becomes clear that it is the U.S. that is starting World War III not Iran. The content of the article contradicts the title which happens sometimes in the mainstream press given its well-known editorial restrictions on telling the truth.

Massive U.S. Military Deployment

The article details massive military escalation by the U.S. that is so extremely provocative as to almost guarantee World War III.

In contrast, the article fails to point out even one single deployment of troops or ships by Iran aimed at Israel or the U.S. after October 7.

The Daily Mail describes Washington’s war machine build-up and deployment as:

“Two aircraft carriers including the world’s largest – the USS Gerald R. Ford – have been sent to the eastern Mediterranean, along with scores of planes that could carry out air strikes.

The carrier, which has a nuclear reactor, is replete with an arsenal of weapons like Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles and the Mk-15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, which is used to fire armor piercing bullets.

Many more aircraft, including F-15 and F-16 fighter jet squadrons, have been dispatched to US military bases in the region, doubling the number available in the Persian Gulf.

Around 2,000 U.S. Marines trained in special operations and amphibious landings have also been redirected from an exercise in Kuwait, and are now on board two warships somewhere off the coast of Bahrain.

The Pentagon is also preparing an additional 2,000 Army and Air Force personnel as a potential rapid response force.

The main aim of the U.S. military ramp up is to deter Iran and its proxies from making any aggressive move.

A second aircraft carrier, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, will arrive in the eastern Mediterranean in about a week, also accompanied by four other warships.

The carrier, also known as the ‘Ike,’ has 5,000 sailors and can bring up to nine squadrons of aircraft including fighter jets and helicopters.

Even before the new influx of firepower the U.S. had over 30,000 troops in the region. That includes 13,000 in Qatar, 7,000 in Bahrain, at least 3,000 each in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait, 2,500 in Iraq, and 2,500 in Turkey.

Incirlik Air Base in Turkey is also home to 50 American B61 nuclear bombs.

Additonally, around 2,000 U.S Marines with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit had just arrived in Kuwait for an exercise when the Hamas attack in Israel happened.”

Who is Planning to Start World War III: America or Iran?

So which country is going to start World War III, the U.S. that is sending not one but two aircraft carriers bristling with attack aircraft and soldiers to the Israel area or Iran that is sending nothing significant to the same region presently?

Obviously, the alarming U.S. military escalation is aimed at starting a war not preventing one and the Orwellian language of the Daily Mail article fits in well with the standard CIA technique of blaming Washington’s enemies for “what it wants to do itself’.

About the Author:
Asad Ismi is an award-winning writer on international politics and an expert on U.S. imperialism. He has written on the politics of 70 countries including nine in the Middle East. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization CRG). For his publications and documentaries visit www.asadismi.info. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 21, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

China expanding nuclear arsenal much faster than predicted, US report says

Guardian, 20 Oct 23

Pentagon report also says Beijing is intensifying pressure on neighbours to push back on US efforts to contain it.

A Pentagon report on China’s military power says Beijing is exceeding previous projections of how quickly it is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal and is “almost certainly” learning lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like.

The report released on Thursday also warns that China may be pursuing a new intercontinental missile system using conventional arms that, if fielded, would allow Beijing “to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska.”

The China report comes a month before an expected meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.

The annual report, required by Congress, is one way the Pentagon measures the growing military capabilities of China, which the US government sees as its key threat in the region and America’s primary long-term security challenge.

But after Hamas’s 7 October attacks on Israel, the US has been forced again to focus on the Middle East, instead of its widely promoted pivot to the Pacific to counter China’s growth. The US is rushing weapons to Israel while continuing to support and deliver munitions to Ukraine in its 20-month struggle to repel Russia’s invasion.

Still, the Pentagon’s national defense strategy is shaped around China remaining the greatest security challenge for the US, and that the threat from Beijing will determine how the US military is equipped and shaped for the future.

The Pentagon report builds on the military’s warning in 2022 that China was expanding its nuclear force much faster than US officials had predicted, highlighting a broad and accelerating buildup of military muscle designed to enable Beijing to match or surpass US global power by midcentury.

Last year’s report warned that Beijing was rapidly modernizing its nuclear force and was on track to nearly quadruple the number of warheads it has to 1,500 by 2035. The US has 3,750 active nuclear warheads.

The 2023 report finds that Beijing is on pace to field more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, continuing a rapid modernization aimed at meeting Xi’s goal of having a “world class” military by 2049.

After the previous report, China accused the US of ratcheting up tensions and Beijing said it was still committed to a “no first use” policy on nuclear weapons.

The Pentagon has seen no indication that China is moving away from that policy but assesses there may be some circumstances where China might judge that it does not apply, a senior US defense official said without providing details. The official briefed reporters on Wednesday on condition of anonymity before the report’s release

The US does not adhere to a “no first use” policy and says nuclear weapons would be used only in “extreme circumstances.”………………………………………. more https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/20/china-expanding-nuclear-arsenal-much-faster-than-predicted-us-report-says #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 21, 2023 Posted by | China, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Biden to America: “Give me $100 billion for perpetual wars in Ukraine and Gaza”

Walt Zlotow, West Suburban Peace Coalition, Glen Ellyn IL 20 Oct 23

Last night President Biden doubled, tripled, quadrupled down on squandering US treasure on US provoked, enabled and perpetuated warfare. A piece of that cool hundred billion goes to Taiwan in furtherance of America’s potential nuclear confrontation with China in an area having not the slightest connection to American security interests. Combined with potential nuclear war with Russia that could erupt any day, Biden reminds me of a Samsonite strongman struggling to pull down the pillars of human existence.

But that hundred billion is D.O.A. as long as House Republicans continue their circular firing squad preventing any significant action in Congress on funding those perpetual wars Biden relishes with every second of his dwindling time in power. Keep fighting amongst yourselves Republicans, you’re gumming up the perpetual war works.

In his 51st year promoting US exceptionalism worldwide which is collapsing before our eyes, Biden remains blind to the horrific death toll his policies have promoted and enabled. Apparently, there will be no Biden epiphany inspiring him to pivot toward peace. Instead of going out in a blaze of glory, Biden risks us all going out in a blaze of mushroom clouds.

Only thing more frightening? There is no one remotely in contention for president likely to change Biden’s self-destructive war policies. #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 21, 2023 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Corner cutting of nuclear proportions as duo admit to falsifying safety tests 29 times

No word on motivation but pair face up to 5 years in the cooler

The Register Jude Karabus. Fri 20 Oct 2023 

Two men this week confessed to deliberately bypassing testing protocols that are essential to keeping nuclear power plants safe. This happened not once, not twice, but 29 times.

Miguel Marcial Amaro, 56, from Delaware, and Martin Ramos, 52, from Pennsylvania, both pleaded guilty to a single count of making and using a materially false document, and aiding and abetting the same, for their respective roles in creating false calibration certs.

And it wasn’t just one nuclear plant where Marcial and Ramos were cutting corners. According to the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, the duo faked certs that would show acoustic emissions (AE) testing had been done by calibrated instruments in several plants over a period that stretched for over a decade.

AE testing is important as it’s how engineers can check the structural integrity of components without shaking, moving, or otherwise impacting their serviceability. The pair were responsible for ascertaining their employer’s AE testing kit was compliant, with Marcial ensuring the equipment was calibrated annually, and Ramos working under Marcial as an engineer.

According to prosecutors, between 2010 and 2021, instead of properly calibrating the tools, Marcial and Ramos each created numerous false calibration certificates for AE testing equipment. “The false certificates were then sent to the owners of the nuclear plants as part of final testing reports required by NRC regulations on 29 occasions.”

The Justice Department said in a felony notice filed on September 25 that the AE testing equipment was used to determine, “among other things, the structural integrity of heavy-lifting components, such as cranes and rigging, that handled critical components of a nuclear reactor, including nuclear fuel.”………………………………………….

The pair are scheduled to be sentenced on January 25 next year, with a federal district court judge determining the length, which is max five years. The original indictment is not public and it is not known what the men’s motivation for their actions could be.

The cases are 2:23-cr-00423-KSM, United States v. Miguel Marcial Amaro, and 2:23-cr-00424-KSM United States v. Martin Ramos   https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/20/nuclear/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 21, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Risk of total shutdown of Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station continues to increase

The risk of both nuclear reactors at Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town being shut down simultaneously for life extension continues to increase…………………………………… (Subscribers only)  https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-10-20-koeberg-nuclear-power-station-rising-risk-of-total-shutdown/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 21, 2023 Posted by | safety, South Africa | Leave a comment

The nuclear industry continues to encroach on education

Nuclear Science Week: Students network with nuclear industry leaders and grads– McMaster University – Daily News BY DANIELLA FIORENTINO, OCTOBER 20, 2023

“There are so many opportunities in the nuclear industry, and you’ll find that everyone’s career path is unique.”

Kim Brown, a McMaster grad who is now the president and CEO of Sunlit Strategic, followed her passion for nuclear energy to a career in clean energy consulting.

Brown is one of six McMaster alumni who shared their experiences in the nuclear industry as part of Nuclear Now, a networking event that gave students a chance to connect with leading companies and professionals in nuclear and discover exciting opportunities in the field.

#nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 21, 2023 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Mainstream Press Keep Slamming Israel’s Hospital Bombing Story

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE, OCT 19, 2023  https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-mainstream-press-keep-slamming?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=82124&post_id=138092278&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&utm_medium=email

A new report from the UK’s Channel 4 News adds to the surprising amount of opposition we’re seeing in the mainstream press to Israel’s narrative about the deadly explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza this past Tuesday.

The report, led by Channel 4 chief correspondent Alex Thomson, spotlights glaring plot holes in Israel’s claim that a failed rocket by Palestinian Islamic Jihad was responsible for the blast, and in the supposed audio clip Israel published which it claims is an intercepted conversation between two Hamas fighters saying Israel was not responsible. It also presents an argument that will be inconvenient for Israel apologists who’ve been claiming photos of the damage to the hospital rule out the possibility of an Israeli airstrike.

“So what of Israel’s explanation?” says Thomson. “Sensing a major problem they worked through the night to get their version out. Press conference first thing. Conclusion: an Islamic Jihad rocked caused it all.”

“They present what they say is two Hamas operatives talking about the attack,” Thomson reports. “Hamas call this an obvious fabrication. Two independent Arab journalists told us the same thing, because of the language, accent, dialect, syntax and tone. None of which is, they say, credible.”

“Equally, Israel claims the Islamic Jihad failed missile was fired from here: a cemetery very close to the hospital,” Thomson continues. “But look again at the video of the event — the trajectory of the missile doesn’t line up with that location. Too high. Too horizontal. Confusingly, the Israelis’ presentation also says the missile was fired from a location down in the southwest; it can’t be both.”

Thomson also reports that while the photos of the blast site do appear to rule out a ground-detonating Israeli munition, they’re entirely in keeping with other munitions used by Israel which could easily have taken such a toll on human life.

“This is what you see at the hospital today — small craters you’d expect to see from a mortar strike or artillery round, not a missile,” says Thomson. “Surrounding buildings have only superficial damage, not structural collapse. Some of the windows of an adjoining church remain intact. This makes a ground-detonating Israeli missile strike unlikely, but it doesn’t rule out an airburst munition, which could cause major loss of life, but would produce far less structural damage.”

Thomson also notes that “Israel has form when it comes to war propaganda”, citing its false denials of the IDF killings of British filmmaker James Miller and Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

On Twitter (or whatever we’re calling it now), Thomson’s remarks on the Israeli audio file were even more pointed.

“Several experts confirm Hamas’ view to Channel 4 News that the audio tape of ‘Hamas’ operatives talking about the missile malfunction is a fake,” tweeted Thomson. “They say the tone, syntax, accent and idiom are absurd.”

This is a still developing story with much still to be revealed, but this to me might be the most damning evidence against Israel yet. If Israel didn’t bomb that hospital, then why is it publishing fake audio clips of people posing as Hamas fighters agreeing with each other that Israel definitely didn’t bomb that hospital?

I mean, if people were saying I bombed a hospital, and I knew I didn’t, the last thing I’d do is publish an audio file of me pretending to be two guys talking about how Caitlin definitely didn’t bomb the hospital.

Picture a recording of me doing two blokey-sounding voices going,

“Hello my evil friend!”

“Hello!”

“Did you hear that Caitlin definitely did not bomb that hospital?”

“She didn’t?”

“No! It turns out it was we, the Evil Bad Guys!”

“We did it?”

“Yes, it was us!”

That would look pretty silly, right?

If Israel is making itself look this ridiculous, then it’s no wonder the western press are not lining up to help it cover up this particular misdeed. They’ve got to maintain at least some credibility if they’re going to keep manufacturing consent for other wars, after all.

October 20, 2023 Posted by | media | 1 Comment

Israeli Politician Says “Children of Gaza Have Brought This Upon Themselves”

When children are explicitly framed as “not innocent,” all-out genocidal warfare is possible.

TruthOut, By Jonathan Ofir , MONDOWEISS, October 18, 2023

t really is hard to imagine a more malicious statement than “the children of Gaza have brought this upon themselves” when children in Gaza are now being massacred by the hundreds. But this was actually said in a recent Knesset session. And it wasn’t someone considered an extreme right-winger, but a liberal centrist – Meirav Ben-Ari from Yair Lapid’s opposition party Yesh Atid.

The full, over-three-hour session from Monday can be seen here. Ben-Ari is evidently getting worked up as Palestinian lawmaker Aida Touma-Sliman (around two hours into the session) bemoans the loss of civilian lives “both in the area surrounding Gaza and in Gaza,” imploring to make an effort to release hostages and to “get the civilians out of the circle of blood.” “Jews as well as Arabs, Israelis as well as Palestinians.” “A child is a child,” Touma-Sliman reminds everyone, pointing out that at that point, over 900 children had been killed from Israel’s bombing of Gaza (a day later, that number swelled to well over a thousand).

All this humanity was just too much for Ben-Ari. She started shouting and heckling Touma-Sliman, saying, “There is not symmetry, there is no symmetry!”

“Between children there is symmetry,” she said.

Ben Ari went livid: “There is no symmetry!!”

Touma-Sliman emphasized: “A child is a child is a child.”

Twenty-five minutes after this unbearable episode, Ben-Ari came up to speak, admittedly unplanned. This is precisely 2.5 hours into the session video:

“I did not plan to speak, of course, but I have to say one thing that should be clear: There is no symmetry. There is no symmetry. Me, my friends, ok, were on the way to the synagogue on the day of Simchat Torah, and they were shot at, only because they were Jews in this state. That’s it. And friends of mine – their children went to the party, to celebrate – seculars, religious, doesn’t matter who, only because they were Jewish, they were murdered. So there is no symmetry! And the children in Gaza – the children in Gaza have brought this upon themselves! We are a peace-seeking nation, a life-loving nation. There is no symmetry – our children are kidnapped over there!” (My emphasis)……………………………………………………………………..

Ben-Ari’s genocidal rhetoric was actually echoing a comment just made by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is also known as a liberal, even from further left. At a recent press conference on October 13, Herzog answered a question by Rageh Omar from ITV, who asked him what Israel can do to alleviate the impact on the over two million civilians in Gaza, many of whom have nothing to do with Hamas. Herzog answered:

“We are working, operating militarily in terms according to rules of international law, period. Unequivocally. It is an entire nation out there that is responsible. …………………………………..

This is really unmistakable – Herzog is really implying that an “entire nation is responsible,” and the implication is that they are legitimate targets. However, he later denied that this is what he meant.

This rhetoric has a long history among Israeli politicians. In 2018, when Avigdor Lieberman was Defense Minister, he declared that “there are no innocent people in the Gaza Strip” because “everyone has a connection to Hamas.” This was in April 2018, when Israel was beginning to turkey-shoot unarmed Palestinian protesters in the Great March of Return. When a video filmed by Israeli snipers, where they celebrate their shooting of a motionless, unarmed Palestinian, surfaced on social media around that same time, Lieberman commented that they deserved a medal for their shots. I could just as well mention that Lieberman has advocateddecapitating “disloyal” Palestinian citizens with an axe and the drowning of Palestinian prisoners in the Dead Sea. Lieberman is now regarded as a Netanyahu critic who is considering joining the “unity government” so as to “join the war cabinet in order to bring about the fastest possible victory.”

You may say this is just rhetoric, but these words also lead to actions. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s comments referred to Palestinians as “human animals” as Israel closed all the water taps to Gaza, making the already unlivable living conditions there a genocidal nightmare. The relationship between words to actions is obvious. ……. more https://truthout.org/articles/israeli-politician-says-children-of-gaza-have-brought-this-upon-themselves/?utm_source=Truthout&utm_campaign=431d0bc2ba-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_3_20_2023_13_41_COPY_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb541a1db-431d0bc2ba-650192793&mc_cid=431d0bc2ba&mc_eid=73e1cd43d0 #Israel #Palestine

October 20, 2023 Posted by | Israel, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Mass Media Reporters Aren’t Buying Israel’s Hospital Bombing Story

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE, OCT 18, 2023  https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/mass-media-reporters-arent-buying?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=82124&post_id=138065016&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ise1&utm_medium=email

A huge blast in Gaza has destroyed the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, killing hundreds of people. The exact death toll is still unknown.

Details of who is responsible for the explosion are being hotly debated by all parties, and this is still a developing story with a lot of details yet to be revealed. But what I’d like to quickly document as things unfold is the highly unusual number of mass media reporters I’ve been seeing who haven’t hesitated to point to Israel as the probable culprit.

After noting that Israel is blaming the blast on a failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), MSNBC foreign correspondent Raf Sanchez quickly pointed out that PIJ rockets don’t tend to do that kind of damage, but Israeli missiles do. He also noted that Israel has an extensive history of lying about this sort of thing.

“The Israeli military at this point is not providing any evidence to back up its claims that this was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket; they are citing intelligence that they have not yet made public,” Sanchez said. “We should also say that this kind of death toll is not what you normally associate with Palestinian rockets. These rockets are dangerous, they are deadly, they do not tend to kill hundreds of people in a single strike in the way that Israeli high explosives — especially these bunker buster bombs that are used to target these Hamas tunnels under Gaza City — do have the potential to kill hundreds of people.”

“And we should say finally that there are instances in the past where the Israeli military has said things in the immediate aftermath of an incident that have turned out not to be true in the long run,” Sanchez added. “And the one example I’ll give you is that when the Al Jazeera journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, was killed in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military initially said that she was killed by Palestinian gunmen, and it was only months and months later that they admitted that it was likely an Israeli soldier who fired the fatal shot.”

CNN’s Clarissa Ward said essentially the same thing.

“I will say, just based on seeing these rocket attacks many times over the years, that they don’t usually have an impact like that in terms of the size of the blast, in terms of the scale of the death toll and the scale of the damage,” Ward said. “It’s also not the first time, it’s important to add, that we have seen the IDF categorically deny something before being forced to kind of do an about-face after an extensive investigation.”

BBC foreign correspondent Jon Donnison gave basically the same opinion.

“It’s hard to see what else this could be, really, given the size of the explosion, other than an Israeli air strike, or several air strikes,” Donnison said from Jerusalem. “Because, you know, when we’ve seen rockets being fired out of Gaza, we never see explosions of that scale. We might see half a dozen, maybe a few more people being killed in such rocket attacks, but we’ve never seen anything on the scale of the sort of explosion on the video I was watching earlier.”

That’s three mass media reporters that I’ve seen just in my random information-gathering meanderings — not on their personal social media accounts, but live on air. 

It’s highly unusual to see this degree of skepticism in the western press right off the bat when it goes against the information interests of Israel specifically or the US power alliance more generally. Typically we’ve been seeing the media uncritically report unverified claims about Palestinian militants while expressing rigorous skepticism solely toward any information which might benefit the Palestinian resistance, so there’s clearly something about this particular story which makes mass media reporters remarkably reluctant to push the Israeli narrative.

Maybe they’re getting information in their group chats which has caused them to keep Israel’s claims about the hospital bombing at arm’s length, or maybe they’re just looking at the facts and deciding this narrative is too flimsy to get behind. If it looks like Israel’s version of events will fall apart after investigation, they’re not going to want to stake their reputation and their pride on pushing it with their usual gusto during an Israeli military operation that is facing unusually intense scrutiny from the entire world.

Israel does after all have an extensive history of attacking hospitals and healthcare facilities, including in this current operation in Gaza, including apparently bombing this exact same hospital just a few days ago. ReliefWeb, which is run by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, recently published a report on the numerous Israeli strikes that have hit hospitals, ambulances and healthcare workers between October 12 and October 15, and listed among the hospitals hit is the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City — the same hospital that was just destroyed a few days later.

Citing “Al Jazeera V and Personal Communication,” ReliefWeb reports the following:

“14 October 2023: In Gaza city city and governorate, Ahli Arab Hospital was hit by Israeli airstrikes, partially damaging two floors and damaging the ultrasound and mammography room. Four people were injured.”

It’s also probably worth noting that according to the World Health Organization this hospital was one of the twenty hospitals which the IDF had ordered to evacuate because of the aggressions it was planning to inflict on that part of Gaza. 

Again, information is still coming in and this developing story could possibly wind up looking very different from what it looks like right now. But if I was an Israel apologist, I don’t think I’d find the current winds in the mass media very encouraging. #Israel #Palestine

October 20, 2023 Posted by | Israel, media | Leave a comment

Can the UN Help the Nuclear Victims, At Last?

A new resolution in the General Assembly aims to address the devastating legacy of testing and use.

The Nation, IVANA NIKOLIĆ HUGHES and CHRISTIAN N. CIOBANU 18 Oct 23

The very first resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, titled “Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy,” was adopted in January of 1946, less than three months after the founding of the United Nations (UN). 

Recognizing the devastating humanitarian consequences of the United States atomic bombings on Japan half a year earlier, the resolution called for “the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction.” The states that had just come together in a new international forum were clear about the need to prevent the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from ever happening again.

More than 77 years later, a new resolution aims to address the destruction and harm that nuclear weapons have caused in the intervening decades.

In 1946, the United States was the only country with a nuclear weapons program capable of actually making atomic bombs. The previous year, the US built three weapons—and only three weapons—and used the first in a nuclear test called Trinity in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, recently depicted in graphic terms in the year’s blockbuster Oppenheimer, and then two more in Japan on August 6 and 9. Not only did the US not cease its nuclear program in 1946 in response to the first UN resolution, we would go on to build an arsenal containing over 32 thousand warheads (at its peak in 1967), to develop weapons thousands of times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb (called hydrogen bombs), and to test not just at home but also near those whose protection we were entrusted with, such as the people of the Marshall Islands.

Nor did the first resolution prevent other countries from establishing their own nuclear weapons programs, with the Soviet Union reaching the status of a nuclear weapon possessor in 1949 and the United Kingdom, France, and China, all joining the nuclear club by 1964. Today, nine countries possess nuclear weapons, including Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. Although far fewer than the peak numbers in the mid-1980s, when there were more than 60 thousand warheads in the world, today there are still more than 12 thousand, enough to destroy human civilization and potentially even all of life, as a result of nuclear winter.

And yet, the symbolic importance of the first resolution cannot be overstated. Through the decades, it continued to inspire hundreds of resolutions, calling for nuclear disarmament and for a world free of nuclear weapons. As time passed, internationally binding treaties became a part of the picture, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which entered into force in 1970 and is currently one of the largest agreements amongst states, and more recently, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force in 2021, with elimination goals perfectly aligned with those of the very first resolution.

While one can certainly conclude that success has eluded us, given the existential threat that nuclear weapons still pose today, the bleak picture may have been far worse had the international community not been as serious about this threat from the very beginning of the nuclear age. We might not have been here to tell the tale.

The Devastating Legacy of Nuclear Testing

hat we have avoided a repeat of Hiroshima or Nagasaki is of course good news, but what we have not done is avoided having victims of nuclear weapons. Rather than from direct attacks, the nuclear development and testing programs of all of the nuclear possessors have created millions of victims around the world. This includes the people who suffered radiation exposure from working in or living near uranium mines or nuclear weapon laboratories and the so-called atomic veterans, who were involved in nuclear testing and cleanup programs as part of their military duties. The largest affected groups, however, were and still are the people living downwind from nuclear tests, who, in addition to radiation exposure, in some cases were also forced to relocate, losing their homes. These communities are found around the globe…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

The New Resolution

Two of these affected states—Kazakhstan and Kiribati—have been leading recent efforts to address the devastating legacy of nuclear testing comprehensively, fairly, and with support of the international community.

One such effort has been through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which not only aims to eliminate all nuclear weapons from the world but also provides humanitarian provisions for those who have suffered due to nuclear weapons use and testing. Articles 6 and 7 of the treaty specifically address the need for victim assistance, environmental remediation, and international cooperation, and Kazakhstan and Kiribati are cochairing the working group on these humanitarian provisions. There are currently 97 states that have either signed or ratified the treaty, and soon more than half of all states at the UN will have done so.

 Not yet among them are the nine nuclear weapons states. Other ways of making the nuclear weapons possessors confront the devastating legacy of nuclear weapons are needed before they all join the treaty.

Kazakhstan and Kiribati have now put forward a resolution for the UN General Assembly to address these long-standing injustices and give all states the opportunity to express their views. 

The resolution, entitled “Addressing the Legacy of Nuclear Weapons: Providing Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation to Member States Affected by the Use or Testing of Nuclear Weapons” emphasizes the commonly shared goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and calls for greater cooperation amongst states on addressing the humanitarian consequences of past nuclear explosions. 

The two goals are inextricably linked. The harm and suffering tell us why nuclear weapons must be abolished. Getting rid of the weapons is the only way to ensure that similar or far worse catastrophes will never happen.  https://www.thenation.com/article/world/can-the-un-help-the-nuclear-victims-at-last/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 20, 2023 Posted by | politics international | Leave a comment

World may have crossed solar power ‘tipping point’

 The world may have crossed a “tipping point” that will inevitably make
solar power our main source of energy, new research suggests. The study,
based on a data-driven model of technology and economics, finds that solar
PV (photovoltaics) is likely to become the dominant power source before
2050 – even without support from more ambitious climate policies.


However, it warns four “barriers” could hamper this: creation of stable
power grids, financing solar in developing economies, capacity of supply
chains, and political resistance from regions that lose jobs.

The researchers say policies resolving these barriers may be more effective
than price instruments such as carbon taxes in accelerating the clean
energy transition. The study, led by the University of Exeter and
University College London, is part of the Economics of Energy Innovation
and System Transition (EEIST) project, funded by the UK Government’s
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Children’s Investment
Fund Foundation (CIFF).

“The recent progress of renewables means that
fossil fuel-dominated projections are no longer realistic,” Dr Femke
Nijsse, from Exeter’s Global Systems Institute.

 Exeter University 17th Oct 2023 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

World may have crossed solar power ‘tipping point’

October 20, 2023 Posted by | renewable | Leave a comment

Germany caves in to French demands for government subsidies to the nuclear industry in the EU electricity market

Germany has given leeway for France to use state subsidies to fund its
nuclear power plants, unblocking a long-stalled reform of the EU
electricity market in the face of vast state aid regimes in China and the
US.

The agreement reached on Tuesday among energy ministers in Luxembourg
will mean that France could use government support to finance its largely
state-owned nuclear plants, which generate about 70 per cent of its
electricity.

Such a move had been heavily contested by Germany, Austria and
Luxembourg, which have been historically opposed to nuclear power but also
feared that allowing Paris to subsidise its nuclear plants would provide
French industry with structurally lower energy prices, giving it a
competitive advantage.

As part of the new EU rules for the bloc’s
electricity market, France will be allowed to use funding structures known
as contracts for difference. These set a minimum price guarantee for power
providers, as well as a ceiling above which the state can recover any
revenue.

 FT 17th Oct 2023

https://www.ft.com/content/73629c7f-d8a8-4d31-9487-02301c9fe894 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes

October 20, 2023 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE, politics international | Leave a comment

Thousands of Jewish Americans and Allies Demand Cease-Fire in Gaza

“We as American Jews believe that ‘never again’ means never again for anyone, and that includes Palestinians,” said Jewish Voice for Peace.

Common Dreams JULIA CONLEY, Oct 14, 2023

As the Biden administration’s intent to silence dissent against the United States’ backing of the Israel Defense Forces’ onslaught in Gaza became increasingly clear Friday night, at least 80 Jewish Americans and other supporters of Palestinians’ human rights were arrested for protesting outside the homes and offices of a number of Democratic lawmakers, where they demanded the U.S. government join growing calls for a cease-fire.

The U.S. group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) organized the mass action, along with calling on Americans to contact their representatives in Congress and demand that they speak out against the air assault Israel launched this week in retaliation for Hamas’ brutal attack last weekend.

At least 2,215 Palestinians have been killed in airstrikes this week, and at least 8,714 people have been injured. The death toll in Israel has reached 1,300, according to Al Jazeera.

Human rights advocates have warned that a looming ground offensive by the IDF in Gaza could rapidly push civilian casualties far higher.

On Friday, JVP led more than 2,000 protesters in five U.S. cities—New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle—in demanding that senators and members of the U.S. House act to halt the “genocide of Palestinians.”

“We as American Jews believe that ‘never again’ means never again for anyone, and that includes Palestinians,” said JVP, referring to the refrain repeated by the Jewish American community regarding the need to prevent genocide. “‘Never again’ is this very moment.”


Thousands of people gathered at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn and marched to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) home, where they blocked the road. Approximately 60 people were “dragged away by police,” JVP said.

New York state Assemblymembers Zohran Mamdani (D-36) and Marcela Mitaynes (D-51) were among those arrested……………………………………………………………………………………. more https://www.commondreams.org/news/jewish-americans-protest-gaza

October 20, 2023 Posted by | weapons and war | Leave a comment

TODAY. Voices for decency

As a (recovered) Catholic, I have often pondered on the cruelties done by the Catholic religion, and yet, also on the compassion and kindness of the Catholic communities.

Now we witness the horrors of the Israeli mass execution of Gazans – in this supposedly “advanced” 21st Century era. And, we’re told, it’s being done by the Jews, against the Islamists . Some Jews hold extremist beliefs. And some Muslims hold extremist beliefs. But in either case, they are not the majority.

The genocide of Gaza is not being done on behalf of all Jews, and today, we learn of the desperate call from Jews For Peace, and IfNotNow, for a ceasfire and diplomacy, in the Israeli war, and fairness for the Palestinians. They call for a new system of collective liberalism in place of militant ethnonationalism.

At the same time, do we witness a tiny opening skirmish by journalists, against the prevailing dogma of regurgitating the USA pro Israel line on the Israeli war? Today some mainstream media journalists, like CNN’s Clarissa Ward, daring to contradict the story that Palestinians bombed their own hospital? #Israel #Palestine

October 19, 2023 Posted by | Christina's notes | 3 Comments

Jewish Voice for Peace Holds Massive Rally at Capitol for Israel-Gaza Ceasefire

Israel’s government “is on the brink of genocide against Palestinians,” a member of the group organizing the event said.

By Chris Walker , TRUTHOUT, October 18, 2023, https://truthout.org/articles/jewish-voice-for-peace-holds-massive-rally-at-capitol-for-israel-gaza-ceasefire/?utm_source=Truthout&utm_campaign=431d0bc2ba-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_3_20_2023_13_41_COPY_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbb541a1db-431d0bc2ba-650192793&mc_cid=431d0bc2ba&mc_eid=73e1cd43d0

A massive protest is being held on Wednesday at noon in front of the Capitol building in Washington D.C., organized jointly by Jewish-led anti-occupation groups Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow, in which participants are demanding that lawmakers pass a resolution calling for the U.S. to facilitate a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

According to a press release from JVP, the event is part of a broader effort to have “ten thousand American Jews…lead a week of massive protests” in the nation’s capital in reaction to the violence that has been perpetrated by the Israeli military in Gaza.

Earlier this week on Monday, a similar event took place in front of the White House, with hundreds of demonstrators engaged in acts of civil disobedience (including blocking entrances to the White House grounds), carrying signs and chanting demands to end war, apartheid and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Around 30 individuals were arrested during the protest.

The Wednesday demonstration demands that lawmakers in Congress adopt an already-drafted resolution, authored by Rep. Cori Bush (D-Missouri) and endorsed by other progressive members of Congress, to compel President Joe Biden to “facilitate deescalation and a cease-fire” agreement between Israel and Hamas. It also calls on the Biden administration to “promptly send and facilitate the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” which has been blocked by the Israeli government since the start of hostilities.

Biden is currently in Israel to demonstrate the United States’s official support for the country, including its aims to completely destroy Hamas. While he has advised the country not to occupy Gaza when the fighting ends, Biden’s comments have largely been supportive of Israel throughout its military campaign and blockade of food, water and electricity to the strip. Other American diplomats have also expressed support for Israel while its leaders have said the conflict “will be a long war.”

In addition to demanding the U.S. change course and facilitate a ceasefire, JVP is specifically calling out Israel for its retributive and indiscriminate violence against innocent Palestinians, which began after an attack by Hamas earlier this month resulted in hundreds of Israeli residents being killed or kidnapped by the organization. While they have shown support for Israel after that attack, several international organizations have accused Israel of a number of war crimes in Gaza, including collective punishment, use of the chemical weapon white phosphorus, , and possibly illegal evacuation demands that have led to the displacement of thousands of residents in the territory.

On its website, JVP has also decried Israeli and American leaders for “dehumanizing Palestinians with vitriolic rhetoric that calls to mind the most hysterical days of Bush’s War on Terror.”

“We know where this will lead: genocide,” the website’s description of the planned Wednesday rally says. “President Biden and every American political leader must demand a ceasefire now.”

“The Israeli government is on the brink of genocide against Palestinians,” Jay Saper, a JVP member, said in a press release from the organization promoting the planned protest. “It has never been more important for Jews and all people in the U.S. to rise up with literally everything we have — the way that we would have wanted others to rise up for our ancestors.”

“What we know from past Israeli state atrocities against Palestinians is that the bombs only stop once there is a sufficient mass outcry from the international community,” said JVP member Eliza Klein. “It’s on us to build that outcry — as fast as we possibly can.”

In a video message she posted on Monday after the event at the White House, JVP board member Naomi Klein urged her followers on X to attend the rally at the Capitol on Wednesday.

We’re calling for a ceasefire, we’re calling for an end to the war crimes in Gaza,” the writer and activist said, adding:

We cannot simply watch the collective punishment, forced displacement and ethnic cleansing that is happening now in Gaza. Gazans are not human shields, they are human beings, deserving of as much care, dignity and protection as the Israeli civilians in whose name this vengeance-fueled onslaught is being unleashed. #Israel #Palestine

October 19, 2023 Posted by | USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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