No Ceasefire in the Propaganda War
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2023/11/no-ceasefire-in-the-propaganda-war/
I have had BBC News on in the background for the last two hours. In that time there have been three lengthy interviews with different relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. There has not been a single interview with a Palestinian relative of a Palestinian prisoner held by Israel.
Today 13 Israeli prisoners and 39 Palestinian prisoners are due to be released. 90% of the BBC mentions of prisoner releases do not include the Palestinians at all. Just finished is a ten minute interview of a Professor in Kent on the psychological effects on Israeli hostages. Earlier there was an expert from Tel Aviv on the psychological impact on Israeli hostages’ families. There has been no report whatsoever of the impact on Palestinian prisoners and their families.
The BBC simply does not treat the Palestinians as human, whereas the emphasis on Israeli personal victimhood is incessant and unrelenting.
Of the 300 Palestinian women and children prisoners on the list possibly to be released during the ceasefire, 252 have never been charged with any crime. 23 were charged with stone throwing.
Since October 8 over 200 Palestinian children have been taken prisoner, none of whom had anything to do with the October 7 attacks. That rather puts the possible release of 33 children and six women today into perspective. But it is not a perspective the BBC would ever give you.
Over 2,000 Palestinians are held by Israel in “administrative detention”, without charge or trial. Some for over twenty years.
Since 1967 Israel has made over 1 million arrests of Palestinians. This “justice” system is an essential part of the imposition of apartheid and the slow genocide, which did not just start this autumn. The BBC won’t tell you that either, and appears to have no problem with permanently showcasing its Israel based correspondents churning out the Israeli propaganda narrative, with no attempt at either perspective or balance.
COP28 must stick to 1.5°C target to save ice sheets, urge scientists
A report warns that 2°C of global warming would mean losing most of the world’s ice sheets and glaciers, leading to catastrophic sea level rise
By Alec Luhn, 16 November 2023
The world must stick to its target to limit climate warming to 1.5°C to avoid catastrophic melting of ice sheets and glaciers, according to a report.
The International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI), a group of scientists who study ice-covered parts of the world, warns that a rise of 2°C would liquidate most tropical and mid-latitude glaciers and set off long-term melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, leading to 12 to 20 metres of sea level rise.
In the 2015 Paris Agreement, all countries committed to holding global average temperature to “well below 2°C” over pre-industrial levels and “pursuing efforts” to limit it to 1.5°C. Our still-rising greenhouse gas emissions have already caused almost 1.2°C of warming and put us on track to exceed 3°C.
More than 350 cryosphere scientists have signed an open letter calling on countries to commit to the 1.5°C limit at the upcoming COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
“From the cryosphere point of view, 1.5°C is not simply preferable to 2°C or higher. It is the only option,” Iceland’s prime minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said in a statement.
Earth’s regions of snow and ice are melting faster than we expected and already approaching tipping points, says Jonathan Bamber at the University of Bristol, UK, who reviewed the ICCI report, while otherspoint to the rapid uptake of solar and wind energy as reason for continued hope. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2403404-cop28-must-stick-to-1-5c-target-to-save-ice-sheets-urge-scientists/
Hacktivists breach U.S. nuclear research lab, steal employee data.
Bleeping Computer, By Bill Toulas, 21 Nov 23
The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) confirms they suffered a cyberattack after ‘SiegedSec’ hacktivists leaked stolen human resources data online.
INL is a nuclear research center run by the U.S. Department of Energy that employs 5,700 specialists in atomic energy, integrated energy, and national security.
The INL complex extends over an 890-square-mile (2,310 km2) area, encompassing 50 experimental nuclear reactors, including the first ones in history to produce usable amounts of electricity and the first power plant designed for nuclear submarines.
Currently, INL is occupied with research on next-gen nuclear plants, light water reactors, control systems cybersecurity, advanced vehicle testing, bioenergy, robotics, nuclear waste processing, and other studies.
Hacktivists claim attack on INL
On Monday, SiegedSec announced it had gained access to INL data, including details on “hundreds of thousands” of employees, system users, and citizens.
As the group has done in previous breaches on NATO and Atlassian, they openly leaked stolen data on hacker forums and a Telegram channel run by the group, not caring to negotiate with the victim or demand ransoms.
The data leaked by SiegedSec includes:
- Full names
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Social Security Numbers (SSN)
- Physical addresses
- Employment information
As the group has done in previous breaches on NATO and Atlassian, they openly leaked stolen data on hacker forums and a Telegram channel run by the group, not caring to negotiate with the victim or demand ransoms.
The data leaked by SiegedSec includes
As the group has done in previous breaches on NATO and Atlassian, they openly leaked stolen data on hacker forums and a Telegram channel run by the group, not caring to negotiate with the victim or demand ransoms.
The data leaked by SiegedSec includes:
- Full names
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Social Security Numbers (SSN)
- Physical addresses
- Employment information
On Telegram, SiegedSec also posted alleged proof of the breach by sharing screenshots of tools used internally by INL for document access and announcement creation.
The attackers also showed the creation of a custom announcement on INL’s system to let everyone in the complex know about the breach………………………………….
Although SiegedSec has neither accessed nor disclosed any data on nuclear research, the incident will inevitably intensify law enforcement scrutiny of the hacktivist group, as INL is considered a vital part of U.S. critical infrastructure. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hacktivists-breach-us-nuclear-research-lab-steal-employee-data/
In softening on China, the West may be trying to avoid a nuclear arms race
SCMP, Bob Savic 26 Nov 23
Why the West is suddenly softening on China: power grows out of nuclear warheads
- Weeks before Xi Jinping met various leaders in San Francisco, the US released an estimate of China’s nuclear stockpile
- Now, the EU and UK seem to be holding out an olive branch to China, especially with the surprise appointment of David Cameron as foreign secretary
In a much-publicised report issued on October 19, the US Department of Defence estimated China’s stock of operational nuclear warheads to be at 500, and exceeding 1,000 by 2030. This contrasts with its 2020 report that estimated a stockpile “in the low-200s”, which would grow to about 400 by the end of the decade.
Beijing has consistently dismissed these reports, asserting they are used to serve Washington’s strategic interest of portraying China as a threat to global security.
Irrespective of whether the reports are accurate or fictional, the West has probably decided to err on the side of caution and accept the findings. There has been a discernible shift as Western governments actively seek areas of mutual cooperation with Beijing.
Ultimately, this turn of events probably reflects Western concern over a nuclear arms race fuelled by dangerously destabilising great-power rivalry between China and the United States, at a time when the West is grappling with so-called fatigue in its conflict with Russia over Ukraine.
Further, there is the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. The major Western powers’ failure to back a non-binding UN resolution calling for a truce, which was supported by China and the vast majority of non-Western states, has opened a yawning rift between the West and the Global South.
In any case, one cannot rule out both factors in the West’s approach to China. The most high-profile rapprochement with China was clearly reached when Chinese President Xi Jinping met US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Apec summit in San Francisco.
After a year of hyper-tense relations between Beijing and Washington – over then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan and the Chinese “spy balloon” over mainland America – the Biden administration’s four-hour talks with Xi and senior Chinese officials signified a new strategy of constructive engagement.
As widely reported, the meeting concluded with an agreement to resume military-to-military communications, deemed vital in the context of increasingly knife-edge naval and air activities, by both sides, in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
Also on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, Xi held talks with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for the first time in a year…………………………………………………………………….
Other leaders, further afield, may also be seeking to offer Beijing an olive branch. In early November, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a summit with the Chinese government would take place in China in December, the first in-person European Union-China summit in four years………………
Lastly, and in an even greater surprise, was the appointment of Britain’s former prime minister David Cameron as the new foreign secretary on November 13. There has been much speculation about why the current British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, would bring Cameron back into the cabinet after he spent several years outside politics.
Among those reasons is likely to be that Cameron made high-level international contact when in office, not the least of which was crafting the “golden era” of relations with China, even having a pint of beer with Xi at a British pub…………………………………..
the new Pentagon report on China’s substantial upscaling of its nuclear stockpile, no matter whether it is accurate or not, may have been all that was necessary to prompt Western decision-makers to act swiftly, and in concert, thus averting any escalation of geopolitical tensions that might imperil the West’s still dominant global position. https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242540/why-west-suddenly-softening-china-power-grows-out-nuclear-warheads
Poor nuclear prospects in UK
The Global Warming Policy Foundation, no stranger to controversy, has published a report on nuclear prospects, which is quite damning, with the GWPF claiming that it shows that the nuclear industry is now so dysfunctional it may have no future in the UK without a concerted policy and regulatory effort. The report’s author, energy consultant and Daily Telegraph columnist Kathryn Porter, says ‘most of our existing nuclear fleet will close in the next few years, with almost nothing to replace it, and I see little cause for optimism that the economic or regulatory environment will produce significant new capacity any time soon.’………………
In the report, Porter goes through the technical options in a quite neutral way, but warns that, at present, ‘the economic opportunities for nuclear power in Great Britain are mixed. The Government hopes that the new Regulated Asset Base model will attract investor interest by increasing income certainty and transferring some risks to consumers. However, Ofgem has been designated as the economic regulator in this area, and its track record in setting consistent and effective price controls for gas and electricity network operators has been mixed. It is now under significant pressure to contain energy company profits, which may make nuclear developers nervous about the model and how it may operate in practice’.
So she is concerned about funding. ………………………………..
Prof. Malcolm Grimson from Imperial College London focused more on the economics: ‘The paper is rightly very clear that the economic risks of nuclear power – in short, that compared to other power options, much more of the cost of nuclear generation is front-loaded in the construction phase, so managing risks of cost or schedule overruns is a practically insuperable task for private capital – are such that heavy state involvement, probably up to and including direct state investment in new nuclear construction, is unavoidable.’
He added ‘The paper is also probably right in saying that the CfD/strike price structure which was created to fund Hinkley Point C probably will not be repeated……………………..
It will be interesting to see how the government (and the nuclear industry) responds to Porters analysis of funding and energy pricing policy, and especially to the point that, given the zero fuel costs of renewable, but also their operational costs, ‘determining the optimal generation mix of nuclear and renewable energy when taking the full costs to consumers into account is challenging’………………………..
she backs off talking about nationalisation,……………………… https://renewextraweekly.blogspot.com/2023/11/poor-nuclear-prospects.html
Rolls Royce panicking, as UK government and investors are lukewarm about its small nuclear reactor project?
Rolls-Royce boss Tufan Erginbilgic: Britain must win nuclear race. The
boss of Rolls-Royce is this week expected to urge the Government to throw
its full weight behind ground-breaking British nuclear technology developed
by the country’s flagship engineering giant. Chief executive Tufan
Erginbilgic is pushing through a whirlwind transformation of the company.
He will on Tuesday unveil his blueprint for restoring Rolls to its former
glory. ‘Turbo-Tufan’ will be highlighting his company’s mini nuclear
power plants – known as SMRs, standing for small modular reactors.
Erginbilgic is a big believer in the SMR project, which is based on
technology honed for use in submarines over the last three decades.
Rolls-Royce, which has so far benefited from about £200 million
of Government backing for its work, is ahead of other companies in the UK
and abroad. But Erginbilgic is understood to be concerned that competitors
will catch up if the Government does not give its full-throated support.
There are also fears that potential overseas buyers of the technology are
hesitant because of the British Government’s apparently lukewarm attitude
towards Rolls-Royce’s technology.
Instead of backing Rolls outright, the
Government launched a competition to select an SMR provider, pitting the
company against foreign rivals. Six firms were selected for the next phase
of the competition last month, including EDF of France and a joint venture
between the US’s GE and Hitachi of Japan. Erginbilgic is likely to argue
that the process should be speeded up.
This is Money 25th Nov 2023
The EU Confirmed That Over Half A Million Ukrainian Men Fled To Escape Conscription
Zelensky’s forthcoming conscription drive might be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back and could result in the Maidan scenario and/or perhaps even the Zaluzhny-led mutiny that he’s so afraid of nowadays.
The EU’s official statistics body Eurostat confirmed that an estimated 650,000 military-age Ukrainian men entered the bloc since the start of Russia’s special operation, though they acknowledged that it could be much more since their data only accounts for those who’ve officially registered their status. The BBC reported on this shortly after Zelensky promised that a new conscription drive will begin next week, and the timing of their article can thus be interpreted as a subtle signal that they expect this policy to fail.
As it turns out, Zelensky’s parliamentary ally David Arakhamia admitted just the other day that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson convinced the Ukrainians to abandon spring 2022’s Istanbul peace process with Russia despite the two warring sides having been on the brink of a deal. This makes the UK state broadcaster’s aforesaid signal bittersweet since their country is morally responsible at least in part for all the deaths over the past 20 months since Kiev pulled out of those peace talks……………………………………… more https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-eu-confirmed-that-over-half-a?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=835783&post_id=139165040&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=ln98x&utm_medium=email
Japanese and Chinese top envoys eye more talks on Fukushima row
Jsapan Times, BY JESSE JOHNSON, STAFF WRITER 26 Nov 23
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Saturday, with the top Japanese diplomat “strongly urging” Beijing to immediately remove its complete ban on seafood imports from Japan over Tokyo’s release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
The Fukushima issue has bedeviled Sino-Japanese relations already facing tensions over issues such as China’s growing military assertiveness in the region. Despite this, both sides agreed to find a way to resolve the wastewater matter “through discussion and dialogue in a constructive manner,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said.
Wang repeated China’s opposition to the discharge of “nuclear-contaminated water,” a move that he labeled as “irresponsible,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
The two top diplomats also agreed to hold bilateral security talks “at an early date,”…………………………………………………………………………………………….
On Thursday, Wang met with Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of Komeito, the Liberal Democratic Party’s coalition partner in the ruling bloc, for talks in Beijing. China called for independent monitoring of the ongoing Fukushima discharge, according to Yamaguchi.
China’s seafood ban has hit Japanese exporters hard, with Chinese customs authorities reporting last week that imports of fish and shellfish from Japan in October dropped 99% from a year earlier to $332,000. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/11/25/japan/politics/japan-china-yoko-kamikawa-wang-yi/
Pentagon Publishes Proposal For Ethnic Cleansing and Colonization of Gaza; Destruction of Lebanon
The call for genocide was written on behalf of the Department of Defense and published in the “US Army’s premier multimedia organization.”
DAN COHEN, NOV 22, 2023, Uncaptured Media
The official U.S. military publication Army University Press published an article written on behalf of the Department of Defense calling for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and destruction of Lebanon in a November 2023 online exclusive.
This outlet is described on its website as “the US Army’s premier multimedia organization”, and an “entry point for cutting-edge thought and discussion on topics important to the Army and national defense”, which “makes timely and relevant information available to leaders in the military, government, and academia.”
While the article notes that “the views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of the U.S. Army, Department of Defense, or any other agency of the U.S. government.” the fact that such a radical proposal was published in the top U.S. Army publication, demonstrates that explicit support for ethnic cleansing and genocide is well accepted in its intellectual and policy-making circles.
The article’s publication comes amid Israel’s unprecedented genocidal assault on the besieged Gaza Strip following the October 7 Hamas attack. Israeli occupation forces have targeted residential buildings, schools, hospitals, ambulances, medical personnel, rescuers and first response teams, journalists, United Nations employees, mosques, churches, infrastructure, and have cut off electricity and of communication services. On November 10, the Gaza Health Ministry announced it had lost the ability to track casualties, with its last official count at 11,078 deaths, including 4,506 children, 27,490 injuries and an additional 2,700 people trapped under the rubble. An estimated 1.7 million people are displaced, including 900,000 in 154 UNRWA shelters, some of which have been bombed by Israel.
The article (archived) was written by Omer Dostri, a former Likud apparatchik who is now a national security strategist at the hawk Jerusalem Institute For Security and Strategy think tank and researcher at the Israel Defense And Security Forum.
Established in 2017 to influence domestic Israeli discourse, and drawing much of its staff from the Likudnik Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, JISS is funded by the Tikvah Fund, a cutout of the U.S. Republican party which seeks to promote a western-style neoliberal capitalist model. A creation of the late New York billionaire mogul Sanford Bernstein (who later changed his first name to Zalman upon taking Israeli citizenship), it is apparently funded today by his estate, along with contributions from American Zionist oligarchs including Rebecca Sugar, a secretive group of Jerusalem businessmen, and Australian venture capitalist Greg Rosshandler. Tikvah is chaired by neoconservative financier Roger Hertog.
“I am pleased to introduce a study I authored on behalf of the US Department of Defense and the US Army’s Military Review journal. The research delves into the political, strategic, and tactical aspects of the #Hamas attack on #Israel and the war in #Gaza,” Dostri boasted on LinkedIn.
“Well done,” commented Miriam Reichman, former political intern at Israel’s mission to the UN.
While the U.S. army paper describes October 7 as a terrorist attack, repeating the discredited Israeli government claims about beheadings and rapes, it acknowledges the sophisticated nature of the operation.
“This heinous attack was the work of a terrorist organization, yet it displayed an exceptional military and professional approach akin to the methods employed by special forces in regular armies. This underscores the significant military and intelligence capabilities that Hamas had meticulously developed over the years, specifically in preparation for this devastating event,” he wrote.
‘The optimal choice for Israel is to occupy the Gaza Strip’
Dostri explains how Israel’s “deterrence policy” has collapsed as a result of the attack, and why it must formulate a new strategy to maintain its system of supremacy.
He lists four options to accomplish this. The first three serve as window dressing, described in brief, until he arrives as the preferred choice of ethnic cleansing.
……………………………………………………………………………….. The ideal option, and that which Dostri believes will re-establish “deterrence” and provide “security”, and achieve victory, is for Israel to re-occupy Gaza for the long term, ethnically cleanse hundreds of thousands of its Palestinian residents, exponentially expand the size of the kill zone, and establish Israeli settlements inside Gaza.
“From a security perspective, the optimal choice for Israel is to occupy the Gaza Strip and establish a lasting military presence,” he writes.
Dostri cites public support for establishing settlements in Gaza from “some members of the Knesset, public figures, journalists, and nongovernmental organizations” who maintain the long-standing Zionist belief that stealing land and establishing colonies is the proper response, rather than one that engenders violent reaction from Palestinians.
While Dostri presents confiscation of land and creation of settlements as an innovative concept, this has always been the basis of Zionism, ideologically and practically.
In his bookEthnocracy: Land and Identity Politics in Israel/Palestine, Israeli scholar Ofer Yiftachel describes the process of Judaization, in which Zionist authorities expropriate land from Palestinians, transfer it to Jews, restrict Palestinian development while promoting Jewish-only colonies, and Hebraization of Palestinian place names, and redrawing boundaries to ensure Zionist dominance. This has been put into practice in the Galilee and Negev, which are part of modern-day Israel, as well as the occupied territory of the West Bank.
This method has been a constant since the creation of the State of Israel until today.
………………………………………………………………………………………… Dostri is even more explicit in opinion pieces published in Israeli media outlets. In a November 19 article in the Jerusalem Post, he calls for Israeli settlements to be established in Gaza – essentially using Israeli civilians as human shields – in order to provide security…………………..
Dostri reiterates his call for ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza, writing that ” Israel should resist the return of the hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents who evacuated to the southern Gaza Strip,” and calls to make agreements with regional countries to expel Palestinian refugees into the Sinai.
He hails the war on Gaza as a “historic and unparalleled opportunity to reshape the threat landscape and “alter the demographic balance in the region.”
Finally, he concludes that Israel should deceive the world about its true intentions, writing that “The country’s leaders should not let this opportunity slip away, and certainly, they should avoid loudly announcing their renunciation of it to the entire world in advance.”
Strategy for war on Gaza
To accomplish these goals, Dostri’s Pentagon paper proposes a “a comprehensive and synchronized military operation with the aim of occupying the Gaza Strip” consisting of an aerial bombardment campaign followed by a ground operation. His plan largely follows what the Israeli military is currently implementing, and calls for the ground operation to last two to three months.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
The destruction of Lebanon’s national and critical infrastructure’
The paper recognizes that the war in Gaza can easily escalate into a regional war. He calls for Israel to create “the perception that Israel is behaving unpredictably in Gaza” to deter Hezbollah and argues that the more Israel intensifies its attacks on Hamas, with greater and more lethal force, the more likely it is that Hezbollah will be deterred.” He believes that Israel’s deterrence vis-a-vis Hezbollah is understood “particularly when the United States deploys its most formidable forces to the region and openly and resolutely supports Israel, coupled with explicit U.S threats against Israel’s adversaries considering involvement in the conflict.”
…………………………….. Dostri argues that Israel must also maintain the possibility of an all-out war on Lebanon, involving a massive air campaign and ground invasion into the southern part of the country. This option would mean the “complete annihilation of Hezbollah, and the destruction of Lebanon’s national and critical infrastructures, which will eventually lead to the country’s collapse.”
……………………. Genocide into a regional war
Overall, Dostri’s paper amounts to a call to commit crimes against humanity. It adds to the numerous statements that, in the case of a war crimes trial, would serve as clear evidence of intent to carry out genocide, which is notoriously difficult to establish. The fact that this call was published on behalf of the Department of Defense and in the U.S. Army’s premiere media arm raises the questions about American culpability in the genocide of Gaza, which is being carried out primarily with bombs and missiles manufactured in the American factories, and what the U.S. government’s intentions truly are…………………… more https://www.uncaptured.media/p/pentagon-publishes-proposal-for-ethnic
Malaysian Govt urged to halt Australian company Lynas’ thorium extraction plan
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/11/24/govt-urged-to-halt-lynas-thorium-extraction-plan
SEVERAL DAP lawmakers have urged the government to review Lynas Malaysia’s license and stop the plan for thorium extraction from the waste produced at the factory of the rare earth producer.Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) said that he remains unconvinced that Lynas Malaysia was capable of extracting thorium.
“Let us not forget that the amount of waste from the Lynas plant was as large as five hills behind its factory. Will the new thorium extraction technology and Lynas be able to manage the radioactive waste which is expected to reach 1.2 million metric tonnes?” he asked reporters at the parliament media centre yesterday.
Oct 24, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang announced that Lynas Malaysia would be allowed to import lanthanide concentrates until its licence expires in March 2026.
He also said that the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) decided to amend Lynas Malaysia’s license conditions after the company made a proposal to the licensing board about its thorium extraction technology.
With this, Chang said radioactive waste will not be produced after extraction and cracking and leaching activities are carried out on the lanthanide concentrate.
Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) said the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry had announced on May 10 regarding the renewal of Lynas Malaysia’s license until Dec 31.
However, Khoo said that within a period of five months, the government, via AELB, had reviewed Lynas’ licence conditions.
“This matter has raised many concerns regarding the radioactive pollution and safety of locals,” said Khoo, who also wanted to know the parties that came up with the idea of thorium extraction.“We also want clarification from the government on what the possible market for thorium is,” he said.
Tan Hong Pin (PH-Bakri) also pointed out that thorium extraction technology was still in its initial phases, even at the international level.
“To what extent can thorium be extracted, used and commercially extracted? What are the effective measures that can be taken by the government to address the issue and ensure that Lynas will adhere to all the international standards in managing radioactive waste?” asked Tan.
On Nov 16, Chang promised that AELB will closely monitor the thorium extraction process from Lynas Malaysia’s waste material.
Ukraine ‘concerned’ by Western push for peace talks – security chief
https://www.rt.com/russia/587695-ukraine-concerned-russia-talks/ 20 Nov, 2023
The West must keep supporting Kiev if it wants to keep ruling the world, Alexey Danilov has claimed
Kiev is worried that its Western backers are calling for peace out of an irrational fear of Russia, Aleksey Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said on Monday.
Danilov spoke via video link to the annual conference of the Halifax International Security Forum, a Washington, DC-based pressure group funded in part by the Canadian government.
“Ukraine is concerned by the fact that discussions among certain partners have intensified regarding the need for negotiations, consultations, meetings with the Russians to discuss the issues of the war in Ukraine, a ceasefire, etc.,” Danilov said, according to a transcript posted by his office.
He attributed this to a “rudimentary fear” of Russia and argued that the West should follow Ukraine’s example instead, as Moscow “only understands the language of force.”
According to Danilov, the current conflict is “a struggle between democracy and tyranny,” with the West and Ukraine on one side, and Russia, China, Iran and North Korea on the other. If Russia is not defeated, the world should expect a new “axis of evil” within 15-20 years that would include “some European countries” as well, he insisted. “Ukraine and the Ukrainian people will fight to the end. We are sure of our victory.”
President Vladimir Zelensky’s top security official described Ukraine’s idea of victory as the “controlled decomposition of Russia into several parts” leading not just to “regime change” in Moscow but the “de-sovereignization… denuclearization and demilitarization” of the neighboring country.
Meanwhile, he said, Ukraine needs more Western funding and support to restore its 1991 borders and become an economic powerhouse
“Ukraine has every chance to become a strategic project of the West, which will demonstrate the full power of the vitality of democracy and the defense of universal values,” Danilov insisted. “The West must confirm that it is and remains the First, and a victorious Ukraine will serve as a convincing narrative in the modern confrontation between slavery and freedom!”
Earlier on Monday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Kiev to offer moral support for Ukraine, but had no new military assistance to announce. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the outlet CNBC that Ukraine is “utterly dependent” on US funding to keep paying the salaries of government workers, calling the continued funding of Kiev a “critical priority” for US national security.
Most of the congressionally approved funding for Ukraine has been spent and the White House has been trying to pressure Congress to pass more, so far with no effect.
Engie demands close scrutiny of French nuclear power deal to ensure competition.
A recent deal regulating French nuclear power risks making
electricity more expensive and must be carefully monitored to ensure the
new rules do not strengthen EDF’s dominant position, power group Engie’s
CEO said on Wednesday. Vigilance will be needed to ensure EDF’s producer
and supplier activities are strictly separated, said Engie (ENGIE.PA),
which is the second largest electricity supplier in the country behind
state-owned EDF.
Reuters 22nd Nov 2023
Ex-CIA Analyst: US Responsible for Gaza Genocide by Empowering Netanyahu
Sputnik, 21.11.2023
US President Joe Biden fully obeys Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, endorsing the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, stressed Raymond McGovern, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer and a political activist.
McGovern told Sputnik that the US has been enabling the genocide of Palestinians by allocating more and more assistance for Israel. According to the political activist, Israel could not launch genocide had it not been for the US aid.
At the same time the Israeli government has not even tried to cover their genocidal intentions up. On the contrary, the Israeli flat out announced the full blockade of the Gaza Strip, cutting off water, food, and power supplies which indicates the true and completely unmasked goals of the Israeli ground operation, but the US still endorses them, McGovern emphasized…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. more https://sputnikglobe.com/20231121/ex-cia-analyst-us-responsible-for-gaza-genocide-by-empowering-netanyahu–1115100230.html
Xcel’s Prairie Island nuclear plant will be out of commission until January
An equipment issue at the Prairie Island plant near Red Wing hasn’t impacted electric service, but it could lead to higher fuel costs that are passed down to Xcel’s customers on their monthly bills.
By Walker Orenstein Star Tribune, NOVEMBER 22, 2023
An equipment problem at Xcel Energy’s nuclear power plant near Red Wing has shut down the facility likely until January, causing a three-month outage for one of the utility’s biggest power sources.
The issue at the Prairie Island plant hasn’t affected electric service, but it could lead to higher fuel costs that are passed down to Xcel’s customers on their monthly bills.
On Oct. 19, one of two units at the plant shut itself down after an issue between the turbine and the electric grid, said Xcel spokesman Kevin Coss. The company said repairs are underway as it replaces cabling between the unit and the substation at the plant.
…………………………………Dave Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer formerly with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the issue sounded like “an aging problem.” Other plants down for that long have had issues with their electric distribution systems, he said, and often with the generator itself.
“Things do wear out,” Lochbaum said.
…………………………………………………………… This is the second unplanned outage at an Xcel nuclear plant in recent months. Xcel’s Monticello nuclear plant shut down Sept. 27 after an issue with pressure control valves in the turbine during scheduled testing. Xcel told federal regulators that all safety systems functioned properly and there were no environmental or health impacts. Xcel made repairs to the plant, which is now running………… more https://www.startribune.com/xcels-prairie-island-nuclear-plant-will-be-out-of-commission-until-january/600321701/
Gaza: a pause before the storm
The US and its allies will continue backing Israel’s war on Gaza after a brief truce. But as the case for ‘genocide’ grows stronger, the new multipolar powers will have to confront the old hegemons and their Rules-Based Chaos.
The Cradle, Pepe Escobar, NOV 23, 2023
While the world cries “Israeli genocide,” the Biden White House is gushing over the upcoming Gaza truce it helped broker, as though it’s actually “on the verge” of its “biggest diplomatic victory.”
Behind the self-congratulatory narratives, the US administration is not remotely “wary about Netanyahu’s endgame,” it fully endorses it – genocide included – as agreed at the White House less than three weeks before Al-Aqsa Flood, in a 20 September meeting between Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe “The Mummy” Biden’s handlers.
The US/Qatar-brokered “truce,” which is supposed to go into effect this week, is not a ceasefire. It is a PR move to soften Israel’s genocide and boost its morale by securing the release of a few dozen captives. Moreover, the record shows that Israel never respects ceasefires.
Predictably, what really worries the US administration is the “unintended consequence” of the truce, which will “allow journalists broader access to Gaza and the opportunity to further illuminate the devastation there and turn public opinion on Israel.”
Real journalists have been working in Gaza 24/7 since October 7 – dozens of whom have been killed by the Israeli military machine in what Reporters Sans Frontieres calls “one of the deadliest tolls in a century.”
These journalists have spared no effort to go all the way to “illuminate the devastation,” a euphemism for the ongoing genocide, shown in all its gruesome detail for the entire world to see.
Even the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), itself relentlessly attacked by Israel, revealed – somewhat meekly – that this has been “the largest displacement since 1948,” an “exodus” of the Palestinian population, with the younger generation “forced to live through traumas of ancestors or parents.”
As for public opinion all across the Global South/Global Majority, it “turned” long ago on Zionist extremism. But now the Global Minority – populations of the collective west – are watching raptly, horrified, and bitter that in just six weeks, social media has exposed them to what mainstream media hid for decades. There will be no turning back now that this penny has dropped.
A former Apartheid state leads the way
The South African government has paved the path, globally, for the proper reaction to an unfolding genocide: parliament voted to shutter the Israeli embassy, expel the Israeli ambassador, and cut diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv. South Africans do know a thing or two about apartheid.
They, like other critics of Israel, better be extra wary moving forward. Anything can be expected: an outbreak of foreign intel-conducted “terra terra terra” false flags, artificially induced weather calamities, fake “human rights abuse” charges, the collapse of the national currency, the rand, instances of lawfare, assorted Atlanticist apoplexy, sabotage of energy infrastructure. And more.
Several nations should have by now invoked the Genocide Convention – given that Israeli politicians and officials have been bragging, on the record, about razing Gaza and besieging, starving, killing, and mass-transferring its Palestinian population. No geopolitical actor has dared thus far.
South Africa, for its part, had the courage to go where few Muslim and Arab states have ventured. As matters stand, when it comes to much of the Arab world – particularly the US client states – they are still in Rhetorical Swamp territory.
The Qatar-brokered “truce” came at precisely the right time for Washington. It stole the spotlight from the delegation of Islamic/Arab foreign ministers touring selected capitals to promote their plan for a complete Gaza ceasefire in Gaza – plus negotiations for an independent Palestinian state.
This Gaza Contact Group, uniting Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Palestine, made their first stop in Beijing, meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and then on to Moscow, meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. That was definitely an instance of BRICS 11 already in action – even before they started business on January 1st, 2024, under the Russian presidency.
The meeting with Lavrov in Moscow was held simultaneously with an extraordinary online BRICS session on Palestine, called by the current South African presidency. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, whose country leads the region’s Axis of Resistance and refuses any relations with Israel, supported the South African initiatives and called for BRICS member states to use every political and economic tool available to pressure Tel Aviv.
It was also important to hear from Chinese President Xi Jinping himself that “there can be no security in the Middle East without a just solution to the question of Palestine.”
Xi stressed once again the need for “a two-state solution,” the “restoration of the legitimate national rights of Palestine,” and “the establishment of an independent state of Palestine.” This should all start via an international conference.
None of this is enough at this stage – not this temporary truce, not the promise of a future negotiation. The US administration, itself struggling with an unexpected global backlash, at best, arm-wrestled Tel Aviv to enact a short “pause” in the genocide. This means the carnage continues after a few days. ………………………………………………………..
No mainstream media narrative, no PR move to soften the genocide, no containment of “public opinion turning on Israel” can ever cover the serial war crimes perpetrated by Israel and its allies in Gaza. Perhaps this is just what the Doctor – metaphysical and otherwise – ordered for mankind: an imperative global tragedy, to be witnessed by all, that will also transform us all. https://new.thecradle.co/articles/gaza-a-pause-before-the-storm
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