Friday the 13th's Great Potpourri of Events
Impacting Palestine, CIS, Multipolar World, and a long read
Nothing like losing power for four hours during the heart of the day to put a crimp in reporting. Well, it was a Friday the 13th. Russia’s MFA was very busy meeting with all the players surrounding Palestine and its occupier. The CIS Heads of State Summit was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, after which Putin held a presser that had two Palestine related questions, one of which was detailed and was answered similarly. The Crisis has generated an outpouring of writings published by alt-media and a massive tsunami of propaganda from BigLie Media, some of which as b at MoA points-out isn’t well conceived whatsoever. Today’s Strategic Culture editorial provides a basic overview/recap that doesn’t mince descriptive words:
The fascist face of Israel is evident for all the world to see, as is that of its Western supporters. Public protests in Europe and the United States against Israeli violence are being banned. Western media are condemning anyone who criticizes the Israeli regime and seeks to explain the historical background to the latest atrocities and how the conflict might be justly resolved.
Western governments and their media are being exposed as fascistic. The consistency here is that these same institutions and people support a Nazi regime in Ukraine tasked with fighting a proxy war for the US-led NATO axis against Russia. Only a few weeks ago, the Canadian prime minister and his parliament along with the Ukrainian president saluted a Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran with a standing ovation.
The Israeli regime never stops invoking the Nazi holocaust as an emblem for its supposed moral credentials. The cynical fraud here is sickening. The Israeli regime has behaved like the Nazis in its genocide against Palestinians.
In their statement released yesterday, the Heads of the CIS States provided a list of attributes for nations joining the Multipolar World, which make it rather clear who will be omitted until their ways are drastically changed:
We, the Heads of State of the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States: the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan,
Adhering to the principle of openness to the outside world and striving to transform the CIS region into a space of peace, cooperation, sustainable development and shared prosperity,
Taking into account the rapid nature of the changes taking place in the world and the transformation of the architecture of international relations,
Taking into account the steady trend towards the formation of a multipolar world order, the increasing role of emerging market and developing countries actively participating in global development processes,
Reaffirming the need to ensure favourable international conditions for the free, secure and progressive development of all States and equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among them, as well as expressing concern over attempts to exert political, financial, economic, socio-cultural and informational pressure in international relations,
Reaffirming the openness of the CIS to broad international cooperation in accordance with international law on the basis of mutual consideration of interests and common approaches,
Considering unacceptable actions aimed at weakening the role of international institutions and universally recognized forums as multilateral platforms for developing approaches to topical international problems,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations and reaffirming its firm commitment to respect for the universally recognized norms and principles of international law,
Affirm that the formation of a multipolar world order expands the space of opportunities for states and their associations for free and successful internal development, the implementation of mutually beneficial, equal and mutually respectful international cooperation;
Note the growing need for the formation of a just world order that excludes the use of double standards in the maintenance of international peace and security, based on the diversity of civilizations, the balance of power and interests of all participants in international relations and guaranteeing the security of all States, the preservation of their cultural and civilizational identity, and equal opportunities for comprehensive development regardless of geographical location and size of territory; demographic potential, ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms,
We note the importance of building a sustainable multipolar world order, primarily on the basis of the following:
the supremacy of international law in international relations, the observance of universally recognized principles and norms of international law in their entirety and interrelatedness;
respect for the right of sovereign States to choose models for their social, political and economic development and organization;
equal and indivisible security in the global and regional aspects, the unacceptability of strengthening the security of some states at the expense of others;
the primary responsibility of the UN Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security;
cooperation on the basis of a balance of interests and mutual benefit;
diversity of cultures, civilizations and models of organization of society, reliance on traditional spiritual and moral guidelines, development of intercultural and interreligious dialogue;
the inadmissibility of the use of unilateral restrictive measures, including economic measures, in international relations in violation of the UN Charter;
development of mutually beneficial economic, scientific, technical, cultural and humanitarian cooperation and expansion of integration processes;
the need for a responsible approach of states in the consideration of globally significant issues in order to ensure stable and favorable conditions for universal development;
Express concern over attempts to politicize international justice;
We declare our intention to uphold these approaches and to help build a secure architecture of international relations to address the problems of international and regional development.
The main principles from Russia and China say a bifurcated world of two blocs isn’t their aim; but at the current time and its direction, that just isn’t going to be possible as the SCF editorial shows rather well.
Escobar’s report, “Slouching Towards the Final Solution,” details what many are thinking:
What’s clear already is that the Hegemon proxy war against Russia in Ukraine and the Israeli “war on terror” remixed in Gaza are just parallel fronts of a single, horrifyingly evolving, global war.
Here’s the main Q&A from Putin’s presser, its entirety will be provided in a separate article:
E. Zhelbunov: Edmund Zhelbunov, NTV.
Vladimir Vladimirovich, from your point of view, regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is there any prospect of resolving it in the coming weeks or at least in the coming months? And how is the Russian side ready to contribute to this process?
Vladimir Putin: Israel, of course, faced an unprecedented attack, which has never happened in history, and not only in terms of scale, but also in the nature of execution, in terms of brutality – well, what can I say, we must call a spade a spade. Israel responds on a large scale and also with rather brutal methods. Of course, we understand the logic of events, but despite all the bitterness on both sides, I still believe that, of course, we need to think about the civilian population.
I have already said this and I want to repeat it. We are currently looking at assessments of what is happening in the United States, and various scenarios are emerging, including that military and non-military measures can be taken against the Gaza Strip in the same way as during the siege of Leningrad during World War II. But we understand what this is about, and in my opinion, this is unacceptable. More than two million people live there. Not everyone supports Hamas, by the way, not everyone, and everyone should suffer, including women and children. Of course, hardly anyone will agree with this.
On the other hand, as I said today at a meeting with my colleagues, Israel, of course, has the right to ensure its security and guarantee this security. But we need to find these tools, find this way out of the situation. In my opinion, it can be achieved, of course, as a result of some mediation efforts.
As I have already said many times, there are a lot of our compatriots living in Israel – former citizens of the Soviet Union and Russia. This factor is real for us, of course. We can't forget about it.
But on the other hand, we have very good relations with the Arab world – many years, decades – and first of all, of course, with Palestine, which was promised at the time that a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital would be created. They were promised, and decisions were made at the UN level. They are entitled to expect these promises to be fulfilled. We need to combine all this and, of course, first of all think about the people who are not to blame for today's escalation at all. And to pretend that no one sees this, does not understand it, and puts it out of brackets is impossible.
E. Zhelbunov: Can Russia help you with this?
Vladimir Putin: And Russia can, precisely because of the fact that we have developed very good relations with Israel over the past, say, 15 years, absolutely, and traditional relations with Palestine. Therefore, no one will suspect us that we want to play along with someone. But if, of course, someone needs our mediation. This is always done only on the basis of the parties ' agreements.
Escobar adds crucial information as this was occurring in Moscow while Putin was in Bishkek:
With Russia we reach heavy metal territory. Earlier this week, Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Alexander Ben Zvi, was finally received, after several attempts by Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov. It was Israel who practically begged for a meeting.
Bogdanov cut to the chase, bluntly: Ben Zvi was warned that the IDF plan to literally destroy Gaza, expel the indigenous population and practice the ethnic cleansing of those “human animals” was “fraught with the most devastating consequences for the humanitarian situation in the region.”
That advances a quite possible scenario – whose consequences can be equally devastating: Moscow – in collaboration with Ankara – launching a Global South-supported blockade-busting operation against Israel.
It’s no secret – apart from the modus operandi – that Putin and Erdogan have discussed a possible Turkish humanitarian naval convoy to Gaza, which would be protected from an Israeli attack by the Russian Navy out of its Tartous base in Syria and the Russian air Force out of Hmeimim. That would raise the stakes to unforeseen levels.
The threat revealed by Crooke via the French that Syria’s government will be targeted clearly brings in the Russians who will attack the Empire’s carriers if they’re the source of any attack on Syria. Yes, the escalation staircase is extremely dangerous. Iraqi PM Sudani was keen to say the “Street” is on fire and will be very difficult to contain, which is to say attacks against US forces in the region are very likely and won’t be mere pin-pricks. EU’s “Jungle and Garden” Minister Borrell currently visiting China, perhaps cowed by where he was at the moment, said at a presser in Beijing as reported by Global Times:
After Israel's military ordered about 1 million people in northern Gaza to evacuate to the southern part of the region within 24 hours, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called it “something impossible.” The escalating conflict in the Middle East was crucial part of discussions with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, and the two sides agreed that a two-state solution is the only long-term solution to the issue, he said.
“We are facing critical moments in Gaza,” Borrell told in a press conference in Beijing on Saturday. Although the two--state solution cannot be achieved for tomorrow, but this is the only solution that can be implemented, and we believe that we have to work in trying to build on this solution, he noted.
His words are the complete opposite of those coming from the EU that are applauding the Zionist’s War Crimes and urge the genocide of Palestinians reported globally. Global Times also reports:
China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday had a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the latter's invitation, during which Blinken briefed Wang on the escalating situation in the Middle East during his ongoing visit, and the US position on the current Palestine-Israel conflict.
[He] noted that when dealing with international regional hotspot issues, major powers should adhere to objectivity and impartiality, maintain calm and restraint and take the lead in abiding by international law.
China will continue to promote peace and dialogue, adding that the US should play a constructive role and push for the issue to return to the track of political settlement, Wang said. [My Emphasis]
So sorry, but the Outlaw US Empire because of its flaunting of international law is demonstrably as Putin has said directly responsible for what’s now happening. As such, there’s a sickening irony to Wang’s words and their reporting. For other things are ongoing that show the Outlaw US Empire to be humanity’s #1 enemy.
The Global Times editorial’s headline is ominous, “A strategic nightmare sneaks into Washington's political agenda,” although it’s actually been there since 1996 when the Outlaw US Empire declared its #1 policy goal is attaining Full Spectrum Domination of the planet and its people, a goal that’s never been directly quoted by any other nation, although similar equivalents have been announced on many occasions. The editorial’s eight paragraphs follow:
A simultaneous war with China and Russia is a strategic nightmare that sober American strategists such as Henry Kissinger have been warning the US to avoid at all costs, and it is also a topic that some US media outlets have become more and more fond of talking about in recent years. At least from the publicly available information, Washington has never previously addressed it as a formal political agenda, supposedly aware of its seriousness and the terrible risks it carries. But the publication of a report by a congressionally appointed bipartisan panel titled America's Strategic Posture crossed this "red line" on October 12.
The central point of the 145-page report is that the US must expand its military power, particularly its "nuclear weapons modernization program," in order to prepare for possible simultaneous wars with China and Russia. Notably, the report diverges completely from the current US national security strategy of winning one conflict while deterring another, and from the Biden administration's current nuclear policy. It is not a fantasy among the American public, but a serious strategic assessment and recommendation in the service of policymaking.
The 12-member panel that wrote the report was hand-picked by the US Congress from major think tanks and retired defense, security officials and former lawmakers. This report makes us feel that a "strategic nightmare" is sneaking into the US political agenda, but has not drawn due concern and vigilance in Washington, and to a large extent, the American elite group represented by the panel is actively working to make this nightmare come true.
A look at the specific recommendations of this report will send shivers down the spine of those who retain any basic rationality. The report recommends that the US deploy more warheads, and produce more bombers, cruise missiles, ballistic missile submarines, non-strategic nuclear weapons and so on. It also calls on the US to deploy warheads on land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and to consider adding road-mobile ICBMs to its arsenal, establishing a third shipyard that can build nuclear-powered ships, etc.
What depths of insanity is the US sinking to? The US' military spending accounts for nearly 40 percent of the world's total defense expenditures, and it has been growing dramatically for several years, with military spending in 2023 reaching $813.3 billion, more than the GDP of most countries, but even that is not enough for these politicians. Such a report full of geopolitical fanaticism and war imagery, whether or not it actually ends up as a "guide" for Washington's decision-making, is dangerous and needs to be resisted and opposed by all peace-loving countries.
According to some American media, the report ignores the consequences of a nuclear arms race. In fact, the report doesn't seem to consider this at all and doesn't suggest any measures other than nuclear expansion to address this issue. In other words, it is a reckless approach. Both China and Russia are nuclear powers, and everyone knows that provoking a confrontation between nuclear powers is a crazy idea. Even promoting a nuclear arms race under the banner of "deterrence" is a disastrous step backward in history. Washington's political elites, who lived through the Cold War, cannot be unaware of this. However, the fact that such an absurd and off-key report is being presented in all seriousness by the US Congress is both surreal and unsurprising. It is in line with the distorted political atmosphere in Washington today.
The motives behind this exaggeration of threats and creating a warlike atmosphere are highly suspicious. The recent outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict caused a sharp increase in US defense industry stocks, while American defense industry companies have also been the biggest beneficiaries of the long-standing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The military-industrial complex, like a geopolitical monstrosity, parasitically clings to American society, manipulating its every move, pushing Washington step by step to introduce and even prepare for ideas that were once considered "impossible." The prosperity of the American military-industrial complex is built upon blood and corpses, and carries a primal guilt. Serving the interests of the American military-industrial complex is unethical.
The reality is that such rhetoric is becoming increasingly politically acceptable in today's Washington. The idea of "preparing for possible simultaneous wars with Russia and China," once a fringe fantasy, has gradually made its way into Washington's agenda, which is deeply unsettling. If Washington were to adopt even a small portion of the recommendations in this report, the harm and threats it could pose to world peace would be immeasurable and would ultimately backfire on the US itself. There is an old Chinese saying: "Those who play with fire will perish by it." This is something that is worth Washington's careful consideration.
As stated above, the goal or “fantasy” isn’t new; it’s existed since 1991 when Wolfowitz penned his Doctrine, which is what became policy as Full Spectrum Domination. American readers of this article must understand that their wellbeing, that of their families and all their futures are being more than mortgaged to never ending war, it’s their freedom as well as we’ve seen happening throughout the NATO Bloc in response to solidarity with Palestine. That the Outlaw US Empire has very overtly allied itself with Nazis in Palestine, Ukraine, EU, and Japan ought to be extremely unsettling particularly in light of the Empire being THE savior of Nazism after WW2 and its actions since.
During WW2, streaming columns of refugees were mercilessly strafed and bombed by the Luftwaffe’s notorious Stuka’s, whose dive brakes screamed as they swooped in for the kill. Zionists do the same but using jets and ordinance supplied by the Outlaw US Empire as Gaza’s refugee columns are attacked in broad daylight—the same people that were told to evacuate to avoid extermination. Such attacks are War Crimes, which the Zionists have done with impunity for 75+ years. Years ago as South African Apartheid was finally dismantled, many turned their eyes to Palestine and though its turn would soon come. But political support from the Empire/NATO nexus ensured that the Zionists would be able to continue their slow-motion genocide until the present moment when it promises to become a regional conflagration. Again for American readers, the massive vacuum where a Peace Party ought to be within the domestic political spectrum is a contributing factor to this crisis. Where are the voices of all those who protested Vietnam and then Iraq? and all those in-between, the Assassins School of the Americas. Have all those millions of people been Canceled? Or have all those people become Neoliberalcons as there’s really been no resistance shown to the two War parties, the Duopoly or Uniparty as it’s now being called. College and professional TV sports and video games are just too important to promote your own basic self-interest and that of your community it seems. Where are all those who applauded the message within “Rich Men North of Richmond”?
Some wag once said “Freedom isn’t free.” While the context of the times was somewhat different, that basic truth isn’t, and it ought to be clear to those with eyes to see that American’s freedoms are being whittled away at a rapid pace. History’s being rewritten, we have a massive Propaganda Industry with the basis for a Ministry of Truth already established and funded by the federal government—yes, against the tenents of the 1st Amendment, and others are also eroding like the right to a speedy trial and fair bail: More innocent people are in jails nationally than those serving time. Dylan wrote lots of very insightful words back in the 1960s &’70s as did others. Many are happening to us now—again.
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Excellent piece with excellent background info. Thank you. Seems to me the big question is: will Hezbollah enter the fray full force? If it does, I don't think anyone knows what happens. Their leadership has been trained not just by, but in, North Korea. Their tunnel system was engineered by the North Koreans. Their army has fought in Syria for years. Their 10s of thousands of missiles are not home made Hamas junk. Can Israel handle these guys? Can a couple of carrier groups?
Ho ho the Friday 13th booby prize goes to THE IRON DOME fraudster defender $$recycling machine. Who would have thought that the Ukies and their incessant demands would have shone the spotlight on this piece of military fakery and then Hamas (that reliable tool of the Isranazis) would absolutely reval its fakery.
This is too good. What will those observers in the surrounding nations think now? No wonder the Isranazis have been so terrified of Iran and Syrian rockets and missiles. Is this a window of opportunity too good to let pass? Certainly Hezbollah will be observing with peels of laughter. For more detail read the simplicius report "Israeli Ground Forces Get Cold Feet? + Ukraine War Updates" where he reveals the awful truth in the late stage of the piece. A strong drink is in order as we ponder the revelations of the apocalypse etc.