Blaming Dead Civilians
Homebodies,
"Help-terrorists" by staying at home and doing nothing!
Israel to Consider Civilians ‘Terrorist Accomplices’ If They Stay in North Gaza
Israel has ordered the evacuation of Al-Quds hospital, which is housing more than 400 patients and 12,000 displaced civilians
Israeli think tank lays out a blueprint for the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza
An Israeli think tank with ties to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a report on October 17 promoting the "unique and rare opportunity" for the “relocation and final settlement of the entire Gaza population.”
Washington wants Israel to delay its ground offensive into the Gaza Strip in order to buy time for talks on hostages and to allow more humanitarian aid into the territory, unnamed US sources were quoted as saying by an American newspaper.
In the rubble of Gaza City, with underground tunnels, the defenders would have some advantage, and might take half as many casualties as attackers, except the attackers have tanks, armored bulldozers and helicopter-gunships. What if those become targets? The main factor in this battle would become the will of the fighters, "fire in the belly".
Hamas has released a video confirming the information that has been circulating for some time and they said that large stocks of American and generally NATO weapons that had been delivered to Ukraine are in... Gaza!
In the video, Hamas shows that it has a large quantity of AT4 and NLAW anti-tank missiles and rockets for use against the Israeli Army's Merkava III/IV/IVM main battle tanks in Gaza...
..They talked about, M4, various types of anti-tanks such as Javelin up to MANPADS Stinger and others.
Reports are flooding-in this morning claiming HAMAS shot-down an Israeli military helicopter over the Gaza Strip, killing fifty (50) soldiers on board.
Imagery (above) showing a downed Israeli army's CH-53 Stallion (Yasur) Helicopter, which was reportedly destroyed by Hamas with a guided rocket, on fire in a field, seems to corroborate these claims.
THE EXISTENTIAL TRAP – THE PENTAGON HAS JUST FALLEN INTO IT, AS BIDEN TRIES TO AVOID CARTER’S HOSTAGE RESCUE DISASTER
The sudden change of US warfighting plans in defence of Israel, disclosed on Saturday by General Lloyd Austin, the US Defense Secretary, reveals the trap which Russia, China, and Iran have opened, and the desperate measures the US has taken as it falls in.
Austin announced that he has “redirected the movement of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group to the Central Command area of responsibility. This carrier strike group is in addition to the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which is currently operating in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. It will further increase our force posture and strengthen our capabilities and ability to respond to a range of contingencies.”
“I have also activated the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery as well as additional Patriot battalions to locations throughout the region to increase force protection for U.S. forces.”...
..Sailing in the eastern Mediterranean would have put the strike group to the west of Israel. But that plan changed after a week in which U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq came under fire from Iran-backed militias, and a U.S. Navy ship in the Red Sea downed missiles launched from Yemen…
..On Saturday, Austin said in a statement the strike group will now go to the ‘Central Command area of responsibility.’ Central Command covers a vast amount of Middle East territory, including the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.”
The purpose of “these steps,” Austin said, is to “bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for U.S. forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel.”... ..But Austin’s rush to change the sailing orders for the Eisenhower and fly THAADs and Patriots to US bases in the Arab territories reveals he’s short of time too. This is because the entire portfolio of US air defence systems is being defeated. The Russian Kinzhal has defeated the US Patriot batteries around Kiev; the Hamas swarms of drones and rockets defeated Israel’s Iron Dome on October 7. THAAD has been tested in combat once, against a Houthi missile, rocket and drone attack against Abu Dhabi targets in January 2022. “Several were intercepted, a few of them [weren’t].”
The USS Carney’s firing against Houthi missiles and drones in the Red Sea has exposed how vulnerable that southern line of attack against Israel would be if the Houthis try swarming instead of testing their ordnance, as they did against the Carney...
..Tongue-biting and stammering are clinical symptoms of the mind which knows what to say but has difficulty getting it out; this usually causes loss of self-esteem. When General Austin is speaking like this, it signals the mind doesn’t know what to say, and is desperate for self-esteem.
Austin also signalled that the Pentagon is preparing rapid deployment forces for evacuation of air and ground base soldiers and airmen in Jordan, Syria and Iraq if they are swarmed by protesters. “I have placed,” Austin said, “an additional number of forces on prepare-to-deploy orders as part of prudent contingency planning"...
..According to this source, the anti-air and land target capabilities of the DC-10 missile arming the Chinese Navy’s Type-052D destroyer now in the Persian Gulf “poses a number of security challenges for the United States. The DH-10 has a low flight altitude that increases its stealth capabilities against the air defense radars. The DH-10 can also be updated during its flight with new targeting data, allowing it to change targets. The stealth capabilities employed by the DH-10 allow it to confuse or outmaneuver the radars and defenses around ships in the region.” ...
..“Hanging out with or near Israel just became very dangerous,” according to a US military source familiar with the situation. “I think the Houthi firing, trap or not, scared the shit out of them [Pentagon]. The number of drones and missiles the Carney ‘shot down’ keeps going up. It’s not just the missiles they are worried about. Iranian drone technology, and their capacity to get them into the hands of their allies, must be causing alarm. What scares them about the Chinese task force is the range of its cruise missiles as well as its capacity to link up with Iranian and (I assume) Russian air defence radar and targeting networks. They’ve all been practicing together.”
“Every American and allied base in the region is now under a joint, mutually supportive, Russian, Iranian and Chinese umbrella. In short, a trap.”
(bluffing) Blinken Warns UN Of "Decisive" Action If Iran Proxies Attack Americans; Carrier Strike Groups On Alert (Houthis already fired missiles, so what?)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday delivered a stern warning to Iran before a UN Security council meeting, saying the US is prepared to respond "decisively" if Tehran or its proxies launch attacks on Americans in the Middle East.
Not only does the Pentagon still have thousands of troops and assets in Iraq, long under the domination of Shia paramilitary influence, but it has up to a thousand or so troops occupying broad oil and gas regions of eastern Syria. Missile and drone attacks on Pentagon outposts in Syria and Iraq have been rising in the last days. But the real concern is on Israel's northern border, where Hezbollah has launched multiple guided missile and anti-tank attacks on Israel border posts, including on Tuesday.
"The United States does not seek conflict with Iran," Blinken told the UNSC "We do not want this war to widen. But if Iran or its proxies attack US personnel anywhere, make no mistake: We will defend our people, we will defend our security, swiftly and decisively."
Hear it yet? The Penny Drops - The World Is Multi-Polar , Moon of Alabama
In 2007, during his famous speech in Munich, the Russian President Vladimir Putin pointed to the inevitable rise of a multipolar world...
..That question, to me, seems to miss what multilateralism really means. It does not mean unilateralism with a different country in the lead. It means a somewhat democratic UN system, with an expanded Security Council that includes the large population countries of each continent.
It means to follow international law.
Will the U.S. come back into that system? Or does it need a global war to decide the outcome?
https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/10/the-penny-drops-the-world-is-multi-polar.html#more
Special Ops Marine 3-Star General Is Advising Israeli Army On Gaza Offensive
(Israel is already using white phosphorus bombs in residential areas, and carpet-bombing them, just like the US did in Fallujah. There must be finer points, too, I suppose.)
Given that among the over 200 hostages held by Hamas, there are American captives, the stakes are high for Washington. The prisoners are said to be scattered around Gaza, and possibly underground in tunnels, making any kind of commando rescue attempt scenario basically impossible.
On Sunday, an Israeli ground unit with bulldozers and a tank briefly went into Gaza, but it resulted in reportedly the tank destroyed and an IDF troop death, with others injured.
Given this level of operational/mission complexity and sensitivity, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James Glynn was sent to assist the Israeli military, Axios specified. Previously he had headed all Marine special operations, and ran counter-ISIS missions in the Middle East
Macron Wants Anti-ISIS Coalition To Fight Hamas, But Presses Bibi For "Clarity About Endgame"
French President Emmanuel Macron has traveled to Israel Tuesday, the latest Western leader to do so, where he's meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials in what's scheduled as a two-day trip. He's met with families of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack as well.
He arrived in Tel Aviv just after Gaza's health ministry announced that deaths from Israeli airstrikes have soared past 5,000 killed. Just in the last 24 hours, officials said that 704 Palestinians have been killed. Additionally the ministry has warned that hospitals and medical centers are shutting down at rapid pace, with lack of resources including fuel and electricity.
Macron, while meeting Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday, conveyed that the release of the over 220 hostages held in Gaza should be the "first objective" of Israel and its allies. Macron appears to be backing Biden's appeal for Israel to stall the ground invasion in order to provide more time for negotiations. So far, four women have been released from Hamas captivity, including two Americans from Chicago.
But Macron has also made headlines in proposing that France help provide a military solution. He has offered that France's counter-ISIS forces be utilized for anti-Hamas action. He said his country stands ready "to beef up what we are doing in the coalition against ISIS. We are available to include Hamas in the coalition against ISIS depending on what Israel will ask us to deliver."
Macron said at a press conference alongside Netanyahu that terrorism is "our common enemy". Referencing the Islamic State, he explained, "France is ready for the international coalition against Daesh in which we are taking part for operations in Iraq and Syria to also fight against Hamas."
Israel-Palestine war: Israeli officials 'unhappy' with released woman's description of captivity (They keep having this problem with former hostages.)
Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was released by Hamas fighters, said she was beaten when abducted but later treated 'gently'
Israeli officials are reportedly unhappy with an interview given by an elderly former captive of Hamas in Gaza because she had not been well prepared for the statement.
In a press meeting on Tuesday, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, an Israeli captive released from Gaza on Monday evening, said she was beaten on 7 October, the day Palestinian fighters stormed southern Israel, but later treated "gently".
Sources told Israel's state-owned Kan News that the interview was a "mistake", adding that a "preliminary meeting" may not have been held with Lifshitz prior to her press statement and that if one had been held, not "all questions" to do with the preparation were asked.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-captive-description-officials-unhappy
Yochaved Lifshitz : “Each of the five hostages in her group received their own doctor and there was a paramedic present who supervised medication, she said.
“They were very generous to us, very kind. They kept us clean,” Lifshitz said. “They took care of every detail. There are a lot of women and they know about feminine hygiene and they took care of everything there.”
Lifshitz also accused the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet intelligence service of not taking threats from Hamas “seriously” and said the costly Gaza border fence erected by Israel had done nothing to protect her community from Hamas’ attack.
“The lack of awareness by Shin Bet and the IDF hurt us a lot,” she stressed. “They warned us three weeks beforehand, they burned fields, they sent fire balloons and the IDF did not treat it seriously,” she continued.
Russia condemns Hamas attack but says Israel provoked it
Peace requires honesty, Moscow’s deputy envoy to the UN has said
https://www.rt.com/news/585628-russia-israel-hamas-attack/
Ukraine War grinds away: The Russians Have Broken Through The Front In Several Directions. Military Summary For 2023.10.24
German MP announces formation of new anti-war party
Prominent Left Party politician Sahra Wagenknecht claims the current German government is the worst on record
A fresh poll commissioned by Bild am Sonntag indicated that some 27% of Germans would not rule out voting for Wagenknecht’s new political force.
Until the party’s official formation at the start of 2024, Wagenknecht and nine other Bundestag colleagues who resigned from the Left Party said they wished to keep their current seats. Party leadership has, however, already indicated that the defectors could lose their mandates much earlier.
https://www.rt.com/news/585606-geramany-wagenknecht-new-party-anti-nato/
Pro-neutrality party wins Swiss election
The Swiss People’s Party, which is also known for its anti-immigration stance, won 28.6% of the vote in Sunday’s general election
https://www.rt.com/news/585565-pro-neutrality-party-switzerland-election-gains/
Pakistan’s Imran Khan could face the death sentence in trial over revealing state secrets (But they say he lied about what was in the paper he waved and nobody saw.) The case is related to Khan’s speech and waving of a confidential diplomatic letter at a rally after his ouster in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022. The document — dubbed Cipher — has not been made public by either the government or Khan’s lawyers but was apparently diplomatic correspondence between the Pakistani ambassador to Washington and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad.
At the time, Khan held up the alleged letter, claiming it was proof that he was being threatened and that his ouster was a U.S. conspiracy, allegedly executed by the military and the government in Pakistan. Washington and Pakistani officials have denied the claim...
..The hearings will take place before a special court behind closed doors at the Adiyala Prison, where Khan is being held. Khan’s lawyers have objected to the closed-door trial.
NewsGuard, a company which claims to rate media outlets' level of 'trustworthiness' and therefore has a meaningful influence over ad revenue, has been sued along with the Biden administration by Consortium News, which also named the Pentagon's Cyber Command for "contracting with NewsGuard to identify, report and abridge the speech of American media organizations that dissent from U.S. official positions on foreign policy."
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/newsguard-us-govt-sued-consortium-news-musk-slams-scam
This is a clear and concise explanation of the punji-pits in the proposed WHO treaty revision.
Analysis of the October 2023 Negotiating Text of the WHO's Pandemic Treaty/Agreement , Meryl Nass MD
This version of the Treaty is very similar to the June 2 version, but I felt an updated analysis was needed before the hearing on the WHO tomorrow
We have been eating small amounts of quinoa instead of rice recently. It is higher in protein, has complete protein, lower in carbohydrate, higher in healthful oils, including some omega-3 fatty acids. Quinoa is not a grass seed like rice, corn and wheat, but related to spinach. I'm going to try growing some next year.
Quinoa vs. rice nutrition
https://greatist.com/eat/quinoa-vs-rice#quinoa-vs-rice-nutrition
Health Benefits of Quinoa + Nutrition Profile
https://supplements.selfdecode.com/blog/quinoa/
Red Head Quinoa
110 days. Large, showy red/pink seed heads that stood out in our 2017 quinoa trial. Sturdy, high yielding strain with edible white seeds. Normally thriving in arid climates, Frank Morton has selected his strain for its ability to tolerate humidity without seed sprouting in the head, a critical trait for growing here in the Midwest.
Red Headed Stranger (pictured recently harvesting some kale)
Dr. John: have you come across anyone doing a deep-dive into the huge natural gas fields off of Gaza and the disputed ownership thereof? This seems to me to be important and perhaps the casus belli to what’s going on
Gaza now is where there are Jews and Arabs or Palestinians, and that’s now in almost every country, but most of all in France. Macron can go to Jeruzalem supporting the Israeli cause, but never never were there protests and demonstrations to that extent in nearly every French city, giving a huge support for the Palestinian cause. Protesters in numbers higher than during the COVID Lockdowns! So Europe has a problem and so has the US, Italy, Holland, Germany, GB, Belgium,....the disaster cannot be greater when the Arab countries in Cairo concluded in a final declaration that the lives of Arabs-Muslim-Palestinians are evaluated less than Jewish in the western hemisphere, what’s next?...NO matter what the outcome in the Gaza-Palestinian conflict, the greatest loser will be the international community, and the greatest winner security and 24/7 surveillance. NOT only restricted to the Israeli border but extended to every contact with fellow countryman and woman, but also now into their genetics, devices, electronic gadgets, Musk’s “Neuralink”. Life inside of Israel will be organized like some kind of digital Auschwitz, because of the security emergencies there will be no other model possible, so goodbye the good life in the holy land of the ancestors. But that’s not all, every country going with the Israeli right to defend themselves and giving admission to reach that goal even to destroy a whole civilian population, will have to pay a price for it and that price is freedom, concentration camps, gulags they all will become our new normal. The risk of a terrorist attack by a nobody will also be a 24/7 threat, and that is another normal of living with the new reality. So what started at Gaza as some kind of a triumph to solve the Palestinian problem once and for good, will be a global unsolvable problem and permanent terrorist war. Gaza now is located in all of Europe, the US and I don’t know of a place where there are no Jews or no Palestinians. And as myself is concerned, bye bye tourism coming from the US to the tropics, hotels going broke by the costs of the necessary security and surveillance, and in how far have they too to imprison their clients for their protection, beaches in barbed wire and cameras all over.