It’s time for some serious yard work. You can all comment to your hearts’ desires… or get outside and do a little yard work yourselves.
RSS- Trump threatens BRICS nations with 100 percent tariffs
- Syrian rebels take control of most of Aleppo city
- Thanksgiving in the Field – 1863 from “Death Piled Hard”
- “La Grande Fete de Merci Donnant” – Buchwald
- Testing the waters?
- “Peak Oil Demand is Coming Soon!”
- “Russia reportedly launches intercontinental ballistic missile against Ukraine — what we know so far”
- “Biden approves antipersonnel mines for Ukraine, undoing his own policy”
- Starship launch scheduled for tomorrow afternoon
- “How long-range missiles striking Russia could affect Ukraine war”
I already did my yard work this morning and I filled the waste can again. Here in Florida, yard work is a year long event, but it is good exercise and afterwards you can see the difference that you have made. Besides, it keeps my wife off my case. I have been very busy ever since she changed my first name to “We”.
Subject: Russian intellectual history
While John McCain no doubt served his country nobly,
when he was elected to the U.S. Senate he, IMO, became a stooge of certain interests.
One thing that is worth noting:
his assertion that Russia is a “gas station with nukes”.
https://www.politico.com/story/2014/03/john-mccain-russia-gas-station-105061
My God, how dumb can you be?
Russia has a rich and vibrant intellectual history.
I think we should recognize and honor their achievements.
I want to put in a plug here.
There is a really great book by a Finnish scholar, Krista Berglund:
The Vexing Case of Igor Shafarevich, a Russian Political Thinker
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-0348-0215-4
Here is part of a description of that book:
Shafarevich raised some REALLY important issues and questions, not just for Russia, but for Western civilization.
I bought both the print and ebook versions of the book.
It is rather expensive, but up until the end of October you can get a 40% discount by entering the code HAL40.
Keith Harbaugh,
Even if we don’t buy or find the book in a library, the Springer Link offers the notes for each chapter. That along may give some keen insights.
Tanks of the future? https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F88aGSdWcAAfXkz?format=jpg&name=medium
Tanks are starting to be like those medieval battering rams that looked like they were covered by a turtle shell to protect against the boulders and boiling oil that defending castles dropped on them.
Lots of attrition of tanks in Ukraine, and the same for the recent fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Most Russkie tank crews seem to have erected cope cages on top to protect themselves form UAVs and top-attack ATGMs. Ukrainians also. And wasn’t an Israeli Merkava seen recently with a cope cage? Reported here I believe.
In the US, the Marines are giving up their three tank battalions. That decision was made two plus years ago and made for mobility & strategic transportability reasons. The Commandant at the time took a lot of criticism for doing so. But based on new ATGM technology and the rise of drone warfare it may have been the right decision. And I understand they have doubled their drone numbers and drone operator contingent by adding three new VMU squadrons. Should have tripled it IMHO, plus given every infantry platoon a tactical UAV capability.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/us-marine-corps-may-have-zero-tanks-2030-193247
leith,
The Marines are going back to a littoral force closely aligned with the Navy rather than trying to imitate a small Army. I think it’s a good move. With the lessons coming out of Ukraine, it seems to be even a better move.
PS – Hat tip to @OcultaMondiala for the futuristic cope-cage artwork.
‘from’ not ‘form’
Leith,
A great camo job.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WWyhppyt01o
Mark –
Would have been hilarious if true. But it’s a Ukrainian RV built to look like a house. Was seen over three years ago on a Ukrainian TV channel. Long before the war started. Original is on YouTube also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyDx1rrh_g8
Anybody else think that there’s something fishy about the reports of the USS Carney shooting down cruise missiles and drones launched from [Houthi territory in?] Yemen “potentially towards targets in Israel”?
I’m not saying that the Navy is *lying* about it, but that there’s gotta be a lot that’s not being said.
There’s no mention of how we know where they were launched, but I’m willing to assume that we have good Satellite data on that.
Yemen is over a thousand miles from Israel, and I’ve never heard anything about them using missiles with that kind of range. But I find it hard to believe that any kind of drones could do that, not least because “drones” require manual remote piloting (by definition?), which usually implies someone on the ground not too far from the flight path.
Also, the Carney sailed through the Suez Canal last Wednesday, just in time to get into position to knock those things outta the sky? Sounds like we knew both the flight path *and* the timing; which seems to imply much better HumInt sources among the Houthis than I would expect.
It is also possible that this whole thing is some kind of PsyOp (Navy Official Announcements are the only source so far), but if so, I don’t understand the point (nor even whose “Psy” they would be trying to “Op”).
Anybody here have any more details or background which would help make sense of this?
elkern,
The Houthis have been going hot and heavy into drone and missile warfare for years now. Last year they struck oil, gas and desalinization facilities at Yanbu halfway up the Red sea coast. I think they also launched something towards Aqaba back then.
elkern:
no data but some musing. Were told that the Bataan ARG was ordered from the Persian Gulf area to the Med, I assume they transit the Red Sea. An Aegis Combat System, coupled with AWACS, is going to give you 24/7 radar coverage of the Red Sea so it makes tactical sense to do that. I was in the biz back during the Airbus shoot-down, and since then COMMAIR has been totally integrated into the Aegis tactical picture.
Yeah, it would make sense send the Carney to the Red Sea to cover the route that the Bataan group would have to take, but the timing of last week’s missiles doesn’t make sense.
Orders to move the Bataan from Persian Gulf through Red Sea & Suez to East Med were announced on 10/17/23, same day Carney went through Suez to Red Sea. Makes sense to get Carney in place before sending Bataan through Bab al-Mandab Strait; but Carney was still in “Northern” Red Sea when they shot down those missiles on Thursday. It’s not clear to me where Bataan is now, but I assume it is/was waiting for Carney before going anywhere near Yemen.
In any case, I find it hard to believe that Bataan could/would have already snuck through Gulf of Aden, Bab al-Mandab, and most of the Red Sea by the time those missiles were launched, so Bataan can’t have been the target?
President Harry Truman (who nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki) said Jews are crueler than Hitler and Stalin.
See this 1 minute quote from Truman’s diary.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/IECMypZn34uo/
Joseph Stalin was told about the Atom bombing of Hiroshima and that likely up to 100,000 people were killed instantly. Stalin puffed on his pipe quietly, appearing lost in thought for a long few silent minutes.
“Now that’s an atrocity,” he said.
easy for him to say.
Well you’d think he might know a thing or two about atrocities. And so would Truman. That’s why his estimate of the Jews in his diary is so interesting, to me at least.
he was as ignorant of Jews as he was of the Manhattan Project… & made that clear. Stalin killed lots more Soviets, just not in a purposely industrialized manner. he needed that labor force so he could industrialize as cheaply as humanly possible.
From the Kansas City mob to the Senate – Truman – and he didn’t know jews? Thanks for the lessons on Stalin too. Shocking, I would never have suspected. F&L is in Fourth grade in case you didn’t know so he appreciates all the help available.
thx for the details,F&L!
Eddie Jacobson co-owned the failed haberdashery. early on (other than Bess’s suspected antisemitism) that was about it. his private writing on Morgenthau & Jews were in parallel w/ tremendous public pressure upon him to support Israel’s founding – counter to the desires of the striped-pants set, George Marshall (who did discuss the Manhattan Project budget w/ Harry, sans details, when he was a Senator), isolationists & anti-semites. Harry was known to anger when feeling unfairly attacked. maybe he’d listened to Bess in releasing stress via the never-published diary. in the end (late ’40s onward), his singular decision to make good on his promise to Weizmann on the Founding is more relevant than anything else in his Jewish relations. keep at it … I’m confident you’ll get past elementary arithmetic.
Saw a comment recently on President Assad’s lowly origins. Assad’s family was originally headed up by a mafia type in, if I remember correctly, somewhere in Northern Syria. Started off very small, that crime family, and then took off.
Bashar himself was above all that and pushed off to do to some high class medical stuff in London. Same principle as an old style crime boss in the States sending his son to Yale. First the graft, then the honour. Normal sort of progression. Married a charming English girl also from a distinguished medical family. Sunni Muslim, which balanced out the Alawi side. All good.
Used to be like that in the West. Take the Kennedys as an example. They’re now respectable as all get-out. Blair even reversed the process and cashed in after he’d been PM.
But we’ve now managed to telescope the process. The modern crime families don’t like hanging around. Such as the Clintons and the Bidens run the two simultaneously. The graft and the honour together. Life is faster paced than it used to be.
……………………………….
Footnote. Thought I’d better check on Joseph Kennedy. Not that much known of in England except that in 1940, like many Americans and some Englishmen, he thought we were slated to become part of Festung Europa. His assessment could well have been correct except that he forgot about the twenty miles of water. Those twenty miles didn’t save us later when we were finally incorporated into Festung Europa Mark 2, but they did the job in 1940. Anyway, looked up his rap sheet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy_Sr.#:~:text=Joseph%20Patrick%20Kennedy%20(September%206,investor%2C%20philanthropist%2C%20and%20politician.
To my great disappointment turns out Joseph Kennedy wasn’t a bootlegger. Another legend bites the dust. But he seems to have made up for that omission with some quite remarkable exploits in other branches.
Bashar al Assad’s origins were lowly? His father ran Syria from 1970-2000. I am not sure how that translates to lowly origins. When he was born his father was the commander of the Syrian Air Force. 1965.
I could be wrong – the account I read some time ago was Western origin. It said it all started with a small time crook with connections, who later made it big. Other accounts that I’ve just looked up put the family as important far back in Ottoman times.
His father was the leader of Syria for 30 years. His great grandfather was a man of note where he lived and was heavily involved in politics and the community. You have to really watch what you read when it comes to the Assads because there are a lot of different agendas out there trying to spin the narrative. Of course the Israelis have been at odds with the Assads for 50+ years. There are internal Syria politics, regional politics and those in the Wahhabi/headchopper circles who view the Assads, as Alawii, to be infidels/ kufar who deserve to die.
Assad and son was/is a strong supporter of Adolph Hitler and the SS. They gave asylum and protection to SS captain Alois Brunner. Brunner was Adolph Eichman’s right-hand man, and the most wanted nazi war criminal in the world. Brunner was responsible for sending 100,000 Jews to their deaths in the nazi concentration camps.
The Assad’s ignored numerous extradition requests to bring this genocidal, unrepentant criminal to justice.
An interviewer once asked Brunner if he had any regrets. He replied by saying that his only regret was that they didn’t kill all the Jews.
The nazi-sympathizing Assad is no supporter of peace and co-existence. If given the opportunity, he would fulfill Brunner’s wish.
David Kissinger,
Much of the US rocket and space program was advanced by Nazi scientists taken to the US after WWII. I would think you have heard of Wernher von Braun? He also was part and parcel of the Nazi arms program, working on their rockets as well as jet aircraft. He was also a member of the Allgemeine-SS.
Re Assad. Surgery attracts sadists – this is very well known. Eye surgery? Think the worst torture conceivable or at least EA Poe Pit and the Pendulum level terror.
F&L
Bashar was not even supposed to become president of Syria – his psychopathic older brother was slated for that role then that brother ran his Ferrari into a lamp pole at 170mph and Bashar was asked to come back and take over the country.
Gideon Raff (a famous Israeli TV writer/producer/director) actually made a TV show about this story:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrant_(TV_series)
It’s an interesting TV show. To me it is basically addressing “Oh you want to be in charge, do you? Guess what – it is a LOT tougher than you think.”
He certainly was a bootlegger and an all around crook and stock market manipulator. You “checked online” so that settles it, huh? No wonder the English keep you outside.
Cut it out, F&L. I get enough loopy comments on English sites. You’re not as bad and do write extremely interesting stuff sometimes, but you have an inclination to pornographic imagery that I don’t like when it’s directed at me and have made very clear that I don’t like.
Here though you’re not in that mode so maybe you’re packed that line in, Good. In your reply above you’re merely missing the point. If even Wiki, that does tend to soft pedal such matters, writes that about a famous American political family then it’s likely Kennedy’s father wasn’t a plaster saint.
Where you’re good is in picking up references and sources one wouldn’t otherwise come across. Put that talent to use on what could turn out to be an important matter. Above, Elkern refers to matters to do with the current deployments around the Med and the Red Sea. Helmer’s exercised about that too:-
For the time being, the significance of this Chinese screen to deter a US-Israeli missile and aircraft attack on Iran has been missed in the western press and by Russian military reporters.
https://johnhelmer.net/memo-on-the-final-solution-for-one-state-israel-or-palestine/
There’s a lot of hardware unobtrusively being assembled in that area, and sometimes not so unobtrusively. Is this just muscle flexing or do you reckon something’s brewing?
There are plenty of things brewing. How fermented they become is unknown.
Eng Outsider
Egads. EO, I was abbreviating your handle to Eng Out when I saw it meant En Gout. I am so sorry again, it is a very painful malady. Gout, I mean. I’ll keep the pornography on hold for when you’re spry and getting about. Here’s a smigeon of something interesting and try the link it might work or not – subscription etc. Then sample the Daily Tell a Laugh likewise beneath. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
https://tinyurl.com/mr3een98
In Syria, Battle Lines Are Blurring
Iranian proxies’ reinforcement of the Assad regime may be more than Israel can bear.
By Caroline D. Rose – October 25, 2023
On Oct. 5, multiple suicide drones struck a military academy graduation in Homs, a city deep within Syrian regime-controlled territory. The attack killed 89 people and wounded some 290, making it the deadliest event in the Syrian civil war since 2019. Though there has been no claim of responsibility, the attack likely originated from opposition-held areas in the country’s northwest. The Assad regime has responded with a severe, indiscriminate bombing campaign.
The regime’s allies and adversaries took note of its retaliation, but the eruption of violence on Oct. 7 between Hamas and Israel in and around the Gaza Strip soon captured international attention. The Syrian regime has taken advantage, increasing and prolonging its bombardment of opposition-held Idlib and Aleppo. But although events in Syria have slipped from the front pages, the lines between the Syrian regime’s crackdown, Israel-Hamas clashes and Iran-backed militias’ support for Hamas and the Assad regime are blurring, increasing the risk of a wider war.
Syria’s Crackdown
On the surface, President Bashar Assad’s regime is the most stable it has been in years. It controls approximately 70 percent of Syrian territory and is steadily normalizing relations with neighboring countries. But the regime has failed to regain control in the north and east, and already desperate economic conditions are deteriorating. Signs of political dissent are starting to show.
———— ////////
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/10/24/us-navy-mediterranean-gaza-red-sea-gulf-china-plan-carriers/
Iran makes two moves, US carriers shift, and today China rules the Gulf
It’s a lot like the start of a wargame – one modelling an Iranian war on the West
TOM SHARPE
24 October 2023 • 4:54pm
Tom Sharpe
US moves in response to the Gaza situation have left China with the most powerful naval force in the Gulf
Tracking major warship movements in response to the developing situation in Gaza and beyond has been interesting. Most people have focused on the comings and goings of the US Navy in or towards the Eastern Mediterranean. Even the USN itself seems to have taken its eye off other potential flashpoints, as something has happened which never normally would: the most powerful naval force in the Gulf is Chinese.
Just fourteen days ago, US Navy movements were being passed off as ‘business as normal’. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Gerald R Ford was in the Mediterranean anyway. The Dwight D Eisenhower (Ike) carrier group deployment was planned anyway, just brought forward.
About ten days ago this changed. Ford’s stay in the Med was extended and it was stated that Ike was going to join the Ford. Two super-carriers in the same place – that’s big medicine. Articles were written noting this, by me among others. We armchair admirals also noted that the USS Bataan and USS Carter Hall, amphibious ships carrying the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) were dispatched from the Gulf to the Red Sea and the command-and-control ship Mount Whitney, complete with a 3* Admiral and his staff, was pulled off Nato duties and sent to take charge in the eastern Med. This could no longer be passed off as ‘planning adjustments’. (Much more at link)
OK.
Noted this from the link – “already desperate economic conditions (in Syria) are deteriorating. Signs of political dissent are starting to show.”
Crocodile tears. Isn’t that precisely what that carefully constructed “sanctions architecture” is designed to achieve? You will certainly know more that I about the activities of such as Dana Stroul and Richard Nephew. The Sanctions Ghouls.
You really do need to get the psychos in Washington under control. Preferably before they and the Europoodles collapse the West. Advance warning. If the lawfare hasn’t done for him, you may have to vote Trump in order to get rid of the psychos. This will be hard for you.
More than 2,300 children have died in the Gaza Strip since Oct 7, over 5,300 children have been injured – UNICEF data.
And even McDonald’s hasn’t left Israel. Not not to mention BMW and Mercedes.
You all probably want to read this by Hersh today. Rich with new details on the Hamas raid. Boil it down – it weren’t just Hamas. Other groups poured thru once word got out it was going gangbusters.
https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/the-mysteries-of-october-7
Hamas called for everyone with a weapon to rise up and fight the occupiers. As I understand it much of what was attributed to Hamas was actually the work of just random types who came after Hamas.
The worst sorts will take advantage of any break down in order to do the worst they can. It fits the Israeli narrative to paint everything as part of the Hamas plan. I think the reality is that Hamas was far more successful than they thought they would be. Elements, not all related to Hamas, took advantage of the hours and hours of no real Israeli presence to commit some truly horrific actions.
I dont think we will ever know how many of these crimes were done by Hamas and how much were done by others because to even bring these questions up is a no go for the majority of the media and it is in the best interests of Israel and its backers to put 100% of it on Hamas.
Be careful what you let them hear. If it gets around that more than Hamas invaded then they will justify the ongoing genocide that way, not that they need much help.
Pretzel logic designed to excuse Hamas and Gazans generally. The other groups, to the extent that participated, came from Gaza. Hamas rules Gaza. Hamas is radical and hates Israel. The other groups are radical and hate Israel. Hamas and other groups are ideologically aligned and allies. Hamas jumped off the attack.
No one is excusing Hamas or the animals who did what happened on that day. However, none of what is happening today in Gaza is new. It is just larger in scale than what has happened before.
War crimes committed by one side is not a valid excuse to commit war crimes by the other side.
Does the refugee convoy carry the new Covid booster? Hate to see the people of Gaza succumb to that.
So the facts have finally come out. The government knew all along that Chauvin didn’t kill George Floyd. No damage caused by the knee. That’s from the hidden government autopsy report. Floyd was full of lethal drugs on top of heart disease. The government admits fearing the mob and prosecuting for that reason.
None of that is a surprise to some of us and we said so while cities burned.
What happens now to Chauvin? New trial? Release? At least a viable appeal? Nothing/tough luck?
Over the years I have noticed a strong bond between the Greek orthodox church and the Arab people.
What is the history,Anyone care to enlighten.Searched online but came up with nothing.Frustrated and limp.
Eastern Roman empire aka Byzantium. It was Greek and it’s flavour of Christianity was and stayed Orthodox. That large area eventually became Moslem. So there was considerable overlap and interaction for centuries. That said, the Greeks and Turks have been bitter enemies. With all the armament in and going to the area now and the contested gas fields near cyprus and off the coast of Lebanon and Israel, this ongoing dust up has the potential to go in several directions. There are interests which would like access to the Black sea but the Turks control that. Pressure on Cyprus and or the gas deals could possibly soften up the Turks on the issue of Black sea access. For now that seems unlikely, but it’s a sub-current. No doubt people will be thinking “who would target a Christian Orthodox church in Gaza and to what end?” If you want to wrack you brains, feel free, but imo it’s Israeli rage and religious supremacy but primarily rage. Who governs Gaza after this war? Unresolved as of now. Would alienating Orthodox Christians place a stake in that claim?
Kindly excuse me now mcohen. Anna Graham is ringing. I’ve got one for just you and me: Rice, When Ill?
If you solve it, MC O’Hen, just be quiet about it, OK? Thanks. Chickening out is fine too.
“Lost To The West” Lars Brownworth
a good 300 pg once-over from Diocletian to the fall of Constantinople for the non-scholar.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0307407969/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1698261415&sr=8-1
POLICE better.especially for limp.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/the-police-principle-for-acute-sprains-and-strains-2696549
Ask your new speaker.Putin had a heart attack.
Gaza with its border with egypt was primarily designed to be Israel’s Achilles heel.
Inviting foreign jihadi’s into gaza was a mistake the local Arabs made.
The hezbollah franchise was sold to America by the Iranians
for 6 billion dollars.including the soccer team.
That’s my speculation for now
By the way do you still need me to explain to you the significance of 23/10.
Thanks ked.will check it at my library.
Israel is a theocracy with certain parts under Sharia law. Very far away from American values. Propping up one religion over others should be frowned upon but it is not. We should only give aid to republics other than emergencies. It’s morally wrong and does not spread democracy at all. Quite the opposite.
let’s see if we can defeat theocracy in America First first, eh?
Amusing…
If we only gave to those who support democracy, we’d really save money. In fact, we’d feel pretty alone.
But we don’t – that is, we celebrate as the lesser evil those for whom democracy is extraneous or the enemy (hint: in our countries, democracy would be a word without substance… maybe).
So our PR about defending democracy is a lie.
“We have no democracy, only interests”.
First we, as a nation, would need to support democracy abroad. Fact is, we will support the worst of the worst as long as it is seen to advance our interests in some manner, ie the Saudis, the Iraqis when they were gassing their own citizens, or even when it doesnt advance our interests, ie the Israelis.
Sometimes the “interest” is really nothing but the billions that these states spend buying arms from the US, making the rich richer in the US, one body abroad at a time.
Since when did Judiasm incorporate Islam into it’s laws?
He meant certain physical areas (parts).
Today would have been a great day for grilling some steaks from Crabill’s (Pat’s favorite butcher in the valley) but had to cut my trip up through almost Yankee lands due to family affairs and thus haven’t been able to re-supply. (logistics, logistics, logistics. And appetite) Settled for some sushi @ lunch and figuring on just where ’round here I can find something comparable as a source of prime beef.
The Gist of Low Styx, Loew’s Ticks, and Sticks , delivered to your door:
https://t.me/malekdudakov/6193
Against the backdrop of the war in Israel, the situation in Taiwan is also escalating . Elections are quickly approaching – and the position of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party is more precarious than ever . The ratings of its presidential candidate Lai Ching-thae fell below 30% for the first time .
More than half of Taiwanese want a change in government on the island. They do not strive to turn into one big Bakhmut. The Taiwan People’s Party came in second place with 26% , while the Kuomintang came in third with 21%. They promise to strengthen cooperation with China.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has presidential ambitions, has now rushed to pay his respects to Beijing. However, it is unlikely that he will be able to agree on de-escalation – the United States is only tightening sanctions after China’s success in creating its chips . And Biden’s budget proposes to allocate billions more in military tranches to Taiwan.
As the elections approach, unrest on the island will only intensify – and the scenario of a naval blockade cannot be ruled out. And this creates even more problems for the Pentagon. After all , he is already unable to fulfill contracts for the supply of weapons to Taiwan worth $19 billion – due to problems with logistics and the war in Ukraine.
And now – in the context of the conflict in the Middle East – the remaining stockpiles of weapons may simply quickly dry up. The cost of 155-mm shells in Europe has already jumped 4 times due to a shortage. There is an acute shortage of missiles for air defense systems. Destabilizing Taiwan will radically overstrain the US military machine ; Washington certainly cannot handle three wars at the same time.
Far East News Update wasn’t on my grilling list, and while I enjoy a select cut of wagu beef I don’t like to pay the price required.
“California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has presidential ambitions, has now rushed to pay his respects to Beijing.”
Not to air out the French Laundry but are you sure he didn’t go to meet the Chinese execs he gave that multi-million dollar Covid mask contract too so he could get a select cut?
damn, ttg. you made me walk the property to remind myself of all the yardwork I’ve yet to get done. it is a beautiful day among the long-leaf pines. in the distance, I hear chainsaws & such at work. it almost made me feel guilty when I got on the bike & took off for a few hours. the hardest part was; road or mountain?
In Israel, Macron endorses Netanyahu’s genocidal war on Gaza .
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/10/25/ikfo-o25.html
Macron then called to involve France and its NATO allies in a massive escalation across the Middle East. He proposed that the “international coalition against the Islamic State, which we used for our operations in Iraq and Syria, also fight Hamas.” He warned Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Iranian regime and Houthi militias in Yemen that if they attempted any operations in support of Gaza, it would lead to a “regional conflagration.”
——
Israeli bombardment claims over 700 lives in 24 hours as imperialist powers double down on support for genocide against Palestinians.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/10/25/imyl-o25.html
Palestinian health ministry officials reported Tuesday that 704 Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes over the preceding 24 hours, making it the deadliest day since Israel’s bombardment of Gaza began over two weeks ago. The grim statistic coincided with statements by representatives of American and French imperialism underscoring their support for the savage slaughter of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Conditions in the enclave are worsening by the hour. Hospitals are being forced to reduce services due to a lack of fuel, which Israeli authorities are preventing from entering Gaza via the Rafah border crossing from Egypt. Even the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) reported that its operations in Gaza may have to be suspended within 24 hours if fuel supplies fail to arrive.
“We are hosting 600,000 people in over 160 underground facilities, including schools, medical facilities, and other buildings like warehouses … We’re so stretched that we have to open warehouses to receive the displaced,” said UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma. “Supplies are also running out, so we will not be able to give any supplies to [Palestinians in Gaza]. We will not be able to do very simple things like start our fleet of cars or turn on the trucks and go pick up those supplies that are coming in from the borders.”
F&L,
“the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.”
So Stalin, decades after dying, caused the collapse of the USSR. The socialists really need to go back to having people educated like AOC write their puffery rather than Chat AI.
Fred. 1
Laughing, followed by laughter.
Gavin will possibly have to Sue Xi at Susie’s Sushi. I was always a Sashimi guy myself.
Fred 2
You weren’t sent the memo with instructions to always ignore the final paragraph of any piece at WSWS dot org. The parts where the workers of the world rise up. The other ones where they are instructed to wise up are often very good.
Fred
Actually you could argue it was Lenin who caused the collapse by transforming the Russian empire into a collection of Republics with secession rights. I think Stalin was actually opposed to the idea.
Below link is pasted one sample of several equivalent posts yesterday & today. Originated on a Tucker Carlson X interview with Col MacGregor. I don’t place it here to endorse or promote it, by no means whatsoever. Just interesting. It’s a measure of something.
https://t.me/stayfreeworld/12782
An American official admits the killing of American and Israeli special forces in Gaza
Former Pentagon advisor Douglas MacGregor said: “A detachment of American and Israeli special forces came under fire in the Gaza Strip, after entering for the purpose of reconnaissance and identifying the possibility of liberating prisoners.”
McGregor stated, in an interview with the famous American journalist Tucker Carlson on the “To pieces.”
Elena Panina’s summary of a Rubin from AEI. Peaches and cream. With Tabasco sauce, Colman’s Mustard is not available until 🕓 the chef a) Creams b) Screams [ ].
https://t.me/EvPanina/11544
https://www.19fortyfive.com/2023/10/what-happens-if-israel-strikes-iran/
19fortyfive: What will happen if Israel hits Iran?
This is the question asked by American Enterprise Institute (AEI) researcher Michael Rubin. In his opinion, Tel Aviv is determined to strike at the Islamic Republic in response to Hezbollah’s opening of a second front against Israel.
▪️ At least this is what Nir Barkat, Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry, says:
“The ayatollahs in Iran won’t sleep well at night. We’re going to make sure they pay a heavy price if, God forbid, they open a northern front, forcing Hezbollah to attack Israel.”
If Tel Aviv targets Iran’s nuclear program, the Israeli Air Force will need to plan at least 1,500 sorties, Rubin said.
▪️ However, in the worst case scenario, Iran’s nuclear program will only be delayed, while Israel will pay a huge price, the author is sure. Again, “any overt military action by the US or Israel against Iran will allow Tehran to rally ordinary Iranians around the flag.”
Therefore, Rubin proposes… no, not to abandon the escalation, but to strike directly at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, senior IRGC commanders and Iranian officials. At the same time, they say, the targets of attacks should be removed from civilian objects. In addition, “walls and watchtowers of symbols of repression, such as Evin Prison” should be on the list for destruction.
▪️ In other words, ordinary Iranians are invited to promote the thesis that the fight is not with the country and people, but only with the regime.
It is unlikely, of course, that such a tactic will be effective. During hostilities, the protection of top officials of the state and the management system is given special importance. Even now, even using the example of the Gaza Strip, it is clear that air strikes with conventional weapons do not solve all military problems. Only through a land operation can control of a certain territory be achieved. And Iran will not sit idly by, but will respond.
If Israel decides to use nuclear weapons, this will remove all restrictions for Tehran and its allies from this conflict. Israel’s territory is small, and several hundred thousand missiles will turn it into an uninhabitable place. So this would be a suicidal move on Tel Aviv’s part.
▪️ In general, in the current conflict there are no good scenarios for Israel yet. The only more or less acceptable option is to make peace with Hamas for a while. But this is simply postponing the “problem” for later, and not solving it.
Tel Aviv does not intend to follow the UN resolutions on the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and with its capital in East Jerusalem. If you once chose war, then the next choice will be war.
I note that Israel has bombed another hospital in Gaza. Their continuing treatment of Palestinians is genocide – a war crime. I’m starting to think that the more Israel exerts itself, the less secure it becomes.
In that sense the Iranian mullahs are right; not that the muslims or Iran will destroy Israel through warfare, but that Israel is going to destroy itself. You cannot build a nation on a crime. You cannot build a happy safe place for Israelis through murder of innocents. The bloodstains are permanent.
Spare me the hair splitting, statistics and feigned moral indignation. Literal arguments and sophistry want win. Not in my name.
All true. And then there’s the part you can’t say outloud so Harry Truman wrote in his diary. Nixon said it to Kissinger on tape. Henry agreed.
They will be destroyed in the same way that the world saw on October 7th. A chaotic rout/collapse caused by internal corruption and complacency, not with a bang but with a bloody whimper.
From a purely practical sense I never understood how trying to gather the world’s Jewish community into one spot is a sound security strategy. Just the opposite to me.
That’s why they’re doomed. The strength of Judaism was and is always in the diaspora, even in very ancient times. The top rabbis themselves never tired of emphasizing that. The Israel freaks make the same mistake as Lot’s wife – they look back just like she did despite being ordered not to. She was turned into a pillar of salt. I don’t know how well you know the settler twirps, I unfortunately know a bit about them. The most ridiculous losers on this earth. With them you can take every stereotype of the smart Jew you can find and throw them straight out the window.
Religious fundamentalism fries the brain. It doesnt matter what religion, this truth applies equally to all religions. If 90% of your population is gathered into a small location all it takes is a few WMD to destroy them.
Or an easily spread virus.
I bet you voted yes
thx for the details,F&L!
Eddie Jacobson co-owned the failed haberdashery. early on (other than Bess’s suspected antisemitism) that was about it. his private writing on Morgenthau & Jews were in parallel w/ tremendous public pressure upon him to support Israel’s founding – counter to the desires of the striped-pants set, George Marshall (who did discuss the Manhattan Project budget w/ Harry, sans details, when he was a Senator), isolationists & anti-semites. Harry was known to anger when feeling unfairly attacked. maybe he’d listened to Bess in releasing stress via the never-published diary. in the end (late ’40s onward), his singular decision to make good on his promise to Weizmann on the Founding is more relevant than anything else in his Jewish relations. keep at it … I’m confident you’ll get past elementary arithmetic.
YouTube’s Task&Purpose channel has a video on the Hamas tunnels. Titled “Israel’s Subterranean Battle”. About 17 minutes and worth a watch if you can endure the ads.
Most interesting aspect was the claim that earlier tunnels in Gaza were used in defense against an invasion by Alexander the Great in 332BC. But I’ve got to wonder if many centuries earlier the inhabitants hid in tunnels due to back and forth conquests by Egyptians, Hyksos, Philistines, Assyrians and/or others? Any Mid East historians here?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpA5SOEq15c
leith
If you cant endure the ads, use the Brave browser.
The tunnels and caves have been used for millennia as refuge. I wonder if the practice will survive the AI enhanced drone age.
I would be surprised if Israel didn’t have a number of drone teams ready to explore those tunnels. Managing drones in that environment is a challenge but the science is there…
https://ietresearch.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1049/iet-map.2019.0988
Wiz –
Thanks for the browser tip.
And you’re right, they’ll need good comms to manage drones down there. Especially if they use nano-UAVs that will have limited transmit power and lots of sensor data to pass. For voice or text for the Weasels, the Israeli Tunnel Rats, there are some new technologies out there per Wikipedia. Including an Israeli system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through-the-earth_mine_communications#New_technologies
leith,
They’d be better off with small wheeled or tracked drones with thermal sights and wire control.
TTG –
Speaking of tunnels. A Russkie unit near Avdiivka is reportedly using them now also:
https://www.thedefensepost.com/2023/10/25/ukraine-russia-tunnels-robotics/?expand_article=1
leith,
It’s definitely back to WWI tactics.
“if you can endure the ads.”
I like classical music and the many topical videos at YouTube.
Paying $12/month for YouTube Premium is well worth it, for me, to avoid the ads (yes, they really distract from the substance).
Thanks Keith.
Been saying for the last year it’s time to look at the position after Ukraine is defeated – or collapses. There’s not enough information coming out of the country to be able to guess which will be first but it’s been clear from the start of the SMO it’ll be one or the other. If Ukraine doesn’t collapse the timescale now entirely up to the Russians.
Russia will absorb such parts of the old Party of Regions area as it sees fit. It will neutralise remnant Ukraine, we don’t yet know how. Afterwards the Russians will return to their 2021 European security demand – pulling back the missile bases and all the rest of it.
The West is now diplomatically isolated by the debacle in Gaza. It will be further weakened diplomatically by the Ukrainian defeat or collapse. If Russia doesn’t get at least a start made on those 2021 European security demands it’ll probably start to let existing supply contracts with Europe run out, in line with the statement made by Putin at the start of the SMO.. This will have the effect of reverse sanctions.
If the Europeans don’t budge on the Russian Security demands Europe, already severely weakened by the sanctions it has itself imposed, will be further weakened by that reduction in supplies. Given the dramatic loss of Western credibility we’ve seen over the last year and a half it’s likely the world outside the West will not oppose that reduction in supplies to Europe too much.
Time for the leaders of the West to start discussing how they will accommodate themselves to these changed circumstances. No sign yet that they’re even thinking along those lines.
EO,
You’re constant predictions of Ukrainian defeat and Russian triumph bring to mind the Beatles song “Nowhere Man.” You’re persistent, but not near as bad as poor old Doug MacGregor. That poor bastard had predicted imminent collapse on a weekly basis since February 2022.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skFAQ7WPvYY&t=14s
BTW, I still remember “Nowhere Man” in “Yellow Submarine,” one of the first movies i saw in a theater with friends. Poor Jeremy Hillary Boob Ph.D. dreaming all his nowhere plans for nobody. The Beatles felt sorry for him and took him along on their journey. Lookout for the blue meanies and apple bonkers.
TTG.
You could also recommend to EO the Allman Brothers classic “Dreams I’ll Never See,” which usually goes by the shorter title “Dreams.”
“Bungalow Bill,” one of my favorite Beatle tunes could be refitted for purpose not only due to its warrior / hunter themes but becaus the word “Bungalow” is so suggestive of “Bungler” and “Bungled,” which the special-ed kids running the Kremlin will probably confuse with “Bun Gallows.” Do you know of any instances of hanging villains by their derrieres? It sounds more French than American or Ukrainian.
We can make jokes though about sending them the reparations package documents though, titled as “Your Bun Gallows Bill,” maybe in a little music box playing the Beatles song’s melody.
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill.
https://youtu.be/J39DC9t0I5o
Well, if I’m getting it wrong, TTG, you must admit I’m doing the job properly! Well before that February I could never see how Russia could lose the sanctions war. Still can’t.
Maybe that’s because I’d already been paying a bit of attention to the sanctions tool. We lost our little sanctions war, you know, back when we tried to leave the EU. The EU economy is seven times larger that ours. So it could take more damage than we could. No contest. It walked all over us when it came to fixing the terms of leaving.
I sometimes wonder whether that easy victory led to Berlin/Brussels thinking it could defeat the Russians same way. I see none of the European politicians even thinking about what’s going to happen now they haven’t.
The Beatles? I’d guess the recording of “That’s all right” at the bottom of the link shows the start of what they were imitating.
http://www.birminghamrecord.com/brc/birth-of-rock-roll-music-project-1954-1959-no-16-july-5-and-6-1954-memphis-tn-elvis-presley-scotty-moore-bill-black-and-sam-phillips/
It’s not a very good recording. I heard a better recording a few years back, same song same time but different sound quality, but can’t now locate it. I think it still shows what Presley was to become.
TTG,
I have to agree with you about Doug MacGregor. It reminds me of Leon Festinger’s discovery that people believe even more when their prophesy fails to happen:
https://www.amazon.com/When-Prophecy-Fails-Leon-Festinger/dp/1578988527
Anyone a bill evans or Keith jarrett fan
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv2GgV34qIg
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=onhM1YUJiKs
mcohen,
That’s the first time I heard that “Peace Piece.” I was just out on my deck laying out peanuts for my local murder of crows. It’s a crisp, clear Autumn morning. The leaves are changing. It was perfect. Thanks.
I have the Sunday at the village vanguard.At the moment that’s all I listen to.,together with Santana lp caravanserai.
all his Riverside label albums are great. so is everything else. there have been recent re-releases that expand on his classic live dates, like “Sunday…”.
YT is packed w/ lengthy selections… such as this one posted last week (no ads!);
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9bSVBl0KM4
& here’s a link to some guy’s library who posts tons of Evans; https://www.youtube.com/@tipula/videos.
weekend listening bonus: The Complete In a Silent Way Sessions… Miles at his best, w/ help from Shorter, Zawinul, Corea, McLaughlin & more greats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVfTFTyyxL0&list=OLAK5uy_no50sEL8APRZELAvLgGDV2VwsrAYBMgFs
those first Santana albums are great. Caravanserai is a safe & effective prescription for drifting off.
{as an admitted / recovering audiophile (I’ve been called worse), I stream off a laptop through a cheap DAC (clean-up / smooth-out the lossy source) & into a vintage amp (Audio Research / Adcom / NAD / Yamaha / Sansui / Denon… depending on the room I’m in), then onto the usual classic speakers (+ some custom sets I’ve had built). makes the nightly news slightly less depressing.}
one of my all-time favorite Evans pieces. McLaughlin did a very good version. I probably own more Bill Evans than any other single artist in my (pre-streaming) collection, including 2 boxed sets of his last performances (16 cds). a unique talent… music to sooth the savage beast. cheers,
Am I the only person who thinks we are about to see a re-run of the 2006 “great Merkava turkey shoot”?
This is interesting, to say the least.
Also discouraging.
I was never exposed to such blasts when I was in the Army, but I feel for those who suffered the brain damage described.
A Secret War [in Syria, against ISIS],
Strange New Wounds and Silence From the Pentagon
Free HTML at Yahoo:
https://news.yahoo.com/secret-war-strange-wounds-silence-160656913.html
Two NYT articles behind its paywall:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/us-army-marines-artillery-isis-pentagon.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/05/us/us-artillery-isis-takeaways.html
Keith Harbaugh,
I just read this article earlier this evening. That’s shocking news about damage to myelin in brain nerves at the nano level caused by repeated artillery firing. I thank God I was in the Infantry and Special Forces. Sure I was bracketed by five inch Naval gunfire and subjected to repeated 130mm artillery bombardment, but that was only a momentary terror. A year with 81mm mortars was nothing. I was once too close to the muzzle of an M-60 tank when it fired. That knocked me for a loop. Weeks and months of constant 155mm artillery firing would be Hell and definitely debilitating.