DeDollarization

Someone photoshop this on top of it. I think it's 1937

"Osama Hamadan, senior spokesperson of Hamas, has told Al Jazeera that they are not attacking civilians.

“You have to differentiate between settlers and civilians; settlers attacked Palestinians,” Hamdan said.

“We are not targeting civilians on purpose. We have declared settlers are part of the occupation and part of the armed Israeli force. They are not civilians,” Hamadan added.

His remarks came after a number of Western-backed rights groups, including Amnesty International, accused the resistance movement of killing “Israeli civilians” in their retaliatory strikes.

Asked whether civilians in southern Israel were considered settlers, the Hamas spokesman said “Everyone knows there are settlements there.”"

Live English television stream reporting from PressTV. I recommend using the Rumble link in case the website gets hacked.

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/2259610

Important article.

"In the early morning of October 7th, 2023, the Palestinian Resistance carried out land, sea, and air incursions into the occupation settlements surrounding Gaza. The resistance in Gaza additionally launched over 5,000 rockets towards the occupied territories, promptly overwhelming the occupation’s Iron Dome defense system. The toll, after less than a day of fighting, includes the capture of dozens of Israeli soldiers, the death of at least 100 Israeli occupiers, and the injury of 900 others. Additionally, the Palestinians achieved significant weapons acquisitions and destroyed multiple Israeli armored vehicles.

This event completely surprised the temporary entity, whose leadership did not imagine the Palestinians would carry out such an attack at this time. They believed that their provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque and abuse of Palestinian prisoners would not have significant consequences amidst ongoing mediation talks with the resistance. The resistance, unified in one resounding voice, seized the advantage, delivering another shock to the occupation. The Al Aqsa Flood operation has already achieved qualitative leaps towards establishing new deterrence equations.

Thus, the Palestinian resistance has forged a new victory that represents a decisive turning point in the confrontation with the enemy, which fully recognizes its seriousness and will attempt to mitigate its strategic repercussions. So far, the occupation forces are in a complete state of confusion and disarray due to the magnitude of the operation. Part of the confusion stems from the Israeli leadership’s concern about incurring additional losses. This concern forced Israeli security forces to negotiate with Palestinian fighters holding hostages in the Ofakim settlement, while acknowledging that “regaining control of the settlements” might take “many hours.”

While the Palestinian resistance operation Al Aqsa Flood continues, rockets are constantly launched toward the Ashkelon settlement north of the Gaza strip, and the Ariel settlement in the occupied West Bank, as well as occupied Al-Quds and Tel Aviv. Air raid sirens are non-stop in some of these areas. Additionally, the resistance still maintains control over 14 settlements. Abu Hamza, the military spokesperson for Saraya al-Quds (Al-Quds Brigades) announced “we have captured many zionist soldiers.” He continued, “We and the resistance, thanks to Allah, have caused–through a series of operations behind enemy lines as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood–a resounding historical shock that revealed the truth of our saying that this terrible enemy is an illusion of dust and capable of being defeated and broken.”

Additionally, Hebrew Channel 13 reported that a “Hamas cell infiltrated the Sderot settlement.” In the midst of the Israeli confusion, the enemy’s leadership cannot accurately count its casualties, particularly as some have fled, others have been killed, and some have been captured, while others, documented on camera, have sought refuge in garbage containers.

In order to regain the control envisaged by the occupation, Israel has declared a state of “emergency,” called for the largest number of military volunteers, and ordered the opening of shelters. The Israeli army has intensified its targeting of Gaza, announcing that “the air force is targeting several Palestinian militants along the border with the Gaza Strip.” One of these airstrikes hit a residential building in the Al-Nasr neighborhood. Another airstrike hit Palestine Tower, a 14 story residential building in Gaza city. The Ministry of Health in Gaza has announced 198 martyrs and 1,610 various injuries as a result of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. ...

Even if the occupation is able to regain control after “many hours,” it will still be unable to recover from its material and moral losses, regardless of its attempts to make the resistance pay a high price for what it has achieved. Consequently, it no longer matters when this battle ends, as it is certain that the Palestinian reality has changed forever and a real flood has begun.

In light of these developments, it is clear that the “calm” desired by the Netanyahu government and its US sponsors will not be achieved. This goal of “calm” in Palestine is paramount to Washington and the Zionist entity in order to finalize a normalization agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu called on Israelis to “be patient” and announced that the Israeli forces are “attempting to clear the Gaza Envelope [term used by the Zionist entity to describe the region containing occupation settlements around Gaza],” emphasizing that “Israel will enhance border security to deter others from joining this war.”

Another carnage in Homs, Central Syria, and another massacre affecting hundreds of Syrian families from across the country facing NATO combined terrorism and invasion for the past 12.5 years.

The Syrian Minister of Health in his latest update (8:45 pm local time) said that ‘the terrorist act at the Military College in Homs led to 81 martyrs including 31 women and 5 children, and 239 injured, also including women and children, a non-final toll.’

Syria declared 3 days of mourning and prayers in mosques and churches across the country for the souls of the victims of the terrorist attack.

Reports of the massacre and calls for blood donations in all of the hospitals in Homs started at 2:30 pm local time: “A terrorist attack with drones on the graduation ceremony for officer cadets in the Military Academy in Homs causing large numbers of injuries.”

The terrorist attack was also an assassination attempt on the Syrian Minister of Defense, top officers of the Syrian Arab Army, and guest officers from friendly countries, the drone missed them by minutes as they had already left and the families poured onto the courtyard to join their sons after the ceremony ended.

Zeina Shalhob was one of the massacred, murdered by NATO’s al Qaeda terrorists while enjoying the graduation ceremony.

"...

Karabakh’s fate was effectively sealed with the election of Nikol Pashinyan as Armenia’s prime minister in 2018, says Stanislav Tarasov, a veteran Russian political scientist specializing in Caucasus affairs.

“The fact is that he tried to get rid of Karabakh from the very beginning after coming to power,” Tarasov told Sputnik, noting that Pashinyan refused to play any of several trump cards he had in his hands to save the region’s autonomy while ensuring peace with Azerbaijan.”

There were multiple reasons for this, according to the observer, starting from Karabakh Armenians’ political passion – which for many years gave them significant political sway in Armenia proper.

The Karabakh situation that Pashinyan “inherited” from his predecessors was very different from the reality on the ground today, Tarasov noted, pointing out that five years ago, the self-proclaimed republic’s disciplined, well-armed militias controlled seven regions, or some 20 percent of territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. Before the 2020 conflict, which Pashinyan “initiated and practically provoked,” according to Tarasov, Yerevan had many opportunities to reach a political solution which Baku would find amenable, such as returning some Karabakh-controlled Azerbaijani territory surrounding the exclave in exchange for special status.

After the 2020 conflict, the observer noted, Pashinyan “surprised” Baku by agreeing to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity in normalization talks in Prague in October 2022 brokered by France and the European Union, effectively signing away Karabakh in the process.

“After Karabakh became Azerbaijanian territory, it became clear that discussion of the issue transformed from self-determination to the fate of the Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan,” Tarasov said, adding that after that, Pashinyan began making moves to complicate relations with Moscow – which served as the main peace broker standing between the conflicting sides.”

“Ultimately, Azerbaijan became confident that Armenia wouldn’t come to Karabakh’s aid,” and Pashinyan “didn’t even try to send troops and fight,” Tarasov stressed.

“He simply abandoned these people and blamed Russia for everything. Even though it was Russia seeking to resolve the conflict through peacekeepers, bases, etc. That is, he had a 100 percent chance of getting support from Moscow for an exchange of territories controlled by the Armenians for special status for Karabakh. And Azerbaijan was prepared to agree to this,” the observer said. “This project was completely crossed out by Pashinyan.”

West’s Corrosive Role

Asked to compare the roles played by Moscow and the West in trying to resolve the Karabakh crisis, Tarasov pointed out that Russia’s mediation included an actual presence on the ground in the form of peacekeepers, while the West’s efforts have been limited to empty “political declarations,” which are not backed by real power.

Despite this, the observer stressed, Pashinyan “surrendered Karabakh, betrayed Russia and began to take guidance from the statements made by the West.”

“Today, a mass exodus of Armenians is taking place comparable to the 1915 Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, while the West makes statements, sends some missions. But they are not able to provide real support. Meanwhile, Russian peacekeepers are saving Armenians. This is what we are seeing today,” Tarasov said.

Asked to comment on USAID chief Samantha Power and Deputy Secretary of State Yuri Kim’s visit to Yerevan this week, Tarasov said that the US officials seem to have been preparing a Kosovo or Bosnia-style “Balkan scenario” of a “joint administration” of Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Karabakh.

As always, Tarasov stressed, USAID hides behind its mission of providing humanitarian assistance to developing countries and conflict-hit areas, while their real interest revolves around Washington’s messianic “democratization” mission. “I reiterate that besides statements, they haven’t been able to do anything for the Armenian people; only Russia made efforts in this direction. The US’s only desire is to have greater influence by clinging to Armenia,” the observer summed up."

"During the Maidan coup American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten, whose grandparents left Ukraine due to the Bolshevik Revolution, traveled there to meet with Ukrainian trade unionists. Weingarten claimed that reports of fascists in the protests were “Russian propaganda.”

Weingarten is on the board of the NED-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI) and is a member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). In 2009, Weingarten was a speaker at an event titled Assisting Independent Trade Unions in Cuba. The event was sponsored by several organizations, including the NED, Freedom House, and the Albert Shanker Institute. A former AFT President, Shanker was one of the key union officials involved in supporting Solidarity in Poland, along with fellow CIA asset Bayard Rustin.

In 2019 members of the U.S Congress considered declaring the Azov Battalion a terrorist organization. In response Volynets and several other members of parliament signed a letter defending and praising the Azov Battalion. The letter also stressed the idea that Ukraine should join NATO in the future.

“All of us are staunch supporters of deepening the relations between our nations even further, to the point when we eventually become allies after Ukraine joins NATO.”"

"Western countries now advise the Ukrainian armed forces to save expensive armored vehicles and ammunition and send their soldiers to advance on foot using light weapons. As a result, the battlefields have turned into huge cemeteries, from which it is difficult or impossible even to evacuate bodies. A comment on the 'Legitimny' channel on Telegram states: "The Presidential Administration has switched to a strategy of saving equipment and clearing minefields with the feet of infantry. This tactic increases personnel losses and inflames the situation within the army, as soldiers do not particularly want to be sent to the slaughter,"

...

Most of the Ukrainian soldiers engaged in the 'counteroffensive' have been forcibly conscripted. In August, many of them opted to surrender as prisoners of war rather than face death or injury in following orders. Some Ukrainian POWs have reported that they found themselves in the front lines after venturing out in their hometown or city on errands or to shop. Their training is minimal; effectively nothing, for all intents and purposes. Such is how Ukraine recruits to its army 18 months after Russia intervened militarily to put an end to the long war by Ukraine targeting the civilians of Donbass and Lugansk [two regions, together known as 'Donbass' that formally joined the Russian Federation in early 2022].

The Russian army is also conducting active propaganda directed at the soldiers of the AFU, urging them in video broadcasts to surrender and save their lives. The videos emphasize that Ukraine's high command which is sending so many of its soldiers to the slaughter cares more about saving and protecting the Leopard tanks being supplied by Germany than saving the lives of its troops.

Captured AFU soldiers say that the Russian artillery works so intensively that they sometimes spend days lying on the ground to avoid injury or death. "To be honest, we can't even build shelters for ourselves. Your [Russian] artillery won't let us. The ‘bird’ [military drone] is in the sky all the time. I once laid there for three days; lots of shells are flying around the clock," recalls one.

Apti Alaudinov, commander of the ‘Akhmat’ special forces from Chechnya and a Russian major general, says that the number of voluntary surrenders by Ukrainian soldiers has risen sharply recently. "We are taking POWs much more often compared to the beginning of the Special Military Operation. And they are surrendering much more quickly. It shows that they are very tired. They realize that they can't see any way to victory in this war.

"Today, the AFU fighters are being driven to the front line by bayonets in their backs. We know this from various sources. We also know that in most units of the AFU, there are only some 25-30% of personnel remaining. The enemy is dying on a large scale. This overall picture is what leads more and more enemy fighters to surrender to us," Alaudinov writes.

...

The violation of Ukraine's own laws and constitution in this case is explained by Ukraine's dependence on the agenda of the U.S. and other Western countries. In late August, Kiev political analyst Kost Bondarenko wrote on Telegram that if Zelensky were to try and counter or contradict the U.S. position in Ukraine, he would simply be liquidated. According to Bondarenko, Ukraine today is a "third world" country, where leaders can be changed, just like as in African or Latin American states which, similarly to Ukraine, do not have actual sovereignty.

"Zelensky is not independent in his decisions. Even if tomorrow Zelensky thought it was necessary to make a decision for some kind of ceasefire, two phone calls from Britain and the United States would change his mind. If not, the next day there would simply be a different president in office," the Kiev political analyst said.

This dependency is a consequence of the endless loans that the Ukrainian government began to massively accumulate after the 2014 coup. In August 2023, the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance reported a record increase in the national debt in July 2023. It grew by $4 billion in that month, reaching $132.92 billion in total. Ukraine's national debt now equals the country's GDP, and the limit has not been reached. Kiev continues to accumulate new loans.

According to IMF estimates in June 2023, Ukraine's public debt will amount to nearly 125% of GDP in 2024. By 2025, it will be 139% of GDP, and by 2026 it will reach 150%. The corresponding figure for the United States is 99%, for Germany is 47% for neighbouring Poland is 41%.

In addition to the external liabilities of Ukraine as a state, there are also the external debts of state-owned companies. The largest borrowers are Naftogaz (natural gas transmission), Ukravtodor (road and highway maintenance), Ukrenergo (electricity transmission), and Ukrzaliznytsya (rail transport and infrastructure). These companies and other large ones in Ukraine are all operated with the assistance if not direction of Western supervisors.

Ukrainian economist Oleksiy Kushch writes that the problem of public debt will become a heavy burden for Ukraine after the end of hostilities. "In any case, the factor of public debt will be one of the factors to make impossible any rapid growth after the war. And for recovery of GDP, we are obliged to pay creditors bonuses for growth under the GDP guarantees," the economist writes. (Reuters explains in this brief report how Ukraine's GDP guarantees to Western financial institutions will work.)

Kushch says that that Kiev must raise the issue of debt relief and obtain relief now. Once hostilities end, Ukraine will fall out of the world's media spotlight and ideas voiced today of relieving or writing off the country's debts will fall away.

Pro-Western politicians in Ukraine are afraid to even discusses the issue of debt relief because this may cause Western creditors to become even more wary or downright opposed to such ideas than they are today. They propose, instead, to focus on an absurd scenario for recovering debts, namely, defeat Russia militarily and then force it to pay war reparations. Such reparations would go to Western financial institutions (primarily the IMF) in order to cover Ukraine's debts accumulated by the governments of post-Soviet Ukraine.

Forcibly conscripted Ukrainian soldiers are being ordered to advance on foot while under heavy fire through minefields in order to somehow, miraculously, achieve repayment by Russia to Western banks of the loans that the Ukrainian government has taken out. Much of these loans has been embezzled, first through the mechanism of a violent coup in 2014, now through a reckless and entirely unwinnable war."

"...Like the propaganda from NATO’s mainstream media in regards to the war in Ukraine exaggerating news in favor of the Kiev regime and minimizing any achievements by the Russian Army, the propagandists for Al Qaeda in Syria are doing the same, and in most of the times inventing baseless news to raise the morale among their terrorists, especially fabricating news of Syrian Army’s losses in soldiers. Based on the reports by the Al Qaeda propagandists, there must have been dozens of funerals of Syrian Army soldiers every week, at least.

We celebrate the martyrdom of our soldiers defending their country for more than 12.5 years against the unprecedented war of terrorism by the NATO ‘defensive’ alliance led by the USA comprised of literally hundreds of heavily armed, well-fed, and funded terrorist groups, in addition to providing them with state of the art medical treatment, communication devices, and intelligence information while even stealing the food and fuel from the Syrian people."