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zvaigzdelasas · 7 months

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[TIME is Private US Media]

[By Anatol Lieven]

The long-awaited counteroffensive last year failed. Russia has recaptured Avdiivka, its biggest war gain in nine months. President Volodymyr Zelensky has been forced to quietly acknowledge the new military reality. The Biden Administration’s strategy is now to sustain Ukrainian defense until after the U.S. presidential elections, in the hope of wearing down Russian forces in a long war of attrition.

This strategy seems sensible enough, but contains one crucially important implication and one potentially disastrous flaw, which are not yet being seriously addressed in public debates in the West or Ukraine. The implication of Ukraine standing indefinitely on the defensive—even if it does so successfully—is that the territories currently occupied by Russia are lost. Russia will never agree at the negotiating table to surrender land that it has managed to hold on the battlefield.

This does not mean that Ukraine should be asked to formally surrender these lands, for that would be impossible for any Ukrainian government. But it does mean that—as Zelensky proposed early in the war with regard to Crimea and the eastern Donbas—the territorial issue will have to be shelved for future talks.

As we know from Cyprus, which has been divided between the internationally recognized Greek Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus since 1974, such negotiations can continue for decades without a solution or renewed conflict. A situation in which Ukraine retains its independence, its freedom to develop as a Western democracy, and 82% of its legal territory (including all its core historic lands) would have been regarded by previous generations of Ukrainians as a real victory, though not a complete one.

As I found in Ukraine last year, many Ukrainians in private were prepared to accept the loss of some territories as the price of peace if Ukraine failed to win them back on the battlefield and if the alternative was years of bloody war with little prospect of success. The Biden Administration needs to get America on board too.[...]

Ukrainians have scored some notable successes against the Russian Black Sea Fleet, but to take back Crimea they would need to be able to launch a massive amphibious landing, an exceptionally difficult operation far beyond their capabilities in terms of ships and men. Attacks on Russian infrastructure are pinpricks given Russia’s size and resources.

More realistic is the suggestion that by standing on the defensive this year, Ukrainians can inflict such losses on the Russians that—if supplied with more Western weaponry—they can counterattack successfully in 2025. However, this depends on the Russians playing the game the way Kyiv and Washington want to play it.

The Russian strategy at present appears to be different. They have drawn Ukrainians into prolonged battles for small amounts of territory like Avdiivka, where they have relied on Russian superiority in artillery and munitions to wear them down through constant bombardment. They are firing three shells to every one Ukrainian; and thanks in part to help from Iran, Russia has now been able to deploy very large numbers of drones.

For Ukrainians to stand a chance, military history suggests that they would need a 3-to-2 advantage in manpower and considerably more firepower. Ukraine enjoyed these advantages in the first year of the war, but they now lie with Russia, and it is very difficult to see how Ukraine can recover them.[...]

A successful peace process would undoubtedly involve some painful concessions by Ukraine and the West. Yet the pain would be more emotional than practical, and a peace settlement would have to involve Putin giving up the plan with which he began the war, to turn the whole of Ukraine into a Russian vassal state, and recognizing the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its de facto present borders.

For the lost Ukrainian territories are lost, and NATO membership is pointless if the alliance is not prepared to send its own troops to fight for Ukraine against Russia. Above all, however painful a peace agreement would be today, it will be infinitely more so if the war continues and Ukraine is defeated.

24 Feb 24

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odinsblog · 5 months

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“Yeah, I mean, in 2018 was the first Shakespeare and race festival that I curated at the Globe. And at that time, there was less vitriol, but it was more like, why are we talking about Shakespeare and race? Shakespeare's got nothing to do with race.

So that led me to thinking about writing this book. But it was in 2020, when I launched the anti-racist Shakespeare webinars, that there was a horrible backlash, very racist backlash. And my own ethnic origins were brought into the conversation.

Oh, she's a woman of color. That's why she's talking about race. And actually, I had been at the Globe for 17 years by that point, you know?

And so that backlash is about ownership. It's about people feeling that something is being taken away from them.

And after the Black Lives movement, Black Lives Matter movement went global, and organizations like museums and galleries and theaters started to take it seriously, that's when you started to see a really racist backlash against any kind of progressive movement, whether it's in a theater or a museum. And I certainly had to face that in 2020.

I was a little bit worried about it, probably more so in the UK, because I think in the UK there's a special sense of ownership of Shakespeare in the way that there isn't in the US. So I'm American, but I'm also a Pakistani. And so I think it was really, it's a double whammy for the British.

Whereas in America, I feel like I was less worried because Americans don't mind other Americans talking about Shakespeare. So I was in the UK, concerned about that. But I think it obviously didn't stop me because what I'm trying to do is keep Shakespeare around.

And I'm explicitly not advocating canceling Shakespeare. And I think that's what they all thought I was doing when I was running those webinars.

So Shakespeare sets Othello in 16th century Venice, which was a very multicultural society because Venice was a sort of trading giant in this time period. So it was really financially lucrative for them to have people from all backgrounds working and living in Venice. And so it's about a Black African, known as a Moor in that time period, who was the captain of the Venetian army.

And it starts with another member of the army sort of screaming and shouting outside the door or window of a fellow's now father-in-law saying that, basically shouting a lot of racist epithets about how his daughter, his white daughter, has married a Black man. And she's done so without her father's consent. So it starts with this idea of there's been some sort of violation.

A Black man has married a white woman, and this is a problem.

So it ends up at the court of the Duke who is dealing with other issues because the Turks are now circling around their outpost in Cyprus, and they need Othello to do some work for them and to fight off the Turks. So the Duke says, oh, look, it's okay. It's fine. You know, Othello is a great guy. We've all worked with him. We know him really well.

And that's when the line comes out: He is far more fair than Black.

And what he's saying there is that essentially, look, he doesn't act Black. He acts white. He acts like us. So let's just be okay with this.

And so what you have there is a situation in which somebody who has kind of violated a kind of racial code in Venetian society is given a pass because he's very useful to that society. What happens in the rest of the play is that lago works on him and tries to convince him that his wife is having an affair with his lieutenant.

And unfortunately, Othello believes him, and they plot to murder Desdemona, and they do. He does. And it's a heartbreaking, heart-wrenching play.

And what's difficult about it is that it seems to fulfill stereotypes about Black men and Black masculinity. So it's always been a bit of a problem to stage. So yeah, it's a fantastic play, though.

It's a real sort of exploration of interracial relationships in a white-dominant society.

Yeah, I think it's harder in classrooms. And that's something that I actually been thinking about how to address a colleague of mine, and I've been discussing it. Because a lot of teachers, especially white teachers, aren't necessarily equipped to have a conversation about race that isn't going to make all the students in the room feel objectified or uncomfortable.

And so what I'm trying to, what I also get at the book is about discomfort, being able to lean into the discomfort of having conversations. And Shakespeare, for him, he was an advocate of discomfort. You were not comfortable when you went to see a Shakespearean tragedy.

He didn't want you to be.

And so we should try and be comfortable in the classroom. And there are productions who have tried very hard to lean into the racial tension and angst in the play.

But often it can be unsuccessful, particularly if it's a white director that sees too much optimism in the play. And says, oh, this play really, it's not about race. It's about redemption of characters who've been singled out for some reason.

I'm like, well, the reason is race.

My goal was always to show how it rears its head, even in the moments that are the most unexpected or that seems innocuous.

But what is interesting is that in a lot of his comedies, he's using anti-Black racism as a source of humor. And, you know, that would have made people laugh, some of the comments that you hear in some of his most delightful comedies. And because the racism isn't the undercurrent of the play, that it's easy to miss it.

So you'll just get all of a sudden a comment like Much Ado About Nothing, where the character Benedict is talking with his friend Claudio about a woman that Claudio has a crush on. And he says, oh, she's too brown for a fair praise. And that would have made people laugh.

What he's saying is that she's not attractive enough to praise her, and fair in that time was a very elite form of whiteness. It meant beautiful and virtuous and white with a luster or a shine, and that shine is the virtue of a woman. And no woman of color could ever achieve that, because she's not white enough.

So he's saying that this woman is too brown, even if she's not brown, but he's using brown as a way of denigrating people of color.

But I think Shakespeare is still valuable for us because of the contemporary nature of some of the issues that he raises in his plays.

I mean, there's a great speech in Midsummer Night's Dream where he talks about the destruction of the planet because of the way people are behaving towards each other. And the powerful resonance of that today just is unmissable. So Shakespeare is able to articulate or help you to think about questions that are so urgent in your own moment.

I think other writers need to be brought into dialogue with Shakespeare. If you teach Othello, teach Toni Morrison's Desdemona, right?

It's incredibly lucrative intellectually and emotionally to keep Shakespeare in the curriculum.”

—Farah Karim Cooper: Director of Education at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and author of The Great White Bard, How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race

#shakespeare #farah karim cooper #othello #racism #ingrained racism #casual racism #writing #much ado about nothing #colorism #the merchant of venice #anti blackness #desdemona #blacklivesmatter #theatre

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petermorwood · 6 months

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How on earth did these goats get there?

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In reality the goats are lying on their sides on rocky ground, looking up at a crane-mounted camera. The photograph was taken some years ago, part of a series reconstructing Central European folk customs and traditions which have fallen from favour or are now prohibited.

This old-fashioned rural blood-sport was originally practiced in parts of Anatolia, Turkey, where the game was called keçi fırlatmak, and also in the Carpathian Alps of Romania, possibly imported during the Ottoman conquest. The name there was aruncarea caprei.

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The goats would have been coated in a strong adhesive traditionally distilled from pine resin.(represented pictorially here by darker patches of dye on the flanks) and were then thrown upwards towards a cliff or rock-face with makeshift catapults, often a primitive form of counterweight trebuchet assembled from wooden beams and weighted with rocks.

The game ended when the glue dried and lost adhesion, and the goats fell to their deaths. They were then cooked and eaten, their meat being valued like that of Spanish fighting bulls.

The meat of the last goat to fall (başarılı keçi or cea mai durabilă capră) was prized as a special delicacy and selected cuts from the legs of this particular “winner” goat were often smoked and dried into a kind of jerky.

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In his “Grandes Histoires Vraies d'un Voyageur le 1er Avril” (pub. Mensonges & Faussetés, Paris, 1871) French folk-historian, anthropologist and retired cavalry general Gilles-Etienne Gérârd wrote about witnessing a festival near Sighișoara, Transylvania, in 1868.

There he claims to have seen catapults improvised from jeunes arbres, très élastiques et souples - “very springy and flexible young trees” - which were drawn back with ropes and then released.

Bets were placed before the throw, and marks given afterwards, according to what way up the goats adhered and for how long. The reconstruction, with both goats upright, facing outward and still in place, shows what would have been a potential high score.

The practice has been officially banned in both countries since the late 1940s, but supposedly still occurred in more isolated areas up to the end of the 20th century. Wooden beams from which the catapults were constructed could easily be disguised as barn-rafters etc., and of course flexible trees were, and are, just trees.

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Gérârd’s book incorrectly calls the goat jerky “pastrami”, to which he gives the meaning "meat of preservation".

While pastrami may be a printing error for the Turkish word bastırma or the Romanian pastramă, both meaning “preserved meat”, at least one reviewer claims that Gérârd misunderstood his guide-translator, who would have been working from rural dialect to formal Romanian to scholarly French.

Since this jerky was considered a good-luck food for shepherds, mountaineers, steeplejacks and others whose work involved a risk of falling, Gérârd's assumption seems a reasonable one.

However, several critical comments on that review have dismissed its conclusion, claiming "no translator could be so clumsy", but in its defence, other comments point out confusion between slang usage in the same language.

One cites American and British English, noting that even before differences in spelling (tire / tyre, kerb / curb etc.) "guns" can mean biceps or firearms, "flat" can mean a deflated wheel or a place to live, "ass" can mean buttocks or donkey and adds, with undisguised relish, some of the more embarrassing examples.

This comment concludes that since the errors "usually make sense in context", Gérârd's misapprehension is entitled to the same respect.

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The good-luck aspect of the meat apparently extended to work which involved "falling safely", since its last known use was believed to be in ration packs issued to the 1. Hava İndirme Tugayı (1st Airborne Brigade) of the Turkish Army, immediately before the invasion of Cyprus in July 1974.

Nothing more recent has been officially recorded, because the presence of cameras near military bases or possible - and of course illegal - contests is strongly (sometimes forcefully) discouraged, and the sport’s very existence is increasingly dismissed as an urban or more correctly rural legend.

The official line taken by both Anatolian and Carpathian authorities is that it was only ever a joke played on tourists, similar to the Australian “Drop-bear”, the Scottish “Wild Haggis” and the North American “Jackalope”.

They dismiss the evidence of Gérârd’s personal observation as “a wild fable to encourage sales of his book”, “a city-dweller’s misinterpretation of country practices”, or even “the deliberate deception of a gullible foreigner by humorous peasants”.

And as for those paratroop ration packs, Turkish involvement in Cyprus is still such a delicate subject that the standard response remains “no comment”.

#goats #mountain goats #climbing #falling #good-luck food #rural myth #pinch of salt #A day in April

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ladymazzy · 3 months

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Five years ago I would not have imagined feeling this ambivalent about Labour winning uk elections after so many years of tory hellishness, and yet here we are

Tories getting slapped to oblivion is great, but a huge chunk of the party that did it have proven themselves over and over again to be racist, transphobic, anti-palestinian, islamophobic, anti-immigration and pro dismantling public services

Rather than actively challenging any of the tories crackpot 'culture wars' talking points, Keith haphazardly leaned into them, giving them further legitimacy. Wittering on about 'stopping the boats' as if it's a normal, sensible proposition (that's centrists for you)

And of course the other reason that the tories got slapped to oblivion is because a huge portion of their voters are racist as hell and voted for reform

This one goes out to every lefty who still says 'it's not race, it's class'; Fuck You

Wake up and recognise that, yes the working classes are routinely fucked over by the state. But if you're from another marginalised community *on top of that*, we'll, the state has many creative ways to ensure that your very existence is precarious

This country has been *loudly* shifting to the far right for years. Black and Asian people *have been dying* because of racist polices on immigration, and structural inequalities that lead to worse outcomes for us.

Disabled people *have been dying* because of inhumane, contradictory, ableist policies that claim to be intended to 'give people the dignity of work' whilst stripping them of the means of working and/or attacking those who cannot work.

Trans people keep being reduced to a 'debate' talking point, riddled with wild nonsense from a platform lead by a random woman who happens to be very rich having written some kids' books. The lived realities of trans peoples lives routinely ignored in favour of supposed concerns for women's rights from people who increasingly seem to have nothing to say about the actual issues affecting all of us. Trans people are dying and we're expected to believe that the biggest threat comes from schools accepting kids for who they say they are, and people using a toilet

And the response to the genocide in Gaza - so hot on the heels of Russia's invasion of Ukraine - speaks volumes. Where the UK opened up the means for Ukranian refugees to seek sanctuary (which was, of course completely reliant on the humanity of the public and not an actual government thing because, you know; tories), the leading UK political parties have studiously ignored the mass murder and displacement of Palestinians by Israel, bombed Yemen for trying to support Gaza and provided military assistance for Israel in their genocidal campaign via base's in cyprus. And continued to arm israel

I've never seen so, so many horribly dismembered and maimed children as I have in the past 9 months. Absolutely horrific images of atrocities being meted out relentlessly day after day on a besieged population (who were betrayed by the British in 1948) who have been forced to film their own genocide because the west, by and large, continues to deny their very existence. And, once again, far-right Israelis have been given platforms to disseminate their lies in the same way Farage, Braverman, Meloni, Le Pen, Wilders, Modi Trump and others have been legitimised

No one should ever ask 'how was the Holocaust allowed to happen' because we live those conditions every day

Keith suspended Labour MPs for merely calling for a ceasefire back in November. How the party has treated Faiza Shaheen, Diane Abbott, Kate Osamor and others is beyond disgusting. The fact the Labour would rather tories - IDS himself no less - took the Chingford seat than let Shaheen win as an independent speaks volumes

To say we've got work to do is an understatement

#uk politics #tories out #capitalism vs humanity #fuck keir starmer #the uk is not innocent #uk racism

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coochiequeens · 22 days

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Even advocates of surrogacy should agree that regulations are needed

BY Samuel Burke August 16, 2024

In Europe, commercial surrogacy is largely banned and seen as a form of body commodification, similar to organ trafficking. Only a few countries permit highly regulated altruistic surrogacy, which limits reimbursement to just expenses and no additional compensation—resulting in limited participation. Demand for surrogacy, however, is soaring due to delayed childbearing, increasing medical challenges, and the growth of LGBTQ+ family-building. The surrogacy market, valued at $14 billion in 2022, is projected to skyrocket to $129 billion by 2032, according to Global Market Insights.

Currently, only a few European countries, such as Ukraine and Greece, permit commercial surrogacy. These nations operate in a legal gray area with minimal oversight, leading to a largely unregulated industry fraught with issues like trafficking women, falsified documents and sham embryo transfers.

Before the 2022 invasion, Ukraine was a global surrogacy hub estimated to have 2,000-2,500 surrogacy contracts annually. Despite the ongoing conflict, the industry continues, with some women still carrying pregnancies in war-torn Ukraine. Controversially, Ukrainian surrogates now leave their families behind and travel to places like Greece and Northern Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey) to complete pregnancies. The women often live with multiple surrogates in the same dwellings while they wait to give birth.

Advocates for reform argue that current practices neglect the welfare of surrogates. Wes Johnson-Ellis, co-founder of the U.K. non-profit My Surrogacy Journey (MSJ), asserts that surrogates should not have to leave their families to move to another country for the pregnancy to help others build theirs.

Pregnancy and birth are vulnerable times for surrogates. They need their support network and family close by to ensure they are fully supported,” Johnson-Ellis says.

MSJ frequently assists families who’ve faced trying circumstances with other agencies. One couple pursuing surrogacy in Cyprus believed their surrogate was Cypriot. However, she was actually from Eastern Europe and returned to her native country, where she gave birth prematurely according to Johnson-Ellis. Tragically, the baby did not survive.

“They are still fighting to have the baby’s body exhumed and sent back to their home country for a proper burial,” says Johnson-Ellis.

Last August, Greek authorities raided the Mediterranean Fertility Institute in Crete and arrested staff amid allegations of trafficking nearly 100 women from Eastern Europe to act as surrogates. Officials also accused the company of falsifying adoption papers for clients from countries where surrogacy is illegal. The institute is now closed and has not responded to inquiries about these allegations. Advocates for affected families, many from Australia, claim they paid for a surrogacy program that was never fulfilled.

The Republic of Georgia had also emerged as a popular surrogacy destination in Europe, but last year, the Georgian prime minister announced that commercial surrogacy would be restricted to Georgian citizens only. This has left the legality of programs in Georgia in limbo, affecting intended parents from around the world who had turned to the country for surrogacy.

Scandals and swiftly shifting surrogacy laws have sent intended parents in Europe scrambling to relocate their embryos to countries with more stable or established surrogacy frameworks, primarily in the Americas.

The United States is the top destination for commercial surrogacy due to its well-established legal framework and advanced medical care. However, it is also the most expensive, with total costs for IVF and surrogacy—including medical, legal, and agency fees—averaging $190,000 to $230,000.

Those high costs have traditionally made Canada a more affordable surrogacy option, with costs for IVF and surrogacy averaging $60,000 to $100,000. Although commercial surrogacy is banned, Canadian law permits altruistic surrogacy, similar to the U.K., Denmark, and the Netherlands. This lower cost has dramatically increased demand, leading to average wait times of 10 to 18 months and driving hopeful parents to seek commercial surrogates in Latin America.

Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico are attracting intended parents as alternatives to Europe, with costs typically under $80,000. Mexico City, in particular, has become a popular choice due to its low costs and progressive surrogacy laws.

“Confidence in Mexico is shifting,” says Johnson-Ellis of My Surrogacy Journey, which has launched a service guiding families there. “Mexico actually has more guardrails and regulations in place than the U.S. and has even had the support of the Mexican Supreme Court since 2021.” He points to Mexico City’s practice of issuing pre-birth orders that recognize the intended parents as the legal parents and even list the surrogate as the gestational carrier, not the biological mother when she’s used donor eggs.

The surrogacy boom in the Americas is coming at Europe’s expense. Advocates argue that Europe’s ban on commercial surrogacy limits access to services and, ironically, increases the exploitation and coercion of women.

“With a commercial model, everyone knows where they stand,” Johnson-Ellis says. “There’s no gray. It’s very black and white. And I think with surrogacy, you need black and white.”

#The surrogacy market was valued at $14 billion in 2022 #trafficking women #falsified documents #sham embryo transfers.#Surrogacy tourism #International surrogacy is international human trafficking #Babies starting out in war torn countries

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kyreniacommentator · 19 days

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Is Netflix a Tool for Propaganda or an Entertainment Platform?

Is Netflix a Tool for Propaganda or an Entertainment Platform? Readers mail…. By Dr. Ata Atun, Prof….. TV shows and movie platforms Without looking into the script’s content, Netflix has blatantly decided to serve as a propaganda weapon for Greek and Greek Cypriot interests. Continue reading Is Netflix a Tool for Propaganda or an Entertainment Platform?

#Cyprus issue #Netfilix Famagust video #Propaganda or Entertainment

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perrysoup · 8 months

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Jewish State Ideas BEFORE Palestine

CRITICAL PREAMBLE: It is important to keep in mind that the idea of building a Jewish State is Zionist. It does not reflect the views of Judaism as a whole, and any antisemetic actions will result in blocking and banning. It is critical now more than ever that we recognize that there is a different. Your issues in Palestine are with ZIONISM, not Judaism. Do NOT associate them as the same. Doing so is a common Zionist tactic to make comments or opinions against Israel be rebutted that it is antisemetic purely because it comments on actions by Israel and their Zionist government and military.

Again, Zionism and Judaism are NOT one in the same, and should not be treated that way.

Anywho, timeline time!

1820 - Ararat City - Grand Island Niagara River in Western New York. Considered a precursor to Zionism as known today.

1902 - Leaugue of Eastern European States - "would entail the establishment of a buffer state (Pufferstaat) within the Jewish Pale of Settlement of Russia, composed of the former Polish provinces annexed by Russia."

Date Unsure - Herzl Plan - "The Jews who wish for a State will have it. We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and die peacefully in our own homes." His proposed location? Cyprus 1903 - British Uganda Program - Rejected after (shocker) there were lions in Africa. Also "it was populated by a large number of Maasai people, who did not seem at all amenable to an influx of people coming from Europe." fuckin wonder why. Note that some Zionists were concerned it would "make it more difficult to establish a Jewish state in Palestine in Ottoman Syria, particularly the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem" 1928 - Jewish Autonomous Oblast in USSR - Proposed by Russia specifcally to prevent a State of Israel AND done because it viewed Judaism as a threat to the state. "In that sense, it was also a response to two supposed threats to the Soviet state: Judaism, which ran counter to official state policy of atheism; and Zionism, the creation of the modern State of Israel, which countered Soviet views of nationalism. Yiddish, rather than Hebrew, would be the national language, and a new socialist literature and arts would replace religion as the primary expression of culture." Also included the idea of a JSR in Crimea or "part of Ukraine, however these were rejected because of fears of antagonizing non-Jews in those regions."

1940 - British Guiana - "the British Government decided that "the problem is at present too problematical to admit of the adoption of a definite policy and must be left for the decision of some future Government in years to come""

The Madagascar Plan and the Italian East Africa plans were both efforts by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to "solve Jewish problem" (YES THIS IS BAD). "Jews from Europe and Palestine would be resettled to the north-west Ethiopian districts of Gojjam and Begemder, along with the Beta Israel community."

1989 - Plans for the West Bank - Contemplation of a Second Jewish State - "Israeli settlers in the West Bank have mulled declaring independence as the State of Judea should Israel ever withdraw from the West Bank. In January 1989, several hundred activists met and announced their intention to create such a state in the event of Israeli withdrawal."

So yea, don't tell me about "homeland" when there were a shit ton of other ideas accepted within the Zionist ideal prior to SETTLING on Palestine. It's "homeland" cause that's where the British Empire could throw Israel. Not because they though it was the "right thing to do" or whatever thing Zionists claim now a days.

#palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #israel is a terrorist state #israel #genocide #fuck the israeli government #gaza strip #idf is a terrorist group

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girlactionfigure · 1 month

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🟤Sunday morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

🔹IRANIAN AIR NOTICE.. from 7:30 AM - 5:30 PM Israel time daily from TODAY through Wed Aug 14., “Gun firing will take place within the lateral limit of (air zone OID29 - most of Iran centered on Teheran) from ground level to 10,000 feet.”

🔹US Amphibious assault ship and helicopter carrier Wasp has docked in Cyprus.

🔹President Biden was asked by reporters leaving the church what his message was to Iran. He replied: Don’t.

🔹High interference in GPS systems in southern Lebanon, northern Jordan and Iraq

🔹Arab propaganda: an imminent attack by Hezbollah on the northern front, and it is estimated that the attack will include a partial invasion by Hezbollah fighters.

🔹Public shelters spotted being dropped in Yokneam and other northern-ish towns by major bus stops.

▪️BRITISH POST.. stops deliveries to Israel, but not to the Palestinian Authority? “Because of the war.” ( Or anti-semitism, you decide. )

▪️”When Iran calls for the destruction of Israel, no one cries escalation. When Iran wages a shadow war on Israel through proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis (to name only a few), no one cries escalation. The selective cries of escalation only seem to come when Israel dares to defend itself in response to Iranian aggression.” - Ritchie Torres, US congressman, NY

▪️GAZAN ON SOCIAL MEDIA.. “"I call on the whole world - save us from Hamas - before you save us from the Jews. Hamas is trading in our blood”. HIS BODY was found this morning.

♦️COUNTER-TERROR BATTLE - SHECHEM.. Heavy exchanges of fire have been going on for the past hour and a half between terrorists and IDF forces in El Ein northwest of Shechem.

♦️The IDF issues a new evac order for Gazans in Khan Younis in the southern Strip, following rocket fire at Israel.

♦️Gazans report an attack on Bnei Suhila in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip.

⭕A US official told Reuters members of US and coalition forces were wounded in the Iraqi Shia Militia attack in Syria on the US base on Friday.

▪️Helpful Home Front Video w/English subtitles - Home Protected Room Use - https://youtu.be/15-s9E53Kxs

▪️Helpful Home Front Video w/English subtitles - Siren when Out - https://youtu.be/FXnoXw9iVtQ

⚠️ HIGH ALERT FOR HEZBOLLAH STRIKE ⚠️

⚠️ The IDF has doubled the number of UAVs deployed in Lebanese airspace to detect launches at Israel in real time, according to Army Radio.

⚠️ Hezbollah commented on the situation, stating: "The large numbers of enemy Israeli drones, including the Heron TP, Hermes 900, and Hermes 450 types, which the occupation army summoned several days ago and continuously to cover the airspace of most of southern Lebanon, in addition to the small drones launched in the airspace of the front edge at the border, reveal the extent of the repercussions of waiting for Hezbollah’s response. Targeting the suburb."

◾There are mixed reports, but the latest indicates that Israel has received the green light and support from Jordan to use their airspace, while Iran was banned. A Jordanian official confirmed that his country will allow Israel to use its airspace to counter an Iranian attack, according to Israeli Channel 12.

#Israel #October 7 #Hamas Massacre #Israel/HamasWar #Gaza #IDF #ISRAEL REALTIME #Hezbollah

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tablolar · 2 years

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Drthair - Devasa+ (2)

There are certain criteria to be considered when looking for a hair transplant clinic. First, it must have a corporate identity. It is important that he gives importance to patient satisfaction and safety. He must have provided hair transplant service for a long time. Having a trained and experienced doctor staff is an important issue. Considering all these criteria, we can safely recommend the leading Drt hair in the Turkey hair transplant category. Drt hair transplant clinics are available both in Istanbul and Cyprus. Like the Smile hair clinic, this clinic also offers you a satisfactory service. It is known that the doctors in all Drt Hair Transplant Clinics have an international qualification certificate. Apart from this, Dr. Tayfun Oğuzoğlu, who is only one of the high quality doctors of the company, offers hair transplantation trainings and seminars to both local and foreign doctors in Istanbul and Cyprus clinics. It is the company that has the most economical fees in the category of hair transplant cost in Turkey. With the quality workmanship it produces, the amount you will pay is incomparably more affordable.

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sayruq · 6 months

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The Jerusalem Post said the maritime corridor plan was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s idea, citing an unnamed “senior diplomatic source.” Netanyahu had reportedly first proposed the plan to Biden in October, and pressed the issue again with the US president in January.“ This source, close to the prime minister, insinuated that Biden was simply implementing a plan by Netanyahu, not actually initiating anything new,” the Post reported. While touring Gaza’s coast in a naval vessel on Sunday, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant expressed enthusiasm about the plans of a maritime corridor. “The process is designed to bring aid directly to the residents and thus continue the collapse of Hamas’s rule in Gaza,” he said.

But why would Israel, the engineer of the Gaza famine, endorse the idea of establishing a maritime corridor for aid to address a crisis it initiated and is now worsening? This might appear paradoxical if one were to assume that the primary aim of the maritime corridor is to deliver aid.Palestinians in Gaza received the news about the planned port with fear and suspicion. Analysts have speculated that this could be a ploy to eliminate Egypt as an outlet between the Gaza Strip and the rest of the world, and sever the coastal enclave’s reliance on Egypt economically and politically by way of the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing – the sole point of exit and entry for most people in Gaza. This would ostensibly complete Israel’s control of the Gaza Strip without dependence on Egyptian cooperation, reliable as it may have been. Abdel Bari Atwan, a Gaza-born world-renowned Palestinian journalist, invoked the US-facilitated evacuation of thousands of Palestinian guerilla fighters of the Palestine Liberation Organization from Beirut in 1982 as an insight into what these plans could possibly suggest. Palestinian fighters were transferred by US warships off the Beirut coast to Cyprus and eventually to Tunisia. Atwan indicated that the maritime corridor would create a pathway for the forcible evacuation of Palestinians by sea. Other analysts have expressed similar fears.

Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, slammed what he called “absurd” US plans for getting aid into Gaza, whether through airdrops or the temporary port. “From a humanitarian perspective, from an international perspective, from a human rights perspective, it is absurd in a dark, cynical way,” he said. Human rights groups have dismissed announcements of building a temporary pier as a distraction from Israel’s systemic and deliberate policy of starvation of Palestinians in Gaza. “The proposed maritime humanitarian corridor and temporary seaport is another tool to weaponize aid,” the Palestinian refugee advocacy group Badil said. It is meant to “absolve Israel of its responsibilities and obligations, and support Israel in its ‘day after plans’: to eliminate and replace UNRWA [the UN agency for Palestine refugees] and establish a potential mechanism for Palestinian forcible transfer out of the Gaza Strip.”

#yemen #jerusalem #tel aviv #current events #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #news on gaza #palestine news #news update #war news #war on gaza #famine #genocide #gaza genocide #politics #end the occupation

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mariacallous · 6 days

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In the context of a turbulent and unsatisfying three years in office, the incredibly awful September in progress might rank as the three-party German government’s grimmest month yet. After elections in the east that issued record results for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party—another vote, in Brandenburg, looms on Sept. 22—the government is also reeling from the fallout of two Islamist terrorist attacks that left three dead and eight wounded. One of those attacks involved a Syrian asylum-seeker whose petition for protection in Germany had been denied; he had links to the fundamentalist Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

Now the government has announced its response: starting on Sept. 16, Germany will unilaterally impose border closures, for six months, on all nine of its borders with other European countries. Incoming foreign nationals will be screened according to arbitrary criteria, and rejected applicants will be forced onto Germany’s next-door neighbors.

Although some details remain unclear, Germany’s plan amounts to an unprecedented step. Eight of the neighboring countries are EU members, and all of them are part of the Schengen regime that guarantees freedom of movement across borders within the bloc and recognizes the right to political asylum. Meanwhile, Germany’s mainstream opposition party is demanding an even more severe policy—one that would essentially prevent the country from accepting any new asylum applicants onto its territory at all.

“Until we achieve strong protection of the EU’s external borders with the new common European asylum system, we must strengthen controls at our national borders,” said Germany’s interior minister, Nancy Faeser. Her proposal involves expedited procedures at the German frontiers to determine whether each person who arrives may enter and apply for political asylum.

According to Faeser, the planned border screenings will limit illegal migration and “protect against the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime.” There will be more deportations during this period, she said, but they will conform to EU law. But some experts disagree. European law expert Alberto Alemanno, a professor of European law at HEC Paris, told the Guardian that the German controls “represent a manifestly disproportionate breach of the principle of free movement within the Schengen area.”

And Sergio Carrera, a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), a Brussels-based think tank, told Foreign Policy that the border closures will most probably have a knock-on effect across the continent: “There’s the risk of these measures triggering a race to the bottom. Where’s the end point? We’re talking about rights that go to the very heart of what the EU is all about.”

The new measures at the German borders ratchet up pressure on European Union norms that are already strained. According to EU law, free movement within the bloc is guaranteed within the Schengen area, which encompasses most EU member countries (except Cyprus and Ireland) as well as Switzerland and Norway. Foreign nationals claiming political persecution have the right to apply for political protection in the country through which they enter the EU. But the bloc’s member countries may suspend Schengen’s guarantees in the case of “internal security concerns” as long as those concerns are proportional and legitimate and the suspensions temporary. Brussels must be briefed in advance.

Germany has had periodic border checks in place along the Austrian border since 2015—a response to the refugee crisis of 2015-16. Last year, in response to heightened migration flows, Germany established checks on its borders shared with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. In fact, across the European Union, member states have temporarily restricted internal border crossings 404 times since 2015, according to German daily Die Tageszeitung.

Germany’s move would take another step toward turning the exception policy of internal EU border checks into the rule, argued Christian Jacob of Die Tageszeitung. A European Parliament study issued last year claimed that this was already happening and that a “systematic lack of compliance with EU law” could undermine rule of law guarantees.

One result would almost certainly be a chain reaction across the bloc. Walter Turnowsky, a migration expert at Denmark’s Der Nordschleswiger, a German-language newspaper, fears exactly this. “Officially, the announced German border controls are also temporary, but ultimately the announcement means the end of free travel across the EU,” he said. “From now on, governments will claim: ‘Well, Germany controls its borders too,’” so they will do the same.

The new German measures aim to stop non-EU citizens who have already applied for asylum elsewhere in the bloc from entering Germany by bus, train, or car from Schengen zone neighbors. (Currently, only third-country nationals who have invalid papers or don’t intend to file for political asylum are refused entry.) Under the new measures, the migrants would be returned to the country where they entered the Schengen area and originally applied for asylum, which are usually one of the EU’s southern external border countries, such as Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, or Spain.

German border guards would detain the foreign nationals at the border—perhaps even in a kind of jail, apparently for no longer than five weeks—until their status can be verified. Foreign nationals who had not previously applied for asylum but who claim political persecution could then enter Germany and apply for protection, which German courts would rule on at a later date.

One of the looming questions is what criteria German police would invoke to screen those parties interested in entering the country. Since not every person traveling into Germany can be stopped, “it will be people who look different, regardless of citizenship,” said Carrera, of CEPS. “A certain racial appearance will make some people suspect. This is racial profiling, and it is illegal.”

Against the background of its fierce battle in eastern Germany with the AfD, Germany’s conservative opposition, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has opted to steal the other party’s thunder by endorsing measures very much like those of the far right—and until recently entirely taboo. Claiming that the government’s measures do not go nearly far enough, the CDU argues that no people—none at all—should be permitted to enter Germany in the absence of a visa or European passport.

This would de facto end the country’s commitment to offering asylum. In order to make this flagrant violation of international law at least appear to conform to EU regulations, under the CDU plan, Germany would declare a state of emergency as a result of internal security threats. This, the CDU believes, would legalize the across-the-board rejection of unwanted third-country nationals.

The proposal also goes a gigantic step beyond the limitation of movement in the EU, effectively eviscerating the right to political asylum.

“This kind of measure, and those the government are taking, will be investigated and could come before the EU court of justice,” Carrera said. “The EU will determine whether the security concerns really justify such a breach of EU law.” Other experts have said that Germany will not be able to prove that the recent attacks or the numbers of asylum-seekers—which have fallen this year—actually threaten the state’s internal security and thus justify (or indeed, are really aided by) these measures.

One of the many problems with the new German modus operandi: Neighboring states will have to accept people refused by Germany back onto their territory—and Austria, for one, which has general elections on Sept. 29 (and where polls indicate the situation for migrants is getting even worse, with a very strong showing of the far-right Freedom Party likely) said forget it, it won’t take them.

Poland is also up arms at the prospect of traffic jams at the borders that would obstruct commercial and private transportation. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the German move a “de facto suspension of the Schengen Agreement on a large scale.”

The Belgian daily Le Soir seems to hit the nail on the head: “With governments like this, there’s no need for the far right to be in power. The pressure of elections and the fear of extremes are causing those in power to run around like headless chickens, with migrants as the only means for decompression.”

EU expert Thu Nguyen, the deputy director of the Berlin-based Jacques Delors Centre, told Foreign Policy that unilateral decisions taken by Germany—the EU’s most populous state—are entirely unproductive. She noted that the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, a set of new rules passed this year for managing migration and establishing a common asylum system at a bloc-wide level, addresses some of the concerns about immigration raised by Germany and other EU states, including by facilitating faster procedures for asylum applicants at the continent’s external borders.

After all, Germany—including the CDU’s parliamentary group in the EU, the European People’s Party (EPP)—was essential in drafting the pact, together with the 25 other EU member states. When the pact came in front of the European Parliament earlier this year, EPP parliamentarian Tomas Tobé said that “the absolute best way to help support a European migration policy is to be loyal to the whole migration pact.”

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workersolidarity · 2 months

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[ 📹 Scenes from the moment when Zionist warplanes bombed the Jules Tower in the Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, shattering the building to pieces and ejecting plumes of smoke, dust and shrapnel through the air. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

GAZA GENOCIDE DAY 289: ISRAEL MUST FACE CONSEQUENCES FOR "SUCH CRUELTY" SAYS ERDOGAN, GALLANT LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF MILITARY AIRCRAFT IN THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK OF PALESTINE, GENOCIDE CONTINUES AS CIVILIANS SLAUGHTERED IN THEIR HOMES BY THE ZIONIST ARMY

On 289th day of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 4 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 64 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 105 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or whose bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

On Sunday, Turkiye's President, Racep Tayyip Erdogan, said of the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, that the Court's opinion will awaken the global community and that the Zionist entity must face strong enough punishment for its actions that would deter any other country "from considering such cruelty again."

Speaking on a plane returning from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Erdogan said that "Israel must face the consequences of its actions, ensuring that the punishment serves as a stark deterrent against anyone considering such cruelty again."

Erdogan went on to comment on the advisory opinion of the ICJ by declaring that "I hope this decision and previous ones not implemented by Israel will bring an awakening in the international community."

The Turkish President also encouraged the United States to exert pressure on the occupation, and said it should withdraw its support for the "murderer" Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his administration to end the "oppression" in the Gaza Strip.

"The whole issue is for those who stand for justice against Israel's actions to unite, ensuring everyone stands alongside the decision of the ICJ. We can only disrupt this game with such a stance," Erdogan said.

"To end this oppression, it is necessary for the US administration to pressure Israel and withdraw its support from murderer Netanyahu and his associates," the President added.

This comes after the ICJ slammed the Israeli occupation of the West Bank of Palestine, declaring that the Zionist entity must end its occupation "as rapidly as possible," while also demanding that Tel Aviv make full reparations to Palestinians for its "internationally wrongful acts."

The ICJ also found that the Israeli occupation has committed multiple breaches of international law, including activities the Court likened to "Apartheid."

In other news, Zionist Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced on Sunday that he will remove restrictions on the use of warplanes and other military aircraft in the occupied West Bank, and further, issued orders for the Israeli occupation army to "eliminate" the battalions of armed resistance in the western Palestinian territories.

"I also removed restrictions on the use of military drones in the West Bank to reduce the risk to soldiers' lives," Galant added.

The statements were made during a session for the assessment of the situation in the occupied West Bank, held with the newly appointed commander of the Central Command, Avi Balut, who's division is responsible for the occupied territory.

Additionally, also attending was the Commander of the West Bank Division of the occupation army, Yaki Dolev, along with the commander of the Border Guard forces in the West Bank, Barak Mordechai, as well as field commanders and representatives of the Shin Bet security apparatus.

During the meeting, Galant received briefings on the "most active forces in the area to thwart operations, eliminate armed organizations in refugee camps, and improve security measures in local authorities", which refers to the illegal Zionist settlements in the West Bank, to "enhance the security of the population (settlers)," according to a statement issued by the Israeli Defense Ministry.

Galant continued by emphasizing "the need for the continuous and systematic elimination of all armed organizations, and stressed that the IDF has full support for working to achieve this goal."

Following the conference, the statement cited Galant as stating that "terrorism is boiling in this sector, among other things as a result of guidance from Iran, Hezbollah and other factors seeking to undermine the situation."

"Yesterday we carried out an attack in an area 2,000 kilometers from Israel (referring to the Yemeni port of Hodeidah), and now we are in the heart of the State of Israel, and we will know how to operate here as well. A few months ago, we lifted the restrictions on the operation of air force planes, including the attack in the Central Command area, in order to thwart terrorism without putting soldiers in unnecessary danger. If necessary, we will expand this issue," the Defense Minister said during the meeting.

Defense Minister Galant also stated that he has instructed the Central Command and Army Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, to "ensure that all the actions of the terrorist brigades inside the refugee camps are thwarted and that we crush these brigades, in Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas and other places."

"We will act as needed, we will not allow the citizens of Israel to be endangered as a result of the actions of terrorists directed from Iran," Galant concluded.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) continued its war of genocide in the Gaza Strip, slaughtering Palestinian children and other civilians, while one-by-one targeting the few remaining housing units and public infrastructure, and detonating residential buildings with explosives and airstrikes.

Beginning on Saturday night, IOF warplanes bombed another commercial facility housing displaced Palestinian families in the Armeida area, east of the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

Medical sources with a local hospital told official Palestinian news agency WAFA that at least 6 civilians were killed and dozens of others wounded, after occupation forces bombed a commercial facility in which displaced civilians were being housed in the Armeida area of the town of Abasan Al-Kabira, east of Khan Yunis.

Following that strike, during the early morning hours of Sunday, Zionist fighter jets bombed a residential house belonging to the Khalifa family in the Al-Bureij Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killing 7 Palestinian civilians, including women and children, and wounded a number of others.

Similarly, occupation aircraft bombarded a residential home in the Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, killing 4 civilians.

The Israeli occupation's war crimes continued when occupation warplanes bombed a civilian home north of the Nuseirat Camp, killing a young child, while another Zionist army raid targeted a residential building north of the camp, wounding at least 5 Palestinians.

In the next Israeli atrocity on Sunday morning, occupation fighter jets bombarded a residential house belonging to the Ghurab family in the New Camp area of the Nuseirat Camp, resulting in the martyredom of one Palestinian and wounding dozens of others.

Israeli warplanes also bombed the Al-Da'wa area, in the vicinity of the power station and Salah al-Din Street, northeast of the Nuseirat Camp, while occupation drones fired missiles into the same area.

Zionist forces went on to target in the vicinity of the Kuwait roundabout in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, leading to the deaths of two citizens who were transported to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the city.

Palestinian medical sources are reporting that more than 60 victims of Israeli bombings have been killed since dawn on Saturday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has also reported that their rescue crews managed to recover the body of one dead citizen, along with two others who were wounded after occupation fighter jets bombed a civilian residence in the town of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Yunis, in the south of Gaza.

PRCS also said that their rescue crews also recovered three bodies of martyrs who were murdered as a result of Israeli bombing of the Al-Shaboura Refugee Camp in central Rafah City, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The paramedic organization added that the occupation continues to bomb and shell the Al-Bureij Camp, in central Gaza, with a local residential apartment building targeted in an Israeli bombing that killed 4 civilians.

Later on Sunday, occupation forces bombed a residential home in the Qizan Al-Najjar neighborhood, south of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, killing at least 3 Palestinians, including two young children, and wounding several others.

A number of civilians were also wounded after the Zionist occupation army shelled a Mosque in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, the death toll now exceeds 38'983 Palestinians killed, including well and above 15'000 children and more than 10'000 women, while another 89'727 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, begining with the events of October 7th, 2023.

This brings the total number of Palestinian casualties to 128'710 or the equivalent of 5.59% of Gaza's 2.3 million residents.

July 21st, 2024.

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