Al Mayadeen

Hezbollah attacks numerous Israeli sites, assembly points, barracks, advancements, and military sites, striking central “Israel”.

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon – Hezbollah carried out a plethora of operations targeting Israeli military positions and movements on Monday across various areas in southern Lebanon and the occupied territories.

In the early morning, Hezbollah launched a rocket salvo at Israeli forces in Labouneh, followed by another salvo targeting a gathering of Israeli troops in Khallet Wardeh, which was hit again in a subsequent strike. An Israeli infantry unit attempting to infiltrate Lebanese territory from the direction of Markaba was struck by Hezbollah with artillery fire during its advance. Further into the morning, Israeli troop movements in Labouneh were targeted with another barrage of rockets.

Later in the morning, Hezbollah struck the Zibdeen barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms with rockets, achieving direct hits. In response to Israeli aggressions and massacres, Hezbollah launched a precision rocket salvo at the Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa. Around the same time, artillery fire was directed at Israeli forces south of Maroun al-Ras.

Mid-morning, as Israeli forces attempted to advance towards Aita al-Shaab, they were forced to retreat under heavy artillery fire from Hezbollah fighters. Later, Hezbollah launched another precision rocket salvo targeting Beit Lid barracks east of Netanya. Additionally, Hezbollah fighters targeted the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona with rockets.

Later on, the resistance struck an Israeli infantry unit attempting to infiltrate the outskirts of Markaba with artillery fire. Hezbollah forces then engaged in fierce confrontations with Israeli troops in Aita al-Shaab using rockets and machine guns, during which a guided missile destroyed an Israeli armored personnel carrier, killing and wounding those inside.

Hezbollah went on to launch a rocket salvo targeting Israeli forces in the Ramot Naftali settlement, followed by artillery fire hitting Israeli forces positioned at Roueissat al-Alam in the occupied hills of Kfar Chouba.

Hezbollah fighters also targeted the settlement of Karmiel with a barrage of rockets. Around the same time, they launched a large salvo at Israeli forces gathered in the settlement of Tziv’on. Later in the afternoon, Israeli forces east of Markaba were struck by another round of rocket fire, and a second salvo targeted troops in Khallet Wardeh.

As the day went on, Israeli forces at the Misgav Am site were shelled with artillery fire, followed by another rocket salvo directed at Israeli troops in the settlement of Manara. Shortly after, a rocket strike hit an Israeli military position at Marj.

By the evening, Hezbollah fighters launched a major rocket strike on the occupied city of Safad.

In response to an Israeli tank advance on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, Hezbollah targeted three Merkava tanks with guided missiles, setting them ablaze and inflicting casualties and destruction. Around the same time, Israeli forces at the Radar site in the occupied Shebaa Farms were hit by rockets, alongside another strike on Israeli troops at Roueissat al-Alam in the Kfar Chouba hills and a third targeting the Brekhta farm in the Shebaa Farms.

Later in the evening, Hezbollah launched rockets at Israeli forces in the Margaliot settlement and hit Israeli personnel and equipment at Khallet Wardeh with another salvo. Shortly afterward, they targeted Israeli forces in the Zar’it barracks. The strikes continued late into the night, with rocket fire hitting the settlement of Kiryat Shmona.

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon underlined that all of its operations were carried out in support of and in defense of the people of Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the Palestinian Resistance in light of the Israeli onslaught they are facing.

Operations overview

– At 00:02, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli assembly point in Khallet Wardeh with a barrage of rockets.

– At 01:05, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli assembly point in Labouneh with a barrage of rockets.

– At 01:15, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli assembly point in Khallet Wardeh with a barrage of rockets.

– At 03:15, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted an Israeli enemy infantry unit attempting to infiltrate Lebanese territory from the direction of Markaba with artillery shells.

– At 03:40, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Israeli enemy movements in Labouneh with a barrage of rockets.

– At 07:30, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the Zibdeen barracks in the occupied Shebaa Farms with a barrage of rockets, achieving direct hits.

– At 09:30, the Islamic Resistance fighters launched a precision rocket salvo at the Stella Maris naval base northwest of Haifa.

– At 10:00, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the Kiryat Shmona settlement with a barrage of rockets.

– At 10:30, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Israeli enemy soldiers attempting to advance toward Aita al-Shaab with artillery fire, forcing them to retreat.

[…]

Via https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-breaks-record-in-number-of-operations-against–isr

Featured image: Peter Kotlár. Source: Denník N

Rhoda Wilson

The Slovak government commissioner for investigating the management of the coronavirus pandemic, Peter Kotlár, considers mRNA injections to be dangerous and has called for a ban. He also calls the covid pandemic an “act of bioterrorism” and a “fabricated operation.”

On 2 October, after it had been submitted to the Government, Kotlár gave a press conference about his report.  The key recommendations from his report include halting the use of mRNA “vaccines,” that SARS-CoV-2 was artificially created in a laboratory and deliberately spread worldwide, and ending Slovakia’s cooperation with the World Health Organisation.  The report will be made public “but let’s wait first for a session of the government,” he said.

“The most serious consequence of the whole fabricated operation called the covid-19 pandemic is the endangerment of human health and the confirmation of the naivety of the world population to be subconsciously obedient,” Kotlár said.

“Let us at least make the right gesture together by stopping the administration of mRNA preparations until their effectiveness and safety have been proven,” Kotlar demanded when presenting his report. The most serious finding is that mRNA preparations alter human DNA, he claims. The vaccines have been inadequately tested and are therefore dangerous.

Slovakia’s Covid Investigation Commissioner Report Seeks To Ban mRNA Vaccines – Says World Population Is “Naive & Subconsciously Obedient”

The following is the article ‘Slovakia wants to ban mRNA vaccines’ written by Lubos Palata, published by Deutsche Welle (“DW”) on 9 October 2024 and translated into English by Interest of Justice.

DW is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget.  As such its article does its best to try to save the dying false narrative that covid “vaccines” are “safe and effective.” 

For example, as a counterargument to the report which tolled the death knell to the Slovak Health Minister, DW quotes a “group of experts,” who are deeply concerned about what the report states, saying: “The views presented question facts that have been verified and accepted by the global expert community and the relevant authorities.”  This sums up the very problem with the false covid narrative that corporate and state media have been peddling since early 2020. 

Thus, on two fronts, DW’s article is revealing.  Firstly, the Slovak government is doing what is right for its citizens, as every government should. Secondly, corporate media and other Covidians are desperately scrambling to save their butts.

As an addition to DW’s “group of experts” questionable opinion, and demonstrating the danger of so-called experts’ arrogance and need to keep the lies going, we refer readers to an article published by Denník N, a Slovak daily newspaper.  The article’s lede states: “Doctors and scientists see no reason to stop vaccinating mRNA with vaccines in Slovakia. The government should reject Kotlár‘s recommendations in full, says virologist Boris Klemp.” You can almost smell the fear and panic as their house of cards crumbles.

Slovakia Wants to Ban mRNA Vaccines

In Slovakia, Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova has resigned. She belongs to the “Voice of the President” party, the moderate force in the populist left-right government of Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Her resignation came after only eleven months in office. She justified it with differences of opinion over the budget, which provides for deep cuts in the health care system. However, the decisive factor was probably the report that the government commissioner for the investigation of the covid pandemic, Peter Kotlar, presented a week ago.

In it, he not only questions the pandemic itself but also calls for a ban on vaccination with mRNA vaccines developed by Western companies such as BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna. Experts disagree with him. In their view, these vaccines have helped to significantly reduce the number of deaths from the virus and the consequences of the pandemic.

This is exactly what Kotlar denies. “The most serious consequence of the whole fabricated operation called the covid-19 pandemic is the endangerment of human health and the confirmation of the naivety of the world population to be subconsciously obedient,” he said when presenting his report.

Anti-Vaccination Activists In Power In Bratislava

Kotlar, a member of the ruling Slovak National Party, had spoken out against the then government’s measures and the covid vaccination on YouTube during the pandemic, for example, which earned him considerable popularity that helped him get into parliament.

Kotlar’s call for a ban on mRNA vaccines has received support from Prime Minister Fico himself. “You all know that I personally have always been against vaccination with experimental vaccines against covid,” Fico said in his address to the nation published on Facebook at the weekend. He added that he had “many acquaintances” who had experienced significant health problems after the covid vaccination. And he called on Kotlar to find out who in Slovakia had enriched themselves through the “unnecessary purchase of medical supplies and vaccines.”

High Mortality During the Pandemic

Slovakia was among the hardest-hit countries in the world in terms of the number of deaths related to the covid pandemic. In this Central European EU member state of five million inhabitants, 21,000 people died as a result of covid. In addition to a poor and underfunded healthcare system, disinformation campaigns, distrust of modern Western vaccines and the underestimation of covid itself also contributed to this.

The mistrust led many Slovaks to reject Western vaccines and only wanted to be vaccinated with the Russian vaccine Sputnik. In the spring of 2021, then-Prime Minister Igor Matovic sent a government delegation to Moscow to stock up on Sputnik. But after the EU did not recognise the Russian vaccine, it was ultimately not accepted in Slovakia either and the vaccine doses had to be destroyed.

No Cooperation With the WHO 

Nevertheless, the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico maintains its opposition to mRNA vaccines and its doubts about the pandemic. As a first step, it announced that it would end its cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the covid issue.

“Let us at least make the right gesture together by stopping the administration of mRNA preparations until their effectiveness and safety have been proven,” Kotlar demanded when presenting his report. The most serious finding is that mRNA preparations alter human DNA, he claims. The vaccines have been inadequately tested and are therefore dangerous.

“This shows where Slovakia has ended up after a year under Robert Fico’s government,” Slovak political scientist Grigory Mesezhnikov, president of the Bratislava-based Institute for Research on Public Issues (“IVO”), told DW. “After all, at the time of the covid epidemic, Fico was probably the highest-ranking leader of the anti-vaccination movement not only in Slovakia but in all of Europe.”

[…]

Via https://expose-news.com/2024/10/15/slovak-governments-investigation-into-covid/

A section of the Druzhba pipeline being erected in Carpathia over a local waterway. September 1962. © Sputnik / I. Arons

By Ilya Tsukanov – Sputnik – 15.10.2024

Tuesday is the anniversary of the creation of Druzbha – the world’s longest oil pipeline, and one of the most technically sophisticated pieces of man-made engineering every created. Here’s what’s important to know about the project, why it was conceived, and why the US and its allies tried, but failed, to stop it.

October 15 marks the 60th anniversary of the inauguration of the Druzhba (‘Friendship’) oil pipeline. Conceived in 1958 at a meeting of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance – the Soviet-led analogue to Western European integration, Druzhba helped forge closer economic links between the USSR and its Eastern European allies, and eventually, between Russia and the whole of Europe.

Drawn up to aid an economic boom being experienced by Eastern Europe, Druzhba was built to replace more costly and infrastructure-intensive rail-based oil deliveries.

Sourcing oil from the Volga-Ural oil and gas basin and starting off in Almetyevsk, modern-day Tatarstan, Druzhba runs west to Mozyr in Belarus, where it splits into two routes – one to eastern Germany via Poland, and another through Ukraine toward Bratislava in Slovakia, Prague in the Czech Republic and Budapest in Hungary.

Members of the Soviet-led economic alliance, namely Albania, Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, contributed equipment and know-how, with the USSR and Poland delivering 730,000 tons of 420-1,220 mm pipes, East Germany pumps for pumping stations, Hungary automation equipment and communications gear, and Czechoslovakia valves and fittings.

The US sought to sanction the project into submission, slapping restrictions on Western European sales of large-diameter pipes to the Eastern Bloc after the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Russian Chelyabinsk’s industrialists saved the day, creating pipes of the necessary diameter.

The success of the project led to the construction of a second line – known as Druzhba-2 and running along the same route, in 1974.

With Moscow selling oil to allies via long-term contracts, Eastern Europe was largely insulated from the oil shocks suffered by the West in the 1970s and early 1980s. Between 1971 and 1980, Hungary’s material national income rose by 62%, East Germany’s by 59%, Poland’s by 73%, Czechoslovakia’s by 57%, and capital construction in these countries grew 1.9, 1.7, 2.2, and 1.8 times, respectively.

This allowed the region to build tens of millions of new apartments, industrial goods and finished products ranging from cars and electronics to household goods.

After the USSR’s collapse, Germany’s reunification and the European Union’s expansion, Druzhba became a key source of fuel for Europe’s economic prosperity, helping Eastern Europe with its difficult transition to the market, and Germany in its effort to build on its status as an industrial powerhouse.

Accounting for expansions (including extensions to deliver oil to southern Germany and Austria), Druzhba holds the record as the longest oil pipeline network in the world, consisting of a whopping 8,900 km of pipe, 46 pumping stations, 38 intermediate pumping stations, and reservoirs that can hold up to 1.5 million cubic meters of oil.

Druzhba is also one of the most technically-sophisticated manmade engineering projects in history, crossing the Volga, Oka, Don, Dnepr, Dniestr, Vistula and Dunabe rivers and hundreds of smaller waterways, thousands of roads and railways, the Pinsk Marshes and the mountains of Carpathia.

The pipeline has an estimated capacity to pump up to 2 million barrels per day, or nearly a fifth of Russia’s total oil output. Until recently, it accounted for up to half of all Russian oil exports.

Killing Druzhba?

The US, the Eu and Ukraine have taken a series of steps to try and effectively kill the Druzhba-based energy partnership between Russia and Europe, with the EU banning deliveries of Russian oil through the northern portion of the pipeline in the summer of 2024, and Ukraine raising transit costs by more than 75%, and in July 2024 prohibiting supplies of Lukoil oil through the pipeline’s southern line to Hungary and Slovakia.

While Russia has proven able to replace its dependence on Druzhba by forging new energy ties with countries in the Global South, including India and China, Europe has been trapped by its own restrictions into buying more expensive and less dependable energy sourced in the US, leaving economic growth stagnant and industrial competitiveness in jeopardy.

[…]

Via https://sputnikglobe.com/20241015/druzhba-oil-mega-pipeline-that-evaded-us-sabotage-to-power-eastern-europes-economic-boom-1120559902.html

Photo courtesy of Trump White House Archived on Facebook.

By Antonio Grarceffo

Kamala Hariss and Joe Biden have repeatedly called Trump a threat to democracy, while ignoring the real threat posed the many assassination attempts against him.

The fact that Iran has been linked to at least one of these attacks and that the FBI warned Trump that Iran is trying to kill him should be ringing alarm bells all over Washington. Instead, the media is downplaying the attacks.

Democrats and liberals on Twitter are either mocking the situation or criticizing Trump for bringing up these assassination attempts.

Meanwhile, the administration, beyond issuing an official statement, has made no effort to recognize or address the ongoing pattern of threats.

Due to the media and the administration’s disregard, most Americans believe there have only been two attempts, when in reality, the actual number is more than double that.

There have been more than four attempts or plots on Donald Trump’s life, each highlighting the ongoing threat to his security. In 2016, at a Las Vegas rally, British national Michael Steven Sandford attempted to seize a police officer’s gun to assassinate Trump but was arrested and later deported.

Fast forward to July 2024, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump in the ear, injuring others and killing one attendee before being taken down by Secret Service agents.

Just a day before this shooting, Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national allegedly tied to Iranian operatives, was arrested for plotting to assassinate Trump and other U.S. officials after hiring an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman.

Another attempt came in September 2024 when Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, armed with an AK-47 and charged with attempted assassination.

Most recently, in October 2024, Vem Miller was arrested near a Trump rally in Coachella, California, with an AK-47 and other weapons, though officials later stated that Trump was not in immediate danger.

Repeated assassination attempts or plots against a political figure like Donald Trump pose a significant threat to the stability of democracy.

At its core, democracy is built on the peaceful transfer of power and the rule of law, where political leaders and citizens alike engage in dialogue, debate, and elections without fear of violence.

When political leaders are targeted by assassination plots, it creates instability and undermines the democratic system, which relies on political processes rather than violent or coercive methods to resolve disagreements.

In Trump’s case, the fact that the opposition party is being targeted immediately fuels conspiracy theories, with some blaming the administration. When the administration completely dismisses these attempts, it only adds fuel to the fire. On top of this, Iran’s involvement is a clear national security issue that is being ignored, further substantiating claims that the administration might want Trump dead, even at the expense of national security.

These threats can also deter political leaders and the public from openly participating in the democratic process.

Fear of violence can create an environment in which free speech and political participation are restricted, as individuals may hesitate to express their views or run for office if they fear for their lives.

This chilling effect on political engagement is detrimental to democracy, where open discourse and competition are crucial.

With violence now heavily focused on Republicans, it gives the impression that Democrats are using violence to silence the opposition, whether they are or not.

Furthermore, the rule of law is a cornerstone of democratic governance. If repeated assassination attempts occur, it signals potential weaknesses in the ability of law enforcement and security agencies to maintain order and protect political figures.

In a functioning democracy, leaders should be secure, and institutions must uphold the safety of all participants in the political process.

This only further fuels cries of conspiracy while disrupting the democratic process. With just weeks until the election, Republicans would find it nearly impossible to present a new candidate.

Assassination attempts also erode public trust in the political system. When violence becomes a recurring factor in politics, it can foster disillusionment, increase polarization, and drive citizens away from the democratic process, making it more difficult to maintain social and political cohesion.

After the controversy surrounding the 2020 election, it would seem logical for the administration to prioritize ensuring that the upcoming election is both safe and fair.

Protecting Trump from assassination attempts would be crucial to avoid further division and to guarantee that the election results are accepted by the public.

In addition, these events have global implications. Assassination attempts on a major political figure in a leading democracy like the U.S. can be exploited by foreign adversaries to delegitimize the country’s democratic institutions.

It weakens the U.S.’s standing as a model of democracy and can embolden authoritarian regimes to argue that violence and instability are inevitable consequences of democratic governance.

The U.S. is currently facing war with Russia, war with China, and war with Iran. This is not a time for the U.S. to look weak. Additionally, all of the world’s despots are watching and fear a Trump re-election. If he is eliminated, it will be like a signal for them to unleash chaos and do whatever they want.

Via https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/10/repeated-attempts-trumps-life-major-threat-democracy-ignored/

Kit Klarenberg

All the pact’s signatories will provide “comprehensive” economic, military, and political assistance to one another, should they come under attack from the Zionist entity or its allies.

On October 7, it was announced that Iran’s parliament is drafting a defense and security pact, which will formally bind the Resistance, “and their supporting countries,” together in a common, collaborative military structure to counter external threats, “particularly from the US and Israel.” Unremarked upon in the West, this is a seismic move, representing the most monumental nail hammered into “Israel’s” coffin since Palestinian freedom fighters struck deep inside the Zionist entity’s putrid heart a year prior. The proclamation’s timing was absolutely no coincidence.

All the pact’s signatories – be they governments or Resistance movements – will provide “comprehensive” economic, military, and political assistance to one another, should they come under attack from the Zionist entity or its allies. Significantly, a dedicated joint military headquarters, to “facilitate coordination” between members of the Resistance, will also be established. This will serve as a “central command for managing military operations and crisis response, reinforcing operational capabilities through planned joint military exercises.”

The pact “aims not only to enhance military cooperation,” but also “bolster infrastructure development” for the Resistance – “collaboration in building military bases and training centers is expected to improve readiness against potential threats.” If implemented, Islamic Republic lawmakers believe “this alliance could significantly shift the balance of power in the region, presenting a formidable counterweight to Western influence seeking to wreak havoc in West Asia to Israel’s benefit.”

Of course, recent events have made it clear that West Asia’s “balance of power” has already decisively shifted in favor of the Resistance. The scale and severity of Iran’s unprecedented October 1 strike on the Zionist entity amply indicated Tehran not only didn’t expect retaliation of any serious kind to be forthcoming from “Israel” or its Western puppetmasters but had calculated that in the event Tel Aviv was sufficiently foolhardy to declare all-out war in response, the Resistance would inevitably prevail.

In the wake of that devastating assault, this journalist postulated Tehran had thrown down a gauntlet to its regional and international adversaries, safe in the knowledge any resultant conflict would mean the Zionist entity’s final end and the Empire’s concomitant retreat from West Asia more widely. The rapid emergence of a formal Resistance military alliance tends to confirm this analysis. Now, it is up to “Israel” to make the next move, which could well be its very last.

‘Military Response’

Hours before Iran struck the Zionist entity, Israeli occupation forces criminally launched an expanded aggression on Lebanon. True to form, the IOF have savagely targeted civilian areas and infrastructure ever since, claiming at least 1,400 innocent lives to date and injuring countless more. Initially framed by Israeli leaders and pliant Western journalists as a “limited ground intervention,” based on “precise intelligence” on Hezbollah, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is already openly seeking to escalate it into an all-out war.

Netanyahu is evidently unconcerned that many statements he and his ministers have made since October 7, 2023, rank highly among the voluminous mountain of evidence the Zionist entity is acting with genocidal intent toward the Palestinians and may have contributed significantly to his ICC indictment for “crimes against humanity.” On October 9, the Israeli leader unreservedly threatened Lebanon’s population with “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” if they failed to rise and help the IOF “free” their country from Hezbollah.

Such belligerence and depravity play well with Zionist entity audiences. One Israeli newscaster proudly toasted the September 27 assassination of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah live on air, while Tel Aviv’s education ministry actively encouraged schools to stage celebrations. Netanyahu’s approval ratings have soared since the IOF attempted to invade Lebanon. A sense that the settler colony had finally redeemed itself and regained an upper hand against the Resistance, after being dealt relentless economic and military blows since October 7, widely pervades locally.

Yet, as The Guardian acknowledged on October 6, the IOF’s attempted invasion of Lebanon has already proven deeply ruinous. They have lost scores of soldiers, while Hezbollah “retains a potency fighting on its own terrain… where it has had almost two decades to prepare for this conflict.” Elsewhere, the outlet observed that Iran’s October 1st strike on Tel Aviv was:

“Not…as inconsequential as initially claimed by Israel’s leadership, and instead [shows] that a large-scale strike could not only overwhelm Israel’s anti-missile defences but that Tehran could accurately explode warheads on the targets it was aiming for, in this case several military bases. All of which raises serious questions as Israel prepares for a ‘significant’ military response to Iran.”

The Guardian went on to record that due to Israel’s “fast metastasising multi-front war” against the Resistance, the Zionist entity’s “military and intelligence superiority is faltering on several fronts.” The past year has also “seriously exposed Israel’s newly minted operational doctrine, which planned for fighting short decisive wars against non-state actors…with the aim of avoiding being drawn into extended conflicts of attrition.” Instead, “the opposite has happened.” And the ranks of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Resistance groups have swelled every step of the way.

‘Deterrent Effect’

The secret of the Resistance’s success was spelled out in a little-noticed article published in June by the elite imperial journal Foreign Affairs. Unequivocally titled “Hamas Is Winning,” it sets out in forensic detail “why Israel’s failing strategy makes its enemy stronger,” and how “according to the measures that matter, Hamas is stronger today than it was” on October 7, 2023. The “growing” group has since “evolved into a tenacious and deadly guerrilla force in Gaza”, launching “lethal operations” in areas previously “cleared” by the IOF “easily”.

Foreign Affairs attributes such “overarching failure” to “a gross misunderstanding of the sources of Hamas’ power.” The Zionist entity has, to its “great detriment”, failed to comprehend that “the carnage and devastation it has unleashed in Gaza has only made its enemy stronger.” Hamas’ “key source” of support is its “potential to gain supporters from the local community” and “ability to recruit, especially its ability to attract new generations of the fighters and operatives.”

This support means Hamas can “replenish its ranks, gain resources, avoid detection, and generally have more access to the human and material resources necessary” to wage war against the Zionist entity. Average Palestinians, “often either angry over the loss of family members or friends or more generally enraged at [Israel’s] use of heavy military force,” have joined Hamas in droves or provided assistance of some kind to the group due to its “tremendous support” among the residents of Gaza.

Cited surveys of Palestinian opinion reinforce this conclusion. Five polls conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research over the 12 months from June 2023 “present a striking finding” – “on virtually every measure, Hamas has more support among Palestinians today than before October 7th.” In all, “twice as many” Palestinians favor Hamas over its primary rival Fatah – 40% compared to 20%. And 73% of Palestinians overall believe Hamas “was right to launch” that historic attack.

There has also “especially” been a rise in support for armed resistance against the Zionist entity among Palestinians in the West Bank. There, surveys find backing for the group is now “on par with the consistently high levels of support” for Hamas strikes on “Israel” in Gaza. No wonder – 60% of Palestinians in Gaza report having a family member killed in the current war, while over three-quarters report having a family member killed or injured, both numbers significantly higher than in December 2023.

Accordingly, Foreign Affairs records that Hamas has swelled in size to “roughly ten times the number of fighters” who carried out the October 7 operation. Meanwhile, “more than 80% of the group’s underground tunnel network remains usable for planning, storing weapons, and evading Israeli surveillance, capture, and attacks,” and “most” of its “top leadership in Gaza remains intact.” The IOF’s “punishment” of Palestinians “is not having a significant deterrent effect” on residents of Gaza or the West Bank, or “[reducing] their support for Hamas.”

Foreign Affairs concedes this phenomenon is not restricted to Hamas, but all components of the indefatigable Resistance. Support for Hezbollah “flourished” among Shiites during the Zionist entity’s savage 1982 – 1999 occupation of South Lebanon, the outlet notes. This resulted in the group “evolving from a small clandestine” armed faction “into a mainstream political party” in Beirut, with a dedicated military wing comprising at least 40,000 fighters today. Foreign Affairs closed out its damning appraisal of “Israel’s” war against Hamas with a stark conclusion:

“The war will go on and on, more Palestinians will die, and the threat to Israel will only grow.”

The horrors of the Zionist entity’s invasion of Lebanon will likely endure apace for some time. But so too its total economic, military, and political collapse. Meanwhile, every day the Resistance is galvanized, pullulating in strength, its mere existence winning hearts and minds within and without West Asia in ever-greater numbers. The new, dedicated pact binding anti-Zionist governments and Palestine freedom fighter movements together finally signs “Israel’s” death warrant for it was already written.

[…]

Via https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/opinion/resistance-pact-signs–israel-s–death-warrant

 By Ole Braatelien  October 12, 2024 at 11:45am

FILE PHOTO. ©  Getty Images / abile

Russia has “irrefutable evidence” of the supply of toxic chemicals to Kiev, the country’s mission to the UK has said

The West has been facilitating the supply of banned toxic chemicals to Kiev for use as chemical weaponry on the frontlines, the Russian Embassy in the UK has said.

The mission issued the claim on Tuesday in response to a new round of sanctions imposed by London targeting Russia’s Radiological Chemical and Biological Defense Forces (RChBZ) and its head, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov. London has accused them of “flagrant violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).”

The embassy strongly rejected the accusations, pointing out that Moscow destroyed its chemical arsenal years ago, with the process overseen by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

“Russia strictly adheres to the norms of international law, including the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and the Chemical Weapons Convention. There are no chemical weapons in the arsenals of our Armed Forces, which has been confirmed by international inspections,” the mission said.

In reality, London’s accusations were intended to divert attention from the numerous instances of use of chemical weapons by Kiev’s forces during the conflict against Moscow, the embassy suggested.

“By groundlessly accusing Russia, they are keeping silent confirmed facts of the use of prohibited toxic substances and chemical agents by the Kiev regime forces,” it stated, accusing the collective West of facilitating the supply of such toxins to Ukrainian troops.

The new British restrictions and the exchange of accusations come a day after General Kirillov accused Kiev of making extensive preparations for “false flag attacks aimed at accusing Russia of using toxic substances during the special military operation.” The ‘proof’ resulting from the false flag operations would then be provided to OPCW officials.

Kirillov said Moscow had registered some 400 cases in which Ukraine had used riot-control chemical agents. While used in policing, such agents qualify as chemical weapons in warfare and, therefore, are prohibited.

The general also accused Ukraine of deploying chemical weapons disguised as smoke bombs during its ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region. The munitions were used in the Russian town of Sudzha in August, with more than 20 people exposed to the toxins during the attack.

[…]

Via https://www.rt.com/russia/605490-ukraine-west-chemical-weapons/

Episode 18 High Middle Ages in Pacific Polynesia

The Middle Ages Around the World

Dr Joyce E Salisbury

Film Review

Between 400 and 700 AD Polynesia outrigger voyages from Samoa to the eastern Pacific islands far exceeded any European sea voyages at the time. From 400 till 1300 AD, Polynesians settled all the habitable islands in the so-called Polynesian triangle, an area of 800,000 square miles.

Starting from a homeland in Tonga/Samoa settled around 900 BC, they spent the first millennium expanding into the Cook Islands, Hawaii, the Marquesas Islands, Rapanui (Easter Island) and New Zealand. They reached New Zealand last (1200-1320 AD). Evidence from DNA and carbon dating is consistent with their oral tradition.

They traveled in double hulled dug out canoes, the forerunners of the catamaran. They used the area between the two canoes for storage and were powered by 24 rowers and/or triangular sails made of woven mats that could tack into the wind. During storms they overturned their vessels to ensure they stayed on course, breathing the trapped air under the canoe.

Eurasian sailors used the sky, compasses, or astrolabes to navigate along latitude lines (first conceived of by the Greeks). They were unable to measure longitude prior to the modern age.

Polynesians navigated by the rising and setting of 10 stars, prevailing ocean swells, the sun (when it was low on the horizon), cloud patterns, driftwood, fish and to some extent winds (less reliable). They used a 3-dimenional stick chart to teach novice sailors to read the winds and tides.

When they set out to settle a new island, explorers carried breadfruit, tarot, coconut (used for wood and thatch as well as food), banana, mangoes, Malay apples, sugar cane sprouts, pigs, dogs (eaten as delicacy by chiefs) and chickens. Diet also included fish, dolphin and shark.

Practicing a form of animism, they believed supernatural forces (the main one being mana) animated the universe and everything on earth, eg trees. rocks, buildings, people and ancestors. Mana could be canceled by violating tapus (taboos). For example, if a commoner touched a chief’s robe, it diminished the chief’s mana unless the commoner was killed. A common art form, the tattoo, helped preserved the mana of the individual being tattooed and their ancestors.

Typical tapus included a ban on men and women eating together or men eating food prepared by women (men did most of the cooking). Women wove mats and clothing.

Most Polynesian cultures played a nose flute (made from a one foot bamboo stalk), pan pipes and/or and ankle rattles.* Dancing, however, was the most important art form.

• Hawai – hula dance
• Tahiti – dance in which legs and arms are stationary and hips move to rapid drum beats
• New Zealand – haka war dance

The inhabitants of Rapanui built extremely tall stone statues known a mohai. Believed to represent semi-divine ancestors they face the interior guarding the inland. Although 880 have been discovered, most remain in the quarry. Of the 113 erected, 25 of them extremely large (average 13 feet tall, 28,000 pounds). They were transported from the quarry by 60-500 people pulling a long wooden sled and using a sloping ramp to tip them upward.

Rat DNA suggest a continued state of trade between Samoa/Tonga and the other Polynesian islands (except for Rapanui) until 1400 AD when climate change curtailed ocean travel.

Human DNA studies reveals that Rapanui voyagers traveled 4,000 miles to the coast of Colombia before 1150. Sweet potato cultivated throughout the Pacific Islands originated in South America.

The Polynesians inventing surfing (first depicted in 12th century art work).

*The Ukelele was introduced to Hawaii after European arrived.

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/13172786/13172825