Crooked Bough News Round-up

— Revealed: The Israel Lobbyists Writing America’s News

 

at 11/12/24 8:52am

A bombshell investigation reveals hundreds of former pro-Israel lobbyists working in America’s top newsrooms. How neutral is our media when it comes to Israel? A MintPress News investigation has found hundreds of former employees of Israel lobbying groups such as AIPAC, StandWithUs and CAMERA working in top newsrooms across the country, writing and producing America’s news – including on Israel-Palestine. These outlets include MSNBC, The New York Times, CNN and Fox News.  Some of these former lobbyists are responsible for producing content on Israel and Palestine – a gigantic and undisclosed conflict of interest. Many key U.S. newsroom staff were also formerly Israeli spies or intelligence agents, standing in stark contrast to journalists with pro-Palestine sentiments, who have been purged en masse since October 7, 2023. This investigation is part of a series detailing Israel’s influence on American media. A previous report exposed the former Israeli spies and military intelligence officials working in U.S. newsrooms.  The fight for control over the Israel-Palestine narrative has been as intense as the war on the ground itself. U.S. media have been widely criticized for displaying a distinct bias towards the Israeli perspective. However, a new investigation from MintPress News reveals that not only is the press skewed in favor of Israel, but it is also written and produced by Israeli lobbyists themselves. This investigation unearths a network of hundreds of former members of the Israel lobby working at some of America’s most influential news organizations, helping to shape the public’s understanding of events in the Middle East. In the process, it helps whitewash Israeli crimes and manufacture consent for continued U.S. participation in what a wide range of international organizations have described as a genocide. Advocacy to Journalism: Israel’s Influence at NBCUniversal “Hi! My name is Kayla Steinberg…The summer before my first year of college, I attended the AIPAC New England Leadership Dinner and absolutely loved it. After going to Saban, I knew I had to get involved in [AIPAC] and go back to Israel…I dream of being a journalist someday, and I hope to write about Israel or Judaism. WIPAC and AIPAC have taught me so much about how important it is for the U.S. to be Israel’s greatest friend, and I know now why I am proudly pro-Israel.” So wrote Kayla Steinberg in 2018, while she was working for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, widely considered the centerpiece of the pro-Israel lobby in the U.S. AIPAC has been one of the most generous political donors this election cycle, doling out $100 million to hundreds of political candidates. Steinberg did indeed become a journalist. Since 2022, she has been a producer at NBC News, pitching, scripting, producing and editing stories across NBCUniversal’s news channels, including MSNBC, CNBC and NBC News. Steinberg, who once stated publicly that “pro-Israel advocacy” was a key interest of hers, produced the NBC documentary, “Epidemic of Hate: Antisemitism in America,” which equated U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s criticism of AIPAC with the white supremacist marchers at the infamous Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, VA. Steinberg is one of many former Israel lobbyists hired by NBCUniversal, a conglomerate that owns over a dozen channels, including CNBC, NBC News and MSNBC. Emma Goss, for instance, began her career in media by traveling to Israel to make a documentary for Write on For Israel. This Zionist group aims to educate young Jewish students to “make a difference on college campuses” by learning about Jewish identity and anti-Semitism in American universities. While in college, she was a reporter for the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC). The ICC states its mission is to “inspire American college students to see Israel as a source of pride and empower them to stand up for Israel on campus” and to “unite the many pro-Israel organizations that operate on campuses across the United States” through coordination and sharing research and resources. Even before graduating, Goss had already begun to work for MSNBC, helping to produce “Morning Joe,” one of their flagship news shows. She went on to work for NBCUniversal for four years, helping produce, pitch, research, edit and book guests for The Today Show, MSNBC and NBC Nightly News. In 2018, she left to work in local media and, as of 2023, works as a reporter at NBC Bay Area. CNBC lead work reporter Gili Malinsky has an even closer relationship with Israel and its lobby. Until 2011, she was a commander in the Israeli Defense Forces, specifically in their public relations department. Malinsky (who has dual American and Israeli citizenship) led a unit dedicated to communicating the IDF’s story with the outside world, overseeing the military’s social media presence, as well as sending IDF officers abroad on public relations trips and organizing tours for foreign dignitaries to see the Israeli military in action. In 2011, she moved seamlessly into working for Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF), becoming their marketing coordinator. FIDF is an American group that raises money for supplies and support for Israeli soldiers, as well as encouraging Americans to enlist in the Israeli military. Its stated goal is to “champion the courageous men and women of the IDF and care for their needs through transformational opportunities and support as they protect the State of Israel and her people.” After working for the FIDF, Malinsky embarked upon a career in journalism, becoming a staff writer at CBS and contributing to The New York Times, Vice, The Daily Beast, NBC News and others. Since 2020, she has worked at CNBC. Although a business reporter, in the wake of the October 7 assault, Malinsky contributed to the network’s coverage of Israel-Palestine. For example, she co-wrote one article detailing the trauma suffered by the families of the Israeli festivalgoers killed by Hamas, a group she matter-of-factly identified as a terrorist organization. Noga Even, an NBCUniversal manager, is also a former Israel lobbyist. Between 2017 and 2018, she worked for StandWithUs, a conservative group that coordinates closely with the Israeli government to push a pro-Israel message on campuses globally. StandWithUs’ mission statement notes that its purpose is to “support Israel and fight antisemitism around the world.” In 2017, she organized an IDF soldier speaking tour in Texas with the intent of “putting a human face” on the Israeli military. The soldiers in question told hundreds of high schoolers in attendance about the supposed “strict IDF moral code while fighting an enemy that hides behind its civilians.” Even later went on to work for the Israeli Embassy in the United States before, in 2023, being hired by NBCUniversal. CNBC’s markets and investing reporter Samantha Subin began her career working for various Israel lobby groups. In 2016, she interned at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), a pro-Israel think tank created by the research director of AIPAC as a front group. One former AIPAC employee involved in its creation noted, “There was no question that WINEP was to be AIPAC’s cutout. It was funded by AIPAC donors, staffed by AIPAC employees, and located one door away, down the hall, from AIPAC Headquarters.” In their book, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” authors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt describe WINEP as a core part of the lobby, “funded and run by individuals who are deeply committed to advancing Israel’s agenda.” Subin went on to work for the TAMID group, which describes itself as “seek[ing] to forge a strong connection to Israel for the next generation of business leaders.” While still at TAMID, she managed to get her foot in the door at CNBC, and has worked as a reporter there since 2021. Another former TAMID employee working at CNBC is Benji Stawski. In 2016, Stawski co-founded a TAMID chapter at his local Bentley University. He later moved to CNN and, since 2022, has been an editor at CNBC. For Israel and its lobby, having these sorts of advocates in newsrooms across America is a dream. With dozens—if not hundreds—of individuals fact-checking pro-Palestine arguments, booking pro-Israel guests, pitching stories that cast Israel in a positive light and its adversaries negatively, and weaving Zionist narratives into reporting, it’s no surprise that U.S. corporate media shows a pronounced bias in favor of Israel and its perspectives. Older Americans who still rely on cable news and newspapers support the Israeli attack on its neighbors, while younger people who use social media as their primary source of information side with the Palestinians. The connections to pro-Israel organizations extend to the leadership of NBCUniversal as well. Danny Bittker, the company’s vice president of production and operations, worked for many years for BBYO, eventually becoming its regional director. BBYO (B’nai B’rith Youth Organization) is a group that sends young Jewish teens to Israel. It is far from a politically neutral body, however. A measure of this can be seen on its homepage, where visitors are currently greeted with a gigantic banner reading, “We Support Israel and Stand By Its Right to Defend Itself.” Brandon Glantz, NBCUniversal’s senior director of global privacy operations, previously worked for Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world. Some at Hillel might object to being called part of the Zionist Lobby in America. Helpfully, then, on his own LinkedIn page, Glantz described his role at Hillel as “conduct[ing] all Israel advocacy on the University of Florida campus.” Yelena Kutikova, a director and vice president of learning and development at NBCUniversal until May of this year, was previously a director for the United Jewish Appeal — Federation of New York. Kutikova worked for over three years at UJA-NY, a group that raises money to build illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine and coaches American politicians and pundits on how to best advocate for Israel. Earlier this year, leaked documents showed sessions convened by the UJA advised U.S. officials to spread highly questionable claims about mass rapes on October 7 as a way to deflect criticism away from Israel’s slaughter in Gaza. Other former Israel lobbyists who have gone on to work for the network include longtime MSNBC producer Alana Heller, a former intern at AIPAC; Sara Bernstein, formerly of Hillel International, who went on to work for Paramount, the Discovery Channel and NBCUniversal; and Sarah Poss, a former intern at the Anti-Defamation League, who, since 2019, has worked in various roles at NBC News and MSNBC. NBCUniversal does not appear to view these individuals’ backgrounds as conflicts of interest or red flags. In fact, their history of lobbying for Israel may be seen as an asset, especially given that MSNBC’s executive producer, Moshe Arenstein, was an IDF intelligence commander for many years. Arenstein joined MSNBC in 2003 and has since produced news on a broad range of political topics, including coverage of Israel and Palestine. It seems likely that the enormous overlap between the Israel lobby and MSNBC at least played a part in the network’s decision to, in the wake of the October 7 attacks, suspend its only three Muslim anchors. MSNBC quietly and without explanation pulled Ayman Mohieddine, Ali Velshi and Mehdi Hasan from the air. Employees immediately understood this as a message to the rest of the staff. “The mood is very similar to what had happened post 9/11 with the whole you are either with us or against us argument,” one employee told Arab News. Hasan, a vocal critic of Israel, left the network and has never addressed speculation about his departure, only adding to the evidence that he was pushed out due to his political views. Fox News and the Pro-Israel Pipeline At the other end of the American elite political spectrum lies Fox News. And yet, on the issue of Israel, the network’s coverage has been markedly similar to MSNBC’s. Like MSNBC, Fox News employs a wide range of former Israeli lobbyists in key positions within its company. Before becoming a journalist, Rachel Wolf worked for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA), a right-wing pressure group that tries to minimize or silence criticism of Israel in the press. While still at CAMERA, Wolf interned at the Zionist Organization of America, compiling dossiers on pro-Palestine figures and authoring memos full of talking points against anti-Zionist speakers appearing on campuses. She left CAMERA to work at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. and soon became a speechwriter for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, where she worked aiding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Wolf then moved to Israel to join the IDF, where she served as a spokesperson for the military, producing press releases, running their social media campaigns, and developing, in her own words, “innovative” strategies to humanize the group. Only one year after leaving the IDF, she joined the “Hannity” program on Fox News and is now the company’s homepage and social media editor. A retweet by Fox News social media editor Rachel Wolf on her personal X account Wolf’s colleague at Fox News, Olivia Johnson, was formerly Director of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), an organization that aims to build and strengthen the military bond between the United States and Israel. A recent JINSA report calls for the United States to support Israel in a war against Iran. After leaving JINSA, Johnson worked for CBS News and, since 2011, has been a broadcast associate at Fox. Nicole Cooper worked for AIPAC between 2019 and 2020, helping to organize conferences and other events. Soon after leaving the lobby group, she was offered the executive assistant position to the Fox News network President. Finally, Sarah Schornstein’s career has seen her run the gamut of pro-Israel groups, including seven months with AIPAC, an internship with Hillel and JINSA, and a position with CAMERA, where she, in her own words, was charged with “monitor[ing] any anti-Semitic/anti-Zionist activity on my campus” – a statement that suggests she sees the two as one and the same. In 2021, she also worked for Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, where she policed NGOs being invited to the forum to ensure they do not “have a harmful impact on Israeli interests.” In 2022, she worked at the Abraham Accords Peace Institute, a group dedicated to promoting the normalization of Israel in the Arab world. Since 2021, she has been at Fox News, producing some of its most influential shows, including “Cavuto Live!” Host Neil Cavuto regularly invites Israeli advocates and officials onto his show, throwing them softball questions and allowing them to present a pro-Israel narrative unchallenged. In October, for example, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon appeared on the show, claiming that his country was responding to Iranian aggression by launching “retaliatory” strikes against a rogue state. CNN’s Israel Connections: Former IDF, Unit 8200, and Israel Lobbyists CNN is widely considered among the most prestigious networks in broadcast journalism. And yet, like NBCUniversal and Fox, this study found large numbers of CNN employees with backgrounds in Israeli advocacy. Jenny Friedland began her professional career at the American Jewish Committee, a strongly pro-Israel organization, which lists “defeating Boycott Divestment and Sanctions” as one of their primary goals and recently published an article headlined, “Five Reasons Why the Events in Gaza Are Not ‘Genocide.’” Friedland  has been a producer for CNN since 2019, primarily for Fareed Zakaria’s show. Another CNN producer, Hannah Rabinowitz, previously worked for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a group that purports to be an anti-racist organization but, in practice, often uses claims of anti-Semitism to shield Israel from criticism. A recent MintPress News investigation found that the ADL’s claims of a surge in Anti-Semitism across America were based upon labeling pro-Palestine marches as inherently anti-Semitic. ADL chief Jonathan Greenblatt stated as much, going so far as to say that anti-Zionism was not just anti-Semitic but that it equates to “genocide.” Greenblatt explained that “Every Jewish person is a Zionist…it is fundamental to our existence.” This will undoubtedly be news to the large plurality of American Jews under 40, who, polls show, consider Israel to be a racist Apartheid state. The ADL has, for decades, spied on progressive American groups, including the AFL-CIO, Greenpeace, the United Farmworkers, and a host of left-wing Jewish groups. It also secretly passed much of this research onto the Israeli government, whom the FBI, internal memos show, believe funded their activities. CNN also employs an alarming number of former Israeli soldiers and spies. Among them is Ami Kaufman, a writer and producer of “Amanpour,” the network’s flagship news and global affairs show. Before working at CNN, Kaufman was a weapons specialist in the IDF, and between 2003 and 2004, worked for the CIA at their Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Another CNN producer, Tamar Michaelis, previously served as an official spokesperson for the IDF. Shachar Peled, meanwhile, spent three years as an officer in the Israeli military intelligence group Unit 8200, leading a team of analysts in surveillance and cyberwarfare. She also served as a technology analyst for the Israeli intelligence service, Shin Bet. In 2017, she was hired as a producer and writer by CNN and spent three years putting together segments for Zakaria and Amanpour’s shows. Google later hired her to become their Senior Media Specialist. Unit 8200 is among the most notorious spying agencies in the world and is widely thought to be behind the recent Lebanon pager attack that injured thousands of civilians. It utilizes big data to create a digital dragnet on Palestinians and uses A.I. to determine the likelihood of individuals being members of Hamas or other proscribed organizations. The agency then uses this data to create gigantic kill lists of tens of thousands of people, which it used in its campaign against Gaza. Unit 8200 alumni also went on to work closely with Israeli authorities in developing the infamous Pegasus spying software, created to spy on politicians, journalists and civil rights leaders the world over. Tal Heinrich is another Unit 8200 agent turned journalist. In 2014, CNN hired her to be the field and desk producer for the network’s Jerusalem Bureau, where she oversaw its coverage of Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s 2014 attack on Gaza. Heinrich later left CNN and is now the official spokesperson of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A previous MintPress News investigation profiled Peled, Heinrich and other Israel ex-spies who work in America’s newsrooms. And while never having worked for a lobby organization, Israeli-American CNN news producer Gili Ramen seems to act as an unofficial lobbyist, beseeching anyone with the chance to go on birthright tours and penning long “love letters” to Israel, detailing how she “fell in love” with her “magical” “homeland.” Revealed: The Israeli Spies Writing Americas News Critics have claimed that CNN’s coverage of the attack on Gaza has been among the most biased and misleading anywhere to be seen, the network repeating Israeli talking points and ignoring Palestinian suffering. This has not gone unnoticed by ordinary Palestinians. Last year, a live CNN segment from Ramallah was broken up by angry demonstrators. “Fuck CNN! You are genocide supporters! You are not welcome here, genocide supporters” Fuck CNN!” one man told host Clarissa Ward before the live broadcast was cut. From Birthright to Byline: Israel Ties Run Deep in America’s Newspaper of Record Pro-Israel lobbyists are not confined to broadcast media; they are also present in print newsrooms nationwide, including at the United States’ most prestigious and influential publication, The New York Times. Dalit Shalom, the Times’ director of product design, was formerly a guide for birthright trips – an Israeli government-funded program to gift free tours of Israel for young Jews in the hopes that they will settle there. He also worked for the Jewish Agency for Israel, an offshoot of the World Zionist Organization, whose mission statement is to “ensure that every Jewish person feels an unbreakable bond to one another and to Israel,” and encourages Jewish immigration to the country. Before his career in journalism, Adam Rasgon, the Times’ correspondent in Jerusalem, interned at the Shalem Center, a now-defunct group founded in 1994 to “enrich and strengthen the State of Israel.” From there, he went to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Sofia Poznansky, a New York Times newsroom assistant, previously worked for Masa Israel Journey, an Israeli government-funded project to entice foreign Jewish people to the country. It works closely with lobby groups such as StandWithUs, the ADL and Hillel. Before joining the New York Times as an editorial assistant, Rania Raskin worked for the Tivkah Fund, an organization dedicated to promoting Zionism among young Jewish Americans. Raskin aids top Times columnists such as Pamela Paul, David French, and Bret Stephens. Since Raskin has been assisting Stephens, he has produced columns entitled “We Absolutely Need to Escalate in Iran,” “The Genocide Charge Against Israel Is a Moral Obscenity,” “Hezbollah is Everyone’s Problem,” “The Appalling Tactics of the ‘Free Palestine’ Movement,” “Abolish the U.N.’s Palestinian Refugee Agency,” “The left is Dooming any Hope for a Palestinian State,” and “Hamas Bears the Blame for Every Death in this War.” Of course, neither Stephens nor the Times needed Raskin’s assistance to promote an aggressively pro-Israel agenda. A study by MintPress News earlier this year analyzed coverage of the Yemeni Red Sea blockade by The New York Times, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News. The study found that these outlets consistently maintained a pro-Israel perspective. This included frequently highlighting that Yemen’s Ansar Allah is Iranian-backed while not similarly noting U.S. support for Israel and portraying Yemen as the aggressor in the conflict. From Lobbyist to Local News While this investigation has concentrated on four outlets, the phenomenon of former Israel lobbyists producing America’s news is widespread across the corporate press. For example, between 2010 and 2012, Beatrice Peterson was a delegate for AIPAC. She later became a producer for Politico and is currently a reporter and producer at ABC News. In 2018, Erica Scott left her job as the ADL’s media and communications specialist to work at CBS This Morning. She is currently CBS News’ editorial producer. Another current CBS News producer, Betsy Shuller, previously was a public relations associate for Hillel International. Shuller has also worked for CNN, ABC, and NBC. In 2021, Oren Oppenheim left UChicago Hillel to join ABC News, where he is currently a political unit journalist. Currently a technical project manager for The Washington Post, Lisa Jacobsen was previously the program director at the American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, a group pushing for more robust pro-Israel policies in the United States. Eliyahu Kamisher was formerly an intern for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a research assistant at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East and African Studies in Tel Aviv and is now a reporter at Bloomberg News. In addition, this investigation found dozens of former Israel lobbyists working in local news across the United States. Switching Sides: The Newsroom to War Room Pipeline Not only do pro-Israel partisans go to work in America’s newsrooms, but journalists also leave their jobs to work for the Israel lobby, creating a highly problematic revolving door between the two professions. Benjamin Bell, for example, left a long and successful career in the media that included being deputy managing editor and politics coordinating producer for ABC News and the senior editor of features and planning at CNN+ to become the director of broadcast media at the Israeli Consulate General in New York. Jake Novak’s career arc followed a similar trajectory. A former producer at CNN and senior producer at Fox Business, in 2021, he left his job as a columnist and political analyst at CNBC to become the media director of the Israeli Consulate in New York. The previous year, Novak wrote an article about the assassination of Iranian leader Qassem Soleimani entitled “America just took out the world’s no.1 bad guy.” Originally an associate producer for CNN, where she wrote and produced content for leading shows such as “Amanpour,” Phoenix Berman left her job at CBS Philadelphia earlier this year to become an investigative researcher for the Anti-Defamation League. In 2008, Darren Mackoff ended a long career as a producer for Fox News and NBC News, taking up the position of senior communications manager and deputy press secretary for AIPAC. The ADL’s social media strategist and director of sports engagement, Alex Freeman, also has a background in broadcast journalism. Freeman left his position as a writer and producer for Fox News to join the pro-Israel group. Former CBS News, PBS and Fox News producer Anna Olson is currently serving as director of digital content for Hillel International. Naveed Jamali, meanwhile, has jumped between journalism, the lobby and back again. A former intelligence analyst at MSNBC and contributor to The Daily Beast, between 2020 and 2022, he was the ADL’s Belfer Fellow. His ADL profile describes him as an “FBI asset.” Today, he is the executive producer and editor-at-large of the influential magazine Newsweek. Jonathan Harounoff, currently a contributing writer to the New York Post, was, until recently, JINSA’s director of communications. He has just started a new job as an international spokesperson and senior communications advisor to the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations. Considering Israel’s actions and the U.N. response to them (the U.N. continues to vote to condemn Israel and demand a ceasefire), Harounoff is likely a busy man. Censorship or Standards? The Cost of Pro-Palestine Advocacy The ease with which hundreds of individuals can jump between the pro-Israel lobby and the newsroom stands in stark contrast to how journalists publicly (or even privately) advocating for Palestinian rights have been treated. In 2021, the Associated Press fired news associate Emily Wilder after it was alleged that, while at college, she was a member of pro-Palestine groups, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Students for Justice in Palestine. The witch hunt against a young Jewish journalist was led and amplified by the likes of Fox News, who appeared to believe expressing support for Palestine robbed her of her credibility, even as the network, as this investigation has shown, employed multiple former members of Israel lobby groups. Three years previously, CNN sacked contributor Marc Lamont Hill after he called for a free Palestine “from the river to the sea” during an address he made to the United Nations. Unsurprisingly, pro-Israel groups were among those lobbying CNN the hardest to take action against what they deemed unacceptable speech. The Hill, meanwhile, dismissed Katie Halper after she called Israel an Apartheid state on air. That so many of those fired for their positions on Israel have been Jewish is no coincidence. The Middle East has always been of particular concern to American Jews, and progressive, anti-Zionist Jewish groups are among the primary targets of the Israel lobby. Halper’s exit set the tone at The Hill. And so when its host, Briahna Joy Gray (another strong critic of Israel’s attack on Gaza), was also dismissed earlier this year, it came as no surprise to her. “It finally happened. The Hill has fired me. There should be no doubt that [The Hill] has a clear pattern of suppressing speech — particularly when it’s critical of the state of Israel,” she tweeted. Gray’s departure was part of a broader post-October 7 trend, with newsrooms across the West cracking down on pro-Palestine sentiment being shared. In the wake of the Hamas assault, the BBC pulled six reporters from its Arabic news service off the air. Around the same time, The Guardian announced it would not renew the contract of one of its longest-serving cartoonists, Steve Bell. The newspaper had recently refused to print a cartoon satirizing Netanyahu and the attack on Gaza. Across the Atlantic, The New York Times fired Palestinian photojournalist Hosam Salam over comments he made supporting factions resisting Israel. Thus, while outlets across the board were rushing out editorials declaring their solidarity with Israel, even as it embarked on a rampage through Gaza, young, progressive journalists received the message loud and clear: this is no place for you. A case in point is Malak Silmi, a Palestinian-American reporter who left the profession in disgust, filled with disillusionment at what she experienced. “I do not believe I can be valued as a journalist by a media industry that delegitimizes and demonizes Palestinian journalists and allows for reporting that incites and justifies attacks against them,” she wrote in January, explaining her decision to walk away from the industry. Words Matter: How Newsrooms Shape the Narrative Silmi’s comments are borne out by studies. More journalists were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza than in any other conflict over a similar period. Yet outlets such as the New York Times have shown little interest in Israel’s war on journalists, and when they do cover it, they rarely identify Israel as the culprit in their headlines. A study of leading American outlets by media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting found that the word “brutal” was overwhelmingly used in reference to Palestinians and their actions and rarely used to describe Israel. These choices cue and prompt readers to feel one way about the conflict; they are brutes, and we are compassionate. These sorts of discrepancies do not happen by accident. A leaked New York Times memo from last November revealed that company management explicitly instructed its reporters not to use words such as “genocide,” “slaughter,” and “ethnic cleansing” when discussing Israel’s actions. Times staff must refrain from using words like “refugee camp,” “occupied territory,” or even “Palestine” in their reporting, making it almost impossible to convey some of the most basic facts to their audience. Likewise, CNN employees face similar pressure. Last October, new C.E.O. Mark Thompson sent out a memo to all staff instructing them to make sure that Hamas (and not Israel) is presented as responsible for the violence, that they must always use the moniker “Hamas-controlled” when discussing the Gaza Health Ministry and their civilian death figures, and barring them from any reporting of Hamas’ viewpoint, which its senior director of news standards and practices told staff was “not newsworthy” and amounted to “inflammatory rhetoric and propaganda.” German media conglomerate Axel Springer, meanwhile, forces all of its employees to sign what amounts to a loyalty oath to support “the trans-Atlantic alliance and Israel.” Last year, the company fired a Lebanese employee who, through internal channels, questioned the requirement. An outsized role in American politics The Israel lobby played an outsized role in this year’s elections, spending over $100 million to promote Zionist candidates and relentlessly attack progressive critics of Israel. All 362 AIPAC-endorsed candidates won their races. “Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics,” AIPAC boasts. To be sure, AIPAC only endorses candidates it believes have a good chance of winning to promote its image as a kingmaker in U.S. politics. But it has also played a significant part in suppressing progressive change in the country by successfully primarying critics of Israel, such as Jamal Bowman and Cori Bush. AIPAC spent over $30 million ousting the pair in two of the most expensive House primaries in history. “I want to thank our partners at AIPAC,” Bush’s opponent, Wesley Bell, said, adding that he was “not getting across the finish line without you.” AIPAC also helps push reactionary and racist political ideas into American life, supporting one candidate who proposed a bill to deport Palestinians from the U.S. AIPAC Strikes Again: Cori Bushs Primary Loss Exposes the Power of Pro-Israel Money It is clear that Israel and its supporters play an outsized role in American politics. But few are aware of the extent to which our news is written and produced by individuals with backgrounds in groups lobbying for Israel. This investigation was able to find hundreds of individuals from prestigious news outlets who previously worked for AIPAC, StandWithUs, CAMERA, or other organizations commonly identified as core pillars of the pro-Israel lobby. It is still far from an exhaustive list. For brevity’s sake, it only highlighted a handful of the most prominent and influential U.S. media networks. Nor did it touch upon the army of former lobbyists working at smaller channels or in local media. This investigation does not accuse any of those noted above or claim they are unworthy of holding those positions and should be fired. But it does highlight the extent to which pro-Israel sentiment is considered so normal in elite circles, so much so that former Israel lobbyists, spies, and soldiers can be charged with producing supposedly objective and unbiased reporting, even on Middle Eastern issues. And even as former employees of Israel lobby groups are hired en masse, those speaking out against Israel’s attacks on its neighbors, or even suspected of harboring pro-Palestine sympathies, are jettisoned from corporate media’s ranks. When it comes to Israel-Palestine, there exists a glaring double standard in our media. In our supposedly free and open system, you can hold any opinions you like, so long as they are pro-Israel. The information presented here is likely common knowledge in newsrooms. And yet, it has been essentially ignored by the media, who seem to consider it unremarkable. This investigation is not claiming that people with pro-Israel views should be barred from working in the media. However, these backgrounds and blatant conflicts of interest should, at the very least, be disclosed, particularly when covering the ongoing violence in the Middle East. Despite the commitment to truth, transparency and journalistic integrity often touted by the likes of the New York Times and other newsrooms across America, U.S. media have failed in their ability to provide the public with truthful reporting of the facts when it comes to Israel-Palestine. Their approach throws to the wind guidelines from organizations like the Society of Professional Journalists, which dictate that journalists “avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived,” and “disclose unavoidable conflicts.” Similarly, the Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists outlines a newsroom’s “duty to disclose any affiliations that could affect coverage.” Instead, former lobbyists and figures with ties to pro-Israel groups are given free rein to shape narratives around the Middle East. No wonder that Americans’ understanding of the conflict, its history, and the stakes involved is so poor. This lack of transparency is, in part, the reason for Americans’ fragile trust in the media—now at roughly 30%, according to recent polls. The revelation that much of our news is literally written and produced by former Israeli spies and lobbyists is not going to help that number improve. Revealed: The Israel Lobbyists Writing America’s News Feature photo | Illustration by MintPress News The post Revealed: The Israel Lobbyists Writing America’s News appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: SOCIAL/CULTURAL, Israel, Israel Lobby, media, USA]

— The Incoming Trump Administration Is Already Filling Up With War Sluts

 

at 11/11/24 7:54pm

Donald Trump has named Republican congressman Mike Waltz as his next national security advisor, a position that was held by ultrahawk John Bolton in the last Trump administration. Like Bolton, Waltz is a warmongering freak. Journalist Michael Tracey has been filling up his Twitter page since the announcement with examples of Waltz’s insane hawkishness, including his support for letting Ukraine use US weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, criticizing Biden for not escalating aggressively enough in Ukraine, advocating bombing Iran, opposing the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan, and naming Iran, North Korea, China, Russia and Venezuela as “on the march” against the United States toward global conflict. The mainstream press are calling Waltz a “China hawk”, but from the look of things he’s a war-horny hawk toward all the official enemies of the United States. https://x.com/Antiwarcom/status/1856150910122242350 Trump has also confirmed that Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik will be taking on the role of US ambassador to the UN, a role previously held by warmonger Nikki Haley in the last Trump administration. Again, there doesn’t seem to be much difference between the old hawk and the new one. Stefanik is best known for her congressional efforts to stomp out free speech on college campuses, making a lie of Trump’s lip service to the importance of First Amendment rights. As explained by Antiwar’s Dave DeCamp, she’s a hawkish swamp monster whose political career was primed in some of the most odious neoconservative think tanks in Washington, and opposes placing any limits on US military support for Israel. Earlier this year Stefanik actually flew to Israel to give a speech before the Israeli Knesset vowing to help stop the “antisemitism” of protesters against Israel’s genocidal atrocities at American universities. And now we’re getting reports throughout the mass media that deranged war slut Marco Rubio has been tapped as Trump’s new secretary of state. It’s really hard to imagine anyone worse for the role of Washington’s top diplomat than a warmonger who has spent his entire political career pushing for more wars, sanctions and slaughter at every opportunity. https://x.com/mtracey/status/1856149566992863400 This should dash the hopes of Trump supporters everywhere that this time their guy really will end the wars and drain the swamp. Trump’s appointment of Iran hawk Brian Hook to help staff the State Department for the next administration and his rumored consideration of Mike Rogers for secretary of defense are likewise bad signs, as is Tucker Carlson’s claim that virulent China hawk Elbridge Colby is likely to play a role in the administration. Trump’s anti-interventionist supporters loudly applauded the other day when he unexpectedly announced that Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley would not be playing a role in the next administration. In response to the announcement, libertarian comedian and podcaster Dave Smith said on Twitter that stopping Pompeo was not enough and that “we need maximum pressure to keep all neocons and war hawks out of the Trump administration.” In response to Smith’s post, Donald Trump Jr tweeted, “Agreed!!! I’m on it.” When I saw this, I tweeted the following: “Ignore their words and watch their actions. Been saying it for years, and I’m going to keep on saying it. Ignore their words, watch their actions. Talk, as they say, is cheap.” Their actions are telling us a lot more than their words right now. Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley): https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-incoming-trump-administration The post The Incoming Trump Administration Is Already Filling Up With War Sluts appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Trump, USA, warmongering]

— The West’s very fundamental accumulating contradictions

 

at 11/11/24 4:28pm

The West doesn’t have the financial clout to pursue global primacy – if it ever did. The election has occurred; Trump will take office in January; many of the existing Party Nomenklatura will be replaced; different policies will be announced – but actually taking power (rather than just sitting in the White House) will be more complex. The U.S. has devolved into many disparate fiefdoms – almost princedoms – from the CIA to the Justice Department. And regulatory ‘agencies’ too, have been implanted to preserve Nomenklatura hold on the System’s lifeblood. Pulling these ideological adversaries into new thinking will not proceed entirely smoothly. However, the U.S. election also, has been a referendum on the prevalent western intellectual mainstream. And that likely will be more decisive than the U.S. domestic vote – important though that is. The U.S. has shifted strategically away from the managerial techno-oligarchy that took its grip in the 1970s. Today’s shift is reflected across the U.S. Back in 1970, Zbig Brzezinski (who was to become National Security Adviser to President Carter) wrote a book foreseeing the new era: What he then called ‘The Technetronic Era’, “involved the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society … dominated by an élite, unrestrained by traditional values … [and practicing] continuous surveillance over every citizen … [together with] manipulation of the behaviour and intellectual functioning of all people … [would become the new norm].” Elsewhere, Brzezinski argued that “the nation-state … has ceased to be the principal creative force: International banks and multinational corporations are acting and planning in terms that are far in advance of the political concepts of the nation-state”. Brzezinski was plain wrong about the benefits of tech cosmopolitan governance. And he was decisively, and disastrously, wrong in the policy prescriptions that he adduced from the implosion of the Soviet Union in 1991 – that no country or group of countries would ever dare to stand up to U.S. power. Brzezinski argued in The Grand Chessboard that Russia would have no choice but to submit to the expansion of NATO, and to the geopolitical dictates of the U.S. But Russia did not succumb. And as a result of the élites’ 1991 ‘End of History’ euphoria, the West launched war in Ukraine to prove its point – that no single country could hope to stand against the combined weight of all NATO. They said that because they believed it. They believed in the western Manifest Destiny. They did not understand the other options Russia had. Today, the Ukraine war is lost. Hundreds of thousands have died unnecessarily – for a conceit. The ‘other war’ in the Middle East fares no differently. The Israeli-U.S. war on Iran will be lost, and tens of thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese will have died pointlessly. And the ‘forever wars’ too, that were expected by the Supreme Commander of NATO in the wake of 9/11 to topple an array of states (first Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran), not only did they not result in consolidating U.S. hegemony, but they have led instead to Kazan and to BRICS, with its long tail of aspirant members, ready to face down foreign colonialism. The Kazan summit was cautious. It didn’t project a flush of solutions; some BRICS states were hesitant (the U.S. election was scheduled for the following week). Putin’s comments to these latter states were carefully calibrated: Look at what the U.S. can do to you, should you fall foul of it, at any point. Protect yourselves. All that the BRICS President (Putin) could say, at this juncture, was: Here are the problems that [we have to solve]. It is premature to set up a full alternative Bretton Woods structure at this time. But we can set up the core to a prudent alternative for working in the dollar sphere: a settlement and clearing system, BRICS Clear; a reference unit of account; a re-insurance structure and the BRICS Card – a retail payment card system similar to AliPay. Perhaps a Reserve Currency and the full Bretton Woods paraphernalia will prove unnecessary. Financial technology is evolving fast – and providing that the BRICS clearance system is functional, a multitude of fin-tech separate trade channels may ultimately be what results. But a ‘week is a long time in politics’. And one week later, the western intellectual paradigm was upended. The Shibboleths of the last fifty years were rejected across the board in the U.S. by voters. The ideology of ‘undoing’ the cultural past; the casting aside the lessons of history (for, it is claimed, ‘wrongful’ perspectives) and the rejection of systems of ethics reflected in the myths and stories of a community, have themselves been rejected! It is ok again to be a ‘civilisational state”. The radical doubting and cynicism of the Anglo-sphere is reduced to one perspective amongst many. And no longer can be the universal narrative. Well, post the U.S. election, BRICS sentiment must be turbo-charged. Notions that were not thinkable last week, just became possible and thinkable a week later. Historians may look back, and observe that the future architecture of modern global finance, modern global economy may have struggled to be born at Kazan, but is now a healthy infant. Will it all happen smoothly? Of course not. Differences between BRICS member and ‘partner’ states will remain, but this week a window has opened, fresh air has entered, and many will breathe more easily. If there is one thing that should be clear, a second Trump Administration is unlikely to feel the need to launch a ‘war on the world’ to maintain its global hegemony (as the 2022 National Defence Strategy insist it should). For the U.S. today faces its own internal structural contradictions to which Trump regularly alluded when he talked about the evaporated American real economy owing to the off-shored manufacturing base. A recent report by the RAND Organisation states starkly however, that the U.S. defence industrial base is unable to meet the equipment, technology, and munitions needs of the U.S. and its allies and partners. A protracted conflict, especially in multiple theatres, would require much greater capacity [– and a radically increased defence budget]. Trump’s industrial recuperation plan, however, of painfully high tariffs ringing American manufacturing; an end to Federal profligacy and lower taxes suggests however, a reversal into fiscal rectitude – after decades of fiscal laxity and uncontrolled borrowing. Not big military spending! (Defence spending, by the way, during the Cold War relied on top marginal income tax rates above 70 percent and corporate tax rates averaging 50 percent – which does not seem to accord with what Trump has in mind). Professor Richard Wolff comments in a recent interview that the West as a whole is in deep trouble financially, precisely as a result of such unrestrained government expenditures: “For the first time, a couple of years ago, bondholders were unwilling to continue to fund the deficits of Great Britain, and [the UK government was thrown out]. Mr. Macron is now heading right down that same path. Bondholders have told the French that they are not going to continue to fund their national debt. Here’s how it works. Bondholders are telling the French, you have to rein in spending … The bondholders are saying, you have to stop running deficits. And, as every undergraduate knows, the way you would rein in deficits could be to cut spending. But there is an alternative: It’s called taxing. And it’s called taxing corporations and the rich because the others don’t have any more for you to tax – you’ve done all you can [do with taxes on ordinary French citizens]. [However] taxing corporations and the rich … somehow, is not only ‘not doable’, but not debatable. It can’t be put on the table: Nothing. (or, something so minuscule that will never deal with the deficit). We now have too much debt. And it turns out that the government, like the American government, is facing the next few years where it will have to spend as much on servicing its debt as it is on defence. And that doesn’t leave very much for everybody else. And everybody else is saying: no, no, no, no, no, no. And now the bondholder gets worried, because one way to resolve this would be to stop paying the bond holders and that, of course, must never be. So you’ve got two absurdities. You can’t stop paying the bondholders (when, of course, you can, but with dire consequences). And you can’t tax corporations and the rich. And, of course you can. I think we are reaching a point in which these contradictions have accumulated. You don’t have to be a Hegelian or a Marxist to understand that these accumulating contradictions are very profound, very large, and very fundamental”. They tell us that on the one hand that the world does not accept the western vision as being of universal application – and on the other hand, the West doesn’t have the financial clout to pursue global primacy – if it ever did: Zugzwang. The West’s very fundamental accumulating contradictions The post The West’s very fundamental accumulating contradictions appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, BRICS, Trump, US Foreign Policy, USA, USElection2024, World Order]

— Ukraine’s Nightmare

 

at 11/11/24 1:34pm

Ukraine’s Nightmare The post Ukraine’s Nightmare appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, Russia, Trump, Ukraine, USA]

— Can Trump Succeed?

 

at 11/11/24 10:02am

There’s many a slip between cup and lip I have been speaking with MAGA Americans and, as I suspected, there is little comprehension of the vast impediments to renewal.  The swamp that Trump is to drain is entrenched and institutionalized, but Trump supporters think that with Trump elected and the Senate and House in Republican hands the job is done. Nothing could be further from the truth.  The majority of Republicans in the Senate and House are RINOs, not Trump supporters.  They are part of the establishment and comfortable in it.  Mitch McConnell is forever as he is in the process of demonstrating.  This Wednesday McConnell is holding the election of the Senate Majority Leader.  His two candidates, chosen without any input from Trump, are John Thune and John Cornyn, neither being MAGAs.  Senator Rick Scott, more likely to be helpful to Trump, is running against the establishment’s candidates.  If the establishment prevails, Trump’s strong appointments are likely to be blocked or to languish unconfirmed.  The prospect of being blocked can discourage an appointee from accepting the appointment. The establishment can also hamstring Trump by rushing through many unfriendly judicial appointments.  Trump Americans need to understand that the enemy has not folded its tents and left the field. Here is Trump himself warning: President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 10 publicly mentioned one condition for the next leader of the Senate Republican Conference: He or she must clear the way for recess appointments for Trump administration officials. “Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner,” Trump wrote on social media platform Truth Social on Nov. 10, addressing the upcoming Senate leadership vote. He noted that such votes can take “two years or more,” which is “what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again.” “We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!” he wrote. Aside from the request, Trump also said that Republicans should not confirm any judges in the coming months before his inauguration “because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership,” adding, “THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.” https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-sets-condition-for-next-senate-republican-leader-5757426  I know from experience that there are many ways in which things can go wrong.   Note General Flynn’s warning:    https://www.zerohedge.com/political/general-flynn-delivers-bone-chilling-post-election-warning  The euphoria that Trump and his supporters are experiencing can easily lead to deadly mistakes.  Appointments that face confirmation challenges can be avoided in the interest of not having a defeat before the new administration is underway.  Consequently, when the new administration is underway, it will lack the strength it needs to succeed.   The Biden regime can enter into Ukraine and Middle East agreements that lock-in the Trump administration.   A weak appointment as Attorney General and the Trump administration is finished before it begins. In order to succeed, Trump will have to bring the power of the people against the establishment.  This means he will have to fight.  With the wrong appointments the fight will never begin. Compromise for the sake of unity will be the weapon of the establishment and the presstitutes.  Trump said he was going to unify the country.  How does one unify with enemies who tried to kill you and who are opposed to the Constitution of the United States?  Perhaps Trump should have thought about this before he handed the unity weapon to his enemies. Trump and his supporters must not forget that Trump is leading an insurrection against the establishment.   Can Trump Succeed? The post Can Trump Succeed? appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Trump, USA]

— My Pleasant Dream of America’s Revival Under Trump Was Followed by a Nightmare

 

at 11/11/24 9:41am

Mike Whitney, one of the few intelligent and realistic commentators in the United States and Western World, has raised a worthy and demanding question.  Did the Deep State permit Trump to win so that they can use him to recruit  America’s young men to fight a war for Israel against Iran, a task beyond Kamala’s capability? Whitney makes a case that those of us excited by our expectations of Trump’s presidency will find deflating.  Read it here:   https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/trumps-triumph-and-the-firing-of-yoav-gallant/  I myself have been wondering how Trump was going to make America great again when he supports Israel’s genocidal wars.  How is a country great, especially in a moral and spiritual sense, when it provides the money and weapons used by Israel to genocide Palestine, to bomb women and children in Lebanon, and to attack Iran in the belief that Washington will come to Israel’s rescue? No such country can be great. Moreover, no such country can be disengaged from war. It seems the US military/security complex expects to keep the war profits flowing by committing Trump to a war with Iran. There are plenty of Washington-hardened Zionist neoconservatives in positions of power and influence in Washington to override resistance to the war agenda. Mike Whitney provides scenes of Israeli celebrations of Trump’s election. Trump’s election is regarded as a green light for war with Iran.  The crazed Zionist Netanyahu fired the more sensible Israeli defense minister for telling him that the Israeli military was already over-extended, without a credible war plan,  and must not risk war with Iran.   Will Trump understand how serious the situation is?  Does Trump and his advisors realize that their foreign policy is being set in place by the Deep State prior to the inauguration in order to keep the war profits flowing? Does Trump realize that for his supporters making America great again includes military dominance? MAGA Americans are tired of losing wars. They want to win. The military/security complex will have Trump supporters in the streets waving the flag.  They will wave the flag and expect Trump to win.  It is all part of making America great again. It is a war  recipe for disaster. Will my pleasant dream reported on these pages of America’s prospects of renewal under Trump’s leadership be followed by a nightmare of Trump sucked into disastrous war for Israel’s ambitions and the US military/security complex’s profits?  Is America’s dominance and success at war part of “making America great again?”  If it is, there will be no renewal of America. My Pleasant Dream of Americas Revival Under Trump Was Followed by a Nightmare The post My Pleasant Dream of America’s Revival Under Trump Was Followed by a Nightmare appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Iran, Israel, Trump, USA]

— The Ever-Widening War-15

 

at 11/11/24 9:10am

Sunday Nov. 10:  According to Reports three Moscow international airports have suspended operations due to an Ukrainian drone attack https://www.rt.com/russia/607425-moscow-drones-attack/  The Kremlin has failed to explain why Ukrainian drone attacks deep into Russia are permissible without any consequences to the West, but not missile attacks deep into Russia.   The illogical position Putin finds himself in is eroding his credibility.  Putin’s official position for three years is that Russia is not at war, merely involved in a Special Military Operation. Consequently, Russia has withheld the military force that would have made it impossible for Kiev to continue the conflict. Instead of limiting the conflict and saving lives, the long war has cost many more lives and permitted the US and NATO to get heavily involved.  The limited military operation has thus proven to be a disaster. Putin will succeed in evicting all Ukrainian forces from the Russian areas now reunited with Russia.  But how does he go from this to neutralizing and demilitarizing Ukraine?   Trump offers Putin no Ukraine NATO membership for 20 years.  Does that mean that Russia accepts NATO membership for Ukraine in 20 years? It would have been so much better if Putin had sent in the Russian Army to prevent Washington’s overthrow of the Ukrainian government and installation of an anti-Russian government.  Failing this, Putin’s forced intervention to protect the Russian population in Ukraine should have been decisive, using sufficient force to end the conflict immediately.   Instead, Putin’s blunder has presented a situation difficult to unwind.   We are left with a situation in which Trump has to recover from the extraordinary mistakes of his appointments in his first term, and Putin has to find a way to recover from the extraordinary mistake of his Special Military Operation.   Let’s hope they can find a way. The US and NATO involvement makes it difficult to resolve the conflict as Putin has refused to resolve it by force.  Which side is going to lose face by compromising? To whose disadvantage will a compromise play in the media? Will this consideration prevent a settlement?  The Ever-Widening War The post The Ever-Widening War-15 appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, drone, NATO, Russia, Ukraine, USA]

— The U.S. Strives For Hegemony In Artificial Intelligence

 

at 11/11/24 7:50am

On October 24, 2024 Joe Biden signed a memorandum with a long title: “…on Advancing the United States’ Leadership in Artificial Intelligence; Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Fulfill National Security Objectives; and Fostering the Safety, Security, and Trustworthiness of Artificial Intelligence.” This document extends the effect of the presidential decree of October 30, 2023 on the use of artificial intelligence on a global scale. In fact, it is said that it is necessary to establish a monopoly in this area, where Washington will determine what can be done and what cannot be done. Inasmuch as envisioned by the White House, the Western “rules-based order” should also be applied in the Internet, including new programs and applications. The document openly states that: “First, the United States must lead the world’s development of safe, secure, and trustworthy AI.  To that end, the United States Government must — in partnership with industry, civil society, and academia — promote and secure the foundational capabilities across the United States that power AI development.  The United States Government cannot take the unmatched vibrancy and innovativeness of the United States AI ecosystem for granted; it must proactively strengthen it, ensuring that the United States remains the most attractive destination for global talent and home to the world’s most sophisticated computational facilities.  The United States Government must also provide appropriate safety and security guidance to AI developers and users, and rigorously assess and help mitigate the risks that AI systems could pose.” “Second, the United States Government must harness powerful AI, with appropriate safeguards, to achieve national security objectives.  Emerging AI capabilities, including increasingly general-purpose models, offer profound opportunities for enhancing national security, but employing these systems effectively will require significant technical, organizational, and policy changes.  The United States must understand AI’s limitations as it harnesses the technology’s benefits, and any use of AI must respect democratic values with regard to transparency, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, privacy, and safety.” “Third, the United States Government must continue cultivating a stable and responsible framework to advance international AI governance that fosters safe, secure, and trustworthy AI development and use; manages AI risks; realizes democratic values; respects human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy; and promotes worldwide benefits from AI.  It must do so in collaboration with a wide range of allies and partners.  Success for the United States in the age of AI will be measured not only by the preeminence of United States technology and innovation, but also by the United States’ leadership in developing effective global norms and engaging in institutions rooted in international law, human rights, civil rights, and democratic values.” On the example of the work of IT giants and capitalists in Silicon Valley – Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, etc., the whole world knows what civil liberties and democratic values really are when American companies deal with these issues. These are censorship, algorithmic manipulation, social engineering and the use of personal data without the consent of their owners. With artificial intelligence, it will be easier to do all this, because you can always refer to a’ technical error’. Attention should also be paid to the problem with the so-called “brain drain”, because the memorandum openly says that “It is the policy of the United States Government that advancing the lawful ability of noncitizens highly skilled in AI and related fields to enter and work in the United States constitutes a national security priority.  Today, the unparalleled United States AI industry rests in substantial part on the insights of brilliant scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs who moved to the United States in pursuit of academic, social, and economic opportunity.” This is a clear indication that Washington will try to recruit foreign scientists and specialists under a variety of pretexts to lure them into its companies. And since they are talking about national security, it is obviously in the interests of the United States to involve those people who are engaged in secret developments in other countries. It is indicative that the document instructs the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to use all available legal authorities to assist in attracting and rapidly bringing to the United States individuals with relevant technical expertise. The document also gives 180 days of the date of the memorandum, to prepare an analysis of the AI talent market in the United States and overseas. The same term is given to coordinate an economic assessment of the relative competitive advantage of the United States private sector AI ecosystem, the key sources of the United States private sector’s competitive advantage, and possible risks to that position, and shall recommend policies to mitigate them. The national security agencies are given half as much – within 90 days the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) shall convene appropriate executive departments and agencies (agencies) to explore actions for prioritizing and streamlining administrative processing operations for all visa applicants working with sensitive technologies.  Doing so shall assist with streamlined processing of highly skilled applicants in AI and other critical and emerging technologies. Consequently, in the near future, US agents through embassies and other institutions will begin to scan other countries for experience in the field of AI development, as well as begin recruiting foreigners. Admittedly, the US law enforcement agencies and intelligence are now obliged to introduce AI into their activities more actively. The memorandum stipulates that “DOD, Commerce, DOE, DHS, ODNI, NSF, NSA, and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, prioritize research on AI safety and trustworthiness.  As appropriate and consistent with existing authorities, they shall pursue partnerships as appropriate with leading public sector, industry, civil society, academic, and other institutions with expertise in these domains, with the objective of accelerating technical and socio-technical progress in AI safety and trustworthiness.  This work may include research on interpretability, formal methods, privacy enhancing technologies, techniques to address risks to civil liberties and human rights, human-AI interaction, and/or the socio-technical effects of detecting and labeling synthetic and authentic content (for example, to address the malicious use of AI to generate misleading videos or images, including those of a strategically damaging or non-consensual intimate nature, of political or public figures).” By the way, the document also has a classified part that is related to US national security issues. It probably talks about various methods directed against other countries in order to prevent them from gaining advantages in the AI and critical technologies. As for the defense and security sector, those companies and startups that have already proven themselves in this area will clearly benefit here. In particular, Peter Thiel’s Palantir, which performed contracts for the FBI, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the NSA, the Pentagon, the CIA, for US defense companies, and also provided its products to Israel and Ukraine. Peter Thiel: From Gaza AI War Criminal To White House Puppet Master Moreover, the Pentagon has long been working on the introduction of artificial intelligence into its combat capabilities, which is confirmed by the contracts of the US Southern Command with Microsoft to create special cloud servers and use the DALL-E AI application in command and control programs. Therefore, Joe Biden’s recent memorandum is only a confirmation of previously established trends, where the US intelligence and military already have some experience and potential. https://www.geopolitika.ru/en/article/us-strives-hegemony-artificial-intelligence Source The post The U.S. Strives For Hegemony In Artificial Intelligence appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, AI, hegemony, USA]

— Will There Be a Trump Foreign Policy?

 

at 11/11/24 6:09am

Will There Be a Trump Foreign Policy? The post Will There Be a Trump Foreign Policy? appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, Trump, US Foreign Policy, USA]

— The long road to Beirut now Israel has bombed Syrian borders

 

at 11/11/24 4:37am

My recent trip to Beirut and Zionist-torn Dahyeh On Thursday 7th of November I set off for Beirut. I could no longer use the direct road through the Masnaa border with Lebanon. Israel has now bombed the road at least twice reducing the stretch between the Syrian and Lebanese border to rubble. The US influence (on behalf of Israel) in Lebanon has prohibited any attempts by the Lebanese or Syrian side to repair the road. Israel has threatened to bomb it again if either side tries to restore operations. The blue dotted line is the usual route which is fast and efficient. The purple dotted line is the route now needed to reach Beirut from Damascus. Israel has also bombed several points and bridges on the Homs western route so it is necessary to head for Tartous further north on the coast and then turn south to reach the border. From there is the very pretty coastal road to Beirut that passes through Tripoli and Batroun where the Lebanese commercial shipping naval officer was kidnapped by IOF forces under the watch of the German Unifil ship. Germany has a foreign policy with regards to Israel that is fully complicit in the genocide that is being carried out against Palestinians and now in Lebanon. Via Lebanese journalist Marwa Osman: Lebanese citizen Imad Amhaz, who was abducted in Batroun by Israeli Forces, had been attending a month-long captain’s training course at a private maritime institute located in the area of Batroun. Amhaz was reportedly staying alone in a rented apartment in Batroun. Israeli media claim Amhaz he may have ties to Hezbollah despite the fact that Amhaz is a civilian maritime captain of commercial vessels and is currently undergoing training at the private marine institution in Batroun. Military sources revealed that the Israeli soldiers involved in the Batroun abduction numbered between 20 and 25, supported by additional escort personnel, with Lebanese army intelligence working to confirm the exact numbers. According to the National News Agency, Batroun residents confirmed that the military force led Amhaz to the shore and swiftly departed with him on high-speed boats into the open sea.   The Amhaz family clarifies the identity of their kidnapped son by Zionist Israeli enemy forces in Batroun. The father of Lebanese citizen Imad Fadel Amhaz, who was abducted in Batroun, wrote: “My son is a civilian maritime captain, currently attending a course at the Mersati Institute of Maritime Sciences in Batroun. This is not his first course there—he has taken several at the same institute since 2013. He usually works on civilian ships transporting either livestock or vehicles and spends most of his time at sea. He has no affiliation with any political parties and does not engage in politics. As for the reports circulating in the media about multiple SIM cards found with him, he purchases a SIM card in each country he reaches to stay in touch with his wife, children, and mother. He is a father of three.” I stayed in a hotel close to where the Beirut port explosion occurred back in 2020. The blackened remains are still visible from the road into Beirut. This is known as a “hippy area” of the city where there is very little sign of the ravages of Zionist aggression. Only the drones, incessantly buzzing overhead, remind you that there is a resistance against occupation war going on. This is one of the few areas where it is still possible to rent rooms, the one million displaced from the south have rented many of the available spaces in central and southern Beirut. The people who were sleeping on the streets have gone. The local Lebanese NGOs have worked hard to find places to house them in the dry and out of the incoming winter cold and rain. On Friday I went with friends to Dahyeh in southern Beirut, the area worst hit by the Zionist-US-manufactured bombs. We drove past the area where Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was murdered by 85 1T bombs, the massive crater stretching down and across for what seemed an eternity. As we entered Dahyeh residential area we drove through a Lebanese Army checkpoint. My friends were going to check on their house and to retrieve some of their belongings. We were told to wear masks, not to leave the car and not to open the windows because of the risk of DU contamination as reported by the Lebanon Council of Chemists Syndicate: Depleted Uranium Bombs: Important Warning Statement Following the Aggression on Lebanon The Council of the Chemists Syndicate in Lebanon condemned the barbaric aggression against civilians in the country and the massacres committed against the Lebanese people. Al-Majali indicated in a statement that his message today is to condemn and raise awareness about the effects of inhaling the dust of the bombing that the southern suburbs of Beirut and the rest of the Lebanese regions are being subjected to. The extent of the destruction and the penetration of buildings and land for tens of meters is evidence of the use of bombs containing depleted uranium, which has tremendous penetrating power. The use of these types of internationally banned weapons, especially in the densely populated capital Beirut, leads to massive destruction, and their dust causes many diseases, especially when inhaled. The Council of the Syndicate of Chemists hopes that citizens do not approach the areas exposed to this aggression within a radius exceeding two kilometers. It hopes that those forced to approach these areas will commit to wearing protective clothing for dust and wearing masks for chemical materials. As we drove through the battered suburb, people were sitting on the pavements drinking coffee and smoking sheisha oblivious to any such threats. We did ask a few people if they had suffered any ill-effects from the dust. Most said that yes, initially they had bad stomachs, nausea, diarrhea but after drinking milk the symptoms went away. The scenes that greeted us were sobering. Especially for my friends who had not seen their neighbourhood for a few weeks they were shocked and upset by the loss of homes and familiar landmarks that had been part of their daily life for decades. A ten storey apartment block had been completely demolished in the Zionist strikes:   We also visited Burj Barajneh suburb (not the camp) that is largely Palestinian. Again signs of bombardment were everywhere and Burj is often on the Zionist “evacuation” maps that are issued regularly to try to forcibly displace people from these districts. Many, especially older inhabitants, have refused to depart and face the nightly bombardment with a familiar stoicism. Everywhere are billboard images of Nasrallah and Fouad Al Shukr the iconic Hezbollah commander that Israel assassinated before Nasrallah. I saw beautiful Golden Trumpet trees in full yellow bloom lining the streets of Dahyeh that were previously planted for Nasrallah, yellow to match the Hezbollah flags. Flashes of vibrant colour amidst the dust and bomb debris. Shops were still open and people were moving freely. Drones were still circling overhead. The stubborn resistance against a terrorist illegitimate apartheid state that is failing in its ground invasion against relatively small numbers of highly trained Hezbollah guerillas who know the terrain so well it is their homeland. Our brief trip was uneventful. I couldn’t stay too long in Lebanon because there is no guarantee that Israel will not bomb the northern border or at least the roads from the Syrian border side on the pretext that it is used to gun-run for Hezbollah.   Today (11th November) the Zionists bombed the vicinity of Hasiya industrial zone in Homs countryside. The aggression targeted Al-Majd suburb, south of Homs city. Fire brigades and ambulances were immediately dispatched. Local sources told me that the aggression had targeted a humanitarian aid convoy on the road in this area. Syrian Air Defences were deployed and continued responding for some time during the Zionist attack. On the morning I left Beirut there had been a night of sustained and powerful attacks on Dahyeh. Drones still hovered above us in the early morning skies. Smoke plumed into the clouds in front of us. A generator fire had ignited in Hamra, city centre, and an entire car park was burning. It took almost twelve hours to return to Damascus with delays on the coastal road in Lebanon, slow border processing because of the increase in daily traffic due to the closure of Masnaa. Trucks lined the narrow country road that leads to the constricted border and cars had to pass in one lane with little room to maneuver. The day after I returned to Damascus, Israel attacked the south-eastern suburbs of Damascus in Sayyeda Zainab a site of pilgrimage for many Iranians and Shia muslims. A residential building was targeted killing up to nine civilians and injuring at least twenty. It is likely to have been another assassination attempt by the Zionists but until now there is no confirmation from the Syrian side. The screams of a woman can be heard in the video. This is what Israel does death and destruction on an industrial scale because the US alliance provide the bombs to make this possible. Further updates soon. https://beeley.substack.com/p/the-long-road-to-beirut-now-israel The post The long road to Beirut now Israel has bombed Syrian borders appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon]

— Five Reasons Why Trump Should Revive The Draft Russian-Ukrainian Peace Treaty

 

at 11/11/24 12:03am

Trump has everything to gain by picking up where everyone left off over two and a half years ago. The Wall Street Journal’s report that Trump wants to create a Western-patrolled DMZ along the Line of Contact (LOC) for freezing the Ukrainian Conflict, which was analyzed here and here, dangerously runs the risk of escalating tensions with Russia to the point of a Cuban-like brinksmanship crisis. It would therefore be much better for him to revive the draft Russian-Ukrainian peace treaty from spring 2022 instead. Other than averting World War III, which is an obvious motivation, here are five others: - 1. Fulfill His Democratic Mandate To Bring Peace To Europe Trump won the popular vote and therefore has a democratic mandate to fulfill his campaign pledge to bring peace to Europe. Doing so would be a strong start to his second term and reassure his supporters that he won’t backtrack on his commitments like last time. Additionally, other countries will see that he’s serious about doing what he promised, thus leading to them taking him more seriously and making them less likely to haggle with him. He might also set himself up to win the Nobel Peace Prize too. 2. Create Less Space For The Deep State To Manipulate Him Another one of Trump’s promises is to purge the country’s permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies (“deep state”) of warmongering neoconservatives. If he backtracks on the most important of his foreign policy promises, then they’ll have more space to manipulate him. After all, it was his decision to bomb Syria early on into his first term that set the stage for every other foreign policy disappointment. Failure to hold his ground on Ukraine would be a very bad omen. 3. Compel The EU To Take More Responsibility For Its Defense Trump’s reported plan for NATO aims to compel the EU to take more responsibility for its defense so as to rebalance the burden that the US carries in this regard and then facilitate the latter’s “Pivot (back) to Asia” to more muscularly contain China. This won’t be achieved with nice words or even threats, but only through shocking the system by forcing them to step up after he ends the conflict in this way, which is their worst fear and would thus leave them with no choice but to do what demands afterwards. 4. Help “Un-Unite” Russia & China As Realistically As Possible He promised on the eve of the election to “un-unite” Russia and China, and while it’s impossible to turn them against each other, the most realistic outcome that he can hope for is to reduce Russia’s potentially disproportionate dependence on China by gradually restoring the European vector of its balancing act. Phased sanctions relief as a reward for compliance with a ceasefire/armistice could do a lot to avert the aforesaid scenario in a non-threatening way that would also be tacitly acceptable for Russia too. 5. Replenish Stockpiles To Better Prepare For Contingencies And finally, swiftly ending the Ukrainian Conflict by reviving spring 2022’s draft peace treaty as the basis for this would enable the US to fully focus its military-industrial complex on replenishing its depleted stockpiles in order to better prepare for contingencies, such as those that might soon develop in Asia. This would be difficult to do if Trump keeps arming Ukraine after either being manipulated into turning this into another forever war or as an additional security guarantee to go with his reported DMZ plan. - As can be seen from the five points above, Trump has everything to gain by picking up where everyone left off over two and a half years ago to sustainably end the Ukrainian Conflict on the terms that Kiev and Moscow tentatively agreed to shortly after it began, albeit with minor modifications. The current territorial realities, whether with regard to the LOC or the entire administrative borders of the four Ukrainian regions that joined Russia, would have to be recognized. If he does so, then a deal is certain. https://korybko.substack.com/p/five-reasons-why-trump-should-revive The post Five Reasons Why Trump Should Revive The Draft Russian-Ukrainian Peace Treaty appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Russia, Trump, Ukraine, USA]

— Biden’s Legacy Is Genocide, War, And Nuclear Brinkmanship

 

at 11/10/24 6:19pm

Biden’s legacy is genocide, war, and nuclear brinkmanship. That’s all anyone should talk about when this psychopath finally dies. Anything positive he may have accomplished in his political career is a drop in the ocean compared to the significance of these mass-scale abuses. Biden spent his entire career promoting war and militarism at every opportunity, and then spent the twilight years of his time in Washington choosing to continue supplying an active genocide that is fully dependent on US-supplied arms. He refused off-ramp after off-ramp to the horrific war in Ukraine that has burned through a generation of men in that country, which he knowingly provoked by amassing a military proxy threat on Russia’s border in ways the US would never tolerate being amassed on its own border. In the early weeks of the conflict Biden and his fellow empire managers sabotaged peace talks to keep the war going for as long as possible with the goal of bleeding Moscow, and at one point his own intelligence agencies reportedly assessed that the probability of a nuclear war erupting on this front was as high as 50–50. Coin toss odds on nuclear war. To call this a crime against humanity would be a massive understatement. Biden has been facilitating Israeli atrocities in the middle east with US military expansionism in the region and bombing operations in Yemen, Iraq and Syria. He will spend his lame duck months backing Israel’s scorched earth demolition of southern Lebanon. This is who Biden is. It is who he has always been. It is true that his brain has begun to rot away like just like his conscience has rotted, but in his lucid moments he adamantly defends his administration’s decisions as the only correct course of action, and it aligns perfectly with his past. To know this, one need only to look at the pivotal role he played in pushing the Iraq invasion, or his extremist rhetoric about how “If there were not an Israel we’d have to invent one.” This is the legacy that Democrats were forced to spend the last election cycle pretending is great and awesome. It’s no wonder they lost. So now, as a parting gift from Joe Biden, Americans and the world get another four years of Donald Trump. That’s the story of Joe Biden. That’s the whole entire thing. Anything on top of that is irrelevant narrative fluff. Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley): https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/bidens-legacy-is-genocide-war-and The post Bidens Legacy Is Genocide, War, And Nuclear Brinkmanship appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Biden, Nuclear, USA, war crimes]

— More Proof that the Democrats Stole the 2020 election

 

at 11/10/24 12:03pm

Here are the Democrat total vote count figures for the last six elections: 2004 Kerry – 59M 2008 Obama – 69.5M 2012 Obama – 65.9M 2016 Clinton – 65.9M 2020 Biden – 81.3M 2024 Harris – 66.4M Notice anything? The despicable whores called “fact checkers,” who prostitute themselves by telling lies for money said I am a “conspiracy theorist” for reporting the findings of experts that the Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election.  Notice, just reporting the findings of experts makes you a “conspiracy theorist.” Look at the graph showing the reported Biden vote count in 2020.  Is there a single person anywhere on Earth stupid enough to believe it?  THERE WAS ZERO ENTHUSIASM FOR BIDEN.  As Trump said, Biden campaigned from his basement.  NO ONE ATTENDED HIS RALLIES, AND HE DISCONTINUED THEM. Remember, Biden did not campaign.  After his first few attempts, his public rallies ceased, because no one attended and the cameras could not hide the absence of people.  In contrast, every one of the numerous Trump rallies was heavily attended.  So how did Biden get 10 million more votes in 2020 than Trump just received in his high turnout landslide victory?  How did Biden get 15 million more votes than Obama? 15 million more votes than Hillary Clinton?  HE DID NOT ! Remember, numerous experts provided hard evidence of the many methods used to produce the fraudulent Biden vote:  electronic voting machines, street corner drop boxes, interruption of vote counting until truck loads of forged ballots could be delivered, and so forth. Remember, the presstitute media immediately before the evidence of fraud was presented spoke with one voice over and over: “there was no vote fraud.”  How did the presstitutes know?  The presstitutes made no investigation of the evidence.  The presstitutes just shouted down the evidence. They lied through their teeth. The only function of the American media is to prevent the American people from knowing the truth. How can a democracy exist when the media is completely devoid of integrity? How can such a totally corrupt media be tolerated? Kamala only won in the states where no ID was required to vote. In other words, she only won in states where election officials did not know who was voting and where there was no meaningful voter registration.     Notice that in California Kamala only won along a thin coastal strip. The  majority of the state is red. Notice that in Virginia Kamala only won in the McClean, Alexandria, and Arlington bedroom communities for the lobby groups that for far too many years have controlled Washington’s decisions in the interest of their own profits.  All the while conservatives were defending business which was selling out every conservative.  The conservatives are still doing it today. Notice that even in the Northeast, the part of America that Barry Goldwater said should be cut loose and left to float off into the Atlantic, is mostly red. Nothing could make it clearer that a tiny minority of the country has been been in control to America’s great disadvantage for too many years. Let’s hope that Trump and his transition team in the euphoria of victory don’t adopt the line being pushed by the whore media to forgive enemies for the sake of unity.  Forgiveness will  present Trump’s back for the many knives that await. Trump and MAGA Americans have little idea of the power and evil that they are up against. Trump’s agenda is an existential threat to the Ruling Establishment.  The Establishment is institutionalized. Despite Trump’s election the Establishment is still in Power as powerful institutional platforms remain in their hands.  Trump’s euphoria is serving him and his supporters badly.  It is leaving him and them off-guard.  They simply do not comprehend that Trump has launched an insurrection against a powerful entrenched ruling class that most certainly has not folded its tents. Such an insurrection cannot be accomplished with milk toast appointees. Trump and MAGA America remain vulnerable. We already see crumblings.  A businessman on Trump’s transition team, according to reports,  said that no appointment will be given to Robert Kennedy, who will just collect information about vaccines and food.  The argument apparently is that RFK, Jr. would be a confirmation problem.  Big Pharma would be in every Senator’s office telling the Senator that if he votes to confirm Kennedy in office, all campaign contributions will be given to his opponent. Trump’s advisors are saying Kennedy’s appointment would begin Trump’s renewal of American with a defeat. Better to sacrifice Kennedy. Is there no one in Trump’s group capable of understanding that the Senate’s rejection of RFJ Jr. would enormously empower Trump?  He could go on national TV or Tucker Carlson’s site and on X and say:  “Here are the names of the RINOs who blocked my promise to protect you against poisoned vaccines and food. Big Pharma’s agents blocked Bobby’s appointment.  These senators are our enemies.  They are preventing America’s renewal.  We don’t need them.  Get the bastards out of the Senate.” If Trump is not prepared to fight on this level, there will be no renewal of America. More Proof that the Democrats Stole the 2020 election The post More Proof that the Democrats Stole the 2020 election appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, USA, USElection2020]

— Can There Be an American-Russian Reset?

 

at 11/10/24 11:28am

The New York Post reports that Russians are floating the idea of a “reset” with the US made possible by Trump’s election as President.  Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund said that Trump’s “convincing victory shows that ordinary Americans are tired of the unprecedented lies, incompetence, and malice of the Biden administration.  This opens up new opportunities for resetting relations between Russia and the United States.” https://nypost.com/2024/11/06/world-news/russia-floats-idea-of-reset-with-united-states-after-trump-declares-victory/  Trump and Putin are in favor of this, and so is the Russian media which is asking these kind of questions: “What does the Trump administration mean for the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine? Do you think he will be able to broker a peace, or at least a ceasefire, in at least one of those conflicts? “Do you expect the US to scale back its defense commitments in Europe under Trump? If so, will this create an opportunity for European countries to move ahead with some sort of of vision of collective security that does not rely on the US? Perhaps something in line with Macron’s proposals? “Do you expect any changes in the US-NATO relations? Will  the alliance’s new secretary general, Mark Rutte, be able to effectively deal with the Trump White House?” My response is that these are relevant questions. Trump has these intentions.  Does he have the means? Trump has confidence, but he also has ego and blusters, two traits unsuitable to dealing with Putin, Xi, and the Iranian Supreme Ruler.   Also, Trump is a strong personality. Some strong men are comfortable with strong subordinates, but others prefer yes-men.  Trump’s first term was littered with people of weak character and low integrity and they were traitorous.  Did he learn his lesson as he claims, and can he find strong men who will put their reputation in the line of fire?  If so, will he fight for their confirmation by the Senate, or will his advisors convince him that he risks bad publicity and defeats at the beginning of his administration?   There is some indication of that already in a report that a businessman on Trump’s transition team said that Bobby Kennedy is not to have a position except as an advisor who collects information on harmful food and vaccines.  Little doubt, nominating Bobby as FDA chief or Health and Human Services Secretary would have Big Pharma in every Senator’s office threatening the cut-off of all campaign contributions and their redirection to challengers.  Maneuvering Trump into non-confrontation erodes his image as a fighter for America and will disappoint his supporters.  It is unlikely that Trump’s advisors realize that the Senate’s refusal to confirm Bobby in office would enhance Trump’s power.  He could present the people with the names of the Senators who are actively blocking the restoration of Americans’ health and ask why voters elected obstacles to making America great again.  Trump has the people. He could bring the power of the people to bear on the Big Pharma stooges.  Another problem is that many, probably most, of Trump’s supporters believe America loses its wars because leaders are too weak to “stand up for America” and properly fight wars.  It is important to Trump to stand up strong for America.  Being tough for America also protects him against media lies that he is a Russian agent or some such accusation, whereas a reasonable deal with Putin opens him to these charges.  Unfortunately, this plays into the hands of the warmonger neoconservatives who have controlled US foreign policy since the Soviet collapse.  Their hawkishness makes them attractive associates for Trump, because together they present a tough front which Trump’s supporters want to see.  Even Trump supporters have been indoctrinated with the belief that Russia, China, and Iran are America’s enemies. A big problem for Trump in the trouble in the Middle East is that he is so heavily aligned with Israel, as are the US Congress and US media.  There is so much he has to go against, including the powerful Israel Lobby, in order to bring Israel to heel.  Moreover, some analysts are convinced that it is the US that uses Israel in behalf of US hegemony over oil in the Middle East.  If they are correct, to change this policy is an enormous undertaking. I believe Trump would like to withdraw from NATO. Like Putin, Trump wants to focus on domestic problems and issues.  Whether Trump can put together a government that would support a NATO withdrawal  is not easy to believe.  Many American economic interests benefit from Washington’s rule over Europe and Ukraine. (According to reports US agri-business now owns one-third of Ukraine’s farmland.)  Moreover, the threat to Europe is not Russia.  European ethnic nations are being turned into Towers of Babel by their own governments who allow the countries to be over-run by immigrant-invaders while they warn of Russian invasion. It is unclear that such a nonsensical situation as this can be dealt with politically. Ukraine, of course, will be played as another American defeat if Putin stays true to his goals of de-militarizing Ukraine and prohibiting NATO membership.  If Trump accepts Putin’s terms, Trump’s opponents will try to play it not as a victory of peace over war but as an American defeat on Trump’s watch.  If Putin accepts a Trump face-saving solution, it likely will play as a Putin defeat, which after three years of sacrifice will be difficult perhaps for Russians to accept. NATO is Washington’s creation, and the General Secretary is Washington’s Puppet.  Absent the US, NATO is meaningless and cannot possibly take a hostile position toward Russia.  In place of mutual defense, European countries would have to develop civilized relations with Russia.   To sum up, the questions being asked cannot be answered until we see the government that Trump is able to form.  Moreover, for the next two and one-half months the US government remains in the hands of Democrats and the ruling elite.  This gives them plenty of time to commit the US in directions contrary to Trump’s agendas.  It also gives them time for another assassination attempt.  Trump has no executive power until he is inaugurated in mid-January.  It is important to understand that, unless the ruling elite can tame Trump or box him in, the ruling elite regard Trump’s presidency as an existential threat to themselves. They will not fold up their tents and fade away. The world’s population supports a reset.  People everywhere are tired of wondering if some fool in Washington is going to commit them to nuclear Armageddon.  Let’s pray that Trump can break the hold that the corrupt American ruling elite has on the United States and the world.  It will require strong men and women, such as Tulsi Gabbard, in strong positions.  A compromised administration will fail. It is past time to end war for US armaments industry profits and the unrealism of the neoconservatives’ ideology of US hegemony. Can There Be an American-Russian Reset? The post Can There Be an American-Russian Reset? appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, Russia, Trump, USA]

— Journalist DESTROYS Pro Israel Pundit

 

at 11/10/24 5:33am

This clip is a segment taken from Breakthrough News coverage of the presidential election with Rania Khalek and Eugene Puryear. Along with Katie, the three discuss what is to come from a Trump presidency, and those who chose to continue to side with Israels war crimes. Rania Khalek is a Middle East-based journalist for Breakthrough News, where she hosts the show Dispatches. She also co-hosts the weekly Freedom Side livestream with Eugene Puryear. Eugene Puryear is a journalist at Breakthrough News and the author of Shackled and Chained: Mass Incarceration in Capitalist America. Full video: Live Election 2024 Results Coverage with Jill Stein, Rania Khalek, Eugene Puryear More! The post Journalist DESTROYS Pro Israel Pundit appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, USA, USElection2024]

— Trump/Vance’s Upfront Promise for More Uniparty Wars…

 

at 11/10/24 4:40am

Ukraine was coming to an end regardless of who won the US presidential election it was always a matter of how to freeze/end the conflict before pivoting toward more important wars. Trumps VP pick JD Vance has upfront promised to focus US aggression abroad on China a pivot that has already been taking place since the Obama administration. During the Biden administration, the US Marine Corps was transformed into a force solely for fighting China a force that will coincidentally be in place just in time for Trump/Vance to utilize it against China. Real change will come from candidates recognizing US military forces abroad as the primary problem to solve, and their withdrawal to US shores as the obvious solution. https://t.me/brianlovethailand/3425 The post Trump/Vances Upfront Promise for More Uniparty Wars appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, China, Russia, Trump, USA]

— Netanyahu promotes genocide and annexation with his choice of Leiter as Israeli ambassador to the US

 

at 11/10/24 2:46am

Promoting genocide and colonial expansion remain high on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s agenda, and Donald Trump’s forthcoming return to the White House is a reminder of all Israel gained under his first presidency. Netanyahu’s choice for ambassador to the US – Israeli-American Yechiel Leiter – encapsulates both genocide and settler-colonial expansion. “Yechiel Leiter is a highly talented diplomat, an eloquent speaker, and has a deep understanding of American culture and politics,” Netanyahu stated. “I am convinced that Yechiel will represent Israel in the best way possible, and I wish him success in his role.” The success Netanyahu envisages is no doubt linked to Israel’s ongoing genocide and colonial expansion in the occupied West Bank. In November 2023, Leiter’s son, Moshe Yedidya, was killed in Gaza. At his son’s funeral, Leiter read out a letter in English addressed to US President Joe Biden. Emphasising that the point of the letter was not to share bereavement emotions, Leiter warned the US to avoid pressuring Israel to retreat from Gaza. “Stand back Mr. President: don’t pressure us,’ Leiter asserted. “Let us do what we know how to do, indeed what we must do, to defeat evil.” Repeating Netanyahu’s rhetoric, Leiter said that his son died “fighting against Hamas-ISIS.” A simple falsehood which, in the Israel narrative, is enough to gloss over genocide. Leiter’s political career is littered with examples of promoting Israeli colonialism through such twisted frameworks, and his allegiances say more about Israeli state and settler-terror. Born in the US and having settled in Israel 40 years ago, Leiter’s political career includes serving as Chief of Staff in Israel’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Director General of Israel’s Education Ministry. As a Knesset member, Leiter was also an aide to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In his youth, Leiter was a member of the Jewish Defence League (JDL), which was outlawed by the FBI and designated a terrorist organisation until 2022. The JDL was founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was convicted of terrorist related attacks in the US. Kahane later moved to Israel and started advocating for the expulsion of Palestinians from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Leiter also founded the One Israel Fund in 1994, which works with Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and with the IDF in providing security equipment. One Israel Fund uses the rhetoric of Israel’s purported (and non-existent) vulnerability to create the image of a helpless, defenceless people, despite settlers in the occupied West Bank enjoying complete protection from the IDF. In 2023, Leiter penned an article calling for the dismantling of the Palestinian Authority, on the pretext of the PA allegedly advocating for terrorism. According to Leiter, the PA is responsible for inciting global antisemitism, illegal construction in Area C, delegitimising Israel and “institutional corruption that harms the Palestinian population”. Coming from an individual who implored Biden to allow Israel to continue the genocide in Gaza, this purported concern for Palestinians’ suffering under the PA’s institutional corruption only feeds into the Israeli narrative of annexation of the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu has opted to appoint an ambassador that is pro-genocide and pro-annexation. In his first presidency, Trump portrayed and proved himself aligned with Israeli interests, although the Abraham Accords temporarily staved off the formal annexation of territory in the occupied West Bank. The context now, however, is different. On one hand, Trump has declared the intention to end all wars in the Middle East, albeit with the usual vague rhetoric that leaves more questions than provides answers. If one had to assess what Trump and Jared Kushner uttered a few months ago, the consensus would be that genocide is profitable for both Israel and the US. While the focus on Gaza remains paramount, the occupied West Bank cannot be forgotten. The increase in Israeli state and settler violence, as well as repression against Palestinians involved in resistance, could indicate that the PA might be facing unprecedented violence from Israel under the pretext of eradicating terrorism. Netanyahu had stated that the PA also wants Israel’s gradual demise, which means that the illusory symbolic state-building funded by the international community, notably the EU, will not stand a chance if Israel decides it is time to mete out the same fate. Annexation, as former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman regularly reminded, was suspended, not permanently halted. Netanyahu’s appointment of Leiter makes it clear that annexation is back on the agenda, while the genocide in Gaza continues unabated. Employing ethnic cleansing through different methods will also have the international community less focused on what is happening in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. While the international community has completely normalised ethnic cleansing, Netanyahu knows that so far the occupied West Bank remains the last standing international project allegedly promoting economic stability and good governance in Palestine. Annexation, whether formal or de-facto, will not evoke criticism, because the veneer of the Abraham Accords remains in place both to further Israel’s relations with corrupt Arab leaders, as well as allow Israel to stand on a par with the West’s projected ideals on the West Bank. This is reminiscent of the attitude towards the two-state compromise – there is tacit consensus it will never be applied, but its existence provides impunity for Israel and the international community, as Palestinians continue to be expelled from their lands through various methods. Leiter will certainly be in a position to advocate for both of Netanyahu’s ethnic cleansing plans. Since Operation Protective Ends in 2014, Netanyahu bided his time for a much bigger devastation for Palestinians which found no opposition from the international community. With Gaza almost completely destroyed and its population forbidden from returning to the North, Leiter’s appointment might signify Netanyahu setting his sights on the West Bank which will have disastrous consequences for the Palestinian people. Conversely, Leiter’s position will also further Netanyahu’s rhetoric of eliminating Hamas and ethnically cleansing Gaza of all Palestinians – a view which the HaGvurah Forum, of which Leiter is a member, advocates for. All in all, Netanyahu is placing his bets on making more gains in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. What remains to be seen is, what is Trump’s vision of ending all wars in the Middle East? If the Israeli-US alliance remains as “iron-clad” as ever, genocide and annexation will find permanent representation in Washington through Leiter. Netanyahu promotes genocide and annexation with his choice of Leiter as Israeli ambassador to the US The post Netanyahu promotes genocide and annexation with his choice of Leiter as Israeli ambassador to the US appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, annexation, Israel, Netanyahu, Palestine, war crimes, West Bank]

— Où va ce monde. Elections américaines

 

at 11/9/24 12:16pm

Une émission de JSF animée par Claude Janvier et Eric Montana. Invité : Thierry Meyssan, écrivain et président fondateur du site dinformation Réseau Voltaire Thème : Elections américaines, Donald Trump face aux enjeux mondiaux, au conflit Russo-Otanien et au conflit Israël-Palestine-Liban. The post Où va ce monde. Elections américaines appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: interview, Multimedia, WORLD, +Français, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Russia, Trump, USA, USElection2024]

— Trump appoints anti-China war hawk Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence

 

at 11/9/24 4:46am

President-elect Donald Trump appoints anti-China war hawk Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence. Grenell also heads the Sinophobic Protecting America Initiative which encourages Americans to believe China is taking over all aspects of US life, crafting some of the most enduring lies propping up Washingtons efforts to turn Americans hostile toward China. As made clear by Trumps first 4 years in office, he told voters what they wanted to hear about ending wars while surrounded by those determined to expand them all. https://t.me/brianlovethailand/3422 The post Trump appoints anti-China war hawk Richard Grenell as acting director of national intelligence appeared first on TheAltWorld.

[Category: WORLD, China, Trump, USA]

As of 11/22/24 10:23pm. Last new 11/12/24 10:02am.