[FoxNews] ‘Seinfeld’ star says new Watergate doc proves that Nixon was ‘railroaded’: ‘Didn't get his day in court’. Director George Bugatti says Watergate was America's first instance of 'lawfare' against a president.
John O'Hurley, the "Seinfeld" actor and narrator of the documentary "Watergate’s Secrets and Betrayals," says that the new film about the scandal that sunk Richard Nixon’s presidency finally proves that the former president "didn’t get his day in court."
Fox News Digital spoke to O’Hurley, as well as the documentary’s director, George Bugatti, about their new film which they believe should reset the narrative about the Watergate scandal and show it was weaponized to force Nixon from office in 1974.
"What the film will expose is the fact that he didn't get his day in court. And there were a lot of things that were going on behind the scenes that are otherwise considered illegal and to the point where he did not get fair jurisprudence," O’Hurley told Fox News.
Nixon was the first and still the only U.S. president to resign when he stepped down in 1974. He left the White House in the face of a near-certain impeachment and conviction amid the Watergate scandal, which involved his administration's cover-up of a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters during the 1972 election.
The subsequent sprawling political and media investigation, and the stunning resignation of Nixon, made Watergate the most famous scandal in American political history – to this day, the suffix "gate" is affixed to many political scandals.
The new film is based on the works of Geoff Shepard, a former deputy counsel on Nixon’s Watergate defense team, who spent 27,000 hours combing through the records of the Watergate special prosecutor and uncovered what he believes is proof that "judicial and prosecutorial interests" colluded to force Nixon out of office.
Shepard’s research finds, though Nixon is still tied to the Watergate break-in and cover up, the paper trail left behind by the special prosecutor reveals alleged prosecutorial misconduct involved in the conviction of Nixon’s people, which ultimately led to the former president’s political demise.
O’Hurley said this film presents how there were "backstage meetings there between the judge and the prosecutor where counsel was not advised of."
Bugatti noted that there "were about ten, maybe a dozen" meetings between the two without Nixon’s defense counsel knowing.
"But it's very hard to take a look again at a document that says, from a prosecutor – lead prosecutor – I met with the judge secretly. And no one else knew," he said, paraphrasing what Shepard’s research demonstrated.
O’Hurley, who famously portrayed supporting character J. Peterman on "Seinfeld," added that these findings prove that Nixon was "railroaded" during the Watergate trial and decided his only option was to resign.
"He chose to resign because there was no other recourse for him," the actor said, adding, "And I think that history will now bear this out if this is layered to the fabric of what the story is, that he was actually railroaded."
Bugatti argued this railroading of Nixon was the country’s first instance of "lawfare."
"What happened then is the birth of lawfare. It's the weaponization of the criminal justice system and how they use that weapon to drive a president from office. They used it to avoid Nixon's landslide reelection, which essentially is the will of the people. And this document shows that we need to be aware, to be alert, that this is still happening today."
#1
I worked in DC at the time. It was a setup. The Washington Post used as tool. Woodward teamed up with Carl Bernstein in collusion hit piece. One day boy wonders.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victor Vasiliev
[REGNUM] The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which took place in Beijing in early September, caused a wave of inspiration in African countries and criticism in Western media, which has not subsided to this day. In Russia, opinions were divided regarding this significant event for the Black Continent.
On the one hand, China is our strategic ally in the context of global confrontation with the West. On the other hand, real achievements and growth points of the Chinese presence in African countries are often realized through direct competition with Russia.
Of course, China is an ally of Russia in a number of international organizations – BRICS, SCO, and also acts as our permanent ally on most controversial issues in the UN Security Council.
Beijing and Moscow have reached a significant understanding in a number of joint and border zones of influence, primarily in Central Asia, partly in the South Caucasus and Eastern Europe. There is even talk of mutual complementarity of the two states' strategies in these regions. This would have been unimaginable three years ago.
It would be natural to assume that in other areas, relations between China and Russia remain just as friendly and mutually interested. And in this sense, China's strategy in Africa unpleasantly surprises Russia. Not only does China not need anyone's help or coordination of efforts on the Black Continent, but it is also ready to take into account only its own interests.
Including achieving new successes in cooperation with African countries, becoming our direct competitor in certain areas. In particular, this is how things stand in the area of arms sales.
THREE REASONS TO CHOOSE CHINESE WEAPONS
China has become the largest arms supplier to sub-Saharan Africa, surpassing Russia for the first time. Russian arms sales fell by 44% between 2019 and 2023, while China is increasing its presence. In effect, China is looking for new markets where Russia is weakening.
The fact is that both Russian and Chinese weapons are in approximately the same price segment with a generally similar range. Yes, the quality and reliability of Russian weapons is still higher, but China takes it in a different way.
Firstly, Beijing has the potential for significant dumping. Secondly, Chinese manufacturers offer interesting purchasing mechanisms (loans for the purchase of weapons), related services for equipment maintenance and training of armed forces. That is, we are not talking about just selling weapons, but about a whole package deal, the terms of which are quite advantageous for the African side.
Third, and just as important, Beijing often uses military contracts as a nice bonus for major investment and trade deals with African countries.
Thus, China is realizing its primary interest in Africa - increasing its influence, and in the medium term it may sacrifice its own earnings.
One of the factors complicating Russia's competition is the sanctions pressure from Western countries, which is having a painful impact on the prospects of the Russian military-industrial complex. This, in particular, is something our traditional partner Egypt is very concerned about.
In general, the Celestial Empire is doing excellently in Africa on its own; it does not need Russia as an ally. Even in the most successful area for us, the security sector, China gives preference exclusively to its own private security structures and PMCs.
Moreover, it was in Africa that China built its first military base abroad in 2017. We are talking about the logistics base for the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in the small but strategically important for the entire East African coast African state of Djibouti.
In any other areas - from the extraction of natural resources to the construction of nuclear power plants - Russia in Africa is of no interest to China as an ally or a side complementing its strategy. Quite the contrary.
China has been implementing its own African strategy for decades. It called itself the leader of the third world, meaning Africa, back in the days of Mao Zedong, competing with the USSR in the 1970s. And, unlike the latter, it has never left the Black Continent.
Therefore, from the Chinese point of view, it is not they who have come to our potential territory, but we who have come to their fiefdom. Another thing is that there will be no open confrontation between our countries anywhere in the near future.
FOSSIL CONTROL
In 2023, according to the International Trade Center (ITC), China's trade turnover with African countries amounted to $283 billion (it has grown more than 20-fold since 2000). China is Africa's second-largest trading partner after the European Union. In 2009, it surpassed the United States in this indicator. More than 10,000 Chinese companies and enterprises operate on the continent.
China mainly imports minerals from Africa, and this is the key point. It turns out that for the entire ten years since the announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has been rapidly and at the same time painstakingly moving towards its goal - establishing control over some strategically important minerals and stable and safe logistics from Africa to Asia for their further processing in China.
The proposal to merge the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road projects was first put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in the fall of 2013.
However, this initiative was most successfully implemented in Africa, which is relatively far away from China. 44 African countries were involved in this initiative, receiving large infrastructure projects implemented on their territory. Chinese-African cooperation with the launch of the “One Belt, One Road” initiative in 2013, according to China Daily, led to the construction of 6,000 km of railways, 6,000 km of highways and 20 ports in Africa.
At first glance, the situation is paradoxical: China’s priorities in foreign economic activity are not in the border countries of Central Asia or Southeast Asia, but in Africa.
The goal-setting becomes clearer if we analyze the structure of the current economic confrontation between Beijing and Washington, in which Chinese companies are currently winning. And this is happening due to the presence of indisputable advantages in the form of control and access to the raw materials base in Africa.
THE AMERICANS ARE TRYING TO FIGHT BACK
For example, the struggle between the US and China in such a key area as the electric car market is based on access to metals mined in Africa. Leading American expert on this continent Peter Pham shares an interesting analysis of the current confrontation between the US and China on the pages of the conservative international relations magazine The National Interest.
Due to the commitments made by Western countries to limit their impact on the environment, the production and operation of electric vehicles is acquiring strategic importance.
The Biden administration has used formal and informal measures to regulate the auto market to ensure that two-thirds of cars and trucks sold in the United States, the world's largest market, will be electric or hybrid by 2032.
However, the artificial increase in demand for electric cars primarily had a beneficial effect on the Chinese auto industry. It turned out that the Chinese hybrid Yuan Plus is several times cheaper than its analogues from the American manufacturer Ford.
Faced with such a problem, the State Department took an unprecedented step on May 14, 2024: it raised the tariff rate on foreign-made electric vehicles from 25% to 100% (a classic example of trade wars and protectionism). However, this did not help: China still retains its dominance.
American and European electric vehicle manufacturers are almost entirely dependent on supplies of batteries used in new cars, as well as the materials and metals used to create the low-carbon energy systems so essential to a “green economy.”
The International Energy Agency estimates that the net-zero emissions target by 2050, set out in the European Union's climate law and President Joe Biden's December 2021 executive order, will increase demand for lithium, graphite, cobalt and nickel by a factor of thirty over the next twenty years.
Here again, much depends on Africa. The Dark Continent contains about a third of the world's mineral resources, including more than half of the world's cobalt, manganese and platinum.
Only China has reliable access to supplies of the necessary strategic materials. Beijing has achieved this through years of investment in African mining and supply chains.
Today, China produces enough batteries to supply all EV manufacturers in the world. In fact, one Chinese firm, CATL, controls more than 30% of the global EV battery market and has been the leading manufacturer for seven years in a row.
For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) accounts for just under three-quarters of all cobalt produced in the world. And almost all of the metal is then exported to China, which processes about 90% of the world's cobalt and rare earth element production, concentrating in its hands 50-70% of lithium supplies and 35% of nickel supplies.
It must be acknowledged that the Biden administration is aware of the scale of the problems and the corresponding adjustment of the US strategy in Africa is already taking place. In particular, the Lobito Corridor project, which is already being implemented and connects Angola, the DRC and Zambia, is a major geopolitical and infrastructure project to get rid of direct dependence on Beijing.
The corridor will provide a shorter and more reliable transport route from the mineral-rich inland countries to the Angolan port of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean via a new railway.
WEST AFRICA
In recent years, Beijing has been making some adjustments to its African strategy. Having abandoned support for risky projects and the distribution of loans, it is focusing on cooperation in key areas for itself, trying to secure the support of the largest players on the continent.
This primarily concerns Nigeria, South Africa and Ethiopia, with which the Chinese side has the most impressive indicators of trade and economic turnover, and whose economies are the largest in the African subregions.
It is pro-American Nigeria that today strives not only for economic but also political leadership in the regional association ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States).
Our main geopolitical project on the Black Continent, the Sahel Alliance, which has announced its complete withdrawal from ECOWAS structures, is the main obstacle to the implementation of this plan. It is logical to assume that Nigeria, which is China's key partner in the region, may ask Beijing to put pressure on Russia in West Africa. There is reason to say that the Sahel Alliance (which includes Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger) may face tacit opposition from China.
The fact that in this case the interests of the pro-American regime and China may coincide should not be disconcerting. We can see something similar in Kenya, where China is implementing large infrastructure projects, while the country's political leadership remains pro-American. The whole point is that the struggle on the African continent is not two- or even three-sided. It is a multi-sided game, with a large number of countries and factors. Therefore, the most unexpected temporary combinations and alliances are possible here.
According to African observers, Nigerian leader Bola Tinubu's participation in the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) can be considered the clearest indicator of the success of China's strategy, even though as many as 54 African delegations attended the summit.
Even a brief list of the results of the talks between Tinubu and Xi is impressive. In particular, Nigeria is ready to strengthen partnership in the development of energy and mineral resources and to build factories together with Chinese companies both to meet local needs and for export, says Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar.
The two sides also decided to make joint efforts to build on Nigeria's geographical and economic advantage in West Africa to establish the continent's flagship projects for inter-ethnic and inter-regional cooperation. China commended Nigeria's leading role in ECOWAS and its efforts to ensure stability in the region.
Nigeria has long been laying claim to clear leadership in West Africa. For a long time, the language barrier with the rest of the Francophone part of the region and the active policy of Paris prevented the local elites and the US standing behind them from realizing these ambitions.
In fact, it is precisely these motives that explain Abujdi's very restrained reaction to the militaristic rhetoric of Côte d'Ivoire towards the new authorities of Niger. De facto, it was Nigeria's position that nullified the real attempts of the French side to restore the status quo in Niamey by military means in the summer and autumn of last year.
Having achieved recognition of its regional ambitions from Beijing and, as a result, pressure on Russia’s position, Nigeria has every chance of becoming not only an economic but also a political leader in ECOWAS.
This can only be realized if the "Sahel Alliance" countries return to this community. Simply under new conditions and without obvious tutelage from Paris. But without a serious role for Russia in the region, of course.
And such political consequences of the alliance between the “Chinese dragon” and the regional leader in West Africa are much more important to us than the “pure” economy.
[AmericanGreatness] As we approach the 2024 election, many Americans are disillusioned by the notion that their votes truly matter. Why? Because there’s a growing belief that a hidden force—often referred to as the Deep or Administrative State—wields disproportionate power behind the scenes. Despite our democratic process, can we truly trust that our elected leaders are running the country, or are they merely figureheads for a larger, more insidious operation?
Posted by: Skidmark ||
09/20/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11123 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#2
"The problem is, you can't do to them [Russia], what they do to you, remarked Estonia's President, Thoomas Hendrik Ilves, after his country was cyber attacked by Russia in 2007. "You can't disrupt their elections, since they are aleady decided."
~ Mark Hollingsworth,"Agents of Influence - How the KGB subverted Western Democracies," page 9.
#4
How can there be synergy in govt policy across Wester Liberal Democracies if there is no central coordination?
Whites are replaced in Canada.
Whites are replaced in America.
Whites are replaced in France.
Whites are replaced in UK.
Whites are replaced in E.Europe.
It is no coincidence that throughout all the Western Powers, we are seeing the same policies enacted whether the populations want it or not. There has to be collaboration above the President and above the Leaders of Western States - to move western powers in such a lock step.
#8
^Clearly, Joe thinks Jill is in charge. Who does Obama think is running the show?
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/20/2024 16:40 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Besides, everybody knows the Juice are running everything!
/sarc
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/20/2024 16:41 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Biden holds first cabinet meeting today in over one year. Basically instructed departments and agencies to execute remaining budgets before 1 Oct (end of fiscal year).
[Bee] MANHATTAN, NY — All three people who watch The View were completely unaffected by the talk show's recent decision to replace their entire cast with shrieking feral pigs.
According to Matylda Männer, an unemployed 45-year-old Kamala voter and antique hoarder, the show swapped out Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, and the rest of the cast for a newborn brood of clamoring pigs, but it hasn't actually changed anything about the show.
"I plopped down to hear some wisdom from Whoopi Goldberg," Männer said. "And then I realized — there was no Whoopi Goldberg. So I watched the show through anyway. Not bad. The new squallers were unusually quiet compared to the normal hosts and they were a little easy on Trump today, but I'll survive."
According to the estate of Barbara Walters, the show's creator, the decision to switch to feral pigs was "nothing personal, just good business."
"I mean, I like Joy and Sara, don't get me wrong — they're just a little repetitive and loud sometimes," a spokesperson for the Walters estate said. "These porkers actually bring a little bit more to the table — figuratively speaking, that is. And they look better, too. I'm fine with the decision, all around."
The View's new hosts were unavailable for comment, though several oinks and squeals were able to be heard through a locked door marked "View Makeup Stye."
At publishing time, MSNBC had also added squealing feral pigs to their talk show, nearly doubling their viewership to an all-time high of five.
#4
The only time I ever watched the View was when I was stuck in a dentist's waiting room while it was on. I'm not sure which was more painful: watching the View or getting my tooth extracted.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
09/20/2024 10:12 Comments ||
Top||
#5
^#3
That was funny Skid!
Certainly changed how I'm going to view them from now on...
#8
On the Gutfeld show last night Michele Trafoya said when she was on the view she had never met a more sad, unhappy, vicious bunch of women. She said when they were preparing she was submitted to ridicule from Joy Behar and Sunny Hoston.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/20/2024 14:15 Comments ||
Top||
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] … scenes and all-out war' as IDF comes face-to-face with Lebanese soldiers trained by Britain.
Oh no! Gerard, call two of our stoutest footmen to bring in my fainting couch at once. Marie — my pearls, girl, and hurry! I will not be improperly dressed for the pearl clutching this time.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kirill Semenov
[REGNUM] On the morning of September 19, Israeli warplanes attacked southern Lebanon after 32 people were killed and more than 3,000 injured when pagers and radios exploded across the country.
Go Israel!
IDF fighter jets targeted Shekhin, Tayb, Blade, Mis al-Jabal, Eitaron, al-Hyam and Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also shelled several areas in southern Lebanon with artillery.
Go Israel! Go Israel! Go, go, go Israel!
At the same time, Israeli media reported that eight people were wounded in a Hezbollah attack on Israeli bases on the Ramim Ridge in the northern Galilee. Hezbollah reportedly fired anti-tank missiles from Lebanese territory. The condition of two people taken to a hospital in Haifa is assessed as serious.
In addition, at least three drone attacks were carried out by Hezbollah in the Kiryat Shmona and Beit Hillel areas near the Lebanese border. A shell also hit the northern Israeli community of Ya'ara, wounding several more people.
Tensions on Israel's northern front escalated after Defense Minister Yoav Galant vowed to begin a "new phase of war" with Hezbollah. Speaking at an air base yesterday, Galant said: "This requires courage, determination and persistence from us."
In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously presented a proposal to the cabinet, adding a new official goal of the war - “the return of security to the North and the return of its citizens.”
TWO VERSIONS
However, the "untimely" exploding pagers indicate that the promised war in Lebanon is unlikely to resemble a simultaneous large-scale invasion of IDF brigades, as happened in 2006. Although such a scenario cannot be ruled out.
Perhaps Israel had planned to blow up Hezbollah pagers on more important occasions, such as simultaneously with a military operation in southern Lebanon and the start of an assault on the border fortifications of the Party of God. However, no decision was made to do so, and there was no way to postpone the action.
But here Hezbollah itself provoked the Netanyahu regime to use the schemes that were planned for the “X” hour, that is, for the moment of the direct invasion.
Al-Mayadeen, citing European security sources, reported that Hezbollah's Operation Arbaeen against the IDF's Unit 8200 intelligence headquarters at the Glilot base on August 25 resulted in the death of 22 IDF soldiers and the wounding of 74 more.
Not according to the Rantburg archives. A translated Regnum article on the subject, in fact. See Related link, below.
Other sources indicated that Brigadier General Yossi Sariel, commander of Intelligence Unit 8200, announced his resignation due to such high losses.
8200 is a signals intelligence unit within the Israeli military's Military Intelligence Directorate (AMAN). In English-language military publications, it is known as the "Central Collection Unit of the Intelligence Corps." Operations such as the pager bombings in Lebanon are precisely the unit's responsibility, and in this case, it looks like an act of revenge.
I would have described it as proactively shaping the battlefield, but I’m no expert on matters military. (My dinner parties, on the other hand…)
Israel has long demonstrated its inability to defeat Hamas in Gaza. Its army constantly leaves some areas and enters others where, according to Israeli statements, the "last battalions" of Hamas were eliminated long ago.
The battalions are staffed by dead bodies. Smaller units inevitably coalesce out of the remnants, so when they do they are in turn destroyed until they are too few to reform. This is the Rinse and Repeat strategy… or perhaps it’s a tactic —I’m not quite clear on which.
Against this backdrop, on September 13, Hezbollah shelled Safed, which Israel's air defenses were unable to prevent. Then, Yemen's Houthis from the Ansar Allah movement launched a ballistic missile, which also penetrated the air defenses.
Parts of the missile penetrated the air defenses, reportedly — the silly thing was no longer whole by the time it arrived.
Hezbollah's successful attack on Unit 8200's base added another major blunder to the Israelis.
Y’all keep telling yourselves that.
Perhaps all these events, concentrated in a short period of time, forced Israel to activate the prepared schemes earlier than planned. Its own blunders required urgent counteractions that had to look like win-win and resonant, and therefore they became asymmetrical.
Perhaps…
Although, apparently, the decision to carry out this cyber attack was not made immediately, just like the decision to transfer military efforts from Gaza to the north.
The massive strikes on Hezbollah bases, launch pads and missile depots in late August did not weaken the organization's potential and, apparently, mostly fell flat. The same applies to the IDF strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeida, which failed to harm the Houthis' potential.
I know! It’s Opposite Day!
In this regard, Netanyahu felt the need to step up efforts on the Lebanese and Yemeni fronts. And if the Houthis are an unattainable target for Israel, then the intelligence services had the necessary preparations for attacks on Hezbollah.
At the same time, there is another version.
In recent days, Israeli leaders have become concerned that Hezbollah might detect the threat posed by the pagers. So Benjamin Netanyahu, the military commanders, and the heads of intelligence services decided to detonate the explosives rather than risk Hezbollah discovering them.
Israel's concerns that led to the decision to carry out the attack were first reported by Al-Monitor, which reported that two Hezbollah militants had raised suspicions about the pagers in recent days.
However, this version rather complements the first, since in any case it is obvious that the decision on a land invasion of southern Lebanon had not been made at the time of the pager explosion.
Another issue is that the current cyber attack on Lebanon, although it did damage Hezbollah, was not as damaging as it might have seemed at first glance. Most of the dead and wounded were civilians: doctors, teachers and other employees who used pagers from the same batch that was prepared by Israeli intelligence services. Children were also injured and killed.
Why on earth was Hezbollah handing out pagers to civilians and children?
USA VS.
The European Union condemned the actions of the initiators of the "action", calling them unacceptable. Many qualify the actions of the special services as a terrorist act. The United States also hastened to distance itself from this attack.
According to Axios, minutes before the pagers started exploding, Yoav Galant called US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and told him that Israel would soon carry out an operation in Lebanon.
The US minister said the Israelis had not told the US the details, but added that Galant's call was an attempt to avoid leaving the US completely in the dark about Israel's actions. However, Washington was running out of time to dissuade Tel Aviv from the attack.
At the same time, Israeli and US officials have already stated that Hezbollah itself could launch a retaliatory operation by carrying out a large-scale attack on Israel.
Therefore, regardless of which version is more true, it is likely that the Netanyahu regime has “passed the ball” to Hezbollah and will wait for a massive attack to justify the start of a full-scale war in southern Lebanon. Although the option of Israel’s preemptive action cannot be ruled out.
One way or another, the Israeli cabinet, despite its bellicose rhetoric, is under pressure from the Americans. And even despite Netanyahu’s ability to find ways around certain American prohibitions and even act against the will and desire of the Biden administration, the invasion of Lebanon is not an issue where Washington’s position can be completely ignored.
Therefore, the Israelis will most likely try to follow the path of increasing escalation in order to prepare the ground for an invasion, if they do decide to do so.
The difference from the previous stage of the confrontation with Hezbollah will be the speed of action. Let us recall that the finger has been on the trigger of the invasion of Lebanon for a long time and one of the main obstacles is Washington's position. Shortly after the Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, Israel almost started a preventive war against Hezbollah.
At the time, Israeli intelligence reported that the Party of God fighters were allegedly ready to cross the border into Israel and launch a full-scale invasion in support of Hamas. In turn, the IDF had already prepared combat aircraft and deployed units on the border with Lebanon, awaiting orders.
Israeli officials apparently notified the White House around 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2023, that they were considering preemptive strikes and asked for support. But senior U.S. officials, including President Joe Biden, have strongly opposed them.
According to CSIS, which interviewed U.S. officials, Americans were concerned that Israeli strikes on Lebanon could trigger a regional war and were skeptical of Israeli intelligence that a Hezbollah attack was imminent.
Therefore, since then, the Netanyahu regime itself has been trying to provoke the “Party of God” into actions that Washington would consider an appropriate pretext for intensifying the IDF’s military efforts in southern Lebanon.
Another issue is that the mass explosions of equipment have not met with understanding in Washington, at the very least. And if Hezbollah continues to act within the framework of its previous strategy, launching limited strikes on Israeli territory, then for the US this will hardly become a compelling reason to support the IDF's Lebanese campaign.
Moreover, the red banner of revenge for the murdered Ismail Haniyeh still flutters over the dome of the Iranian Jamkaran mosque, and any escalation in Lebanon could lead to the very same retaliatory strike from Iran that has been long postponed in the hope of the IDF leaving Gaza. This significantly increases the risks of regional escalation.
WAR WITHOUT END
The “Axis of Resistance” already sent an important signal to Israel when a Houthi missile penetrated Israeli air defenses on September 14, reminding Israel that the retaliatory strike had been postponed, but not cancelled. The Houthis showed that such an attack, if massive, consisting of dozens or hundreds of missiles, could be very destructive.
And if Israel decides to invade southern Lebanon, it will be a step toward regional escalation, which is exactly what both the US and Iran are trying to avoid.
They are indeed. Israel does not share that opinion.
At the same time, Netanyahu may decide to invade regardless of Washington's position. He has no other way to achieve his stated goals of "returning peace to the north" except by accepting the conditions of Hezbollah and Iran and leaving Gaza, ending military operations there.
But even this does not guarantee that the scenario of October 7, 2023 will not be repeated in the northern regions of Israel, but this time by the "Party of God", whose military potential is incomparably greater than that of Hamas. That is why Israel needs a security zone in southern Lebanon.
For now, the IDF will likely choose to proceed cautiously, increasing the number of air attacks and then possibly attempting to attack individual Hezbollah strongholds near the border from which ATGMs are launched. If such limited operations are successful, the IDF will likely move on to the next stage – a larger ground campaign.
But each operation will have a “face-saving” option, which will allow any combat action to be declared a success, even in the event of heavy losses. After that, the air offensive against Hezbollah will continue, and new attempts will be made to switch to ground operations using the same scheme, probing the enemy’s weak points.
In any case, what matters to Netanyahu is not victory, but war. And not just any war, but a war without end.
#1
Al-Mayadeen, citing European security sources, reported that Hezbollah's Operation Arbaeen against the IDF's Unit 8200 intelligence headquarters at the Glilot base on August 25 resulted in the death of 22 IDF soldiers and the wounding of 74 more.
#5
Deliciousness from Skidmark’s Russia Today link:
On September 17, a series of explosions rocked Lebanon, as pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah for communication were detonated. The blasts occurred in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, as well as other parts of the country and Syria. According to Reuters, the explosions lasted for more than half an hour, claiming at least 12 lives, including the ten-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member. Thousands were injured, including Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon.
The next day, Lebanon witnessed another wave of detonations, this time involving communication devices and equipment installed in cars and motorcycles, as reported by Al Hadath. The explosions occurred in Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley, leaving around 100 people injured and at least three dead in the town of Sohmor.
Al Jazeera confirmed that the blasts were linked to portable devices used by members of Hezbollah. Iran’s Press TV added that radios and ICOM communication devices were among those that exploded. Al Hadath also reported that laptops and equipment installed in vehicles were destroyed, some of which were unrelated to communication devices. A security source told Reuters that the portable radios were acquired by Hezbollah five months ago, similar to the pagers that were also sabotaged.
As reported by Reuters and AFP, one explosion occurred near the funeral of Hezbollah fighters who died the previous day. According to Al Jazeera, the explosions were also heard near Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut. Videos shared online show burned-out cars and destroyed scooters and motorcycles. Witnesses said the devices made strange noises and vibrations before the detonations.
Hezbollah issued a warning to Lebanese citizens, urging them to dispose of all gadgets and electronic devices
So the entire country — plus, probably, the Shiite sections of Syria and Iraq — are incommunicado except for in-person gossip? Kudos to Mossad and Unit 8200.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] ... as Israel is blamed for pager bombs, how Mossad has carried out some of the world's most daring undercover operations.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Florida residents are being warned to brace for 'king tide' season where beach resorts are at risk of being flooded even on sunny days with no rain.
The sunshine state's year is typically broken into seasons including heat season, hurricane season, rainy season and in the fall - it's king tide season.
This is the time of year when tides are at their highest along the east coast, and salty water can be pushed up through drains and manholes, flooding the streets.
If it then rains as well, these sunny-day floods can quickly become disastrous.
King Tides are defined as the highest tides of the year, and are typically one to two feet higher than average high tides.
It is not a scientific term but is used to describe floods that occur when the moon and sun are aligned with each other and the closest distance to Earth. They typically occur during a full-moon cycle.
They are most common during September through November, and sometimes even in early December.
Residents in states from Florida, California and other coastal areas along the Southeast Atlantic including South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia are most significantly affected by king tides.
This is due to their low-lying coastlines which make them more vulnerable to high tides, particularly in areas such as Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Charleston.
With the full moon cycle approaching this week, National Weather Service meteorologists have placed all of South Florida under a coastal flood advisory through at least Friday afternoon to prepare for the annual possibility.
Tidal flooding is not a new occurrence for South Florida residents, but areas along the East Coast - Florida all the way to Maine - are now seeing flooding days, according to NBC Miami.
Experts say that king tides are also being impacted by global warming.
The earth's temperature has risen by an average of 0.11° Fahrenheit (0.06° Celsius) per decade since 1850, according to Climate.gov.
The rate of warming since 1982 has also increased - three times as fast per decade.
Oh no! Quick,Edith — let us panic together because the world is no longer experiencing a period of unusual cold!!!
#3
an average of 0.11° Fahrenheit (0.06° Celsius) per decade since 1850
So an entire degree F every century. Scary!
Just so we are clear, 1850 was near the end of a time known as the Little Ice Age, a time known for cold temps, bad weather, crop failures, famine and disease. Sounds idyllic.
[ZeroHedge] As we have been writing for the better part of the last year, the next AI trade continues to look like it's going to be energy. And now, both BlackRock and Microsoft are making it known that they understand this, too.
Yesterday it was reported that the two industry giants are prepping the launch of a $30 billion AI investment fund that'll see Microsoft build data centers and energy projects to meet the demands of AI, according to the Financial Times.
BlackRock’s new infrastructure investment unit, Global Infrastructure Partners, is launching a major investment fund with Microsoft and Abu Dhabi’s MGX as general partners. Nvidia will provide advisory on factory design and integration.
The FT wrote that the partnership aims to tackle the massive power and infrastructure needs of AI development, which is expected to strain current energy systems. AI’s computing demands far exceed past technologies.
The partnership seeks to raise up to $30bn in equity, with plans to leverage an additional $70bn in debt.
In a statement, Larry Fink said: “Mobilizing private capital to build AI infrastructure like data centers and power will unlock a multitrillion-dollar long-term investment opportunity.”
Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, added: “The country and the world are going to need more capital investment to accelerate the development of the AI infrastructure needed. This kind of effort is an important step.”
#1
Control main objective. Just another arm of neocon control efforts. Black-Rock is purchasing lands of Ukraine now (world food supplies next leveraging tool). Who really is in charge?.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Bee] MANHATTAN, NY — All three people who watch 
