[EnergySecurityFreedom] Yesterday, I published the news release issued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton regarding that lawsuit against BlackRock, State Street Corporation, and Vanguard Group (“BSV”) by a coalition of states. The BSV Gang of Three, it was asserted, had conspired to artificially constrict the market for coal through anticompetitive trade practices wearing of a cloak of climate virtue signaling. Since then, I’ve had an opportunity to dig into the lawsuit itself. It is a stunning example of pure collusion and it lays open, for all to see, the corruption and rot at the heart of the entire climate con.
The background is this (emphasis added):
Among coal producers responsible for more than 5 million tons of coal in 2022, eight are publicly held: Peabody Energy; Arch Resources; NACCO Natural Resources; CONSOL Energy; Alpha Metallurgical Resources; Vistra; Hallador Energy Company; and Warrior Met Coal. These eight firms are responsible for approximately 46% of total domestic coal production and significant shares of the domestic production of thermal coal and, along with the Black Hills Corporation, of South Powder River Basin (“SPRB”) coal…Defendants are three of the largest investors in global coal production. As of February 15, 2022, BlackRock’s total investment in coal was $108.787 billion; Vanguard’s, $101.119 billion; and State Street’s, $35.736 billion.
Defendants, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, acting by and through the funds, trusts, and other investment vehicles that they manage and control, have acquired substantial shareholdings in, and have become the three largest shareholders of America’s publicly-held coal companies…
We all knew, well before the states filed their complaint, that the BSV Gang of Three was colluding to supposedly advance the energy transition to save the planet. Much of the press on the subject, especially from conservative news organs, focused on the political side of the story. It was that these three companies were trying to kill coal to make a market for the corporatist climate con while putting themselves at the top of the globalist food chain and power structure.
What we did not know was that they were also colluding to make huge money at the outset by cornering the coal market. That way they could unjustly profit off both sides of the climate debate; stealing from consumers of electricity at both ends. The extent to which they did this is absolutely staggering as the following excerpts from the complaint indicate:
[AmericanGreatness] Mark Milley should be recalled to service, court-martialed, punished, and publicly dishonored in order to prevent a resurgence of the corrosive principle of leftist military partisanship.
#7
It is certainly justified, but the recalled to service and court-martialed thing sounds tiresome. Can't we just laugh and snicker every time his name is mentioned, now and forever more amen?
#8
Man, they're going to issue so many pardons its going to validate in so many minds the level of corruption that exists in The Swamp. At what point do they not understand it totally delegitimizes the government? It will become a force multiplier for Trump to demand from Congress the authority to clean the Augean Stables.
#9
SteveS, he won't hear us laughing and snickering. I would rather the be reduced in rank, maybe sent to prison for a while, and maybe lose part of his pension.
Text taken from the Telegram channel of thehegemonist
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] Hoffmann+reported on the Trumpists' plans to reform the US intelligence community, as outlined in Project 2025. In this collection, the chapter on the Pentagon's new policy was written by Colonel Christopher Miller, Acting Secretary of Defense during Donald Trump's first presidency. Miller is a native of the US Army Special Forces, or "Green Berets."
His plan involves strengthening all branches of the US Armed Forces:
NAVY.
Increasing the fleet's list to more than 355 ships,
accelerating the procurement procedure for ammunition,
prioritizing the development of unmanned vehicles,
as well as intercontinental sea-based missiles
MARINE CORPS (MCM).
Implementation of the Marine Corps Force Design 2030 modernization plan,
procurement of additional M142 HIMARS,
UAVs, and counter-UAV systems,
decommissioning of the Air Force's M777 towed 155mm howitzers.
Increased production of F-35 fighters and B-21 bombers,
implementation of the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program,
modernization of military transport aviation and air refueling capabilities,
procurement of a large number of medium-range air weapons,
doubling the fleet of EA-37B electronic warfare aircraft
SPACE FORCE.
Strengthening offensive potential and control over space, including near-lunar space
In addition, Trump spoke in favor of a new missile defense system that will cover the United States, as well as modernizing and increasing the country's nuclear arsenal.
(c) A. Hoffmann
As you can see, all the desires are aimed at maintaining global military dominance, which the United States is not going to voluntarily give up, which will lead to an increase in the number of local wars and conflict in the short and medium term.
#4
Still focused on a 'hammer' looking for a nail to hammer. Americans are tired of overseas adventures. There is no more money. They've ignored their first mission is to protect the homeland which is being over run.
#5
/\ Overseas misadventures are the mother's milk of the Klingon community. Shi* disturbing is a quasi essential element of the Military Industrial Complex (MIC). The MIC and Klingon misadventures, also known as "Nation Building" go hand-in-hand.
[Free Press] Something is rotten in the state of Britain. It was epitomized by a recent event at the Oxford Union, the 201-year-old debating society that is such a distinctive and admirable part of Oxford life. It was at the Union that, 40 years ago, I spoke as freely (and indeed as irresponsibly) as I ever have, discovering in the process that I was not cut out for politics. It was there that I saw great debaters of the past, present, and future.
But I never saw anything like the events of November 28.
The motion for debate was in itself a provocation:
Of course. And intentionally so. As probably was the one back in the day when Oxford men resolved not to fight for their country against the Nazis — university lads being dangerously sophomoric, self-righteous idiots…
"This House Believes Israel Is an Apartheid State Responsible for Genocide." But what was truly shocking was the conduct of the president of the Union, an Egyptian student named Ebrahim Osman-Mowafy, who appears to have abused his position by openly siding with those proposing the motion and treating the opposing speakers with contempt.
According to the broadcaster, Jonathan Sacerdoti, who was arguing for Israel’s side, Osman-Mowafy canceled the traditional pre-debate group photographs, but posed alone for private photos with the anti-Israel team. During the debate, the pro-Israel speakers were repeatedly heckled by the crowd. At one point, a young woman stood up and screamed at Sacerdoti: "Liar! Fuck you, the genocidal motherfucker!"
Unerzogen, say the Germans. Déclassé, the French. New money, sneer the English, as appropriate, or overbred. The Russians would say nekulturny, but nobody listens to them nowadays, even when they’re right.
Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a senior Hamas leader who defected to Israel, who was arguing alongside Sacerdoti, was met with jeering derision and cries of "traitor" and "prostitute" (in Arabic). Yousef asked the audience to indicate by a show of hands how many of them would have reported prior knowledge of the October 7, 2023, atrocities to Israel. Not even a quarter of the crowd raised their hands.
For the other side, Miko Peled, an Israeli general’s son turned radical anti-Zionist, described the murders, rapes, and kidnappings of October 7 as "acts of heroism." The Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd, who has equated Zionism with genocide, began his speech by announcing that there was "no room for debate" and ended it by walking out of the chamber. The motion passed by 278 in favor to 59 against.
Three cheers for the 59, though they may need eventually to find their careers in Donald Trump’s America or some other free country.
Reading reports of this shameful fiasco at my alma mater, I found myself wondering: Where are the Thought Police when you really need them? After all, the Oxford Union’s latest debate sounded a lot like one of those "noncrime hate incidents" that currently consume so much of the British police’s time.
[NBCnews] Trump allies and other Republicans have been giving a preview of what could happen to protests, protesters and aligned groups once the new administration begins.
Congressional Republicans and former Trump appointees have spent the last year building out their response to the movement protesting Israel’s war in Gaza, and now that Donald Trump is returning to the White House they warn that protest leaders, activists and those who help them raise money could face an onslaught of federal investigations and possible indictments.
An NBC News review of congressional hearings and letters, along with lawsuits filed by organizations led by former Trump officials, provides a preview of which federal laws a second Trump administration could use when pursuing investigations and potential prosecutions.
Judging from what has been pushed thus far, there are several legal measures most likely to be used once Trump returns to Washington. One would be deporting foreign college students in the U.S. on a visa after they’re found to have openly advocated for Hamas or another U.S.-designated terror group, or after they participated in an unauthorized campus protest and were suspended, expelled or jailed.
Another measure would be to pursue federal prosecutions of demonstrators who block synagogue entrances or disrupt Jewish speakers at events. A third approach is to charge protest leaders and nonprofits that aid in fundraising for protest groups with failing to register with the U.S. Justice Department as an “agent of a foreign principal.” And a fourth avenue is to open investigations into protest leaders who are in direct contact with U.S.-designated terror groups while advocating on their behalf.
The multifaceted law enforcement approach is a marked departure from the Biden administration’s response to the protest movement. Some of the nation’s leading civil rights groups told NBC News that they are gearing up for a flood of legal battles to protect the protesters.
“Trying to predict what Trump will do is a fool’s errand. We have to be prepared for the most extreme version of what he’s threatened,” said Ben Wizner, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project. “We have to take him both literally and seriously.”
‘A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN’
Biden administration officials have told NBC News that prosecuting speech-related crimes related to the anti-war protests is not a high priority for the current Justice Department, nor is seeking out student protesters on foreign visas a top concern for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“President Trump will enforce the law,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, in an email to NBC News. Ernst recently asked the FBI to open an investigation into a pro-Hamas student group at Columbia University called Columbia University Apartheid Divest. A member had threatened “Zionists” on social media, which the organization had initially distanced itself from after a strong public outcry but later supported in an Instagram post. CUAD also has handed out pro-Hamas flyers that circulated around campus featuring masked men holding weapons.
“There is a new sheriff in town,” Ernst said. The FBI has yet to respond to Ernst’s request, her office said. An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment. A Columbia University spokesperson said CUAD is not a recognized organization by the school and the flyers were under investigation. Members of CUAD declined to comment.
Reed Rubinstein, who held high-ranking positions in both the Justice Department and the U.S. Education Department in the first Trump administration, is now a senior vice president at America First Legal, a public policy law firm in Washington, D.C., founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller. (Miller is expected to return to the White House as a deputy chief of staff for policy.)
Under Rubinstein, America First Legal has in the past year filed four lawsuits that provide a glimpse into how the Trump administration could differ from its predecessor. America First Legal alleges in the suits that the State Department, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Education have protected pro-Hamas extremists.
In court papers and in letters to several federal oversight officials, America First Legal has also said it believes the Justice Department should have forced several leaders of pro-Palestinian groups to report themselves under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, known as FARA, which requires individuals acting as “an agent of a foreign principal” to register themselves with the Justice Department.
It has also accused the Department of Education of not following Title VI regulations, which prohibits schools that accept federal funding from allowing on-campus discrimination based on race, shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics including being Jewish.
“There’s a difference between lawful speech and unlawful conduct,” Rubinstein told NBC News. “Law enforcement has an obligation to act.”
Although the lawsuits haven’t progressed in court, they provide a possible road map for how Trump-minded prosecutors could respond to the protest movement.
So far, only the Education Department has responded to the allegations, court papers show, and said the agency doesn’t have sufficient evidence to respond to the claims that policies aren’t being enforced. The Justice Department didn’t respond to a request for comment. Spokespeople at the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Education all said they can’t comment on pending litigation.
Rubinstein in an interview brought up an additional law he expects a second Trump administration could enforce. Known as the FACE Act, the law prohibits people from using force, threats or intimidation while blocking entrances of places of worship. Earlier this month, protesters with SJP Chicago gathered at the Chicago Loop Synagogue to demonstrate against an Arab Israeli speaker who had served in the Israeli military. Videos posted to social media showed demonstrators blocking the synagogue’s entrance, banging on the windows and getting inside.
“You do not have the right to deny somebody the ability to congregate in a church or synagogue,” Rubinstein said. “We would like to see the Department of Justice do its job.”
A spokesman for the FBI’s Chicago office said its policy is not to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. The Chicago Police Department said it arrested two protesters and charged them with trespassing and one with property damage, both misdemeanor charges.
SJP Chicago did not respond to a request for comment. But in an Instagram post, it said protesters were not being anti-Jewish. “Zionist have scrambled to throw together a narrative that these acts were anti-semetic and fueled by hate (what’s new).”
AN EXPECTED FLOOD OF LEGAL BATTLES
Some of the nation’s leading free speech and civil rights groups say they are gearing up to fight a new Trump administration and any attempts to go after protesters or their funders. Since 9/11, organizations including the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), along with the ACLU, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Knight First Amendment Institute have represented Muslim Americans and pro-Palestinian activists in cases involving free speech, surveillance or abuse.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, CAIR’s deputy executive director, argued that the Biden administration failed to enforce FARA against leaders of pro-Israel groups. Mitchell said both Trump and President Joe Biden single out pro-Palestinian activists with either a lack of enforcement or with too much enforcement.
“Just as Americans who peacefully marched, protested and lobbied against segregation, the Vietnam War and South African apartheid were not deterred when government agencies spied upon, smeared, arrested and brutalized them,” Mitchell said, “the college students, human rights activists and everyday Americans peacefully opposing the Gaza genocide have not been deterred by such government abuses and, God willing, will not be deterred by such abuses in the future.”
Both CCR and the ACLU told NBC News that their concerns go beyond what the administration could do to crack down on just the protests. They pointed to the possibility that a Republican-led Congress could pass a bill currently under consideration that would strip away the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that a Trump appointed treasury secretary designates as providing material support to “terrorist supporting organizations.” CCR also said it worries a second Trump administration could wrongly level accusations of failing to register as foreign agents against protest leaders and nonprofits that aid protest groups with collecting donations. CCR is also watching whether a Trump Justice Department will charge certain activists accused of supporting Hamas and other U.S.-designated terror organizations with violating a U.S. anti-terror law that prohibits advocating for terror groups while in coordination with them.
“We are prepared for the Trump administration coming in and changing the game, particularly around the question, ‘Where does speech fit into this?’” said Vince Warren, CCR’s executive director. “To the extent that the Biden administration drew a line between speech and actionable conduct, we don’t think that the Trump administration will do that at all.”
CCR is also concerned about the plans laid out in Project Esther, an initiative backed by the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that published Project 2025. Project Esther urges law enforcement to use a plethora of federal and state laws to dismantle what it terms the “global Hamas Support Network” using racketeering laws — used to break up the mafia — along with anti-terrorism and anti-hate speech laws.
“They will throw any type of spaghetti up against the wall,” Warren said.
The Knight Institute said although it expects the new Trump administration to aggressively police speech, it is prepared to fight back. Earlier this month, Knight successfully rebuffed the Biden Treasury Department, which had blocked a New York based nonprofit from organizing an overseas conference with Hezbollah members, arguing it can’t work with people sanctioned for ties to terrorism groups. The agency reversed course and settled the case earlier this month after Knight argued that an academic exchange of ideas could not violate anti-terror laws.
“If there’s one thing the First Amendment protects, it’s the right of Americans to criticize their own government’s policies,” said Jameel Jaffer, the Knight Institute’s executive director.
The ACLU’s Wizner struck a similar note, saying: “The courts have made clear that the First Amendment protects all manner of controversial advocacy, including advocacy of violence, so long as the speaker isn’t actively inciting imminent harm,” Wizner said.
IMPACT ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
Kenneth Marcus, who ran the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights during the Trump and George W. Bush administrations, now leads the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, one of the leading civil rights organizations focused on Jewish students. Over the past year, the center has sued a growing list of universities arguing officials failed to stop what it sees as widespread antisemitism on campus.
Marcus said he has met with Department of Education officials requesting an expansion of civil rights enforcement to protect Jewish students on campuses. The Department of Education didn’t respond to questions regarding Marcus’ concerns.
“We know that President Trump has repeatedly expressed concern about the campus situation,” Marcus said.
During the presidential campaign, one of the 20 promises in the preamble to the Republican Party platform was to “deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.”
NBC News reported in August that the Biden administration said it was not targeting visa revocations for foreign students who may have engaged in speech-related offenses or participated in unauthorized campus protests and had not terminated any university or college student visas due to protest activity related to the Israel-Hamas war.
Trump’s return to Washington could lead to possible attempts to revoke student visas for foreign students who openly support Hamas or other U.S.-designated terror organizations, Marcus said. Marcus also anticipates more intervention from the Justice Department when Jewish students say they are being targeted on campus.
At a campaign stop in September, Trump said that at the start of his second presidency, he would inform universities that if they allow violence and threats against Jewish students, they “will be held accountable for violations of the civil rights law.”
“My administration will move swiftly to restore safety for Jewish students and Jewish people on American streets,” Trump said.
[RedState] It sure seems like Kamala Harris' loss in the 2024 election has been the best thing to ever happen to Joe Biden. The guy appears to be having the time of his life, personifying the idea that absolutely nothing matters as he throws caution to the wind. That includes falling asleep during a diplomatic meeting in Africa on Wednesday.
I'm not sure whether to laugh about this stuff or be deeply concerned. After all, this guy is still in charge of the nuclear codes. Well, at least ostensibly.
It certainly seems like his handlers have lost all control. I'd assume that if they had any sway left, they'd have Biden locked up in Delaware until Donald Trump's inauguration. That he continues to make high-profile public appearances, especially after embarrassing himself in Africa, is astonishing. I guess once a president burns their legacy to the ground by pardoning their criminal, degenerate son, the rest is gravy.
Fast-forward to Thursday, and Biden showed up for the National Christmas Tree Lighting. He could have just stood around and enjoyed the show, but the president is just way too weird for that. So he ripped his beanie off instead, leading to some hilarious pictures, and mumbled insults at the press.
That is a picture of a man who simply doesn't care anymore, and I'm kind of here for it. No one has ever been a lamer duck than Joe Biden, and he embodies that every moment of the day. If that means taking a nap while the entire world is watching, he's going to do it. If it means letting his hair plugs flap in the wind, making him look like a deranged lunatic, whatever. What does he care? Biden is a complete weirdo, and he's got no reason to even attempt to hide it anymore.
Meanwhile, Americans are forced to hold their breath, hoping that the nation's adversaries don't take further advantage of the invalid in the White House. That's what the Democratic Party has wrought, and it's a big reason they got shellacked in the election. For once, it feels like justice has prevailed on the political front.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/06/2024 05:44 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
#1
What we're seeing is just the natural progression of a person with Dementia. His random announcements take place when he's have a semi lucid interval.
His deterioration since he withdrew from the election in July is notable and would be far worse if he were not heavily medicated most of the time.
[IsraelTimes] Terror group pinned hopes of salvation on the Iranian axis and world pressure on Israel, but now has just a few weeks until an unpredictable and angry US president returns
Earlier this week, two days after Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... released a propaganda video showing American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander pleading with Donald Trump ...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania... to secure his release, the American president-elect typed out a message that was sure to make the terror group and its backers in Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... take notice.
"Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violent mostly peacefully, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire world, in the Middle East — but it’s all talk and no action!" Trump wrote Monday on his Truth Social platform, without mentioning Israel or the Paleostinian terror group by name.
"Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity," he continued.
The message was posted by a famously voluble leader, but it should not be underestimated.
It comes at the worst possible time for Hamas, and could be what is needed to finally break the terror group’s unwillingness to recognize the weakness of its position in hostage talks.
SINWAR’S THREE BETS
For much of the duration of war that erupted on October 7, 2023, Hamas — under the guidance of the late Yahya Sinwar — believed its bargaining position was only improving with time. Once its leaders recognized they had withstood the height of Israel’s military offensive in early 2024, Hamas staked its hopes on three developments.
First, Sinwar and his senior aides hoped throughout that the expansion of the conflict with Hezbollah and Iran would force Israel to sue for a ceasefire in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... in order to avoid a multifront war that would exact too high a toll on its soldiers and home front.
Second, they also believed that international pressure — from the US and Western allies, the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... and bodies like the international courts in The Hague — would force Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a hostage deal that would leave Hamas standing in Gaza, and in a position to rebuild both its grip on the territory and its military force.
"We have the Israelis right where we want them," Sinwar told other Hamas leaders, according to a June report in The Wall Street Journal. The higher the civilian corpse count in Gaza, the more pressure would be put on Israel, he said.
Government hostage point-man Gal Hirsch argued in a recent speech that there was a "direct and immediate connection between pressure on Israel and Hamas’s appetite for negotiations."
"Hamas identifies every ’daylight,’ every sliver of light, and whenever it identifies ideas like ’we won’t give you ammunition,’ arms embargoes, removing reservations about the ICC [cases], this doesn’t help us to reach hostage deal," Hirsch said at Reichman University.
As for the third factor, Sinwar, a close observer of Israeli politics, had certainly noticed the growing domestic anger at Netanyahu as the months passed. Protests by hostages’ families and their allies merged with anti-Netanyahu demonstrations, and a growing number of Israelis were calling for an end to the war without Hamas routed — if it meant the hostages would come home.
Shortly before his death in mid-October, Sinwar told Hamas’s leadership that a long war against Israel was beneficial. "The longer it lasts, the closer we get to liberation," senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan recounted Sinwar saying.
Sinwar is now dead, but those making decisions in his place did not immediately seem willing to make any major concessions, either — at least not until recent developments knocked the pillars out from under Hamas’s position.
TABLES TURNING
When Hezbollah began assaulting Israel to support Hamas in October 2023, it vowed to continue to do so as long as the war in Gaza continued. This past September, Jerusalem reached the limit of its patience and launched a massive offensive against the group. After being hammered by Israel via air, ground, and pager, the maimed terror militia last week threw in the towel without a ceasefire in Gaza, abandoning its previous position and leaving Hamas in the lurch.
And though Iran’s willingness to strike Israel directly with ballistic missiles twice in the past year was sure to raise Hamas’s hopes of salvation, Tehran has so far not made good on its promise to strike a third time. And with the Bashir al-Assad regime in Syria under new military pressure from rebels, the Islamic Theocratic Republic appears to have its hands full trying to avoid losing another key member of its axis.
Following Trump’s victory in the US elections, international pressure on Israel is likely to wane, with Netanyahu expecting a more reliable veto in the United Nations Security Council, a quicker flow of key weapons and intense pressure on the International Criminal Court as it goes after the Israeli leadership.
Domestic opposition to Netanyahu isn’t going to push him to a deal either. Firing defense minister Yoav Gallant removed the chief internal advocate of an urgent deal, and bringing in Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope party stabilized the coalition.
Perhaps, over time, the protest movement’s pressure on Netanyahu, with its carefully chosen slogan of "Bring them home now!" could have gained enough traction in the public.
But Hamas no longer has time on its side.
THE PRESSURE IS ON
In a little over six weeks, Trump’s deadline will arrive. His slogan, which puts the onus squarely on Hamas, seems to be "Release them now!"
It’s not clear what Trump might do to back up his threat, but his disdain for norms makes his ultimatum credible in the region. He could make Iran pay for Hamas’s intransigence through sanctions, strikes on oil and gas sites, or even attacks on Revolutionary Guards forces and Shia militias outside Iran.
Trump is unlikely to order strikes against Hamas itself in Gaza, where Israel is handling the fighting. However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... he could see to it that Hamas leaders abroad have no comfortable home in the region, and could provide Israel with the means to target them as they flee The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... and other countries they’ve called home in recent years.
And, of course, he could give Israel the green light to carry out new, stepped-up raids in Gaza, with less concern for humanitarian aid reaching civilians.
Netanyahu on Tuesday unsurprisingly hailed Trump’s "very strong statement," noting that the US president-elect had made it clear "that there is one party responsible for this situation — and that is Hamas. Hamas must release the hostages." Trump, said an appreciative Netanyahu, "put the emphasis in the right place — on Hamas, and not on the Israeli government, as is customary in some places."
Apparent cracks in Hamas’s resolve have already been showing. Last week, The New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reported that the group was expressing increased flexibility in its demands.
Citing two people familiar with the terror group’s thinking, the report said leaders of the terror group have been discussing allowing Israel to maintain a temporary presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, the strategic border area between Egypt and Gaza where Netanyahu has insisted Israel must retain control.
According to the New York Times report, "reality started to sink in" for Hamas after Sinwar’s death in October, as it became clear that Iran was not looking to enter into direct conflict with Israel, and that Hezbollah was being hit hard by the IDF.
But even in Hamas’s new, perilous reality, the fundamental gulf separating Israel’s red lines from Hamas’s core demands remains. The terror group continues to insist that in any hostage-release deal, the IDF will end up fully withdrawing from Gaza, and Hamas leaders and operatives will remain in the Strip, poised to slowly rebuild themselves over time. Israel sees that outcome as a loss, letting the perpetrators of October 7 survive and threaten it once more.
Now, with Trump making his desires crystal clear, Hamas has a decision to make.
It could use the next few weeks to get the best deal it can, allowing Israel to retain a much-reduced troop presence in Gaza, which it hopes will disappear in time under domestic or international pressure, when other countries increasingly see IDF forces in Gaza as part of an occupation that stands in the way of the Strip’s reconstruction.
Or it can continue to hold on to the hostages and the hope that Netanyahu will eventually break, while it faces the unpredictable commander-in-chief of the world’s most powerful military — a man who famously doesn’t like being refused.
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] How DARPA in the US is promoting a structure that accelerates the implementation of technological innovations and reduces administrative friction.
DARPA launches ERIS: a new front in the race for technological innovations
In the modern world, the speed of innovation is becoming a key factor in technological and economic development. Russia needs to reconsider its approaches to working with innovation projects, especially in strategically important areas. DARPA's experience shows that creating effective mechanisms for the rapid selection, evaluation and implementation of new technologies can significantly accelerate the process of innovative development. A good example of this approach is DARPA's new initiative, which demonstrates how to optimize the path from idea to implementation. Let's take a closer look at this program to understand what lessons Russia can learn to improve its own innovation ecosystem.
DARPA is launching a new initiative called Expedited Research Implementation Series (ERIS) - a long-term open competition for innovative technological solutions. This project is a digital platform where companies, universities and individual developers can present their technologies in the format of strictly regulated video presentations.
To participate in the program, you must prepare a video that meets the following technical requirements:
• Duration no more than 7 minutes.
• HD resolution 1920x1080.
• Maximum file size — 5 GB.
• Video format —.mp4.
Applications will be accepted monthly from December 2024 to May 2025. Submission is carried out through a specialized portal DARPAConnect, where participants must fill out a detailed form consisting of 15 required fields. This helps structure and simplify the process of submitting materials.
The project is aimed at solving three key tasks:
1. Accelerating technology assessment: creating a single platform for the rapid analysis and selection of promising solutions.
2. Reducing barriers to participation: attracting small businesses and non-traditional contractors, previously rarely involved in defense projects.
3. Ensuring a full development cycle: from the inception of an idea to research, prototyping and testing.
DARPA focused on the following priority areas:
• Detecting and tracking hidden objects in air, ground, and space.
• Developing innovative sensor systems.
• Creating advanced antenna technologies with improved characteristics.
Submitted projects are assessed by an independent panel of experts, including representatives from the public sector, industry and academia. The assessment is carried out using a special methodology, providing detailed feedback to participants. If a project does not pass the selection, developers can refine the solution and re-submit it.
ERIS offers a new approach to implementing innovations in the defense sector. Key benefits include:
• Transparency of the selection process.
• Rapid assessment - no more than 30 days per cycle.
• Flexibility of contract terms, including intellectual property rights.
• Openness to different types of organizations, including small businesses and non-traditional contractors.
Using such an approach, Russia could significantly speed up the innovation cycle, optimizing the entire process from the inception of an idea to the creation of a prototype and the implementation of technology. By focusing on specific strategic areas, it is possible to achieve a breakthrough in key areas, ensuring the targeted development of critical technologies.
The topic is relevant, especially if we remember that some technological solutions were only put into action after the start of the SVO, when life itself forced us to reduce bureaucracy and more actively implement new technologies, including projects from the national defense industry.
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.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
