Peloni:  As the US comes to wage economic war upon its allies as well as its enemies, it would only serve to increase the already disparaging view of allegiance to the US dollar.  I would argue that even the report that such sanctions were being considered against Israel will have a detrimental effect upon the already frayed trust in the American monetary system, just as I would also argue that this will likely not be the end of the US consideration of this policy in the coming months.

The Biden admin is desperate to stop Israel’s campaign against Hamas.

by Daniel Greenfield, Front Page Magazine February 16, 2024

The Biden administration has a plan for the Hamas-Israel war. It’s the same plan that past administrations have unleashed on Israel. Pressure Netanyahu or whoever is in office into ignoring voters and conservative members of his coalition, push him into making a deal with the Islamic terrorists, and go back to advocating for a terrorist state. The problem is that things fundamentally changed in Israel on Oct 7 even if they didn’t change in D.C.

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By Victor Sharpe, RENEW AMERICA   February 15, 2024

‘‘The Gaza War was notable for the horrible scenes that erupted in European and British streets. Who can forget the sight of British bobbies running for their lives in London as pro-Hamas mobs chased them with impunity.’’

The above words might as well be describing what has been happening in British, European and American cities since the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israeli men women and children occurred on that horrific day of October 7, 2023. But no, it refers to an earlier day in February 2009, fifteen years ago.

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Francisco Gil-White, The Management of Reality Substack Feb 16, 2024

Once thought to be the mask of Sargon of Akkad, this is now believed to be, on stylistic grounds, the mask of Naram-Sin, his grandson. Credit: Wikimedia.

Imagine that history class were like plunging into the millennia-spanning, action-packed, multi-novel adventure worlds of Frank Herbert (Dune), Isaac Asimov (Foundation), or J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings). No child would ever get bored!

So why are teachers boring them?

I ask because the political history of Western Asia—which includes Europe—does have that fantasy/science-fiction structure: it’s been a 4,300-year clash between two great ideological forces.

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B. Kalman:  This interview by Tucker Carlson of Mike Benz will give you a granular, detailed description of how the US National Security State has been the primary driver of censorship.  It began with US efforts to use social media to overthrow other governments.  But with Trump’s election, the national security state realized that they no longer controlled the media and thus they no longer controlled the message.  Enter a kind of censorship which has all but ended freedom of speech and association in the US and the western world, because in their view, it was an issue of “national security” to stop the growth of populist/dissident movements in the US and America.  The interview is startling in its encyclopedic completeness.

By Tucker Carlson, X                                                        16 February 2024

Ep. 75 The national security state is the main driver of censorship and election interference in the United States. "What I’m describing is military rule," says Mike Benz. "It’s the inversion of democracy." pic.twitter.com/hDTEjAf89T

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 16, 2024

Peloni: The UN is an entirely antisemitic organization, whose specific animus against the Jewish State seems to never fail to demonstrate that animus.  In fact, the UN is entirely aligned with Hamas against Israel in this war, as it has been aligned against Israel since Israel disappointed the world by not being consumed in the War of Independence. 

Israeli officials blast UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, who claimed in TV interview that Hamas is a “political movement” and not a terrorist group.

Elad Benari, INN Feb 16, 2024

A United Nations official came under fire from Israel on Thursday, after he claimed in a TV interview that “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us”.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, spoke to Sky News on Wednesday and, when asked whether he thought Israel’s plan to eliminate Hamas was realistic, replied, “I think it’s very difficult. I’ve worked with many many many different terrorist and insurgent groups. Hamas is not a terrorist group for us. It’s a political movement.”

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by Gregg Roman, JNS    February 15, 2024

Lebanon is being held hostage by Hezbollah and Iran. The country’s plight is stark. It’s trapped in the clutches of Hezbollah, a pawn in Iran’s regional power play. As Hezbollah’s dominance metastasizes, Lebanon now finds itself at a crossroads. The time has come for decisive action to extricate the country from the grip of extremism.

Lebanon is under the control of Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy that obstructs Lebanese politics and is more powerful than the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). Thanks to Iran and Hezbollah, Lebanon has become a failed state.

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The two-state conceptzia, like other fatal errors in Israel’s history, relies on the delusion that there is a willingness to live in peace with Israel as a Jewish State. Intafadas and multiple Gaza Wars do not deter Israelis who stand by the two-state conceptzia. 

We have been in Israel for several weeks hoping to help in various ways and to possibly see our grandson who has been in Gaza from day one. Invariably in almost every conversation with Israelis and others the term conceptzia (?????????) has arisen with different definitions.

More often than not it is used to lambast Netanyahu and his team for the abject failures of October 7. Others use it to describe the failures of military intelligence and command general staff. No clear consensus.

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How the U.S. blinded Israeli intelligence gathering efforts on Hamas and other Palestinian groups inside Lebanon
BY TONY BADRAN, TABLET

Security commentator Alon Ben-David says IDF encountering exhausted terrorists who surrender after not hearing from their commanders for weeks. ‘This is what a collapsing military looks like.’

HAARETZ

Egypt is setting up a huge walled enclosure in the Sinai Desert as part of a contingency plan if there is a mass migration of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, which cites Egyptian sources and intelligence analysts, Cairo is “fearful that an Israeli military push further into southern Gaza will set off a flood of refugees.”

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A Washington Post article lays out the US’ dangerous plan that will ensure the establishment of a Palestinian terror state and the defeat of Israel.

IDF Col. Hezi Nachman said that there are hundreds of thousands of people in northern Gaza and Hamas rule of the area is returning.

By ,JERUSALEM POST STAFF  FEBRUARY 13, 2024 19:45

Hamas is returning to power in northern Gaza, IDF Col. (res.) Hezi Nachman said in an interview with 103FM Tuesday morning, adding that the Israeli military isn’t doing enough to stop it.

Speaking to Ben Caspit and Yinon Magal, Nachman, the former head of the Menashe Brigade, was discussing a letter to the war cabinet he and several other IDF commanders signed calling on Gazans not to be allowed to return home in the North until the hostages come home.

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After speaking to Biden, Netanyahu responds to reports that the administration is planning to establish a Palestinian state: Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

By Elad Benari, INN     Feb 16, 2024, 

Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuMarc Israel Sellem/POOL

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on Thursday night on reports that the Biden administration and several Arab countries are advancing a plan to establish a Palestinian state.

“At the Cabinet meeting, I clarified my position regarding the recent talk of imposing a Palestinian state on Israel,” Netanyahu said.

“My position is summed up in the following two sentences: 1. Israel rejects outright international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Such a settlement will only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties, without preconditions,” he added.

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By Anthony Scott, GATEWAY PUNDIT                   15 February 2024

Iran’s top Navy Commander announced that Iran owns Antarctica, and the regime plans to build a military base in the South Pole.

In a broadcast last fall, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani stated, “We have property rights in the South Pole. We have a plan to raise our flag there and carry out military and scientific work.”

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Peloni:  “In Avdeevka there is a partial withdrawal of our units to more advantageous positions,” – representative of the Tavria Defense Forces Dmitry Likhovoy.

“Russian flag flies along Industrial Avenue, Southern part of Coke plant.” – Military Summary channel.

Something to note in this article by the NYT is that Andrii Biletskyi, whose brigade was removed from the thick of the battle, is the founder of the Azov Battalion as well as the National Corp political organization and the Azov Social Movement.  Also, Ukraine’s collapsing control over the Avdiika fortress is significant, while it is still not yet complete.  The anticipated withdrawal of Ukraine’s forces will also somewhat reduce the extensive Russian front lines, allowing them to increase their force concentrations.  Ukraine still holds at least two significantly entrenched and well manned positions as well as the last supply road into the city, but their position is quite significantly reduced from just a month ago when the first breakthrough in the city took place.

As Russian forces breach a supply line and seek to encircle opposing soldiers, Ukraine’s commanders maneuver to “more advantageous positions.”

By Marc Santora, NYT Feb. 15, 2024

A Ukrainian Army armored vehicle on Tuesday in the town of Ocheretyne, near Avdiivka in Ukraine, where Avdiivka residents have evacuated to.Credit…Tyler Hicks/The New York Times

Ukrainian soldiers are withdrawing from positions from some positions in the shattered town of Avdiivka after advancing Russian forces breached a critical supply line and threatened to encircle scores of Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian military officials and soldiers said on Thursday.

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Initial cease-fire for release of hostages is seen as key to providing space to introduce a new peace deal

By Karen DeYoung, Susannah George  and Loveday Morris, WaPo   February 14, 2024 at 7:46 p.m. EST

The Biden administration and a small group of Middle East partners are rushing to complete a detailed, comprehensive plan for long-term peace between Israel and Palestinians, including a firm timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state, that could be announced as early as the next several weeks.

The urgency of the effort is tied directly to a proposed pause in the fighting and release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas that is being negotiated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

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By Anonymous, THE CONSERVATIVE WOMAN          15 Feb 2024

IN THE first part of this essay yesterday I explained how Biden’s unhinged foreign policy precipitated the destruction of Ukraine. Yet while the horrors of Bakhmut and the Donbas were unfolding, another of Biden’s utopian delusions was germinating in the Middle East. His government inherited the region from Trump in a subdued state: ISIS had been shattered swiftly in 2017; the Iranian regime was first suppressed by sanctions and then shocked by the 2020 assassination of the military commander Qasem Soleimani, and Israeli security commitments were bolstered by the recognition of Jerusalem as its official capital.

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B. Kalman:  In this series of articles the author points to Biden as the author of a ruinous foreign policy.  But as Uwe Alschner points out*, “politics is all about taking orders.”  There is an oligarchy of central banking cartels that has determined the foreign policy for Great Britain, Europe, Russia, and the US starting before the First World War.  They created chaos during the Weimar Republic which ultimately led to the destruction of Germany.  Now they have created chaos in the US intended to lead to the destruction of the US, if not all sovereign nations of the earth.

How the Biden movement has wreaked havoc across the globe

By Fathom Five                                                                    14 February 2024

Biden with Zelensky during a state visit to Kiev

This essay was also published in The Conservative Woman on 14 February 2024.

The Biden administration is reaping the whirlwind of its deluded foreign policy. On its watch, a dreadful war against the Russian behemoth has essentially been lost, after two years of wasteful struggle. And now, through Biden’s years-long appeasement of Iran’s malignant ayatollahs, the Middle East is in flames. As the election approaches, it is apparent that this administration has tied itself two lethal Gordian Knots abroad. Crucially, like its unprecedented domestic failings, these entanglements are in fact the self-inflicted manifestations of the naïve and radical utopianism at the heart of a movement of which Biden is the mere figurehead.

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