US Government blocks the unsealing of evidence related to the 9/11 attacks.

A recent letter reveals the US government opposed the release of evidence concerning the 9/11 attacks.

Lousiana passes state law that the Ten Commandments must be displayed in every school classroom

India, Mexico and Brazil chose not to endorse Zelenskyy's unilateral Ukraine peace summit communique. Argentina's ultra-neoliberal President Javier Milei gave it his full support - anything for his US masters.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has blown a white supremacist dog whistle, calling Brazil "uncivilized" because it didn't sign his "Ukraine Peace Summit Communique". Like China, India and Mexico, Brazil doesn't believe peace negotiations can take place without dialogue between both parties.

While most were busy arguing to shorten the work week to 4 days, conservatives in Greece have legally extended the work week to 6 days along with a bunch of other anti-worker legislation.

Can Europe ever hope to become civilized?

Is attempting to uplift and civilize Europeans a lost cause?

Do we have a moral duty to save Europeans from their own savagery?

Sevastopol has been struck by four ATACMS loaded with cluster warheads. More than 125 people are injured and a number in critical conditions.

In case there is still any illusion about Washington “ramping down” the conflict in Ukraine, this should remind you that we have not seen even the slightest indication of them willing to do so.

Correction: 4 ATACMS were shot down but one exploded in the air with the fragments of its cluster submunitions falling over the coastal region injuring a lot of people.

Audience Question: "Houthis" or Ansar Allah?

Ansar Allah movement is a Yemeni movement which was founded by martyr Sayyid Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi and was known as “the Believing Youth” before.

The movement was known as Houthis as well between Yemenis and media at the early years of the activities. Houthis comes from the family of Sayyid Hussein Badreddin, the founder of the movement, which is the name of a district in Amran province, north of Yemen.

What is wrong with using Houthis for Ansar Allah movement?

Like other countries of West Asia, Yemen also had many [ethnicities] and tribes, which was influential on the government of the area.

This is used by western media mastermind to label a vast popular movement in Yemen by name of a tribe and to label the current war as a tribal war. Dividing Islamic countries is usually done using two methods: 1. Religion and 2. Race [or ethnicity]. In Yemen ethnicity is being used by Saudis.

This doesn’t mean that the religious differences are not used for discord and dividing in Yemen but the racial and tribal differences are the main trick for warmongering.

Therefore using Houthis for the popular vast movement of Yemeni Ansar Allah helps the MSM to overlook the tens of parties, political movements and tribes and millions of people who joined Ansar Allah.

Turkish goods shipped to Israel via Greece despite official ban

Statistics indicate Turkish companies use Greek ports to re-export goods to Israel following Ankara’s decision to halt trade

...

TIM data indicate that Turkey’s exports to Greece surged to $375m in May, up 71 percent from $219m in the same month last year.

A second Turkish businessman explained that Turkish exports, although passing through Greece, are still recorded as imports from Turkey in Israeli statistics because they remain Turkish products.

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise. But there seem to still be impacts on Israel because they are looking for alternative suppliers in Egypt, Spain, and Italy:

“This parallel trade might continue for a few more months, but Israeli companies are quickly aligning themselves with alternative suppliers in other countries like Egypt, Spain, and Italy,” the second businessman said.

Not to mention the exports surge to Greece doesn't come close to matching the total figure of exports to Israel: ~$4.788 billion:

The trade volume between the two countries was $6.3bn in 2023, with 76 percent being Turkish exports, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Turkey had been a key supplier of affordable products to Israel.

And there are of course porkies whining about muh free trade and all that

“Instead, we punished all the businesses trading with Israel without even a grace period. Some goods are stuck at customs, resulting in hundreds of thousands in losses for the companies.”

So am I crazy to think that the Turkish embargo is working as expected despite this seemingly bad news? I would go as far to say it's good news that there are attempts to circumvent the embargo because if there wasn't then it would be a sign that it isn't a very effective embargo. It could obviously be more effective if these companies were punished by Erdogan, or if other countries joined the embargo, but leaking $155 million out of $4.788 billion ain't so bad.

This is different from my usual posts. It is an open letter from one of the only Marxist formulations in my country. I think it succinctly addresses a lot of the local arguments that are of interesting rhetorical value and in which I assume a lot of the people here are not often exposed to, especially when Western media often likes to picture Malaysia as Pro-Hamas and Pro-Palestine.

Note: It is common to refer to people by their first names in formal settings because a majority of the ethnic groups here have no concept of a family name. This is true for Indonesia and Brunei as well.

Palestine is more important

I take note of Tengku Zafrul’s defence of BlackRock, which has strong links to Israel, arguing that it has major shares in Apple, WhatsApp and Facebook. I take note of Defence Minister Khaled Nordin defending the inclusion of Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, both complicit in Israel’s military dominance, in the recent Defence Service Asia (DSA) 2024 expo held in Kuala Lumpur with the argument that Malaysia is a free trading nation. I take note of Anwar’s urge of caution against not participating in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (Rimpac), a US-led maritime military exercise which includes the participation of the Israeli army.

But one thing remains. Palestine is more important.

Zafrul should understand that the deep roots of BlackRock in all major cultural mechanisms of the world is a cause for concern, not submission. Khaled should understand that giving space for those actively involved in the cleansing of innocent souls to put up a booth in our nation’s capitol is indirect endorsement of their practices. Anwar, so vocal with his support for Palestine when a microphone is in his hand, should understand participating in any US-led military exercise, especially with the direct involvement of Israel, makes his supposed support ring hollow. None of these have to do with global participation or the United Nations, whose highest court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.

We understand that this capitalist government alongside every other capitalist government we have had bends the knee willingly to the US and it’s allies no matter how many lives are lost. We understand the need for free trade and the intricacies of navigating an unfree world with the conglomerate of NATO nations bullying others willingly. We understand that taking any material step to disrupt the lives of the US, Israel and their military industrial complex is an immense risk for our nation.

Having said all of that, Palestine is more important.

We know this government wants to make political gains against Perikatan Nasional, so every Palestine protest by them is labelled a political ploy. We know Perikatan are also only using this issue for clout, using the issue to further divide Malaysians on the basis of race and religion. We know the mudslinging on both parts is to distract from the real issues people like BDS Malaysia and Gegar are pushing.

We acknowledge all of that. But Palestine is more important.

Have some perspective. There is a genocide happening. There are pictures of children being dismembered. There are videos of bombs raining down on innocent Palestinians. Bombs made by whom, funded by whom? And at this time when the world is divesting, when people around the globe are protesting and day-by-day, though the bombs keep raining down, the will of the Palestinian people remains unbroken. When victory approaches as each material step is taken by those who claim to be allies of Palestine. When necessary military action is taken by all who can over the land Israel occupies. Is it at this time we want to play the card of free trade, global citizenship and national security?

It is time to take some risks. Begin withdrawing from all of the above actions. Send back the US ambassador until the conflict is over. Take some risks because, to us, Palestine is more important. To you?

In Danish media, so-called security experts are currently inventing a guy and getting scared of him.

In statements to media the experts speculate that Russia could use it's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers as "a weapon against the maritime environment" and deliberately cause an oil spill in Danish waters as part of hybrid warfare.

It goes without saying that no evidence is presented but as one expert is quoted for saying: "in a time with increasing Russian hybrid warfare, only imagination sets the limit".

Las time an environmental disaster was deliberately caused in Danish waters was when Nordstream 2 was blown up, most likely by the yanks.

Putin's visit to North Korea deepens concerns about growing military cooperation between the two states - The Washington Post

The trip is scheduled for July 18-19, and this will be the first visit in 24 years. The publication writes that the Russian Federation is interested in a large supply of artillery shells and missiles in the DPRK, which will be compatible with Soviet and Russian weapons systems.

The article also suggests that the question of the labor force that Pyongyang will be able to provide will be raised. It is noted that in return Moscow can offer technological assistance to the DPRK, in particular, to accelerate the build-up of nuclear weapons production capacity.

The seriousness with which one regards the mounting US national debt is inversely proportional with how seriously I take their opinions.

Russian Ministry of Defence regarding today's massacre in Crimea by Ukraine with cluster munitions:

"The US is responsible for this massacre, and they will get an answer. All flight missions for American ATACMS missiles are programmed by American specialists based on their own US satellite intelligence data."

"Therefore, the responsibility for the deliberate missile strike against the civilian population of Sevastopol lies primarily with Washington, which supplied this weapon to Ukraine, as well as with the Kiev regime, from whose territory this strike was launched. Such actions will not go unanswered."

It seems that some Russian newspapers are saying that the attack was carried out by US drones from Bulgarian NATO bases, but I haven't been able to find any reliable confirmation of this.

Putin visit to the DPRK, perspective from Russian communist:

Politician, historian, ex-State Duma deputy Daria Mitina, speaking specifically for BRIEF about the prospects for cooperation between Russia and the DPRK:

We must not forget that Kim Jong-un was the only leader who, firstly, openly supported the Special Military Operation, saying that the Russians and Koreans are in the same trench. Even our closest allies, such as Belarus and Iran, are formally neutral in this regard. The DPRK does not maintain neutrality, but quite supports us. Despite the fact that it is doing this purely in advance, because Russia has not actually remembered the DPRK for 25 years.

In general, the strategic partnership agreement that Putin signed is, after all, a military-political alliance of two nuclear powers. And the most important thing is that this agreement can be very long-term, because, apparently, the world situation will not change for a very long time. The main thing is that our goals and our principles, which now situationally find themselves quite on the same wavelength as the Korean ones, do not once again turn into a subject for bargaining, as they turned into the 90s.

Our cooperation now is very limited, sectoral, and this is completely wrong, taking into account the fact that we have a common border with this country. We have virtually zero trade turnover, although there is huge potential for both exports and imports from North Korea, which has a completely diversified, diversified economy.

We still don't have direct flights. If you want to fly from Moscow to Pyongyang, then you must fly through either Vladivostok or Beijing. There must be direct air service, there must be sea air service. We have a common sea border.

Energy is a very painful problem for the DPRK. Unfortunately, due to sanctions and a very cruel blockade, the DPRK is in a very cruel energy saving mode. And here we can greatly help with the construction and modernization of new thermal power plants and hydroelectric power plants. I know that such negotiations have been and are ongoing with Rosatom, which means that there may well be mutually beneficial cooperation. In exchange, for example, the DPRK may allow us to develop uranium deposits.

Military cooperation. Here, most likely, there will be a powerful defense order that will be placed by Russia. For 152mm shells, the most popular type of shell in the current theater of operations in Ukraine. Shells for multiple launch rocket systems. In terms of MLRS shells, the DPRK is generally the world leader.

Labor resources, because everyone knows the extremely disciplined, hardworking and non-drinking Korean workers at Russian, Far Eastern and Siberian construction sites. They can work on construction in any region of Russia: we have a huge need for such workers - in new territories, for example.

In some completely shameful way, we joined the anti-Korean sanctions, from which we now cannot get out. The problem is that these sanctions are not inter-country, but sanctions of the UN Security Council. Here Russia supported them and now formally cannot leave them. That is, in order to get out of the sanctions regime, we need to re-initiate consideration of the issue at the UN Security Council, and only if the UN Security Council votes to lift them will our karma be cleared. But in this case, we understand due to political arrangements that this is impossible.

Why did Russia join this? That is a huge mystery. I suspect that Chinese considerations were not at the top of the list of priorities for Russia in this case. Nevertheless, what is done is done. Now we need only state that we can not only circumvent these sanctions, but directly violate them. If we cannot change the situation de jure, then we can ignore these sanctions de facto, which, in fact, we have been doing for a long time.

Full text.

Top Israeli generals approve Lebanon offensive battle plans, army says | The Times of Israel

The head of the IDF’s Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin and head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk approved Lebanon battle plans today, the military says.

In a statement, the IDF says the generals held an assessment, during which “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon were approved.”

The top commanders also made decisions regarding “accelerating the readiness of the forces on the ground,” the military adds.

The announcement comes amid repeated attacks by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian terror groups in Lebanon on northern Israel, with fears of a wider conflict.

Israel has warned it can no longer tolerate Hezbollah’s presence along its border following the October 7 atrocities, and has warned that should a diplomatic solution not be reached, it will turn to military action to push Hezbollah northward.

POV of Palestine Action breaking into a factory and smashing shit:
https://twitter.com/Pal_action/status/1802564102973214993?mx=1

Japanese election is going well...

NSFW

https://nitter.poast.org/mrjeffu/status/1803630958048092269

Netanyahu disbanded the Israeli war cabinet

New Slammer post

tweet

post

Outlets are retracting obituaries and stories about the death of Noam Chomsky. It appears that Dr. Chomsky either did not pass away, or that his wife is trained in the forbidden arts of Brazilian Necromancy, the same powers that have kept Jair Bolsonaro’s remains animated for the past decade.

Ukrainian summit in Switzerland redraws the world map (Moskovsky Komsomolets)

It is important for Russia not to miss the moment of friendship

But in general, if you look at the world map with the list of participants and non-participants of the “summit”, you can see a map of the world from the time of my youth, in which the USSR and the social bloc still existed. Those who did not come to the “peace conference” were mainly friends of the USSR and the countries of the social bloc - South and Latin America, Africa, China, and the Global South in general. And the explanation is very simple: this whole “peace conference” was quite obviously not “for Ukraine”, but against Russia. It is quite possible to agree with the writer Prilepin: “It is easy to notice that the political forces, one way or another, left to us as a legacy by the Soviet Union, the inertia of whose influence is still great and it would be unreasonable to underestimate it,” were largely absent from the summit.” I would add that this inertia received an additional impetus when Russia launched the Special Military Operation and for the first time dared to challenge the West.

In Russia they began to see the image of the USSR - the country that led the anti-colonial movement. And it is absolutely obvious and natural that our current friends are countries with left-wing socialist regimes, countries dominated by communist ideology, countries fighting for independence and trying to break out of the shackles of neo-colonialism. (We should not miss this moment ourselves and finally decide on our own ideology.)

lol. The former Komsomol turned pro-Putin liberal semi-mainstream press now suddenly remembers the socialist legacy of the USSR.

What i don't get, how did armenia not recognize palestine before, i thought all post-ussr republics did it by default

After nearly 9 months away, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower will return to Norfolk | June 22, 2024 at 3:18 p.m.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. officials ordered the Norfolk-based USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aircraft carrier leading America’s response to the Houthi attacks, to return home after a twice-extended tour that’s lasted nearly nine months.

The U.S. Naval Institute’s news service reported, citing an anonymous official, that the Eisenhower would be returning to Norfolk after combat the Navy says is its most intense since World War II.

Two U.S. officials, later speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ship movements, confirmed the Eisenhower had been ordered home and already had reached the Mediterranean Sea. It wasn’t immediately clear when the ship would return.

The report said an aircraft carrier operating in the Pacific would be taking the Eisenhower’s place.

The closest American aircraft carrier known to be operating in Asia is the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The Roosevelt anchored Saturday in Busan, South Korea, amid Seoul’s ongoing tensions with North Korea.

[continues, unconvincingly denies the Ansarallah attacks did any damage]

Scenes from attempts to operate hospitals in northern Gaza after they were burned by the Nazi Zionist occupation, Al-Shifa Hospital and the Patient’s Friends Clinic.

spoiler

Namibia Removes Laws Prohibiting Same-Sex Relations

The measures prohibiting gay relations, dates from the colonial era and subjected to severe punishment any man who maintained a love or sexual relationship with someone of the same gender.

On Friday, the Namibian authorities removed from the constitution two laws that prohibited the affective or carnal relations of homosexuals.

seems like the saudis are getting pressured via "you did 9/11" angle, truly fascinating

I don't like France

There’s a video of the recent Kim-Putin summit. The short clip was taken before Putin arrived. It just shows Kim standing around by himself, kicking his foot and checking his watch lol

JUST IN: The Yemeni Armed Forces announce targeting:

🔻The American USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier in the northern Red Sea

🔻The “Transworld Navigator” ship belonging to a company that violated the entry ban to israeli ports in the Arabian.

https://nitter.poast.org/AryJeay/status/1804534619926085880

"I STRIKE IKE"

Parts of the American port have reached the beaches of Tel Aviv https://streamable.com/s7c26m

I know it's from like 20 years ago, but does anyone have the video montage of American politicians and news media calling for the destruction of the nord stream?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Korea summoned the Russian Ambassador in Seoul Georgy Zinoviev and expressed his protest to him in connection with the conclusion of the agreement on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and the DPRK - Yonhap Agency

Seoul is concerned about the rapprochement between Moscow and Pyongyang and believes that the signed agreement forms a military alliance.

Therefore, South Korea is going to reconsider its attitude towards the supply of lethal weapons to Kiev. Previously, the South Koreans did not supply anything to Ukraine.