Archives: Articles

By Sakai Tanaka

2 May 2025 — The United States and Ukraine signed a resource agreement, on 1 May 2025, that had been postponed since February. It is reported that the agreement is for Ukraine to hand over the rights to underground resources to the United States in return for the United States continuing to provide Ukraine with the US military support. It is also commented that the agreement shows Trump’s greed to devour Ukraine’s interests. （Seven takeaways from Ukraine minerals deal）

2. Trump was pressuring Zelensky to sign the resource agreement or he would not provide Ukraine with the US military support. Zelensky visited the United States in February to sign the agreement, but at the meeting he got into a hard argument with Trump and Vance. Trump, then, canceled the signing and kicked Zelensky out. Trump pressured Zelensky to sign the agreement, but actually Trump himself had no intention of signing it. The agreement seems like a “fake evil operation” to make Trump’s greed appear. (Sneak attack on Zelensky/ゼレンスキーを騙し討ち） [Ukraine signs economic deal with U.S. after pressure from Trump for continued aid]    [JD Vance says war in Ukraine ‘not going to end any time soon,’ hours after US signs minerals deal with Kyiv]
3. The Ukrainian government announced the resource agreement that was signed. Nothing is mentioned on the US military assistance to Ukraine in the text of the agreement. When the ceasefire is over and the country is to be rebuilt, the United States and Ukraine will pool their investment funds to develop Ukraine’s underground resources, from coal and oil to rare earths.  In that context, the United States is not exploiting Ukraine, but rather cooperating with Ukraine’s reconstruction.  In addition, the text mentions nothing about the repayment of the funds that have been provided, even though Trump initially requested.  So, it can be considered that there is no greed in that respect of the agreement either. However, the same agreement sets out the outline only, and the details are vague.  In this regard, the agreement has room for inviting some possible exploitation. （Agreement between….）  [US And Ukraine Sign Landmark Minerals Agreement. Here Are the Key Terms]   [US will no longer ‘fly around the world’ to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war]
4. Half of Ukraine’s underground resources, such as coal, are in Donbas and Crimea, which Russia occupied and annexed. Donbas has long been famous as a coal producing region. Crimea has confirmed the deposits of oil and gas.  Both Donbas and Crimea are considered to remain the Russian territory for the foreseeable future.  In fact, Trump himself has acknowledged that.  For the United States to participate in the resource development of Donbas and Crimea, an agreement with Russia, not with Ukraine, is necessary. Trump is (intentionally) mistaking the person he is pressuring for the agreement.  [In that regard, this agreement can be considered as a farce.]  Besides, the main focus of this agreement is said to be rare earths. There are many rare earth deposits in Ukraine that have not been seized by Russia, but they are hardly profitable.  As the result, many of Ukraine’s rare earths have remained untouched.  （US-Ukraine Minerals Deal: ‘Trojan Horse’ for Creating a  Frozen Conflict?） [Ukraine’s Critical Minerals Stir Global Power Plays-But U.S. Commercial Viability Faces Hard Limits]
5. In order to develop the natural resources, Ukraine needs a ceasefire and peace. Since it is no longer possible for Ukraine to defeat Russia, Ukraine has no choice but to make the concession and reach a ceasefire and peace. However, this resource agreement was signed in return for the United States continuing to provide Ukraine with the US military support.  This is because Zelensky is still willing to continue the War.  Therefore, he needs the US military support.  So in response to Trump’s pressure, Zelensky signed the resource agreement that is premised on the ceasefire.  Unfortunately [for Zelensky who wants to continue the War], the ceasefire is necessary for the resource development…  Therefore, also in that regard, the agreement can be considered as a farce.  （US-Ukraine resources deal: What we know so far）  [Trump’s minerals deal with Ukraine leaves scramble for how to handle Russia]
6. Trump has tried to gain the support of the American people by saying, “We will get the huge amount of aid that the United States has given to Ukraine spending the tax money in the form of resources.” Ukraine is in a state of war, so it is encouraging patriotism.  Besides, they do not want the United States to take away their national wealth, the rights to resources. There must be strong opposition to Zelensky, who is offering up the resources at Trump’s command, but if they do not push that aside and sign the agreement, they will not receive the US military aid from the United States. In February, Zelensky overcame the difficult situation and suppressed the domestic opposition to attend the signing ceremony, but he was picked a fight by the Trump camp, and he was kicked out.  He returned home without signing the agreement.  As such, Trump was taking measures to make fun of Zelensky and Ukraine. （Kremlin Reacts To Minerals Deal Signing: ‘Trump Has Broken The Zelensky Regime’）
7. This time, however, the postponed resource agreement was signed as last, just as the “Victory Day on 9 May”, which is the date on which the ceasefire in Ukraine was scheduled to come into effect after the discussions with Russia at the time of Trump’s inauguration, approached. But what does this actually mean? Let me explain about it as follows:  Zelensky’s Ukraine, by receiving the US military support, is still trying to continue the Ukraine War.   Ukraine refuses to recognize Donbas and Crimea as the Russian territory.   However, Russia and the United States are (ostensibly) strengthening their stance of wanting a ceasefire and peace of Ukraine.  At the end of April, Russia officially expelled the Ukrainian troops from Kursk, which had been the obstacle to the ceasefire and peace.  Russia also acknowledged that the North Korean military had helped it in the battle of Kursk, and praised North Korea. Russia has already incorporated Donbas and Crimea into its own country, achieving one of the purposes of its invasion of Ukraine (i.e. the Special Military Operation or “SMO”). The unity of the non-US sides, whose hidden goal of the Ukraine War has been “to make the world multipolarized“, has also been strengthened.  Meanwhile, Trump’s high tariff policy has also accelerated the decline of the dollar’s key position (i.e. the US economic hegemony).  The occurrence of the US financial [US dollar] collapse is a matter of time.  (Despite that, some Japanese people are still holding NISA without realizing it). [→ See “AI Summary on the relationship between NISA and the potential collapse of the dollar”.]   While Trump’s policy is implemented as such, Russia has almost completed in achieving its goals of the “SMO” in Ukraine.  So, it is about time for Russia to have a ceasefire and peace in Ukraine. （Schiff: The Bounce Is Just A Bear Market Rally） [Does Donald Trump’s trade war mean the end of dollar dominance?]     [Trump took the US economy to the brink of a crisis in just 100 days]    [Why Is The US Dollar Weakening? Trump’s Tariffs Push Dollar Index To 3-Year Low.]    [The U.S. dollar is losing its status as a safe haven thanks to Trump’s tariffs. What does that mean for investors?]    [US exit from IMF would be true dollar shock]
8. Trump also keeps telling, “I want to end this meaningless war in Ukraine as soon as possible.” Unfortunately, the Ukraine War cannot be ended easily.  This is because the UK, France, Germany, the EU, and Canada (i.e. the new Carney administration, which is belligerent and hostile to Trump) want to support Zelensky and continue the War until Russia is defeated. (That is how Trump argues in pretense, however.)  By using the intention of these countries as such, Trump wants to make an excuse that “The US wants to ceasefire and bring about peace to Ukraine, but the UK, France, Germany, the EU, and Canada (i.e. those countries that have been under the umbrella of the British influence) are belligerent and insist that they will fight until Russia is defeated. That is why we cannot have the ceasefire.”   Behind the scenes, on the contrary, Trump is urging the UK, France, Germany, and the EU, telling them, “If you want to prop up Ukraine, do it quickly!  If the UK and France are going to send the troops to Ukraine, do it quickly!  Otherwise, the US and Russia will proceed with the ceasefire!”  (Trump has not quit NATO, because he is urging these countries like that.) （Signs Final Trump-Brokered Minerals Deal, Giving US Preferential Access To Resources） [If Trump abandons Ukraine, can Europe help Kyiv fight on? The clock is ticking to answer that]   [Carney underscores Canada’s commitment to Ukraine]
9. If the UK, France, Germany and the EU seriously enter the Ukraine War, their self-destruction will accelerate ever more. Both Trump and Putin think that it would be better for the UK, France, Germany and the EU to seriously enter the Ukraine War and destroy themselves.  Rather, if it can be more precisely to state it, it may be stated that the UK, France, Germany and the EU will probably not seriously enter the Ukraine War in the end.  If they did, their participation in the War would surely bring about catastrophic consequences to themselves. （Ukraine’s Western backers struggling to muster troops）  [Limitations of Liberalism on Display with Ukraine Crisis]    [If Trump abandons Ukraine, can Europe help Kyiv fight on?]
10. While the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and the EU hesitate to enter the Ukraine War, the peoples of these countries become more averse to the existing militant elites (i.e. totalitarian liberals), causing the elite parties to lose in the elections and putting pro-Russian rightists such as the AfD in Germany and Marine Le Pen in France in power. The British elite rule that has dominated the Western Europe (the US and Europe until last year) will destroy itself militarily or politically. This [rise of such far-right political power] also indicates the self-destruction of Anglo-American hegemony.   This, it can be understood, has been one of the very main purposes of the Ukraine War since the beginning of the War in 2022. (The strategy to make only the UK and Europe view Russia as the enemy/英欧だけに露敵視させる策略）[Europe is being transformed into a new stronghold of liberal totalitarianism]    [The Root of Totalitarian Trends in Liberal Democracy?]    [Strengthening Liberal Totalitarianism]    [Le Pen family]
11. If the liberal elite governments of the UK, France, Germany, and the EU, all of which have been the last power of the Anglo-American hegemony, are overthrown and replaced by the non-British right-wing governments, the on-going process of the multipolarization of the world will be completed. The world order, then, will become multipolarized, and the world itself will become stable.  (By that time, the new Abraham Accords regime will also be established in the Middle East.)   Nonetheless, the reason why the Ukraine War is not ending is because the overthrow of the governments of the UK, France, Germany, and the EU has not progressed.  However, apart from the Ukraine War, the downfall of Europe is triggering by implementing “global warming countermeasures” that promote a super foolish power source conversion based on unfounded anthropogenic theories, for example.  (The COVID-19 city closures also caused Europe to self-destruct.)  Recently, in Spain and Portugal, the super foolish policy of switching to solar and wind power generation has been rushed, resulting in large-scale power outages and major chaos that required a state of emergency declaration.  This implies that “the plan to self-destruct Europe through global warming countermeasures” is progressively and smoothly being implemented. （The Spanish Power Outage: A Catastrophe Created By Political Design & A Warning To The World） [Europe’s Self Destruction]  [Germany’s New Chancellor Merz Vows Continued Support for Ukraine]     [“Global Warming” Is a Really Stupid Issue]    [Europe’s Self-Destruction: Ukraine, Elites, and the Death of Democracy]    [Is Europe Choosing to Self-Destruct?]   [Creative Self-Destruction and the Climate]
12. Putin’s Russia ceased fighting in Ukraine for 2-3 days each on the Easter Sunday, 20 April 2025, and the “Victory Day, 9 May” 2025. [Also see. → “Zelensky threatens Ukraine will strike Putin’s beloved “9 May Victory Day” parade… despite Vlad declaring 3 day ceasefire” and  “Putin humiliated as cities cancel Victory Day events en masse after Ukraine drone attacks”]    That is because the schedule for the Ukraine ceasefire decided by the United States and Russia when Trump took office was (i) to begin the ceasefire negotiations in earnest by the Easter, and (ii) to realize the ceasefire by the Victory Day.  Actually, however, the ceasefire did not progress because it was the plan to force the Western Europe to take the lead in the Ukraine War and cause them to self-destruct.  Putin established this symbolic ceasefire only for 2-3 days each, which was too short for the Ukrainian army to rebuild themselves.  If the ceasefire lasted more than a week, the Ukrainian army would intensify its counterattacks, causing serious damages to the Russian army. So, that explains why the ceasefire was set only for 2-3 days. (Trump embarks on a ceasefire in Ukraine/ウクライナ停戦に乗り出すトランプ） [The US-Russian Strategy for the Ukraine Ceasefire]    [If Ukraine loses war, it will be ‘end of Western hegemony’, warns UK’s Boris Johnson]    [BRICS Overtake G7 According To The IMF: Is It The End Of Western Hegemony?]
13. Trump and Putin are taking measures to make the UK and the EU self-destructed in the Ukraine War, while two of them are promoting measures to stabilize and strengthen the non-US side. Take North Korea, for example.  Trump nowadays has begun to say that he wants to meet with Kim Jong Un again.   Meanwhile, Putin announced and praised the North Korean military’s achievements at Kursk and revealed that Russia was teaching North Korea the latest military technology.  Trump will meet with Kim Jong Un one day in due course.  He will work also with Russia and China to resume the dialogue between South Korea and North Korea.   While Europe is destroying itself, the rest of the world is becoming to be stabilized.    （White House preparing for possible Trump-Kim talks）（First Video Showing Russian Instructors Training North Korean Troops）  [What Russia’s Support Means for North Korea’s Nuclear Modernization]    [Europe’s Path to War and Self-Destruction]     [The End of an Era: America’s Waning Hegemony in a Multipolar World]   [Trump admin reportedly laying groundwork for summit with North Korea]   [How South Korea’s next president can end the impasse with North Korea]    [Russia supports US-North Korea dialogue, envoy says]    [China as a Mediator in North Korea]    [How will South Korea navigate US-China competition in 2025?]

__________________

Notes:

1. The hyperlinks with the parentheses ( ) at the end of some paragraphs were added by the original author. Those hyperlinks in the paragraphs and those with brackets [ ], with the italic letters at the end of some paragraphs were added by the translator for the convenience of the reader. In addition, the numbers, such as (1), (2), (3), (i), (ii), (iii) or (a), (b), (c), and bold and/or italic letters were also used in the translation by the translator for the same reason.
2. The paragraph number was added to the head of each paragraph (except to that of the first paragraph) by the translator for the convenience of the reader.
3. The views and/or opinions in those hyperlinks added by the translator do not necessarily reflect those of his. In addition, it is either impossible or unavailable for the translator to verify the genuineness of the information in those links. He does not take any responsibility for the contents in those relevant links at all.
4. The views and/or opinions expressed in the above-mentioned article are those of Sakai Tanaka, who is the original author. His views and/or opinions do not necessarily reflect those of Transcend Media Service (TMS) or those of the translator. Therefore, the reader is kindly requested to understand, interpret or judge those views and/or opinions at his or her own responsibility.
5. The original article in Japanese was published more than a few days or a few weeks ago. Meanwhile, the situations and/or conditions mentioned in the article might have been changed. This also means that the author’s argument expressed and/or the information provided in the article might have become inadequate or less or least adequate, obsolete, out of date or no longer valid by the time the TMS reader reads the same article in English.

Original author: After graduating from university, Sakai Tanaka started working at the Kyodo News  Agency in 1986. From 1997 he joined Microsoft Network (MSN) and in 1999, due to change of policy at Microsoft, he became an independent journalist. Tanaka has published more than twenty books on international affairs, some translated and published in China, South Korea and Taiwan. He studied at Harvard University from 2000 to 2001 and in 2005 was invited to serve as a senior researcher at the Royal Faisal Institute in Saudi Arabia. Website: tanakanews.com

Satoshi Ashikaga is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. Having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, he prefers a peaceful and prudent life.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, constantly remind him of the invaluableness of peace.

12 May 2025

Source: transcend.org

By Roger D. Harris

It’s been over 100 days since Donald Trump’s return to the presidency. Most NGOs to the left of the Heritage Foundation are alarmed about his confrontational international posture and related erosion of the rule of law.

5 May 2025 – Human Rights Watch (HRW), a supposedly liberal organization, is also concerned. But their problem is that the president hasn’t gone far enough – at least in the case of Venezuela. HRW’s latest report on Venezuela calls for intensified illegal measures that cause misery and death, outflanking Trump from the right.

Ignoring the US hybrid war

At issue for HRW is last July’s Venezuelan presidential election that saw Nicolás Maduro declared the winner. Beyond issues with supposed electoral irregularities lies the elephant in the room that is utterly disregarded by HRW. The US hybrid war against Venezuela was the biggest obstacle to free and fair elections. Venezuelans were under economic siege with coercive measures aimed at pressuring them into backing the US-backed opposition.

Also telling is the opposition’s refusal to submit their electoral records to the Venezuelan supreme court, when summoned to do so because they do not recognize the constitutional order in Venezuela. Legally, there was no way for them to claim victory even if they had legitimately won.

Post-election protest demonstrations were predictable. The opposition, which has a long history of anti-democratic street violence, threatened them if it lost. HRW characterizes the riots as mostly peaceful, while accusing the government of responding with a “brutal crackdown.”

Yet the widespread damage of public property such as health clinics, government offices, schools, and transportation facilities – along with murders of government security personnel and party members – were inconvenient facts entirely ignored in HRW’s over 100-page report. Such actions can hardly be called peaceful, nor blamed on the government.

A cure worse than the disease

For argument’s sake, let’s not contest HRW’s claim that the books were cooked in Venezuela’s presidential election in order to examine the NGO’s solution.

On April 29, the US State Department celebrated 100 days of “America first” accomplishments, highlighting the revocation of oil importing licenses and the establishment of potential secondary tariffs on countries that still dare to import Venezuelan oil.

The next day, HRW’s report demanded even harsher punishment. Frustrated that the “Trump administration appears to be prioritizing cooperation” with Venezuela, HRW called for expanding sanctions and deepening pressure. And this is despite Washington’s plans to further maximize its maximum pressure campaign to achieve regime change in Caracas.

Specifically, HRW urged the US and other states to “counter Maduro’s domestic carrot-and-stick incentives that reward abusive authorities and security forces, making them loyal to the government” by imposing even more “targeted sanctions.”

Further compounding the impact of individual targeted sanctions is the reality of overcompliance. Even individual sanctions end up contributing to collective punishment. A 2019 statement by HRW recognized that “despite language excluding transactions to purchase food and medicines, these sanctions could exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in Venezuela due to the risk of overcompliance.”

But now the 1,028 existing unilateral coercive measures (the correct term for sanctions) on Venezuela by the US and its allies apparently aren’t enough for these sadists.

HRW admits that these coercive measures have “failed to make a dent” in correcting what they see as bad behavior. Why then persist if ineffective? Perhaps, because they’re very effective in punishing errant states and warning others.

HRW also lobbied for yet more foreign intervention in Venezuela’s internal affairs: “Foreign governments should expand support for Venezuelan civil society groups… a sustained and principled international response is crucial.”

Selective sanctimony on sanctions

HRW criticized the Trump administration’s sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC) because they might potentially “chill” the tribunal’s ardor to go after Venezuela.

Revealingly, this particular HRW report shows no concern that Trump’s sanctions might stifle the court’s prosecution of the US/Zionist genocide in Palestine. What HRW is instead focused on is having the court “prioritize its investigation” of Venezuela.

HRW never mentions in this report that the US does not accept the ICC’s jurisdiction over itself. In other words, this report fails to criticize Washington’s evading accountability as long as the ICC can be weaponized against Venezuela.

The ICC has, in fact, been blatantly politicized regarding Venezuela. Caracas has requested in vain that the ICC investigate US coercive measures that have caused over 100,000 civilian deaths in Venezuela, constituting a crime against humanity.

The HRW report is sanctimonious about the “brave efforts of [opposition] Venezuelans who risked—and often suffered,” but is callously unsympathetic regarding the devastating effects on the population at large of the very measures it is advocating.

HRW laments the US administration’s cutting funding to astroturf “humanitarian and human rights groups” promoting regime change in Venezuela. But it does not express sympathy for ordinary Venezuelans suffering economic hardship, food insecurity, or lack of medicine due to broader US sanctions. Notably absent from this report is acknowledgement of the humanitarian consequences of Washington’s unilateral coercive measures.

The human rights organization’s primary critique of the enormous humanitarian toll of the unilateral coercive measures is that they have “failed to produce a transition.”

Sanctions kill

The HRW report frames US sanctions as supposedly justified efforts to enforce imperial restrictions on Venezuela and not as part of a regime-change hybrid war.

As Venezuelanalysis reported: “US economic sanctions against Venezuela are a violent and illegal form of coercion, seeking regime change through collective punishment of the civilian population.” Investigations by the UN’s high commissioner for human rights found “sanctions that threaten people’s lives and health need to be halted.”

Even HRW’s own World Report 2022 cited UN findings that sanctions had exacerbated Venezuela’s economic and social crises. Yet HRW apparently considers the burden warranted, which invokes Madeleine Albright’s infamous defense of Iraq sanctions: “we think the price is worth it.”

Follow-the-flag humanitarianism

HRW has long maintained a “revolving door” relationship with the US government personnel. The organization is also significantly associated with George Soros and his Open Society Foundations. UN Independent Expert and human rights scholar Alfred de Zayas describes how HRW and similar NGOs have become part of what he calls the “human rights industry,” instrumentalizing human rights for geopolitical agendas.

Unilateral coercive measures are a major component of the US imperial tool kit. But HRW opportunistically fails to note that such sanctions are illegal under international law. In fact, Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits collective penalties against protected persons.

As Mark Weisbrot with the Center for Economic and Policy Research observes, HRW has “ignored or paid little attention to terrible crimes that are committed in collaboration with the US government in this hemisphere,” while it “has repeatedly and summarily dismissed or ignored sincere and thoroughly documented criticisms of its conflicts of interest.”

HRW recognizes that the coercive measures against Venezuela, which impact the general populace, have not succeeded in imposing an administration subservient to Washington – what they euphemistically call “restoration of democracy.” So why continue advocating more sanctions and support for Venezuela’s far-right opposition? The answer is that Washington’s NGO epigones talk “reform” but aim at fomenting insurrectionary regime change.

________________________________________

Roger D. Harris is a member of the TRANSCEND Network, associate editor at Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), and the immediate past president of the Task Force on the Americas, a 33-year-old human rights organization in solidarity with the social justice movements of Latin America and the Caribbean.

12 May 2025

Source: transcend.org

By Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja

The Planned Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza and Fake International Law and Order

 6 May 2025 – Life has a purpose to co-exist in peace and harmony with others in diversity. But people and nations overwhelmed with delusional economic prosperity act as absolute monsters ignoring the consequences – a favorite perversion of truth, killings and displacement of innocent until they get destroyed by their own plans against God and mankind. Everything in the universe is interlinked to a purpose, truth and accountability of those with power and responsibility. Widening gaps between hopes and reality signal a new trajectory of planned military occupation (as the Israeli cabinet announced today) of Gaza, continuous bombardments, forcible displacement of Palestinians and genocide to turn the strip into a Riveira as Netanyahu- Trump envisaged it. The complicity of Western and Arab leaders facilitated this mayhem in the making. When Arab leaders had Islam as a thinking hub and actions, they served and saved humanity from calamities.“President Trump Reveals His Agenda for Ethnic Cleansing of Gaza”(Global Research:01/29/25), points out Peter Koenig – a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank: You may as well call it “planned ethnic cleansing.” Push them out – the Gaza population, those about 1.5 million still alive and left lingering in the ruins of Gaza – into Egypt’s tent cities in the Sinai, built by Egypt with US money and a little coercing by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for some clean IMF-debt to erase Egypt’s gigantic natural debt.https://www.globalresearch.ca/trump-agenda-ethnic-cleansing-gaza/5878520?utm_campaign=magnet&utm_source=article_page&utm_medium=related_articles

There is no international humanitarian law, no UNSecurity Council and no other global mechanism of conflict resolution to make Israel-theUS abide by its obligations within the international systems of governance. It ridiculed and ignored the ICJ- ICC verdicts on genocide and the arrest warrant of PM Netanyahu. Are We, the People witnessing a feeble age of time, place and wisdom not knowing what is happening around us? Western democracies are fast becoming a mysterious mythology of human rights, freedom and legal justice curtailed in their dubious and deceitful concepts and explanations lacking rational application. Western leaders were supposed to be knowledgeable and intelligent but act like smart monkeys discarding their own history. The Arab-Muslim leaders remain colonized as “cameljockeys” as defined symbolically in Western social terms. The US- Israel alliance is bent on carrying out crimes gainst humanity and genocide across Gaza and other parts of Palestine. Their plans foresee an end to the existence of people of Gaza and freedom of Palestine and Arab-Muslim leaders pose no moral or political challenge to the warriors and warlords. There seems to be no Arab-Muslim leaders or armies to defend the victims of transagression.When cold blooded massacres are a daily event, foods and medicines are blocked and starvation becomes a weapon to dehumanize mankind, no conscientious leaders dare to stop the insanity as if Palestinains are not normal human beings. Are the people of Gaza and Palestine for trades-in to the Arab-Muslim leaders? All of the UNO’s Charter, Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declarations of Human Rights appear in books just in dry ink and meaningless words. But recall the Divine obligation:    Why were there not, Among the generations before you,                                                                                                                    Persons possessed of balanced good sense, prohibiting (men) from mischiefs in the earth                                                                        Except a few among them Whom We saved (from harm),                                                                                                                             But the wrong-doers pursued the enjoyment of good things                                                                                                                            Of life which were given them and persisted in sin. Nor would thy Lord be the One to destroy communities for a single wrongdoing; If its members were likely to mend. ( The Quran: 11: 116-117).

For 2.5 millions people of Gaza there is nowhere to go, nowhere to find a place of safety and life protection. Everyday is a killing day- bombardments of innocent civilians, places of worship, hospitals, UNRWA’s school shelters, Israeli freely use weapons of mass destruction conveniently made available by the US Government. The war scenario emboldens Netanyahu‘s political absolutism – an egoistic leader with a controversial profile will do utmost to regain unbridled ambition either by manipulation, violence or new conflicts throughout the Arab region. The current paradigm links directly to PM Netanyahu affiliated with extreme Jewish Ultra Nationalists to deny the Palestinian people their rights of existence as an independent State and to dismantle the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Please see: “Al-Aqsa Mosque Waiting for the Arab Leaders” https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2023/04/14/al-aqsa-mosque-waiting-for-the-arab-leaders.php

The Saudi Crown Prince called Jerry Kushner – a friend but he is a realestate agent supporting foreign settlers in occupied West Bank (Palestine), Dean Henerson (“Rothschild’s Gaza Land Grab”, Global Research: 2/6/25), explains: In March 2024 Trump’s son-in-law and dual Israeli citizen Jared Kushner said Gaza had “very valuable” potential for its “waterfront property”.The idea all along was that Israel would push all Palestinians out of Gaza and simply take it… and noted: It was disappointing enough that President Trump’s first meeting with a foreign leader was with Israeli war criminal Bibi Netanyahu. But it got worse. During their joint press conference he shocked the world by announcing that the US wanted to simply take over Gaza and turn it into a “riviera” for Trump’s billionaire friends, some of whom he owes lots of money. https://www.globalresearch.ca/rothschild-gaza-land-grab/5879763

Are We, The People at the End of Human Civilizations and Global Order?

The global institutions and systems of political governance and all of its formal moral, intellectual and political proclamations appear defunct when it comes to deal with Israel and the US war against humanity.There is a complete disconnect to moral and humanitarian values and the present and futuristic survival and progress of civilized mankind.What a shame, what a disgrace that Arab-Muslim leaders would not act to defend the human dignity, security and freedom of the people of Gaza. Dennis Kucinich, a former Congressman and presidential candidate: (“War Dust and Collateral Inhalation: Israel Breathes in Gaza’s Dust. Dennis Kucinich: A Forensic Study of the Self-Inflicted Consequences of Modern Warfare”, Global Research: 4/25/25:https://www.globalresearch.ca/war-dust-israel-breathes-gaza-dust/5885321, warns the aggressors of dire consequences: Gaza is suffering the most intense bombing, per capita, of anywhere on earth, ever…Israel, in executing the unprecedented bombing attack on Gaza, is, in effect, bombing itself, with grave consequences for the public health of its people.² What is being visited upon Gaza does not stay in Gaza…..Israel, in bombing neighboring Gaza, is breathing in its own fallout, along with the vaporized remains of its declared enemies. The external consequences of violence becomes internalized. The substance of the oppressed communes with the oppressor.

We know from history, insane egoism brought the catastrophic downfall of Hitler and others, what would be the cure to cruelty and insanity of Israeli-American leaders?“Global Humanity Warns the Pharaohs of the Consequences of War” (UncommonThought Journal: 4/18/25), this author shared the same concerns:https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2025/04/18/global-humanity-warns-the-pharaohs-of-the-consequences-of-war.php,

The former European imperialists sucked out the oil resources from the Arab world and now intend on dismantling the Arab-Muslim world- narrates Dr. Jan Oberg, a peace researcher from Sweden, and former British Diplomat Ian Proud: TRANSCEND Media Service. The signs are not just on the wall but are written in the skies and the oceans, too. The entire “Western” narrative, its repressive dominance, and its hubris are about to collapse and take many of its established institutions down with it. And the kakistrocratic (aka imbecile) leadership doesn’t even realise it. If they did, they wouldn’t be driving Europe into that giant iceberg.  Chris Hedges, a reputable international journalist wrote the following in this Report:

Israel is poised to carry out the largest campaign of ethnic cleansing since the end of World War II. Since March 2, it has blocked all food and humanitarian aid into Gaza and cut off electricity, so that the last water desalination plant no longer functions. The Israeli military has seized half of the territory — Gaza is 25 miles long and four to five miles wide — and placed two-thirds of Gaza under displacement orders, rendered “no-go zones,” including the border town of Rafah, which is encircled by Israeli troops…….On Friday, Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel will “intensify” the war against Hamas ……Since Israel’s unilateral ending of the ceasefire on March 18, which was never honored by Israel, Israel has been carrying out relentless bombing and shelling against civilians …….. Israel is, at the same time, inciting tensions with Egypt to lay what I suspect will be the groundwork for a mass expulsion of Palestinians into the Egyptian Sinai…… The anger on the Arab street — an anger I witnessed over the past few months during visits to Egypt, Jordan, the West Bank, and Qatar — will explode in a justifiable fury if mass deportation takes place. These regimes, simply to hold on to power, will be forced to act. Terrorist attacks, whether by organized groups or lone wolves, will proliferate against Israeli and Western targets, especially the United States.

______________________________________

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution and has spent several academic years across the Russian-Ukrainian and Central Asian regions knowing the people, diverse cultures of thinking and political governance and a keen interest in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution,  Dec 2019.

12 May 2025

Source: transcend.org

“The child who sang of death has now joined those he mourned — his farewell was as noble as his words.”

A young Palestinian child, popular in Gaza for his beautiful voice, which captured the tragedy of Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave, was killed in an airstrike in Nuseirat on Monday.

In a clip shared widely on social media following his death, Hassan Ayyad sang in a heartbreaking voice: “With the warplanes, we tasted the flavor of death, An airstrike from land and sea. They blocked the crossings — people are dying from hunger, Bear witness, world, to what they’ve done — they destroyed homes, While the Arabs sleep peacefully…”

[https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1919584149926515058]

Titled ‘Ishhad Ya ‘Alam – Bear Witness, Oh World’, the song is described as a powerful and emotional ode to the suffering of the Palestinian people under Israel’s onslaught.

Ayyad ‘Joined Those He Mourned’

“Today, his voice was silenced forever …The child who sang of death has now joined those he mourned — his farewell was as noble as his words,” Gaza journalist Mahmoud Bassam wrote on X.

[https://twitter.com/Mahmoud_Bassam8/status/1919491676785279232]

Bassam is one of many who took to social media to lament Ayyad’s killing in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. According to Bassam, his death was one of more than 60 Palestinians killed since dawn on Monday.

Proud Father

Activist Khaled Safi wrote that the boy’s father, Alaa Ayyad (Abu Hassan),  “always praised his son Hassan, was proud of him, and supported him, considering him his successor in popular zajal.”

Read also:

Israel to US: Stay Out of Jerusalem Crisis

[https://twitter.com/KhaledSafi/status/1919491037229101418]

The boy, thank God, was talented, and despite his young age, he had the ability to perform and be accepted. Today the invaders assassinated Hassan, and his father’s heart became empty,” he added.

“Do you know why there are rivers of blood, revenge and long-lasting retaliation between us and the criminal?” Safi asked.

‘The Martyr Hassan’

According to an Al Jazeera Arabic report on his death, the Palestinian film director Rashid Masharawi said: “Hassan Ayyad, the child who dedicated a song to me from Gaza, was martyred today. He sang for the Zero Distance films with his sweet, heartbreaking childlike voice.”

He added that Ayyad “was a victim of an Israeli bombardment on the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.”

“We lose our lives daily, Hassan… the clever Hassan, the artist Hassan, the martyr Hassan… you hurt me, Hassan,” Masharawi is further reported to have said.

[https://twitter.com/EyeonPalestine/status/1919442366693257648]

The Al Jazeera report also quotes activist Ali Abu Rizq as having said on X: “There is a little child named Hassan Ayyad, who used to bring joy to orphans and the wounded in displacement camps, singing for the homeland, chanting for return, and planting hope despite the intense pain. Israel killed him today in cold blood.”

“They didn’t kill him by mistake, but rather assassinated him premeditatedly because he creates hope, and creating hope is more dangerous than creating a rocket,” he added.

Rising Death Toll

Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.

On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 52,000, wounding more than 118,000, with over 14,000 still missing.

[https://twitter.com/PalestineChron/status/1919435890067206315]

Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.

Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.

The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.

12 May 2025

Source: transcend.org

By Larry C Johnson

5 May 2025 – Gaslighting the North American public about the military threat posed by Russia, especially during the 20 years following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, proved to be an effective piece of propaganda. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama should be required to answer one simple question: Why did each of you expand NATO while the Russian military decreased in size? Between 1991 and 2011, the size of the Russian military underwent a dramatic reduction, reflecting the collapse of the Soviet Union, economic turmoil, and subsequent reforms aimed at creating a more modern and sustainable force.

Bill Clinton initiated the expansion of NATO in 1999, adding Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland. According to an article published in the LA Times in October 1996, the push was underway early on in his administration, to manufacture a narrative justifying adding more members to NATO:

Clinton built his case for expanding the nation’s oldest, most successful military alliance by evoking the memory of generations of Americans who fought in two world wars in Europe, helped build the peace there with the Marshall Plan and the Atlantic alliance and helped win the freedom of millions in Central and Eastern Europe with the end of the Cold War.

“But now that that freedom has been won, it is this generation’s responsibility to ensure that it will not be lost again, not ever,” he said.

Russia, however, was cutting its military:

1991–Early 1990s: Post-Soviet Inheritance and Rapid Downsizing:

• At the time of the Soviet Union’s dissolution in December 1991, the Soviet armed forces comprised nearly 4 million personnel. When Russia formally established its own armed forces in May 1992, it inherited a force of approximately 2.73 million servicemen.
• Throughout the early 1990s, Russia faced severe economic constraints, leading to drastic cuts in defense spending and personnel. By 1997, defense spending had fallen by a factor of eight in real terms compared to 1991.
• The number of active-duty personnel fell sharply as Russia withdrew troops from former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe, and as the government attempted to adapt to new economic and strategic realities.

Enter George W. Bush. He put NATO on steroids in terms of growth. In the 1990s, the Russian military suffered from undermanning, poor training, low morale, corruption, and widespread draft evasion, further reducing its effective size and readiness. The number of active-duty personnel continued to decline, reaching about 1.9 million in 1992, and then dropping steadily throughout the decade. By January 2004, the authorized strength of the Russian military had dropped to about 1.13 million personnel.

And what did George W. Bush do in response to the dramatic decline in Russian military manpower? He launched the largest single expansion in NATO’s history in 2004, when seven countries from Eastern Europe formally joined the alliance on March 29, 2004. This expansion was significant both in size and in geopolitical implications, as it extended NATO’s reach deep into the former Soviet sphere of influence. Bush welcomed Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Naturally, the Russians were outraged. Understandably so. They were not building up their military forces… the Russian military was shrinking. Vladimir Putin gave a landmark speech on February 10, 2007, at the Munich Security Conference, in which he strongly criticized NATO expansion and U.S. foreign policy. This speech is widely seen as a turning point in Russia’s post–Cold War relations with the West and a clear signal of Putin’s growing assertiveness. Putin argued that NATO’s eastward expansion violated earlier assurances made to Russia after the Cold War. He described the expansion as a “provocation” and said:

NATO expansion does not have any relation with the modernization of the Alliance itself or with ensuring security in Europe. On the contrary, it represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust.

Ignoring this warning, the Bush administration pushed ahead with its plan to add Georgia and Ukraine as new NATO members. Putin attend the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest in April and issued direct warnings to the West about their planned expansion. Putin firmly opposed the potential accession of Ukraine and Georgia to NATO. He warned that bringing these countries into NATO would be viewed by Russia as a direct threat to its security:

If Ukraine joins NATO, Russia may feel compelled to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Just a reminder… it was around this same time that former CIA Director, Bill Burns, who was then US Ambassador to Russia, wrote his now famous cable — Nyet, means Nyet.

Following the NATO summit in Bucharest, Putin ordered major reforms in the Russian military, which culminated in a modernization program, launched in 2011, aimed at creating a smaller, more professional, and more capable force, moving away from the mass-mobilization model of the Soviet era. These reforms included reductions in officer numbers, restructuring of units, and efforts to improve training and equipment, but, and here is a critical fact, the total number of personnel had remained relatively stable — i.e., around 1.3 to 1.4 million through the late 2000s into 2011.

Why am I pounding on this fact? Western leaders persist in pushing the fallacious narrative that Russia posed a military threat to the West and that NATO had no choice but to expand to stave off Russia reestablishing the Soviet Empire. What a load of crap!!

I recorded a podcast with someone new last week… Sabrina aka Sabby Sabs. A delightful lady. She grew up in Germany as a US military brat and has been hosting her own podcast for several years:

Larry C. Johnson: CIA, Ukraine, Trump and More!

12 May 2025

Source: transcend.org

By Quds News Network

Gaza (Quds News Network)- About 1,500 people have lost their vision due to injuries sustained during the Israeli assault, while an additional 4,000 are at imminent risk of blindness as a result of a severe shortage of essential medications and surgical supplies as Israel continues bombing Gaza and blocking the flow of humanitarian aid.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza issued a statement on Sunday, warning of a severe escalation in the public health crisis affecting ophthalmic services due to the ongoing war.

Dr. Abdel-Salam Sabah, Director of the Gaza Eye Hospital, issued the following urgent updates:

• The healthcare sector is experiencing a critical shortage of ophthalmic surgical supplies and equipment, placing eye surgery services on the brink of collapse—particularly procedures related to retinal conditions, diabetic retinopathy, and internal eye hemorrhages.
• The Eye Hospital currently has only three heavily worn surgical scissors, which are being reused multiple times. This severely compromises patient safety and hinders the provision of safe and effective medical care.
• A significant number of blast-related eye injuries require specialized medical materials—such as Healon and microsurgical sutures—which are now nearly depleted.

Without immediate international assistance, the hospital may be forced to announce a total suspension of surgical services, Dr. Sabah said, emphasizing the urgent need for intervention from relevant authorities and humanitarian organizations.

Since March 2, Israel has closed Gaza’s main crossings, halting the flow of food, medical aid, and other humanitarian supplies. This blockade has caused a severe and unprecedented decline in living conditions, with human rights organizations accusing Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against Palestinians.

Israel has also resumed its assault on Gaza on March 18, killing over 2,700 and wounding at least 7,400 people, raising the death toll from the genocide since October 2023 to more than 52,800.

11 May 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Arundhati Dhuru, Saeeda Diep and Sandeep Pandey

On 22 April attack on Pahalgam tourists was carried out by the terrorist organisation The Resistance Front. The Indian security forces carried out attacks on nine sites on 7 May early hours which are believed to be camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahiddin and Jaish-e-Mohammad. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has claimed that at least 100 terrorists have been killed. These strikes have been followed by counter offensives and attempted/foiled attacks from both sides. Number of civilians now getting killed are adding to the 26 killed on 22 April. It remains to be seen when this chain reaction would end. By that time many more civilian lives would be lost on both sides.

India wanted initially to precision target only terrorist camps. But Pakistani strike on a Gurudwara and Masjid in Poonch has expanded the domain of attacks. A fight against terrorism is now converted into two countries fighting each other. Terrorists have achieved their objective.

Hopefully, the war will stop before it reaches a point where one of the sides will get desperate and think of using the nuclear weapons option.

The objective of eliminating terrorism will remain a distant dream. Most likely more ‘jihadists’ are going to be provoked to take up arms to avenge the killing of their brethren. It has been proved from the destruction of Babri Masjid, which resulted in the first terrorist attack in India in the form of serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in early 1993, that act of destruction will result in reaction.

Dr. Manmohan Singh was not tempted to attack Pakistan after the much bigger Mumbai attack in 2008. His government pursued the legal course against the accused as a result of which some were punished and some are waiting to be punished. After a hiatus of more than a year Kuldeep Nayyar took the first delegation of Indian civil society to Pakistan and the peace process adopted by the government subsequently delivered dividends which at least ensured that there was no repeat incident in the remaining 6 years of Manmohan Singh. India Pakistan relations had shown visible signs of improvement when he quit as Prime Minister.

The wisdom of using peace as a tool for solving entangled relationship between the countries is not lost. But the incumbent government of India, instead of insisting on a joint enquiry, if necessary with the involvement of a third or more parties, to identify the culprits and then prosecute them has chosen a populist method, for political expediency, of unilaterally launching an attack on Pakistan. If just means are not followed it is unlikely that the stated objective would be achieved.

At the end of the war we’ll be left with more bitterness. Communal hated on both sides has already taken the form of madness. The narrative built by the frenzied media would destroy whatever possibilities of rapprochement that existed. Trust has been completely lost. And, lastly there would be no guarantee that several years down the line another terrorist attack would not take place.

A possible solution to the problem is friendly relations with Pakistan. Somewhere, the beginning would have to be made by somebody. A dialogue between the two countries followed by putting into place confidence building measures should ultimately lead to both governments working in tandem to eliminate the threat of terrorism. We must remember that Pakistan has paid heavier price as a result of terrorist incidents. As late as in March a train from Quetta to Peshawar with 380 passengers was hijacked by Balochistan Liberation Army, an incident in which many people got killed in the subsequent shoot-out. So, we have to start with the basic premise that everybody cannot be a sympathiser of terrorism in Pakistan. Hence India’s priority should have been to see that saner voices in Pakistan are strengthened so that democratically elected government is in control of things and the military or the ISI don’t play a determining role. The support extended by the people of Pakistan to Imran Khan’s party during the last elections is ample proof that people desire an independent democratic rule. Imran Khan will always be remembered for having opened the Kartarpur Sahib corridor for Indian pilgrims, an act which was praised even by Narendra Modi on the day of its inauguration. As a confidence building measure India could have opened a corridor to the Ajmar Sharif dargah for Pakistani pilgrims. This one act could have generated enormous good will for India inside Pakistan. Strong ties between the two countries at the people to people level are the only way to wean away  whatever support exists among people for terrorist organisations inside Pakistan.

How long are we going to keep looking at Pakistan as an enemy? It was part of India till 1947. Many Indians have gone and settled there. Many in India still have family ties. How can you expect a husband-wife married across the border to pledge their loyalty to only one of the countries? If the reality is a shared history, customs, culture, families, languages, etc. India and Pakistan have been artificially divided. India is a living proof that Hindus and Muslims can co-exist even after more than ten years of a sustained effort to divide the communities by various governmental and non-governmental acts. The political division has been imposed on a social unity at the grassroots. Hindus and Muslims can never be divided in the way Meiteis and Kukis have been divided in Manipur. Hence, if Hindus and Muslims can co-exist why can India and Paksitan not? Going forward there are only two ways. Either we exist as good neighbours or perish together by dropping nuclear weapons on each other.

If the former chiefs of RAW and ISI, A.S. Dulat and Asad Durrani, respectively, can write a book together, if Narendra Modi can make a surprise visit to Lahore to attend a family function of Nawaz Sharif and present a shawl to his mother, why shouldn’t common Indians and Paksitanis be not allowed to live in an atmosphere of trust, peace and friendship.

We hope wisdom will prevail among the civilian population and good sense will guide the political ideologies on both sides and visionary leadership will take the step in right direction to solve the problem of terrorism once and forever.

Arundhati Dhuru is with National Alliance of People’s Movements in India

Saeeda Diep is with Centre for Peace and Secular Studies in Lahore, Pakistan

Sandeep Pandey is General Secretary of Socialist Party (India).

11 May 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Robert Hunziker

“A few years ago, no one would have imagined that one of the biggest democracies in the world would cancel research programs under the pretext that the word ‘diversity’ was in this program.” (French President Emmanuel Macron, Choose Europe for Science Event/Paris, May 5, 2025)

America’s shores are experiencing a huge sucking sound as one of the biggest brain drains of modern history hits the country’s best, smartest, heading for Europe on grants, as smiles abound across the pond. European leaders are pinching themselves, unable to believe such good fortune falling into their laps, thanks to the Trump administration “freezing” government funding linked to “diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”

The EU has officially launched a drive to attract scientists and researchers that America is discarding by the bucketful, see:  Europe Launches a Drive to Attract Scientists and Researchers After Trump Freezes US Funding, AP News, May 5, 2025.

This is an extraordinary shrinking of America’s IQ in so many ways that a full understanding is nearly impossible, but it is only too obvious that deliberate destruction of science is the product of a bruised/intimidated mentality that’s seeking payback. There is no other logical explanation.

The EU is licking its chops over this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while on stage at Sorbonne University, the EU Executive Branch has already decided to set up a “super grant” program, aimed at “longer-term perspective to the very best in the field.”

Essentially, the EU is cherry-picking some of America’s best brain power. To accomplish this phenomenal opportunity, the Commission is authorizing additional funding of $566 million in 2025-2027, making Europe “a magnet for researchers.” This funding is in addition to the European Research Council’s budget of $18 billion for 2021-2027. Moreover, the EU will “enshrine freedom of scientific research into law” via a new enactment. Europe will not compromise on its long-standing principles of academic freedom.

Above and beyond the EU, according to President Macron, France has also beefed-up commitments to science and research to capitalize on America’s ‘fired’ scientists. France has launched a platform for reception of international researchers: Choose France for Science. President Macron officially christened the platform: “Here in France, research is a priority, innovation a culture, science a limitless horizon. Men and women researchers from all over the world, choose France, choose Europe.”

So far, the US has cut 380 grant projects and thousands of university researchers have been notified that their National Science Foundation funding is canceled, but they know where to turn. Backlash has resulted as doctors, scientists, and researchers hit the streets in “Stand Up for Science” rallies across the country. Astronomy Professor Phil Platt, addressing a crowd, said: “We’re looking at the most aggressively anti-science government the United States has ever had.” UPenn climate scientists Michael Mann: “Science is under siege.” Bill Nye the Science Guy hit the bull’s eye, rhetorically challenging the forces of government: “What are you afraid of?” which may become the rallying cry of opposition throughout the land.

Professionals agree that science has been in the midst of enormous achievements to make lives better than ever, but according to senior staff members of the National Institutes of Health, funding cuts will seriously damage or eliminate major progress on key, very significant, programs for Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and cancer, as examples. Unfortunately, this will negatively impact tens of millions of Americans for years to come.

Since World War II, the US has been recognized as a world leader in science and technology. Now, that enviable position is swirling around the drain. According to several key federal workers who spoke at a recent MIT Technology Review, America’s world leadership is literally being dismantled before our eyes. These are research programs that backstop American life. “The US took nearly a century to craft its rich scientific ecosystem; if the unraveling that has taken place over the past month continues, Americans will feel the effects for decades to come. “ (The Foundations of America’s Prosperity Are Being Dismantled, MIT Technology Review, Feb. 21, 2025)

According to a recent article in The Hill, March 2, 2025: “The administration has issued a multi-pronged, anti-science attack on the health sciences. Possibly the most destructive is the recent slashing of research funding for both NIH and the National Science Foundation.” Here’s what’s at stake: “In 2024, NIH provided more than $37 billion in funding across every state, creating more than 400,000 jobs and generating $92 billion in economic activity. This funding is used for laboratory research, research centers and, most importantly, the education of trainees, the next generation of scientists. Trainees greatly contribute to the research and discoveries even while they are in training.”

If $37 billion in funding produces $92 billion “in economic activity” and “supports 400.000 jobs,” what’s up with destroying a greater than 2-for-1 return on investment? What’s missing from this equation, or is it simply a matter of looney-tunes, not knowing which way is up? Study after study after study, and more studies, prove that governmental funding of science generates returns in-excess of what private enterprise achieves. For example, governmental science funding played the crucial leading role in creation of the internet. What’s that worth?

It should be widely recognized and brought to the public’s attention that so much is wrong, so much at stake with anti-science rhetoric, recklessly cutting science budgets, elimination of entire programs, and loud-mouthed threats, demoralizing the public about science. It’s difficult to know how to respond, and of course, this is the intention behind the rapidity of a well-orchestrated blind-siding all parties, unable to collect ones’ thoughts type of assault on major, hugely productive governmental programs that protect life. This type of assault is comparable to a Panzer Division Blitzkrieg. Nobody has enough time to react.

What’s the impact of Blitzkriegs demolishing science? According to an article in Science d/d May 2, 2025: Trump’s Proposed Budget Would Mean ‘Disastrous’ Cuts to Science.” For those interested, this article delineates agencies subject to cuts. Meanwhile, the brain drain is in full throttle motion. Of interest, an article in the prestigious science journal Nature, March 25, 2025: A poll found that 75% of 1,600 respondents, including 1,200 US scientists said: “Yes, they are looking for jobs in Europe and Canada.” And there’s considerable anecdotal evidence that current post-graduates are looking overseas.

And there’s this: Trump Proposed Unprecedented Budget Cuts to US Science, Nature, May 2, 2025: “Huge reductions, if enacted, could have ‘catastrophic’ effects on US competitiveness and scientific pipeline… The message that this sends to young scientists is that this country is not a place for you,’ says Michael Lubell, a physicist who tracks science policy at the City University of New York in New York City. ‘If I were starting my career, I would be out of here in a heartbeat.”

The word is out. Scientists will find opportunities galore. Science has never been more sought after in Europe and Canada and Australia, which ranks 5^th in the world for trust in science. After all, the world is experiencing the most exciting era of scientific achievement of all time, and the EU intends to take over leadership, stripping the US of its 75-year crown. It’s been laid in their lap.

Moreover, according to the National Science Foundation, China has already overtaken America in several key scientific metrics. Going forward, the EU has America to thank for reinvigorating its science and technology effort more so than ever before, as they challenge China with much more enthusiasm for top billing. The U.S. lit their fuse, making EU science and technology great again!

Robert Hunziker is a journalist from Los Angeles

10 May 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Eloise Goldsmith

United Nations aid officials have rejected a U.S. and Israel-backed plan for aid delivery in Gaza that reportedly involves the use of a private foundation and U.S. military security contractors to deliver far less humanitarian assistance than the besieged enclave needs.

Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), warned Friday that the agency “will not participate.”

“There is no reason to put in place a system that is at odds with the DNA of any principled humanitarian organization,” Laerke told the BBC.

Since early March, Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza, compounding widespread misery and hunger in the besieged enclave as Israel continues to mount a deadly military campaign there. U.N. officials have decried the fact that aid is close at hand but is not being allowed in.

Speaking in Jerusalem on Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that the plan involves a private U.S.-backed foundation, which will distribute aid from a set number of distribution sites, according to CNN. Huckabee said the idea is to create a system that prevents Hamas from obtaining the aid.

The private entity, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, would administer those distribution sites using private U.S. military contractors and aid workers, according to CNN.

The plan reportedly entails only allowing 60 aid trucks a day, a sliver of what was allowed to enter the enclave during the two-month cease-fire that Israel ended in March. A document from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation states that there will initially be four distribution sites aimed at providing 1.2 million Palestinians in its first phase, or 60% of Gaza’s population.

According to the The New YorkTimes, under the current aid distribution system, the U.N. says there are 400 distribution points.

Huckabee said that Israel would not be involved in delivering aid, but that Israeli forces would handle security around the distribution sites.

The Times of Israel, citing officials familiar with the plan, reported that the Israeli government and military have been involved in putting the plan together, even if the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is the entity that is slated to distribute the aid.

Reporting from The Washington Postpublished Monday, which cited unnamed Israeli officials and aid workers, framed the emerging plan as an Israeli initiative to take control of aid distribution in Gaza. The Post‘s reporting also stated that the distribution centers would be all be located in the south of Gaza.

The Post spoke with officials from a dozen international aid groups working in Gaza, who expressed concerns that restricting aid to a few locations would force more displacement and be discriminatory.

James Elder, spokesperson for the U.N.’s children’s agency UNICEF, echoed this, according to the BBC, saying on Friday that the proposed plan would lead to more children suffering and that the decision to locate all the distribution centers in the south appeared designed to weaponize aid as “bait” to force Palestinians to be displaced once again.

The plan “contravenes basic humanitarian principles” and appears designed to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic,” Elder said, according to U.N. News.

Eloise Goldsmith is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

10 May 2025

Source: countercurrents.org

By Quds News Network

Gaza (Quds News Network)- The true death toll in Gaza may be far higher than what officials have reported, according to a new study by The Economist. Since the genocide began in October 2023, experts have struggled to count the dead. But recent research shows the real number of deaths could be between 77,000 and 109,000—far more than the official count.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza provides detailed daily updates. These lists are based on hospital records and online death reports. But many hospitals have been destroyed, and many people killed by Israel remain under the rubble in areas rescue teams can’t reach or are not sent to hospitals.

Researchers analyzed three separate lists of the dead. Two came from the health ministry. A third was compiled from social media obituaries. All three included names, ages, and sometimes ID numbers. The overlap between the lists was very small.

Experts say that small overlap suggests the official count is far too low. The study, published in The Lancet, estimates that the real death toll could be 46–107% higher than reported. Based on current numbers, that means between 4% and 5% of Gaza’s pre-war population may have died.

The latest figures by the Ministry of Health stated that Israel has killed 52,787 Palestinians in Gaza, stressing that it could not reach or register many victims, who are either under the rubble or in areas that Israel’s military continues to target.

Meanwhile, Israel describes all those killed in Gaza as “terrorists” even as most of them are women and children.

10 May 2025

Source: countercurrents.org