Diligent News

The New Iran War

Eomar — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 13:27:58 GMT

I have, across many of my articles, bemoaned the warmongering government that controls this country. While Biden seemed destined to blunder into WW3 if re-elected, Trump promised us “no new wars”. The betrayal of that promise was swift, and instead of stumbling backwards into WW3 we are charging headlong toward it.

Wartime Preparedness

Not much has changed regarding the ‘reason’ for this war. You can probably read my article on the last war and swap out dates and it will match pretty well.

President Trump continues to claim we can wage war forever. However, as I have detailed previously, this does not appear to be true from a supply standpoint alone. When you factor in economic and political costs, as well as the depleted American “will for war”, this claim seems far-fetched at best.

As for the preparedness of Iran and Israel, I don’t think much has changed. Iran is dug in and has a natural fortress (read A Wider War: Iran for a recap). Israel is counting on the US to do the heavy lifting and bear the cost of the war.

The USA

Munitions

I don’t want to retype the same content from ‘America’s Waning Power’ & ‘A Wider War: Supply Chain & Munitions’, but a brief ‘refresher’ is probably due, both for newer readers and to emphasize that these issues still exist for America.

In short, as early as 2022 alarm bells began to sound, warning that the Ukraine war was consuming ‘too many munitions’ and that we cannot produce enough for that war and our own training/maintenance needs. A year later, we began subsidizing the israeli genocide circumventing congressional approval to get munitions into zionists’ hands. The specifics can be found in the two articles linked above.

The manufacturing shortage is apparently across every platform as each time I write about this problem I find a new example to use. The exact number of Tomahawk missiles we have isn’t publicly disclosed though most estimates I have come across state the number is around 4,000 [1]. For context, estimates state we used ~800 in the ‘opening salvos’ of our Iraq invasion and we purchased 68, 34 & 22 new missiles in 2023, 2024 & 2025 [2]. We fired 80 Tomahawks at Yemen in the first day, more than we bought any of these years [3]. ONE day against YEMEN consumed 2% of our Tomahawk stores. That is global stockpile, not ‘what is on one ship’, not ‘just for the Middle East’ that is for our actions across the world. In case you haven’t yet read through ‘America’s Waning Power’, if China were to invade Taiwan, it is estimated we would run out of munitions in less than a week (without all these other munition expenditures).

Carriers

I think Yemen showed us how vulnerable carriers are in modern conflicts. During the last exchange, while we thankfully didn’t see one get hit, we saw the chaos that cheap drone swarms can create. Our carrier group ended up ‘shooting down one of our planes’ and, in another instance, we were forced to maneuver so drastically a jet fell into the ocean. It was described as the most intense naval battle since WW2[4]. Yemen doesn’t have a navy and is not as well equipped as Iran.

The War so Far

America has again shown its ability to strike fast & hard. Multiple government officials have touted our ability to ‘blow things up’, highlighting the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as evidence of our success. In the first 24 hours of the war we reportedly hit 900 targets, another 300 in the subsequent 24 hours and reaching a total of 1,700 targets within 72 hours [5].

War Crimes

Included in that widely touted target list was an all-girls elementary school, seemingly hit by one of our aforementioned Tomahawk missiles [6]. The death toll is uncertain but estimates are around 180, the list of known victims and their ages is available from Middle East Eye [7]. Many of them are less than 10 years old. Trump, thinking Americans will believe anything he says, blames Iran for bombing the school. That has already been refuted by multiple corporate media sources. The next ‘defense’, if complete denial fails, will be ‘collateral damage’. At one point I might have believed that, but we have a sordid history of covering war crimes. From the genocide in Gaza to the crimes committed on Epstein’s island, far too many ‘world leaders’ have shown how little they care for the innocent and how evil they truly are.

Middle East Eye

Water War

Iran has accused the United States of attacking Desalination plants [8] and responded by attacking a desalination plant in Bahrain. Iran’s foreign minister stated “Water supply in 30 villages has been impacted. Attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a dangerous move with grave consequences. The US set this precedent, not Iran,”.

Dependency on Desalination (from Al Jazeera [8] unless noted otherwise):

UAE - 42%
Kuwait - 90%
Oman - 86%
Saudi Arabia - 70%
Israel - 75%+ [9]
Iran - 3% [10]

While, as noted by Middle East Forum, Iran may have some water issues, it seems like they are less vulnerable to targeting of water plants. The threat against water is not unnoticed by the Gulf leaders. Tensions between seem to be rising as Israel reportedly leaked ‘misleading’ information linking the UAE to strikes against Iran [11].

Food war

The Gulf states are 90% reliant on food imports, 70% of those imports came through the (now closed) Strait of Hormuz [12]. While the GCC claims they have reserves for months, the threat of scarcity & massive price increases looms. The 20 Fujairah Grain silos hold 300,000 tons of wheat, barley and corn. While rationed portions of grains may keep people alive, I doubt it will keep them very happy.

The Gulf states are not the only ones facing food consequences, roughly a third of the world’s fertilizers typically travel through the Strait [13]. The chart below shows a ~33% increase in price for granular urea (ammonia). In 2022 when the world was exposed to ‘fertilizer shock’ due to the start of the Russia/Ukraine War, prices rose to ~$900 per ton ($250-300 more than they are today depending on which contract you view). CSIS stated “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed global food prices to all-time nominal highs in 2022” [14]. If the supply disruption continues to force fertilizer prices upward, a similar shock could again push global food prices higher.

investing.com

Stability

The Gulf States, are run by tyrannical dictators who brutally cling to power. The people of these countries largely oppose the alliance with israel and actually see Israel & the US as the biggest threat to the region [15]. While before they had to endure the shame of their government’s action, now they are paying a direct price.

In addition to the threat of incoming munitions, there is a real threat of water scarcity paired with rising risks of food scarcity. Given the political climate and results of previous polling, I am not convinced the people will “rally around the flag” to fight Iran, more likely they will see this as a failure of their own leaders.

Cost

Economic Costs

Crude was at ~$65 before the war, it reached $115 roughly a week into the war. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that for every $1 increase in oil price, we see a ~2.4 cent increase in gas price[16]. If the war persists and crude prices remain elevated, we could all be paying about $1.20 more per gallon of gas soon enough. This is the ‘at the pump’ effect, but it will spill over into other things like energy bills and even food (due to transportation, production etc).

Financial markets also responded negatively. US markets were down ~3% since the launch of the war. Japan, a strong ally of ours, imports up to 90% of its oil from the Middle East, much of it passing through the Strait of Hormuz [17]. Japan’s Nikkei index was down ~10% and Europe’s STOXX 600 showed a ~7.4% drop since the start of the war. Across the world, our war of choice is having a negative impact.

Note: Trump statements regarding ‘end of the war’ and potential for IEA utilizing oil reserves has caused some stocks & oil prices to ‘recover’ on hopes of peace [20]

Strategic Costs

The lack of coordination supposedly cost us 3 fighter jets which were shot down by our ally Kuwait [18]. Darryl Cooper, of , discussed the vulnerability of our bases, highlighting the declining interception rate and the damage already done to our assets in the region. This damage includes the radar network we rely on for interceptions, thus exacerbating the problem. Iran has prepared itself to absorb attacks by digging in and distributing resources and segmenting command & control. The plan from our side was to intercept attacks and overwhelm Iran to make them stop before we lost the ability to intercept. Iran is still able to strike and our ability to intercept is declining.

Real Costs

In Common Sense Neutrality Butler asks mothers to ‘hang onto the love you bear your boys’ when you hear a ‘well-delivered war speech’. I ask that we all look to our sons, perhaps now even our daughters. If you are rattling an old sabre, look at your grandkids. Are America’s wars worth sacrificing them? Is our cause so just I can ask my kids to kill for it? If you wouldn’t ask it of your own kids, why do we allow it to be asked of others? Our troops deserve better, their parents deserve better, our kids deserve better. Demand Peace. — Excerpt from ‘War is STILL a racket’

The most costly aspect of this war is the one Trump et al care the least about. At least seven American troops have been sacrificed in this unnecessary endeavor [19]. The reality is the number may be higher given the vulnerability of our forward bases. There are talks of putting troops on the ground, be it special forces or otherwise they will be highly vulnerable. We saw in Afghanistan how even elite troops like SEAL teams can be taken out by MANPAD wielding adversaries in mountainous terrain. Talk of forcing naval vessels into the strait to secure trade is even more dangerous, with limited maneuverability and limited time-to-target for enemy munitions the ships would be exposed and vulnerable.

Planning to Fail

It should be abundantly clear that we didn’t have a ‘long term’ plan here other than ‘kill Iranian leadership’. I wrote ‘American Victory’ to explicitly warn against this kind of ‘no-plan war’ that we continue to find ourselves in. As the collapse of Iran has not come (Iran elected the late Khamenei’s son as the new Ayatollah), we are now in a scenario where there is no clear definition of victory. Trump has stated only ‘unconditional surrender’ will stop the attacks. Iran has existed for thousands of years, it is not going to stop existing because Trump and his leash holder in Israel want it to. If the goal was to kill the Ayatollah, then declare victory and stop the attacks. Seeking unconditional surrender places us on the path of another ‘forever war’ that ends with us bankrupt and our empire in ruin.

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A New War: Venezuela

Eomar — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 20:49:22 GMT

Trump has drifted further and further from his election winning anti-war message. The war in Ukraine continues and Trump has increased dangerous US-support of Ukrainian strikes within Russia [1]. He touts ‘peace’ in the Middle East, but israel continues bombing Gaza & has killed more than 400 Palestinians since the ‘ceasefire’[2] (all while continuously bombing Lebanon).

Trumps bombing of Iran was perhaps the first major signal that he abandoned his promise of ‘no new wars’ and was insincere in his dedication to peace. We have since continued bombing Somalia and despite the Pope’s call for peace on Christmas, Trump decided to bomb ISIS affiliates in Nigeria [3]. While many try to obfuscate ‘acts of war’ and ‘war’ by the scale of the effort, Trumps posturing towards Venezuela is tilting much more towards our ‘traditional’ regime change disasters.

Attacks on Venezuela

Trump has been ‘ramping up’ his rhetoric towards Venezuela for some time. In September, we crossed from ‘harsh words’ to direct action and have since carried out at least 30 strikes on civilian vessels that were allegedly used for smuggling drugs [4]. Trump recently stated that the United States ‘knocked out’ a facility (a port) in Venezuela, marking the first known land strike [5].

Legality & Ramifications

By labeling cartels & traffickers ‘terrorists’, Trump sought to tap into the wide resources and lack of meaningful oversight we have historically ( & shamefully) allowed in regards to our efforts against ‘terror groups’. It is by this method that Trump is bombing and killing people who would be historically recognized as civilians subject to criminal law, not ‘unlawful combatants’ subject to military action and death. The Royal United Services Institute points out that the ‘long understood’ difference between a ‘criminal enterprise’ (narcotics groups, cartels etc) and a ‘terrorist organization’ are their goals & methods, adding: “A criminal enterprise operates primarily for profit and is countered by civilian law enforcement, while a Foreign Terrorist Organisation pursues ideological/political objectives through violence and can be addressed through military action abroad [6]. Trump’s actions seem to be further blurring the lines between combatants & civilians in a world already with far too many civilian deaths.

The war on drugs has, in my opinion, been the main justification for the ‘war on our rights’ & the militarization of domestic police forces. Now, with cartels being labeled ‘terrorist groups’, a wide net of people & organizations could, in theory, be labeled as ‘supporters’ of terrorism for something as simple as providing food services to migrants [7]. We should want fewer no-knock raids in the US and this seems to pushing us towards more.

It is also important to note, that the list of cartel ‘terror groups’ were not confined to any specific country & there is a real risk of the ‘mission’ against these groups to spread into other nations. Even cartel fears of such actions could have destabilizing effects in otherwise ‘friendly’ nations.

Congress

Each President since 9/11 has abused the post-9/11 Authorizations for Use of Military Force. Congress, by failing to reign in powers of the President, allows the Executive to act as judge, jury & executioner. Unsurprisingly, Congress (again) refused to exercise its Constitutional duties and by failing to pass a War Powers resolution they have effectively ceded more power to the President [8]. Trump has stated that he likely will not seek congressional approval for his war and that “we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country” [9]. By allowing these strikes to continue (and expand) without a declaration of (or even debate on) war, Congress is clearing the way for the President to drag us into a regime change war with Venezuela.

Population & Economy

The population of Venezuela is 31 million people. The majority of people are Christian, however, there are differing estimates for adherents to denominations. CIA Factbook claims 48% Catholic & 31%protestant. The Association of Religion Data Archives claims >90% are Catholic [10]. The population is densest in the north, near the coastline.

The Unemployment rate is reportedly only ~5.5% though a 2015 estimate states that at least 33% live in poverty [11], more recent estimates claim >80% are in poverty [12]. Crude petroleum accounts for about half of Venezuela’s exports, the US was their largest trading partner in 2023, then China & Spain [13].

Al Jazeera

Geography & Terrain

Venezuela is ~35% larger than Texas, 2.5x larger than Germany, >1.5x the size of France and 2x the size of Iraq [14]. The terrain of Venezuela is widely varying offering many challenging obstacles to any who wish to occupy the nation. Coastlines, mountains, jungles, swamps & multiple borders offer a variety of challenges

Venezuela has 2,800 km of coastline [CIA factbook], and the Orinoco River, which is a navigable river, nearly bisects the country. There are mountains in the northwest & southeast. 57% of Venezuela is ‘natural forest’ with the southern portion being both mountainous & part of the Amazon Rain Forest [19].

To the Northwest & southeast are large mountain ranges. The north western peaks are over 16,000 feet (higher than the Rockies), The southeastern mountains reach heights of over 9,000 feet and share borders with Colombia, Brazil and Guyana[15]. The area is described as “largely an upland surface of rounded hills and narrow valleys formed from ancient crystalline rocks”[15].

In short a nightmare for any invading or occupying force. The United States hasn’t had a large-scale engagement in a jungle environment since Vietnam and The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) warns that training is currently inadequate [43]. Although technology has advanced dramatically since Vietnam, much of the current military doctrine was shaped by decades of combat in the Middle East, its applicability & effectiveness in a jungle environment is largely untested.

Size

mylifeelsewhere[16]

Mountains

Sadalmelik [17]

Forests & Swamps

globalforestwatch [19]

Wiki Orinoco Delta [20]

Ports

searates.com ports [21]

Military of Venezuela

Airforce

Venezuela reportedly has as many as ‘140’ aircraft including trainers, helicopters and fighters [22]. Most notably are the SU-30MK2 (of which they have 24 [23] ). These 4.5 generation fighters were acquired in the mid 2000s, though recent struggles may leave many of them grounded, The National Interest estimates that fewer than 50% are operational. These modern aircraft are certainly formidable, but the limited quantity would quickly leave them overwhelmed by the combined aircraft of the USAF, US Navy & Marines.

Air Defense

Maduro claims to have more than 5000 Igla-S MANPAD systems [24], these weapons have a 5-7km range and can ‘destroy targets’ at altitude up to 3.5km [25a]. Venezuela also has 12 S-300 batteries, 9 BUK systems & 44 pechora units [26]. The S-300 is fairly capable, the others should not be written off either, the Pechora was responsible for downing an F-117 stealth bomber in 1999 [27], the difference today is the stand-off capabilities of modern air-to-ground munitions. I think in most scenarios US fixed wing aircraft will be operating outside of range but if we do begin using the most common bomb, a JDAM equipped MK80 series , our craft would be within range (~15 miles [28] ) of several of these systems.

Missiles

C-802 Short range Anti-ship cruise missile has a range of 65 Nautical miles [25b], meaning our carriers would be operating outside of strike range (assuming the missiles themselves are on the mainland). For comparison the southern most dot in the below picture is more than 100 miles from the coast. Another missile in the Venezuelan arsenal is the Iranian CM-90 acquired in 2024, the weapon has a range of ~55miles [29], again allowing our ships to operate outside of their range.

Both of these missile systems can be either ground or ship launched. Venezuela has at least 7 fast attack boats [30] capable of launching their anti-ship missiles. That said it is highly unlikely the boats could slip within range for a launch.

BBC [31]

Drones

Given the extent of the known cooperation between Venezuela & Iran, it is reasonable to assume they have access to a similar repertoire of drone technology. Venezuela has reportedly been manufacturing their own drones since 2012 and may be manufacturing Shahed drones for Russia [32]. The potential flow of drones from Venezuela is notable as it implies surplus & perhaps reveals some additional motivations of the US.

Looking back at “A Wider War: Iran’ we see that the range of some variants of Shahed drone is ~1500 miles. The graphic above shows all of our ships south of Puerto Rico, so within 500 miles of Venezuela. This means the Shahed drones are capable of reaching our carriers even if launched from the southern mountainous jungles of Venezuela. Importantly, while the fighters mentioned above are technologically impressive, they are expensive & finite. The cost of a Shahed drone is in the tens of thousands of dollars, and they offer a much more flexible launch profile than a jet, making them a more likely ‘sustained’ problem for the US if the conflict were to escalate further. It is as of now unclear how many drones Venezuela has in its arsenal and worth noting they would need sufficient quantity to ‘swarm’ our vessels to have a notable impact.

Map Developers [33]

The Politics of Regime Change

As is customary with US regime change policy the ‘end-state’ planning in Venezuela seems to rely on lots of hand waving. Trump stated that Maduro ‘offered everything’ [34] yet Trump still seems bent on war, a reality that will like sour the populations views of any US led regime change. The US ‘leader of choice’, Maria Machado, is a US/Zionist puppet decorated with an undeserved (and perhaps illegal) Nobel Peace Prize [35].

While she and the United States claim Maduro is illegitimate, voting trends leave at least some room for doubt. In 2004 Chavez survived a recall referendum (with ~6 million votes), in 2007 he lost a push for Constitutional amendments in his favor (he had 4.36 million votes in that effort). In 2015 ‘national assembly’ elections, Maduro’s party lost again with 5.62 million votes [36]. The 2024 election, which is disputed, had an ‘official’ tally of 6.4 million votes for Maduro and 5.2 for his opposition (Gonzalez). Comando Con Venezuela is a group “established to support the candidacy of Maria Corina Machado” [37] and offers a tally showing the opposition (Gonzalez) winning 68% of the votes (7.4 million to Maduros 3.3 million) [38].

All that said, there certainly was ‘questionable’ irregularities to say the least [39], without spending a huge amount of time digging through ‘the records’ I am left doubtful of any narrative.

Regardless of which narrative you subscribe to, the reality is that 30-52% of the population supports Maduro. That is a significantly large enough number to make the stability of ‘post regime change’ Venezuela doubtful. Machado was barred from running for office for 15 years, which initially sounds horribly corrupt, but she openly supported US sanctions on Venezuela [40]. Support of sanctions, which most often hurt the citizenry, will likely be viewed as treasonous by at least some of the people. The opposition itself is described as “splintered” [41] and some of the challenges faced in rallying supporters may be the result of these same sanctions . Reuters cited ‘voter apathy as people struggle to afford food and other basics’ [42] as a challenge for the opposition. Make no mistake, without sanctions socialism would make life tough for the people, but by applying sanctions , we give the Maduro government an easy scapegoat.

Conclusion

The diverse terrain, thick vegetation and difficult mountain regions provide refuge for any government forces or ‘defeated’ resistance groups. While I believe we would overcome and disable the ‘exquisite’ platforms like the SU-30 Fighters, the drones will likely continue to be a problem. Given Venezuela’s cooperation with Russia & Iran, it is reasonable to assume they are learning lessons on how to survive a western led bombardment geared at regime change. We cannot forget that the Houthis have found refuge in Yemen’s mountain ranges & withstood a prolonged US backed Saudi campaign AND a direct confrontation with the US Navy in which the US Navy was effectively defeated (withdrew without accomplishing stated goals).

I believe the biggest threat to America isn’t ‘the nation of Venezuela’ but the failed state of Venezuela. Were Maduros government to collapse under the weight of our aggression, I am not convinced that we would smoothly transition to an American puppet government. We would almost certainly see increased waves of migration, both to their neighboring countries and to the United States. The ensuing instability of Venezuela could have a further destabilizing influence on the region. Perhaps the biggest ‘direct threat’ would be the proliferation of military technology (mainly drones & MANPADS) to the various ‘narco-terror’ groups operating throughout South America.

As I mentioned in ‘American Victory’ we need a ‘SMART’ plan if we are to engage in ‘adventures abroad’. If Maduro has ‘offering everything’ why are we not accepting that deal and decreasing the chance of creating another failed state? If it is about ‘drugs’ why are the efforts not focused on countries with larger roles in drug trafficking? Perhaps we are looking to punish Russia’s allies, perhaps we want to ‘flex’ in ‘our backyard’.

Regardless of the motivation, we must ask ourselves: what do we actually gain? Is it worth the lives & resources it will cost and, if history is a guide, are we willing to accept the chaos that comes with another regime change war ?

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Our Greatest Ally

Eomar — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 18:43:21 GMT

We have for too long been told ‘israel is our greatest ally’, it is stated as ‘simple fact’ without any explanation or evidence. Some claimed it was an ‘unsinkable carrier’ but it has never been used to launch US troops, it doesn’t join us in wars, it simply demands we fight them on its behalf. We don’t need israel to maintain a foothold in the Middle East, we have many other allies that we can maintain with fewer complications without israel.

One may think this tiny nation who relies entirely on the United States for its existence would consistently and unwavering align to US interests as a ‘thank you’. Instead we see time and again disrespect, subversion and outright hostility. What kind of ‘ally’ spies, manipulates, plots against and steals from its primary patron?

Formation

How this started

The Ottoman Empire ruled over Palestine, and much of the Middle East for hundreds of years. During that time, in Palestine specifically, the population had a religious mix living side by side, peacefully under Ottoman rule. In 1914, before the Balfour Declaration, there were Muslims (82%), Christians (10%) and Jews(7.5%) [Zionism, an Obstacle to Peace].

There was no hatred for America, and certainly no ‘hatred of freedom’ in the Middle East, in fact the opposite. Following WW1 there were a series of commissions to survey the people of the Middle East in an effort to decide upon ‘next steps’. The King-Crane commission showed overwhelmingly that the people surveyed wanted independence from colonial powers, they wanted a ‘Democratic Kingdom’, 54.9% were in favor of ‘guarding of rights of minorities’. Given the option mandates/aid from French, British and Americans, 60% of the respondents chose America first, albeit, in the form of aid vs mandate. This reflects two things, the desire for independence (73.5%) and the belief that America was not a colonial empire like the other two nations. 72% were against ‘the zionist program. The “General Syrian Congress” stated:

We oppose the pretentions of the Zionists to create a Jewish commonwealth in the southern part of Syria, known as Palestine, and oppose Zionist migration to any part of our country; for we do not acknowledge their title, but consider them a grave peril to our people from the national, economical, and political points of view. Our Jewish compatriots shall enjoy our common rights and assume the common responsibilities. [1]

Before we forced a zionist state upon the Middle East, Jews had lived peacefully as neighbors & citizens for hundreds of years. The general consensus of the land was for them to simply continue doing that. The perception of America was favorable, and people seemingly welcomed a relationship built on trade, as our founders intended. Our actions derailed this peaceful coexistence by subjugating the Arabs in the area and robbing them of their rights, property & self-determination.

The Hook is set

Why did we favor the zionist movement at the expense of our relationship with the people of the Middle East? The zionists offered something Arabs could not, access to the Soviet Union. At the time (and today) most zionists originated from the USSR (or its modern breakaway states). The zionists were wanted for terrorism against our ally Great Britain. When they were intercepted by James Jesus Angleton, then leading CIA operations in Italy, he was faced with a choice. Turn the zionists over to the British, or aid them in exchange for them aiding in spying efforts in the Soviet Union.

He made his choice to aid the zionists, and by many accounts they were highly effective sources. It took some time, before the depth of the rot this caused to be fully revealed, by the time it was, it was too late. I go into more details in my JFK Files article.

Our Ally?

There are a myriad of controversies and betrayals that surround our relationship with the zionist state. It is important to bear in mind, throughout it’s entire existence the zionist state has needed the United States for its survival, truer more today than perhaps ever since its founding.

The Lavon Affair, 1954

With fear of Egypt gaining closer ties with the United States, including fears of arms deals, israel sought to undermine Nasser’s government and make it seem ‘unsafe’ for American support [2]. What became known as ‘The Lavon affair’ was an israeli “false flag’ plot to set off bombs at American and British installations in Egypt, the attacks would then be pinned on groups (like the Muslim Brotherhood) that opposed Nasser’s rule.

The Lavon Affair [4]

Nasser, seeking to better arm Egypt after losing 39 soldiers in a related israeli attack, turned to the Soviets for arms. The US responded aggressively and punished them by forcing the World Bank to withdraw a $200 million loan[4]. Nasser responded by nationalizing the Suez, alarming the British & French. The French, seeking Israel to lead an attack they would support, promised to provide Israel with a nuclear reactor (which was later built at Dimona).

To recap, an attempted Israeli led false-flag attack on American interests in Egypt forced Egypt into allying with the Soviets, resulted in the nationalization of the Suez & paved the way for one of the worst governments in the world to gain nuclear capabilities.

JFK, 1963

I alluded to above the situation leading up to Mossad’s involvement with the JFK assassination. I don’t want to rewrite that entire article here, so if interested in a deeper dive I encourage you to read it in full. I conclude that article stating “I generally accept the theory that people in the CIA with unchecked power & the partnership of israeli intelligence (and perhaps others) assassinated JFK”.

In short, Angleton’s life work became his relationship with Mossad. JFK had multiple policies that would completely destroy that relationship (see “Israel motive” below), he had also angered many people in very capable positions within the US spy agencies.

Excerpt from ‘JFK Files’

USS LIBERTY, 1967

“But sir, it’s an American ship - I can see the flag!” — Israeli Pilot observing the USS Liberty

“Never mind; hit it.” — IDF War room

— as reported by Haraatz [3]

The USS Liberty was sent “to observe activities” related to the Egypt-Israel war. The ship had requested escorts and were denied, little did they know they were being set up [4]. The israelis took out the guns & all the antenna, aiming to leave it defenseless and unable to call for help. The israelis dropped napalm, used guns and even fired torpedos from their ships, they did everything to sink the ship. Despite their efforts, a skilled radioman was able to get a distress call out. Support was launched and then order to return before it could provide aid [5]. MacNamara (then SecDef) ordered the recall. Subsequent support launches were recalled again and the order was reportedly confirmed by President Johnson himself who claimed to a desire to ‘not embarrass an ally”[6] . 34 Americans were murdered, 171 were seriously wounded.

The betrayal didn’t end there, the US government ‘investigations’ did everything they could to cover up the clear intentional attack on an American ship. The reports were falsified, the crew was threatened with courts martial if they spoke out and everything was pushed under the rug. Our servicemen were sent to their deaths, denied aid by their fellow servicemen and left to die by President Johnson whose primary concern was to “not embarrass an ally” [6]. Sadly, not the first nor the last time ‘our’ leaders would betray America for Israel.

Nukes, Lies, Theft & Blackmail

One of the results of the Lavon Affair was France partnering with Israel to produce a nuclear reactor at Dimona. Israel maintained a position of ambiguity and deception to stall Americans and hide their nuclear pursuits. The cover they provided was hardly convincing by any measure, but it was just enough for our intel agencies and corrupt government to ‘look away’ as Israel built its nuclear armament.

Theft

Israel had a working nuclear reactor at Dimona, but to quickly ramp up a nuclear armament it needed to skip the enrichment step. To do this it targeted NUMEC, a plant in Pennsylvania operated by zionist Zalman Shapiro. Not only did Shapiro help steal hundreds of pounds of nuclear material [Bamford, 116], the site was also used to dump nuclear waste [Bamford, 115]. The CIA knew that israel was stealing the material because of field tests near Dimona that matched the material to NUMEC [Bamford, 117]. The resulting ‘investigation’ yielded plenty of evidence, but no arrests. Subsequent investigators under Carter faced stonewalling and reluctance from the intel agencies (FBI & CIA), ultimately Carter buckled and refused to expose the theft [Bamford, 119].

The initial attempts by an israeli spy named Smyth to send nuclear triggers from the United States was apparently stopped by one alert State Department employee, Glenn R. Cella. He later stated “they [the israelis] have total contempt for our spineless system… in general they got their way and got their way rather easily”[Bamford, 124]. Cella’s actions didn’t go without consequence, for this and asking other questions he was ostracized as an “Arabist” and learned to keep quiet [Hersh, 214]. Despite this glaring attempt to smuggle nuclear triggers to israel, Smyth’s trips to israel and countless other red flags, no agency put an end to the behavior. Hersh’s Samson option provides the accounts of several intelligence agents who learned to 'avoid the topic’ [Hersh, 215]. With ‘looking away’ as our governments policy, 4 years later in 1980, Smyth was able to get the triggers to Tel-Aviv [Bamford, 126].

Blackmail

Our agencies’ betrayal is solidified by the third point. Israel threatens, not only its enemies, but us with their use of nuclear bombs. I don’t mean to say they threaten to nuke us directly (though honestly i wouldn’t put it past them), but they threaten us that if we do not come to their aid they will use nuclear weapons on their enemies.

Hersh details the events in his chapter Nuclear Blackmail. The Egyptian attack during the Yom-Kippur war made significant gains and had the israelis in disarray. With even the defense minister warning of ‘the end’, israel opted to not only arm its nuclear weapons, but make sure that WE knew. The demand was simple, we flood them with supplies to win the war or they ‘might’ have to start using nuclear bombs. The tactic worked and the supplies flooded in. In this video the traitor-spy Jonathan Pollard brags about it the tactic of threatening America with Israeli nukes.

The willful failure of our intel agencies has forced us into servitude for our ‘vassal state’.

Beirut Bombing, 1983

The first question that should be asked is ‘why were we there’. The answer, because amidst the Lebanese civil war, Israel invaded Lebanon to root out the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). A ceasefire was eventually achieved and president-elect Bashir Gemayel (leader of the Phalange milita) had relatively strong ties with israel [7]. The Marines, initially sent to evacuate Americans, became responsible for escorting the PLO out as part of the cease-fire. At this point, unsurprisingly, Israelis did what they could to disrupt the process adding to the already tense situation [8]. Despite this the operation was successful and the Marines withdrew. Gemayal was soon assassinated by a Lebanese Christian of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. In response, israel again went on the offensive pushing into Beirut. Phalange coordinated with and was assisted by the IDF to carry out massacres of Palestinian civilians at Sabra and Shatila refugee camps [9]. This led the new President (Bashir’s brother) to request a return of the multi-national force to ‘ensure the safety of the population’[8].

A former Mossad agent, Victor Ostrovsky, wrote in his book that israel knew specific details, including the make & model of the vehicle that would carry the bombs to target the Marine barracks. He claims israel kept that information from America to protect their informant, so that israel wouldn’t be at risk of being hit unaware in some potential future scenario [10]. The estimated 12,000 lbs of explosives leveled the building, killing 241 Americans, including 220 Marines[8].

Israel’s bloodlust dragged US troops back into Lebanon. They allegedly knew specific details that could have prevented the successful attack on our barracks but chose to withhold the information. Perhaps it was to ‘protect their source’, perhaps it was ‘punishment’ for us aiding the PLO withdrawal, or perhaps all of that mixed with the belief that the attack would help solidify ‘israel’s enemies’ as ‘our’ enemies.

9/11

A group of 5 ‘dancing israelis’ were apprehended after appearing to celebrate the attacks on the world trade center as they recorded it. Photos show them holding lighters with the Manhattan skyline in the background (on 9/10/2001), and reports describe them as ‘visibly happy’ as the buildings were burning [11]. The Forward reported that at least 2 of these individuals were flagged as ‘Mossad operatives’ . An unnamed intelligence official speaking to The Forward stated “the FBI came to the conclusion…that the five Israelis arrested in New Jersey last September were conducting a Mossad surveillance mission and that their employer, Urban Moving Systems of Weehawken, N.J., served as a front” [12]. The documents related to the incident were released via FOIA, but are heavily redacted. The attachment discussed below is apparently of high enough level of classification as to be removed and withheld [13].

When asked what the attack meant for israel-US relations Netanyahu responded, on 9/11/2001, that “It’s very good”, trying to salvage the statement, he rephrased “Well, not very good, but it will generate immediate sympathy.”[14]. In context of previous actions, especially the Lavon Affair, which sought to achieve this exact outcome, it is hard not to look at israel with suspicion. There is also mounting evidence that our intelligence agencies, at best, completely dropped the ball and through their apparent incompetence allowed what should have been a preventable attack to occur[15].

NOTE: Ryan Dawson and now Tucker Carlson have gone into much more depth on the multiple failures of our agencies around 9/11.

Wars for Israel

In the late 1990s a series of reports were written first, “A Clean Break: A new Strategy for Securing the Realm”, then “Coping with Crumbling States: A Western Israeli Balance of Power strategy for the Levant”. In these, neocons laid out what they thought was a path to secure israel. The general plan as outlined by Scott Horton in his book “Enough Already”[Horton, pg 67-71] was:

Overthrow Saddam & install Jordan’s king
1. they thought it would lead to an alliance with ‘greater Jordan’ and Turkey, thus pulling Hezbollah away from Iran.
Expand the Collapse to Syria.
The newly installed puppets would ‘inspire’ Iranians to overthrow their government

One of the taglines was literally “Peace Through Strength” (should be pretty fresh in your mind since Trump keeps saying it).

Knowing that the people who devised this plan were in key positions within the Bush Administration [Horton, pg 70], it becomes clearer why both the ‘dancing Israelis’ & Netanyahu had an ‘optimistic’ outlook on the 9/11 attacks. America soon kicked off what would be decades of wars trying to achieve these goals. While we had reason to go into Afghanistan, multiple accounts state we could have gotten Bin Laden early and ended it. There was no ‘good’ reason to go into Iraq. I cover the extent of our military policy failures in American Victory and the corruption that makes money loving politicians into bloodthirsty ones in War is STILL a Racket.

Iran

I wrote about the recent flare-ups between Israel & Iran first in Tit-for-Tat: Iran v Israel, then more recently in Israe-lies War. So I won’t go deep into the specifics there. I do, however, want to put it in the context of this article.

In the most recent exchange, Israel initiated strikes on Iran as they were negotiating with the United States. Soon, Tel-Aviv was regularly being hit with Iranian strikes and israeli air defenses seemed to be overwhelmed. America was reaching deep into its reserves to fend off the attack. It was at this peak of israeli vulnerability that the United States shifted strategy. Trump, who campaigned (and i think won) on ‘no new wars’, launched a (seemingly telegraphed) strike on Iran. Why the sudden change, even as our own intelligence refuted the nuclear claims? Did Israel resort once again to nuclear blackmail? Did they threaten that if we didn’t come save them they would have to deploy nuclear bombs (that we helped them get). I haven’t found evidence of this, but given the circumstances & israel’s history it is worth considering the possibility.

Propaganda, Intimidation & Subversion

In James Bamford’s SpyFail he details a Mossad backed effort code named “project Butterfly” that sought to damage anti-israel groups & movements, he stated “It would develop ways to disrupt their activities, lead them to be falsely investigated by the authorities and run a hidden media influence campaign against them”[Bamford, pg206]. Israel didn’t stop at ‘movements and groups’, it also targets individuals, often college kids or young professionals with spying & intimidation organizations like canary mission. Perhaps most concerning is the information gathered is funneled back to a israel [Bamford, 228]. To bolster their targeting campaigns, israel sought to recruit [and corrupt] individual Americans, often Jews, into a ‘troll army’ using apps like Act.il [Bamford, 238]. This helped coordinate their efforts and shape a pro-israel narrative, seemingly coming from America [Bamford, 238]. The Harvard Crimson Editorial board summed up the effects in 2022:

“Israel remains America’s favorite first amendment blindspot. Companies that choose to boycott the Jewish state, or otherwise support the pro-Palestine Boycott, Divest, and Sanction movement face legal repercussions in at least 26 states. Even for journalists, openly condemning the state’s policies poses an objective professional risk.” [16]

One effort proposed at the time involved “flying members of the network to israel to be trained as “influences”, then back to the United States to Spread propaganda”[Bamford, 210]. At the time the idea was ‘shot down’ because people feared being labeled (correctly) as foreign agents under FARA. Today however, as israel loses the world amidst its ongoing genocide, it seems willing to take on more risk.

Larry Ellison, who Trump just gifted TikTok to, had previously ensured that Rubio was ‘loyal enough’ to Israel before backing his political ambitions in 2015 [17]. Paramount, run by Larry Ellison’s son David Ellison, recently paid $150 million to zionist mouthpiece Bari Weiss and put her in charge of CBS news. For a glimpse at her ‘journalistic integrity’ and ‘investigative skills’ check out this clip (another version with Jimmy Dore commentary). Perhaps in preparation for the impending failure of CBS news, Israel has not stopped there. The recently revealed ‘Esther Project’ pays some influencers ~$7,000 per post, which would require them to register under FARA[18] . As more Americans recognize that Christianity isn’t compatible with zionism, israel has plans to ramp up its presence in churches with ‘mobile museums’ and ‘geo-fencing’ (tracking your phone/digital fingerprint and targeting you with ads etc) [19].

Backing all of these narrative shaping efforts, Israel uses bots. Bamford highlighted Archimedes group and referenced a 2019 Times of Israel article in relation to israel’s use of bots. “The Israeli government official told The Times of Israel that 265 accounts is a drop in the bucket, and that there are probably tens of thousands of bogus accounts operated by numerous companies in Israel alone and millions of such accounts worldwide.” [20]. More recently israel was again caught using bots, this time bolstered by the use of ChatGPT, to target American members of Congress with pro-israel propaganda[21]. The use of bots is likely going to keep getting worse, in 2023 Al Jazeera estimated that over 50% of online activity came from various types of bots [22] (other estimates go as high as 64%).

The list of manipulation tactics goes on & on, if you want a timeline, gives a breakdown of various actions meant to subvert American’s through propaganda & legal manipulations in the below article. recently re-posted a series of articles on Israel’s manipulation as well.

GenXGirl Files

Israel's Coordinated Campaign to Propagandize Conservatives in America

This is a timeline of a sophisticated, well-funded and deliberately opaque influence operation conducted by Israel and its allies within the US to target conservatives. Polling data shows Israel has permanently lost the American left and they are losing the American right, particularly young conservatives. Israel’s campaign seeks to recast criticism of …

6 months ago · 8 likes · 1 comment · GenXGirl1994

Spying & Disrespect

Spying & intimidation is not solely focused on college kids and young professionals. While israeli agents like ‘Senator’ Ted Cruz pretend it’s all great and ‘friends and allies spy on each other’, Israeli espionage in the United States is extensive and shameful. Jonathan Pollard funneled secrets to israel and caused ‘significant damage’ to the United States[23]. He was sentenced to life in prison, eventually, advocates from israel successfully petitioned for his release [23]. Of course there is all the spying and theft described above as well. Bamford provided multiple quotes, a staffer stated “ no other country close to the United States continues to cross the line on espionage like the israelis do” [Bamford 166]. Scott Shane, a NYT reporter citing former counter-intel people stated “israeli espionage in America is behind only that of China & Russia” [Bamford 167]. Israel has been caught putting stingray devices near the Whitehouse[24]. These work by intercepting the cellphone signal, acting as a tower and allowing the interceptor to gain information. In 2001 there were over 100 israelis (posing often as ‘art students’) deported in connection with intelligence gathering on federal agents [25]. There are also reports that israelis utilized mall kiosks near military bases for intelligence gathering. While there was no official charges for espionage, multiple israelis have been charged, mostly for visa fraud [26].

The disrespect isn’t ‘just espionage’, Tucker Carlson reported that israelis were barging into pentagon briefings and making demands on our military. The hubris of this lesser, dependent state is reminiscent of a spoiled child speaking to a parent.

Corruption

AIPAC’s (and others) grip on American politicians has become increasing clear in recent years. Track AIPAC makes great information packed memes exposing the bribes politicians take. I wrote about these groups, their contributions & influence in ‘The Zionist Voter’. Above I mentioned how Rubio had to be ‘tested’ on his loyalty to israel. Former Congressman Matt Gaetz details the absolute blind obedience to israel that was expected and the “demoralizing’ nature of AIPAC fundraising events [27].

Bamford’s book goes into detail how these money laundering and ‘political contributions’ are set up. It is worth reading it for all the details but this excerpt gives you a good idea

Bamford 217

While that covers a good deal of political and monetary corruption, the corruption spreads into a much darker area with Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein has well established connections with israeli intelligence, a plethora of evidence showing our government’s acknowledgment of his role as ‘intelligence’ and all the while nothing done to stop the child-exploiting pedophilia ring he had established to blackmail high profile celebrities & politicians. Check out (Darryl Cooper’s) interview Tucker Carlson here and his follow up with here.

The Martyr Made Substack

Epstein Deep Lore & More w/Ryan Dawson

Sorry for my poor audio. I got a fancy new mic and pre-amp, and apparently I don’t know how to set it up properly. I will get it fixed before the next time you’re forced to hear my voice through it. There is video, but I’m still working on it…

Listen now

8 months ago · 557 likes · 132 comments · Darryl Cooper

Attack on our rights

Historically, blowback from our policy of blindly supporting israel has prompted terror attacks here in the US. Our government, leveraging the fear and anger of the American people, in turn passed liberty destroying bills like the Patriot Act. The CATO institute described the Patriot act as “enabling the most sweeping federal surveillance powers ever” [28].

Under Trump’s “israel first’ policy, his state department has targeted students who protested against genocide, at least 75 of them were identified by the above mentioned israeli spy group ‘Canary Mission’ [29]. While Canary mission’s goal was always to intimidate, it now has government force behind it, at the expense of OUR right to free speech. There has been at least 6 resolutions on ‘anti-semitism’, the ‘antisemitism awareness act’ very clearly sought to curtail free speech in support of zionism & the ongoing genocide [30].

With ‘friends’ like these

There has been much speculation surrounding the assassination of Charlie Kirk. While it is really tempting to dive into the admittedly intriguing conspiracies I want to just point out the ‘kind of friend’ Israel & its supporters/donors are.

Kirk had long been a supporter of israel & zionism, so much so that he even had direct communication (via a letter) with Netanyahu [31]. However, there is evidence that he recently began to shift opinions, perhaps not ‘anti-israel’ just merely ‘not blindly pro-israel’, I’d like to think he recognized zionism’s incompatibility with his Christian faith, but more likely it was the pressure he faced in regards to how he ran his organization. It seems zionist demands of total obedience wore out Kirk’s loyalty. As per the recently exposed messages (below), Kirk was facing significant backlash and attempts to control who he invited to events. Kirk stated “Jewish donors play into all the stereotypes. I cannot and will not be bullied like this… Leaving me no choice but to leave the pro Israel cause”.

What is also interesting, is the fear Kirk had for simply speaking out. Harrison Smith of Infowars, alleges that Kirk feared ‘israel will kill him’ if he turned on them. Candace Owens claims that 3 individuals confirmed, ‘off the record’, that Charlie Kirk expressed “I think they are going to kill me”, she made no claims as to who ‘they’ were. As of now these claims haven’t been ‘verified’ on the record and as such we don’t have any context to the conversations. Candace made an appeal to the ‘sources’ to come forward.

I am not ‘investigating’ anything related to Kirk’s death here. I bring up these statements to show the kind of relationship he had with israel. Kirk, a ‘lifelong’ supporter of israel, seemed to believe that israel would physically harm him, even kill him, simply for ‘abandoning them’. If this were a marriage, where one spouse so clearly feared the other, it would immediately be recognized as dangerous & abusive.

Max Blumenthal has alleged that even US President Donald Trump ‘fears for his life’ and sees israel as a ‘major source of concern’. I haven’t seen others reporting this or substantiating it but it is worth noting the kinds of thoughts ‘friends of israel’ really have about israel.

Note:

I assume Netanyahu was aware, either before Kirks death or shortly thereafter, of Kirk’s changing opinions regarding israel. I think one statement of sympathy is appropriate, the fact that Netanyahu had multiple [a, b, c] comes off as an effort to cement Kirk’s reputation permanently as ‘pro-israel’ and to use his death to the political advantage of israel.

Political Costs

It is hard to quantify the real ‘political costs’ of our actions but there is certainly a cost. I mentioned at the start of this article, the Middle East’s generally favorable attitude towards the United States in the early 1900s. Today many citizens, if not their government view America with disdain. The Washington Institute conducted a study that revealed that most Arabs believe the West supports israel due to ‘the israel lobby’ & hatred of Muslims [32]. As a result of our blind support, Russia, China and Iran had significantly better reputations in relation to the ‘positive role’ in the Gaza genocide [32]. What this means is that although we can bribe and corrupt the ‘leaders’ of these countries, we are rapidly losing the people. If real democracy ever took hold in these nations (im sure a CIA nightmare scenario), our influence would crumble. A vacuum would not persist long, a nation with a favorable reputation like China, Russia or Iran would soon fill the void. There is still a chance to turn things around, ~40% believed the US COULD have a positive role if it chose to[32]. It is time to make that choice before the bribes stop working or the people revolt.

Conclusion

Israel is not “America’s greatest Ally” , its hard to classify it as an ally at all. For decades we have allowed israel to go unchecked and unrestrained. They spy on us, they intimidate and attack American influencers & American college kids, they blackmail us with nuclear war, they corrupt and blackmail our politicians, they sacrifice Americans & outright murder our servicemen. America has spent far too much by every measure on the unappreciative, subversive and genocidal state of israel. It is abundantly clear that the interests of israel do not align with the interests of the United States.

Ultimately, the only thing israel ‘provides us’ is unending wars. For our corrupt politicians running the War Racket, they may genuinely love israel for that, but is that the vision We The People have for the United States of America? Is that the nation we want to leave for future generations?

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Resources

Horton, Scott. Enough Already: Time to End the War on Terrorism. Auburn, AL: The Libertarian Institute, 2021.
Bamford, James. SpyFail: Foreign Spies, Moles, Saboteurs, and the Collapse of America’s Counterintelligence. New York: Twelve, 2023.
Hersh, Seymour M. The Samson Option: Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy. New York: Random House, 1991.

Diligent Gear

Zionism is unAmerican

Political Violence and the Road to Tyranny

Eomar — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 01:29:18 GMT

On 9/10/2025 Charlie Kirk was hosting an event on a Utah Valley University campus where he was shot & killed. He is the latest victim in a long history of political violence. His murder and the response to it threaten to further divide America increasing the threat of violence & tyranny.

What we know

The Area

There were people initially apprehended in the area that were later cleared. The first was an older man, who is described as a ‘political agitator’ and seemed to be acting erratically[1] . Later a man was pictured with what is now reported to be a BB gun (this appeared to be a traffic stop).

The area itself is a security nightmare with many buildings opposite the speaking stage. The general consensus at this point is that the shooter was posted on top of one of these buildings (I believe confirmed as of publishing this). As per recent reports (including NY times), the shooter was not even 200 yards away, the building is ~430 feet from the ‘stage’, a mere 143 yards.

I believe above and to the right of ‘stage’ (via google maps)

Distance to ‘shooter perch’ (google maps)

The weapon & the shot

An apparent leak of ATF feed (pictured below) claims a discarded .30-06 bolt action rifle was found nearby in the woods and that the weapon and/or ammunition had ‘transgender & anti-fascist ideology’ inscribed upon it. Photos that supposedly show the rifle reveal a mounted scope was used [2]. This is not a shot that requires ‘an expert sniper’ as many claim, if you browse the internet you will find plenty of people capable of this and far more impressive shots. There are also some angles that make it appear possible that this was a chest shot into cheap steel armor that traveled up into the neck. While I am not a ballistics expert, I didn’t see an exit wound and I would expect more damage from a direct hit from a .30-06 to the neck. I don’t have experience with steel armor but the ‘spalling’ issue is often talked about (the military uses ceramic plates). The danger of spalling is when fragments ‘move beyond’ the plate and cause secondary injuries [3], it is also possible (depending on the armor) for the bullet to change trajectory upon impact. I put a screenshot of ChatGPT’s answer to my ricochet question below .

Posted by Steven Crowder @scrowder on X

rifle reportedly used in the murder [2]

Answer from ChatGPT, based on estimates etc

The Escape

Perhaps the most notable aspect of this assassination was the shooter’s ability to get a weapon on site (I assume beforehand), return, take a shot, escape - with the rifle -, and flee undetected. Surveillance video shows him jumping from the roof and running off [4]. The thing I find odd is fleeing with the rifle, how do you do that without someone noticing? Where does someone go? The authorities have released images of the current suspect, I haven’t heard any news of mass transport sightings, so he drove/is driving somewhere?

I believe one critical aspect of his escape was the above mentioned ‘political agitator’, police may have thought ‘they got him’ and didn’t cordon off the area as rapidly or as widely as they should have. This was fortuitous for the shooter and an embarrassment for those on the scene right up to the director of the FBI.

He reportedly posted this while at a restaurant in NYC

(Recent news) The Shooter

As I was wrapping this up, news broke of the accused shooter being Tyler Robinson a 22 year old from Utah [6] who was reportedly convinced to turn himself in by his father.

Controversy & reactions

"If you're really in favor of free speech, then you're in favor of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you're not in favor of free speech". — Noam Chomsky

It is important to remember, regardless of how you feel about the below topics or others, a father of 2 young kids was murdered for what he said. Some of the things he said may have been ‘wrong’, some of the propaganda he pushed was clearly wrong & directly aided evil, but it was still speech. In America, freedom of speech means the freedom to say vile things.

1A

“…a government organized around jailing, impoverishing, or silencing people based on ‘racism’ is what our enemies wanted.” — Charlie Kirk

Kirk has long been a proponent of free speech & may even be described as a ‘free speech absolutist’, to me that is the ONLY way to be an advocate of free speech. We have to tolerate the idiots & worse. Despite Kirk’s commitment to israel (discussed below) he was adamant that wielding government force against speech was not the path to take[5]. Regardless of how you feel about Kirk’s other positions, this one is commendable, especially as much of the right cheered Trump’s crack down on free speech.

2A

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." — Benjamin Franklin

Kirk was a proponent of the second Amendment and was fielding questions on it when he was murdered. Kirk once stated, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment”, and now people are trying to use this as a ‘gotcha’. Kirk’s statement is simple acknowledgement of reality, people are violent, if we have guns, there will be people that use them illegally. Without going too deep on the Second Amendment, the point is that Charlie’s 2A stance is probably less “radical” than a lot of gun owners in America

Gaza

Charlie Kirk’s stance on and support of Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians is indefensible in my opinion. He isn’t just anyone who casually consumes cable news, he was a relatively young, intelligent man with access to information. Given his role as a ‘leader’ to many, I set my bar higher than the random internet troll. I expect ‘leaders’ to speak the truth, not just regurgitate propaganda. Still, Kirk’s stance on the Gaza genocide was ‘speech’, it was wrong & he was wrong for pushing israeli propaganda but it was speech. Despite his role, he truly did seem to have a cable news level understanding of the situation & until recently faithfully repeated talking points without question.

This, in my opinion is his most reprehensible of positions, yet it does not justify his murder. It justifies him being shown facts that refute his arguments in the very big & public forums he helped host. To Kirk’s credit, he gave Dave Smith the exact opportunity to do that and Dave delivered.

Following his death, there were many posts regarding his recent ‘doubts’ with the blank check support of israel. He complained to Megyn Kelly about how his character is called into question for anything not completely aligned with israel. He openly talked about Epstein’s ties to Mossad; He was vocally opposed to war with Iran. He mentioned ‘questions’ about October 7th and thought it may have been an ‘inside job’ to Netanyahu’s benefit. He even mentioned media lies in favor of israel & ethnic cleansing. Perhaps he truly was trying to be ‘America First’, given time maybe he would have come around. We will never know now.

Violence & Death

“I recognize the absolute evil of what the zionist forces are doing but I must ‘take no pleasure’ in their death. It’s not for them, it’s for me. It’s a small conscious step I take to guard my own humanity.” — Me, Guarding your Humanity

I don’t expect everyone to mourn Charlie’s death, that would be an absurd demand. I think it is normal to expect people to have empathy and sympathy for his family (and the family of anyone who loses a loved one). Perhaps even indifference is acceptable, but to cheer for the death of another human is not good for your soul. Even if you thought he was as ‘evil’ as they come, you shouldn’t cheer for his death. Remember this too when his murderer faces justice.

I warned in ‘To Save the Soul of America’ that we must collectively fix our moral compass, we cannot reconcile ‘apathy’ with overseas slaughter and the expectation of human decency here at home. We must reject violence abroad so that it horrifies us into action at home. If we see innocents being bombed, shot & starved, we must at MINIMUM ensure we have no part of it. If a woman is attacked on a train, people should rush to her aid, not shuffle to the next car. If a father is killed, support and empathy for the family should be the minimum.

The violence, and apathy towards it, are both a symptom of and a contributor to a growing mental health crisis in this country. We must recognize that suppressing the revulsion to violence because its ‘abroad’ does have an impact on us here at home. We must shift away from convoluted and dishonest policies of ‘good for America’, which have a high cost in blood and little if any benefit to America, to policies that are Good and value human life.

Leviathan

“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that [is] it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” — Rahm Emanuel, Obama Chief of Staff

I encourage you to separate the idea of ‘government involvement’ with these violent acts & government seizing an ‘opportunity’. There will plenty of ‘odd’ things to examine and already a myriad of conspiracy theories. Whether or not the government or a government was involved I will leave to others, but make no mistake, every government will squeeze what it can out of this death. Never forget how our government used the collective good will of the people after 9/11 to usher in the Patriot act.

Despite our recent history and countless reasons to distrust our government, I have seen ongoing calls for ‘blank checks’ to government. People effectively, and sometimes knowingly cheer for tyranny in an effort to allay their fears or satisfy their thirst for revenge. The state will not ‘give you back your rights’, the state will not stay within the ‘narrow scope’ of ‘infringement authority’ you give it, do not let your emotions doom us & future generations.

In service (intentionally or not) of government tyranny, many ‘influencers’ online are declaring ‘we are at war’, implying a civil war between the ‘left’ and the ‘right’. Do not buy into these agitators, many are foreign and I doubt the local ones will be ‘in the trenches’ with you. They are seeking engagement, they will use your emotions to get payouts and head off to calmer seas. If people ‘answer the call’ and this escalates, the government will have all the excuse it needs.

Shared by @byoussef

There were many calls (and still are) for the government to ban trans people (doesn’t seem like this shooter was trans, just maybe terminally online) from owning firearms under the guise of ‘mental health’. I want to remind you that there was a period of time where the government used that same excuse (mental health) to strip Veterans of their rights[7]. Additionally, the government already views veterans as a ‘domestic terror’ threat [8]. Do not give the government the ability to arbitrarily infringe upon a person’s rights. No one should lose ANY rights without due process, mental health issues are not and should not be a blanket excuse to strip people of rights.

Summary

A man was murdered in the US because someone didn’t like his ideas. His murder left a family without a husband and father. Bad ideas are easily defeated with the truth, not with violence.

The indifference, or worse, celebration of death is a plague on our society. Whether it is the death of innocents in Gaza, or the death of a political pundit in the United States, violent needless death should be revolting to us all. If you find yourself justifying either, think about what that says about you, think about what you have allowed yourself to become and be better.

“Never repay evil with evil but let everyone see that you are interested only in the highest ideals. Do all you can to live at peace with everyone. Never try to get revenge; leave that my friends, to God’s anger As scripture says: vengeance is mine — I will pay them back, The Lord promises…” — Romans 12:17-20

Leave a comment

Resources

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15086691/Charlie-Kirk-dead-George-Zinn-arrested-shooting-UVU-Utah.html
https://archive.ph/3ngdo
https://www.highcomarmor.com/the-truth-about-spall-protection/#:~:text=WHY%20STEEL%20PLATES%20CREATE%20SPALLING,needs%20of%20the%20end%2Duser.
NBC youtube
https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1912566643856937203
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspect-charlie-kirk-shooting-tyler-robinson-rcna230504
https://veterans.house.gov/uploadedfiles/the_veterans_2nd_amendment_protection_act_-_copy.pdf
https://archive.ph/GdAM0

Israe-lies War

Eomar — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:48:10 GMT

On June 13th Israel conducted ANOTHER unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation, once again attacking Iran. They claimed Iran was ‘on the verge’ of creating nuclear weapons, a claim our own intelligence refuted in March and one that Israel has been making for decades. The reality is, they were facing the loss of the American Public and Donald Trump may be their last chance to get Americans to fight Iran for them. We cannot give them their war.

Tel-Aviv during retaliation strikes

Initial Israeli Attack

Before I start getting into ‘details’ I want to stress that both sides are also conducting psychological ops which include exaggerating their own effectiveness while disputing the ‘other sides’ effectiveness. I do my best to filter through the noise, but some might slip through.

The initial attack reportedly used a ‘local’ pre-positioned drone base within Iran to disrupt air defense and allow for broader strikes[1] . The targets included at least 9 Iranian Nuclear Scientists (civilians to any who still value international law) [2]. Several Generals were targeted at least some were bombed in their homes, the casualties included women and children [3]. Mohammad Bagheri was the highest ranking military officer in Iran and was one of those killed, BBC lists out the others here [4].

Trump’s Role

There are two versions of events being floated around. The first, Trump was not informed of the attacks and they were done to thwart nuclear deal talks between the US & Iran (the last deal israel pushed Trump into scraping as well) .

The second version, Trump used the peace talks to lull Iran into a false sense of security & a pre-planned attack was initiated. This is Trump’s own story & we did begin moving non-essential personal BEFORE the attacks [5], indicating that Trump knew/planned for them. If this is true it is a truly heinous use of diplomatic ‘peace talks’. The modern equivalent of attacking those who come to parlay under the white flag. Also worth noting, we similarly lied to Hamas to get Edan Alexander.

In the end I don’t think it matters at this point, Trump’s ego couldn’t take the public slight if he wasn’t told and he is seemingly going along with whatever Netanyahu demands. The depravity & illegality of getting us involved in an unnecessary AGGRESSIVE war cannot be understated.

Iran’s Response

In previous tit-for-tat’s Iran’s responses were measured, each one slightly more impactful than the one before but always a measured, underwhelming response. I had thought that they established some deterrence, but I was wrong (I’ll link earlier articles at the end of this article) .

Initial reports touted a ‘successful decapitation’ of Iranian leaders and capabilities. The initial ‘contingency’ activated response was largely underwhelming, ~ 100 drones launched and reportedly, largely shot down [6].

Within 24 hours it seems the successors were in place and in control and Tel-Aviv began getting bombarded (some more videos). Note, its hard to determine the time frame but these are from between the 13th & today.

Ongoing exchanges

Since that Friday there have been frequent back and forth attacks between the two countries. Both are doing a decent job of obscuring results so it is hard to know for certain who has had a greater material effect.

Most of the initial target list in Iran seems to be surface level, airports, oil refineries, and a tv station [7]. I question the strategic value of the airport with Iran’s older aircraft, though they would likely be effective against certain platforms like larger, slower drones. It is also worth noting that intentionally targeting a TV station is another war crime to add to israel’s long list. The nuclear sites are reportedly only minimally damaged meaning the primary goal of the israelis was not achieved [8].

Israel is claiming to have destroyed ‘a third’ of Iran’s long range launchers [9], though I have my doubts about those reports. The fact that Mossad also resorted to their terrorist roots with car bombs [10], says to me that perhaps the air campaign isn’t going as well as desired (a car bomb seems much more risky).

I believe the goal from the US/Israel side would be to topple Iran like we did Syria because there is NO possibility of a successful ground invasion from us (see A Wider War: Iran). A brief look into ‘factions’ there shows that the ‘monarchists’ are not popular as people still see them as the puppets they are[11] . There could be more ‘pro-democracy’ factions though if popular support is the goal, I don’t see them making big moves as the zionists bomb them (even the pro-zionist media agrees).

In Israel, volleys of missiles have pierced the tin sieve (formally known as the iron dome) and struck their targets including the ‘Kirya’ building (IDF HQ) in Tel-Aviv [12]. Don’t forget about the constant israeli ‘human shield’ claims when looking at this graphic below.

original from harretz edit found on X

We have seen successful attacks & fires in Haifa, included in the target list was the Bazan group’s oil refineries which were hit and shut down[13]. We have seen malfunctioning air defense systems on multiple occasions[14]. All that said, while it is the most intense bombing israel has experienced (perhaps ever), it is still capable of retaliating against Iran and claims to have air dominance over Iran. While the world wonders how much of this israelis can take before fleeing, the israeli government has ordered a stop to all outbound flights, leading some occupiers to take to the seas in an effort to escape[15].

Trumps Threats

Truth social

The insanity of this statement cannot be understated. We know that Israel has nuclear weapons and are likely the only nation insane enough to deploy them in an aggressive war THEY started. I cannot even put to words how disgusted I am.

The end of MAGA

The first cracks in Trump’s base were when he floated out a bloated big-government bill so disgusting that Musk began tweeting about Trumps inclusion in the Epstein files. While that made a ripple, now there are waves. EVERY halfway decent conservative has abandoned Trump amidst his push for war. Trump has now turned on Tucker Carlson, perhaps the strongest indication of how delusional he has become. Adding further emphasis on his detachment from reality, Trump suggested Tucker “get on a television network so that people listen” [16]. I hope we are all realizing how futile it is to elect ~80 year old people in the hopes of ‘fixing things’.

Truth Social

Dave Smith, Thomas Massie, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Matt Gaetz, MTG, Hodgetwins , someone with the handle ‘chief trumpster’ and countless others are voicing their opposition to Trump’s new war. Trump has failed his base on many levels from Epstein to deportations but I think people were most attached to the promise of ‘no new wars’.

Trump the sell-out

Recycled Lies

Despite Tulsi Gabbard stating in March that Iran was not making Nukes, Trump stated ‘he does not care what she said’ [17]. The traitors in charge are now claiming that ‘Iran was days away’ from building a nuclear weapon. If that were true Iran would have nuclear weapons today, surface level damage to a couple sites would not stop the construction of a nuclear weapon and it certainly wasn’t being built at an under used airport or a TV station. This means one of two things, either Iran has nukes now and we need to adjust accordingly or Iran was NEVER building nukes and this was just a pure war of aggression by israel. Whichever one of those two scenarios is true, there is no reason for the United States to get involved.

The head of CENTCOM, General Kurilla, who is pushing for this war is a staunch zionist and war hawk[18]. Kurilla has recently gone in front of congress to parrot zionist talking points in an effort to mask the ongoing genocide in Gaza[19]. The claims in his ‘statement for the record’ from June 10th show the same tired talking point of Iran having 60% enriched Uranium which can be made into weapons in a week [20]. For context, see the article from 2021 stating the same, long known fact. The deterrent from Iran has always been ‘we could but we won’t’.

International Response

The “Western” powers all behave as expected backing israel in committing whatever crime it desires [21]. They were even so brazenly corrupt and cowardly to claim Iran was a ‘source of instability’ as israel launched ANOTHER war.

Several Israel-friendly governments in the Middle East condemned the israeli aggression including the Saudis, UAE, Qatar & Jordan [22]. The Saudis stated the “Security Council bear a great responsibility to immediately halt this aggression,”[23]. Despite the ‘condemnation’ these countries seem to still maintain ‘good’ relations with Israel, including Jordan aiding in shooting down Iranian missiles.

Turkey

“israel is risking its own existence and the future of its society step-by-step with every oppression it commits, every blood it sheds, every crime against humanity it commits” — Turkish President Erdogan [24]

Despite the strong condemnation & strong words, Turkey has not done anything in response to israel’s ongoing aggression. I view turkey as the frog in slowly warming water, always ‘waiting for the right time to act’.

Pakistan

Despite some claims that Pakistan had extended its nuclear umbrella to Iran, Pakistan refutes the claim though they are strongly opposed to israel’s actions[25]. For those that are thinking ‘well they wouldn’t admit it’ … That’s not how deterrence works! It is also worth understanding what is meant when they say the border is closed, Pakistan is not allowing Pakistanis to travel into Iran (for obvious security reasons).

Russia

Russia also condemned the israeli attack and called for negotiations. The Russian response to the idea of Regime change was more strongly worded[26]. After watching israel & the west topple the Russia friendly Assad regime in Syria, this is likely a bit too close to home for them [27]. I mentioned earlier my assessment of ‘regime change’ in Iran, but it is certainly worth noting the risk. Despite the aversion to regime change, I don’t think Russia will extend much to aid Iran directly, if I had to guess it could increase shipments of air defense when/if the direct conflict cools off a bit.

China

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake" — Napoleon Bonaparte

China strongly condemned the israeli attack on Iran[28], and it is important to note Chinese interests in the region. In the same CENTCOM document calling for war with Iran, they cite the fact that most Iranian oil goes to China “More than 85% of all illicit Iranian oil exports in 2024 went to the CCP with an average of 1.5 million barrels per day, accounting for 10% of total Chinese oil imports”. This only covers Iranian oil, this isn’t touching the other oil that flows through the straight of Hormuz (that Iran can close), 84% of that goes to Asia [29].

As we commit blunder after blunder, I think China would be happy to follow Napoleon’s advice. However, as we begin to encroach further on their strategic interests and threaten their economy, I wonder how long they will leave us un-interrupted.

Continuing Genocide

It is important to note despite the zionist cries about ‘civilian targets’ they are continuing to commit genocide in Gaza. Even the BBC is reporting on israel attacking starving Palestinians at aid stations[30]. They (BBC) likely know that people are no longer paying as much attention as a wider war looms. Do not allow the zionists to distract you, that is also part of their efforts, remember ALL of their ongoing crimes.

Conclusion

This war is not America’s war. This is a war that israel CHOSE to start, because they were certain they could get America to send our troops to die for them again. Let them fight their own war. We cannot win a war in Iran, we are only destabilizing things for future generations, we must choose peace. While evidence shows Iran was not pursuing a nuclear weapon, even if they had one they could not attack the United States. Mutually assured destruction would prevent them from using it on anyone the same as it prevents every nuclear nation from using them. Truly the only nation whose nuclear weapons I fear may be used are israel’s.

If we directly attack Iran it will solidify the message of 20+ years of aggressive foreign policy, that the only guarantee of peace is a nuclear weapon and that is a tragic & dangerous message to send.

Thomas Massie & Ro Khanna introduced a war powers resolution in the House & Kaine did in the senate, support their efforts to avoid war!

Contact The White House and demand NO WAR!

Contact your representative and demand NO WAR!

Contact your Senators and demand NO WAR!

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What are we doing?

Eomar — Tue, 27 May 2025 21:15:33 GMT

“What are we doing?” A simple question posed by podcaster Theo Von in his recognition of the genocide in Gaza. Well, ‘we’ a nation (at least here in the US) are enabling a genocide, we are enabling the starvation & slaughter of children for over 18 months. Theo rightly points out that our individual ability to enact change is limited if not non-existent. What matters, and what I hope you all realize is that you ARE responsible for what you do… or don’t do.

Your Duty

"It is thy duty to order thy life well in every single act; and if every act does its duty, as far as is possible, be content; and no one is able to hinder thee so that each act shall not do its duty. But something external will stand in the way. Nothing will stand in the way of thy acting justly and soberly and considerately. " — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“What is good has been explained to you, man; this is what Yahweh asks of you: only this, to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God” — Micah 6:8

Think on this and ask yourself, “What am I doing”? Is it enough that when you look back you won’t hang your head in shame? Is it enough so that when your children, grand children or Creator ask, you can answer without trepidation? THAT is what you must strive for. Do the good you can do. If you have a platform, use it to at the very least oppose genocide, if you can’t do that really think on what you are valuing. Whatever ‘small’ amount of Good you do DOES have an impact, it may be hard to see it on the world, but it has an impact on YOU and that is all that you are likely able to control.

Destroying their control

Theo Von’s heartfelt acknowledgment of the genocide is one of an increasing number of cracks in the zionist’s propaganda armor. In the face of such clear horror & evil, good honest people are speaking out, regardless of what consequences the zionist controlled propaganda apparatus may try to enact.

Ms. Rachel is being demonized by zionist controlled media for simply praying FOR CHILDREN’S SAFETY! “Stopantisemitism” a zionist propaganda group using ‘hate speech’ accusations to provide cover for israel’s crimes against Palestinians, literally described “this is a prayer for children in Gaza… Please stop hurting them” as “Hamas-like” [1]. The absurdity of this was apparently lost on the ~~zionist agents~~ NYPOST writers.

Note: if you want to read more on israeli intelligence-run (or “affiliated”) groups you should read Spy Fail from James Bamford.

NYPOST

When Douglass Murray went on Joe Rogan “to debate” comic & podcaster Dave Smith on the ‘war in Gaza’, he immediately began attacking Joe. Not because Joe did anything in that moment, but because, according to Murray, Joe (essentially) had too many ‘non-experts’ on. This scorched earth attack, rather than win anyone over revealed the truth to any honest witness, there is nothing defensible about what Israel is doing. Joe seems to speak with much more conviction now in regards to what israel is doing than he was before the ‘debate’. What lasting impact did Murray have? Only the enshrinement of “but have you ever beeeeeeeeen??” in the lexicon of all of us mocking the zionist’s propaganda.

“Leaders”

“A passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils…And it gives ambitious, corrupted or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country without Odium, sometimes even with popularity…” — George Washington, Farewell Address 1796 (I know I quote this a lot, it’s unfortunately very relevant)

While I can understand a ‘regular' citizen, being uninformed/ignorant of what is going on, ‘our leaders’ have no excuse. We should demand that our politicians truly put America first, that their default and unwavering position is that they are opposed to the slaughter of children and that they certainly won’t allow US taxpayer money to help assist such a slaughter.

There are very few who can check any of these boxes, Thomas Massie is the standard that we should hold all others to. If they aren’t as good as him they should be removed from office. Massie shines the light of truth on many of the lies and we have seen how violently the liars recoil from those truths. A surprise to me (perhaps my own bias, not sure) is Marjorie Taylor Greene recently has been making some pretty sensible statements (pictured below). Hopefully more follow suit, again the bar we are setting here is simply ‘don’t sacrifice our interests for a foreign nation’ or put another way, ‘don’t be treasonous’.

Even MTG gets the idea!

On the other side of the spectrum we have ~~Jabba the Floridian~~ Rep Randy Fine, who has called for literally nuking Gaza [2]. While many states have passed unconstitutional laws demanding ‘pledges’ for Israel, Gov Abbott of Texas recently took it to a new level. San Marcos, found that $4.4 of its taxes were going directly to Israel, in a proposed resolution, they recognized the absurd brutality of the israeli regime and the ‘basic First Amendment Rights’ of its citizens [3]. For ‘threatening’ to be decent human beings & for the crime of wanting to use their money to better than town instead of bombing children, Abbot threatened to cut the city off from state aid. His unAmerican, foreign loyalty is a disgrace and should render him ineligible for office (along with all the other traitors).

The Church

The day before his death Pope Francis used his Easter message to bring attention to the plight of Palestinians in Gaza & to call for peace [4] . He had previously (accurately) referred to israeli murdering innocent men woman and children as “terrorism” [5]. Additionally, he said in a call with israeli officials that it is “forbidden to respond to terror with terror”[6]. Notably, upon his death the israeli government shared, then deleted a post offering condolences [7], clearly they are no ‘friend’ to the church.

Pope Leo used his first general address to again call for peace & decency. “I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entrance of dignified humanitarian aid to Gaza and to put an end to the hostilities whose heartbreaking price is being paid by children, the elderly and sick people,”[8]. While I appreciate him continuing to draw attention to the issue, I hope he sheds all subtleties and calls them out forcefully.

There is no room for Zionism in Christianity. It is a thoroughly evil ideology which is now responsible for the slaughter of countless men, women & children. They are not content to do it alone, they seek to corrupt and pervert Good people throughout the world to their cause. If that is not the definition of evil that The Church is made to oppose, I don’t know what is.

On “protocol”

"The protocol is that American presidents and vice presidents do not bow before foreign leaders and do not kiss any rings. And obviously, given our history, you can appreciate that," — Vice President JD Vance

Fair enough, I can understand this, but once you take it out of isolation and look at the entirety of behavior, it becomes more absurd. First off, only the most miserable of people (who wont vote for him anyway) would claim a bow or even kissing the ring (which has even been recently discouraged by Popes) is professing subservience (in the political sense). Second, we have seen PLENTY of politicians, including Vance, openly show subservience to zionist leaders. It’s not a ring but that wall might as well be. To be clear my issue isn’t with Vance not kissing the ring, its with him being inconsistent on jumping through the hoops of other ‘foreign leaders’ but drawing the line here.

Having an effect

We can see in polls that Americans have now, finally shifted away from israel, less than half of Americans are ‘more sympathetic' to Israel [9]. According to a PEW poll, more than half of American adults express an unfavorable opinion of israel [10]. We aren’t Free yet, but we are finally (!) moving in the right direction.

While there never was a legitimate ‘voting block’ for zionists (see The Zionist Voter), it was always used as cover for outright corruption & evil. As polls continue to shift the cover this lie provides will shrink. I believe already the opposition (as expressed by MTG above) has led to our capitulation with Yemen. The United States did not win there and the American people made it clear we weren’t interested in more wars for Israel, especially as things got increasingly dangerous for our antiquated carrier groups.

Pressure is also increasing from Europe, a joint statement calling for “full resumption of aid into Gaza” was signed by over a dozen countries [11]. At the UN, 80 members signed a declaration stating “The protection of civilians is not optional. It is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law, and a moral imperative we cannot afford to neglect," and that Gaza is facing the “worst Humanitarian Crisis”[12]. More European countries are warning of potential sanctions on israel & the UK put sanctions on settler organizations and suspended free trade talks with Israel [13].

Desperation

Netanyahu has become increasingly desperate to keep wars ongoing, even as Trump reportedly stated “We will abandon you if you do not end this war”[14]. I honestly doubt the authenticity of that statement , but I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump is beginning to feel the pressure of a population tired of israel’s wars. Newer reports claim that israel is planning to “unilaterally” attack Iran’s nuclear sites[15]. It is important to note that Israel cannot defeat Iran, the US who just effectively lost to Yemen ALSO cannot defeat Iran. This doesn’t matter to israel, they will gladly start a war to lure us in & have us fight & die for them, as long as it makes Iran just a bit weaker.

Violence & Hate

“ Never repay evil with evil but let everyone see that you are interested only in the highest ideals. Do all you can to live at peace with everyone. Never try to get revenge; leave that my friends, to God’s anger As scripture says: vengeance is mine — I will pay them back, The Lord promises…” — Romans 12:17-20

A couple months into the genocide I wrote ‘Guarding your Humanity’, in it I wrote about the dangers of filling ourselves with the same hate that has clearly taken over the zionists. I know what israel is doing is evil, there is NO question. The evils that gave birth to zionism have become its foundation. I know MANY, MANY israelis are complicit if not actively engaged in supporting it. I still see too many parallels in the murder of low level bureaucrats here in DC with how israel claims anyone with any ties to ‘government’ in Gaza “is Khhhhamas”.

I warned in that article how “antisemitism” (real & imagined) gives cover for our corrupt politicians to hide behind and that has not changed. Rodriguez, the gunman in this recent attack is the MVP of the zionist movement right now. As their narrative crumbled he gifted them this attack and they came out in force.

It is unclear if this attack was actually ‘anti-Semitic’, as in he shot these people for “being Jewish” (one of them wasn’t), or if it was a targeted attack due to their (low-level) role in the Israeli government. In his manifesto, he spoke only of Israel’s crimes & not ‘Jews’ so I (for now) assume this was a targeted attack.

Regardless of his motivations & ‘targeting process’ , “our” representatives who are almost entirely owned & operated by israel, will use this to ramp up the attack on our right to free speech. This attack didn’t ‘help’ any Palestinian, the story went from israel shooting at European diplomats [16] in Palestine and starving 14,000 babies to the risk of imminent death [17] to ‘two israelis shot and killed in attack’. Unsurprisingly the zionist controlled corporate media (like the NYpost mentioned above) ran it as the main story, israeli crimes were no where to be found.

Conclusion

"Remember that as it is a shame to be surprised if the fig-tree produces figs, so it is to be surprised if the world produces such and such things of which it is productive" — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

You should not be surprised that people fed decades of zionist propaganda don’t suddenly see how evil zionism is. Over the past 18 months many of us, like Theo, have had that feeling of helplessness as you look on in horror at what ‘our’ governments are doing. As an individual we are not capable of deciding what our fellow countrymen do, nor are we single handedly capable of deciding what our government does. All we can control is our own actions. If we all do our individual duty, we will erode & destroy the wall of propaganda that enables this (and other) evil.

“If, however, you do warn a wicked man to renounce his ways and repent, and he does not repent, then he shall die for his sin, but you yourself will have saved your life” — Ezekiel 33:

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NOSTR & Free Speech

Eomar — Sun, 13 Apr 2025 02:47:49 GMT

Maintaining our rights is not ‘easy’ and we will lose them if we remain idle. They say there is a reason the First Amendment covers speech & the Second covers our right to bear arms. These two rights are critical to maintaining all other freedoms. Our founders understood the power of decentralization when they enshrined the right for the PEOPLE to bear arms in the Bill of Rights. Free speech obviously applies to the people, but until recently we didn’t have a truly decentralized way to amplify our voices.

Legacy Media

The flaw with legacy, corporate media is that it is inherently centralized. While each individual reporter may work ‘independently’ they must get approval from editor who answer to bosses who answer to a smaller & smaller group of people. Even those who are well intentioned could see retaliation for stepping out of line and for many, especially those with family, the perceived risk is too great.

Social Media Platforms

Social media companies were initially the ‘cure’ to the legacy media. The people posting do not go through editors, they can post raw, uncensored material… right? Unfortunately, while that was the initial promise of social media it has been effectively curtailed. Mark Zuckerberg (facebook/instagram/meta) ‘promises to do better’ and openly talks about how the United States government pressured him & his employees to censor Americans, including things as trivial as memes[1]! Elon Musk bought Twitter and shared censorship details with who published the ‘twitter files’ showing how bad that had gotten. Unfortunately, Musk for all the good he has done and in my opinion still does via X, is also censoring people [2] [3]. A reoccurring theme I have seen is larger accounts being suspended and people rallying successfully to reinstate them. There is no rally for the small random user.

The best ‘centralized’ platform in terms of free speech is I believe this one, . What gives Substack its resilience is the fact that it does not rely on advertiser dollars. Instead Substack takes (in my opinion) a fair share of any subscriber revenue generated. To be clear, I don’t really know of how Substack’s algorithm works but I haven’t seen anyone here be banned. The leadership of Substack actually faced calls to ban ‘nazis’ from the platform and refused, some popular writers abandoned the platform as a result [4]. Everyone says they are ‘for free speech’, but increasingly few stand up for speech they disapprove of. What people & platforms do when pressured is what really matters, so far, Substack is holding strong.

Decentralization

In the 2A world, a centralized system would be police, decentralized would be you owning (and hopefully training with) a firearm. It is easier to simply call the police, but you are much safer if you are armed & know how to use a firearm. The difference could very well save your life. It is similar with free speech.

Legacy (corporate) media is the most centralized form of sharing information. It is easily corruptible and almost entirely captured by governments throughout the world. We see how social media platforms, while comprised of decentralized individuals are subject to a centralized control system which shape narratives & opinions. Even platforms that have thus far held strong in favor of free speech like Substack and at least to a degree X, are subject to government force. True decentralization means a system without a CEO, without a board, without advertisers, without corporate data centers & costs. To censor on a decentralized, distributed network is an extremely difficult task, there is no single point of failure.

NOSTR

“Nostr itself is just a protocol; an agreed upon procedure for passing messages around on the internet.” - NOSTR.How [5]

If, like me, hearing ‘it’s a protocol’ doesn’t clear things up for you, perhaps it will help to understand that email is a protocol. You may have seen SMTP/IMAP when setting up your email on different devices[6], these are protocols. To utilize the NOSTR protocol you utilize your choice of ‘client’ which is discussed further below. Think of how you can have an email address & access it through different apps.

Public Key & Private Key

Your public key, often referred to as ‘npub’, is how you identify yourself, it is like your username on other apps. While you can still attach a human readable ‘profile name’ on top of this it is not the same as a ‘username’ and is not how you are truly identified. After asking on the Bitcoin Veterans back channels, one of the many smart people there replied (paraphrasing a bit) ‘everything in NOSTR is an event… so updating profile information is an event that’s set up display name [etc]… the client [primal etc] looks for these events to populate your information’. Looking further into this confirms EVERYTHING is indeed an event and the client [primal etc] is ensuring that you are signing each event (with your private key) [7].

Seriously, if you are interested in this kind of stuff, go sign up at BitcoinVeterans.org (you don’t have to be a veteran), the group there is a great resource! The explanation i got above made researching this much easier!

On Primal, I can search for ‘eomar’ and see results for my profile, but if I went to another app (say Damus), I would need my npub to be able to log in etc.

Search for ‘Eomar’ yields results!

Profile name:

Eomar - Diligent.news

Public Key: npub1e53z3g8c0cz84t8ca8emx2s6emehzzssxmmnqrd2pwx9m5aswn4sulhrsa

NOSTR Apps

NOSTR is not a company, it has no CEO or board. There is no single point of failure for NOSTR, there are no investors that demand ever increasing revenues. The protocol exists & people can build ‘clients’ to access it. Anyone can make an app built upon the NOSTR network. Popular ones include Primal, Damus, Amethyst etc.. Personally, I have only really used Primal, though I have heard good things about other apps.

Lightning

For some small, or exchange type transactions, the time it takes to verify a transaction with Bitcoin was seen as prohibitive. If you are buying a cup of coffee, you don’t want to have to stand around waiting for the transaction to be confirmed before heading on your way. Lightning is ‘a layer’ on top of Bitcoin. In “Choose Bitcoin” I discussed the idea of ‘layers’ (see screenshot below). With lightning Bitcoin is the ‘first layer’ or base layer, it is the thing of ‘undeniable value’, lightning is ‘layer 2’ on top of that. By operating as a ‘layer 2’ on top of Bitcoin, it is still transacting Bitcoin, but it is NOT on the core chain.

Getting Started

This is looking at using lightning on NOSTR for zaps. You don’t NEED to use lightning/zaps to use NOSTR. The protocol is free to use, integrating lightning just makes it a little better as you can instantly send a few Sats to posts you really enjoy. If you just want a lightning wallet, you could basically follow the steps in ‘option 2’ below. This ‘guide’ assumes you have signed up on Primal (or another client) and have your private/public key.

Option 1

I think the easiest way is to probably use Primal’s built in wallet, due to where I live, I cant do that. BTC_Sessions, who was also a guest on the Bitcoin Veterans X space which I frequently speak on, has a video on it.

Option 2

This is the method I ultimately went with, it was messy getting here (maybe ill add the other notes in if people are interested). I assume you signed up via Primal so you have your private/public key. You can then go to coinos.io to setup a wallet, you can sign in using your NOSTR private key here as well (cool right?). This will create a wallet so you can get ‘zaps’. Click receive (on YOUR wallet, don’t use mine unless you want to donate to me lol).

You can then find/utilize an exchange that moves your ‘on chain’ Bitcoin to Lightning. I’ve heard something like boltz.exchange works well. For any of these, please, please, make sure they are reputable so you don’t lose your bitcoin. As with anything, I recommend small amounts so if you mess up you aren’t hurt too much by it. You can then drop the invoice info from above into the text spot (as seen below) and ‘create atomic swap’. The technical aspects of all this are honestly beyond me, but following these steps was the shortest route I found (without using primal wallet - I assume) to get bitcoin on the lightning network.

Alby

Last piece of this setup is Alby or some comparable alternative. You can sign up for Alby using your email address. Once done it will ask you to sign up for Alby hub which is a paid service (again a more streamlined option, but avoidable). If you followed the steps above, you should see an option to ‘connect a wallet’ It will ask for a connection string which you can get from coinos . Once this is setup make sure you install the browser extension and set it up (I think it requires your NOSTR key) . When you go to primal you can click on the icon on your browser to open & connect the extension to the site.

notes:

this is from memory, so I might be missing something here, will update as needed
Zeus was one of the other options I tried that i generally liked, but coinos seemed simpler and integrated with Alby via NWC

Zaps

If you have your wallet and everything setup, you should now be able to zap in primal. I recommend finding a good post and start zapping, I think I zapped a fellow Bitcoin Veteran to start. Alby should pop up to confirm, you can adjust the threshold for confirmation if you find the extra click too tedious.

Content

The biggest challenge to NOSTR is not everyone is on there yet. This however is also an opportunity, if you are creating great content, people there are hungry for it. I have been making an effort to mirror relevant posts to NOSTR as an effort to ensure more people find value in it. I am admittedly still mostly on twitter despite consistently having to duck & dodge various censorship attempts either by ‘x’ itself or just nefarious actors mass reporting me.

Popular enough that i made some sats on this post!

Government attacks on speech

I started writing this back in February (I got too busy to finish it!!), since then the US government under Donald Trump has taken drastic actions to curtail free speech in the United States. Under the guise of ‘combatting anti-Semitism’ (protecting Israel), the US government has established the concept of ‘illegal ideas’. I see this as a direct path to forcing aggressive censorship by social media platforms as described above and worse, increasing legal consequences for American citizens with ‘wrong think’.

A now deleted X post by ICE

Additionally, while those platforms all require & collect identifying information, as far as I can tell, you can maintain anonymity via NOSTR as the only identifier that is required to post is your public/private key (which it provides to you). If managed correctly, it will be much harder to tie your NOSTR posts to you than your centralized social media posts.

Conclusion

The attacks on free speech come from various angles, those seeking ‘advertisers’ & those simply seeking control. NOSTR is decentralized and resistant if not immune to hostile actions by ‘authorities’. There will be no ‘heroes’ or ‘champions’ of your rights that care more than you do. We saw & continue to see how even some of the richest people in the world can be bent to the will of nefarious actors. Decentralization is key to maintaining your rights, decentralized security (firearms), decentralized speech (NOSTR) & decentralized money (Bitcoin). All of them take more work than ‘convenient’ alternatives, but all of them better protect you & your freedom.

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Resources

JFK Files

Eomar — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 23:35:12 GMT

The JFK files were released and there is a TON of ‘noise’. Lots of seemingly random intel, some of it was previously released, now released ‘without redactions’. Some of it may be new. I’m NOT a JFK assassination expert by any means, the past 36 hours is the most research I have done on the topic. This article is intended as an overview of what I thought was interesting in the most recent file release.

A ‘quick’ search

When it was first released, I randomly clicked on some documents and it was a completely useless attempt. Eventually someone on X pointed me towards the Angleton files which are interesting. The ‘gold mine’ however was finding a searchable text file. I had thought of doing what this guy did but he beat me to it (thankfully, mine would have been messier I think!) ! To ensure accuracy, when i found something of interest I went and searched for the actual document and reviewed it.

The “CIA” did it!?

It is important to contextualize the files, for example, this isn’t the CIA officially taking the position stated, it is them collecting the information. That said, the stuff they collected, shared & didn’t share is pretty telling.

“Gary” Underhill was a former military intelligence analyst & a ‘not employee’ of the CIA[1]. Shortly after JFK’s assassination, he fled DC & told his friend that he feared for his life, claiming a rogue group in the CIA killed JFK.

Who at the CIA ?

Head of 'special projects' James Angleton. Generally ‘special projects’, at least at the time is reported to have focused on counter intelligence. If you look up ‘special activities’ of the CIA today however it conducts ‘direct action missions such as raids, ambushes, sabotage & targeted killings’ [wiki]. I wonder if its ‘roots’ are more in the open now that America is more ‘comfortable’ (or simply accustomed to) what the CIA does.

We see here that Angleton reported only to and directly to the director of the CIA, who, at the time of that report, was Allen Dulles. After the Bay of Pigs, Dulles was forced out of the CIA by JFK. It is worth noting some (i think it was Stone on Joe Rogan) theorize that special operator types that were stranded without air cover thanks to JFK were enraged by what they saw as betrayal and looking for vengeance. The other side of Angleton that is of note is his very close & secret ties to Israeli Intelligence, he specifically requested that these ties be hidden from other agencies, like the FBI who works counter-intelligence in the United States.

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His method of circumventing all channels and only reporting to the director (Allen Dulles at the time) was also considered ‘unusual’. It is worth noting the ongoing and deep ties that Angleton had with israel. These ties went so deep that he allegedly worked to undermine our non-proliferation efforts in support of israel acquiring nuclear weapons [2] and his relationship continued well after his ‘retirement’.

CIA.gov

More Depth to the Israel Relationship

I think one of the most interesting aspects of Angleton’s testimony was getting some clues to how his allegiance apparently shifted.

Angleton’s first ‘question’ in regards to Israel was what to do with Jews they had detained, release them or turn them over to the British, he chose to release them. His later testimony reveals a bit more of his thinking, there were “three million Jews in the Soviet Union. And the relationship is the only place where you do it with high level agencies who work for ideology and do not work for money”. To Angleton, Jews could be a tool to gain access into the USSR if only we support them. He also discussed how well this functioned.

While initially Angleton saw Jews/Israelis as a tool to be used, I believe his close & personal ties eventually overcame his loyalty to the United States, though perhaps not in HIS mind. He discussed how they ensured, whoever was ‘in charge’ KNEW how this ‘special relationship’ worked, even though they made sure not to write it down…

Later in his testimony, he seemed incapable of comprehending the idea that Israel’s & America’s interest are NOT the same. This thought process plagues many politicians today. Even as he talks about them finding loopholes to undermine our interests he seemingly excuses it because ‘we didn’t have any agreements with them’.

He discusses here an ‘agreement’ that they would work together against ‘soviet bloc intelligence & communism’ but not ‘against the Arabs’.

I think it is important to think of that ‘agreement’ and the False flag attack on the USS Liberty that occurred in 1967. It was a blatant and coordinated effort between Israel (who attacked our ship & killed our sailors) and LBJ et al who sent them there and abandoned them, to get America DIRECTLY involved in the war. We also see the blatant sharing of nuclear secrets below.

More on the theft of nuclear material

Here we have open admission by the FBI of their monitoring individuals who (we now know) had a direct hand in the smuggling of nuclear material to israel. This not only shows a dramatic shift from the JFK policy of wanting to ensure israel didn’t get nukes, to a new one where our intel agencies watch as they steal them (again read SpyFail if this is on particular interest to you). This is also a shift in Angleton’s agreement as nuclear armament is certainly ‘helping israel’ directly against ‘the Arabs’.

File Link

In Angleton’s testimony, he is asked several times about him and/or the CIA aiding israel in getting Nuclear weapons. It is important to note that today, officially, the US pretends Israel doesn’t have nukes because it would be a violation of US law for us to send them weapons “if” they did. This means at minimum, every transfer of arms to Israel since ~1975 has violated US & international law.

It is truly a shame that we don’t know what is ‘off the record’ here. He is asked again and he goes on meandering answers, a tactic used when trying to obfuscate the truth by avoiding an actual answer. Later, when someone tries to cut through his nonsense and asks AGAIN directly, they AGAIN go ‘off the record’ for his response. It is hard to ask for better evidence of our intel agencies’ complicity than what was in these files.

I really do think Angleton’s testimony was incredibly interesting and worth reading. The link for this 112 page interview is here, the below screenshots are all from his testimony.

CIA Motive

This video gives a good quick rundown on motives and theories related to JFK’s assassination. Essentially (and sorry for not dropping more sources here but should be easy to find), JFK pulled air support from the Bay of Pigs invasion at ‘the last minute’. This left a lot of the clandestine ‘operator’ types (think special forces, black ops etc) feeling betrayed, abandoned, angry & vengeful. JFK essentially blamed Dulles, then the CIA director & close associate of Angleton, for the failure. Dulles was fired along with many others.

Israel Motive

On the Israel side, JFK wanted to prevent Israel from getting nukes and wrote some ‘strongly worded letters’ to this effect. JFK also was reportedly planning to support a resolution demanding that displaced Palestinians be allowed to return to ‘israel’ (as is the norm under international law), the israelis saw this as more dangerous than all the military forces on their borders. JFK had also been quoted saying “Palestine was hardly Britain’s to give away”[3]. Another, ‘fatal blow’ to the relationship was the insistence that the American Zionist Council (AZC) register as required under FARA [4].

Not helping the ‘israel had nothing to do with it’ case is the fact that previously the CIA had been comfortable releasing many files… as long as any mention of israel was redacted. Another file highlights specific interest in Jack “Ruby” Rubenstein’s travel to israel . The interest in Israel & the subsequent efforts to hide israel from releases begs the question of ‘why’?

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Another file that began making rounds was actually part of a previous release but adds more weight to the belief that israeli intelligence had a part in assassinating JFK.

File link

A file pertaining to “Alpha 66”, a Cuban resistance group, provides a really key piece of information coming from an article it contains. “Cuban Jews in exile…are furious” that while Jews can essentially break the law for israel, they cannot do so for Cuba. The question I asked myself after reading this is: were there ‘operators’ ‘betrayed’ at the Bay of Pigs, also loyal to israel with many motives to act?

File Link

To save ‘his’ relationship

Angleton mentions how he personally created, nurtured & grew this relationship. It seems if he had a ‘life’s work’ to that point it was the US-Israel relationship. His personal relationship with israel crossed boundaries & destroyed his loyalty to the United States. JFK’s policies would have DESTROYED his ‘special relationship’ with israel & israeli intelligence, it would have destroyed his life’s work.

If I am being charitable, I would make the case that Angleton saw the USSR as such a threat & israelis/Jews as such a useful tool, that he would sacrifice everything else to maintain the relationship. Regardless, to me it is clear that he valued his relationship with Israeli Intelligence more than anything else. Angleton literally quits when Colby tries to change the nature of this ‘relationship’.

That blacked out section is a bit hard to read so it is typed here: “I gradually endeavored to open up the Israeli account to a better relationship with our other near eastern activities. We debated this over many months and on several occasions. We could never really agree to it because he insisted on the importance of retaining it where it was. Mr. Angleton had done a very good job of establishing that liaison years ago and knew a lot of the senior israeli who were involved in it. I believe there was inadequate coordination in the Arab areas.”

File Link

Unsurprisingly, when Colby begins discussing the “special way the ‘israel account’ had been handled under Mr. Angleton”, the transcript is missing…

File Link

Silencers & white smoke

I thought it strange that this was in the files, I asked ChatGPT about ‘cream of wheat’ in ammo, it replied “Yes, Using cream of wheat as a filler in underlaoded ammunition can produce more distinct white puffs of smoke when shooting”, which is notable given the context of the above short documentary (screenshot below). Again, I wonder why THEY underline the piece about muzzle flashes.

File link

In an interview (mentioned below) there is talk of ‘False flag’ operations, while not a ‘new’ idea at the time it was talked of in a way that seems it also wasn’t “well known”. The other interesting piece of information is that the CIA supplied ‘infiltrators’ with FN-Fal rifles (chambered in 7.62). This is made more interesting because of the lies around the ‘magic bullet’ and the ‘lone gunman’.

File link

File Link

Questioning CIA ‘authorization’ to distribute arms link

Assassination experience

More prevalent in the 2nd drop of information is the CIA’s ‘familiarity’ with assassinations.

File Link

I didn’t initially mention it, but another ‘hand’ in the murder of JFK was supposedly the mafia, which makes this section on John Roselli interesting. It directly ties the CIA to the mob for the purposes of carrying out assassinations.

File Link

This screenshot from Colby’s testimony shows again the discussions of and familiarity with assassinations. When he begins to talk about how the CIA would essentially hide the money for assassinations 6 pages of testimony go missing…

Another document, an interview with a Mr.Taylor, reveals a CIA connection directly to Oswald. George De Mohrenschildt (see previously released docs). Mr. Taylor noted how strange Oswald was and how strange De Mohrenschildt’s relationship with him was. This included providing Oswald with money & clothing.

This guy Definitely committed suicide, right?

We STILL don’t have all the info

Surprise!! Despite ‘what is available’ being provided ‘unredacted’, the files are not complete. I think its worth noting that Trump once reportedly said ‘If you saw what was in there you wouldn’t release it either’ and/or ‘it is so horrible you wouldn’t believe it’. NOTHING in these files rises to that level, so where are the rest of the files, what are they STILL hiding?

The first file below shows that they destroyed a ‘control file’ which consisted of copies of communications from Angleton. They state these are mere ‘copies’ and originals exist, but now that the control file is gone, there is literally no way to know. It is also worth mentioning again, Angleton’s close ties with israeli intelligence which is noted here as well.

file link

In this file, I noticed gaps in the transcription as I was reading, I looked through to see if it was just copied out of order, but it was not. Large swaths of this document (maybe others, i didn’t really check) are missing. Initially I shrugged and moved on but the missing part here seems like it would cover some pertinent information. “Mr. Phillips” asserted that he wasn’t ‘comfortable’ with assassinating someone, but ok with ‘overthrowing’ them (in reference to his work in South America). Senator Schweiker began asking for some clarification on this ‘personal commitment line’ and we then lose 7 pages of the conversation. This occurs several more times with no indication (from these at least) as to why.

File Link

Additional examples

Angleton’s testimony, to me one of the most interesting documents I have found yet, ends in an ‘off the record’ discussion & I view that as the perfect summation of all of this ‘disclosure’.

Conclusion

This article is meant just as a quick overview & highlight of the recent file release and in no way a ‘definitive work’ on the JFK assassination. There are people who have put in WAY more time than me on this. I see a lot of people recommending Ryan Dawson and Roger Stone, both have done a lot of research on it and I assume are good sources (I’m assuming because honestly, I haven’t looked far into their work either).

I generally accept the theory that people in the CIA with unchecked power & the partnership of israeli intelligence (and perhaps others) assassinated JFK . There are too many ‘oddities’ to overlook. Oswald whether an actual ‘trigger puller’ or not, seems like the first ‘line of defense’ in the ‘false flag’ setup. The next line of defense was the FN-Fal’s fitted with silencers that were ‘given to Cubans’ that JFK “abandoned” at Bay of Pigs. At the time, the Oswald story of a ‘lone gunman’ with a ‘magic bullet’ held well enough that they committed to it. Now they are stuck with it, even as it crumbles & convinces only the most uninformed.

The clear motive of israel & the effort taken to obfuscate the connections to israeli intelligence set off the ‘alarm bells’ of many people. I think the actions that follow JFK’s assassination truly incriminate israeli intelligence. Reading through SpyFail, you can see how the entire intelligence apparatus ‘looks away’ as israel stole secrets & even key material for building nuclear bombs. Perhaps it started as LBJ ‘returning the favor’, perhaps it was rogue groups drunk on power after killing a President. The question I have now is why do we allow it to continue today? Who is truly running things if our President’s cannot put OUR interests first?

As for the ‘truth’ behind JFK’s assassination, I don’t think our government intends to give us any more information & I didn’t see any ‘big reveal’. I think they leaked enough for those that put in time to come to ‘close enough’ conclusions while ensuring the shadowy agencies responsible don’t get too worked up & can keep doing what they want to do.

Twitter thread where i’ll add more as i come across it (if it reaches a certain threshold ill again update this article)

Notes:

There was a second file drop that I initially missed I did a similar ‘quick scan and incorporated interesting files into the article on 3/21/2025
There was a 3rd drop on 3/21/2025, I have not yet read these, I will try to and again add what i find relevant.
This is NOT an exhaustive project. I am using using python & google gemini to take the non-searchable PDFs and turn them into text so i can look through ‘quickly’ for things of interest, the script sometimes truncates the text, meaning i probably missed some stuff. Really interesting stuff, like Angleton’s testimony I read through the entire PDF.

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Additional interesting files

There were some other files that were of random interest that I didn’t think quite fit into the overall article above, but are still worth a glance.

The formation of the idea that would become USAID:

There were at least two instances where ‘sources’ had the belief that Israel had a hand in killing JFK. I think its worth noting that the idea was out there at the time and I think it helps build the case, but I don’t consider this a ‘smoking gun’.

File Link

Mention of Rothschild Palace in Paris:

Resources

https://www.newsweek.com/cia-responsible-jfk-assassination-garry-underhill-2047111
https://mondoweiss.net/2017/11/golem-angleton-israel/
https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkpof-135-001#?image_identifier=JFKPOF-135-001-p0002
https://www.laprogressive.com/foreign-policy/from-dallas-to-gaza

The Trump Doctrine

Eomar — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 01:23:43 GMT

The US empire is facing multiple challenges with the evidence piling up to near catastrophic levels in the past few years. There is a saying amongst my fellow Marines, “we don’t retreat we attack in a different direction” that I think is applicable to what we are seeing from the Trump administration . A myriad of announcements, provocations & Executive Orders have shown Trumps focus on the Western Hemisphere as he also (seemingly) works to reduce our role on the global stage.

The End of Global Hegemony

First, I want to note that our empire, as it exists today, harms the American people. I provide an overview of the many challenges the US is facing in America’s Waning Power. Recently, several events have stood out as particularly damaging to American power & influence.

Disclosure: The book links in this article are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Diplomatic & Strategic Failures

Our chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, while the right move, was embarrassingly executed, especially since we had been there for so long. It gave the impression of us quite literally running from the country (after we spent trillions of dollars on the war & sacrificed thousands of American lives). On the tail of our defeat in Afghanistan , decades of provocations & diplomatic failures (intentional or not) culminated in the Russian invasion of Ukraine (I recommend Scott Horton’s “Provoked” to understand this more fully — I’m still reading it). As that was ongoing, Hamas carried out “Al Aqsa Flood” on 10/7 and we had another ~~leech sucking our resources~~ nation demanding support for their war. Our blank check support for Israel’s genocide is an ongoing failure that continues to destroy our reputation as I detailed in several of my previous articles.

Economic Warfare

The misuse of our economic weapons by the Biden administration were massive. We exposed the weakness of our primary ‘first strike’ weapon, sanctions. In America’s Waning Power, I describe how even our own allies circumvented the sanctions on Russia. Further exacerbating our weakness, we removed Russia from SWIFT and seized their reserves. This sent a strong signal that the dollar is only good as a reserve ‘if you behave’. In previous years there was no viable alternative, today we have Bitcoin. I describe how Bitcoin is a real, viable alternative in ‘Choose Bitcoin’. A key point to remember, Russia, China, the BRICS et al who have largely been victimized by the dollar do not need THEIR currency to be the ‘reserve currency’ they just need the dollar NOT to be. Bitcoin offers a neutral solution.

Supply Chain

With ‘only’ the Ukraine war to support our munition stockpiles were being depleted and the weakness in our manufacturing was being exposed. When we added in our blind support of Israel’s genocide, the tax on our system became extreme. America’s Waning Power provides an initial look, while A Wider War: Supply Chain & restraint revisits the issue (in October of 2024). For context, the US makes ~360,000 155 rounds a year, the rest of NATO makes ~840,000, Russia makes ~3 million a year . The shortage imposed on Ukraine results in a higher casualty rate. Israel operations are massively demanding & they were using munitions manufactured in 1953 in order to keep up the pressure. (all of the sources and more details are available here).

Capabilities & Vulnerabilities

As I argue in America’s Waning Power & American Victory, our large expensive systems are increasingly vulnerable and incapable of carrying out our mission of ‘force projection’. Our carrier groups sat off the coast of Yemen, a nation without a navy and came out of it exhausted and experiencing the “most intense combat since WW2” [1]. Yemen, one of the poorest nations in the world not only stood up to our Navy, they did so while launching domestically produced hypersonic Palestine 2 missiles into Tel-Aviv [2].

Russia, after being further provoked by American backed strikes, displayed its capabilities with the Oreshnik missile strikes[3]. Shortly after the strike, analysts acknowledged they could also carry nuclear payloads[4]. We have saw there & in israel the difficulties ‘our’ systems have in defeating hypersonic missiles. While we have yet to see such a weapon aimed at a carrier, we should not think they are the invulnerable fortresses they once were.

All of these wars occur as China sits on the sideline & watches us stumble from catastrophic blunder to catastrophic blunder. As an X user appropriately noted (I think quoting Napoleon?), “Don’t interrupt your enemy while they are making a mistake” .

Withdrawal

A (slightly) modified Monroe Doctrine Political Cartoon

Palestine & the Middle East

“The Future of Palestine” covers Trump’s “Gaza Plan” in more detail, but I will summarize here. Trump’s plan for Gaza is so wrought with errors & so contradictory to everything else I will lay out here that I am still of the mind that, despite his ties to Israel, this ‘plan’ is simply him “negotiating” with regional actors. I view this as him trying to dig israel out of the hole it made for itself.

As I lay out in The Future of Palestine, israel & the IDF lost in Gaza. We see further confirmation as Hamas citing Israeli violations of the ceasefire announced delaying further prisoner releases[5]. Later, in addition to threats of more violence, Israel allowed in more aid to shore up their side of the agreement and the ceasefire continued on as planned [6].

Note: I cover israel more at the end of this article too

The king of Jordan continues to grovel to Trump, yet the survivability of the state with another influx of refugees is doubtful [7]. Egypt has held a firmer stance against any ethnic cleansing, refusing to meet with Trump in regards to this plan [8]. As I believe Trump hoped for, they are planning to submit their own vision for Gaza reconstruction [9]. While the Saudi prince has long stated that normalization can only occur with a Palestinian state[10], the Abraham accords put that commitment to the test. October 7th and the subsequent genocide thrust Palestine back into the center of policy in the region. Trump’s plan received swift rejection from the Saudis. Israel subsequently “jokingly” proposed Saudi Arabia giving up land in support of the ethnic cleansing plan. The Saudis responded with “scathing state media campaign” where they questioned the sanity & mental state of Netanyahu amongst other criticisms[11].

Iran has been getting mixed signals from Trump. Trump mentioned his desire for “Iran to be a great country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon”[12] . Iran stated its willingness to negotiate but not under ‘maximum pressure’[13]. Meanwhile, Israel is continuing to try to push us into war with Iran on their behalf by getting Trump to back strikes against Iran [14]. Hopefully sanity prevails, Iran is a much more formidable enemy than those we have recently lost wars to.

Russia, Europe & NATO

The map below matches almost identically to the one that I used in America’s Waning Power to show that Russia had achieved its goals & Ukraine was not going to ‘win it back’. I, and others, have stated that peace should have been negotiated after the first Russian push was stalled/repelled or at the very start of the doomed ‘counteroffensive’ by Ukraine. The strategic position of Ukraine is going to continue to dwindle the longer this goes on (see above). While Zelensky asserts that they will “never recognize occupied territories as Russian”, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth acknowledges that it is “unrealistic” to seek the pre-2014 borders[15]. Trump’s plan seems to acknowledge some aspects needed for peace. Below are some things of note from his talk on Ukraine & Russia [16]:

Ukraine cannot join NATO
acknowledges the toll & cost on Ukraine but asserts that the US will be repaid for its ‘loans’ that supported the war
Ukraine is ‘unlikely’ to reclaim its land, but “some of it will come back”
wants people to stop being killed

This, among other things, is causing growing divide between America & our European allies. Poland is understandably VERY supportive of Ukraine, France asserted that Ukraine should remain on the ‘path’ of joining NATO & the UK defense minister asserted that they will ‘step up for Ukraine’ [17]. As Trump stated in a briefing, there is an ocean between us & Europe. What is vital for Europe, is not as vital for us & the contributions to NATO do not reflect that reality (I make a case for abandoning NATO entirely here).

While many are deriding Trump’s mineral deal with Zelensky [18], it does at the very least give the US a ‘vested interest’ in maintaining peace as war would cause disruptions in any industrial production there (whether this is ‘good’ is debatable). It seems, at least on this front, Trump is leaning more on ‘soft power’ hopes than military power.

On 2/28 as I was doing a final edit of this article, Zelensky, Trump & Vance met in the oval office and the meeting went as poor as it could for Zelensky. He came off as arrogant, unappreciative & combative towards the President & Vice President. Trump followed up the meeting with a post on social media (below), it appears that the support that Trump had until now promised to continue is off the table. Following this very public spat various European leaders have already voiced support for Zelensky, again emphasizing the ocean sized gap in American & European interests.

Asia

For those unfamiliar, Taiwan is a large point of contention in the US-China relationship. Our reliance on Taiwan is a real risk to our defense capabilities [19], 44.2% of our ‘logic chips’ and 24.4% of our ‘memory’ chips come from Taiwan [20]. While Trump isn’t the first to notice this vulnerability, he may be the most aggressive about it threatening tariffs as high as 100% on Taiwanese chips [21]. Taiwan in response set up a hotline to help companies navigate tariffs & companies like TSMC have begun production in the US [21]. It is important to note that tariffs are a tax whose cost (dependent on demand) are split between the consumer & the producer. While generally opposed to ANY tax, domestic production of chips is a vital strategic interest and if it moves us out of an adversarial position with China could reduce defense costs significantly.

Military Reduction

Trump mentioned that “when things straighten out”, he wants to have a meeting on “slowing down, stopping & reducing nuclear weapons in particular. And also, on not having to spend the kind of money we are all spending on weapons, military weapons generally”[22]. Trump mentioned working to cut the military budget in half in agreement with Russia & China. He also pointed out the world destroying capabilities we already have via our nuclear weapons[23]. While some may be dismissive, this was apparently one of the things discussed directly with Putin. Putin later stated “I think it’s a good idea. The US would cut by 50 percent and we would cut by 50 percent, and then China would join if it wanted”. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated China’s “limited defense spending is completely out of the need of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, and the need of maintaining world peace”[24]. It should be noted that the US budget dwarfs both China & Russia combined. It is important to note the difference in military activities of each nation, our military projects force around the world, a reduction in budget (especially a 50% reduction) would necessitate a massive reduction in our interventions.

wiki

USAID

I have plenty to quarrel with on Trump’s foreign policy rhetoric, but domestically I am enjoying the dismantling of this & other shadowy agencies. I highly recommend listening to Joe Rogan’s recent interview with Mike Benz to get an idea of what USAID really is. The Libertarian Institute also has an interview between Daniel McAdams & Tommy Salmons [25] where they detail the various aspects of how USAID facilitates regime change. In short, USAID is/was a method of media control & a “revolution” generating apparatus aligned closely with what we typically think of the CIA doing. This tool of the ‘deep state’, routinely pushes or pulls us into the countless wars and ‘not wars’ that cost our lives, liberty & property.

While I am happy to see the ‘legacy system’ dismantled, I believe it would be naïve to think they are leaving themselves without some similar weapons. The ongoing genocide in Gaza has shown just how willing big tech is to help in any conflict (as long as they can profit). My concern is that this is just a shift from the belief we need ‘target country’ newspapers pushing propaganda to believing it is more cost effective to use social media, including its bots & algorithm manipulations, to create the same result. After all, I don’t think it is the older generation reading the Sunday paper who are leading revolts.

Attack in a Different Direction

South America

Trump’s administration has recently labeled various drug cartels ‘terrorist organizations’[26]. This designation opens the door for more direct action & legal prosecution of a variety of entities. Reuters reported that many companies are vulnerable to prosecution via the need to pay ‘protection’ payments to the (now) terrorist entities [27]. In addition to legal repercussions, this opens the door for increased direct involvement by the DOD, from intelligence gathering to, potentially, direct action like we see against the other (mostly Middle East based) ‘terrorist’ organizations [28].

Panama is also in Trump’s sight, he stated “China is running the Panama Canal that was not given to China, that was given to Panama foolishly, but they violated the agreement, and we’re going to take it back, or something very powerful is going to happen,” [29]. The President of Panama initially balked at the statements [30] but has since pulled out of China’s “belt & road” initiative and committed to repatriate illegal immigrants deported from the US (at the US’ expense) [29]. For context, the canal is of strategic importance to the United States, 40% of our container traffic passes through it[31] and our naval vessels use it on occasion with about 40 trips annually[32] (though not generally ‘on mission’)[33]. It is worth noting the ‘mishandling’ of the relationship that is depicted in the CSIS article[31] and to note that this rhetoric may be just ‘resetting expectations’ between the two countries.

Trump has been taking action to force Venezuela to repatriate illegal migrants[34] and recently revoked Chevron’s license to export their oil, citing a lack of ‘democratic conditions’ & ‘not moving fast enough’ to repatriate the illegal migrants[35]. In El Salvador, a deal was reached to send illegal immigrants from the US to their prisons [36].

Greenland & Canada

“The island is loaded with critical minerals, including rare earth minerals, lithium, graphite, copper, nickel, zinc, and other materials used in green technologies. Some estimates suggest that Greenland has six million tons of graphite, 106 kilotons of copper, and 235 kilotons of lithium. It holds 25 of the 34 minerals in the European Union’s official list of critical raw materials, all of which exist along its rocky coastline, generally accessible for mining operations.” [37]

When we look at the negotiations in Ukraine, the mineral aspect supports the idea that the US is looking to Greenland at least in part due to its mineral wealth. While Trump negotiated peace with Russia, he negotiated minerals with Ukraine[38], this subsequently led to an offer from Russia as well [39]. In relation to Greenland’s minerals, I view it as a bit of ‘keep away’ with China. Just as our languishing support of Panama opened the door for China to step in, failure to ‘seize control’ of Greenland’s resource development might let it slip away to China.

From a military standpoint, Greenland has a key role in our missile & submarine defense[40]. We currently have bases & relatively ‘easy’ access to the country via Denmark & NATO, but there is the potential for Greenland’s independence that could impact that. While the leadership in Greenland signaled a willingness for increased cooperation with the US, Trump remained adamant that the ‘US would get it’[41]. At one point Trump refused to rule out using the military to secure Greenland, leading NATO allies to discuss troops in Greenland [42].

I think a lot of the talk from Trump & our NATO ‘allies’ is hyperbolic. I believe that Trump is signaling that Greenland is within OUR sphere of influence and the ‘independent state’ that may arise should be aligned with us & our plans, not Europe’s. A recurring theme to note is the line this draws between ‘our interests’ and Europe’s.

Trump’s Canada rhetoric seems to be just that, mere posturing in order to assert ‘dominance’ over the region. Canadians are unlikely to favor giving up their (little) sovereignty to join the US, even while facing higher tariffs. If they did ‘accept statehood’ they would be the largest state and likely lean more left that the Republican party, throwing off electoral dynamics for the foreseeable future [43]. I again see this as a focus on wielding power ‘close to home’ as opposed to far abroad.

The Israel Exception

When looking at everything else that Trump is doing & saying, our relationship with israel (as it long has) stands apart. Trump continues to flood weapons into israel [44] , promising ~a year’s worth of US bomb production without review by congress. This has seemingly emboldened the genocidal leader of israel, who has again openly stated his intent to commit war crimes. With the exception of israel, the ‘Trump doctrine’ seems to prioritize US interests.

When JD Vance was nominated, I pointed out that he wanted to end support for Ukraine to better support israel. In terms of material military support, this still makes sense, but the challenges israel faces are extending beyond the amount of bombs they can drop. When Trump won, I pointed out that he has a chance to present a real two state solution as an israel first’ message. Before you bring up his ‘Gaza plan’, read The Future of Palestine.

Perhaps Trump believes he can largely withdraw from the world stage (following all the points I lay out here), while maintaining the last vestige of our far reaching empire in israel. I believe that this effort would fail, though perhaps it would give the zionist project a few more years of the ‘status quo’. The zionist entity does not only rely on our bombs & weapons, it relies on us bribing (or threatening) other nations to comply and (using tools like USAID) to regime change those that do not. I do not think that we can abandon the empire ‘except for’ the most toxic, parasitic appendage of said empire.

Conclusion

I stated before that our status as the global hegemon is ending, we have two choices. To let our empire go and minimize damage or, to fight for it and risk it collapsing inwardly upon our nation. Trump, or any leader really, would not present this as a withdrawal or a retreat, instead it is sold to us & the world as a ‘sign of strength’. We are ‘asserting dominance’ across the Western Hemisphere, the region that was ‘established’ as ‘exclusively our sphere’ since the Monroe Doctrine.

Trump’s rhetoric, regardless of his intent, seems to lead us down a path of a reduced ‘active’ role on the global stage. His repeated statements isolate Europe’s interests from American interests & shake the very foundations of NATO. His recent fallout with Zelensky put a very strong emphasis on this fact. While the ‘Israel exception’ appears largely intact, many of his actions are straining the ‘supporting relationships’ in the region. I also believe it will be increasingly difficult to hide the obvious contradictions between our policies on Ukraine & israel. Finally, if Trump’s military spending reduction were to be implemented to ANY degree, many of our relationships, both friendly & adversarial , would be dramatically changed.

Based on the information we have today, the recurring theme is a focus on ‘our interests’ and not that of our ‘allies’. It is hard to say definitively what the ‘real’ goals are and what will come of them, but I see many signals of us embracing the reality of a multi-polar world. While there would be challenges, I think it will result in a healthier America, one which can “Observe good faith and justice towards all nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all”.

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Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial policy should hold an equal and impartial hand: neither seeking nor granting exclusive favors or preferences; consulting the natural course of things; diffusing and diversifying by gentle means the streams of commerce but forcing nothing; establishing with powers so disposed—in order to give to trade a stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, and to enable the government to support them—conventional rules of intercourse, the best that present circumstances and mutual opinion will permit, but temporary, and liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied, as experience and circumstances shall dictate; constantly keeping in view, that it is folly in one nation to look for disinterested favors from another—that it must pay with a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that character—that by such acceptance it may place itself in the condition of having given equivalents for nominal favors and yet of being reproached with ingratitude for not giving more. There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illusion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. George Washington’s Farewell Address

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The Future of Palestine

Eomar — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 23:31:41 GMT

What the future holds for Palestinians is uncertain, while Trump has secured a ‘ceasefire’, true peace is still elusive. His recent announcement of ‘US ownership’ of Gaza has created an uproar from world leaders & people across the political spectrum on the internet.

Victory in Gaza

Leading up to October 7th, the Abraham Accords had essentially written out the Palestinian people. Hamas’ attack on 10/7 centered the region back on the Palestinian cause, ensuring that the world knew they would not simply fade away. Israel responded with brutality & carried out a genocide. At the human level, it is up to the Palestinian people to determine if the cost was ‘worth it’. It is up to them collectively to decide if it is a ‘victory’. While many balk at the sheer human cost, remember the call of America’s founders, Give Me Liberty or give me Death.

Destruction & Death

The UN estimates that the zionists damaged or destroyed an estimated 69% of the structures in Gaza [0] and up to 92% of all housing units[1] . Based on the lancet up to 64,260 people have been directly killed [2] & up to 960,000 may ultimately die as a result [3]. I cover these numbers & other issues in Gaza Ceasefire. Donald Trump, when asked how many ‘have to go’ replied “All of them, probably a million-seven or a million-eight”[4] indicating a death toll between 400,000 & 600,000 people.

Military Victory

Resistance Forces

I cover in American Victory how destruction & death does not equate to victory. I warned then of “COIN Math” in which if you kill one “bad-guy” you end up with 5 more because his friends & family pick up arms. Our own state department confirmed this predictable outcome stating that Hamas has recruited 10,000-15,000 new members since the start of the genocide [5]. Hamas was conducting effective operations against the IDF right up until the ceasefire took effect. Post ceasefire Hamas reestablished order, security & even had parades in the streets [6].

In June 2024, I wrote how israel was defeated in Double or Nothing, and it is worth revisiting. The facts on the ground remain largely unchanged. Hezbollah, while battered is not destroyed, remember the sheer volume of munitions they started with. They too were able to conduct effective operations right up until the ceasefire. Just as Hamas was able to recruit, I assume the continued post-ceasefire zionist aggression is helping Hezbollah recruit. I think the biggest challenge Hezbollah will face is supply chain through Syria, though I doubt this will be completely dismantled.

Iran is still formidable, I reviewed their capabilities in ‘A Wider War Iran’. We saw in their exchanges with Israel that they are VERY capable of striking deep into the zionist entity. I view the first attack, long foreshadowed as a soft warning to Israel, Israel’s response was to strike Iranian air defense site. Israel then further escalated leading to “True Promise 2” which hit Israel much harder. True Promise 2 included multiple direct impacts on the Nevatim Airbase & even at least one hit in Tel Aviv [7]. Israel’s response to this was muted, perhaps limited by Iran upgrading to Russian S400 systems [8].

Yemen was able to defy israel & America with continued strikes in the Red Sea & directly on Tel Aviv. The Red Sea combat was described as “the toughest [naval] fight since WW2”[9]. As mentioned in America’s Waning Power, our ‘exquisite systems’ are increasingly vulnerable to drone & missile attacks. Not only was Yemen simultaneously conducting these operations (without a Navy), they were also sending domestically produced Palestine-2 Hypersonic Missiles into Tel-Aviv[10].

Israel

Previously, Israel had claimed 844 soldiers were killes and 5,696 were wounded [11]. Eyal Zamir, incoming Chief of Staff, stated least 5,942 ‘bereaved families’” (a term for families who had a member killed in war). He additionally added that over 15,000 were injured [11][12]. I had written previously about the supply chain impact on Israel and how they had resorted to using munitions made in 1953 to continue operations. To say that the systems were stretched is an understatement.

America

There are 4 primary things to note with America.

As mentioned above, our platforms are increasingly vulnerable to attack, ESPECIALLY if this escalates into a hot war with America directly involved.
Americans are tired of war, Trump campaigned on and won as ‘the anti-war candidate’
The dollar is facing real challenges now from BRICS+, with Bitcoin seemingly taking a role.
Our war manufacturing cannot withstand the demands on it and we have depleted our stockpiles.

Now, this doesn’t mean America cannot ‘lean in’ to fight harder and more, it is just to point out that we would rapidly accelerate the end of our empire by doing so and risk the well being of America in the process. Another reminder, China is sitting back watching us make mistake after mistake. No American should want us involved at all, let alone directly putting boots on the ground.

Trump and his ‘plans’

Trump has done some good, a few days before his inauguration, he was able to secure a ceasefire through his envoy, something Biden couldn’t or wouldn’t do for 15 months. Wickoff and the stories coming out were promising. Trumps appointment to Deputy Minister of Defense (middle east) Michael Dimino is a legitimate America first (as in not wanting to send us to die for Israel) American that has the zionists ‘worried’[13].

Ethnic Cleansing

"The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We'll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for people of the area." — Donald Trump

“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting” — Donald Trump

The basis for Trump’s plan seems to completely ignore the reality on the ground in Gaza and the larger Middle East. Israel does not ‘own’ the Gaza strip, it is not in a position to force Palestinians out and by accepting a ceasefire, that Hamas is adhering to, it has lost the ability to claim that it ‘must continue’ killing.

Trump has been floating around the idea of ‘moving Palestinians out’ of their land, he frames it as ‘humanitarian’ though its very clearly to serve Israel. He completely ignores any possibility of Palestinians refusing (as they have for 75+ years). While vague each time he mentioned this ‘plan’ it garnered immediate responses from our Arab ‘allies’ in the region refusing it entirely. The previous mentions resulted in strong opposition from Egypt & Jordan[14] , the leaders of both nations recognize that even they have limits to the corruption they can openly get away with.

On February 4th, after meeting with Netanyahu, Trump came out with a more detailed plan (the quote above). Despite it being ~4AM in Riyadh they firmly rejected any talk of diplomatic relations with Israel unless “an independent Palestinian state is established, with East Jerusalem as its capital”[15].

There are two possibilities that I see. First (and the one I’m hoping for), this is merely an absurd stance designed to elicit a strong response from Arab states who step in and say ‘no no, we will give [tons] of resources to get it done’ . The second option is that this is something he thinks is actually feasible. In addition to betraying America to get it done, we would ultimately fail at great expense of lives, liberty & property. He and those he blindly follows fail to recognize that Israel failed in removing Hamas and their entire country is a few miles away.

Trump openly calling for the violation of US & international law is not good for him (as he opens himself to another impeachment). If a negotiation tactic, it has already garnered a lot of strong talk from countries around the world [16], perhaps opening the door for “then you fix it”, though at the same time costing us political capital. If it is a ‘serious’ proposal, it will fail and the mere attempt will cause irreparable harm to the United States.

Lunacy & Solutions

American Occupation!

“If military action is necessary, the United States and our allies will help the Iraqi people rebuild their economy, and create the institutions of liberty in a unified Iraq at peace with its neighbors” — George W. Bush, [making the case to invade Iraq] [17]

While many delusional neocons are excited about adding a new forever war, some people that I are generally on the ‘right’ side of things seem to have lost sight of the plot. Ian Carroll , suggested that this is a way to ‘counter Israel’ which I find plausible in the form of a negotiation tactic but absurd if the intent was to actually put boots on the ground (or help enforce ethnic cleansing etc). The tweet below borders on madness. When have the American people benefited from our forever wars? Ian is using talking points from our Iraq invasion like it is a ‘great idea’. While expected from some, it is disappointing from him.

We would not be ‘saviors’ just as we were not ‘saviors’ in Iraq. We would not benefit, just as we did not benefit from our other wars for israel. If you are ‘America First’ then you are not sacrificing American live liberty or property for ANY other nation. As I detail in American Victory, our military objectives must be SMART (Specific, Measurable, ACHIEVABLE, Relevant, Time-Bound), and they must serve Americans. This is not SMART and does not serve Americans.

The solution

The ‘solution’ has always been there and it is accepted by almost ALL nations except America & Israel (even Hamas accepts it), it is a 2 state solution based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the Capital of Palestine. I cover the previous false ‘efforts’ in Zionism, an Obstacle to Peace. If the world, including America accepts this obvious solution the hate will fade and peace will be the result. If we choose ethnic cleansing, forever wars, apartheid and genocide, then obviously the violence will continue (in Palestine & destabilizing the rest of the world).

premiumtimesng

Real Sovereignty

The apartheid state committing a genocide does not get to dictate to those resisting who ‘gets to be in power’. If the Palestinians choose Hamas, then that is their choice. Remember in 2006, Hamas won 44% of the vote but Palestinians overwhelmingly (83.7%) wanted peace with Israel. The vote for Hamas was a vote against corruption, not a vote to ‘destroy israel’. Give people liberty & peace will follow.

Military

Real sovereignty means that the people of Palestine maintain their right to self defense and a military to ensure their sovereignty lasts. We see the alternative to this in the West Bank where zionists gangs roam freely committing pogroms against helpless Palestinians.

End the Blockade

The blockade of Gaza must end. The state of Palestine must be free to construct and maintain docks/piers & an airport (like the one Israel previously destroyed [18]) in order to trade & build its economy. The naval blockade must also be lifted & access to all resources including the offshore oil/gas & access to fishing areas without fear of being murdered.

End the West Bank Ghettos

While this should be a given with the borders described above, I want to be clear to those easily confused. As a sovereign nation, any presence of Israelis or zionist “settlers” in the west bank are illegal and must be removed. The layer upon layer of fragmentation implemented and expanded after Oslo must be removed.

Maintaining Peace

Again the Palestinian people want peace, they have wanted it for decades now. Give them sovereignty & hope for the future and the violence will fade. Ensure that no ‘mowing the grass’ is allowed. Through economic & diplomatic pressure ensure that all sides are peaceful. It may be hard to stomach for some, but assist whoever is in charge of the government of Palestine in keeping the peace as was outlined in previous agreements that were cut short by israel committing assassinations.

I believe international troops in Palestine will cause trouble. If Israel feels ‘too threatened’ then allow international troops on the ‘israel side’ of the wall. International workers/volunteers will likely be welcome and be a force for peace on both sides.

Rebuilding

We know the people of Palestine do not want to move out of Gaza and it is illegal to force them to. The only acceptable place for them to be asked to move would be within the pre-1948 boundaries of Palestine (but I doubt Israel would accept this offer). Reconstructing Gaza does not require depopulating it, instead, create ‘work zones’, no barriers no ghettos, but a coordinated plan led by the Palestinian government to work designated sections at a time.

I believe the first steps would focus around transportation of wreckage & building materials. This would likely mean building and expanding the port in Gaza city as well as clearing way for roads. An agreement for waste management with Egypt (utilizing the Sinai to process it) would likely be the most economical.

Previously there were ~334,000 housing units [19] (remember ~92% have been destroyed). Let’s assume, the population of Gaza is now 2 million people (taking a middle estimate of the total murdered by Israel). The average household size in Gaza was 5.7 in 2022 [19]. That means there needs to be a total of lets say, 360,000 housing units (there was a shortage before & this adds some buffer).

The first step might be the ‘low hanging fruit’ of mostly clear places and something like barracks housing, as an upgrade from tents to provide shelter. For the next part, I asked Chat-GPT about the dimensions of the 'most economical multi family building’ (I am not an engineer & my construction career ended after highschool). I think the construction type should be uniform, its boring, its probably not ‘beautiful’ but it would work & it would allow those building it to develop expertise as time goes on and they build essentially the same building over and over again.

Say 20% of the land is roads & infrastructure, that leaves 111 sq mi for buildings, at 10,000 sq ft footprint each, that is 310,000 buildings, which would be ~3+ times as many housing units as needed. The point here being there is sufficient space to rebuild. The next assessment would be if there is open & usable land to begin permanent housing construction. If so, great start building! If not a coordinated system of debris removal & construction must be implemented.

To ensure peace & avoid resentment, the area should be divided by random collection of adjacent blocks (the number depending on the available resources). These would then be further subdivided based on the amount of area to accommodate the appropriate number of ‘10,000 sq ft’ footprint buildings. Each section could be cleared then built, probably working away from and then towards the nearest major roadway. This provides a few things. Community, as people literally work together to rebuild their homes. Ownership/responsibility, if working to rebuild what very well could be your own home, the odds of taking dangerous/cost saving “short cuts” diminishes. Importantly this allows a coordinated but not isolated rebuilding to take place, hopefully ensuring that all feel hope for the future and thus helping to avoid additional violence.

BBC

Gaza Population Map, NBC

I realize this plan is rather simplistic, but it is functional and the point of it is to show that it CAN be done. There is no ‘need’ to move Palestinians, that plan is fueled by zionists desire to get the land they tried and failed to take. If you put actual experts who aren’t serving israel on this, I’m sure they could provide a more detailed & accurate plan.

Conclusion

Israel failed in its military objectives in Gaza and is trying now to cling to ‘victory’ through a doomed-to-fail plan that Trump hopefully proposed merely as a negotiation strategy. There is no mechanism to enact the proposed ethnic cleansing, and after the fallout from the initial announcement, Trump is now walking back any use of American troops, further emphasizing the question of ‘who is going to do it’.

The path forward has been the same for decades, a truly sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. The people of Gaza are resilient and survived 15 months of genocide & 75+ years of oppression. With sovereignty, no blockade & a newfound liberty providing hope for the future the Palestinians of Gaza can and will rebuild their homes.

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https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2025/2/5/gaza-transformed-into-rubble-strewn-wasteland-after-israeli-bombardment

Gaza Ceasefire

Eomar — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 16:24:13 GMT

News of an ‘imminent ceasefire’ in Gaza has been spreading. Initially I doubted the credibility of this claim due to the previous ‘rumors of a ceasefire’, however, US & israeli media have been echoing the same claim. US media has also begun to reveal some of the horrors faced by Palestinians (notably, 60 minutes published footage they sat on since May). To me, I see this as ~~government~~ corporate media ‘justifying’ the ceasefire to Americans who have been lied to by the same organizations for decades.

Again, this is not ‘in effect’ yet though I hope it will succeed. I wanted to cover some of the details in the ceasefire itself, how it is moving forward and what comes next.

Children Celebrate rumors of a Ceasefire via Suppresed News

The current toll in Gaza

A report by the Lancet states that the death toll reported by Gaza officials was 41% lower than reality. They estimate the actual death toll to be ~64,260 [1]. An earlier Lancet article estimates that 3-15 times more people will die from ‘indirect deaths’ due to the “war” [2]. This could bring the total between 192,000 & about 960,000 out of a population of ~2 million people.

As of March of last year, there were over 1,000 child amputees in Gaza thanks to the ongoing israeli bombardments [3], the number is certainly higher now. HRW reported in December 2024 on the use of water “as a weapon of war” by the israelis [4]. Palestinians are also facing starvation, another ‘weapon’ of israel, despite the US government attempts to silence any report of it [5]. Famine is not something that can be easily ‘turned off’ and will contribute to the total deaths estimated about.

Lasting health impacts, like those of the 9/11 responders still loom for those that survive the immediate challenges[6]. More will likely be exposed as they try to rebuild, a monumental task that will have people removing decaying human remains, debris and unexploded ordinance. In addition to the physical health, the mental trauma and anguish is almost beyond comprehension. Imagine the mental state of a child, knowing there are people that intentionally shoot children in the head [7]. Imagine them having seen it, perhaps they saw a sibling murdered, perhaps a parent saw their child killed.

UNRWA

Over 9,000 Palestinians are imprisoned by israel [8]. Again, this is nothing new for israel as I detailed here. The imprisonment, described as ‘Hell’ by B’tsalem (an Israeli human rights group) comes with torture and even death [9].

The Ceasefire Deal

This deal is highly similar to one proposed in May 2024 [10]. Netanyahu could have got the hostages back on 10/9/2023, he could have got them back in May 2024. He chose to continue slaughtering innocent people, even at the expense of his own people.

‘The Saviour' shared via X a more detailed breakdown. Similar details are now being reported on other sites. Importantly, the first phase includes steps to end the killing, suspending ground operations, pauses in air operations & significant increase in humanitarian aid.

What i saw conveniently left out by the western media is that this is a prisoner EXCHANGE. As mentioned, the israelis routinely hold Palestinian men, women & children as ‘prisoners’, often indistinguishable from hostages. Israel will release 30 Palestinians for each Israeli. For each israeli soldier , 50 Palestinians will be released. It is also reported that some of these people were in prison for life or other long-term sentences [11].

Phase 2 will be conditioned upon a ‘permanent ceasefire’ & full israeli withdrawal from Gaza (this is including the Philadelphi corridor, something I believe is crucial for Gaza). Phase 3 will include a reconstruction plan, an exchange of human remains and lifting the decades long blockade of Gaza. Again, this is all essentially the previous deal that Hamas had accepted & was rejected by Netanyahu in May of 2024.

Resistance

I wrote on the right to resist in ‘Give Me Liberty’. It is worth noting the resilience of the forces on the ground in Gaza & others that fought against the zionists. Yemen continues to drive the point home that zionists will not have peace until Palestinians do [12]. I think this ceasefire deal and the timeline provides some perspective on why the Hezbollah ‘ceasefire’ is holding despite repeated violations by the zionists. Make no mistake, without the resistance to israeli aggression, this deal would be no where near as favorable for Palestinians. If you doubt it, look at Ben Gvir & zionist twitter right now having a meltdown.

Genocide Joe

I think it is worth mentioning again, this was NEVER about the hostages. I think Netanyahu saw in Biden either a man too incompetent to do the right thing, or an administration run entirely by an agent of israel (maybe Biden, but likely whoever actually was running things). Without the blank check support of Biden et al this war had NO way of continuing. Supporting genocide was never in American interests. Strategically, given our dwindling resources (America’s Waning Power & A Wider War: Supply Chain & Restraint) and weakening global standing, America needed this to end. The ease with which the US could have ended this is a dark stain on Biden, Harris, Blinken and the others. I hope their complicity in this genocide forever haunts them.

Trump for Peace

I wrote my thoughts on Election Day back in November. I thought maybe punishing Kamala was the ‘best we could do’. The news I am seeing today caught me by surprise.

The Jerusalem Post, is repeating claims of Al Araby that Netanyahu’s stance changed because of Trump’s promise of ‘hell to pay’ if no deal is reached [13]. Haraatz has now published details of how Trump “Forced Netanyahu to accept a Gaza plan he repeatedly rejected” [14]. They describe Trump’s Middle East Envoy is an aggressive businesman that went to make a deal. It is telling that they were ‘shocked’ that he behaved as if the US is the one in control, not Netanyahu. It will be interesting to learn more as this continues to develop, especially as Netanyahu risks losing support of the even more radical elements in his government. Ben Gvir is now openly admitting how he sabotaged peace efforts & stating he will end the coalition government in protest of this deal [15].

Closing

While we don’t yet have peace, I am hopeful. The narrative shift coming from the corporate media gives me some hope. What Trump & others have said gives me some hope. We have to keep the pressue on to ensure it ‘crosses the finish line’.

As I mentioned above, the dying will not stop when the bombs stop. We need to ensure that as much aid as possible can reach those in need once the ‘gates’ are opened. Organizations like PCRF & Heal Palestine are great organizations to support this cause. In addition to healing, we need to ensure those that committed this evil face justice. The Hind Rajab Foundation has been doing amazing work, ensuring that the genociders have no peace abroad by seeking their arrest under international law.

Americans need to reclaim their sovereignty & actually put America first, that means NO MORE fighting israel’s wars (directly or indirectly). The effort to expose dual citizens & foreign agents, led (at least in government) by Representative Thomas Massie is now being picked up by General Flynn & Vivek Ramaswamy. Even Trump has shared a video of Jeffrey Sachs on ‘truth’ that labeled Netanyahu a “Dark son of a bitch”. We have to continue exposing the corruption & treason to ensure peace actually has a chance.

For true lasting peace, at a minimum, the world must recognize Palestine along its 1967 borders. Despite the unfairness of this theft by the Zionists, the majority of Palestinians (including Hamas) have long accepted these borders as the basis for the state of Palestine. If this ceasefire takes hold, do not abandon the Palestinian people. Continue speaking out, continue writing your representatives, do not allow this to be merely a 'temporary pause' that lasts only until the evils of zionist tyranny force more violence.

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Choose Bitcoin

Eomar — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 06:18:37 GMT

Perhaps as a sign of how unqualified (legally and otherwise) I am to give financial advice, I will lead with the following: None of this is financial advice.

If you have been here for a while, or if you follow me on X, you know that one of the things I talk about a lot is Bitcoin. I don’t own Bitcoin in the same way I own stocks. Bitcoin is something different. I own stocks strictly as a vehicle of investment, to grow my ‘dollar’ wealth within the corrupt Federal Reserve system. I own Bitcoin to opt out of this corrupt system, its inflation, its attacks on liberty & its wars.

I hope this article helps you to understand the potential of Bitcoin, not just for ‘wealth’, but for freedom & peace.

Disclosure: The book links in this article are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Bitcoin Exposure

I can’t remember my first ‘exposure’ to Bitcoin, but I know when I spoke with my Bitcoiner co-worker back in ~2017 I had heard of it before. I was on the cusp of buying bitcoin, but I wanted to learn more and didn’t know where to go, so this co-worker was essentially it. By this point I had been listening to The investors podcast (hosted by Preston Pysh & Stig Broderson) for at least a year. While the focus of that podcast is ‘investing’ the real message I got was in reading. The start of my ever expanding library, The Intelligent Investor and many other books, can be traced back to that podcast. Unfortunately, I trailed off as a listener before Bitcoin became a prominent topic there.

Around the same time I bought my first tiny fraction of Bitcoin I bought Nik Bhatia’s “Layered Money” (this is probably episode that led to the purchase). Soon after that, I read “The Bitcoin Standard” by Saifedean Ammous. I watched videos, listened to podcasts and continued to purchase satoshis with ‘extra’ money. I went from a ‘gambler’ to a ‘believer’, relatively quick.

Layered Money

The concept of Layered Money is relatively simple. A ‘first layer’ would be something of ‘undeniable value’ like a gold coin. The second layer would be a promise to pay a certain amount of that first layer money. This was the system the United States used with the Gold Standard. We had gold reserves and every dollar was “redeemable” for a specific amount of gold. This book goes into the details & the history of Layered Money and helped me truly understand how we got where we are today.

The Bitcoin Standard

The Bitcoin Standard is often considered the ‘go-to’ first Bitcoin book. This book clearly lays out the many issues caused by our “unsound money” and explains how Bitcoin fixes it. Many of the topics I introduce in this article are explained at greater length & detail by Ammous in The Bitcoin Standard.

Money Troubles

Before I knew about Bitcoin I understood that there was something very wrong with our current monetary system. The Great Ron Paul helped me understand that much. I first wrote about our ‘money troubles’ (among other issues) in ‘America’s waning power’. Some of the information below is ‘borrowed’ from that article, though I have added enough to keep it interesting.

Fiat

I will use the term ‘Fiat’ a lot in the article (as in “Fiat Money”), enough that I went back to add this section in. “Fiat” is derived from Latin and means ‘by decree’. This “money” exists because the government says it does, and is willing to use force to make you believe. Essentially, if the ‘First layer’ of money is ‘gold’ as in our earlier gold redeemable currency than the first layer, the actual ‘money’ is gold. In today’s world, Bhatia argues in Layered Money, that the first layer IS the dollar, making it pure Fiat.

Inflation

“Inflation is a gradual loss of purchasing power that is reflected in a broad rise in prices for goods and services over time.” —Investopedia

On December 23, 1913, America’s worst President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act starting the decline of American monetary power. In short this gave the Fed the ability to print money.

The Theft of Gold & the Destruction of the Dollar

In 1933 FDR, one of America’s worst Presidents (I think #2 right behind Wilson), forced Americans to turn in their gold under threat of 10 years in prison or a fine of $10,000 [0]. This treasonous executive order made it a crime for people to hold onto their wealth but made exceptions for the holdings of foreign nations. FDR, as shown time & again during his presidency, was willing to violate the Constitutional rights of Americans. Bhatia, in Layered Money, gives the background and history for this action, essentially the 35% gold coverage ratio imposed on the Federal Reserve was blamed for exasperating the Depression & the government used that as momentum to conduct this theft. Within a year we saw how this would go for the American people. They were forced to sell their gold at $20.67 per ounce, The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 significantly devalued the dollar by setting the price per ounce to $35 [Bhatia] .

The damaging effects can be immediately seen in the Federal Reserve Economic Data ‘purchasing power’ chart below [1]. Purchasing power is about 3% of what it was before the Federal Reserve Act. When looking at the price of an ounce of gold, in 1913 it cost $18.92, today it is $2051.77[2].

We often hear the Fed talking about ‘target rates’ of inflation, they want you to believe that since “Inflation is by design”, that its ‘ok’. In reality, inflation ‘by design’ doesn’t rob you any less than ‘unintended inflation’ of the same rate. Despite this robbery, it has become abundantly clear that people in power don’t care and that the people not in power often understand too little of it to care.

US National Debt

The United States Federal debt is completely out of control. WE have more that ~~$34 $~~36.1 TRILLION in debt. It was 391 billion in 1971 & $34.5 Trillion in January 2024.

Interest on our debt was the 4th largest item in the federal expenditures behind Social Security, Medicare and the military [3]. It will soon surpass even our military spending. Some will argue that this level of debt is still ‘manageable’ that it is ‘ok’. We have to assess not just the ability to continue these massive payments but also the willingness of the world to take on our debt-risk. The risk is not only ‘failure to pay’ but the methods of how we may decide to pay, one option, one used historically by indebted nations, is to print money, to increase inflation and devalue the currency in order to ‘lessen’ the burden of debt. That risk does not bode well for the dollar as a reserve currency.

Fiat’s Crimes

Theft

Inflation robs the most from the poorest, those living paycheck to paycheck who don’t have money invested in assets that adjust to inflation. This is not a new feature of the Federal Reserve & its inflation, it by design. What the Federal reserve is doing with its ‘targeted inflation’ numbers is balancing just how much wealth it can steal without triggering a response. Today we see many ‘disillusioned’ with “capitalism” because of the growing wealth gap between the richest & the poorest. It is something to be critical of, but ‘capitalism’ isn’t the cause. The cause is a corrupt monetary system that is designed to slowly rob anyone who isn’t solidly invested in ‘inflation protected’ assets. Our politicians are lying to us when they use the stock market as a metric of prosperity, it means SOME are benefiting, but not everyone.

When Money Dies, by Adam Ferguson, shows us what happens in a hyperinflationary environment, using the collapse of the German Mark as an example. The mechanism is the same with ‘regular’ inflation, its just less noticeable and, in the short term, less catastrophic. Wealth and assets will flow upwards, away from those living paycheck to paycheck, whose salaries cannot keep up with inflation, and into the stock markets. Hard assets, like homes, land etc will see their prices inflate as the currency is devalued. An interesting note from When Money Dies, farmers did relatively well during the Mark’s collapse, people still needed food. Today we have people like Billionaire Bill Gates, who owns SUBSTANTIAL amounts of farmland. Does he see what is coming ?

Property Tax & inflation

It should be noted that even some of these ‘inflation protected’ assets are subject to government & fiat theft as EVERY state has property tax. 75% of Americans see the inherit madness of a tax on ‘unrealized gains’ [4] yet many don’t realize that this is EXACTLY how property taxes behave. States tax on what they ‘perceive’ the value of your property to be. This means as your ‘asset’ (your home etc) goes up in value due to inflation, so do your taxes. For some, it will outpace their ability to pay and they will lose their home/land.

Farmers, mentioned above, pay $15 billion on fuel & oil, they pay $19 billion on property taxes[5]. Wildly, there are exemptions targeted specifically towards ‘agricultural organizations’ that exclude small individual farmers. As real property prices increase along with inflation , the taxes on these properties increase as well. Q1 2020, the median sale price of a home was $329,000 in Q2 of 2024 it was $414,500 [6] . With rapid increases like this, a farmer faces the challenge of anticipating increasing tax (and other) costs, and adjusting their prices to offset it while not causing potential customer to balk at the price as they too struggle with inflation. Those that fail at this calculation risk losing their farm, with billionaires & corporations eager to snatch it up at a discount.

FRED Median sales price of houses sold for the United States

War

“For as long as the government could print more money and have that money accepted by its citizens and foreigners, it could keep financing the war” — Saifedean Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard

Before we could simply print money, governments had to raise funds via “war bonds” and similar functions in order to finance wars. This helped ensure that is wasn’t only the soldier and his family suffering, a larger part of the population at least directly financially contributed. Additionally, it was like a voting mechanism, petitioning people for their hard earned money as opposed to putting a budget increase on page 1107 of some bill. Though it still often failed as a control mechanism, having it in place was at least one more barrier to entering into needless wars and helped prevent the endless wars we now have.

Between 1917 and 1919 The sale of War bonds (“Liberty Bonds”) raised the equivalent of more than $5 trillion[7]. They were used again in WW2 accounting for 20% of the debt the US government took on during the war [7]. Despite their widespread ‘appeal’ War Bonds were a terrible investment, with a negative 13% real return due to rampant inflation [8].

The Federal Reserve boasts on their own website about their ‘war efforts’ while shamelessly writing how “Reserve Bank employees were not subject to the draft, although hundreds of Federal Reserve employees volunteered for military service” … “Hundreds”… of the ballooned ‘war time peak’ of 24,000 employees [9]. Throughout that same article we can see the various machinations the Fed employed to ensure the war could go on. Most importantly is the mention of an amendment that loosened reserve requirements even further.

A paper from 1945 titled “The Federal Reserve System in Wartime” laid out the risks that our nation accepted and foreshadowed the issues that were to come [10]. On reserve requirements, it states a 2% reserve allows $1 to “support an increase of $50 in deposits” whereas a 20% reserve supports “only $5 in deposits”. Later in the paper it warns: “The chief objections usually raised to direct sale of government securities to the Reserve Banks except to meet temporary needs of the Treasury are: (1) that it is a highly inflationary financing expedient and (2) that it is likely to encourage extravagant expenditure and an unnecessarily rapid increase of federal debt” . They even warn against the “establishment of a precedent for direct borrowing”. I mentioned before the German example, in 1945, the authors of this article saw the same similarities “It is the kind of borrowing that brought about uncontrollable inflation in Germany and other countries after World War I”.

Fear not, today the Fed DOES NOT buy directly. They buy through “primary dealers”, the NY Fed defines this for us: “Primary dealers are trading counterparties of the New York Fed in its implementation of monetary policy. They are also expected to make markets for the New York Fed on behalf of its official accountholders as needed, and to bid on a pro-rata basis in all Treasury auctions at reasonably competitive prices”. This sounds A LOT to me like they have a façade ‘middle man’ as a loop hole to get around legal barriers.

As General Butler warned us in War is a Racket, and as I wrote about in War is STILL a Racket, the corrupt system seeks wars for profits. As the Fed manipulates money to fund more wars their ‘primary dealers’ reap in the benefits as major shareholders of the various ~~defense~~ war stocks. As I said in that earlier article, it is a racket “Fueled by blood and sacrifice, motivated by quarterly dividends”.

These wars come with MANY costs. The suffering of those we send overseas & their families is perhaps the most direct ‘pain’ felt from these wars, though since so few serve, it is easily forgotten by the rest of the nation. Most of the population simply shakes their fist at expensive groceries & gas without looking any deeper into what is happening. Overseas trauma & destruction born out of these unnecessary conflicts give rise to hatred and a desire for revenge, that if fulfilled, will be used on a poster to justify the next war.

Nutrient Poor Food

In Fiat Food, Matthew Lysiak describes how the government was incentivized to push low quality, nutrient poor, cheap to produce food onto the American population to hide the pains involved with abandoning the gold standard and printing money. The example that resonated most with me was them pushing a “study” on eggs, labeling them ‘unhealthy’ to avoid a price increase that resulted from Nixon’s abandonment of the gold standard.

The Big Fat Surprise also discusses (from a different angle) the creation of our ‘carb based’ food pyramid. Of particular note, was how the various agencies, government & academic, colluded to silence opposition to the ‘low fat diet’. From controlling grants to simply not inviting critics to conferences, they effectively silenced the opposition, allowing them to continue to push heavily flawed studies in support of their cause. If you lived through 2020, these tactics probably sound VERY familiar to you…

What is Bitcoin

A few Key terms (from Mastering Bitcoin)

Bitcoin: The name of the currency unit (the coin), the network & the software

Block: a grouping of transactions, marked with a timestamp, and a fingerprint of the previous block. The block header is hashed to produce a proof of work, thereby validating the transactions. Valid blocks are added to the main blockchain by network consensus.

Blockchain: A list of validated blocks, each linking to its predecessor all the way to the genesis block.

As we can see above, Bitcoin’s main challenge was to solve the ‘double-spending problem’ without involving a ‘trusted 3rd party’, basically to ensure that I don’t promise 2 people the same Bitcoin, without needing a bank (trusted 3rd party) to vouch for the funds availability. By appending a group of timestamped transactions (a block) to the end of the blockchain (the complete history of transactions), the system ensures that the preceding blocks cannot be changed. This process of ‘appending a block’ to the block chain is commonly referred to as ‘hashing’ or ‘mining’. It is a computationally expensive process at the core of the ‘proof-of-work’ system that Bitcoin is built upon. These miners work to find the solution to the SHA-256 algorithm & the successful miner is rewarded with the Block reward (currently, 3.125 Bitcoin). While solving the equation is expensive, validating it is not. Nodes validate the transaction and can be run on very simple computers like a raspberry pi.

Bitcoin Veterans has additional resources & a great community for those looking for more information.

Against FUD

FUD, “Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt”, is the common talking points, often empty throw away lines, for ‘why you shouldn’t buy Bitcoin’. These are easy to debunk which is why they are often presented on platforms that do not allow for a rebuttal, such as corporate news shows etc.

‘This other thing is cheaper’

“Crypto” is not Bitcoin, “blockchain” is not Bitcoin. Do not be misled by those pushing ‘alternatives’ to Bitcoin. Discussing the “privatization” of money in The Sovereign Individual, the authors mention Hayek’s 1976 argument on ‘private currencies’. They state, “Any issuer of private currency failing to maintain its value would soon lose its customers”.

The work-safe ‘altcoin’ though more appropriately named ‘shitcoin’ is NOT an alternative to Bitcoin. A key aspect on why all of what I have wrote and what I write below is relevant is because Bitcoin is decentralized and it is in every miner & node operator’s interests to keep Bitcoin true to form. Some ‘crypto’ may appear legitimate, and may even have uses, but they certainly do not function as a store of value or an alternative to the corrupt system we have today. The worst of them are pure ‘pump & dump’ schemes (see Hawk Tuah coin and the many like it).

A major flaw of many ‘altcoins’ is their reliance on a CEO-like figure. This single point of failure makes the entire system vulnerable to government sized ‘five-dollar wrench attacks’ (ie force). Others use more corruptible ‘proof-of-stake’ which gives those with more ‘coins’ more say. The below excerpt from Bitcoin Magazine sums up some of the issues nicely.

“Ethereum, for example, is so bloated that YOU CANNOT download the blockchain and run a node… [with] proof of stake, the 32 ETH required to be a validator will price 99.9% of people out. In other words, Ethereum will be run by those with all of the ETH. Sounds just like modern central banking to me.” — Aleksandar Svetski [11]

Many see ‘the other thing’ as a gamble or potential lottery ticket to ‘win big’. As with most gambling, be it in the stock market, in vegas or on shitcoins, you usually end up in the red. If really looking to ‘play the lottery’ you can grab a SoloSatoshi Bitaxe or (for more money) a FutureBit Apollo 2 and mine Bitcoin with a (extremely slim) chance to find the block (reviews of each coming soon).

Note: neither of those companies pay me. SoloSatoshi does sponsor Bitcoin Veterans, which is an awesome organization with an awesome cause. If either of those companies DO want to pay me or send me free stuff, they are welcome to do so immediately :)

Bitcoin is ‘Too Complicated’

Do you really understand the current banking system? It is infinitely complex. Layered Money & The Bitcoin Standard do a great job explaining this in detail. For a quicker read, River published an article on the Dollar system, some of the topics were already covered here. However, the graphic they present (below) I believe PERFECTLY captures the complexity of the 'US Dollar System’. [12] I assure you, reading this article, and the suggested readings you will understand Bitcoin more than you understand our current US Dollar System.

River ‘How Does Money Printing Work’

Security

“But as long as there are people who want to use it [Bitcoin], it’s very hard to kill, or corrupt, or stop, or interrupt” — Ralph Merkle

Saifedean included a larger quote from Ralph Merkle in The Bitcoin Standard, but I think the above sums it up. Saifedean elaborates that attempts at fraud on the Bitcoin network would require massive dedication of resources and would then be caught and rejected by the nodes which are almost free to run. The fraudulent miner would get no reward & thus eventually become bankrupt.

Quantum Computing

The vulnerability, as I understand it is when one sends Bitcoin from their wallet to another it exposes the public key of the sending wallet (depending on the wallet type) [13]. Quantum computing is a threat when it can hash the private key from the public key before the next block (roughly 10 minutes), which is roughly estimated to be a decade or more away. I think that additionally, if one were to have moved Bitcoin from a wallet but that wallet still had Bitcoin in it, the ‘Quantum attack’ could steal that Bitcoin by hashing the private key over a longer time period. Mark Webber, a quantum architect at Universal Quantum: “State-of-the-art quantum computers today only have 50-100 qubits. Our estimated requirement of 13-300 million physical qubits suggests Bitcoin should be considered safe from a quantum attack for now, but quantum computing technologies are scaling quickly with regular breakthroughs affecting such estimates and making them a very possible scenario within the next 10 years” [14]. An important note on the time this would still take: “a quantum computer with 13 million physical qubits could break Bitcoin encryption within a day; and it would take a 300 million qubit computer to break it within an hour”[14]. This means, those being careless may be at risk before those who are aware of the threat and behave accordingly.

There are many complexities & challenges involved but as the Quantum computing threat becomes a more legitimate threat, Bitcoin can be ‘upgraded’. The challenge is getting 90% of miners to agree upon the upgrade and to do so early enough that Quantum is not a threat as it will take minimum 76 days for everyone to get to a ‘secure’ wallet [15]. Now with the threat ‘far off’ it is more challenging, I think as the threat gets closer, consensus will be achieved and this will all become moot.

One final note, Quantum attacks are NOT Bitcoin specific. Quantum computing can attack any system that is not ‘quantum secure’. From hospitals, banking, utilities etc, everything that relies on encrypted systems can be at risk if not properly upgraded.

Volatility

Bitcoin can be volatile in the short term, but after reading this article, I hope the reader views Bitcoin as more than a ‘short-term’ mechanism to acquire more Fiat. If you are asking ‘whether you should buy bitcoin’ I refer you to the top of the article & suggest you contact a financial advisor. In regards to nation states, I discuss in more detail below.

‘You are Too Late’

I forget the source of it or if its just a common phrase at this point but there is a saying ‘as long as they accept Fiat for Bitcoin, you are not too late’. Another oft used quote (I think this one from Buffet on stock investing) “Time in the Market beats timing the market”. There is an entire industry of snake oil salesmen that tell you “this [stock/shitcoin/bitcoin] will go to x price on y date because reasons” they will rarely acknowledge their many misses and just continue churning out predictive content because it gets clicks and THAT is their real business.

There is no real alternative that offers what Bitcoin offers (again, I am not referencing the potential for ‘monetary gains’). You may look back and wish you had bought earlier, as almost all of us do, but the options are to buy now or not. This is not something I can tell you, it is a decision for you alone to make (or in coordination with your financial advisor). The chart below from Bitinfocharts.com, shows the distribution of Bitcoin currently held in addresses. Bitbo.io estimates 106 million people own Bitcoin [16], while I don’t know this company well, I do appreciate they broke down there reasoning.

Bitcoin Rich List Bitinfocharts.com

National Sovereignty

I wrote in “America’s Waning Power” how nations are living under the oppressive heel of the dollar. As Bhatia points out in Layered Money, despite its MANY flaws the dollar is still the ‘first layer’ money and the ‘risk free asset’ of the world . Compared to other Fiat currencies this is hard to argue against. See the below excerpt from “America’s Waning Power”:

Excerpt:

The American Institute for Economic Research states that BRICS currencies still lose value faster than the dollar when based on gold purchasing power (visualized in graphic below)[x]. However, if we add Bitcoin into the comparison, there is a clear alternative. Many may scoff at this idea but the United States owns ~200,000 Bitcoin that it confiscated[xi]. China also confiscated ~195,000 Bitcoin though it is unclear if it has been sold[xii]. Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco has agreed in December 2023 to work with Japanese company SBI Holdings “in the field of digital assets”[xiii].

AIER

The complexities and potential manipulations of the paper gold market as well as the infeasibility of using it for transactions, make it a non-viable alternative. Yet we see above how Bitcoin stacks up against both the BRICS currencies AND the Dollar. It has clearly been a better ‘store of value’ since its existence.

I wrote about this first in in January and since then nations have begun to echo similar sentiments. I wrote on Trump’s Bitcoin pledges shortly after he won the election in “Trump: Accountability & Expectations”. To summarize, in July at the annual Bitcoin Conference, Trump pledged to form a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve”, he pledged to establish a Bitcoin advisory council and generally to make a more favorable Bitcoin environment[17]. Senator Lummis’ Bill calls for purchasing up to 200,000 Bitcoin a year to get to a total of 1 million Bitcoin [18]. The US is currently the largest known state holder of Bitcoin, with 213,000 Bitcoin [19], at the time of this writing, that puts the United States as one of the top Bitcoin owning entities in the world [20].

Ahead of the BRICS conference ~~the ECB~~ just some guys from the ECB, definitely not the ECB, seemingly in a panic, published a poorly researched & poorly written lazy hit piece against Bitcoin [21]. For a rebuttal, read this. I saw this as one thing, recognition of the Bitcoin’s viability as an alternative to the current monetary system. Bitcoin was discussed at the conference, with Putin even stating (as I did) "The dollar was used as a weapon” [22]. Earlier this month, Putin stated “who can ban Bitcoin, no one” [23], shortly after, reports reveal that a bill was proposed in Russia for a ‘Bitcoin Reserve’ [24].

They don’t need to ‘win’, they need the dollar to lose

What we need to realize is that we, as Putin stated, have used the dollar as a weapon. We have done this time & again and while we often see sanctions as a ‘peaceful alternative’ to war, they often claim hundreds of thousands of lives, now totaling in the millions of lives (this includes >500k Iraqi Children). Our aggressive use of sanctions & our outright theft of Russia’s dollar reserves made it clear that there are no lines we won’t cross.

The dollar system requires that nations yield at least some of their sovereignty to the United States in order to ‘stay in the system’. In the past, before Bitcoin, the only possible option was to choose a new nation to yield to. Now, with Bitcoin, there is an alternative that would strip the US of this power while not requiring (nor allowing) another nation to take its place. For adversarial nations, ‘choosing Bitcoin’ is beating the dollar & thus beating the US. Additionally, many nations we currently wield this power most heavily against are energy rich, meaning they could shift resources into Bitcoin mining (with the right hardware). Imagine OPEC, instead of downscaling production, shifting it into energy production & mining.

Responsibility of the American Government

As it becomes increasingly probable that Bitcoin will have a role in the global economy, it is irresponsible for the US to sit idly. The best option for the United States is to utilize our current ability to ‘weaponize the dollar’ to buy Bitcoin, energy (infrastructure etc) & technology (mining equipment, components & the ability to create them). This will ensure that when we lose our reserve status we are well prepared & well positioned for what comes next. This is the best option, even for those who do not ‘believe’ in Bitcoin. Just as we hold (at least on paper) gold reserves as a contingency, we should adapt to the current era & hold Bitcoin.

Note: I have Softwar by Jason Lowery on my bookcase waiting to be read, when I do, if appropriate I will write an article & link to it here. (it comes highly recommended to me). I’m not putting a link because it seems to come in and out of print and when out of print, its price gets really high.

Opting out

“Simply saving part of their income will not necessarily reduce aggregate demand because the money that is put into banks or other financial institutions is in turn lent or invested elsewhere. That money is then spent by different people for different things but it is spent nonetheless, whether to buy homes, build factories, or otherwise.” — Thomas Sowell, Basic Economics

Bitcoin is more than an investment to increase your dollar denominated ‘wealth’, it is a means to reject this system that runs on blood, suffering & death.

In The Bitcoin Standard, Ammous defines salability as “The ease with which a good can be sold on the market whenever its holder desires, with the least loss in price”. He goes on to assert there are “3 facets of salability …across scales, across space & across time”. Meaning, to be a viable ‘money’ it should be easily divisible, easy to transport and maintain its value over time.

We can see in the ‘Theft’ section how the dollar is failing as a store of value. If you simply held onto dollars as a method of savings your purchasing power would decline and the value of your dollars would dissipate. The system doesn’t want you saving, it demands the results of your labor be pushed back into the system, flowing upward and away from you.

If the world functioned on ‘A Bitcoin Standard’ , you would have the option to accumulate & hold onto your earnings. Your bitcoin would not be ‘inflated away’ like the dollar’s value. You would have a truly ‘risk free’ option for maintaining your wealth, like holding gold when we had a gold standard, something that Fiat stole from us.

Individual Sovereignty

“The state has grown used to treating its taxpayers as a farmer treats his cows, keeping them in a field to be milked” — The Sovereign Individual

Just as nations would break free of the dollar-dominance, so too could individuals. In the eyes of the government, it is still THEIR money and we are simply ‘allowed to use it’. Just as we reject the notion that the government should have a say in how you earn your money, so to should we reject the notion that they have a say in how you spend your money.

Perhaps ultimately we will travel the world as ‘Sovereign Individuals’, yet, for now I’d happily take escaping from government tyranny enforced by their banks. In Canada, protesting against COVID-19 related restrictions led to individuals being debanked [25]. In the United States, we had operation Choke Point seeking to strangle the second Amendment and ‘high risk’ businesses [26]. Then we had ‘Choke Point 2.0’ aimed at Bitcoin [27] , this one I had personal experience with as no one would bank my small mining LLC and I was effectively forced into using Bitcoin only for my business. Many businesses still must avoid Bitcoin under threat of debanking. In the UK, banks were prohibiting donations to UNRWA during the still ongoing Genocide in Gaza, based off of more zionist lies. Bitcoin, however, still functioned and people could donate via Bitcoin instead [28].

Note: The Sovereign Individual is a really interesting book. What really blew my mind is that it was written in 1997 and predicted so much. Unfortunately I did not take great notes on it so I didn’t reference it as much here, but I am re-reading it now and taking more notes for future articles.

Some Closing thoughts

As you continue to learn about Bitcoin, these bits of information might be of use to you.

Dollar Cost Averaging

Dollar cost averaging (DCA) is an important concept that often comes up in discussions about Bitcoin (or investing in general). I believe I first heard of it from the above mentioned podcast and in reference to simply DCA into the stock market. It is essentially just setting up a recurring buy that automatically buys the specified dollar amount at the specified time. This operates much like how we buy index funds with our 401k each paycheck without looking at prices. I think all major exchanges allow you to set up recurring buys.

All exchanges are not equal

I have used a variety of exchanges. I started with Coinbase and used it until I started a mining business and they were impossible to deal with. I then switched to Gemini and used them until they prevented me from moving my personal Bitcoin (accumulated via DCA) to my cold wallet. I now use Cashapp to DCA. No issues so far but it hasn’t been long.

Two lessons learned here.

First, if a service is compromising on Bitcoin for profits (ie offering you shitcoins) they will likely compromise on other things. I will personally do my best to steer away from ‘crypto’ companies and deal only with Bitcoin companies.

Second, Regardless of what exchange you use, it is best NOT to keep it there (see FTX, MT Gox etc ). I cover this in more detail in ‘Cold Storage’, below.

Also, don’t use Binance, they reportedly aided IDF in seizing assets and even sharing address information that was used in targeting Palestinians.

Cold Storage

“Not your Keys, Not your coin” — Everyone who knows

Just as banks can be coerced to comply with governments so to can exchanges. Exchanges have CEOs and staff who can do illegal or unwise things with your assets (again see FTX). Exchanges can run into compliance walls that freeze your assets. The government can decide to force these companies to forfeit the Bitcoin they hold ‘for you’. Do not forget what they did with Gold.

Exchanges are a 3rd party that may be needed for purchasing Bitcoin but should not be used to store it. There are many options available for cold storage, I have personally used ledger & Coldcard. I recommend not using ledger as they push shitcoins & have a myriad of other issues.

Coldcard is widely regarded as among the best options and once you get into it isn’t hard to operate. The resources they have on their site were sufficient to get me going,

Bitkey is ‘newer’ but a lot of the guys at Bitcoin Veterans have been using them to onboard friends & family and I haven’t heard any negatives. From my understanding the main perk is the ‘recoverability’ of assets if you lose your Bitkey. This is a red flag to many but is better than an exchange, if nothing else, perhaps this is a good middle ground before getting to a coldcard.

Seed Storage

NEVER PUT YOUR SEED ON ANYTHING DIGITAL

This means a phone, a digital note, a word document, a picture, no digital (hackable) records. Additionally, as soon as possible transfer to something metal. I bought some random titanium plate on amazon and a Dremel and it was a PAIN, but my seed words are safe! Punchplate sponsors Bitcoin Veterans & was on their video podcast, I think they offer a good, easier to use solution that the ‘scratch the titanium’ method I used.

Conclusion

“What really broke Germany was the constant taking of the soft political option in respect of money” — Adam Ferguson, When Money Dies

My hope & effort on Bitcoin isn’t just wealth accumulation, I hope for change. We are familiar with the concept of ‘voting with your feet’, we understand boycotting a company or a product. Bitcoin gives us the ability to opt out of the corrupt Federal Reserve System.

With global instability & violence at peak levels, I feel the nation-state abandonment of the dollar is drawing closer. What could have taken decades before may have been forced far ahead due to our own misuse & abuse of the power that came with the dollar. We do not have to sit by and wait for the government to slowly react to a developing new reality.

The Dollar is ‘the Government’s money’, Bitcoin can be OUR money. We no longer need to gamble on evil companies in the hopes that we will avoid inflation’s soulless theft. We can choose to measure our labor & time in something that they do not own and control. We can choose something that doesn’t allow for ever-expanding government power & unending wars. We can choose Bitcoin.

Note:

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Reading list

The Sovereign Individual

War is a Racket

Principles of Economics

For additional Resources check out BitcoinVeterans

Diligent Gear

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Resources

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-6102-forbidding-the-hoarding-gold-coin-gold-bullion-and-gold-certificates

xi. https://www.aier.org/article/can-brics-displace-the-dollar/

xii. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/us-federal-government-holds-massive-bitcoin-stash-amidst-price-rocket#:~:text=Over%20the%20years%2C%20it%20has,stockpile%20of%20bitcoin%2C%20approximately%20200%2C000.

xii. https://beincrypto.com/chinese-gov-bitcoin-holdings-outrank-microstrategy-despite-crypto-ban/

xiii. https://www.cointribune.com/en/saudi-aramco-on-the-verge-of-embracing-bitcoin/

Cease...fire

Eomar — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 15:02:58 GMT

Hezbollah & the zionists have agreed to a ceasefire and there are ongoing, supposedly hopeful, talks regarding a ceasefire in Gaza. Despite the agreement, israel has continued aggressive actions in Lebanon that threaten to re-escalate the conflict. This is occurring amidst the backdrop of an incoming Trump administration which has promised ‘no new wars’ and ‘to end wars’ while simultaneously threatening to escalate ongoing wars. This article will provide some context to the current situation.

Hezbollah-zionist Ceasefire

The terms of the ceasefire give Israel 60 days to withdraw from Southern Lebanon and they give Hezbollah forces the same time frame to move north of the Litani river [1]. I think it is important to note that this 60 day timeframe puts the deadline at 1/26/2025, 6 days after Trump’s inauguration. The Litani river was also the geographic line designated after the 2006 war by UNSC Resolution 1701[2]. From the zionist perspective, Hezbollah being pushed north of the Litani river would significantly limit the usability of their short-range munitions. The “goal” here is to have both confronting forces (IDF & Hezbollah) withdraw from the area and the Lebanese military take over security, essentially acting as a layer of insulation between the two. The feasibility of this plan is questionable given the Lebanese Army’s 73,000 man troop strength [3], the extensive capabilities of Hezbollah & the bomb everything that moves tactics of the zionists.

CNN [4]

Litani river to ‘israel’ Border, Google Maps

Adding doubt to this ceasefire is the ongoing aggressive actions of the zionists, again acting as an obstacle to peace. Despite the “ceasefire” israel has repeatedly and continuously struck inside Lebanon. Even “American” special envoy Hochstein has chastised israel for its repeated violations of the terms of the ceasefire agreement [5]. By December 1st, France had already cited 52 israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement [6]. Netanyahu has not shied away from this aggressive behavior, stating “We are enforcing this ceasefire with an iron fist,” [7]. The zionist defense minister took it even further threatening the (currently) ‘neutral’ state of Lebanon by saying “If we return to war we will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to know: that there will be no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon”.

On December 2nd, Hezbollah “retaliated” by firing two rockets into land that israel is still occupying in Lebanon (no one was harmed) [8]. I have significant doubts that this is going to hold if the zionists continue to breach the agreement, especially if they continue their genocide in Gaza. The level of aggression displayed while claiming to ‘be in a ceasefire’ is absurd, even by our own corrupt government’s standards.

The reality on the ground I believe is unchanged. While zionists still have massive air superiority, they can achieve very little with their conscript laden ground forces. I think that the reality of our supply chain concerns & China’s recent posturing made the need for peace here more ‘real’ to Western nations.

Rumors of a Gaza-Ceasefire

Reportedly, Hamas & Fateh (the mostly useless group ruling the West Bank) are near an agreement to hand over control of Gaza to a 12-15 member committee comprised of “independent” people “mostly from Gaza” [9]. Details are pretty hard to come by at this stage and nothing has been solidified. The first questions that comes to mind are in regards to border control (with Egypt primarily & the absurd Sea restrictions).

Trump recently threatened ‘the middle east’ (more civilians) with “Hell to pay” if the hostages aren’t released by his inauguration (1/20/2025). Hamas responded by pointing out the fact that Netanyahu is the one preventing a peace agreement [10]. Even israelis acknowledge this as true [11] and it is made even more obvious by the continued escalations, assassinations & violence perpetrated by israel. While peace is in the best interest of Israel, it is not in the best interest of Netanyahu, who would face prosecution in israel on unrelated charges and whose ability to leave israel is severely hampered by ICC arrest warrants.

TruthSocial

Conclusion

I believe Hezbollah’s acceptance of a “ceasefire” was a ‘show of good will’ to facilitate peace in Gaza (given that the news of the Hamas talks came shortly after). I think the primary reason the ‘ceasefire’ with Hezbollah is holding is the potential success of the Gaza ceasefire talks. While some are alarmed by Trump’s rhetoric, I question what more we can do that is worse than full-on supporting a genocide for 14+ months. Again, due to supply constraints & global realities, I do not think the US can expand the war without disastrous results. With politics in mind, I think perhaps Trump is adding rhetoric in recognition that peace is actually possible & he wants to lay claim to it (saying his ‘tough talk’ forced peace etc).

Achieving a ceasefire is only the first step and that has yet to be done. The next steps will be holding those responsible for committing genocide accountable, while rapidly moving towards a two-state solution with a real & viable Palestinian state.

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The power struggle between Hezbollah & the Lebanese Army is explained a bit here.

Trump: Accountability & Expectations

Eomar — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 02:43:53 GMT

Trump made a lot of promises on the campaign trail, those that followed his 2016 run should recall how many promises went unfulfilled. I think the stakes are higher this time around and unfortunately, continuing to escalate. Given the circumstances, I wanted to explore what Trump promised, what is behind the frequently used ‘buzzwords’ and what we should expect to see.

Disclosure: The book links in this article are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Free Political Prisoners

This must happen day one. There really is no excuse for it not to be done with the utmost speed, what may be an inconvenience to Trump is more time that these people do not get to live their lives. I also view the speed with which he acts here as an indicator of what is to come, slow means he will be bogged down again like his first term. Day one, shows to me that he has at least learned something!

Trump already promised to free Ross Ulbricht, this is ‘easy’ and requires no political capital. Those that were ‘made an example of’ from January 6 should also be freed, meaning those that didn’t have clear mal-intent. Trespassing should not result in jail time, I place no ‘special value’ on government buildings. Pardoning January 6ers will come with a lot of ‘bad press’ in the corporate media and from the left.

Edward Snowden did a service to the American people by revealing the evil & unlawful spying that is being conducted by our own government and should be pardoned. By picking Tulsi Gabbard to lead intelligence & with Gaetz leading the DOJ, the odds of this became MUCH better[1]. Hopefully they also pardon Julian Assange, he is free from prison but only by pleading guilty. In the spirit of free speech he should also receive a pardon.

End the wars

Ukraine

Trump has already been floating a more ‘realistic’ peace deal. Not much has been published but the message was to ‘focus on peace & not territory’ [2]. This, as I have argued on X, has been the reality for some time. In my opinion the only chance for Ukraine to maintain territorial integrity was after they pushed back the initial Russian offensive but before their own disastrous ‘counter-offensive’. People can and will argue the details of the 2022 peace deal made it a ‘no-go’[3] , I would argue that we are likely to see something similar or worse due to Ukrainian military failures, the difference is the amount of lives lost since 2022. By rejecting peace and revealing growing weakness in their (and the West’s) military failures, we have provided Russia with a stronger negotiating standpoint.

The strongest offer Trump can make, really the only way I see to restore Ukrainian territory is to have the US completely withdraw from NATO . Trump has floated the idea before and even though the establishment tried to set up barriers, there are potential ways out of the agreement. Primarily, the Presidential authority over foreign policy [4].

It should also be noted that as I am writing this, Biden/Harris approved the use of US weapons to strike within Russia. This is another dangerous escalation with little to no strategic value. I see this, much like I describe israeli escalations, as an attempt to ‘lock in’ a wider war before Trump takes office.

Gaza Genocide

Make no mistake, I am in no way delusional. I know America is not suddenly going to become ‘pro-Palestine’ nor do I think we will outright abandon Israel (despite what I WISH would happen). I think that the reality demands we find peace, I have written several times about the damage we are doing to our nation on the behalf of Israel and the longer it goes on the worse it will get. We quite literally gain nothing from our support of Israel, other than manufactured enemies for the Military Industrial Complex to earn money from.

Netanyahu et al, despite their complete reliance on the United States have taken advantage of Biden/Harris being the weakest American leaders we have had, perhaps ever. Despite shifting ‘red lines’ and fake calls for peace, Netanyahu has aggressively sought to drag the US into a war with both Hezbollah & Iran. Israel is now in a precarious position. Despite the huge death toll and destruction the zionists inflict on Gaza, they are failing to achieve their mission in Gaza. The combat in Lebanon is going as poorly as it was predicted to and israel is facing growing internal pressure as a result. Read “Double or nothing” for more details on the military situation.

What this reality provides Trump is an ‘Israel first’ message for peace. It legitimately IS in Israel’s best interest to end the war (just not in Netanyahu’s interest). Without peace the zionist state will continue to deteriorate at an increasingly rapid rate, even the zionists in ‘israel’ acknowledge this fact[5]. If Trump truly wants a lasting peace it must come with a two-state solution, that is the reality on the ground, that is what the entire world supports & that is what most Americans support[6]. This is a goal that Presidents have failed since we created the zionist entity, yet if Trump puts America First he can get it done and would be remembered fondly for it.

I want to emphasize, we CANNOT claim to be ‘America First’ while supporting zionism, we gain NOTHING and it costs us everything. I write in detail here, in “American Victory” what we must strive for. In short, American victory is the preservation of AMERICAN lives, liberty & property.

No new wars

Read “America’s Waning Power” & “A Wider War: Supply Chain & Restraint” to get an idea of the strategic risks & the supply shortages the US is facing. Trump also admits our current weakness here. Quite literally we cannot fight these wars. That includes the ongoing Ukraine war & our support of the Gaza Genocide. For a short exercise, think about the situation around Yemen. The United States Navy is incapable of stopping Yemen from striking ships & Yemen is even launching advanced hypersonic missiles into Tel-Aviv[7]. The mission has been described as ‘the most intense fighting since WW2’[8] , Yemen does not even have a ‘real’ Navy. The carrier we use as the foundation for our force projection is antiquated and will become an increasing liability as missile & drone technology proliferates and advances further.

Iran

Even if we were not facing supply issues, Hezbollah & Iran are both much more formidable than other state & non-state actors we have faced in the past. Hezbollah provides Iran with ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ despite the (current) lack of nuclear weapons. Iran itself has been preparing for decades and has a border comprised of mountain ranges. Iran poses a MUCH greater challenge than Iraq and Afghanistan. A war with Iran would be catastrophic and would likely put a swift end to our crumbling empire and our hegemony.

China

We have interests in other parts of the world that ARE critical to our dominance, namely, the chip industry in Taiwan. As we smash ourselves against the rocks in Eastern Europe & the Middle East, China is sitting back, watching and growing in strength. While I do not believe there is an ‘imminent threat’ of a Taiwan invasion, our haphazard and ill-advised endeavors throughout the world are providing them with a better opportunity each day. China recently laid out red lines and expectations to Biden during their recent meeting [9]. In doing so China is reinforcing all the arguments I made above. We must not continue on this path or we will risk being in such a weakened state that Chinese leadership see no other option but to directly counter our influence.

NATO

As I wrote above, NATO is our largest bargaining chip in securing peace with Russia. In the supply chain article above, I mention how weak most NATO nations really are. Turkey, the second most powerful military in NATO has become closer and closer with Russia in recent years and our ongoing support of Israel’s genocide is pushing them further and further away from us. In reality I think NATO is a hollow organization, using it as a bargaining chip for peace in Ukraine would probably be the best thing NATO has ever accomplished.

Pulling out of NATO would not only serve as a token of peace to Russia but as a token of sincerity to the millions of Americans who want to put America First. While our support of israel is more costly to the ‘America First’ movement, NATO has the potential to take the lead if it pushes us to a hot war with Russia. Withdraw from NATO the day after we tell the zionists to fund & fight their own wars.

Mixed signals

Elon musk supposedly met with Iran’s ambassador to discuss ‘easing tensions’, according to the NYT the meeting was “positive” (as per anonymous Iranians) [10]. Assuming this is happening at the behest of Trump and is reflective of his intent on foreign policy, it is a good sign.

Today Israeli media is reporting that Trump plans to escalate arms shipments to Israel. Not only does this further deplete our supplies, it would push us closer to a war with Iran and Hezbollah and as we weaken ourselves in that losing fight, we incentivize others (China, Russia etc) to make moves against our interests elsewhere.

I haven’t seen anything from Trump explicitly confirming this, though given his appointments I wouldn’t be shocked. He could think this is ‘showing strength’, while he tries to negotiate peace via Musk. I also wouldn’t be at all surprised if our “greatest ally” was trying to sabotage peace efforts that Musk allegedly embarked on today.

Border & immigration

When asked about a ‘grace period’ for illegals Tom Homan (Trump’s newly appointed “border czar”) replied : “Criminals and gang members get no grace period… While we're out prioritizing the public safety threats and national security threats, if you wanna self-deport, you should self-deport because, again, we know who you are, and we're gonna come and find you."[11].

Honestly each of these sub-sections could probably be their own article. Immigration, the causes , the laws, the impacts, the individual cases are very complex and deserve a lot of time. This is really just scratching the surface of the topic.

Securing the Border

I think this is THE MOST IMPORTANT step. I get into other ‘promises’ here but some of them, like ‘public benefits’ have at least some ‘difficult cases’ (I’m thinking the family that has been here for 10 years etc). The best way to solve those complex issues is to ensure people cannot get into the country illegally.

Trump vowed to end ‘migrant flights’, to end ‘catch and release’ and to end sanctuary cities [12]. For sanctuary cities, this will likely be a function of withholding federal funds. I haven’t seen much of anything related to a ‘wall’ this time around, except from former candidate Harris[13].

Migrant flights have accounted for the entry of more than 400,000 ‘inadmissible aliens’ into the United States [14], this is also the often referenced ‘parole’ that is being granted. CHNV as the program is also called allows for up to “30,000 noncitizens per month” to travel to the US and be paroled for “up to two years for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit” [15]. The criteria listed is below

Catch & release was apparently an issue under Trump’s last term as well. In 2018 his office pointed to “statutory and judicial obstacles” that “encourage illegal immigration”[16]. One of the arguments against reversing catch and release is the economic cost, which was (in FY2019) $124 per individual per day in adult detention and $319 per individual per day in ‘family’ detention[17]. Presumably this would be mitigated by immediate deportation (which has its own associated costs & challenges).

Cartels & Black Markets

Trump committed to ‘going to war against the cartels’ [18], this expansion of the war on drugs could potentially exacerbate the immigration problem. Many of the people fleeing from nations south of us are fleeing drug cartel related violence. These cartels are in power and have a market specifically BECAUSE of our war on drugs. We stripped the power of the local governments to benefit from the drug trade and pushed it into the black market. IF, a huge IF, Trump is successful in breaking up cartels (to say I have doubts is an understatement) then this could alleviate some immigration pressure.

Birthright Citizenship

“As part of my plan to secure the border, on Day One of my new term in office, I will sign an executive order making clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law, going forward, the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship,” — Donald Trump Agenda 47

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” — Section 1 , 14th Amendment, US Constitution

Trump reiterates that at least one parent will have to be a citizen in order for their child to be granted citizenship. I’m not a lawyer, but this just seems completely contradictory to the 14th Amendment. Trump tries to say its ‘interpreted wrong’ primarily (i think) due to the phrase “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” [19].

Essentially what Trump is actually promising is to sign an executive order that triggers a Supreme Court review/clarification of the 14th Amendment. This factcheck article has more details and would be worth reading if this is an important issue to you.

Welfare for illegals

According to a report from the house oversight committee illegal immigrants receive about $42 billion from various welfare programs [20]. One of the things specified by Trump was making illegals ineligible for public housing. This seems to stem from a ‘COVID era’ rule change that removed the need to show proper documentation before receiving benefits. Under the new rule, they had 180 days to do so[21]. There was a report from Heritage claiming that ICE is allocating $2.5 billion to house illegals, another report by AP claims this is unfounded. Generally speaking, most Americans (Democrat & Republican) do not believe immigrants should have access to public assistance[23].

The above mention House oversight report states that before the recent surge in illegal immigration, there were ~4 million ‘illegal immigrant’ students in public schools costing ~$68.1 billion dollars per year (at the time, based on the national average cost per student). The schooling issue was apparently decided previous in Plyer v Doe where the Supreme Court ruled that ‘undocumented immigrants’ can attend public schools essentially due to the equal protection clause. If they are going to remain here, then schooling them isn’t the worst idea in terms of our own self interests. Without it, the likelihood that they turn to violence & crime would increase significantly [24]. The question then becomes, how much negative impact are these added students going to have on those who live in & pay taxes to the school district.

Trump’s full video on ‘welfare for illegals’ is here.

Deportation

“We will begin the largest deportation operation in the history of our country” — Donald Trump

Tom Homan stated in a 60 minutes interview that its not going to be ‘sweeps & concentration camps’, it will be ‘targeted arrests’ [25]. That same 60 minutes interview shows clips of Stephen Miller claiming it will likely use the national guard and have large ‘staging grounds’ where ‘planes are waiting’ to deport the illegal immigrants. When asked, Tom states its just ‘work site enforcement’ which is ‘necessary’. Trump states he would invoke the ‘alien enemies act of 1798’ [12]. Which may be legally supported by his ‘war against cartels’ mentioned earlier. This article, from the Brennan Center, dives into the ‘alien enemies act’ and how it could be used/fought against if you are interested in reading more about it

Tom stated his ‘first’ targets would be national security or public safety threats (criminals, terrorists etc) but would not limit enforcement to that group. 60 minutes shows an arrest operation , in it the target, who was previously convicted of assault and ‘ordered deported’ was arrested. The driver, also illegal but not a violent criminal, was let go. The video is pretty interesting, I didn’t have time to validate the cost & money claims made in the video. Personally, I think Tom sounds like a bureaucrat with power that believes in everything he is doing, I don’t consider that a ‘good’ trait.

The logistics, manpower and cost requirements here seem to be the major barrier. I am not sure what methods Trump can carry out unilaterally, but given the popular support for ‘tackling immigration’ he may be able to get funding from Congress. It will likely be easier to secure if he specifically targets the ‘criminals’ and other ‘threats’ specifically. As Tom Homan said, they are the ‘first’ target group. I don’t think they will get near the ‘second group’ in the next four years. I also don’t think most Americans want to go after the more complex cases with families, homes, jobs etc.

Taxes

While campaigning Trump promises to cut or end multiple forms of taxes including taxes on tips, overtime, social security [26] and he even floated replacing the income tax with tariffs while on the Joe Rogan Experience.

The best solution for all Americans is to eliminate the income tax which was enacted by America’s worst President Woodrow Wilson. Trump could likely take unilateral actions such as ‘delaying’ withdrawal of taxes, or reallocating staff/resources away from tax collection. In terms of legal challenges, the NYT states “Tax scholars and some of Mr. Trump’s advisers have said that it would be difficult for a party to claim that they were harmed by a move that saves them money, even if it costs the federal government revenue”[27]. Trump can get an easy win with the American people, rather than have IRS agents ‘idle’ he can lay them off or reassign them to useful departments. Remember, 100% of the time, you will spend YOUR hard earned money in better ways than the government.

Education

Accreditation

Trumps, long named video describes how he will ‘fix’ colleges. The first rant about ‘jihadist’ support is absurd , but the rest isn’t. I actually posted about ending the current accreditation system here. Prior to seeing this video. The fact still stands that the “American Academy” is redundant and can be fulfilled by the private sector as it is being done now.

End the Department of Education

Turns out this was just a rhetoric. A video I saw today, not sure when it was released, shows Trump detailing how he would USE the department of education. I wasn’t told we’d have a department of education ‘for good purposes’ , I was told we would abolish this ineffective and immoral government agency. While this would have been difficult to achieve, if you are going to ‘throw in the towel’ before you even take office, you shouldn’t campaign on it. This seems like another loss on the promises of candidate Trump.

Universal School Choice

The next best thing to abolishing the DOE, is ensuring that parents can help their kids escape government run schools, that means school choice. The concept of school choice means that the funding, your tax dollars, will follow the student regardless of where they attend school. If you want them in a religious school, or private school, the funds will go with them there. This creates competition, a much needed motivator for government schools that often face none.

At a glance, I don’t think, Trump can mandate where state funding is allocated, but he can at the very least divert the federal funding. We can see that most funding comes from the states themselves [28]. He mentions using 529 plans here to help homeschoolers, but 529 plans (as far as I know) are only exempt from state tax, not Federal. Making them a federal income tax write-off as well would help.

educationdata.org

Some highlights from his policy

Trumps policy page details more on his stance on education and ‘related’ things. If really interested, I recommend reading through it entirely, this is just what caught my attention.

“President Trump will also make clear that Title Nine prohibits men from participating in women’s sports.”
“President Trump will ask Congress to pass a bill”
- I feel like this is just saying ‘it isn’t gonna happen but look how cool I am’
direct election of school principals
- for what term? is this annual? seems a bit messy not sure how that would work, but I guess ‘support’ it is another ‘look at me’ tactic
Funding preferences for states and districts that abolish teacher tenure
- This is interesting and could be the ‘lever’ used by Trump on other issues
“When troubled youth are out of control, the consequences must be “swift, certain, and strong.”
- I understand who Trump thinks this is aimed at but the reality is that it can be used against ANY student whom the administration does not like.
“President Trump will support school districts that allow highly trained teachers to carry concealed weapons at school, which will greatly reduce the threat of school shootings.”
- This is good, but completely ending the ‘gun free’ school zone act of ~1990 would be great and completely end this disastrous era of advertised soft targets
“To further harden our schools against harm from outside intruders, President Trump will support federal funding to hire veterans, retired police officers, and other trained gunowners as armed guards in our nation’s schools—a measure that will help deter unhinged maniacs and keep our nation’s children out of harm’s way.”
- This is cool too, I’d do it as a side job for little to no pay if they give me an office to do my FT (I work remote) job, ill just pop out if there is an active shooter. Many others would likely feel the same. Toss in a badge so we can hassle free own fully autos and some range access and a bunch of us will probably pay you to hire us!

Department of Government Efficiency

“Very simply, this meant that if Congress provided more funding than was needed to run the government, the President could refuse to waste the extra funds, and instead return the money to the general treasury and maybe even lower your taxes…” — Donald Trump Agenda47

Trump goes on to state he will challenge the impoundment control act to ‘squeeze the bloated federal bureaucracy’. Trump states he will order federal agencies to report areas where they can make cuts. Notably he excludes defense, Medicare & social security. He states impoundment can be used to “starve the warmongers” who “love killing”.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is to be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Vivek was my pick for President this election cycle, his policies were consistently in line with my own beliefs on most, if not all major policies. He was against further supporting israel (he framed it as a very ‘pro-Israel’ stance). Most relevant, he was the only one that actually had a PLAN to cut the size of government. While campaigning he asserted that his target was 75% and that 50% could be done in the first year[29]. Musk is a successful businessman & has experience making drastic cuts (see his takeover of Twitter).

Trump’s video gave some contradictory information, he asserts defense will not be cut, but that he will ‘starve the warmongers’. To do that, you need to cut defense spending. Start with the carrier! DOGE can do a lot of good just with the domestic side of the house, but for real beneficial change to America and to really ‘Smash the Racket’ we need cuts in “defense” spending. It is a scary topic when people see this brought up but know that we can defend our nation for MUCH cheaper if we stop fighting wars all over the world on behalf of foreign nations. I cover this more here.

update: Vivek & Musk published this regarding DOGE

Bitcoin

“Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and unAmerican Crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their Digital Assets, and transact free from Government Surveillance and Control.” — RNC Platform [30]

The above is the only time Bitcoin is mentioned in the RNC platform. It covers many of the promises he made during Trump’s speech at the at the Bitcoin 2024 conference. He has also committed to “support” nuclear energy production [31] which would be a huge boon to the bitcoin mining industry, along with benefiting other industries and individuals.

Trump also pledged to establish a Bitcoin advisory council. There are plenty of industry leaders available here in the states to help establish ‘transparent regulatory guidance’ created by people that want to see ‘your industry thrive’. I think speculating won’t add too much value. I could have sworn I saw a tweet from Jason P. Lowery though…

Perhaps the most ‘buzz’ creating promise was that of Creation of a Strategic Bitcoin reserve using the Bitcoin the government has already seized, 213,246 Bitcoin [32] . While this is a great ‘starting point’ Senator Lummis’ “Bitcoin Act of 2024” lays out a clearer vision of how this could take place. In her bill [33] she calls for purchasing up to 200,000 bitcoin per year for 5 years to get a total of 1 million bitcoin. For some context, MARA owns ~25,000 Bitcoin, China owns 190,000 Bitcoin[32] and Micro Strategy owns ~252,200 Bitcoin and plans to purchase an additional 42 Billion dollars worth [34]. It is estimated that ‘Satoshi’ owns up to 1.1 million [35].

I wrote in ‘Americas Waning Power’ how we are destroying ourselves with money-printing induced inflation, debt and (many) other ways. I argued there how Bitcoin is a clear alternative to many including the BRICS nations. It has become clear that America must prepare itself for a world where the dollar is NOT the reserve currency. A Bitcoin reserve serves as a ‘fallback plan’ even if those setting it up don’t want to ever need to use it.

Use this link to easily reach out to your representatives and let them know that you want THEM to support senator Lummis’ bill. I sincerely believe this is a net good for America, regardless of any political differences we may have. You simply put in your info and it sends a ‘letter’ on your behalf.

Note: Late in the writing of this article, news broke that Trump is in talks to purchase an exchange (where you can buy/sell bitcoin). I think this is the strongest signal yet that he does intend to move forward with the SBR. Likely trying to capitalize off of his fans purchasing Bitcoin and potentially distributing USGOV purchases across ‘all US exchanges’ or something similar.

Learn about Bitcoin

If looking to learn more about Bitcoin Saifedean Ammous’ “The Bitcoin Standard” is a great starting point. I also highly recommend Nik Bhatia’s “Layered Money”. Saylor.org offers a specialization made by the two writers above & other leaders in the field.

Bitcoin Veterans is a fantastic resource with written material, a weekly podcast & a daily (M-F, 10AM EST) X space where you can join the conversation (I frequently am there speaking as well!).

The 1st Amendment

Trump announces plan to ‘shatter left wing censorship regime’ [36]. I like a LOT of this. The 7 year ‘cooling off period’ to end the revolving door between intel and big tech is great. The only caution flag that I want to wave is related to ‘terrorism’, he includes the ability to take down illegal content “promoting terrorism”. I’m sure many of you have noticed, our government basically uses the ‘terrorist’ label for any nation we plan to bomb. This could be used to censor any anti-war speech. We have seen how our government views our own veterans as a ‘terrorist threat’ [37]. The fact is the government cannot be trusted to make this decision. If it were only direct calls to violence, I think it’d be ok, but anything more than that gives our government, that deserves NO trust, too much power. He does mention a ‘court order’ requirement to take down content, but I think if anything, we should have at least a LITTLE doubt in the fairness of our judicial system at this point.

While that video was great, other clips show Trump repeatedly attacking the first amendment. He vows to cancel visas for anyone protesting israel & to ban anyone who isn’t pro-israel from the country[38]. This is a blatant attack on the right to free speech. Trump is misinformed or outright lies about the levels of support for israel in the US and exaggerates or fabricates ‘anti-semitism’ in the United States. Our right to free speech includes the right to criticize our own government and it CERTAINLY means we can say anything we want about israel and the evil it brings to the world.

2nd Amendment

"Unfortunately, Donald Trump had bad advisers making him bad on the Second Amendment, and that is my issue." — Kyle Rittenhouse

Kyle Rittenhouse rightfully stated that Trump was bad on the 2nd amendment. When Trump took office the first time, he had the house and senate yet passed no favorable legislation. In fact, Trump was quoted in support of un-Constitutional red flag laws ‘Take the guns first, go through due process second”[39]. Additionally, Trump pushed through another un-Constitutional ban against bump stocks, luckily that has been overturned by the Supreme court [40]. In terms of the 2nd Amendment, the only area Trump ‘did good’ seems to be his Supreme (and lower) Court picks, as evidenced by the bump stock outcome.

Personally, I believe Trump owes the American people a lot. He apparently made assurances to re-earn Rittenhouse’s vote. Trump should enact concealed carry reciprocity so that law abiding citizens do not have to fear prosecution for exercising their rights across state lines [41]. Luckily for him, America’s best Congressman, Thomas Massie has already supplied the bill for him. The next thing should be repealing the NFA, which also has a bill in congress already.

If Trump manages to pass reciprocity, repeal the NFA, and appoint pro-gun Judges he would be remembered as the most pro-2A president since the ones who wrote it.

Template:

Republican Representative

Hello,

Thomas Massie (R-KY) has introduced the National Constitutional Carry act that will help protect the rights of your constituents. This will ensure that law abiding citizens do not have to fear prosecution for merely crossing state lines while exercising their second Amendment rights. Additionally, Eric Burlison (R-MO) proposed ‘Repeal the NFA Act’ which similarly protects American’s second Amendment rights from an overzealous and often Constitution breaching federal agency. As you are a Republican the expectation from those who re-elected you would be that you would adamantly support this bill and do all you can to get it passed.

https://massie.house.gov/uploadedfiles/national_constitutional_carry_act.pdf

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/450

Democrat Representative

Thomas Massie (R-KY) has introduced the National Constitutional Carry act that will help protect the rights of your constituents. Additionally, Eric Burlison (R-MO) proposed ‘Repeal the NFA Act’ which similarly protects American’s second Amendment rights from an overzealous and often Constitution breaching federal agency. During these uncertain and scary times, I think it is more important than ever that we secure our second amendment rights . I ask that you would adamantly support this bill and do all you can to get it passed. Thank you for helping us stay safe & securing liberty

https://massie.house.gov/uploadedfiles/national_constitutional_carry_act.pdf

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/450

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Cabinet & Other Key Positions

What seemed like a good sign and an early win for the anti-war movement has fallen apart quicker than I can write this article. As the nation celebrated Trump ‘pre-firing’ Mike Pompeo & Nikki Haley, they were soon hit in the face with a wave of terrible appointments. There is a lot to write about here and each time I think I’m done another gets released, so instead of bolting that onto our expectations of Trump, I will write an additional article on his cabinet. In short, it looks like he sold the foreign policy positions for $100 million to Miriam Adelson. All have been pro-israel war hawks which does not bode well for the peace we were promised. Domestically, its not GREAT but there are some good ones with potential. The details will be in a subsequent article.

Conclusion

Trump promised a LOT of big things, a lot of it I am a fan of too, but I want to see results, talk is cheap! We saw stark differences between 2016 candidate Trump and what we got as President. I truly hope it was due to ignorance and inexperience and we get something better this time around. I think that we will know pretty early on what kind of administration this is going to be. If he starts off slow I doubt anything will really happen, he will get bogged down in the bureaucracy he was elected to destroy.

As mentioned, Trumps cabinet is full of ‘israel first’ “Americans” that will sacrifice our interests for israel. We cannot fix this nation if we are dragged into more wars on behalf of a genocidal ethno-state. The blowback for our continued blind support will not be isolated to non-state actors. Nations can take actions, not necessarily violent ones, to undermine our power and influence around the world. The growing BRICS movement and China directly laying out clear ‘red-lines’ are examples of this shift.

IF, and this is a big if, Trump’s domestic appointees & actions actually fix what is wrong with this country, or some of it even, it will severely hamper the war machine’s ability to wage unending war. While a smaller, more efficient government will make America MUCH stronger, it will also clear away the ‘fog of war’ that the ‘deep state’ hides behind. The convoluted and false narratives pushed for ‘why we need war’ with some random nation will have nothing to hide behind. It will become more obvious how detrimental these actions are to the American people.

While I am sure I don’t have to tell the ‘left’ to hold Trump accountable, I do want to remind the ‘right’ and the Libertarians (or other independents/3rd party) to hold Trump accountable. Due to his promises of peace & small government he was given the House & Senate along with the Presidency. If he doesn’t QUICKLY start doing what he promised then voters must hold the Republican party accountable in the mid term elections. The only way to show that voters are serious in their demands is to punish the parties at the ballot box if they break their promise.

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Election Day 2024

Eomar — Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:13:47 GMT

I wanted to write down some of my thoughts heading into this election day. I ‘support’ people voting third party, I understand those voting Trump (I think his policies & people are FAR superior to Harris’). I cannot ‘support’ those voting for Harris because she has been actively supporting Israel’s ongoing genocide for over a year.

As a reference I read through this Al Jazeera article on both candidates policies.

Third party votes

I want to get this out of the way first. Many people will try to convince you that a third party vote is a wasted vote. It absolutely is not. If that is how you feel you should vote then do it! In 2020, Libertarians were the margin in some states. In 2024, while Trump was working on his campaign, Libertarians got dedicated time resulting in the pledge to release Ross & increased protection/attention to Bitcoin as well as other commitments. If we blindly voted lock-step with Trump he NEVER would have sat down with us or came to the convention. Punishing the ‘main parties’ by voting for a 3rd party that better reflects your values is a viable way to force change.

Chase Oliver - Libertarian

Jill Stein - Green

Trump

I actually left the Republican party when they picked Trump over Rand Paul, not because of TDS but because a party that wouldn’t pick Rand Paul isn’t one that really aligns that well with my beliefs (I had in previous years written in Ron Paul anyway). 2016 candidate Trump at least had some good talking points though he largely failed to deliver on most things of interest (drain the swamp, gun rights etc). Perhaps the best impact he had is harder to quantify (the court appointees etc.). 2020 Trump felt useless and I think others felt the same way, i think his mishandling of COVID (including debt & money supply increase) sealed his fate.

2024 Trump similarly felt flat & uninteresting in my opinion. Yet now, heading into election day (perhaps facilitated by the attempt on his life), he has a group of people around him that have VERY appealing opinions on things. While I think RFK was far too much of a zionist to be a President, I really like him going after health issues. Vivek, who I actually switched back to Republican to vote for in the primary, is still very close to the campaign. He was one of the few to have an actual plan on reducing the size of government. Elon Musk has shown a good ‘anti-bureaucrat’ reflex and has been floating the idea of cutting trillions in government spending. He and the Great Ron Paul exchanged some very encouraging tweets on X.

I like what a lot of these people have said. I like what some of them stand for. Vivek was the only candidate that said we should end aid to Israel. He still saw them as a ‘strong ally’, but framed it as an ‘America first’ decision. I’m ok with that, not in the absolute sense, but from the reality of American politics sense.

Ron Paul, I can write unending praise for his takes over the years, staunch anti-war , anti-government hero in American politics. Him having the attention and the ear of Elon Musk is a boon to liberty.

Trump Policies Quick Review

War
- Ending the Ukraine war is good. Israeli officials are apparently ‘concerned’ by Trump’s claim he would ‘bring a swift end’ to the Gaza war.
Border
- Securing the border is a necessity for a variety of reasons. I believe Trump is more capable than Kamala, we have her years as border czar to show the result.
general scope of government
- Reducing government size and scope is critically needed, we are on the brink of collapse.
  - Close the department of education
- Voter ID for voting
- provide immunity to cops from prosecution — this is a BIG no from me, we need more accountability not less, not likely ‘doable’ but a bad thought for a President to have
- deport “pro-hamas radicals” a direct attack on the first amendment, would be more concerned if i thought there were a chance of it being enforceable, dumb-low-brain anti-liberty take though
Economics
- Ending the income tax (though not committed to, it is great to hear even mentioned).
- generally, cut taxes increase tariffs
  - I am in support of tariffs TO REPLACE income tax etc
- A bitcoin reserve was mentioned by Trump, something I think that needs to be part of our policy, at least as a contingency plan.
- pro nuclear energy
Freeing Ross Ulbricht is ‘low impact’ on the nation, but huge for Ross & a symbol for liberty.
Abortion
- State level decisions

Harris

Let’s take a look at Kamala’s orbit. Liz Cheney, whose father (Dick Cheney) is so corrupt he got a section on my article ‘War is STILL a Racket’ . She praises and emulates the murderous, warmongering piece of garbage. I get it, its her dad, but ANYONE proud of those policies should be booed and ridiculed unendingly, not praised. “Screw your Freedoms” Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed Kamala. She has the endorsement of a bunch of business people who i do not care about and who i think bring little to nothing (in terms of ideas) to the table. I honestly don’t see anyone in her ‘orbit’ of value or worth. No one I personally respect is supporting Harris (at least that I can think of).

Kamala Policies Quick Review

War
- Continue funding Ukraine war, continue destroying America and leading us to WW3
- no change on current Gaza policy, CONTINUED support for israel.
Border
- no real plan, several years of ‘border czar’ were a complete failure
general scope of government
- increasing size & scope of government
  - more gov’t regulations ‘ to fix housing’
- No Voter ID for voting
- ban assault weapons - a stance that should bar her from ANY political office as it is a direct attack on the Constitution
- oppose school choice (more government)
- end student loan debts (more government)
Economics
- raise minimum wage (more government regulations)
- more pro-union (i don’t know enough about the ‘PRO act’ to comment much here. generally i’m ok with unions, but not public unions (cops, teachers etc)
Abortion
- Federally protected

Conclusion

There are a few things about Trump’s campaign that I really like. I like at least SOME of the people around him. I don’t like the anti liberty things, i don’t like less accountability for cops. I don’t like anti free-speech stance on college campuses. But overall Trump’s promises are MUCH better for liberty and overall they are better for the world. Our large federal government is a plague to MANY nations, reducing it must be a priority. Ending wars must be a priority.

Harris goes in the other direction promising a larger more powerful federal government with unending support for wars. That includes the ongoing genocide in Gaza. I don’t know if Trump will do ANYTHING different but I certainly wont vote for someone actively committing a genocide with the excuse that ‘maybe the other guy will too’.

I can find many reasons to vote for Trump & none to vote for Kamala. That said, I have the …fortune (?)… to live in a state that is ‘already decided’ . I currently plan to write in Thomas Massie due to Trumps ongoing support of Israel.

Were I in a swing state, I don’t think I would do the same. As mentioned, I can see plainly that Trump is better for Americans & I don’t want to enable someone ACTIVELY committing genocide to win. Though I know Trump may be just as bad, perhaps the best we can do is directly punish Kamala for her crimes.

My down ballot votes will be similar strategic moves to oust people working against America, even if the replacement also sucks.

Regardless of who is elected President, I pray that Liberty prevails & America wins this election.

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The Zionist Voter

Eomar — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 20:03:07 GMT

We have been trained to accept that the many, many politicians who stand in front of an israeli flag or kiss a wall in occupied Jerusalem are doing so in order to win ‘the Jewish vote’, some say it’s not just them, its also to win the ‘Christian Zionist’ vote. In light of the trillions of dollars we have spent supporting Israel (from direct contributions to fighting wars on israel’s behalf) one would assume these groups are a huge and swayable voting block in the United States. The reality is, they are merely tools to provide cover for corruption & treason.

The ‘Jewish vote’

Almost 100% of the time when you say “The Jewish ____”, it is the reason you will be slammed for anti-semitism, yet when our politicians pretend that Jews are a monolith that vote only in service to a foreign nation, they get a free pass.

“When we look at American Jew’s attitudes towards Israel based on a 2020 survey conducted by Pew research 54% have never been, 25% feel ‘very emotionally attached to Israel, 32% ‘somewhat’ and 41% ‘not much/not at all’. In this 2020 survey, 54% felt the level of American support was ‘about right’ and 22% said the US was too supportive.” — Guarding Your Humanity

Pew Research Center

I thought, MAYBE 25% of American Jews (the ‘very emotionally attached’) vote primarily on ‘israel policy’. I assumed others vote like other Americans, based on a variety of issues and what impacts their daily life the most (or … more likely, whatever party they happened to fall into as a young adult). My estimation was much too high. PRRI has a survey from 2012 that shows only 4% of Jewish respondents voted primarily based on israel though 20% felt ‘support for israel’ was ‘most important’ to their identity’ [1].

Polling of American Jews shows that on average, since 1968 Jews have voted Democrats over Republicans 71% to 26%[2] . In 2020 68% Jewish voters voted for Biden with only 30% voting for Trump [2]. So the “Jewish vote” is NOT in play for Republicans.

What would the impact be for states if parties “abandoned israel” by putting America First? Would states swing wildly? The answer here is , no [1]. Most American Jews live in NY and they make up 9.1% of the State’s population. If 100% of them voted Democrat in 2020, and now switched Republican, NY would still be won by the Democrats (NY was won by a >15% margin in 2020). This is not accounting for Jews that don’t vote, it is assuming (as do the calculations below), that 100% of Jews vote, it does not distinguish between those even eligible to vote or not.

Looking at the states with the smallest margin of victory, only 4 have a TOTAL Jewish population HIGHER than the margin of victory. Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania & Nevada. ALL were won by Biden in 2020. If Biden ‘abandoned israel’ and alienated 100% of the Jewish population it MIGHT make a difference. Now if we say of the Jewish vote only 68% of them were ‘in play’ for Democrats, only 3 states remain ‘flippable’ (GA, AZ, PA). If only Jewish voters ‘very attached’ to israel vote based on israel support, that means only 25% of the total Jewish population is in play. Adjusting the percent down to only 25% means only 2 states have a population > than the margin (GA, AZ). If we adjust again on party lines, no states are left. Again, this is total Jewish population, not factoring in those eligible to vote or those that choose not to vote. I want to note, Florida is ‘close’ and was won by Trump, but if only 30% of Jews vote Republican, it will not make a difference anyway (even at 100% he still would’ve held the state).

It should be clear by the above analysis that the “Jewish vote” is not deciding elections. Remember this each time we see special legislation being pushed/passed in congress and each time we see a Presidential candidate standing in front of a foreign nations flag and pledging allegiance to it at the expense of America.

PRRI Jewish Identity by county

The “Christian” Zionist vote

The “Christian” Zionist vote. If you want to learn why Christian is in quotes, read the linked article. In total, roughly 14% of Americans identify as ‘white evangelicals’ , its harder than you may think to find the ‘total’ evangelical percentage. This is the oldest religious group, with a median age of 56.

Evangelicals are another voting block that isn’t. We know already that a VERY large majority of African Americans vote Democrat, that in itself suggests a ‘split’ among Christian Evangelicals. The Times of Israel reported in 2021 a MASSIVE drop in support among young evangelicals [18-29], with only 33.6% supporting israel, 24.3% supporting Palestinians and 42.2% saying neither. This is down from 69% support in 2018 and only 5.6% support for Palestinians [3]. Across all age groups, 45% support the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Looking at PRRI data [4], we can get the percentage of White evangelical Christians per state. If all of them were israel first zionists, they would be larger than the margin in 27 states. That is IF they voted only on Israel, in 100% uniform fashion. I think it is safe to assume that Democrats aren’t losing many of the ‘Christian’ zionist votes, so lets take a a look at how it might impact Republicans.

First, 45% support a Palestinian State, so we know they are NOT israel-firsters. If we adjust and say only 55% of them are israel firsters, then they are larger than the margin in 12 states. Based on a PEW poll, we see only 33% of White evangelicals support a ‘one state’ israel solution [5]. If we assume ALL of them are “israel first” voters willing to destroy America for Israel, we would be left with 8 states that could ‘swing’ of those ONLY 2 were actually won by Trump in 2020. This implies that Biden would likely STILL win these states (as Democrats are likely NOT pulling many of these votes to begin with).

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, many saw Republicans taking a hit politically and as a result, many Republicans are shifting on abortion. Yet, in EVERY SINGLE STATE, all 50, the percent who oppose abortion is larger than the TOTAL number of evangelicals. If Republicans were so desperate for hardline votes, why are they not aiming at the VERY large group that are anti-abortion?

Americans

A gallop Poll in march of 2024 show that only 38% of Americans approve of israeli military actions in Gaza. This support generally comes from older Americans who are more or less captured by corporate media and their decades long and ongoing propaganda campaign to convince Americans to sacrifice on behalf of Israel. This capture is discussed a bit in ‘Guarding your Humanity’. Even this poll question is phrased in a way supportive of Israel’s narrative vs the reality of israel’s ongoing Genocide.

Importantly only 36% of Americans support continued military aid to israel. While only 37% are ‘opposed’, another 29% are ‘not sure’ or indifferent and given the nature and cost of aid, should be counted (in my opinion) as against.

Pew [5]

Zionist Money & Influence

AIPAC, a group that should be registered with FARA, supports politicians who give unquestioning loyalty to Israel. They openly boast of how they influence our elections in favor of israel and even have ‘AIPAC Handlers’ assigned to each politician in DC. The corruption & betrayal is directly in view. This election cycle (2023-2024) AIPAC has spent almost $42 million on campaign contributions and another $4.6 million on lobbying [6] . AIPAC is the most influential zionist group but their are others, the chart below shows ‘pro israel’ contributors as per opensecrets.org [7]

Those on X/twitter will often see coordinated messages sent out from official handles, very clearly echoing the same message (likely as per instructions). In addition to the money, the israeli government conducts propaganda campaigns directly targeting American politicians [8].

Military Industrial Complex

The entities above are just those openly zionist. In context of the military industrial complex, our support of israel has ALWAYS been a ‘golden goose’ for the industries that profit from war. We knew early on that our support of the zionist project would lead to constant war and I believe THAT was a major reason that our support for it began. I cover the military industrial complex in depth here in , War is Still a Racket.

“Institutional Investors”

Disclosure: The book links in this article are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

If you find yourself wondering ‘why is the media covering up these crimes’, it becomes quite clear when you dig into ownership. Most media companies are primarily owned by ‘institutional investors’ (big banks, investment firms, college endowments etc). These are the same institutional investors that own the military industrial complex. These are the same institutional investors that own “big food” , “big pharma” and “big tech”. All of them stand to profit when the Federal Reserve prints money for more wars (see Fiat Food by Matthew Lysiak and, for historical context, When Money Dies by Adam Ferguson) .

Conclusion

We can see definitively that the “Jewish Vote” is NOT deciding Presidential elections. We can see, and apply logic to understand that Democrat candidates have too many other issues, besides zionism, to pull any ‘Israel first’ votes. Furthermore, we can see that the percent of Evangelicals that are purely ‘israel first’ voters is likely VERY low.

Especially in the current race, it would be beneficial for either party to abandon this ‘sacrifice for israel’ policy. There is no ‘plausible deniability’ for Democrats. There is NOTHIGN for them to hide their corruption behind. They should be called out and shamed until they abandon this policy which much of at least 52% of their voters are against.

For Republicans, the thin veil of this deception is easily pulled away. We can see how little impact these ‘israel first’ voters really have. We can see that given the choices, most of them would not ‘jump ship’. The ‘Republican support’ for zionism is much more likely to be FROM the party, not from an individual’s personal ideology. The surge in popularity around the rhetoric of ‘no new wars’ and ‘America First’ shows that Americans have had enough of fighting these ‘forever wars’. Ending our support of israel’s ongoing atrocities and ending our promise to fight a war with Iran on israel’s behalf would win over MANY disillusioned voters while risking very few.

Instead, what both parties are doing is using a fanatical, morally depraved tiny fraction of these two groups to provide unending cover for war, corruption, greed and treason. These politicians, on behalf of DONORS, not voters, are sacrificing American Lives, Liberty & Property and betraying American interests on behalf of israeli interests. We must reject this lie and hold those powered by greed accountable.

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Resources

PRRI 2012 Jewish Values Survey, https://prri.parc.us.com/client/index.html#/search
https://www.algemeiner.com/2024/08/01/trump-receiving-historic-levels-jewish-support-us-presidential-race-poll-finds/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/support-for-israel-among-young-us-evangelicals-drops-sharply-survey/
https://ava.prri.org/home#religious/2023/States/religion1
https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/03/21/views-of-the-u-s-role-in-the-israel-hamas-war/
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/american-israel-public-affairs-cmte/summary?id=D000046963
https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus?ind=Q05
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/05/israel-targeted-lawmakers-in-disinformation-campaign-00161906

Give me Liberty

Eomar — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 14:24:59 GMT

Following the 9/11 attacks Americans were rightfully saddened and angered by the murder of their fellow countrymen, even though most of us didn’t personally know anyone who lost their lives. Many of us ‘answered the call’ for years to come to ‘ensure it never happened again’. In the year after 9/11, more people joined the military than in any year since.

Many, like myself, intentionally joined the infantry. Whatever the ‘reason’, we chose to ‘be in the fight’. My fellow grunts, the honest ones with functioning brains, can recognize that if exposed to a fraction of the oppression that Palestinians face they would fight too. We can look at our founders, and see DEFINITIVE proof that they would fight with MUCH less provocation.

The List of grievances, with references to the King replaced with “The Zionists”

The oft pushed narrative that Palestinians are the ‘aggressor’ is simply one of the many lies meant to earn your apathy or worse, your support for the zionist oppressors. It is to distract from the fact that Palestinians are fighting for their God given rights, rights that ANY self respecting human being would fight for (more details in ‘related articles’ below). The right to resist oppression is also a human right, it is fundamental to our own nation’s founding and it is echoed in international agreements.

Americans, probably most men throughout the world, often fantasize or at least romanticize ‘going out in a blaze of glory’. Among those that consider themselves patriots, “Give me Liberty or give me death” is an oft repeated motto. Would we live by this motto? I hope we never truly have to find out. I hope the ongoing erosion of liberty is stopped & reversed before we have to find out.

However, if down the road in a fight for our liberty, we find ourselves missing an arm from a government tank shelling us, sitting in a bombed out building on a dusty chair as we bleed out. I hope we all have the strength of will to throw rubble at the government drone sent to finish us off.

Give me Liberty, or give me Death.

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"Christian" Zionism

Eomar — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 20:41:53 GMT

I understand that this topic can be a sensitive one, I don’t consider myself a religious scholar but out of curiosity I began reading the Bible hoping to better understand the ‘Christian Zionist’ beliefs. To the good Christian people who abhor the same things as God, I do not mean to offend you and if I do I apologize. To the Zionists, whether you label yourselves Christian or otherwise, I hope that this can help you recognize the evil you are supporting.

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“Take great care about what you do and what you teach; always do this, and in this way you will save both yourself and those who listen to you” — 1 Timothy 4:15

I encourage you, regardless of faith or lack thereof, to read the Bible. I myself found it (and I still have more to read) interesting & useful , both in some practical aspects & understanding motivations/beliefs.

Bible Selection

Disclosure: The book links in this article are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

I chose a Bible ‘approved’ by the Catholic Church, The Jerusalem Bible. I read that it does a great job of translating the original content while keeping the true meaning of the words. As a bonus, JRR Tolkien was an editor/contributor.

The Old Testament

I am going to look at the Old Testament, then the New and assess the claims a bit separately. It should be noted that the as Christians, the New Testament ‘fulfills’ the Old [1].

Descendants

In terms of the Old Testament, the foundational lie the Christian Zionists tell themselves is to whom God left the land of Israel. Repeatedly in the Bible, God states it is left ‘to your descendants’. In researching, Genesis 12:3 was cited as the ‘root’ of the belief. However, if we keep reading (a thing I think VERY few people actually do) we see a key point left out by the Zionists.

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“I will make you a great nation, I will bless you and make your name so famous that it will be used as a blessing” -- Genesis 12:03

“It is to your descendants that I will give this land” — Genesis 12:8

“All the land within sight I will give to you and your descendants for ever” — Genesis 13:15

There are a LOT of references to leaving the land to Abraham’s descendants, that intent is clear, so who are his descendants? Genetically speaking (and through residence/land ownership) it is modern day Palestinians. We can see in the below excerpt from ‘Zionism, an Obstacle to Peace’ that there is historical & genetic evidence tying Palestinians to the land back to the ancient Canaanites, pre-dating and persisting through the existence of ancient Israel. Even the Bible states how first the nobility were cast out than most of the others in the city. Given the context of the breaching of walls and the specificity of ‘in the city’, it likely means just that.

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First deportation
“all the nobles and all the notables, ten thousand of these were exiled, with all the blacksmiths and metalworkers; only the poorest people in the country were left behind” -- 2 Kings 24:14

Second deportation
“The commander of the guard demolished the walls surrounding Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan, commander of the guard, deported the remainder of the population left behind in the city, the deserters who had gone over to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the common people. The commander of the guard left some of the humbler country people as vineyard workers and ploughmen.” — 2 Kings 25:10-12

A Conditional Gift

In the Bible we see that God demanded that his people adhere to his word. When they did not, when they displeased them HE stripped them of their land. God warned them what would happen if they failed to serve him.

Historians aren’t set exactly on the dates, but the kingdom of Israel existed roughly around 1000 BC after Solomon’s death (~930BC) it split. It was later conquered by Assyrians in ~722 BC. Judah would hold out for a time until the reign of Manasseh doomed it. Though Manasseh’s heir was like his father (displeasing to God), the reign of Josiah was not displeasing to God. Despite much effort God had not forgiven the Israelites their sins. Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon eventually laid siege to and conquered Jerusalem. As noted earlier, he deported people of note, NOT everyone.

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God said to Abraham “You on your part shall maintain my Covenant yourself and your descendants after you, generation after generation.” —Genesis 17:09

Excerpts from Deuteronomy 27:15-26:
“A curse on him who displaces his neighbour’s boundary mark” 
“A curse on him who tampers with the rights of the stranger, the orphan and the widow”
“A curse on him who strikes down his neighbour in secret”
“A curse on him who accepts a bribe to take an innocent life”

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“for failing to serve… Yahweh will raise against you a far-off nation from the ends of the earth, like an eagle taking wing. This will be a nation whose language you do not understand.” — Deuteronomy 28:47-50

”The King of Assyria invaded the whole country and, coming to Samaria, laid siege to it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah on the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.” — 2 Kings 17:05

“This happened because the Israelites had sinned against Yahweh their God” — 2 Kings 17:07

“He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, copying the shameful practices of the nations whom Yahweh had dispossessed for the sons of Israel”  — 2 Kings 21:2

“Manasseh shed innocent blood, too, in such great quantity that he flooded Jerusalem from end to end, apart from the sins into which he led Judah by doing what is displeasing to Yahweh” — 2 Kings 21:16

“Yet Yahweh did not renounce the heat of his great anger which blazed out against Judah because of all the provocation Manasseh had offered him. Yahweh decreed, “I will thrust Judah away from me too, as I have already thrust Israel; I will cast away Jerusalem, this city I had chosen, and the Temple of which I had said: There my name shall be.” — 2 Kings 23:26

“The End of Israel
Why have you ploughed iniquity, reaped injustice, and eaten the produce, lies? Because you have trusted in your chariots, and in your host of warriors, turmoil is going to break out in your towns, and all your fortresses will be laid waste, as Shalman laid Beth-arbel waste on the day of the battle, when mothers fell, dashed to pieces, on their children. That is what I mean to do to you, House of Israel, because of your great wickedness; and in the storm the king of Israel is going to disappear forever” — Hosea 10:13

“Lament for Israel
Listen to this oracle I speak against you, it is a dirge, House of Israel: She is down and will rise no more, the virgin of Israel. There she lies all alone on her own soil, with no one to lift her up; for thus says the Lord Yahweh to the House of Israel: The town which used to put a thousand in the field will be left with a hundred, and the one which used to put a hundred will be left with ten.” — Amos 5:1

“No special privileges for Israel
Are not you and the Cushites all the same to me, sons of Israel? — it is Yahweh who speaks. Did not I, who brought Israel out of the land of Egypt, bring the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Aramaeans from Kir? Now, my eyes are turned on the sinful kingdom, to wipe it off the face of the earth” — Amos 9:07

Old Testament Ending thoughts

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Seven Things hateful to God
There are six things that Yahweh hates, seven that his soul abhors;

a haughty look
a lying tongue
hand that shed innocent blood
a heart that weaves wicked plots
feet that hurry to do evil
a false witness who lies with every breath
a man who sows dissension among brothers

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— Proverbs 6:16-19

We see the sins of the people of Israel leads to God allowing for them to be conquered in 2 Kings. We see God mentioning several times how Israel was destroyed for its sins in the Old Testament. In Amos 9:10, God states the “sinners of my people are going to perish by the sword”. Amos 9:11 speaks of re-building, “That day I will re-erect the tottering hut of David”, yet we see clearly, God has little sympathy for those who sin & don’t truly follow him. In Ezekiel 11 again God speaks of a new covenant, yet he closes with “But those whose hearts are set on their idols and their filthy practices I will call to account for their conduct”. We see more specifications of sin later in Ezekiel (below).

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“The Lord Yahweh says this: City shedding blood inside yourself to bring your hour closer, setting up idols on your soil to defile yourself, you have incurred guilt by the blood you have shed, you have defiled yourself with the idols you have made, you have brought your hour closer, you have come to the end of your time…. —Ezekiel 22:03

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“Near and far, they will scoff at you, the turbulent city with a tarnished name: where all the princes of Israel live, each one busy shedding blood, and a law to himself; where people despise their fathers and mothers; where they ill-treat the settler; where they oppress the widow and the orphan; where you have no reverence for my sanctuaries and profane my sabbaths; where informers incite to bloodshed;…” —Ezekiel 22:05-09

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“…where people take bribes for shedding blood; you charge usury and interest, you rob your neighbor by extortion, you forget all about me — it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks”— Ezekiel 22:12

We saw earlier, that the genetic descendants of ancient Israelites are modern Palestinians. God had enacted his punishment on the kingdom of Israel, destroying it for its sins, often highlighting idol worship & shedding innocent blood. There is nothing I saw stating that Jewish people from diverse backgrounds should be thrust upon Palestine and shed MORE innocent blood to ‘reclaim’ a kingdom that God destroyed. It seems far-fetched that the Nakba and now the ongoing Genocide is what God would seek from his people. The massacres that zionism required and still requires to this day are reminiscent of the very sins that led to the destruction of the Kingdom is Israel to begin with.

The New Testament

Reading the New Testament, there are a few things that stand out. First, NO WHERE do I see God prefacing anything on Zionists being in Palestine (the land of Ancient Israel). I believe the simple truth that killing innocents is sinful, and indeed hateful to God as described in the Old Testament. I think Timothy is pivotal here, “Some people have put conscience aside and wrecked their faith in consequence”, for one truly must put their conscience aside in order to support the slaughter of innocents.

Knowing the facts of how AIPAC has worked its way through our government, Titus, speaking on those who teach falsehoods “with the vile motive of making money” sounds particularly applicable to those pushing for blind support of zionism, especially those claiming to do so because of their ‘Christian faith’. Titus is again applicable, “They claim to have knowledge of God but the things they do are nothing but a denial of him; they are outrageously rebellious and quite incapable of doing good”.

To solidify that there is no ‘Biblical command’ to push modern zionists into Palestine, in Hebrews it states “They abandoned that covenant of mine, and so I on my side deserted them”. It discusses a new covenant later stating “By speaking of a new covenant, he implies that the first one is already old”. Hebrews states that one must “Always be wanting peace with all people”. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians gives further warnings “These things all happened as warnings for us, not to have the wicked lusts for forbidden things that they had”.

Romans asserts that ‘Jews are still the chosen people’ though earlier it states “Pain and suffering will come to every human being who employs himself in evil—Jews first, but Greeks as well; renown, honour & peace will come to everyone who does good—Jews first, but Greeks as well. God has no favorites” —Romans 2:09 . Regardless, again in Hebrews we see how there is a ‘New Sanctuary’ “and he is the minister of the sanctuary and of the true Tent of Meeting which the Lord, and not any man, set up" — Hebrews 8:02 . This appears to be in contrast to the earthly sanctuary of the first covenant (Hebrews 9:01).

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"A warning, and the lessons of Israel's History
I want to remind you, brothers, how our fathers were all guided by a cloud above them and how they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in this cloud and in this sea; all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink, since they all drank from the spiritual rock that followed them as they went, and that rock was Christ. In spite of this most of them failed to please God and their corpses littered the desert. These things all happened as warnings for us, not to have the wicked lusts for forbidden things that they had..." -- 1 Corinthians

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“But when the Rebel comes, Satan will set to work: there will be all kinds of miracles and deceptive show of signs and portents, and everything evil that can deceive those who are bound for destruction because they would not grasp the love of the truth which could have saved them. The reason why God is sending a power to delude them and make them believe what is untrue is to condemn all who refused to believe in the truth and chose wickedness instead” — 2 Thessalonians 2:09-12

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“Some People have put conscience aside and wrecked their faith in consequence” — 1 Timothy 1:19

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“Opposing the false teachers

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And in fact you have there a great many people who need to be disciplined, who talk nonsense and try to make others believe it, particularly among those of the Circumcision. They have got to be silenced: men of this kind ruin whole families, by teaching things that they ought not to, and doing it with the vile motive of making money. It was one of themselves, one of their own prophets, who said, ‘Cretans were never anything but liars, dangerous animals and lazy; : and that is a true statement. So you will have to be severe in correcting them, and make them sound in the faith so they they stop taking notice of Jewish myths and doing what they are told to do by people who are no longer interested in the truth. To all who are pure themselves, everything is pure; but to those who have been corrupted and lack faith, nothing can be pure — the corruption is both in their minds and in their consciences. They claim to have knowledge of God but the things they do are nothing but a denial of him; they are outrageously rebellious and quite incapable of doing good.” — Titus 1:10

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“…See, the days are coming — it is the Lord who speaks— when I will establish a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They abandoned that covenant of mine, and so I on my side deserted them. It is the Lord who speaks. No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive — it is the Lord who speaks. I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people. There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord’. No, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest, since I will forgive their iniquities and never call their sins to mind.  By speaking of a new covenant, he implies that the first one is already old. Now anything old only gets more antiquated until in the end it disappears” — Hebrews 8

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“Unfaithfulness is punished

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Always be wanting peace with all people, and the holiness without which no one can ever see the Lord. Be careful that no one is deprived of the grace of God and that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a whole community. And be careful that there is no immorality, or that any of you does not degrade religion like Esau, who sold his birthright for one single meal. As you know, when he wanted to obtain the blessing afterwards, he was rejected and, though he pleaded for it with tears, he was unable to elicit a change of heart.” — Hebrews 12:14-17

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“All the same, these people who only insult anything that they do not understand are not reasoning beings, but simply animals born to be caught and killed, and they will quite certainly destroy themselves by their own work of destruction, and get their reward of evil for the evil that they do. They are unsightly blots on your society…” —2 Peter 2:12

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“Second  condition: keep the commandments, especially the law of love

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We can be sure that we know God only by keeping his commandments. Anyone who says, ‘I know him’, and does not keep his commandments is a liar, refusing to admit the truth.” — 1 John 2:03

Summary

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False Prophets
Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their fruits. can people pick grapes from Thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, a sound tree produces good fruit but a rotten tree bad fruit. A sound tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a rotten tree bear good fruit. Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown on the fire. I repeat, you will be able to tell them by their fruits. — Matthew 7:15

"Make sure that no one traps you and deprives you of your freedom by some secondhand, empty, rational philosophy based on the principles of this world instead of on Christ" -- Colossians 2:08

We can see that first off, the blood descendants of ancient Israelites are in fact modern day Palestinians. If we think of the descendants as the ‘spiritual descendants’ of Ancient Israelites, the only thing that we see from zionism common with ancient Israel is its late-stage rejection of God. Modern zionism was founded upon many sins including theft & murder of innocents. The state of Israel has these as official tools of their colonialism, along with bribing officials throughout the world (AIPAC etc) to aid them in shedding innocent blood. Zionism, therefore has no claim to Palestine, be it through blood-related ancient ties to the land or religious ones.

Again, I am not a religious scholar, I began reading the Bible to better understand ‘Christian’ zionists and I found shockingly little support for this political ideology. To Christians, it is through acceptance of Jesus Christ that people are saved, I didn’t find anything to support the NEED for “Jews to be in Palestine”. In Ephesians Paul writes “Through him, both of us have in the one Spirit our way to come to the Father”.

In Matthew we are told to “Beware false prophets” and that “You will be able to tell them by their fruits”. So I ask this of the ‘Christian’ Zionists, what are the ‘fruits’ of this belief? As Americans, we have fought several wars on its behalf, we have killed hundreds of thousands, including innocents. In Matthew, we are told of the Massacre of Innocents, where Herod killed all the male children in Bethlehem in an attempt to kill Jesus. Now, we support a genocide that has claimed the lives of over 2,000 infants. This is the ‘fruits’ of Zionism.

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The flight into Egypt. The massacre of innocents.
After they had left, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Get up, take the child and his mother with you, and escape into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, because Herod intends to search for the child adn do away with him'. So Joseph got up and, taking the child and his mother with him, left that night for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod was dead. This was to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: 
I called my son out of Egypt
Herod was furious when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, and in Bethlehem and its surrounding district he had all the male children killed who were two years old or under, reckoning by the date he had been careful to ask the wise men. It was then that the words spoken through the prophet Jeremiah were fulfilled:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
Sobbing and loudly Lamenting:
It was Rachel weeping for her children 
refusing to be comforted 
because they were no more.
-- Matthew 2:13

NOTE

I wouldn’t typically take this deep a look into a Religious belief and try to criticize it because I generally wouldn’t feel comfortable doing so. That said, the evil being done with ‘Christian zionism’ as the excuse, makes me feel more comfortable in the hopes of putting an end to the 76+ years of violence and bloodshed done in its name. I again encourage you to look at the Bible yourself and try to come up with your own conclusions.

post on ‘end times’ : https://x.com/write_diligent/status/1844091110089445554

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“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those that treat you badly” — Luke 6:27

“But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” — Matthew 5:44

Notes on the ‘End times’

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Resources

The Jerusalem Bible
https://www.embraceme.org/christian-zionism-course-material
1. This is a much more robust examination of the biblical text and fulfillment of prophecies, whereas my analysis was more ‘is zionism compatable with the Bible’
https://stephensizer.com/
1. I didn’t reference his work in the article but I did see a couple youtube videos of interest

Diligent-gear

Buy DIligent-Gear

https://www.diligent-gear.com/products/beware-false-prophets

A Wider War: Supply Chain & Restraint

Eomar — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:31:08 GMT

Israel now stands ‘poised to invade’ Lebanon. In recent months Israel has leveraged its intelligence apparatus to carry out various operations bringing the region closer to a wider war. Despite israel’s recent successes I continue to have my doubts on its ability to wage & win a wider war, to understand why, I think it is important to look at supply demands on Western nations today.

Bullets cant fly without Supply

The oft laughed at POG mantra ‘Bullets can’t fly without supply’ is true, no matter how much my fellow grunts may rightfully mock the person saying it. In ‘America’s Waning Power’ I detailed both the depleted state of American munition reserves and the complete lack of manufacturing capacity to replenish those supplies.

Supply

155 Shells

When CSIS did their research (cited in the above mentioned article), the United States had a surge capacity up to 240,000 rounds per year. An recent Army publication (Feb 2024) states that the US was producing ~164,000 rounds annually & is now at 360,000 rounds annually (well above the previous surge capacity). The stated goal for the Army is 100,000 per month, or 1.2 million per year [1]. The rest of NATO is producing around 840,000 rounds annually [2].

Bombs

Information on bomb production wasn’t included in the CSIS report as we have apparently given relatively few to Ukraine. From 2010 to Dec 2023, we have given Israel 12489 JDAM kits and we produce ~10,500 a year with a surge rate of over 50,000 [3]. This is the guidance kits, not the explosive device.

For the explosive device itself, production numbers are harder to come by. This from the DOD, shows purchasing info across many systems. A 2022 article shows General Dynamics winning a contract worth $133.2 million to produce MK-80 series bombs[4]. At lets say (high end) $4,000 per bomb we are looking at upwards of 33,000 bombs per year.

Demand

Artillery

The above numbers are legitimately impressive given the earlier estimates, however, the demand has been equally impressive. Since the start of the Ukraine war the United States has sent over 3 million rounds to Ukraine, so at a replenish rate (ie supply minus demand) of 1 million per year, it would take 3 years to replenish our stockpiles.

Israel reportedly fired over 100,000 artillery shells in the first 2 months of their genocidal campaign (90,000 at Gaza & 10,000 at Hezbollah) [5]. Back in December 2023, The United States sent over 57,000 rounds to help replenish Israel’s stockpiles [6]. While their stockpile and munition information isn’t public knowledge, Haaretz is reporting that israel is relying on some ammunition manufactured in 1953 [7]. Perhaps they are using a FIFO (first in first out) strategy to deplete aging ammunition, but given the accompanying report of the increased failure rate and that it is almost twice as old as its suggested ‘shelf life’ might point to necessity of its use.

Bombs

In December, CNN reported that ‘nearly half’ of the bombs being dropped on Gaza were ‘dumb bombs’ ie, no guidance systems. By that time they had already used 29,000 air-to-ground munitions [8]. Israel reportedly drops an average of 300 bombs per day in Gaza, or over 100,000 bombs since the genocide began [9].

Competition

“When Ukraine was firing 10,000 shells per day, between 35 and 45 Ukrainian soldiers were killed daily and about 250 to 300 were wounded. But when the daily fire fell to half that, more than 100 Ukrainian soldiers were killed per day and at least a thousand were wounded.” — ‘A senior Ukrainian officer’ [10]

When we look at the demand for munitions in Ukraine, assume they need to match Russia roughly 1:1 on artillery, Russia is currently producing 250,000 shells per month, about 3 million per year. On the ground, CNN reports that while Russia is firing ~10,000 shells per day (3.6 million annually), Ukraine is only firing ~2,000 ( 730,000 rounds a year)[2] . As noted in the quote above, the rationing of artillery shells is having a devastating effect on Ukrainian troops.

Were Israel to be in a wider conflict that necessitate rationing of munitions, the casualty rate would presumably begin to increase as well.

Constraints

While Israel has a robust military industry, it relies heavily on others. Compounding the general supply & demand issues is legal challenges within ‘allied countries’. Germany (who is the 2nd largest supplier for israel after the US), the UK and the Netherlands have all suspended at least some of their exports to israel on concerns of human rights violations[11]. Even the United States temporarily halted shipments of JDAMs to israel, though recently the ‘sale’ has been approved [12].

US Elections

While both democrats and republicans display an unending willingness to betray America on behalf of israel. Trump & Vance have been supportive of ending the war in Ukraine which would largely alleviate the supply constraints detailed above. When I reviewed JD Vance I came to the conclusion, he wants to end the Ukraine war so he can better support israel. On the other side of that coin is their promise for ‘no new wars’ which could (hopefully) limit the direct involvement of the US.

While peace in Ukraine would free up NATO munitions, Russia will likely be eager to ‘return the favor’ by increasing their support of America’s adversaries throughout the world. Primarily, I think Iran and by proxy, all those Iran supports (Yemen, Hezbollah etc).

Capabilities

I do not think anyone would argue that israel is unskilled or incapable when it comes to intelligence operations, they have proven their prowess there. Additionally, with vast NATO support, their air operations are again difficult to challenge. On the ground is where the israelis are at their weakest. I am not going to delve too much into it because i did in other articles , but in short, conscripts fight like conscripts. As detailed in Double or Nothing israeli officials admit they cannot achieve their goals in Gaza, Hamas is still able to conduct operations and israel is still taking casualties.

I also detail in that article Hezbollah’s capabilities, and despite the death of Nasrallah, it seems improbable that Hezbollah would suddenly cease to function, more evidence of this comes in their continued strikes against israel. If they can muster command and control & have the stockpiles of weapons they are reported to have, Israel is going to be in for a bad time. Regardless, I believe a ground incursion would be catastrophic for Israel as I assume that is drilled and trained at the small unit level and less reliant on coordinated fire & control.

Restraint

For much of this conflict I have seen ‘the wisdom’ in restraint. The ‘resistance’ sought to undermine israel gradually enough to keep the United States mostly on the sidelines. We saw this in the telegraphed Iranian response, which i (wrongly) believed established deterrence. We saw it again on limited response to Beirut bombings, and we saw it in the lack of a response to the assassination of Ismail Haniya. I believe now that the ‘strategic value’ of such restraint is limited if not counter-productive. Israel is taking advantage of the restraint to inflict major damage to its adversaries and without established deterrence, it is doing so with impunity.

I wrote in ‘Israeli Escalations’ how I believe israel is seeking to start a wider war before US elections (so the next administration inherits the war), it seems they are willing to start the war with or without the resistance’s participation. With that information, Hezbollah remaining within the previously established ‘escalatory rules’ (ie hitting only northern ‘israel’) doesn’t appear logical. If looking for an idea of how much damage Hezbollah could inflict, i suggest you read ‘A Wider War : Hezbollah’.

From the Iranian perspective, Nasrallah seemingly played ‘by the rules’ with Israel (despite their repeated escalations) and they dropped a HUGE arsenal on him to kill him. What assurance is there for Iran or its leadership that israel will not behave the same way towards Iran? I think it is becoming harder to argue for restraint within Iran, if not impossible.

Conclusion

As israel relies primarily on its stand-off munitions to destroy & degrade its adversaries, supply chain issues are a significant risk to their ability to conduct operations. Given the challenges israel is facing with its ongoing genocide in Gaza, part of me wonders if this is more ‘bluff’ than true intent to invade and control parts of Lebanon. A key aspect for the continued survival of israel is its ability (primarily through intelligence & intimidation) to keep its adversaries ‘constrained’. The death of Nasrallah does not change any of the previously documented facts around the strategic, personnel and political challenges israel is facing (without a ground conflict in Lebanon).

Note: As I finished writing this, Iran began launching missiles towards Israel. Perhaps they came to a similar assessment on the value of restraint.

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Resources

To Save the Soul of America

Eomar — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 18:42:49 GMT

“Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read: Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over.” — Martin Luther King, Beyond Vietnam

This article examines some of the crimes committed by our troops and how we, as a nation, reacted to them. I think what made these crimes particularly shocking to me was the contrast these cases had to my own experiences while deployed overseas. While it is clear that their are sick individuals amongst us and in our military, I still hold that they are an aberration, not representative of our troops as a whole or of the American people.

Outside of the geopolitical consequences these crimes have on us, the more important question is, what impact does it have on the soul of America. Dr. King feared that we would ‘poison our nations soul’ in Vietnam and perhaps he was right. Since then we have fought in or supported many unnecessary wars, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Apathy and ignorance are the government’s primary tool in ensuring unjust wars and the war crimes that come with them can continue. I believe we must take an honest (and painful) look at these crimes to ensure that they do not occur again. I view these instances as a sickening rot on our nation’s soul, something that must be cut out, violently if need be, in order to keep the whole healthy.

Warning: The below article is a graphic, but I think necessary.

Disclosure: The book links in this article are Amazon affiliate links, meaning that at no additional cost to you, I may receive a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

My Lai

I had heard of the My Lai massacre before, I vaguely recalled the pilot who helped put an end to it, but I never looked too far into it. Bill Buppert recently had an episode where he discussed it & he recommended the book “My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness”. This book details the horrific crimes of our soldiers in My Lai on March 16, 1968 and the events that followed.

How it happened

Free Fire Zones

The ‘Free-Fire Zone’, officially meant (according to FM 6-20) “A specific designated area into which any weapon system may fire without additional coordination with the establishing headquarters”. In practice, it was often taken as “kill anything that moves”. Robert Ramsdell of the CIA provided intel for the operation in My Lai. Notably, he suggested that all civilians would have left for market by the time of the operation. In a later interview with Seymour Hersh he stated that ‘everyone was considered suspects’ “because they couldn’t survive in that area unless they were sympathizers”[1]. Despite Ramsdell’s assessment of forces in the area differing from all others, it was the intel provided and used for the mission.

Ambition meets incompetence

“Rape, gang rape, rape using eels, snakes, or hard objects, and rape followed by murder; electrical shock ("the Bell Telephone Hour") rendered by attaching wires to the genitals or other sensitive parts of the body, like the tongue; "the water treatment"; "the airplane," in which a prisoner's arms were tied behind the back and the rope looped over a hook on the ceiling, suspending the prisoner in midair, after which he or she was beaten; beatings with rubber hoses and whips; and the use of police dogs to maul prisoners” —The Phoenix Program

Howard Jones notes in his book that Ramsdell was “anxious to make his mark” as he had recently taken over the “Phoenix Program”, a brutal intelligence gathering operation designed “to attack and destroy the political infrastructure of the Lao Dong Party”[2]. In the Phoenix Program, it is noted that one reason for the use of torture was the inexperience of those running the operations. Muldoon, the first director of the Province Interrogation Center program in Vietnam, stated “A lot of guys in Vietnam were career trainees or junior officer trainees”. It isn’t clear to me if Ramsdell was incompetent or evil, but his contribution to the planning surely helped enable the outcome in My Lai.

Calley was ambitious despite his lifelong mediocrity. He was inspired by Audie Murphy (a decorated WW2 Veteran turned actor) and reportedly fixated on the violent aspects of training. Jones’ description of Calley is what many fellow grunts would recognize as your standard ribbon chasing idiot completely captured by the ‘heroism’ in movies (and today in games). A man in his platoon described Calley as “A little kid trying to play war , liked by few and hated by many”. This mediocrity, put to the test in Vietnam surfaced as incompetency making him a liability to those around him and especially those in his command.

Orders

“The absence of written orders, as we can see now, guaranteed considerable leeway in interpreting details of the operation” — Howard Jones, My Lai

The benefit of the lack of orders to the criminal soldiers of My Lai was in deniability and creating doubt. Had orders been written, they could be directly referenced, they could have been used as evidence of the complicity of command or to exonerate them. Instead, investigators had to rely on the memory of those there that day and to determine the truth amid conflicting reports. Some said orders were explicit to ‘kill everything’, others say it was implied.

American troops were trained to fear and suspect everyone in Vietnam, they received “little or no instruction on the treatment of noncombatants” and may not have been able to define a ‘noncombatant’ [1]. Additionally, “in a combat situation" the mere act of running away “meant that person was the enemy and was probably armed”. While Captain Medina, Calley’s commanding officer, noted no contact at the LZ, the lead pilot reported that they were taking fire, and that the LZ was ‘hot’. Medina seemingly took this to mean his company was under attack.

War Crimes

Murder

Reportedly, Major Calhoun had ordered Medina “make sure we’re not shooting anyone that s not necessary. Let’s not be killing any civilians out there”. Despite this, a bit later, Medina, trying to stay ‘on schedule’ ordered Calley to ‘waste’ the prisoners he had with him. Calley ordered two soldiers, Conti & Meadlo to open fire. Conti, a grenadier, claimed he didn’t want to so came up with an excuse (that his weapon wasn’t suitable for the task). Meadlo and Calley opened fire on men, women and children in a ditch. Meadlo began sobbing. Later, a toddler, maybe 2 years old crawled from the ditch while Calley was ‘interrogating’ a monk. Calley grabbed the toddler, threw him back in the ditch and executed him. Meadlo later ‘recomposed’ himself and began assisting in further executions at the ditch. Most of the soldiers there took part in the massacre.

Corporal Schiel, a squad leader, justified to himself, stating repeatedly “I don’t want to do it, but i have to because were were ordered to do it” before opening fire with his men on a family at point blank range. SP4 Gary Roschevitz, boasted of beating a child and then killing a man who tried to intervene. By the accounts provided, he saw it as a joyful sport, trying new weapons to execute unarmed civilians, methodically marching to ‘appropriate range’ to utilize a grenade launcher on groups of civilians allowing others to ‘finish off’ those that survived. He also apparently shot in the head a man, his wife and his two children among other crimes. A man known as “Mr Homicide”, Fred Widmer, saw a boy , 5 who had been shot in the stomach and was crying. He retrieved the pistol of Carter and shot the boy in the neck. The boy got up, walked a couple feet before and fell gasping until his death. Widmer complained the ‘damn the jammed’ . He remarked to another soldier, Stanley near by, “Did you see that fucker die?” Stanley responded “I don’t see how anyone can just kill a kid”. Widmer laughed.

After a ceasefire was ordered, a soldier came across a seven year old boy, apparently in shock, who had been shot in the leg. The soldier knelt beside an Army photographer, Haeberle, and shot the boy three times, killing him.

A reminder, these are some examples, many others participated.

Rape

“PFC Dennis Conti had yanked this young mother aside for oral sex. And even worse, he was forcing her into it by pointing a gun at her four-year-old’s head”. Calley intervened, not due to moral objection only because he felt “if a GI is getting a blow job, he isn’t doing his job”. — My Lai, Jones

Rape was a common theme in Vietnam according to Jones. He described the concept of “double Veterans” those who would rape then kill women. Reading the details provided in Jones’ book are truly horrific. There were at least 2 gang rapes and 20 rapes recorded the day of the massacre. In one case, a woman was gang raped, let go only to be snatched up by another (SGT Hodges) and raped again. Another was gang raped and then the soldiers opened fire on her and her family, including her 12 year old son. She was wounded and awoke later to find them all dead. A widowed mother found the remains of her 10 year old daughter, her clothes were ripped off, her only apparent injury was to her vagina.

Morality & Mercy

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,”

There were several who outright refused to partake in the killing, even though it carried significant risk to themselves. While I wouldn’t categorize all of these men as ‘heroes’, especially ones like Conti, it is important to note that not everyone on the ground that day was a bloodthirsty monster. While in hindsight, removed from the reality it may be easy to say ‘they should have done more’, these acts of refusal are something and ultimately, perhaps collectively they ended the massacre.

PFC Dennis Bunning was one of the first noted by Jones. Upon entry into My Lai, soldiers killed 6 men and women working in fields. His squad leader, Hodges, one of the rapists detailed above, rebuked him for refusing to open fire when ordered. Bunning replied he “wasn’t going to shoot any of these women and kids”. He was then ordered to the far flank as he ‘couldn’t be relied upon’. Bunning later recounted many of the crimes committed that day.

Dennis Conti, was described above, both for his apparent refusal to murder as well as his willingness to rape.

PFC Leonard Gonzalez, also refused to kill civilians that day. He described what he say as ‘purely evil’. On another occasion Gonzalez had tried to stop the ongoing gang rape of a Vietnamese woman but was unsuccessful.

Gary Crossley shot an elderly man in the arm, reportedly mistaking him for VC. The man yelled ‘No VC’ and his wife, holding their baby pulled the man back inside. Two other soldiers ‘thought they were VC’ and executed them. Crossley was in shock and radioed to Medina that there were ‘only women an children’ in the village, ‘no Viet Cong’. Medina ordered him to “keep going”, Crossley ‘quietly refused’ [1].

A group led by Sergeant Buchanon reportedly did not kill anyone that day. Buchanon stated that they were anxious as they saw no resistance but heard what sounded like a firefight. He ordered his men “to fire when they’re fire on, keep moving…. Don’t shoot unless you’re fired on”.

SP4 James Dursi was encouraged by Meadlo to fire into the crowd. Dursi had killed someone that day. He thought they were VC but it turned out to be a woman carrying a baby. After that he stated Calley “can send me to jail but I am not going to kill anybody”.

PFC Herbert Carter, whose pistol was used to kill the 5 year old boy described above, then shot himself in the foot to get himself away from the carnage.

Harry Stanley refused to partake in the killing, Calley threatened him first with a court Martial, then with execution. Stanley told him to ‘Go to Hell’. When Calley had turned his rifle on Stanley, Stanley drew and readied his .45. The standoff lasted about a minute before Calley relented [3]. Stanley later stated that despite being trained to obey orders, “Murder was totally against my nature. You can’t order me to do this. It’s craziness”.

PFC Robert Maples, a machine gunner, came on site and was also ordered to shoot the civilians. He refused. Calley threw a woman into the ditch and demanded to use Maples’ gun, Maples refused stating “I’m not going to kill these people”. Calley again threatened a court martial. Maples said “You can’t order me to do that Lieutenant”. Calley pointed his rifle at Maples and threatened to shoot him, but members of Maples’ team readied their weapons on Calley. Calley relented and left.

Ronald Grzesik was ordered by Calley to ‘finish off’ the people in the ditch, he refused and was sent back to the village[4]. On return to the village he and his fireteam encountered a group including PFC Smith and led by SGT West . They were assaulting a group of 8 Vietnamese women and children (pictured below) attempting to rape the women. The woman in a red blouse, Ba So fought the soldiers allowing two women to escape. Grzesik realized they would be killed if he didn’t intervene so he broke the group up. Haeberle prepared his camera to take a photo of the altercation. Grzesik moved on, likely not wanting his photo taken. Haeberle took the photo below and watched as the group discussed what to do with them. West shouted ‘waste them’ and he and Smith unloaded on the group. The boy Do Hat survived the initial shooting. As he stood there, likely in shock, one of the two shot and killed him as well.

Haeberle Photo, Group that Grzesik encountered

Hugh Thompson

Hugh Thompson was a gunship pilot circling My Lai that day. He had noted the amount of bodies seen but finally decided to do something when he witnessed someone (later identified as Medina) executing a woman. Colburn and Andreotta, crew/gunners on his helicopter agreed that they had “to do something about this”. He landed his helicopter and confronted the troops on the ground, including Calley. After a tense conversation with Calley, he believed he had done enough to stop the killing. He went into the air and to his horror saw a soldier, Mitchell, killing the wounded in the ditch. Thompson again reported what he saw. Again he was ignored.

Thompson spotted a group of soldiers (led by LT Brooks) closing on a group of civilians and knew they would die without any help. He again landed his helicopter and instructed his crew “if they fire on these people or fire on me while I’m doing that [getting the civilians out] shoot’em”. The presence of US soldiers forcefully intervening, both Colburn and Andreotta were armed with machine guns, caused enough hesitation to stop the impending slaughter. He then radioed the other helicopters to evacuate the civilians, women children and elderly men.

Prior to leaving, they did one more pass over the ditch. Andreotta saw movement, again they landed. Andreotta had to by-pass dying people grasping for him as he said “I can’t help you… you’re too bad off”. He found a child, thought to be maybe 5 years old (he was actually a small 8 year old) clinging to his dead mother. Thompson recalls the boy made him think of his own son back home. The men flew the boy to a hospital. Upon return to base, Thompson reported the war crimes he had seen.

Cover up

Although Thompson did file a report, the massacre was ‘unofficially’ investigated at the most cursory level possible. Those ‘investigating’ ensured that nothing came of the accusations and then even ‘lost’ the report. Medina even advised one of his men, Bernhardt (who also refused to kill civilians) ‘not to write his congressman’ about any of what happened.

It may have stayed buried, or at least more evidence would have been lost or destroyed had it not been for Ronald Ridenhour. Ridenhour had met up with a friend in Vietnam who began confessing to the massacre. Later Ridenhour was able to interview more witnesses and began to compile a complete story. On March 29, 1969 Ridenhour sent a 5 page letter to 30 military, administrative and congressional leaders regarding the My Lai massacre. One recipient Colonel William Wilson, a decorated WW2 veteran, asked to lead an investigation into the claims. The key testimony was that of Paul Meadlo who openly admitted to the killing of civilians at the direction of LT Calley. Despite hoping otherwise Wilson concluded that a massacre had occurred.

News reaches the public

“They didn’t put up a fight or anything. The women huddled against their children and took it. They brought their kids real close to their stomachs and hugged them, and put their bodies over them trying to save them. It didn’t do much good,” — Paul Meado, LT accused of Murdering 109 — Seymour Hersh

The initial response to Hersh’s article was muted. Reality set in when color photographs (taken by Haeberle) reached the public. Then Walter Cronkite aired them on his show. Bernhardt also appeared on multiple news shows to tell the story of what happened. The most shocking event for the American public was when Paul Meadlo appeared on 60 minutes with Mike Wallace.

Meadlo Interview

Paul Meadlo calmly recounted how he murdered civilians this day at My Lai.

Mike Wallace: [asking about the murder of civilians] Men, women and children?

Paul Meadlo: Men, women & children.

Wallace: And Babies?

Meadlo: And babies

Wallace: Obviously, the question comes to my mind, the father of two little kids like that… how can he shoot babies?

Meadlo: I dunno, its just one of them things

Meadlo continues that he ‘felt he was doing the right thing’ and at the time ‘he felt good’. He justified it by saying he lost some ‘good buddies’ there. His father stated that “if it had been me out there I would have swung my rifle around and shot Calley instead, right between the God damned eyes”[5].

Reaction

“To believe, however, that any large percentage of the population could believe the evidence which was presented and approve of the conduct of Lieutenant Calley would be as shocking to my conscience as the conduct itself, since I believe that we are still a civilized nation. If such be the case, then the war in Viet-Nam has brutalized us more than I care to believe, and it must cease. How shocking it is if so many people across the nation have failed to see the moral issue which was involved in the trial of Lieutenant Calley-- that it is unlawful for an American soldier to summarily execute unarmed and unresisting men, women, children, and babies. But how much more appalling it is to see so many of the political leaders of the nation who have failed to see the moral issue, or, having seen it, to compromise it for political motive in the face of apparent public displeasure with the verdict.” — Captain Daniels [Calley Prosecutor] letter to Nixon [6]

Trials

“There was no charge that General Yamashita had approved, much less ordered these barbarities and no evidence that he knew of them other than the inference that he must have because of their extent. ... Nevertheless, the tribunal found Yamashita guilty on the ground that he had " .... failed to provide effective control of his troops as required by the circumstances" and sentenced him to death by hanging.” - Telford Taylor, Nuremberg and Vietnam

Many troops escaped prosecution due to a supreme court decision that said those who were already discharged couldn’t be charged under the UCMJ (uniform code of military justice). Robert Jordan, the Army’s lead counsel, stated that they could be persecuted, but it needed a White House directive to do so (you will understand soon why this wasn’t pursued). Several of the soldiers on the ground referred to the murders as ‘Nazi-like’, many others saw similarities as well and demanded Nuremberg style prosecution for those involved. Some, including Jones, referred to the Yamashita case which held a Japanese General responsible for the crimes of his troops. There is some debate on whether he ‘knew’ of or ordered the crimes, but it seems he would have been at the very least aware and permissive of them, even if he had not ordered them[7]. In my mind, this means that at the very least up to Medina should have been found guilty. The careless “investigation” by his superiors is highly suspicious as well and does little to exonerate them of guilt.

Calley was court martialed for his crimes & eventually found guilty (more on this later). Medina too faced charges but was found not guilty, Medina evading guilt is as mind boggling as what later happened to Calley’s “life sentence” .

Politicians

“Tell [White House Press Secretary Ron] Ziegler not to comment on it [the My Lai Massacre]” — President Richard Nixon

Nixon took several steps to mitigate & manage the damage caused by the My Lai Massacre. First, he sought ways to discredit those who reported the crimes (including Thompson & Ridenhour). He also from the start, set out to make the issue political, framing it as ‘left vs right’ in order to garner support for the war and for Calley from at least some of the population. Nixon attacked the media’s coverage of the war while again emphasizing the ‘leftist media’. His primary goal was to maintain support for “Vietnamization”. The politicization of the Calley case was noted by then Senator Bayh who points out 115 other Americans were charged with murder for actions in Vietnam and 59 were convicted [7].

Several other politicians showed their moral bankruptcy in face of this as well. Congressman Hebert of Lousiana, was part of a sub-committee on My Lai, where he sought (and succeeded) to interview those involved and then mark the event classified to prevent the prosecution from calling them as witnesses. Alabama governor and presidential hopeful claimed he would “pardon Calley” , and engaged in other absurd attention gathering acts of ‘support’. Jones provides additional examples in his book.

The American Public

There was outrage and disbelief at what had occurred. Many Americans struggled to believe that American troops could commit such crimes. Others, while outraged at the murders, felt that Calley was merely a scapegoat. Calley’s guilt was undeniable, but many others should have faced charges with him. Jones contends that many military figures wanted further prosecutions of everyone involved .

After Calley’s conviction, polls showed that many in the American public disapproved of the verdict, a Gallup poll showed 79% disapproved of the guilty verdict [1]. Jones also noted the many calls made to protest the verdict but the Herald and Review noted “The majority of the callers did not know the crime of which Calley was convicted. And of those who did, many thought Calley and his men killed civilians when caught in a cross fire” [8]. While it provides some solace that the vast majority of Americans weren’t cheering for wanton murder, the misinformed or underinformed still helped provide cover for heinous war crimes.

Outcome

“As the administration had worried would be the case, the Calley verdict had driven a number of doves and hawks together in calling for a withdrawal of America’s Forces” — Jones, My Lai

3 days after Hersh’s article 2 million Americans joined in a day of protests against the war across the country [9]. Despite Nixon’s best efforts, support for the war continued to decline, by 1971 Gallup polls showed 61% of Americans felt US involvement was wrong [9]. Protests surged again following the Kent State Shootings, where national guard members fired on anti-war protestors. Nixon’s own commission later stated that “The indiscriminate firing of rifles into a crowd of students and the deaths that followed were unnecessary, unwarranted, and inexcusable”.

Although My Lai and the trials of those involved perhaps shifting public opinion, no one faced REAL consequences. Many simply left or were effectively forced out of the Army. Calley was initially sentenced to life in prison with hard labor, he was almost immediately moved to house arrest by Nixon. His life sentence was reduced to 20 years by the Army. In 1973, Secretary of the Army subsequently reduced this again to 10 years, which made him eligible for parole in the coming months. His “confinement” lasted a mere 3 years, at his own house for his pivotal role in the murder of hundreds of civilians.

“Calley and Medina ought to have been hung and then drawn and quartered and the remains put at the gates at Fort Benning to remind all who enter of the consequences” — Colonel Harry G. Summers (retired), US Army (Korea & Vietnam Veteran)

A Continuing Problem

“For the push of Fallujah, there [were no civilians]. We were told before we went in that if it moved, it dies. ...” — Justin Sharratt, USMC

While I opened this article stating these cases and people are aberrations, it is important to note that our apathy towards them allows crimes like these to happen. My Lai wasn’t the only massacre in Vietnam and there have been others since. This, again, is why it is critical to examine these cases and demand justice for the victims and punishment for the perpetrators.

Abu Ghraib

I think many, if not most Americans are aware of the brutal and inhumane torture that occurred at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. From my own perspective, it showed again the moral depravity of some of our troops. Multiple Presidents acknowledged the harm its perpetrators did to America and the security of our troops overseas. Despite this, most of these criminals received minor sentences relative to their crimes, ranging from effectively nothing, to 10 years in prison. Even I was at least partially ignorant to just how terrible these crimes were. These soldiers were not ‘in combat’ they are just sadistic and morally bankrupt. For committing some of these crimes I view the criminal as entirely beyond redemption. As if to emphasize how irredeemable some of these soldiers are, 10 years after the incident Lyndie England said in an interview “you want me to apologize to them? It’s like saying sorry to the enemy.”[10]. Reading the quote below, I feel some should have received the punishment Col. Summers recommended above.

“I saw [name of a translator] ******* a kid, his age would be about 15 to 18 years. The kid was hurting very bad and they covered all the doors with sheets. Then when I heard screaming I climbed the door because on top it wasn’t covered and I saw [name] who was wearing the military uniform, putting his **** in the little kid’s ***…. and the female soldier was taking pictures.” — Mehaddi Hilas, Abu Gharib Prisoner [11]

Haditha Massacre

“First to Fight for Right & Freedom and to Keep our Honor Clean; We are proud to claim the title of United States Marine” — Marine Corps Hymn

In 2005 American Marines disgraced themselves, the Marine Corps and their country by carrying out a massacre in Haditha Iraq. This slaughter claimed the lives of 24 men women and children, including a 3 year old girl, shot point blank by American “Marines”. None of those involved served jail time. “To Keep our Honor Clean” would mean that Marines that execute defenseless civilians would, at a minimum, serve serious jail time. If you murder a child, I see no chance of redemption and no justification to waste resources keeping you alive in prison. The specifics of who was truly guilty and who was not, I do not know. One Marine, Justin Sharratt, was accused of herding 3 men into a room and executing them with his pistol. All 3 died with gunshot wounds to the head from his pistol [12]. He stated that at least one of the men was armed and pointing a rifle at him which led to the use of force (claiming the 3 died in a firefight). I don’t know enough to pass definitive judgement, very well placed shots does raise some eyebrows though. Still, assume that was legitimate, what about accountability for the 21 others that were killed, many in their beds, including children?

The New Yorker[13]

Gaza

Enabling Genocide

“Several sources described how the ability to shoot without restrictions gave soldiers a way to blow off steam or relieve the dullness of their daily routine” — I’m bored, so I shoot, 972 Magazine

Note: I initially had images from Gaza throughout this section. I moved them to the bottom of the article. I don’t mean to ‘shock’ you, but I truly do believe it is in our interest to at least glance at the evil we are supporting. Even still, these images are a TINY sample of what can be found today, do not think any image or description is ‘the only occurrence’, it is one of many.

The extent of the documentation of israeli war crimes is staggering. While Americans had become outraged by the color photos of dead children in 1969, today we see video of men, women, children and babies executed by israeli forces. Many Americans do their very best to ignore it completely. I think many are ignorant or misinformed, like the callers who professed their support of the murderous Lt. Calley. Some Americans will argue that ‘its not us, its the israelis’ but make no mistake, Israel could not carry out this genocide without the full backing and support of the US government. The blood of these people is on our hands too.

October 7th set a tone for the israelis much like that felt by the soldiers entering My Lai. They were fighting an ‘unseen enemy’ and had a strong desire for vengeance. At the start of the invasion, much of the atrocity propaganda the israeli government pushed out was still believed to be true, mass rapes, beheaded babies, blown up vehicles, all later proved false or the actions of the IDF itself fueled hatred and a lust for vengeance.

While My Lai was noted for the lack of written orders as an oddity, it has been the policy of the israelis since the 1980s not to issue written rules of engagement [14]. Unsurprisingly this has allowed for the mass slaughter of Palestinian civilians. The current death toll is over 40,000, the Lancet had estimated a ‘conservative’ 4 indirect deaths per direct death, this math would put the current figure at over 200,000 deaths. The high end of the estimate is 15 deaths per direct death which would over a 600,000 people (>25% of Gaza’s population)[15].

Note: I encourage you all to read I’m Bored so I shoot by 972 magazine.

The accounts in the 972 article provide more evidence to the policy of slaughter enacted by the israelis. “B” describes it as “total freedom of action” “B” elaborates how no real cause is needed, “no need to explain— you just shoot”. He detailed one instance where people were instructed to go one way, if they went the wrong way they were instantly killed.

“A battle started inside; people ran away. Some fled left toward the sea, [but] some ran to the right, including children. Everyone who went to the right was killed — 15 to 20 people. There was a pile of bodies.”

Others detail how any weapon is permissible, “machine guns, tanks, mortars”. They speak on how it is mere formality to get approval to fire on hospitals, schools and other ‘sensitive’ buildings. Much like the soldiers described in the My Lai massacre, aiming for ‘high kill counts’ the zionists have a similar sentiment, labeling all men ‘terrorists’ and eager to show they are “the big guy”.

It is STILL permitted for soldiers to fire upon anyone, even those they know to be civilians. A reservist interviewed by Haaretz said "In practice, a terrorist is anyone the IDF has killed in the areas in which its forces operate”. The soldiers reiterate in that article that the rules are not well defined, kill zones are established and basically, anyone they want to kill they can kill [16].The barbarity here cannot be understated. The guardian reported multiple accounts from doctors in which they saw child after child deliberately shot in the head by israeli snipers [17].

State Sanctioned Torture & Rape

“The conditions at Sde Teiman aren’t unique. They’re just the tip of the iceberg,” Shai Parnes, B’Tselem

I mentioned in my article Zionism, an Obstacle to Peace, how Israel has long been known to both torture and rape prisoners. One horrific case noted in that article involved the rape of a 13 year old boy. Defense of Children International reported the rape to US State Department official, Josh Paul. Paul then reported it to the IDF as ‘credible’, the IDF responded by labeling DCI a terrorist organization and seizing all of their equipment. In its report “Welcome to Hell”[18], B’Tselem details how many of the crimes are systemic and intentional. The report covers beatings, various forms of torture and rape of the prisoners.

The fully Rotten soul of Israel

The unchecked criminal activity of the zionists has led to worsening conditions. While many point to Sde Teiman as the ‘Israeli Abu Ghraib’ , it has a feature that Abu Ghraib did not, open governmental support for the crimes committed there. Video was released of a group of soldiers raping a prisoner [19] who had to be hospitalized following the abuse. 10 soldiers were arrested for their crimes, an attempt by the israeli government to give the impression of legitimacy.

This pretense quickly collapsed showing the full rot of the ‘soul of israel’, rioters (some of them armed) broke into the prison holding the soldiers, demanding their release. With the rape undeniable, both on film and noted by doctors in the hospital, Ben-Gvir, the man in charge of Israel’s prison service said “The spectacle of military police officers coming to arrest our best heroes at Sde Teiman is nothing less than shameful,”[20]. Likud party member (PM Netanyahu’s political party) and Knesset member Tally Gotliv joined the rioters in support of the rapists. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the ‘protests’ “are justified and I support them with all my heart”. Hanoch Milwidsky, another Likud party member in the Knesset, when asked by another Knesset member if it was legitimate “to insert a stick into a person’s rectum”, stated that “everything is legitimate to do! Everything!”[21]

Amidst the cover of Israeli escalatory attacks, the israeli government released the rapists, one of whom went on a publicity tour on public TV and was often treated as a hero. What was described as ‘near anarchy’ was averted at the expense of any pretense of international legitimacy and moral goodness.

As horrific and barbaric as the My Lai massacre was, it lasted a few hours. The ongoing genocide in Gaza, which routinely and deliberately targets children, has been going on for nearly a year.

In service to the State

“Out there, lacking restraints, sanctioned to kill, confronted by a hostile country and a relentless enemy, we sank into a brutish state. The descent could be checked only by the net of a man’s inner moral values, the attribute that is called character. There were a few—and I suspect Lieutenant Calley was one—who had no net and plunged all the way down, discovering in their bottommost depths a capacity for malice they probably never suspected was there.” — Philip Caputo (Vietnam Veteran) , Rumor of War

We saw the different levels of moral limits of those in My Lai. Some refused to partake in murder, some, like Thompson tried to prevent it. Conti was ok with rape but apparently drew the line at murder . Calley, Meadlo and many others had seemingly no morality and were the embodiment of evil. Calley knew killing and murder was wrong, yet in his interview with a psychiatrist you could see his framework. His morality, his natural sense of what was right & wrong came secondary to his service of orders. He, like Meadlo, placed orders above all else. They worked through morality like a lawyer working through case laws, seeking a loophole to justify their crimes, all in service of the state.

‘Rules of engagement’ which essentially establish when a soldier can or cannot shoot, are the final obstacle to those without their own ‘net’. If a state, like israel, removes all rules of engagement and trains its people to abandon morality, unnecessary deaths will be the inevitable outcome. If ‘bad intel’ effectively removes rules of engagement, unnecessary deaths will result.

Psychological Conditioning

“Psychologically and morally, it’s much easier to kill a ‘dink’ than it is to shoot a Vietnamese” — American civilian official [from Jones’ book]

“I sent them a good boy and they made him a murderer.” — Paul Meadlo’s mother

I’ve mentioned this before, primarily in Guarding Your Humanity, but there is a science to getting people accustomed to killing. In my opinion it starts at a young age with the violence in our various forms of media. “A” an israeli soldier interviewed by 972 stated “It felt like a computer game. Only after two weeks did I realize that these are [actual] buildings that are falling” [14].

Dr. Hamman, a psychiatrist interviewed Calley, he asked Calley “Well, you keep using the word ‘waste’… I never hear you use the word kill, why not?”, Calley responded “we don’t use that word. Kill refers to our teachings that we are brought up with ever since childhood—Thou shalt not kill. If you use the word kill with the troops, it causes a very negative emotional reaction, so you use the word waste, to get rid of, to destroy”. He further went on to detail that its “The enemy dying” not ‘humans dying’, he thought of the Vietnamese as “potential killers of himself and his men”. [1]

The assumption here is that most people have morality and they must be trained to override what they are taught. Calley and others, however, were morally bankrupt. Bernhardt , a member in his platoon, described emerging from a bomb shelter (this was before My Lai) and seeing Calley ‘with his pants down and a woman kneeling before him while he held a .45 pistol to her head’. He determined that he “really wanted to kill that guy [Calley] but there were just too many guys around”. Bernhardt described Calley as “pure evil…rotten to the core”[1]

Fixing our moral compass

Proverbs 6:16 The Bible

Most Americans profess to be Christians, many others would still agree with the ‘wrongness’ of the things listed in the Bible excerpt above. As we all agree with this, why do we allow our government to conduct so many of these things in our name? Why do we allow the ‘north’ of our moral compass to be led off course by the ‘magnetic pull’ of political machinations?

Hannah Ardent said “The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good”. In light of this, we must actively CHOOSE to be good. To be ‘unaligned’ poses too great a risk for us to do or accept evil. We must FIX our moral compass. We must make a hard definition of ‘north’ like the one described above and we must learn to adhere to it and hold our government to it as well. We cannot put the state before morality, we cannot allow the state to have supremacy over ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.

Individuals should be presumed innocent until proven guilty, but actions deserve no such luxury. If you hear a child is murdered, your reaction should be revulsion and outrage. You shouldn’t need to hear of nationality or political ideologies first to decide if the murder of that child is right or wrong.

Collateral Damage

“Unintentional or incidental injury or damage to persons or objects that would not be lawful military targets in the circumstances ruling at the time. Such damage is not unlawful so long as it is not excessive in light of the overall military advantage anticipated from the attack.”[22]

One of the most evil ideas in modern times is the concept of ‘collateral damage’. This concept asserts that ‘as long as we didn’t mean to kill them, its ok’. I think this was one of the most important steps in chipping away at our moral compass. The fact that some people will accidentally be killed in war was used to give cover to policies and strategies that did little to prevent such deaths.

We, through the concept of collateral damage put these losses of human life at a near zero cost. We don’t look at the person, the family the town. It’s “just an accident” like a car crash or a fall, “wholly unpreventable”. Avoiding civilian casualties is (in the short term) costly and often risky, it often involves troops on the ground as opposed to air and drone strikes. In the eyes of a merciless government, ‘why bother, the American people don’t seem to care much’.

While some civilian casualties are ‘unavoidable’ it is our duty to, at the very least, ensure the exchange is ‘worth it’. If bombing a wedding would kill dozens along with a ‘terrorist’ who can be easily replaced, why bother? That equation only ‘works out’ if we allow our government to assign zero value to the innocent people around the ‘target’. We must reject the automatic, blank check acceptance of ‘collateral damage’. We must demand accountability and real consequences when innocent lives are lost.

In our sheltered, mostly blind and short sighted view of the world we, our government included, may see this as ‘their problem’ not ‘our problem’ but blowback is detrimental to our interests. The created security risks keep us in forever wars and rob us of lives, liberty & property as I detail in American Victory.

Protesting and Liberty

Today we see many protests, again centered around college campuses. Earlier this year many ‘encampments’ were erected. Unsurprisingly, political leaders and media personalities condemned the activities in a desperate attempt to defend the zionist state and the many flows of money dolled out on its behalf. Donald Trump lamented the current environment where people could protest israel (and AIPAC). His own platform goes even further labeling anti-genocide protestors ‘pro-hamas’ and vowing to deport them, in the same document he pledges to support free speech. For those confused, supporting free speech means supporting all speech, even that which you do not like.

as for patriotism, i’ll refer you again to George Washington’s quote at the start of ‘American Victory’

I think that the below excerpt from Nixon’s own commission on ‘campus unrest’ is sufficient enough to simply be reapplied to the protests we see today. While you may incorrectly believe the protestors are ‘wrong’, you are attacking liberty if you seek to use government pressure or force to make them stop. That is a much more ‘anti-America’ stance than protesting a genocide.

Commission on Campus Unrest [23]

Conclusion

“A country without a conscience is a country without a soul, and a country without a soul is a country that cannot survive” —Winston Churchill

“I think there is a good deal of evidence that we thought all along we were a redeemer nation. There was a lot of illusion in our national history. Now its about to be shattered….This is a moment of truth when we realize that we are not a virtuous nation.” — Reinhold Niebuhr on the conviction of Calley

"For this nation to condone the acts of Lieutenant Calley is to make us no better than our enemies and make any pleas by this nation for the humane treatment of our own prisoners meaningless. — Captain Daniels

Our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution were and still should be inspirational around the world. However, we cannot claim to uphold our founding principles while simultaneously allowing our government or our troops to destroy “the deepest hopes of men the world over”. We must look at the evil we have done and forcefully reject it. All who are responsible, from policy setting on down, MUST be held accountable and the punishment must be severe.

The cost to America is not just political capital, it is not just the added security risks we face, it is a risk to the very soul of America. The “they should have obeyed” mentality that has arisen in support of the growing police state is to me a domestic reflection of the evil we have allowed overseas. We must choose morality, we must choose to be ‘good’, both at the personal and at the government level. What we allow to occur in our name will shape the kind of nation we leave for our children.

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Resources

My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness, Howard Jones
CIA, A retrospective on Counterinsurgency Operations
War Hero relives day he refused to murder, Orlando Sentinel
The My Lai Massacre: A military Crime of Obedience
PFC Paul Meadlo on the My Lai Massacre (1969)
Captain Daniels Letter to Nixon
Yamashita, Nuremberg and Vietnam: Command Responsibility Reappraised
President's [Calley] move arouses political debate, NY Times
The Anti-War Movement AlphaHistory.com
Iraq War 10 years later: where are they now? Lynndie England NBC News
Abu Ghraib abuse photos show rape
Marine cleared in killing of Iraqis
The Haditha Massacre Photos that the Military didn't want you to see, the New Yorker
I'm bored, so I shoot, 972 Magazine
Counting the dead in Gaza: Difficult but essential, the Lancet
Israel Created 'kill zones' in Gaza. Anyone who crosses them is shot, Haaretz
'not a normal war': doctors say children have been targeted by Israeli snipers in Gaza, The Guardian
Welcome to Hell, B'Tselem
Israeli media airs footage showing alleged sexual abuse of Palestinian detainee, The guardian
'Bordering on anarchy': IDF chief sounds alarm after right-wing mob overruns 2nd base, The times of israel
‘Everything is legitimate’: Israeli leaders defend soldiers accused of rape, Al Jazeera
Accountability for Killing, Moral Responsibility for Collateral Damage in America's Post 9/11 wars, Neta Crawford
President’s Commission on Campus unrest

Images From Gaza : Warning these are graphic

indiscriminate bombing Video on X

Dying Palestinian Father reaches for his murdered daughter, both were shot by Israeli snipers Video

‘soul of my soul’ - Palestinian man embraces his murdered granddaughter video

The Independent

Palestinian Father holds his child who was beheaded by an israeli bomb Video

Infant beheaded by israeli bombs MahaGaza on X

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The Escape

(Recent news) The Shooter

Controversy & reactions

1A

2A

Gaza

Violence & Death

Leviathan

Summary

Related Articles

Resources

Israe-lies War

Initial Israeli Attack

Trump’s Role