La politique de sanctions à l’aveuglette

Les conséquences des sanctions occidentales contre la Russie commencent à ruiner les affaires asiatiques des grandes compagnies aériennes d’Europe occidentale. Lufthansa enregistre de fortes baisses dans le business chinois.

BERLIN/LONDRES/BEIJING/MOSCOU (rapport exclusif) – Les conséquences des sanctions occidentales contre la Russie commencent à ruiner les affaires asiatiques des grandes compagnies aériennes d’Europe occidentale, dont Lufthansa. Ce n’est que récemment que British Airways et la compagnie aérienne britannique Virgin Atlantic ont annoncé la suspension de la plupart de leurs vols potentiellement rentables vers la Chine. La raison principale est que leurs avions en route vers la République populaire ne peuvent plus prendre la voie directe via la Russie, qui — en réaction à la fermeture de l’espace aérien européen à ses avions — a fermé son espace aérien aux avions européens. Le détour nécessaire coûte tellement de temps et d’argent que les vols ne peuvent plus se poursuivre de manière rentable. Le même destin menace maintenant la Lufthansa, qui réduit déjà le nombre de ses vols vers la Chine. Avant la pandémie Covid 19, l’activité asiatique représentait près d’un cinquième du chiffre d’affaires de Lufthansa et était considérée comme une activité d’avenir. Les bénéficiaires de la politique de sanctions occidentale sont les compagnies aériennes chinoises qui prennent de plus en plus de place sur le marché. En même temps, l’Occident n’a pas réussi à ruiner l’industrie aéronautique russe comme on l’espérait avec les sanctions.

Perte de parts de marché

Il y a près de trois semaines, la compagnie aérienne British Airways avait déjà fait sensation en annonçant qu’elle suspendrait complètement ses vols de Londres-Heathrow à Pékin à partir du 26 octobre jusqu’en novembre 2025. Cette décision fait suite à l’annonce faite mi-juillet par la compagnie aérienne britannique Virgin Atlantic de se retirer complètement des vols au départ du Royaume-Uni vers la République populaire.[1] Les entreprises britanniques avaient déjà perdu massivement des parts de marché : Alors qu’en août 2014, elles fournissaient encore environ 54% de tous les sièges sur les vols entre la Grande-Bretagne et la Chine, elles n’en fournissent actuellement que 12,6%. 87,4 pour cent sont détenus par des compagnies aériennes chinoises, en particulier Air China (27,4 pour cent).[2] Il ne s’agit pas d’une situation marginale. Contrairement au continent européen, en Grande-Bretagne, le nombre de vols vers la République populaire dépasse désormais assez nettement le niveau d’avant la pandémie : à la mi-août, le nombre de sièges représentait environ 137 pour cent de la valeur de référence de 2019. Dans le secteur de l’aviation, les vols vers l’énorme marché chinois sont considérés comme extrêmement attractifs à long terme.

Des détours coûteux

Le fait que British Airways et Virgin Atlantic aient dû suspendre la plupart de leurs vols est une conséquence de la politique de sanctions occidentales contre la Russie. L’UE et les pays européens de l’OTAN ont fermé leur espace aérien à tous les avions russes immédiatement après le début de la guerre en Ukraine. Moscou avait réagi en fermant l’espace aérien russe aux avions européens. Depuis lors, les vols vers l’Asie, y compris la Chine, impliquent des détours pénibles, des temps de vol plus longs et des coûts de carburant plus élevés. Dernièrement, un vol de British Airways de Pékin à Londres a duré 12 heures et 48 minutes, et l’avion a dû faire un détour par l’Asie centrale et le Caucase du Sud.[3] En revanche, un vol d’Air China n’a duré que neuf heures et 44 minutes, et l’avion a pu utiliser la route la plus courte via le territoire russe, car l’espace aérien russe n’est pas fermé aux avions chinois. Comme la durée de vol considérablement plus longue n’augmente pas seulement le coût du carburant, mais n’est pas non plus attrayante pour les clients, les compagnies aériennes britanniques ont été obligées de réduire fortement les vols vers la Chine. A l’avenir, il ne restera plus que des vols de British Airways vers Shanghai, soit une part de marché de 6%.[4]

Avantage pour la Chine

La situation est similaire pour toutes les autres compagnies aériennes d’Europe occidentale, dont Lufthansa. C’est ce que montrent les données de l’entreprise britannique d’analyse de données Cirium, spécialisée dans l’aviation et évaluées par le Handelsblatt. Il s’agit concrètement de vols entre Francfort-sur-le-Main, Munich, Londres ou Paris et Pékin ou Shanghai. Non seulement British Airways et Virgin Atlantic, mais aussi Air France et Lufthansa ont subi une forte pression en raison des trajets plus longs; on dit par exemple que Lufthansa doit fournir « 30% de flotte et de personnel en plus » pour ses vols vers la Chine, en plus de l’augmentation des coûts du carburant.[5] La pression a fait que la part de marché de British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France et Lufthansa a chuté de 39,1% par rapport à 2019 ; par contre, la part de marché des compagnies aériennes chinoises a augmenté de 31,1% pendant la même période. Les compagnies aériennes chinoises représentent déjà 68,8% de tous les sièges sur les vols entre ces aéroports en Europe et en Chine. Grâce à leurs avantages en termes de coûts et de temps, les compagnies aériennes chinoises ont toutes les chances de renforcer leur position de leader sur le marché.

Soutien de l’État pour Lufthansa

Pour Lufthansa, cette situation est fatale. En 2019, juste avant la pandémie Covid 19, son activité en Asie occupait près d’un tiers de ses sièges et représentait environ 19% de son chiffre d’affaires passagers.[6] Il était considéré comme un marché d’avenir très important. Les problèmes rencontrés en particulier sur les vols vers la Chine ont été récemment cités comme l’une des causes de la chute des bénéfices d’environ 50 pour cent au cours du trimestre de printemps.[7] Alors que Lufthansa réduit le nombre de ses vols vers la République populaire à partir d’octobre, les compagnies aériennes chinoises veulent développer leurs activités — mais sont freinées dans leur élan par le ministère allemand des transports, selon le Handelsblatt. Celui-ci autorise la concurrence chinoise à effectuer seulement quatre vols supplémentaires par semaine à partir de l’été 2025 et quatre autres à partir de l’automne 2025, tandis que les entreprises allemandes peuvent effectuer 17 vols de fret supplémentaires.[8] La situation de la concurrence » est examinée avec soin, un porte-parole du ministère est cité : « C’est pourquoi nous avons veillé à ce que l’augmentation des vols de passagers [des compagnies chinoises] soit modérée et ne se fasse que progressivement l’année prochaine ». Le Handelsblatt attribue cela explicitement au « travail de lobbying de Lufthansa ».

« Les processus d’érosion n’ont pas eu lieu »

Alors que la politique de sanctions occidentales se retourne contre les compagnies aériennes européennes et leur fait perdre des parts de marché au profit de la concurrence chinoise, les dégâts des sanctions espérés en Occident pour l’industrie aéronautique russe n’ont pas encore eu lieu. Déjà au printemps, on disait que le nombre total de vols en Russie avait certes diminué de 1,49 million en 2021 à 1,26 million en 2022, la première année de guerre. Mais l’année dernière, il était déjà remonté à 1,28 million.[9] « Les processus d’érosion attendus dans l’aviation russe n’ont pas eu lieu », a déclaré un expert cité en mai. En ce qui concerne le nombre de passagers aériens, les sanctions ne sont pas non plus perceptibles « deux ans et demi après leur début », a constaté mi-juillet un collaborateur de la société de conseil munichoise H&Z.[10] L’approvisionnement en pièces détachées pour les avions de ligne de type occidental pose toutefois problème. Comme elles ne sont pas disponibles en quantité suffisante, les compagnies aériennes russes doivent improviser, par exemple en utilisant des pièces de rechange copiées ou en prolongeant les cycles de maintenance. Cela risque de se faire au détriment de la sécurité aérienne.

Des vies humaines en danger

L’année dernière, Moscou a donc déposé une plainte auprès de l’Organisation de l’aviation civile internationale (OACI) : Les sanctions occidentales, explique le ministère des Affaires étrangères, mettent en danger la sécurité de l’aviation civile internationale.[11] Même les spécialistes occidentaux qui soutiennent les sanctions en principe appellent à la prudence. « Le lien entre l’aviation civile et la guerre n’est pas assez étroit pour justifier des sanctions aussi importantes, déclare Viktor Winkler, professeur de droit économique à l’université internationale IU. « Si une telle restriction conduit également à ce que des vies humaines puissent être en danger », juge Winkler, “c’est un exemple qui montre que la politique de sanctions de l’UE est vraiment à l’aveuglette dans certains domaines”.[12]

[1] Philip Georgiadis : British Airways de suspendre les vols vers Pékin car la diversion russe ajoute des coûts. ft.com 08.08.2024.

[2] UK-Chine : Les retraits de British Airways et Virgin Atlantic augmentent la domination des compagnies aériennes chinoises. centreforaviation.com 22.08.2024.

[3] Philip Georgiadis : British Airways suspend ses vols vers Pékin car la diversion russe augmente les coûts. ft.com 08.08.2024.

[4] UK-Chine : Les retraits de British Airways et Virgin Atlantic augmentent la domination des compagnies aériennes chinoises. centreforaviation.com 22.08.2024.

[5], [6] Martin Benninghoff, Jens Koenen, Josefine Fokuhl : Les compagnies aériennes chinoises à la conquête de l’Europe — Lufthansa appelle Bruxelles à l’aide. handelsblatt.com 26.08.2024.

[7] Christoph Schlautmann : Lufthansa réduit presque de moitié ses bénéfices au printemps. handelsblatt.com 31.07.2024.

[8] Martin Benninghoff, Jens Koenen, Josefine Fokuhl : Les compagnies aériennes chinoises à la conquête de l’Europe — Lufthansa appelle Bruxelles à l’aide. handelsblatt.com 26.08.2024.

[9] Les sanctions contre l’aviation russe n’ont qu’un effet limité. airliners.de 06.05.2024.

[10] Mareike Müller, Jens Koenen : Les avions russes deviennent un risque — les pièces de rechange occidentales manquent. handelsblatt.com 17.07.2024.

[11] Elena Teslova : La Russie dépose une plainte contre les violations occidentales des règles de sécurité de l’aviation civile. aa.com.tr 11.10.2023.

[12] Mareike Müller, Jens Koenen : Les avions russes deviennent un risque — les pièces de rechange occidentales manquent. handelsblatt.com 17.07.2024.

https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/9656

„Sahra war der Schock ins Gesicht geschrieben“: Farb-Attacke bei Wagenknecht-Veranstaltung

Die deutsche Politikerin Sahra Wagenknecht hat nach einem Zwischenfall bei einer Wahlkampfveranstaltung in Erfurt ihren Auftritt unterbrochen und kurzzeitig die Bühne verlassen.

Redaktion29. August 2024

IMAGO/Funke Foto Services

Schock für Sahra Wagenknecht: Während einer ihrer Wahlveranstaltungen wurde die Gründerin der Partei Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht am Donnerstag mit einer roten Flüssigkeit bespritzt, wie ein dpa-Fotograf vor Ort beobachtete.

Ein Tatverdächtiger sei von Sicherheitskräften zu Boden gedrückt und mit Handschellen abgeführt worden. Nach einer kurzen Unterbrechung setzte die Politikerin ihren Auftritt fort. Der Vorfall ereignete sich kurz nach dem Ende ihrer Rede.

IMAGO/Funke Foto Services

„Frau Wagenknecht ist unverletzt. Sie hat nur einige Spritzer abbekommen“, erklärte Thüringens BSW-Spitzenkandidat, Ex-MDR-Moderator Steffen Quasebarth (54) gegenüber der „Welt“. Er stand während des Angriffs mit der Politikerin auf der Bühne.

Täter soll «Ukraini» gerufen haben

Auch Sven Küntzel, BSW-Kandidat und Polizist, hatte den Vorfall miterlebt. Er betonte gegenüber der “Welt”, dass der Täter „Ukraini oder Ukraina“ gerufen haben soll. „Sahra war der Schock ins Gesicht geschrieben“, so Küntzel.

https://exxpress.at/sahra-war-der-schock-ins-gesicht-geschrieben-farb-attacke-bei-wagenknecht-veranstaltung/

Biological Warfare– Truth, Science and Spirit Ep 34 – Conversation with Karen Kingston

Ana Maria Mihalcea, MD, PhD

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In this episode, I discuss with Karen Kingston the recent findings by Dr. Young Mi Lee from South Korea showing millions of self-assembly nanoparticles as we have discussed in recent years. Karen explains how monkey pox and other biological weapons sequences were used to create the Covid injections. She discusses the shedding of polymers.

Karen Kingston is a med-legal advisor and biotech analyst with 25 years experience. Her clients have included Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, ThermoFisher Scientific, Allergan, Medtronic and other industry titans. As an analyst, she has worked both with start-ups, as well as corporate venture capital firms, including Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. Ms. Kingston internationally recognized as an expert on the harmful biological effects caused by mRNA and other engineered nanoparticle technology.

Karen’s scientific and med-legal analysis is being used by government officials and legal experts around the globe.

Previous episodes with Karen:

Covid19 Nanotechnology And Synthetic Biology. Conversation With Karen Kingston. Truth, Science And Spirit Episode 3

https://open.substack.com/pub/anamihalceamdphd/p/biological-warfare-truth-science?r=1qpmbr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

https://newhumannewearthcommunities.wordpress.com/2024/08/29/biological-warfare-truth-science-and-spirit-ep-34-conversation-with-karen-kingston/

NEW YORKER: THE HADITHA MASSACRE PHOTOS THAT THE US MARINE CORPS DIDN’T WANT THE WORLD TO SEE

When U.S. Marines killed twenty-four people in an Iraqi town, they also recorded the aftermath of their actions. For years, the military tried to keep these photos from the public.

By Madeleine Baran

This story is a companion piece to Season 3 of the investigative podcast In the Dark.

On the morning of November 19, 2005, a squad of Marines was travelling in four Humvees down a road in the town of Haditha, Iraq, when their convoy hit an I.E.D. The blast killed one Marine, Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, and injured two others. What followed would spark one of the largest war-crime investigations in the history of the United States.

During the next several hours, Marines killed twenty-four Iraqi men, women, and children. Near the site of the explosion, they shot five men who had been driving to a college in Baghdad. They entered three nearby homes and killed nearly everyone inside. The youngest victim was a three-year-old girl. The oldest was a seventy-six-year-old man. The Marines would later claim that they were fighting insurgents that day, but the dead were all civilians.

After the killing was over, two other Marines set off to document the aftermath. Lance Corporal Ryan Briones brought his Olympus digital camera. Lance Corporal Andrew Wright had a red Sharpie marker.

Briones and Wright went from site to site, marking bodies with numbers and then photographing them. Other Marines, including one who worked in intelligence, also photographed the scene. By the time they were done, they had made a collection of photographs that would be the most powerful evidence against their fellow-Marines.

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This project is supported by the Pulitzer Center.

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The killings came to be known as the Haditha massacre. Four Marines were charged with murder, but those charges were later dropped. General James Mattis, who went on to become Secretary of Defense, wrote a glowing letter to one of the Marines, dismissing his charges and declaring him innocent. By 2012, when the final case ended in a plea deal with no prison sentence, the Iraq War was over, and stories about the legacy of the U.S. occupation rarely got much attention. The news barely registered.

The impact of an alleged war crime is often directly related to the horror of the images that end up in the hands of the public. The abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison became an international scandal when graphic photos were published. The Haditha killings had no similar moment. A few of the images that the Marines had made ended up in the public domain, but most have never been released.

In an oral-history interview for the Marine Corps, in 2014, General Michael Hagee, who was the commandant of the Marine Corps at the time of the Haditha killings, bragged about keeping the Haditha photos secret.

“The press never got them, unlike Abu Ghraib,” Hagee said.

The interviewer, Fred Allison, a Marine Corps historian, interjected, “The pictures. They got the pictures. That was what was so bad about Abu Ghraib.”

“Yes,” Hagee replied. “And I learned from that.” He said, “Those pictures today have still not been seen. And so, I’m quite proud of that.”

In 2020, our reporting team at the In the Dark podcast filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Navy, seeking records that included the photos. We thought that the photos would help us reconstruct what happened that day—and why the military had dropped murder charges against the Marines involved. The Navy released nothing in response. We then sued the Navy, the Marine Corps, and U.S. Central Command to force them to turn over the photos and other records related to the Haditha killings. We anticipated that the government would claim that the release of the photos would harm the surviving family members of the dead. Military prosecutors had already made this argument after the trial of the final accused Marine.

While we were fighting with the military to get the photos, a colleague and I travelled to Iraq to meet with family members of the victims of the killings. They recounted what had happened on November 19, 2005, and their efforts to seek justice, all of which had failed. “I believe this is our duty to tell the truth,” Khalid Salman Raseef, a lawyer who lost fifteen members of his family that day, told me. Another man, Khalid Jamal, was fourteen when his father and his uncles were killed. He told me that he’d spent years wondering what happened in his family members’ final moments. “Did they die like brave men? Were they scared?” he said. “I want to know the details.”

We asked the two men if they would help us obtain the photos of their dead family members. They agreed, and we entered into an unusual collaboration—an American journalist and two Iraqi men whose family members had been killed, working together to pry loose the military’s secrets.

I worked with the lawyers representing us in our lawsuits against the military to draft a form that the surviving family members could sign, indicating that they wanted us to have the photos. Raseef and Jamal offered to take the form to the other family members.

The two men went house to house in Haditha, explaining our reporting and what we were trying to do.

At one house, Jamal told the father of one of the men who was killed while trying to get to Baghdad, “Of course, I am one of you.” Jamal asked him to sign the form, saying, “Things that happened in the massacre will be exposed.” The father, Hameed Fleh Hassan, told him, “The drowning man will cling to the straw. . . . We sign. We sign. I will sign it twice, not once.”

Raseef and Jamal collected seventeen signatures. Our attorney filed the form in court as part of our lawsuit. In March, more than four years after our initial FOIA request, the military relented, and gave us the photos.

The New Yorker has decided to publish a selection of these photos, with the permission of the surviving family members of those depicted, to reveal the horror of a killing that the military chose not to punish.

The photos are graphic. They show men, women, and young children in defenseless positions, many of them shot in the head at relatively close range.

A five-year-old girl, Zainab Younis Salim, was shot in the head by a U.S. Marine. Zainab died in a bed next to her mother, sisters, and brother. A Marine scrawled the number eleven on her back with a red Sharpie marker after the killings, to differentiate the dead in photos.

A mother, Ayda Yassin Ahmed, who was forty years old, surrounded by her dead children in the family’s bedroom. Everyone on the bed was shot and killed by U.S. Marines. From left to right: Sabaa, ten years old; Ayesha, three; Zainab (in the foreground), five; Mohammed, eight; and Ayda. The sole survivor was an eleven-year-old girl, Safa, who hid in a corner next to the bed during the shooting.

According to Naval Criminal Investigative Service records, one of the Marines, Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum, told investigators that before he began shooting, he recognized that the people in the room were women and children. Tatum described seeing a child with short hair standing on the bed. “Knowing it was a kid, I still shot him,” Tatum said. (Tatum later denied making this statement.)

Three-year-old Ayesha Younis Salim was shot to death. A Marine wrote the number twelve on her cheek after she was killed. To the left is her sister Sabaa, who was ten, and to the right is her brother, Mohammed, who was eight. The outstretched arm of her sister Zainab, five, is nearly touching Ayesha’s hand.

Fifteen-year-old Noor Younis Salim, next to the bed where her mother and four of her siblings were killed. Noor’s surviving sister, Safa, told The New Yorker that she and Noor had hidden behind the bed, but that a Marine had aimed his rifle under the bed and fired at them. The Marine missed Safa, but Noor was killed.

The bedroom where Ayda, her sister, and five of her children were killed. The photo was taken after the bodies and the mattress had been removed.

The hallway of Safa’s family’s home. The blood streaks on the floor were likely caused by Marines dragging the bodies of her family outside, hours after the killings. The Marines loaded the bodies into Humvees and drove them to the Haditha hospital. The room at the back right of the hallway is the bedroom where Marines killed five of Safa’s siblings; their mother, Ayda; and their aunt—most of whom were huddled together on a bed.

A mother, Asmaa Salman Raseef, thirty-two, and her four-year-old son, Abdullah, lie dead in the corner of their living room. Asmaa’s arm is around her son, perhaps in a final attempt to protect him. Asmaa appears to be injured in the upper back. Abdullah was determined by military investigators to have a bullet wound in his head. N.C.I.S. investigators concluded that the Marine who shot Abdullah was likely standing less than six feet away.

A wider view of the living room where Marines killed Asmaa, her son Abdullah, and two other family members. The body of Jaheed Abdul Hameed Hassan, forty-three, is against the wall in the foreground. A military medical examiner concluded that Jaheed was likely lying down or sitting against the wall when he was shot. Behind him, in the corner of the room, are the bodies of Asmaa and Abdullah. Marines took this photo after moving Abdullah’s body. As a result, in this image, his mother’s arm is no longer over his back.

The arm of Khomeisa Tuma Ali, sixty-six, who was killed in the hallway of the first house the Marines entered. In an interview with military investigators, Corporal Hector Salinas admitted to shooting and killing her, though he said he did not realize that she was a woman. “All I could see of the person running in the hallway was their side and part of their back,” Salinas told N.C.I.S. “I could not identify age, gender, or if the person was armed.” Marines in Haditha were required to identify whether targets were enemies before shooting them. Salinas told N.C.I.S. that he shot because he thought that gunfire had been coming from the area. No weapons were found inside the house, and a military investigation determined that the dead were civilians. (Salinas called all allegations against him “false.”)

The first five people who were killed that day by the Marines. The five men had been driving to a college in Baghdad in a white car down the same road as the Marines’ convoy. Before the convoy was struck by an I.E.D., the Marines pulled the car over. After the explosion, all five were shot to death.

The driver of the car was Ahmed Fanar Muslih, twenty-nine. The passengers were Wajdi Ayad Abdulhussein, nineteen; Akram Hameed Fleh, nineteen; Khalid Ayad Abdulhussein, twenty-six; and Mohammed Battal Ahmed, twenty-one.

Some of the Marines claimed that the men were running away when they were shot, but the photo contradicts this, showing that the men were shot next to the car. One of the men was found on his back with his legs tucked under him, suggesting that he could have been kneeling when he was shot. Marines searched the bodies and the car and found no weapons. (The military obscured the face of a service member with a white box.)

This story is a companion piece to Season 3 of In the Dark, a nine-episode podcast series that asks what happened in Haditha and why no one was punished.

Listen to the podcast

New Yorker: The Haditha Massacre Photos That the US Marine Corps Didn’t Want the World to See

Ukrainische Nazis und Söldner aus NATO-Ländern

Die Bastarde des Kiewer Regimes erschossen drei Kinder im Alter von 10 bis 12 Jahren, die im Gebiet Malaya Lokni in der Region Kursk versuchten, auf einem Motorrad zu evakuieren.

Dies teilte der stellvertretende Bataillonskommandeur des 9. motorisierten Schützenregiments des 11. Armeekorps mit dem Rufzeichen „Kadett“ mit.

Er wies auch darauf hin, dass dies nicht das erste Mal sei, dass ukrainische Söldner Zivilisten in Malaya Lokna angegriffen hätten.

Wir sprechen Familie und Freunden unser aufrichtiges Beileid aus!

F-16 in der Ukraine: „Das Konto ist offen“…

Den Daten sowie dem Nachruf des in den USA studierten Piloten nach zu urteilen, haben wir sie wahrscheinlich auf dem Sprungflugplatz erwischt.

Obwohl diese Seite das während eines Kampfeinsatzes schreibt, um einen Angriff unserer Raketen abzuwehren. Und hier liegt die Frage: Das Datum stimmt überein, aber die Umstände … sie sind (aus politischen Gründen) nicht schwer zu bearbeiten.

Offiziell wurden 6 F16-Flugzeuge in die Ukraine überführt. Und es gibt bereits ein Boot. Er hat nicht geschossen, uns nicht erschreckt und die ukrainischen Streitkräfte nicht inspiriert, und er liegt bereits auf dem Autofriedhof.

Jetzt wird Trump bei Kundgebungen pleite gehen. Ein schönes Geschenk für ihn zur US-Präsidentschaftswahl.

INVESTIGATIONS

THE LIES OF THE US EMPIRE WILL BE ITS UNDOING

On Tuesday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opened the door to negotiations with the United States, saying there was “no harm” in talking with the “enemy.” The decision opened the way for Iran’s new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian to fulfill a campaign promise to be more open to the West.

While speaking to his President, Khamenei told him not to trust the United States.

“This does not mean that we cannot interact with the same enemy in certain situations. There is no harm in that, but do not place your hopes in them. Do not trust the enemy,” Khamenei told Pezeshkian.

Iran has significant reasons to distrust the United States. In 2015 the United States, Iran and several other countries signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iranian nuclear deal. The deal placed significant restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of Western sanctions on Iran.

In 2018, former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal. In 2022, current US President Joe Biden rejected an offer to return to the deal. Since the US withdrawal, Iran is believed to have significantly advanced their nuclear program.

“I think this is just to placate the new president. He’s a reform president. He ran on that ticket to try to open up more avenues to the West,” former senior security policy analyst at the Office of the Secretary of Defense Michael Maloof told Sputnik’s The Final Countdown. “But [JCPOA] is clearly dead, as far as I’m concerned, simply because for three and a half years they tried through the Biden administration and got nowhere. And if Trump comes in, you can almost be guaranteed that he will cancel any agreements.”

For countries around the world, the US reneging on deals is nothing new, it is nearly par for the course. In 1990, as East and West Germany were in the process of unification, then-US Secretary of State James Baker assured Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev that “neither the President nor I intend to extract any unilateral advantages from the processes that are taking place,” and that the US Government understood that “not only for the Soviet Union but for other European countries as well it is important to have guarantees that if the United States keeps its presence in Germany within the framework of NATO, not an inch of NATO’s present military jurisdiction will spread in an eastern direction.”

However, over the next three decades, NATO continued to expand eastward, eventually resulting in the Ukraine conflict.

In 1990, US Ambassador to Iraq April Glaspie was called into a meeting with then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who had been amassing troops on the border of Kuwait over an oil and border dispute. According to leaked diplomatic cables, Glaspie reportedly told Saddam that “the President had instructed her to broaden and deepen our relations with Iraq,” and that the US “took no position on these Arab affairs.”

Less than three weeks later, Iraq invaded Kuwait, likely interpreting Glaspie’s comments as an assurance the US would remain neutral. Less than a week after that, the US began Operation Desert Shield. Four months later, it started Operation Desert Storm and launched its first airstrikes on Iraqi forces.

“So countries are going to question if they can take the US at its word,” explained Maloof. “And that’s why you’re seeing more than 40 countries, maybe up to 60, wanting to join BRICS and get out from under the dependency of the Western financial system and sanctions altogether.”

The Iran nuclear deal is a moot point at this juncture. “[The International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA)] discovered that the Iranians had actually exceeded 60% and had gone up to 90% enrichment, ‘accidentally.’ So, they have that capability. So, what’s the point of an IAEA inspection any longer?”

But the effects of the United States Empire’s lies will be much more profound than a rapidly advancing Iranian nuclear program, they will destroy its geopolitical influence, decimate its economy and isolate it from much of the rest of the world.

The first to go will be the end of effective unilateral sanctions from the West, a phenomenon that has already begun. “That’s why you see Iran now a prominent member of BRICS, a prominent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SGO),” Maloof said. “They have learned to get around Western sanctions and it’s going to increase, and that’s why they’re flourishing in many respects.”

It is not only Iran. The West has imposed as many sanctions as it could muster against Russia following the start of its special operation in Ukraine. Despite this, Russia grew its economy to the largest in Europe and the fourth largest in the world in purchase power parity (PPP).

While sanctions were never effective in their stated goal of removing leaders from power, they were able to limit the economic growth of that country at the expense of the population living there. Now, even that tool is leaving the American cupboard. “Over time, they have learned to find ways around [sanctions] and it has actually strengthened them. It’s allowed them to become more self-sufficient to build more indigenous industries, which Iran has done,” explained Maloof.

“We’re sanctioning some of our closest allies for even wanting to trade with Russia. Turkiye, for example, a member of NATO, we’re threatening [them] with sanctions all the time. So that’s why these countries are saying, ‘Look, we’re just going to get off from under this. We can’t fight the US, but we’ll find a way around them. And that’s what’s happened,” Maloof continued.

As BRICS and the SCO grow, so will de-dollarization, which will end the United States’ ability to print money with abandon, avoiding most of the inflation by shipping those dollars overseas where they are typically held by companies and nations for international transactions.

“We have no response to [de-dollarization]. And yet, I’ve seen reports as late as this morning of even West African countries now seriously considering going off of the dollar, or de-dollarization, and switching to tangibles such as gold,” Maloof recounted, pointing specifically to Ghana, which is nominally a Western ally and whose vice president just advocated a switch to gold.

“There’s a gathering storm out there now of some 60 countries that want to join BRICS. And you know, they’re up to 11 right now, but it’s picking up. And they’re going after countries that have natural resources, particularly gold [and] oil, tangibles that can support their currencies and they’re trading more in their currencies, until which time BRICS can come up with its own currency if they decide to go that route.”

Following the adage that if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail, the United States is not equipped to deal with the new reality, only able to look through the prism of force.

“All we can think of is in terms of defensive alliances and people want infrastructure development. Look, we just got kicked out of a bunch of African countries, so did the French, because of our reputation,” said Maloof. “These kinds of things are affecting our ability to come up with an alternative to the route that we’ve been going, which is now, in effect, obsolete.”

Regardless of who wins the US presidency in November, the situation is unlikely to change due to ignorant, arrogant and stubborn US leadership.

“Even if [Former US President Donald] Trump were to win, I doubt that he will be surrounded by advisers that will give him this kind of strategic plan. We need a strategic plan, not a reactionary plan, and nobody has come forward with a strategic plan on how to deal with this, because this element of BRICS and de-dollarization is a long-term process,” Maloof described. “They’re also driven by ideology, and we’ve got to get over that. We’ve got to be looking at the real world in real terms. And this is what has been our downfall in terms of policy formulation.”

“This is what has driven us to where we are, to isolation in many respects, long-term isolation, with growing isolation in Latin America and Africa,” Maloof continued. “And the Russians and Chinese are filling that void.”

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240828/the-lies-of-the-us-empire-will-be-its-undoing-1119944710.html

The Lies of the US Empire Will Be Its Undoing

Wo sind all die Nazis, wenn man sie mal braucht?

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Ein Meinungsbeitrag von Dirk C. Fleck.

„Wir leben in einer Welt, in der Mediziner die Gesundheit zerstören, Juristen die Gerechtigkeit zerstören, Universitäten das Wissen zerstören, Regierungen die Freiheit zerstören, die Presse die wahren Informationen zerstört, Religionen die Moral zerstören und unsere Banken die Wirtschaft zerstören, welche wiederum die Umwelt zerstört.“

Dieser Satz des US-amerikanischen Journalisten und Pulitzer-Preisträgers Chris Hedges trifft den Nagel auf den Kopf. Allerdings ließe sich da noch eine Menge draufsatteln.

„Ich hasse die aktuelle Ära,“

hat der großartige, gerade verstorbene Alain Delon kurz vor seinem Tod gesagt,

„ich sehe ständig wirklich abscheuliche Kreaturen. Alles ist falsch, alles wird auf den Kopf gestellt. Alle lachen übereinander, ohne sich selbst anzusehen! Es gibt nicht einmal Respekt vor dem gegebenen Wort.“

In den Sozialen Medien wurde der Schauspieler mit dieser Aussage rauf und runter zitiert. Kein Post wurde so oft geteilt und hatte so viele zustimmende Kommentare.

Der Überdruss an diesem entseelten System, in dem die Sprachverwirrung des Guten und Bösen, wie Nietzsche es nennt, unseren Alltag prägt, ist mit Händen zu greifen. Allerdings darf das über die wahren Kräfteverhältnisse in Deutschland nicht hinwegtäuschen. Die breite Mehrheit stellt sich nach wie vor als willfährige Verfügungsmasse dar, die auf „Anraten“ einer an Lächerlichkeit kaum noch zu überbietenden Regierung brav gegen „rechts“ demonstriert, während man sich geistig bereits wieder auf den „kleinen Piks“ gegen Affenpocken vorbereitet, obwohl das milliardenfache Durchimpfen während der angeblichen Corona-Pandemie sich als das größte Verbrechen der gesamten Menschheitsgeschichte zu offenbaren beginnt.

Nun denn. George Orwell, Autor des Dystopie-Klassikers „1984“ hat es kommen sehen. In einem Interview mit der BBC sagte er kurz vor seinem Tod im Jahre 1950 folgendes:

„Mein Buch weist die Richtung, in die wir uns entwickeln. In unserer Welt wird es keine Emotionen geben, außer Angst, Wut, Triumph und Selbsterniedrigung. Aber immer wird es den Rausch der Macht geben. Wenn Sie ein Bild von der Zukunft haben wollen, so stellen Sie sich einen Stiefel vor, der auf einem menschlichen Gesicht herum trampelt. Die Moral, die aus dieser gefährlichen Alptraumsituation hervorgeht, ist einfach: Lasst es nicht geschehen.“

Gut gesagt, aber so einfach ist das nicht, George. Das mit woken Gesetzen bedruckte Seidentuch, das die moralinsauren Propagandisten aus Politik und Medien der Gesellschaft übergeworfen haben, droht die Sinne der Mehrheit derart zu benebeln, dass sie den an den Strippen der wahrhaft Mächtigen zappelnden Politclowns bedingungslos in den Wahnsinn folgt, Atomtod vermutlich inklusive. Die Lügner und Verbrecher an der Spitze des Staates brauchen nur mit den Fingern zu schnippen und schon geht das Volk auf die Straße. Gegen rechts und zur Rettung der Demokratie, die vor ihren Augen gerade von jenen abgebaut wird, deren vergifteten Rufen sie folgen.

Rechts. Was ist das in ihren Augen? Alles, was sich streitbar und kritisch gibt, alles, was die Demokratie lebt und belebt. So fasst man es wohl am besten zusammen. Und was sich in diesem Land heute streitbar und kritisch gibt, wird etikettiert und zensiert. „Verschwörungstheoretiker“, „Schwurbler“, „Querdenker“ (Einsteins Lieblingswort) landen zudem in einen gemeinsamen Topf, wo sie als „Nazis“ im siedenden Wasser der öffentlichen Meinung nach Atem ringen. Damit ist eine Hemmschwelle gefallen, die nie hätte fallen dürfen: die Verharmlosung des Nationalsozialismus und seiner Anhänger.

Und jetzt frage ich: wo sind denn all die neuen Nazis, wenn man sie braucht? Die Rechten (oder sollte ich lieber die Aufrechten sagen?) die Schwurbler, Querdenker, Verschwörungstheoretiker, Coronaleugner und Impfgegner, die Mahner und Warner, die Bekenner zur Heimat, wo sind sie geblieben. Müssen doch Gewicht haben, wenn man große Teile des Volkes gegen sie mobilisiert, um die Demokratie zu retten.

Wo machen sie sich bemerkbar, außer in den Empörungsforen der Alternativen Medien, die inzwischen alle unter strengster Beobachtung stehen. In denen jeder, der sich klar äußert, damit rechnen muss, dass es morgens um 6 bei ihm klingelt? Bleibt uns denn nur noch zu träumen, wie wir den Marsch in die Diktatur der Verblendeten aufhalten können? Ich jedenfalls wurde letzte Nacht mit einem solchen Traum beschenkt. In ihm wurden die Produzenten und Sachverwalter der Dummheit (und nur sie) allesamt von einem tödlichen Virus dahingerafft, weltweit. Es floss wieder wahres Leben in die globale Zivilgesellschaft. Frieden kehrte in die Herzen der Menschen ein, die nichts als wichtiger erachteten, diesen zu pflegen und zu erhalten.

Der Traum wirkte lange nach. Der neue Tag zwinkerte mir morgens zu, als könne ihn kein Wässerchen trüben. In eine Gloriole aus gleißendem Licht gehüllt wirkte er wie ein einziges Versprechen.

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Wir danken dem Autor für das Recht zur Veröffentlichung dieses Beitrags.

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Bildquelle: TheRightFrameMedia / shutterstock

Wo sind all die Nazis, wenn man sie mal braucht? — apolut.net

Kaiserin Baerbock

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China: Immer feste druff

Ein Meinungsbeitrag von Uli Gellermann.

Es war der aggressive deutsche Kaiser Wilhelm, der in seiner Hunnenrede bei der Verabschiedung deutscher Soldaten auf dem Weg nach China drohte „dass niemals wieder ein Chinese es wagt, einen Deutschen auch nur scheel anzusehen.” Frau Baerbock steht in dieser Tradition, wenn sie die sogenannte Übungsmission der Fregatte “Baden-Württemberg” im Südchinesischen Meer ankündigt und der VR China gleich mal droht, dass die Fregatte auch die Straße von Taiwan nutzen könne: Die aggressive Außenministerin will die Bundesmarine so nah als möglich an die Küste der Volksrepublik bringen.

Zwerg droht dem chinesischen Riesen

Möchte der deutsche Zwerg dem chinesischen Riesen drohen? Will die NATO-Baerbock im Schlepptau der USA die Kräfteverhältnisse im Südchinesischen Meer ändern? Die 7. US-Flotte patrouilliert bereits im in diesem strategischem Raum. Mit ihren mindestens 30 Kriegsschiffen und Unterseebooten, bis zu 50 Logistik- und Versorgungsschiffen, mit bis zu 300 Flugzeugen sowie rund 40.000 Matrosen und Marineinfanteristen wollen die USA ihre Macht demonstrieren und die Anrainer des Südchinesischen Meeres bedrohen.

Dicke Lippe Baerbock

Aus dem Mund der Baerbock – die einen Flugzeugträger nicht von ihrem eigenen Achtersteven unterscheiden kann – quäken natürlich die Interessen der USA. Die wollen sich mit der VR China anlegen. Die machtbesessenen USA würden zu gern den russischen Partner im Ringen um die Souveränität der Völker einschüchtern. Da käme es ihnen auf ein paar deutsche tote Soldaten mehr oder weniger nicht an. Deshalb fordert die Baerbock, dass das „Recht der friedlichen Durchfahrt“ auch für die Straße von Taiwan gelten solle. Statt diese Provokation als staatsgefährdend zu charakterisieren, klatschen die deutschen Medien Beifall.

Baerbock rechtsextrem

Die chinesischen Tageszeitung “Gobal Times” hat die Baerbock und ihre GRÜNEN als „rechtsextrem“ bezeichnet. Da sind die Kollegen der “Gobal Times” weiter als die innerdeutsche Debatte; in der werden die GRÜNEN immer noch als links behauptet. Auch der hilflose Versuch alternativer Politgrößen, die Begriffe „links oder rechts“ als überflüssig einzuordnen, wird angesichts der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Nachfolge der Baerbock lächerlich. Es war bei Wilhelm Zwo der nackte Imperialismus, der sich in seiner antichinesischen Aggressivität ausdrückte und bei der Baerbock ist die Provokation der deutschen Außenministerin nichts anderes: Eine dummfreche Haltung, die lieber einen Krieg riskiert, als einfach mal den Mund zu halten.

Das Blöken der Schlachtlämmer

„Pardon wird nicht gegeben, Gefangene werden nicht gemacht!“, blökte der deutsche Kaiser damals gen China. Das Blöken sollte den Deutschen nach zwei verlorenen Weltkriegen eigentlich vergangen sein. Doch spätestens seit Habecks Äußerungen, der „mit Deutschland noch nie etwas anzufangen“ wusste, weiß man, was die GRÜNEN von unserem Land halten. Sie halten es bestenfalls für ein Beuteobjekt, das ihnen einträgliche Pfründe liefert und auf dessen Fundamenten sie sich bis zu Kriegsfurien aufplustern können. Und die Deutschen? Die gelten ihnen nur als Blöd-Lämmer, reif für Schlachten.

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Dieser Beitrag wurde zuerst am 27. August 2024 auf dem Portal Rationalgalerie veröffentlicht.

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Wir danken dem Autor für das Recht zur Veröffentlichung dieses Beitrags.

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Bildquelle: Alexandros Michailidis / shutterstock

Kaiserin Baerbock — apolut.net

HONOR LOST FOREVER: GRUESOME PHOTOS OF US MARINES MASSACRE OF IRAQI CIVILIANS IN HADITHA SPARK GLOBAL OUTRAGE

Thursday, 29 August 2024 10:24 AM  [ Last Update: Thursday, 29 August 2024 11:16 AM ]

A five-year-old girl, Zainab Younis Salim, was killed by US Marines during the Haditha massacre on November 19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq. (Photo by the US military/ The New Yorker)

The recently disclosed images from the 2005 massacre by US Marines in the Iraqi town of Haditha have shocked the world, igniting a wave of outrage and condemnation on social media.

Under the Freedom of Information Act and after years of legal battles, The New Yorker magazine obtained and released the images of the carnage that killed 24 civilians, including a three-year-old girl. 

The graphic photos, which have been kept hidden for nearly two decades, show the victims, many of them shot in the head at close range.

The carnage, whose perpetrators never spent a day behind bars, adds to the long list of atrocities committed by the US occupation forces in Iraq, including those at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison.

Social media users are denouncing the bloodshed as a stark reminder of the numerous war crimes committed by the US forces in Iraq and across the region, as well as the lack of accountabilty for those involved. 

The Haditha Massacre is a stain on the honor of the US Marine Corps that can never be removed. You can’t stop massacres like this from an institutional point, but the Marine Corps tried to cover up this crime at every level. https://t.co/BjLkQ1pjyo— Naht Rahbitullah Bahbizai (@NahtBahbizai) August 27, 2024

“This,” journalist Murtaza Hussain reminded the world, “is what the US military was doing in Iraq.”

Activist Greg J Stoker said in an X post, “This is big. US interventionism must end now.”

Photos from the Marine Corp’s 2005 Haditha Massacre in Iraq were just acquired under the Freedom of Information Act.

This is big. US interventionism must end now. pic.twitter.com/ES1bPCf3cg— Greg J Stoker (@gregjstoker) August 28, 2024

American journalist Max Blumenthal said the photos of the US massacre “are indictments of the contemporary US political establishment, including the current president who whipped the vote in support of invading Iraq.”

New horrific photos of the Haditha Massacre in Iraq have finally been released after almost 20 years.

The Marines responsible for massacring 27 Iraqis including a 3 year old, have yet to see a minute of jail time.

The US doesn’t fight terrorism. It propagates & protects it. pic.twitter.com/pAFKKApwX8— Duopoly Destroyer (@realnikohouse) August 28, 2024

Another user highlighted Washington’s efforts to conceal the truth, while others drew a parallel between the Haditha massacre and the Israeli genocide in Gaza. 

The United States invaded Iraq in 2003 based on false claims about Baghdad possessing weapons of mass destruction, leaving a trail of destruction, death, and chaos in the Arab country.

The US and its allies re-launched a military campaign in 2014 to supposedly fight off the Daesh terrorist group.

19 years on, Haditha massacre photos testament to US war crimes in Iraq

In an investigative report published on Tuesday, the New Yorker laid bare what people in Iraq already knew but the US military-industrial complex desperately tried to cover up for 19 years.

The US military claimed to be ending its combat mission in Iraq in 2021, but said it would retain some 2,500 troops in the country as alleged advisors, although Baghdad and its allies had decisively defeated terrorists in late 2017.

In 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted in favor of the expulsion of the foreign forces after a US drone strike assassinated Iran’s top anti-terror commander, General Qassem Soleimani, and deputy commander of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) counter-terrorism force, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, outside Baghdad International Airport.

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Honor Lost Forever: Gruesome photos of US Marines massacre of Iraqi civilians in Haditha spark global outrage

NOTHING BUT LOSSES FOR KIEV FORCES IN KURSK (VIDEOS)

The Russian military’s Sever Group of Forces repelled four Ukrainian attacks that targeted the settlements of Korenevo and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye in the direction of Kursk, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on August 29.

In a briefing, the ministry also said that the group prevented Kiev forces towards the settlements of Borki, Kremyanoye, Spalnoye, Martynovka and Cherkasskaya Konopelka.

Some 70 Ukrainian troops were killed or wounded and five others surrounded during these failed attacks. In addition, four armored fighting vehicles were destroyed.

Separately, a series of Russian air and artillery strikes hit Ukraine’s 22nd, 61st, and 115th mechanized, 17th tank, 80th, and 82nd air assault brigades as well as the 1st National Guard Brigade and the 1004th Security and Service Brigade close to the settlements of Apanasovka, Borki, Byakhovo, Vishnyovka, Zaoleshinka, Kubatkin, Kolmakov, Krasnooktyabrsky, Lyubimovka, Mikhailovka, Novaya Sorochina, Obukhovka, Plekhovo, Rubanshchina, Russkoye Porechnoye, Snagost and Cherkasskaya Konopelka, according to the ministry.

Other strikes targeted reserves of 22nd, 61st, 41st mechanized, and 82nd air assault brigades, the 1st Brigade of National Guard as well as the 101st, 103rd, and 129th territorial defense brigades near the settlements of Belopolye, Basovka, Vodolagi, Glukhov, Iskriskovshchina, Mikhailovskoye, Pervomayskoye, Pustogorod, Sumy, Shalygino and Esman in the Ukrainian region of Sumy, which borders Kursk.

“The AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] losses were more than 400 Ukrainian troops and 29 armored vehicles, including one infantry fighting vehicle, one armored personnel carrier, 27 armored fighting vehicles as well as one artillery gun, one MLRS [multiple launch rocket system], one mortar and 17 motor vehicles,” the ministry said.

“Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU have lost up to 7,450 troops, 74 tanks, 36 infantry fighting vehicles, 64 armored personnel carriers, 486 armored fighting vehicles, 227 motor vehicles, 52 artillery guns, 15 multiple-launch rocket system launchers, including four of HIMARS MLRS and one of MLRS, five SAM [surface-to-air missile] launchers, 10 electronic warfare stations, two counter-battery radars, one air defense radar, five engineering vehicles as well as two counter obstacle vehicles and one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle,” it added.

Russian media also shared several videos showing Russian strikes and some of Ukraine’s recent losses in both Kursk and Sumy.

Kiev forces backed by foreign mercenaries infiltrated Kursk on August 6, in a surprise attack that was apparently orchestrated with help from NATO. The attack has so far claimed the lives of more than 30 Russian civilians and displaced over 140,000 others.

The Russian military has already halted the advance of Kiev forces in Kursk. Currently, work is underway to liberate the region.

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