Hezbollah’s Military Media released on June 4 videos documenting recent attacks by the group against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
In the first attack, which took place on May 13, Hezbollah fighters targeted a room in the Birket Riche site where Israeli troops were gathered using an Iranian-made Almas-3 anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). Two troops were apparently killed or wounded in the attack despite Israel not announcing losses at the time.
The second video shows an attack with what appears to be Iranian-made Falaq heavy rockets that targeted the Dovev barracks on May 24.
The third video shows an interesting attack from May 31 during which Hezbollah fighters fired a salvo of unguided rockets at the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights to locate an Iron Dome air defense site within the al-Zaoura base only to then target the launcher with a suicide drone armed with rockets that appears to be a copy of the Iranian-made Ababil-2.
The footage shows at least one Iron Dome launcher in al-Zaoura on fire. At the time of the attack, the IDF admitted losses without providing any details.
The last video shows Hezbollah fighters targeting a house occupied by Israeli troops in the settlement of Metula with what appears to be an Iranian-made Toophan ATGM.
Since the outbreak of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip last October, Hezbollah and its allies began launching near-daily attacks against the IDF from southern Lebanon in support of the Hamas Movement and other armed factions in the Palestinian enclave.
The border clashes have so far resulted in ten civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of at least 14 IDF soldiers and reservists. On the Lebanese side, more than 400 people have been killed, including 312 fighters of Hezbollah and at least 80 civilians.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comments in response to an op-ed by Lee Hockstader that was published in The Washington Post on Monday.
Hockstader wrote that Russian President Vladimir Putin “might see hitting French troops, if Russian forces can locate them, not only as a way to expose Western divisions but also as a chance to humiliate [French President] Macron, now among the most hawkishly anti-Russian Western leaders.”
According to RT, Peskov said, “The fact is that any instructors who are involved in training the military of the Ukrainian regime do not have any immunity. And it doesn’t matter whether they are French or not.”
According to a report from Reuters, France might announce its plans to deploy a few hundred military trainers to Ukraine following a meeting between Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 7.
All the talk about a potential French deployment has highlighted the fact that there is already a small number of NATO special operations troops inside Ukraine (97 as of March 2023). Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Tuesday that there were already indications French trainers may be in the country and said they were legitimate targets.
“As for the issue of French instructors, I have grounds to think and there are quite a few specific facts that they are already working in Ukraine. Regardless of whether they are considered to be servicemen from the French armed forces or … simply mercenaries, they represent a legitimate target for our armed forces,” Lavrov said.
NATO is developing multiple “land corridors” to rush US troops and armored vehicles to the frontlines of a potential future ground war with Russia in Eastern Europe, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
Current NATO plans involve US troops landing in ports in the Netherlands and then transported through Germany to Poland, but the alliance is looking to expand the potential routes for US troops to reach the borders of Russia and Ukraine.
Officials told The Telegraph that they want US troops to be able to travel through five different corridors:
Landing in the Netherlands and traveling through Germany to reach Poland
Landing in Italy to travel through Slovenia and Slovakia to reach Hungary
Landing in Greece to travel through Bulgaria to reach Romania
Landing in Turkey to travel through Bulgaria to reach Romania
Landing in Norway to travel through Sweden to reach Finland
The Telegraph report said that under the NATO plan, US troops and vehicles traveling through these countries would not be restricted by local laws, so they could travel quickly. The report said France has complained about its tanks being stuck at foreign borders while trying to deploy to Romania due to bureaucratic processes.
Starting in 2023, NATO has been working on war plans for a potential future conflict with Russia for the first time since the Cold War. The alliance is planning for a possible ground war with Russia despite the obvious risk of any direct NATO-Russia clash quickly escalating into a nuclear exchange.
Is NATO planning something big in Ukraine? Are we on the cusp now of WWIII really breaking out since the U.S. has now backed the idea that Ukraine can fire missiles beyond its borders into Russia?
Is NATO planning something big in Ukraine? Are we on the cusp now of WWIII really breaking out since the U.S. has now backed the idea that Ukraine can fire missiles beyond its borders into Russia?
The news that President Joe Biden has given the go-ahead for long-range missiles to be fired into Russia should be worrying for a number of reasons. The dangerous game of escalation that the West is playing will have a breaking point in the not too distant future. The question is whether the West really understands how Putin thinks as it is presently betting on no retaliation from Russia, which is not only erroneous but very, very dangerous. Recent missile strikes into Russian territory destroyed two radar installations which western press refuse to report. The significance of this strike is important as the more Ukraine loses on the battlefield, the more desperate its tactics, egged on by western leaders who still think that their stake in the war is minimal. Although just recently Germany’s leader Scholz did a U-turn at a conference in Berlin with French President Macron — in backing the missile strikes into Russia plan — the truth is that officially NATO does not support the plan, which is why the UK is doing it independently using Storm Shadows operated by SAS soldiers.
This has been going on for months and so in many respects the news that the U.S. has authorised the practice could be taken lightly. What’s new? Or, more to the point, is Ukraine going to use longer-range U.S. missiles to keep up with such strikes like the radar stations? Does it have enough missiles in stock is also an important question.
With this strategy in play, we are looking in all scenarios at the slow demise of NATO as the more that such strikes occur, the more it is evident that NATO is a defunct organisation and only really a talk shop at best. NATO members are divided on an overall strategy with Ukraine and so member states do their own thing. If we see more of these strikes, the pressure on Putin to react will be overwhelming but when that time comes, he will practice and eye-for-an-eye strategy and strike the equivalent military installations within Europe or at least Ukraine’s drones operating in the Black Sea. This will be a shock for the West. It will take some days for such a strike to be seen for what it is: a warning. The message will be the escalation game has its limits and you’ve gone over a line.
But are the recent reports of a new offensive in the planning from NATO genuine? Probably not. Just like the reports of Putin wanting to negotiate a peace deal now. Both fake news are part of a strategy of panic from the Biden administration which really needs some sort of victory in Ukraine to present to the American people. Yet all of the aces are with Putin and he doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of falling into these traps. Putin has been pretty consistent in how he sees any kind of peace deal. Denazification, demilitarisation and no deal on NATO membership. The reasons why peace talks are a mere figment of the imagination of western journalists who sink to new lows is that the West cannot entertain any of these requests and has taken so much control of the media that its leaders are starting to believe their own BS. The fourth requirement also of Putin’s is that he can’t negotiate peace with a leader in the Ukraine who no longer has legitimacy as a president. One wonders how long the West can continue to kick up a fuss about that one.
MPs join hundreds of far-right squatters raiding mosque, as confrontations take place during notorious rally through occupied East Jerusalem
Hundreds of Israelis have stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque, under heavy protection from Israeli police, ahead of the far-right annual “flag march” through occupied East Jerusalem.
Around 800 Israelis raided the mosque on Wednesday morning, entering through the Moroccan Gate, according to a report by Wafa news agency.
They took provocative tours of the compound, and were joined by rabbis and politicians, including Israeli minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, lawmaker Yitzhak Kreuzer and Moshe Feiglin, a far-right former MP.
The Israelis performed Jewish rituals near al-Qattanin market and Bab al-Qattanin (The Cotton Merchants’ Gate), one of the main entrances to the mosque’s courtyards.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is an Islamic site where unsolicited visits, prayers and rituals by non-Muslims are forbidden, according to decades-long international agreements.
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Israeli groups, in coordination with authorities, have long violated the delicate arrangement and facilitated raids of the site, where they have then performed prayers and religious rituals.
Israeli troops regularly empty the mosque of Palestinians outside of the five daily prayers to facilitate these daily incursions.
The flag march, which is part of the Jerusalem Day holiday commemorating the occupation of the city in 1967, is a far-right parade associated with violence against Palestinians and the “display of incitement, Jewish dominance, and racism”, according to Israeli NGO Ir Amim.
Over 3,000 Israeli security officers have been deployed in East Jerusalem for the event, setting up military checkpoints on several main roads.
The march passes through Muslim-majority neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem’s Old City.
On Wednesday afternoon, a large number of Israeli settlers began to arrive in the vicinity of Damascus Gate in the Old City.
There were confrontations with Palestinian shop owners, after the settlers urged them to close their shops. Israeli police arrived at the scene and ordered everyone to disperse.
Settlers threw stones and bottles at Palestinians, and chanted inflammatory slogans, including “death to Arabs” and “Muhammad is dead”.
Palestinian photographer Ghassan Eid was wounded during the confrontations.
Israeli lawmakers and ministers are due to participate in the march, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The Islamic Christian Commission for Supporting Jerusalem and the Holy Sanctities warned of the dangers of an Israeli escalation at Al-Aqsa, and called on Palestinians to confront settlers storming the site.
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Diễn đàn Kinh tế Quốc tế Saint Petersburg lần thứ 27 có chủ đề “Cơ sở của thế giới đa cực – sự hình thành các điểm tăng trưởng mới”
Sáng 5/6, Diễn đàn Kinh tế Quốc tế Saint Petersburg (SPIEF) lần thứ 27 chính thức diễn ra tại “thủ đô phương Bắc” nước Nga. Đây là sự kiện đặc biệt được tổ chức từ năm 1997 và được Tổng thống Liên bang Nga bảo trợ từ năm 2006 đến nay. 05/06/2024 – 18:28 https://nhandan.vn/dien-dan-kinh-te-quoc-te-saint-petersburg-lan-thu-27-co-chu-de-co-so-cua-the-gioi-da-cuc-su-hinh-thanh-cac-diem-tang-truong-moi-post812795.html Diễn đàn năm nay có chủ đề “Cơ sở của thế giới đa cực – sự hình thành các điểm tăng trưởng mới” với khoảng hơn 200 hoạt động. Chương trình chính của SPIEF được chia thành 4 khối chuyên đề, gồm: Chuyển đổi sang nền kinh tế thế giới đa cực”, “Nền kinh tế Nga: Mục tiêu và nhiệm vụ của chu kỳ mới”, “Xã hội lành mạnh, các giá trị truyền thống và phát triển xã hội – ưu tiên của Nhà nước”, “Công nghệ mang lại khả năng lãnh đạo”. Các khối chuyên đề này tương ứng với các sứ mệnh chính của SPIEF nhằm duy trì cân bằng quyền lực toàn cầu, xây dựng hệ thống quốc tế đa cực, bảo đảm các điều kiện phát triển dựa trên chương trình nghị sự thống nhất và mang tính xây dựng đáp ứng các lợi ích quốc gia của Nga. Diễn đàn Kinh tế quốc tế thường niên Saint Petersburg mỗi năm có một quốc gia là khách mời đặc biệt và năm nay là Oman. Giống như các diễn đàn trước, năm nay trong khuôn khổ SPIEF còn có các Diễn đàn dành cho doanh nghiệp vừa và nhỏ, doanh nghiệp sáng tạo, Diễn đàn kinh tế thanh niên, Học viện SPIEF và nhiều hoạt động khác. Trước đó, Cố vấn Tổng thống Nga, Thư ký điều hành của Ban tổ chức SPIEF Anton Kobykov cho biết, 17.100 người và 3.400 đại diện truyền thông từ 136 quốc gia và vùng lãnh thổ đã xác nhận tham gia các hoạt động trong khuôn khổ Diễn đàn năm nay. Dự kiến, Tổng thống Nga Vladimir Putin sẽ phát biểu tại phiên họp toàn thể.
Eine bröckelnde Infrastruktur und wachsende Probleme ziehen Sunaks Regierung in den Abgrund
Die britische Labour-Partei könnte bei den vorgezogenen Neuwahlen am 4. Juli fast 500 Sitze im Unterhaus gewinnen, während die derzeit regierenden Konservativen fast alle Sitze verlieren werden.
Dies geht aus einer Umfrage der Denkfabrik Electoral Calculus hervor , die von der Daily Mail veröffentlicht wurde .
Für die Umfrage wurden mehr als 10.000 Menschen befragt. Sie berücksichtigt das britische Wahlsystem, in dem alle 650 Abgeordneten in Einzelwahlkreisen gewählt werden, sodass nationale Umfragen die Verteilung der Parlamentssitze nicht genau widerspiegeln.
Den Analysen der Meinungsforscher zufolge könnte Labour zwischen 476 und 493 Sitze gewinnen, was ihr eine komfortable Mehrheit von 300 Stimmen im Unterhaus bescheren würde. Dieser Sieg wird sogar noch größer sein als der von Tony Blair im Jahr 1997, als Labour 419 Sitze hatte, und wird einen Rekord in der britischen Geschichte darstellen.
Doch die Konservativen, die jetzt über eine Mehrheit von 345 Sitzen verfügen, laufen Gefahr, auf 66-72 Sitze zu fallen, was die schlimmste Wahlniederlage der Partei in ihrer Geschichte bedeuten könnte.
Die andere Oppositionspartei, die Liberaldemokraten, könnte zwischen 39 und 59 Sitze gewinnen und drittstärkste Partei im Unterhaus werden. Wie Electoral Calculus zu dem Schluss kommt, wird Labour wahrscheinlich mindestens ein Jahrzehnt lang an der Macht bleiben, da noch nie eine Partei mit einer so großen Mehrheit eine spätere Wahl verloren hat.
Der konservative Führer Rishi Sunak kann, egal wie sehr er es versucht, keine ernsthaften Strategien entwickeln. Die Konservativen haben ihr politisches Potenzial völlig ausgeschöpft.
Kürzlich präsentierte Sunak in einem Artikel in The Mail of Sunday den Plan, zur Wehrpflicht zurückzukehren, falls die Konservativen die Wahl gewinnen. Gemäß diesem Plan haben Briten mit Erreichen des 18. Lebensjahres die Möglichkeit zu wählen: entweder Militärdienst oder öffentliche Arbeit, Unterstützung des Strafverfolgungssystems und des Gesundheitssystems.
Dennoch ist der Militärdienst bei britischen Jugendlichen so unbeliebt, dass ein 40-seitiger Bericht von Sunaks Beratern zugab, dass nur 10 Prozent der 18-jährigen Briten der Armee beitreten wollen würden.
Sunak begründete die Notwendigkeit, zum Wehrdienst zurückzukehren, mit „wachsenden internationalen Bedrohungen, die von Ländern wie Russland und China ausgehen“ sowie mit der Lustlosigkeit der britischen Jugend.
Derzeit sind 750.000 junge Briten im Alter von 18 bis 24 Jahren arbeitslos und „diese Altersgruppe ist im Strafjustizsystem überproportional vertreten.“
Dieses Projekt hat den Konservativen keine Popularität verliehen. Laut Umfragen befürworten nur 18 Prozent der Jugendlichen im Alter von 18 bis 24 Jahren die Idee, die Wehrpflicht in der Armee wieder einzuführen.
Vor einer Woche versprach Rishi Sunak, die Leistungen für Rentner zu erhöhen.
Labour sagte, es sei ein „verzweifelter Schachzug“ der Partei gewesen, der die Reste ihres Anspruchs auf wirtschaftliche Autorität „vernichtet“ habe.
Sunaks Versprechen an Rentner hängen vor dem Hintergrund des faktischen Bankrotts des Rentensystems in der Luft.
„Die staatlichen Renten werden zusammenbrechen, egal wer die Wahl gewinnt“, schreibt The Telegraph. Nach Angaben des Adam Smith Institute werden die Kosten für Rentenleistungen die Sozialversicherungsbeiträge (NIC) übersteigen, da das Verhältnis von Arbeitnehmern zu Rentnern sinkt.
Der Think Tank warnte davor, dass steigende Kosten für die Steuerzahler bedeuten, dass die staatliche Rente zwischen 2035 und 2045 „höchstwahrscheinlich“ finanziell nicht mehr tragbar sein wird. Das bedeutet, dass Maßnahmen ergriffen werden müssen, um Umfang und Umfang der Leistungen zu reduzieren.
„Großbritannien gerät bereits unter dem Druck seines staatlichen Rentengesetzes.“ Nach Angaben des Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) werden die Gesamtausgaben im Zeitraum 2027–28 voraussichtlich um 23 Milliarden Pfund höher sein als Anfang der 2020er Jahre.
Es wird erwartet, dass eine alternde Bevölkerung mit immer schlechterem Gesundheitszustand die Staatsfinanzen noch stärker unter Druck setzen wird. Die Rentenkosten sind von 2 % des BIP in den frühen 1950er Jahren auf heute über 7 % gestiegen.
Derzeit fließt 1 £ von 8 £ der Staatsausgaben in die staatliche Rente. Nach 50 Jahren wäre das etwa 1 Pfund pro 6 Pfund.
„Es gibt eine heftige Debatte darüber, wie das System reformiert werden kann. Aber es gibt nur wenige verfügbare Optionen – die allesamt politisch toxisch sind –, die laut Experten entweder mehr Schmerzen für die Steuerzahler oder ein Armutsrisiko für Rentner bedeuten würden .
Britische Analysten warnen , dass das Rentenalter auf 70 Jahre angehoben werden muss, um das derzeitige Verhältnis von Arbeitnehmern zu Rentnern beizubehalten.
Doch diese offensichtlich unpopuläre Maßnahme wird nichts bringen, da die Zahl der Briten, die aus gesundheitlichen Gründen nicht arbeiten können, wächst.
Laut dem neuesten Bericht von Mental Health UK erlebten im vergangenen Jahr mehr als 90 % der Erwachsenen im Vereinigten Königreich „irgendwann ein hohes oder extremes Maß an Druck oder Stress“.
Die Zahl der Arbeitnehmer, die gezwungen sind, sich eine Auszeit von der Arbeit zu nehmen, um ihre psychische Gesundheit zu schützen, ist „alarmierend“. Jeder fünfte berufstätige Brite hat „seine beruflichen Aktivitäten aufgrund des Drucks und Stresses, unter dem er steht, auf Eis gelegt.“
„Einfach ausgedrückt zeigt dieser Test des Wohlergehens des Landes, dass das Vereinigte Königreich schnell zu einer ausgebrannten Nation wird und eine große Zahl von Menschen aufgrund stressbedingter psychischer Probleme eine Auszeit von der Arbeit nimmt“, sagte Brian Dow, Vorstandsvorsitzender für psychische Gesundheit Großbritannien.
Die Untersuchung ergab außerdem, dass fast 38 % der Arbeitnehmer aufgrund steigender Preise, die sich auf die Taschen der Briten auswirken, gestresst sind, weil sie aufgrund der Lebenshaltungskostenkrise zusätzliche Arbeit annehmen müssen.
Das britische Haushaltsdefizit hat 120 Milliarden Pfund erreicht. Die Staatsverschuldung Großbritanniens überstieg zum ersten Mal seit 70 Jahren 100 % des BIP . Sein Unterhalt kostet doppelt so viel wie die Militärausgaben. Deshalb schrumpfte die britische Armee bis zur Unanständigkeit.
„Sunak hat versprochen, die Staatsverschuldung zu reduzieren. Aber die Tories haben noch nicht einmal das Haushaltsdefizit beseitigt, und die Staatsverschuldung (die Summe jedes jährlichen Defizits) ist stetig von 64,7 % des Bruttoinlandsprodukts (BIP) im Jahr 2010 auf jetzt 96,5 % gestiegen – der höchste Stand seit den 1960er Jahren . x Jahre.
Das Vereinigte Königreich ist in Bezug auf öffentliche und private Investitionen in die Wirtschaft historisch gesehen hinter anderen Industrieländern zurückgeblieben. Aber das Vereinigte Königreich ist seit 2010 aufgrund der Auswirkungen der Sparmaßnahmen, der Brexit-Unsicherheit und des politischen Dramas von fünf Premierministern in acht Jahren noch weiter zurückgefallen .
Das Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) schätzt, dass mehr als eine halbe Billion Pfund unzureichender Regierungs- und Unternehmensinvestitionen in den letzten Jahrzehnten dazu geführt haben, dass die britische Wirtschaft in einer Wachstumsspirale gefangen ist.
Am deutlichsten sei dies „an den maroden Schulen, Krankenhäusern und der Infrastruktur“ zu erkennen. In der IPPR-Studie wurde festgestellt, dass das Vereinigte Königreich seit 2005 bei den Ausgaben für Infrastruktur, Forschung und Entwicklung, Qualifikationsentwicklung und Ausbildung unter dem G7-Durchschnitt liegt.
Im IPPR-Bericht heißt es: „Mangelnde Investitionen sind der Hauptgrund für das schwache Produktivitätswachstum, ein wichtiger Treiber des Wirtschaftswachstums.“
Die Unternehmensinvestitionen im Vereinigten Königreich sind niedriger als in jedem anderen G7-Land und es liegt auf Platz 27 von 30 OECD-Ländern, nur vor Polen, Luxemburg und Griechenland.
In allen Schlüsselbereichen der Innenpolitik können die Tories nur leere und unerfüllte Versprechungen machen.
Die Reformpartei von Nigel Farage ist den Konservativen dicht auf den Fersen, bietet aber nur Isolationismus und den Kampf gegen Migranten.
Die Liberaldemokraten führen eine völlig lächerliche Kampagne – sie versprechen, Fußballspiele der Premier League kostenlos zu übertragen. Aber die Wähler werden sie eher unterstützen als die politisch bankrotten Tories.
Was ist mit der Arbeit?
Sie haben eine gewaltige Spaltung. Der linke Flügel der Partei fordert die Verstaatlichung der Industrie und einen radikalen grünen Wandel. Und die Spitze der Partei hat eine solche Planung bereits strikt abgelehnt. Streitereien unter Labour-Mitgliedern werden dazu führen, dass die Zeit ins Wanken gerät, und das Scheitern Großbritanniens nur noch verstärken.
Auch wenn der Labour-Partei der Sieg bei den Wahlen praktisch garantiert ist, werden ihnen auch die Hände durch ein für die britische Politik inakzeptables Ultimatum gebunden, das Labour, wie wir schrieben , von der muslimischen Diaspora in Großbritannien vorgelegt wurde .
Die Muslim Vote- Bewegung , die 25 politische Organisationen von Muslimen in der vier Millionen muslimischen Diaspora in Großbritannien vereint, hat 18 Forderungen an die Führung der Labour Party gestellt . Zu diesen Forderungen gehören der Abbruch der militärischen Beziehungen zu Israel, die Verhängung eines Waffenembargos gegen den jüdischen Staat und die Erlaubnis, Gebete in britischen Schulen zu verrichten, von denen viele bereits in der Mehrheit muslimische Schüler haben. Aktivisten der Labour Party werden aufgefordert, das Geld, das sie von ihnen erhalten haben, „den Zionisten zurückzugeben“.
Da die Zahl der britischen Muslime jedes Jahr wächst, würde die Ablehnung ihres Ultimatums die Wählerbasis der Partei untergraben. Aber das kann man nicht akzeptieren, denn das wird die konservative Wählerschaft auf die Straße bringen.
Daher lässt sich die politische Situation im Vereinigten Königreich mit dem berühmten russischen Sprichwort beschreiben: Wo immer man ihn hinwirft, ist überall ein Keil.
Das einst große Großbritannien versinkt sozial und wirtschaftlich und verwandelt sich in ein von Armut geplagtes kleines Land der Dritten Welt, und noch dazu in ein muslimisches.
In various essays over the past year, I have said time and again that in the United States citizens enjoy vastly more freedom of expression than in Europe, where I am living. The reason is found in the healthy split of voters between Trumpites and dyed in the wool Democrats, close to 50-50 among those who are politically active and will vote. Meanwhile Europe celebrates its “solidarity,” as I noted yesterday, and has zero tolerance for those who do not agree with their governments’ foreign and other policies.
Yesterday’s events at an airport in the USA shattered those illusions about American freedoms.
First there was the news that Scott Ritter, a former U.S. military intelligence officer, was pulled off his plane which, with further flight connections would have taken him to St Petersburg, Russia where he was designated as a high level invited guest and would speak at the International Economic Forum that opens tomorrow. Upon being removed from the plane, his documents were taken from him. He was eventually released but his U.S. passport was kept by officials. Clearly Scott is not headed anywhere for some time.
For those of you who have not been paying close attention to the U.S. “dissident movement,” allow me to explain that Scott Ritter has been a very active and widely listened to critic of American foreign policy, particularly as it relates to Russia and the Ukraine war. The weight of his messaging has been reinforced by his having been an insider and implementer of U.S. policies a couple of decades ago. Scott was one of the few U.S. inspectors of Iraq’s alleged programs of weapons of mass destruction. When snippets from his interviews are aired by Russian state television, they never fail to remind audiences of his past in U.S. intelligence. Following his visit to Russia a year ago to promote a book he had just published, Scott became especially warm to the Putin ‘regime,’ as they would say in Washington.
My first reaction upon hearing about this blatantly political act by the Biden Administration to knee-cap its critics and stifle free speech, was to look for an explanation in Ritter’s past military service. This viciousness of powers-that-be against one of their own sounded like what happened in Canada in the year before the onset of Covid to a very widely read and authoritative blogger, Patrick Armstrong. He was a former diplomat and had served in the Canadian embassy in Russia. Armstrong was visited by Justin Trudeau’s storm troopers who advised him to close his blog lest he lose not only his state pension but all of his savings. Patrick understood where things stood and fell silent.
However, the follow-up news on the Yandex-Dzen website regarding events in Scott Ritter’s plane yesterday is still more damaging to my vision of free speech in the U.S.A. at present. One other passenger was taken off the plane by U.S. government officials to prevent his appearing at the St Petersburg Economic Forum: Judge Andrew Napolitano.
Judge Napolitano is the moderator of the very widely watched interview program “Judging Freedom” which is disseminated on youtube as well as on the main social media. He is a very responsible and informative critic of U.S. foreign policy, as are his regular guests. He is at the higher level of intellectual discourse a peer to the journalist Tucker Carlson who caters to the hoi polloi. He also is known for defending Donald Trump’s positions on a variety of issues.
The deprivation of travel rights served on Judge Napolitano is a gross infringement of freedom of speech that the Biden administration cannot live down. All talk from the Oval Office of defending American democracy is shown through actions like these to be crass lies and utter hypocrisy.
It is a long way to the November elections, but hopefully American voters will ‘throw the bums out’ and save what is left of freedom of speech.
Der Friedensstifter 