Open Thread

Timing of renewal of attacks on Syrian Gov’t forces in Aleppo in interesting, coming so close after the announcement of the Israel/Hezbollah ceasefire.

Will Hezbollah send forces from Lebanon to help Syria (again)? Israel would rather have Hezbollah fighting HTS (Jihadi rebels in Syria) than rebuilding in Lebanon, of course.

One big question is Turkey’s role in this. Erdogan is something of a wild card; it looks like he’s switched sides again (backing US/Israeli plans against Syria, Russia, Iran, etc).

US Media always add a phrase like “Iran-backed” whenever they mention Syria, Hezbollah, Houthis, or Hamas, which always triggers my Propaganda Alarm. What’s the mechanism that gives the NeoCons such control over US Media???

I completely agree with Elkern (& Ian). Alexander Mercouris of the Duran had a really detailed (as usual) & solid take on Erdogan’s treachery (just in his nature, really, he can’t help himself), available here for those with time– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-EXLrRIQuw

As to Ian’s fatalistic take a few threads back about the Palestinians now being more likely to be utterly annihilated with Hezbollah’s [sic– even Mercouris noted it’s a Lebanese government decision} agreement to a cease fire with Israel, some time on MoonofAlabama gave me deeper insight: Hezbollah signed nothing and since Israel will, as it uniformly does, flagrantly violate every scrap or word of any agreement, many commenters were clear that they will continue to retaliate for attacks on Lebanon by the Zionist Entity. In fact, the Israelis have not even agreed (as of the time I write) to implement the “Cease Fire” until possibly the start of December, here soon. Hezbollah may have passively agreed to go back to the previous extant Cease Fire (which is all this agreement included), but will remain vigilant.

But the hornet’s net has been further stirred by activating IS in Syria, with direct weapons, training & support from Erdogan. AND Mercouris also mentioned despite flowery speeches against the Zionists in Turkiye, Erdogan continues to ship oil for the genocide from Azerbaijan, for the genocide.

I think at some point, as in Jordan, the worm will turn for too-flagrant Islamic collaborators with the Zionists, including quite possibly Erdogan. But of course I cannot predict when that will arrive.

The Zionists only (kinda, sorta, maybe) backed down in Lebanon as the Lebanese were winning, & they were taking extremely high casualties. (I saw a retired Israeli General excoriating Gallant for, he claimed, at least 900 casualties, early in November.)

Btw I have to correct an error in something I posted some time back. It is the Shi’a in the South who have supported Palestine, the Sunnis ally with the Christian remnants of the Crusades not to do so, to make sure their country can have no air defense against Israel since Sunnis & Christians are not (often) directly targeted. But from Rania Khalek & others I have heard the savagery of massive civilian neighborhoods leveled by the Israelis, with Sunni-Xtian support has considerably shifted opinion within Lebanon, at least at the grass roots level, if not for the time being in the Tripartite Leadership structure of the country.

Oh, also a bit of trivia* I learned recently. There are very large communities of Jews living & “registered” in Iran, something I was unaware of until recently. Respected & in no way harassed since the Revolution, they apparently have little or no fealty to the Zionist entity. Years ago I read the late Robert Fisk’s “The Great War for Civilization” after seeing him speak in Berkeley. He is one of many who covered how the Mossad led a lot of Mideast “terrorism” against surviving Jewish communities across the Mideast to force them out & to become Mizrahi warriors for Israel within the country. At some point, there is blowback from a State that consistently stirs up hate & violence. Can’t recall but I think who sows the wind reaps the whirlwind is from the Old Testament. In any case it remains true, for both the ZioNazis & their US sponsors (or subordinates, hard to tell at this point.)

* Okay, it’s not really trivial that Jewish communities have tolerance & support inside Iran, it’s important. It was just something that I was previously unaware of. Just as many Muslim governments have defended ancient Christian churches & practitioners in the region, while US religious Zionists are fine with their Christian brethren in Palestine being exterminated or driven out. Human political behavior remains at a Lizard brain level, for the most part, obviously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za_aJ8-3ySY&list=PLjdRD4CMRXwTc4ds8tlHwebLjEiZkhG0Y

from the Free Palestine TV website

so yeah … coordinated attacks across the region with renewed attacks in Syria

which, sad to say, included successful attacks against the online funding for Marouf’s website/tv outlet, so I chipped in what I could

What I could hear in the linked podcast went beyond reporting on the direct armed encounters in Syria. Marouf reminded everyone how badly Hezbollah was hurt and how many millions have been/continue to be killed in countries in the area. His sense of grief and frustration was palpable.

A surge in net immigration to the UK has led Starmer to claim Tories had been running an open-borders experiment following Brexit.

Could UK politics become more chaotic?

That’s because, with the possible exception of Afghanistan under the Taliban, KSA is the worst country on earth. You can be imprisoned just for saying out loud that you were thinking about building a church. You would likely have a very hard time building a new church in Israel. Also note that churchs and monasteries in Gaza have been destroyed without compunction and that various Christian communities have been harassed and their traditional rights curtailed throughout the Zionist entity. And there’s 2 or 3 Jews in the Iranian parliament.

Nothing to do with Middle East shit storms or other thread topics, but I wanted to riff a bit on avocados, which the PMC class consumes with gusto (we called that class preppies, then yuppies in the 80’s.)
Anyway besides the mono cultivation of that fruit called avocado in Mexico’s
province/state called Guadalajara, there’s the cultural, criminal and environmental degradation happening, all so Sean and Babs can have their avocado toast and smoothies.
Even worse is their belief that avocado oil is superior to to oils extracted from seeds such as sunflower and sesame, which some self appointed Marin county guru proclaimed toxic despite millennia of ancient and modern traditional cultures using them daily.

Nobody EVER used avocado oil for cooking, especially not the ancients.

Why am I going on about this? Because I just fried tempeh in locally grown sunflower oil, and I have a few spray bottles of avocado oil provided by well meaning preppies who I could never persuade to change their fixed indoctrinated concepts. Not gonna use that avo oil, and I’ll not eat another avocado unless it drops at my feet from a tree.
Just tired of the ignorance and ignoring all the way around.
Cheers!

@mago,

When I was young, avocados came from Florida and California. I haven’t studied the recent history of sourcing avocados, so I don’t know whether the sudden increase in avocados from Mexico began after NAFTA or not. It is certainly something worth studying. And the massive inflow of avocados from Mexico ( and now Peru and elsewhere too) was used to exterminate the avocado growing sector in California and Florida through underpricing.

Here in Michigan I doubt an avocado will ever drop at my feet from a tree. But if I see any avocados from Florida or California I will continue to eat them.

The abolition of NAFTA and the restoration of Protectionism would allow America to grow its own avocados again and would allow Mexico to grow its own corn again. For example.

I logged on the write that if Russian Hypersonic missiles lack the range to threaten those that deserve to be destoyed first it would make a lot of sense for the Russians to attack Japan and South Korea. Then they will not have to deal with a swarm of refugees seeking refuge in Russia or China as they would if they attacked western Europe.
Then I was surprised to see that Marshall Law has been declared in South Korea by the President but that was recinded by the Parliment but the Parliment was recinded by the President. I would never have predicted such a thing to happen. Could South Korea now destroy istself for Turnip and the Corp Capitalist system.