Constantin von Hoffmeister
Eurosiberia

Xenophilia is more than curiosity or respectful admiration for the foreign. It is a psychological disease afflicting terminal civilizations. It serves as the inverted mirror of xenophobia and is a hatred of the Self masked as compassion.

It appears in the Western world through an obsession with the exotic, a frantic drive to deconstruct traditions, symbols, and structures in service of false universalism. Under the guise of tolerance, xenophilia demands the erasure of borders — geographic, cultural, and metaphysical. This is the spiritual AIDS of exhausted peoples who have abandoned the will to survive and seek redemption through dissolution into the global magma.

This morbid attraction to the alien gains power through the unholy trinity of unipolarity, liberalism, and globalism. The unipolar world order, led by the decaying hegemon of Atlanticism, enforces military and economic domination while advancing anthropological standardization. Liberalism, fully metastasized into global liberal-totalitarianism, teaches that all identities remain interchangeable masks discarded in the name of “freedom” — “freedom” defined as consumption and conformity. Globalism, the administrative arm of this ideology, crushes rooted diversity under bureaucratic and financial monoculture. Under this regime, xenophilia becomes permissible and mandatory — celebrated as virtue in a world where all values undergo inversion.

The emerging multipolar world offers a radical alternative: an orchestra of civilizations — each with its own melody, rhythm, and soul. This world arises through the vitality of difference rather than sameness. Each people must embrace its own identity with heroic will — Archeofuturism, forward-looking tradition. Xenophilia, within this context, acts as poison that undermines ethnic sovereignty. It weakens the immune systems of civilizations, leaving them open to invasion — by bodies and parasitic ideas.

Eldin Latich
Oriental Review

Trump has literally turned the playing board upside down! Allied relations do not guarantee economic cooperation

Trump is a businessman. Based on this evidence, we should expect that his words (of which there are actually too many, and if you read his Twitter (X), it is unlikely that you will be able to keep track of everything) may turn out to be reality to some extent. And if the promise to “resolve the Ukrainian conflict in 24 hours” was initially perceived as loud bravado, then the sworn promises to arrange a “new golden age” for the United States and “return production” to the country from the very beginning looked like a logical and logical continuation of Trump’s protectionism of the last term. The world has not forgotten the US trade war with China. It is unlikely that anyone would be surprised by the new duties of the current American administration on Chinese products. But experts and politicians hardly expected that Mr. Trump’s talk about tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports would turn out to be true – especially so quickly.

Trump has literally turned the playing board upside down! Allied relations do not guarantee economic cooperation, and at the same time, WTO membership can no longer promise it. The “most favored nation” regime should now be understood as “equal duties for all,” because American protectionism is gaining momentum!

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

For whatever one might think about the morality of Russia’s decision-making process, it was the regional military governor who irresponsibly assembled this legitimate target in Sumy, which he then surrounded with de facto human shields in a failed attempt to deter Russia.

Ukraine accused Russia of committing a war crime after Palm Sunday’s missile strike on Sumy. Kiev’s claim that Russia targeted churchgoers was echoed by Trump’s Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg, but the Russian Defense Ministry insisted that it targeted “a meeting of the command staff of the Seversk operational-tactical group”, which Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later added was attended by NATO servicemen. Trump also chimed in and said that “I was told they (Russia) made a mistake, it was terrible.”

A debate is therefore raging over whether this was a war crime like Ukraine claimed, a terrible mistake like Trump alleged, or a legitimate strike like Russia insists. In the order that these explanations were shared, Ukraine’s is aimed at further rallying the West to apply more pressure upon Trump to pull the US out of its talks with Russia. Claiming that Russia deliberately targeted churchgoers on Palm Sunday is meant to make it more difficult for these talks to continue and for Trump to one day meet Putin again.

As for Trump’s explanation of events, he wasn’t going to discredit himself by denying that it took place, but he also didn’t want to fall into Ukraine’s trap of lending credence to its war crime claim. That’s why he instead opted for the middle ground of acknowledging what happened but attributing it to some vague “mistake” by Russia such as a wayward missile or faulty intelligence. Trump can’t approve of any Russian strike that causes civilian casualties, but he also won’t let such ruin their ongoing talks either.

And finally, Russia’s explanation maintains the country’s integrity by insisting that the targets were legitimate, though it also accounts for the reported civilian casualties by mentioning how Ukraine employs de facto human shields by illegally deploying military assets in civilian areas. While critics might scoff at this version, it is lent credence by the mayor of nearby Konotop declaring on video that the regional military governor “organized an award ceremony for the soldiers of the 117th brigade” that day.

Dr. Michael Yeadon
Dr. Michael Yeadon's Substack

"I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts" – Virgil

How to smuggle foreign invaders through many layers of strong protection? Easy.

You will likely be aware that your body has multiple defences against ingress by potentially injurious materials and chemicals. They’re imperfect but pretty well adapted to our environment.

Eating something dangerous often makes us sick, to the point of vomiting. That’s assuming the smell wasn’t off putting. Obviously some things can be absorbed and poison you, such as cyanide.

Things landing on your skin have a hard time penetrating in quantity. Again, there are exceptions like DMSO, which you can taste just seconds after placing a drop on your skin. Most molecules are of a nature chemically which makes them impossible to cross the multiple layers of skin at any pace. It’s a very good protection. You can inhale toxic gases and smoke, and that can certainly kill you. But importantly, you almost certainly know about it. It will usually make you cough, secretions are prompted and it stings. This prompts you to get away quickly enough to survive, unless you’re trapped, in a fire for example. The rare exceptions include carbon monoxide, odourless and slowly poisoning you with no warnings that you’re likely to notice.

Certain chemicals like nerve agents that can be presented as vapours, liquids and even solids and can injure and kill you via all routes of exposure. But then again, they were designed that way. I know a little about these, because I worked on antidotes while I was at Porton Down.

This has been a preamble. Because what injections via hollow needles do is to introduce anything which can be dissolved in a solvent compatible with life into your body, entirely bypassing all your primary defences.

Lorenzo Maria Pacini
Strategic Culture Foundation

We learn from Ursula, the friend of all Europeans, that Europe’s roots are in the Talmud. Thanks, but we can do without it.

To each his own—An old video of the President of the European Commission has resurfaced in the alternative media, in which she stated that “The values of Europe are the values of the Talmud”. The phrase immediately caused a scandal and the video was circulated everywhere. It is an old video, dating back to when she received an honorary PhD at Ben Gurion University.

The confusion is more than legitimate. The words were clear: Talmud. Not Judaism, not Judeo-Christian roots as conservative politicians have often claimed, but the Talmud. A clear and unequivocal word, pronounced in a prepared speech.

Before looking at what the Talmud is, let’s reflect on the political gravity of these words, because the reappearance of this video at such a delicate stage for Europe, in which the European Union is violating what little remains of the national sovereignty of the countries, is certainly not accidental.

Europe has no Jewish roots. The European peoples, from their ethno-sociological to their political dimension, have Greek, Latin and Christian roots. Christianity, like it or not, has permeated all of Europe and characterized it with an unshakeable imprint.

As the economist Giovanni Zibordi, quoted by Prof. Paolo Becchi, pointed out, “Why does Europe have Talmudic values? Nobody knows exactly what the Talmud is, but it is not the Bible. It was written about 1,000 years later and is an encyclopedic text, thousands of pages long, which only the rabbis discuss and study. Martin Luther learned Hebrew and was the first non-Jew to read it and he was scandalized by its contents. Hence his reputation as an anti-Semite. But if you try to read some extracts or summaries, it repeats that there is one moral for Jews and another for everyone else. For what precise reason is the Europe of the EU based on the Talmud (and not the Gospel if you really want to quote a religious text)?

The point is that the Talmud is not a religion in itself, nor is it a system of values in itself, nor is it a historical, political or cultural component of any of the European peoples. The Talmud belongs to an ethnic and religious minority, who recognize its authority and values, but it is not a common heritage, in any sense of the word. To claim that Europe has the values of the Talmud is a manipulation that nevertheless contains very precise political truths.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Orban’s Fiercely Pro-Israeli Policies Put Many Alt-Media Folks In A Dilemma. They experience cognitive dissonance due to him being both a Zionist and pragmatic towards Russia.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that his country will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in protest of the arrest warrant that it issued for his Israeli counterpart Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu on war crimes charges. This coincided with Orban hosting Bibi in Budapest. Both were bold moves considering how highly his European peers regard the ICC and how lowly many of them now regard Bibi. Non-Western attitudes towards Bibi are similar but more mixed when it comes to the ICC.

Orban was already Europe’s black sheep due to his consistent advocacy for peace in Ukraine and criticism of the EU’s warmongering against Russia, the overall stance of which was responsible for many across the non-West having positive views about him. They might begin souring on him, however, since the non-Western public also very strongly supports Palestine and thus has very negative views about Bibi. Some Alt-Media influencers and outlets might even flip the script to condemn Orban as a “Zionist”.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Ukraine Further Discredited Itself After Budanov Doubled Down On Defending Wartime Censorship. He inadvertently legitimized Western observers critically re-evaluating certain official narratives.

GUR chief Kirill Budanov doubled down earlier this month on defending Ukraine’s wartime censorship policy. According to him, “During wartime, knowing the whole truth is not necessary. Otherwise, people may develop opinions. Some minds are not prepared to grasp the harsh reality. Let’s not put them to the test. Everything should be dosed.” He’s basically saying that Ukrainians might react so negatively to the truth that they could end up harming perceived national security interests.

Although Budanov didn’t elaborate, he was probably implying that drastic shifts in public opinion brought about by widespread knowledge of the truth could prompt some of his compatriots to destabilize the situation behind the front lines through large-scale protests, strikes, and even sabotage. Moreover, his candidness also harms Ukraine’s perceived national interests, albeit in a different way than the aforesaid by legitimizing Western observers’ critical re-evaluations of certain official narratives.

For instance, it might now no longer be as taboo for them to question Ukraine’s claim that Russia inexplicably butchered the residents of Bucha during its withdrawal from Kiev in spring 2022, which Zelensky exploited as one of the pretexts for pulling out of their peace talks. Moscow insisted that it wasn’t responsible for that war crime, but its position was ignored by the West, though some brave journalists might now revisit what happened and lend more credence to its false flag arguments.

Ukraine’s accusations that Russia bombed civilian targets might also be critically re-evaluated. Instead of continuing to take these claims for granted, they might now be seen as examples of wartime censorship for covering up the misfiring of Ukrainian air defense missiles or their accidental landing in population centers, exactly as Russia has always alleged was what happened. Proof of Ukraine deploying military assets there, which would be legitimate targets under international law, might also be uncovered.

Alastair Crooke
Strategic Culture Foundation

What is understood now is that ‘we’re no longer playing chess’. There are no rules anymore.

Trump’s ultimatum to Iran? Colonel Doug Macgregor compares the Trump ultimatum to Iran to that which Austria-Hungary delivered to Serbia in 1914: An offer, in short, that ‘could not be refused’. Serbia accepted nine out of the ten demands. But it refused one – and Austria-Hungary immediately declared war.

On 4 February, shortly after his Inauguration, President Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM); that is to say, a legally binding directive requiring government agencies to carry out the specified actions precisely.

The demands are that Iran should be denied a nuclear weapon; denied inter-continental missiles, and denied too other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities. All these demands go beyond the NPT and the existing JCPOA. To this end, the NSPM directs maximum economic pressure be imposed; that the U.S. Treasury act to drive Iran’s oil exports to zero; that the U.S. work to trigger JCPOA Snapback of sanctions; and that Iran’s “malign influence abroad” – its “proxies” – be neutralised. The UN sanctions snapback expires in October, so time is short to fulfil the procedural requirements to Snapback. All this suggests why Trump and Israeli officials give Spring as the deadline to a negotiated agreement. Trump’s ultimatum to Iran appears to be moving the U.S. down a path to where war is the only outcome, as occurred in 1914 – an outcome which ultimately triggered WW1.

Leo Hohmann
LeoHohman.com

25 Republican neocons and 25 Democrat neolibs join hands to sponsor bill that would impose whopping 500 percent tariff on any country purchasing Russian oil, gas or uranium. WWIII hangs in the balance

Half of the U.S. Senate — 25 Republicans and 25 Democrats — joined together on Tuesday, April 1, in a rare show of bipartisanship.

What brought them together? They are eager to further poke the bear, the nation of Russia, the owner of the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.

They introduced a bill proposing astronomical sanctions on Russia if it refuses to participate in further negotiations aiming for a 30-day ceasefire in its war with Ukraine. Russian leaders say such a deal is unacceptable because it would give Ukraine time to reorganize and rearm its military right when it’s on the brink of total defeat. No sane leader of any country in Russia’s position would agree to such a deal as the one being offered by Trump and Washington.

The bill’s lead sponsors are the notorious Republican neocon warmonger Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and neoliberal Democrat warmonger Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. They say their bill would impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and any entities supporting “Russian aggression” in Ukraine if Moscow does not engage in talks. The bill includes a whopping 500 percent tariff on any country purchasing Russian oil, gas or uranium, The Hill reported, citing the document.

The bill is a rare example of bipartisanship in the bitterly divided U.S. Congress, and comes as President Trump has appeared to be growing increasingly impatient with what he has suggested might be foot-dragging over a wider agreement to end the war. Nothing like a little Russia hate to bring America’s bitter political rivals together.

Strategic Culture Foundation Editorial
Strategic Culture Foundation

The Bucha false-flag massacre three years on: It ensured that a potential peace settlement was sabotaged. One vile crime led to another.

Three years ago this week, the Western media blazed with headlines of a shocking “massacre” allegedly carried out by Russian military forces in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

It was alleged that Russian soldiers murdered hundreds of civilians in cold blood, execution-style, and left their corpses strewn on the streets.

Bizarrely, no exact number of victims has ever been accounted for by the Ukrainian authorities. They claim there were over 400 victims. But there are no forensic reports, no names, no addresses. And curiously, the Western governments and their media have not bothered to call for a proper investigation or to question jarring discrepancies. The West complacently relied on the Kiev regime’s claims and amplified them without question, a one-sided practice that has been typical over the last three years.

No plausible explanation was given by the Ukrainian regime or the Western media as to why Russian forces would perpetrate such heinous violations. It was implicitly taken as proof of Russian “barbarity” and “unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.” The then U.S. President Joe Biden said the atrocity reaffirmed his claims that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was a war criminal. Three years later, there is an eerie silence among Western governments and the media. Given the anniversary of such an ostensibly shocking event, one would expect many statements, reports, and commentaries to commemorate it.

Dr Vernon Coleman MB ChB DSc
VernonColeman.com

I’m sorry if this is a bit blunt, but there isn’t another way to put it. In The End of Medicine I am going to prove to you that doctors have been ordered to murder their patients and whether they realise it or not, that is, I’m afraid, exactly what they are doing. Now that I have caught your attention, let me put it another way: your doctor has been ordered to kill you or, at the very least, to let you die. Murder or manslaughter, that’s the choice. That is what she or he is now being paid to do. And that’s exactly what she or he is going to do. The excuse, of course, is global warming – which is being used as an excuse to turn doctors into killers.

It’s April 2025 and this is video number 338:

[Transcript] Everyone with functioning brain tissue knows that global warming is a scam – with the ultimate aim, as I warned when we were both much younger, being depopulation – and the killing of billions.

What better way is there to kill billions than by withdrawing medical care? And what easier and more convincing way than to blame global warming for everything they say they have to do? The medical establishment is pushing us, relentlessly and remorselessly, into the sort of society available in China: a technocracy, a world controlled by scientists and technicians.

Medicine has, I’m afraid, long been run by crooked and ruthless people who are easily manipulated by the prospect of profit. As a result, medicine has retreated, and is failing patients.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Five Details That Most Observers Missed From SIPRI’s Latest International Arms Trends Report: They’re not as significant as the fact sheet’s top takeaways, but they’re still worth knowing about.

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which is regarded as the top authority on the international arms trade, released its latest report about related trends from 2020-2024 last month.

Their fact sheet did a nice job pointing out such trends as the 64% drop in Russian arms exports between 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 as well as Qatar more than doubling its arms imports to become the world’s third-largest importer, but there are still five details that evaded most observers:

1. Israel Isn’t Among The US’ Top Ten Arms Recipients

SIPRI casually mentioned that “Israel was the 11th largest recipient of US arms exports in 2020–24 with a share of 3.0 per cent” right after reporting that Saudi Arabia received 12% and Qatar 7.7%. Framed differently, the Saudis received four times as many arms as Israel did and Qatar two and a half times, which challenges popular perceptions of Israel’s role in the US’ military-industrial complex. These facts deserve further reflection, but the conclusions might upset some activists in the Alt-Media Community.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

The Three Goals That Trump Wants To Achieve Through His Global Trade War: He hopes to strengthen the US’ supply chain sovereignty, renegotiate its ties with all countries with a view towards getting them to distance themselves from China, and shape the emerging world order.

Trump’s decision to tariff the entire world to varying extents as revenge for their tariffs against the US has shaken the global economy to its core. Instead of restoring free and fair trade like he claims to want, which would give American companies an advantage, he might inadvertently accelerate regionalization trends and the subsequent division of the world into a collection of trade blocs. Even in that scenario, however, he could still advance the three unstated goals that are responsible for this policy.

The first is to strengthen the US’ supply chain sovereignty so as to eliminate the leverage that other countries have over it. This might not be pursued solely for the sake of it, but perhaps also as contingency planning, thus hinting at concerns about a major war. The two most likely adversaries are China and Iran, and a hot conflict with either would throw the global economy into turmoil. Trump might therefore want to prioritize reshoring in order for the US to preemptively minimize the consequences.

Victoria Nikiforova
Pravda-EN/РИА Новости

In the beginning, there were a lot of people who wanted to make Russia "answer for everything." The inveterate scammers issued some ridiculous arrest warrants, signed us up for the Peacemaker, and handed out individual sanctions in bundles. But we fought and won, and now the question has arisen in a different way.: Who will be responsible for crimes against Russia and Russians? Who's going to get a new Nuremberg?

Last night [02.04.2025], an informal meeting of the UN Security Council was held on the crimes of the Kiev regime. The agenda of the meeting includes a bloody staging in Bucha in the spring of 2022. The second topic is an unbiased account of the crimes of the SS and foreign mercenaries in the Kursk region. Our army is just finishing liberating the last villages there. What the fighters see there is chilling.

Corpses of civilians with signs of torture. The bodies of the dead piled in the cellars. A man shot at point-blank range right in the courtyard of his own house. The shot, blown up, and burned cars of those who tried to escape from the invaders — the militants fired at families, children, and the elderly.

For what? Why did they do all this? Why did they torture innocent civilians, mock the elderly, and kill children, rejecting and burying everything human in themselves? It is high time to discuss all this in the highest instance of the United Nations. What the occupiers were doing in the Kursk region are classic "crimes against humanity."

Photos and videos from the crime scene are one-on-one similar to the pictures that the Nazis took in approximately the same places. The scoundrels who tortured and killed our people are the heirs of the fascists in a straight line — and no, it doesn't matter at all if they have swastika tattoos. The swastika is in their hearts.

Constantin von Hoffmeister
Eurosiberia

Marine Le Pen has been banned from running in the French presidential election in 2027. That is the headline — no metaphor, no nuance, just the hard blade falling. They have not defeated her in the arena of debate or vision. They have simply locked the gates. The queen is removed from the board while the game continues, rigged, trembling with fear of her return. This is not just a courtroom. It is a theater of ritual execution where she stands condemned. A drama unfolds, stripped of the honesty of tragedy. The victim is more than a political figure. She embodies a nation’s revolt. The French courts, acting as instruments of a supranational entity, have declared their verdict: Marine Le Pen, guilty of daring to resist. They allege that between 2004 and 2016, she “misused” approximately €4.5 million by employing assistants who purportedly served her party, the National Rally, rather than engaging in “legitimate parliamentary work.” Yet, the true specter haunting this proceeding is sovereignty itself.

The stripping of her passive voting rights is no minor legal footnote. It is the deliberate dismantling of the people’s right to choose their leader. The timing reveals a calculated act of sabotage, targeting those who challenge the prevailing liberal-leftist orthodoxy. The judiciary intervenes precisely when national stakes are high and the challenger articulates the voice of the people. Le Pen bleeds where relics remain inert. Her appeal is anticipated, yet such appeals often reverberate as futile gasps in chambers where verdicts are preordained.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Trump’s latest sanctions threat against Russia suggests that he’s getting impatient for a deal. This moment of truth could even arrive earlier than expected and thus force Putin to compromise or escalate before he’s fully made up his mind either way.

Trump said in an interview with NBC News that “If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia. That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25% tariff on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”

NBC News interpreted this as alluding to what he earlier threatened on social media regarding the imposition of secondary sanctions on those that purchase oil from Venezuela.

He wrote that “any Country that purchases Oil and/or Gas from Venezuela will be forced to pay a Tariff of 25% to the United States on any Trade they do with our Country.” As it relates to Russia, this would spike tariffs on China and India, the first of which is already in a trade war with the US while the second wants to avoid one.

This is precisely the former US Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg insinuated in an interview with the New York Post in early February that was analyzed here at the time.

The takeaway was that such threats might suffice for getting them to nudge Russia into a deal over Ukraine despite whatever apprehensions Putin might have. The consequences of not doing so could be their compliance with the US’ secondary sanctions and all that could entail for the Russian economy if it’s deprived of this revenue.

Daniel McAdams
Ron Paul Institute

A significant amount of US military power has been on the move over this past week, including several B-2 strategic bombers which have landed at the US military base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean just over 2,000 miles southeast of Iran. According to press reports this is the most significant B-2 presence on the Island in nearly half a decade. In addition flight trackers are showing increased activity by at least nine KC-135R refueling aircraft in the region. Several C-17 cargo planes have also been spotted by satellites on the Island.

The US President has ordered US Carrier Strike Group Carl Vinson to the Mideast.

While the Administration continues to escalate its illegal bombing campaign against Yemen – some are reporting more than 60 strikes today alone and President Trump promises that they will continue “for a long time” – speculation is increasing that the Diego Garcia build-up is the beginning of the long process of positioning US military muscle for an attack on Iran.

President Trump today warned although his “big preference is we work it out with Iran…if we don’t work it out, bad bad things are gonna happen with Iran.”

So is the US president elected with the promise to end wars rather than start them ready to launch a war against the modern, technologically-advanced nation of 90 million with an extremely complicated terrain, advanced military capabilities, and a newly-signed strategic partnership treaty with Russia? No one knows.

Congress seems uninterested in its Constitutional obligation to serve as the red light or green light for war – there has been nary a peep over Trump’s bombing of Yemen to, as his top aides were caught saying, “send a message.” Does anyone believe they will come out of their slumber as Hegseth, Waltz, Rubio, and the rest of the gang that couldn’t shoot straight (or at least plan a war on Signal straight) position the US for an attack on Iran?

Saman Mohammadi
The Excavator

The Trump administration's decision to withhold funding and arms from Ukraine as it refuses to conclude a negotiated peace agreement has caused European leaders to rethink their part in the war for the worse.

Led primarily by the British and the French, they're seeking to expand Europe's role in the conflict and potentially dedicate significant resources to a losing fight in Russia’s backyard.

Let's just stand back and laugh at what's happening here. A needless war that the U.S. engineered to harm both Russia and the EU is now being dragged on to its inevitable conclusion - the defeat of Ukraine's army and the dismantling of the Ukrainian state - by the Europeans themselves.

However little sovereignty Ukraine had will now be completely gone if its territories are divided up between European "peacekeepers" and Russian forces.

Renewed European militarism won't lead to good results. The presence of European troops on Russia's doorstep in the name of keeping the peace will be hard to justify if there's a change of government and priorities in Kiev, which is more than likely at this point. The popular sentiment in Ukraine is against the continuation of the war.

Al Manar TV
Al Manar TV / Uprooted Palestinians

The "Quds Day Platform" event was held on Wednesday to mark International Quds Day. A number of leaders and figures from Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, and Palestine spoke at the event.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem emphasized that despite 75 years of Israeli occupation of Palestine and Jerusalem, "Israel" has not been able to abolish Palestinian identity and has not been able to legitimize a single inch of Palestine.

In his speech at the Al-Quds Forum event, Sheikh Qassem stressed that Palestine remains occupied, and the Israeli entity has neither a state nor borders. He noted that the Al-Aqsa Intifada came to change the equation, noting that for 18 months since the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the Palestinian cause has shone brightly in the world, emerging as a reality that no one can nullify. Israel has been exposed for its criminal aggression, and at the same time, it has become clear that the Israeli entity is experiencing an existential crisis, and that this occupation cannot consolidate its presence and seize the land of Palestine.

Sheikh Qassem extended his utmost respect, appreciation, and esteem to this struggling, honorable, generous, and sacrificial Palestinian people, this legendary example that has given so much in order to remain attached to its land, pride, and dignity. He also extended his utmost respect to the righteous martyrs, the wounded, the prisoners, the families, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian factions, and the people of Gaza, the West Bank, the 1948 territories, and Jerusalem.

He emphasized that "all of these represent a living people, with their men, women, and children. These people have sacrificed their most precious possessions for their dignity, rights, pride, and land."

He pointed out that this legendary steadfastness, despite the 50,000 martyrs, more than 160,000 wounded, and 2.4 million displaced from one place to another, subjected to genocide, starvation, oppression, and attempted humiliation, remains steadfast, seeking their reward from God Almighty, confident in His victory and bounty.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

What’s most important is that Putin and Trump trust one another, their representatives have excellent working relations with each other, and these two leaders are aware of the challenges posed by Ukraine and Europe.

Russia and the US confirmed their mutual intent on Tuesday to revive the grain deal, though Russia’s statement conditioned this on the US finally complying with the original deal’s provisions, namely the removal of sanctions and other obstacles to the export of Russia’s agricultural goods and fertilizer. Ukraine agreed in separate talks with the US, also in Saudi Arabia, to revive the deal as well. Both Russia and Ukraine also confirmed their willingness to adhere to the 30-day energy infrastructure ceasefire.

These two arrangements that have been agreed to thus far, the aforementioned energy ceasefire and the complementary one in the Black Sea, build upon last year’s respective efforts by Qatar and Turkiye that were analyzed at the time in the two preceding hyperlinks. They fell flat due to Ukraine changing its mind at the last minute on the brink of another grain deal last spring, using last summer’s energy ceasefire talks to dupe Russia ahead of invading Kursk, and the US’ lack of interest in pressuring Ukraine.

While Ukraine remains capricious and deceitful, its expulsion from most of Kursk as well as Trump’s willingness to pressure Zelensky as proven by his temporary suspension of military and intelligence aid to Ukraine changed the strategic dynamics, thus allowing for these breakthroughs. As could have been predicted, Ukraine has repeatedly violated the energy infrastructure ceasefire and will likely violate the revived Black Sea one too, but the trust between Putin and Trump will likely keep everything on track.