OBLONG MEDIA GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE is where independent minds meet to dissect politics, society, power, and global affairs without fear or filters. This is not mainstream media.
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KYIV — Lachlan Murdoch, eldest son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and current CEO of Fox News Corporation, visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, Ukraine’s presidential office said in a statement. Murdoch was accompanied by journalists from Fox News (Ben Hall) and The Sun (Jerome Starkey). Before — and occasionally after — the start of the full-scale invasion Fox News coverage of Ukraine was controversial, with former star host Tucker Carlson openly spreading pro-Russian propaganda on his show until he was fired in April 2023. However, Zelenskyy in Kyiv thanked Fox News for its fair news coverage of Russian atrocities in…
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Testimony from members of mainly female look-out units adds fuel to accusations that Netanyahu badly misread the dangers from Gaza. TEL AVIV — Did Israel’s security chiefs brush off warnings from women border surveillance soldiers who had evidence that something was brewing in Gaza ahead of the murderous attacks by Hamas militants on October 7? That’s the explosive accusation coming from several soldiers in Israel’s predominantly female border surveillance forces — known as the tatzpitaniyot, or look-outs in Hebrew. The soldiers are telling the media their superiors did not heed warnings of unusual activity inside Gaza, such as Palestinian guerrillas training…
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At the 15th annual BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 22–24 August 2023, six new members were admitted into the bloc from 2024 onwards: Argentina, Ethiopia, and four states from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, namely Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iran. With this set of new members, BRICS is tilting toward an authoritarian bloc, since the bulk of its new members, especially those from the MENA region are autocratic regimes. According to reports, more than 40 states had expressed interest in joining the BRICS grouping. It was established in 2009…
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The BRICS emerging market nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has gone from a slogan dreamed up at an investment bank two decades ago to a real-world club that controls a multilateral lender. Now it’s undergoing an enlargement that would pair some of the planet’s largest energy producers with some of the biggest consumers among developing countries, potentially enhancing the group’s economic clout in a US-dominated world. How did BRICS get started? “BRIC” was coined in 2001 by economist Jim O’Neill, then at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., to draw attention to strong economic growth rates in…
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In the months before August’s gathering of BRICS leaders in South Africa, rumors of a new BRICS currency swirled—only to fail to manifest at the summit itself. But don’t confuse a single summit’s headlines with evidence of a trend. The wake of the BRICS summit splashes into a world much riper for de-dollarization now than it was even six months ago. BRICS, now BRICS+ due to the admission of new members, deserves only partial credit. In the last six months, tectonic shifts in China’s economy and in Washington have cleared the path for de-dollarization—an open route that BRICS+ can now…
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New Evidence on Assassination of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy. Failures to Confront the Unspeakable, and The Way Ahead. Part I On November 22, 2023, we commemorate the passing of JFK. November 22, 1963, the assassination of JFK in Dallas, Texas. Sixty years ago. April 4, 2023 is the 55th Anniversary of Martin Luther King‘s Passing. (April 4, 1968) June 6, 2023 is the 55th Anniversary of the Passing of Robert F. Kennedy (June 5, 1968) Their Legacy will live forever. In the last 50 years there have been two major threats to life on our planet. The first, the…
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An oped by Joe Biden indicates that Washington is ready to sacrifice others for its interests, ex-Russian president says Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that US President Joe Biden’s latest opinion piece for the Washington Post once again highlighted the essence of Washington’s security doctrine, which is to provide for America’s interests at the expense of others. The US supposedly makes itself safer by pouring money into “its own military industry” and starting “wars on other continents,” Medvedev said Sunday in a post on X (formerly Twitter), calling it “the essence of the American security doctrine.” “That’s why our commitment to Ukraine today is an…
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New York Times journalists traveled with an Israeli military convoy to catch a rare glimpse of conditions in wartime Gaza. They saw houses flattened like playing cards and a city utterly disfigured. When a group of international journalists arrived at the southern fringe of Gaza City early Friday morning, riding in the back of an Israeli army jeep, we struggled to orient ourselves amid the ruins, the wreckage and the darkness. Trying to situate myself after reaching Gaza City, I asked a senior Israeli commander where we were in relation to a fishing port where I usually stayed during visits…
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One, it is what Labour parties all over the world do. Two, if Labour does not play politics, who will play politics? Labour is politics, politics is Labour. 419 people, scammers are now governors who refuse to pay workers their legitimate wages. Politics should be left for armed robbers? A former IGP went to the Senate and was shocked at the number of fraudsters he prosecuted sitting in the hallowed chambers as senators. Soldiers are politicians. Two retired generals have been Presidents of this country. Are they more qualified than Labour? Bring all those people who are criticizing Labour’s role…
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Joe and Jill Biden “acted like polite people” on meeting the Russian delegation at the APEC summit in San Francisco, Aleksey Overchuk says US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greeted visiting Russian dignitaries in full accordance with protocol during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksey Overchuk, who headed Moscow’s delegation at the high-profile event, has said. Despite relations between the two countries being at their lowest point in decades over the conflict in Ukraine and other issues, the Russian delegation didn’t experience any problems during the event, which took…
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For forms of government, let fools contest. Whatever is best administered is best – Alexander Pope. Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable – US President John F. Kennedy. Let me start by saying that a good number of Nigerians have lost faith in the ballot box; it only remains for them to also lose interest completely in the democratic process as a whole. If and when they do, what next? Of course, democracy is not the only form of government available. There are options. Alexander Pope (Born: 21 May, 1688; Died: 30 May, 1744) was…
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A London-based Indian national, Pramod Mittal, plans to use the $446 million paid by the Nigerian government as a settlement for the moribund Ajaokuta to clear personal debt. According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, Pramod Mittal, who is the younger brother of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, has a legacy of defunct factories and unpaid bills. However, he plans on getting a helping hand out of financial distress from Nigeria’s settlement made earlier this year, as the country agreed to pay his company almost $500 million to settle a contract dispute over a deal that was once said to be tarnished by fraud. Five…
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The Pentagon has failed its independent annual audit for the sixth year in a row, as US defense officials could not provide auditors with enough information to form a full accounting evaluation, according to the Defense Department’s yearly financial report released on Thursday. “Auditing the department’s $3.8 trillion in assets and $4 trillion in liabilities is a massive undertaking,” Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord said. The 2023 audit gave a “disclaimer of opinion,” which means the Pentagon could not provide auditors enough financial data to allow them to form an opinion. An unqualified, or “clean,” opinion is the highest possible rating and a qualified opinion is…
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In a predictable, premeditated, and carefully choreographed judicial charade, the Court of Appeal on Friday upheld the verdict of the Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that reversed the electoral triumph of NNPP’s Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State. I sincerely hope this assault on justice isn’t the spark that ignites an inferno in Kano—and in the country. The signs had been evident since early October that a predetermination had been made that irrespective of the facts, the flawed, preplanned judgment of the election petition tribunal must be preserved at all costs. For example, on October 6, the Head of…
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“If you are a judge and you are corrupt where do we go from here? Then everything has come to a halt. If the legislature is corrupt, you go to the judiciary for redress, if the executive is corrupt you go to the judiciary for remedy, if the judiciary itself is corrupt where do you go from there. That is a question, where do you go? To God whom you don’t see? To history which is past? To the future that hasn’t come? Today is here, so let us use it.” These were the evergreen words of the Socrates of…
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An ancient bloodthirst is being cleverly disguised right before our eyes…. Not everyone you see is human. At least not in the traditional sense. While you and I, and most people for that matter, are creatures of flesh and blood, compassion and love, kindness and caring, others… are nothing of the sort. Some have lost their souls, removed from the beating heart of the human condition. They are cold and callous. Criminals and ne’er-do-wells. But others, have gone even darker, pledging unwavering and bloodcurdling allegiance to something few can fathom… They are evil. Pure evil. And what they crave most beyond all…
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The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership of up to six million. “Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry,” the Vatican’s doctrinal office said in a letter published by Vatican media on Wednesday. The department, known as the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, issued its opinion, dated Nov. 13 and countersigned by Pope Francis, in response to a bishop from the Philippines…
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Secrecy is the name of the game when it comes to the Biden administration’s support for the offensive in Gaza. As the Israeli military enters the second month of its operation in Gaza, questions continue to swirl around the exact nature of U.S. support for the war, with major potential implications for American interests in the Middle East. The Pentagon has been fairly transparent about its actions outside of Israel, including the decision to move two aircraft carrier strike groups into the Middle East, among other naval assets and missile defense systems. But two more sensitive issues remain shrouded in…
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Ben Norton: Why does the United States so strongly support Israel? In this video today, I’m going to be explaining the geopolitical and economic reasons why Israel is such an important part of U.S. foreign policy and Washington’s attempt to dominate not only the region of the Middle East, but really the entire world. For this analysis today, I had the privilege of being joined by the economist Michael Hudson. I will bring him in later to provide further details about this topic. But first, I want to highlight some very important basic context to understand this relationship. It is crucial…
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Openly ignored by his incendiary, now ex-Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was left with few options. Retaining her would continue a process of blighting his already precarious prime ministership, suggesting weakness and a distinct lack of authority. Kicking her off the Cabinet front bench would, while reasserting some measure of control, permit her to foment discord on the backbenches. In defiance of collective cabinet responsibility, Braverman roguishly challenged his wisdom, and that of the Metropolitan Police she was meant to control, in permitting pro-Palestinian protests to take place on Armistice Day. Prior to that, she had also thrown some acid upon the issue of homelessness in…
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Brazil could extend a line of credit to debt-laden Argentina in mutual trade The presidents of Argentina and Brazil have announced plans to continue working on the development of a mechanism allowing them to avoid using the US dollar in bilateral trade. Crisis-hit Argentina is seeking to rebuild its reserves to cover trade costs and future debt repayments as a key component of a major debt deal with international creditors. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentinian counterpart Alberto Fernandez were expected this week to reveal the new mechanism allowing Argentine firms to continue trading with Brazil…
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While technically no longer under colonial rule, many African nations are still suffering from an unjust economic system that extracts raw materials from the continent, predominantly for the benefit of the developed world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told RT in an interview on Wednesday. Africans are now undergoing an “awakening” and want to get their due in terms of value-added through production chains, the senior diplomat explained, citing discussions at the Russia-Africa Forum that took place in July in St. Petersburg. “Africa does not want any longer to be a very rich continent which does not enjoy the richness it possesses,” he explained, summing…
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The prime minister has fired back after his Canadian counterpart urged the country to adhere to the rules of war in Gaza Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed back against his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, who urged him to exercise maximum restraint in the ongoing ground operation in Gaza. The biggest hospital in the enclave, Al-Shifa, has been stormed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which claimed that the complex was being used as a hideout by Hamas. Netanyahu blamed the militant group for the thousands of civilian deaths in Gaza in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.…
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has reportedly told Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh that Tehran won’t get directly involved in the militant group’s war with Israel after being surprised by the October 7 attacks that triggered the conflict. Khamenei and Haniyeh discussed the war during a face-to-face meeting earlier this month in Tehran, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing senior Iranian and Hamas officials with direct knowledge of the talks. Iran, which wasn’t forewarned of the Hamas raids that killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis, would only enter the conflict if it was attacked by Israel or the US, according to the report. Barring such…
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PM Netanyahu has responded to President Erdogan’s “terror state” speech Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday rejected criticism from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying that Türkiye was the real sponsor of terrorism and had no right to lecture anyone. “He calls Israel a terrorist state, but in fact supports the terrorist state of Hamas,” Netanyahu said in a statement quoted by Israeli media. “He himself bombed Turkish villages within [his] borders — we will not accept preaching from him.” Ankara has waged war on Kurdish separatists both in Turkish territory and abroad for years. Just last month, it launched a series…
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The Turkish president has urged Benjamin Netanyahu to reveal whether Israel has nuclear weapons Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has branded Israel a “terror state” that is committing “genocide” in Gaza and claimed the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a ‘goner.’ In remarks on Wednesday to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting in Ankara, Erdogan also challenged Netanyahu to reveal whether Israel possesses nuclear weapons, before adding that such an arsenal won’t help the embattled prime minister anyway. Erdogan launched several personal attacks at the Israeli leader, claiming that Netanyahu is bound to lose his post regardless of how the hostilities in Gaza…
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Among the items being provided by Washington are missiles for Apache helicopters and 155mm artillery shells, the media outlet claims The US Department of Defense has allegedly ramped up weapons deliveries to Israel without making any public announcements of the move, Bloomberg has reported. The media outlet claimed that deliveries of artillery shells, which supposedly feature prominently on Israel’s wish list, continue despite protests by dozens of relief organizations. The US has for decades been Israel’s closest ally and a major weapons supplier. Following Hamas’ surprise attack on the country on October 7, Washington quickly came to Israel’s rescue, providing…
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Moscow’s policy is shaped by its confrontation with the West in Ukraine, forcing it to establish closer ties with countries that empathize with Hamas The acute crisis in Palestine came as a surprise to everyone – both those who were directly involved and external players. For years, the long-standing conflict was considered frozen and ‘deadlocked’, and because of this, for many global, and even regional, powers, the issue retreated into the background. No one was really content with the status quo, but it didn’t seem to bother anyone either. Apparently, other important events in the Middle East had overshadowed the Palestinian…
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Introduction The world is at the crossroads of the most serious crisis in modern history. The US has embarked on a military adventure, “a long war”, which threatens the future of humanity. This “war without borders” is being carried out at the crossroads of the most serious economic crisis in World history, which has been conducive to the impoverishment of large sectors of the World population. The Pentagon’s global military design is one of world conquest. The military deployment of US-NATO forces is occurring in several regions of the world simultaneously. The concept of the “Long War” has characterized US…
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Hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of Africans do not have access to a nationality. The status of many others is in doubt or in dispute. Without an official connection to a state, people have neither protection from, nor responsibilities to, the country in which they live. The problem of statelessness is not new. It has risen on the international agenda in recent years as countries have pursued policies aimed at stripping people of their citizenship as a means of sanctioning those they want to exclude as undesirable. In some regions this has recently involved ‘foreign fighters’ returning from conflict zones…
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This brilliant article got my attention and I thought it worthwhile to share. It was midnight, not so long ago, when I woke up, used the toilet and returned to my bed to continue from where I stopped. For almost an hour, I closed my eyes in vain. I could neither induce nor seduce sleep. I was rolling from one end of the bed to the other, like a footballer faking injury. I decided to go into my study, to prove to sleep that I could use the time for something else. My study is a junkyard. I tip-toed through…
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Military-industrial complex, network of individuals and institutions involved in the production of weapons and military technologies. The military-industrial complex in a country typically attempts to marshal political support for continued or increased military spending by the national government. The term military-industrial complex was first used by U.S. Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower in his Farewell Address on January 17, 1961. Eisenhower warned that the United States must “guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence…by the military-industrial complex,” which included members of Congress from districts dependent on military industries, the Department of Defense (along with the military services), and privately owned military…
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Narration from Hashim Muhammed Suleiman – Zaria, PhD. Do you eat, at least, three times a day? Is there aroma of cooking still coming out of your house, at least, twice a day? Do you still wear washed and ironed clothes almost everyday? Do you still drive a car while attending to your daily needs? If yes to the above posers, not all, or even some, then I have bad news for you and for me. The dangers are coming. Asides the usual dangers of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents, the new danger coming to town is danger from below. What…
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Senators Samuel Anyanwu and Athan Achonu, governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party in the November 11 Imo governorship election, respectively, have pointed fingers at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for perpetuating a severely flawed election in the state. In a joint press conference held in Owerri on Monday, the duo rejected the declaration of Governor Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress, APC, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as the winner of the governorship election. Anyanwu and Achonu demands are crystal clear: an urgent review of the election by…
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The Western media is suddenly teeming with signs of fatigue and even …. diplomacy? “I don’t think that [the war] is a stalemate,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told NBC News’ Meet the Press on Sunday. “They thought they would checkmate us, but,” he insisted, “this didn’t happen.” According to recent interviews, his military leadership disagrees. His political inner circle thinks his insistence is delusional. Zelensky is facing pressure both from within Ukraine and from without. Growing pressure from within is coming from both the political and military leadership; growing pressure from without is coming from Ukraine’s key partners. The battle is largely being…
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On October 7, Israel was attacked by Hamas, an armed Palestinian resistance group inside Gaza. The group killed 1,405 people, and kidnapped over 200 in Israel. Hamas was a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a global terrorist organization which is outlawed in many countries, but not in the US, UK or Germany. US President Donald Trump said that the Muslim Brotherhood should be designated a terrorist organization in the US, and Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, brought two bills to the Senate, but he did not have support because of the Democrats under pressure from President Joe Biden. Why would the US fight terrorists…
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Israel is a plan that has been brewing and preparing for more than hundred years. Some people would even go back to the Old Testament where the term “The Chosen People” was coined. The Plan Israel is an Anglo-American Colonial project. Netanyahu is just the latest “executioner” of the Plan. Zionists feel they are “the Chosen People”. For this analysis and to avoid any confusion, the term Zionist also refers to Zionist Evangelical Christians as well as to some types of conservative and Orthodox Jews but foremost to Western politicians who – Jewish or not – support the Zionist concept of a “Greater…
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The U.S. led War on the People of Palestine and the Middle East is a Criminal Undertaking Intro We stand in Solidarity with Palestine. But we must recognize that the United States Military and Intelligence apparatus is firmly behind Israel’s genocide directed against the People of Palestine. . And this must be part of the solidarity campaign, namely to Reveal the Truth regarding Washington’s insidious role, which is part of a carefully planned military agenda directed against Palestine and the broader Middle East. Netanyahu is a proxy, with a criminal record. He has the unbending support of Western Europe’s “Classe politique”. . The U.S. led War on the People of…
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Israeli Plans to Control The Ben Gurion Canal Linking the Eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf of Aqaba
10 November 2023 Incisive and carefully documented geopolitical analysis by Richard Medhurst pertaining to the building of the Ben Gurion Canal linking the Eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf of Aqaba. Watch the video below. The Ben Gurion Canal Project was initially a “secret” (classified) U.S. project formulated in 1963 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory LLNG, a strategic think tank on contract with the U.S Department of Energy. The LLNG project was formulated in response to the nationalization of the Suez Canal in July 1956 by President Gamal Abdel Nasser (1956-1970). Its intent was to bypass the Suez Canal. According to the “classified” document prepared by the LLNG (1963)…
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A young lawyer colleague of mine at The Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts (TAS) called me in despair a few days ago during the night. In a One-Chance robbery, his sister had been taken hostage. I called up two top contacts in the police to pass the concern. One answered. Luckily, the young lady who had been robbed survived the ordeal of being thrown from the criminals’ fast-moving car. She spent days in the intensive care unit, unable to speak from shock following the near-death encounter. Some persons have died in similar experiences here in Abuja. A typical…
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Governorship is both a sacred trust and a formidable burden. In an ideal scenario, a governor serves as a trusted servant to the state, guided by moral rectitude. Unfortunately, in pseudo-democratic settings, the challenge arises, especially when democracy leans towards the rule of the mob. In an ideal environment, a governor is a servant to the people, not one who isolates themselves within the comforts of the government house. A good governor remains connected to the challenges faced by the people, avoiding the pitfalls of surrounding oneself with sycophants leading to destruction. Governorship is burdensome due to its immense responsibilities.…
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Machiavellian political leaders are characterized by negative effects on citizens and their states. Understanding Machiavellianism is crucial to addressing its impact objectively. Machiavellianism, a personality trait defined by cunningness, manipulation, and a drive for power and prestige, was outlined by Machiavelli in the 16th century. Leaders scoring high on Machiavellianism employ strategies to gain political power, often disregarding ethical standards. Machiavellians, operating in formal power, use techniques to boost self-worth, excel in impression management, and influence others for personal gain. Their focus on money, power, and competition often leads to flattery, deceit, coercion, and neglect of state building. In ambiguous…
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Machiavelli’s influential treatise on wielding power has sparked ongoing debate due to its advocacy of ruthless methods. Exploring Machiavellian traits in politicians becomes crucial, particularly with elections approaching. Machiavelli’s teachings encompass diverse aspects, notably emphasizing the importance of military strategy for rulers. Even during peacetime, he urged leaders to study history, geography, and the lay of the land, emphasizing that neglecting the art of war could lead to the loss of a principality. Understanding human nature is another facet where Machiavelli advises rulers to be pragmatic. Recognizing the potential for ingratitude, fickleness, and selfishness, he suggests leaders should base decisions…
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23 March 2022 On Monday, 21 March, AP reported that “Zelenskyy said that Kyiv will be ready to discuss the status of Crimea and the eastern Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists after a cease-fire and steps toward providing security guarantees.” This milestone is the very first time that Zelensky has said that there might be circumstances under which “the status of Crimea and the eastern Donbas region held by Russian-backed separatists” could even possibly be negotiated by Ukraine’s government. All Ukrainian-government leaders, after U.S. President Barack Obama perpetrated in Ukraine a violent coup which overthrew Ukraine’s democratically elected President and installed a U.S.-controlled rabidly anti-Russian government in…
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8 November 2023 Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on November 6 the cancellation of the Ukrainian elections. His cancellation of the elections comes as more and more Western commentators highlight Zelensky’s dictatorial tendencies, which are again on display after cancelling the elections under the guise of needing to concentrate on the war with Russia, a conflict Ukraine has no chance of winning, which again, Western experts are also pointing out. Presidential elections in Ukraine occur every five years, with the next one scheduled in March 2024 since Zelensky was sworn into office in May 2019, meaning that his five-year term will expire…
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7 November 2023 To Karim A. A. Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, We, Israelis Against Apartheid, a group of Israeli Jews for decolonization, representing more than 1,500 concerned citizens, call on the ICC to take accelerated action against the escalating Israeli war crimes, and genocide of the Palestinian people. For the safety and future in the region, all elements of international law must be enforced and war crimes should be investigated. We appreciate your deep concern for the lives of Palestinians, Israelis and others, and are encouraged by your determination to conduct a thorough investigation into the ongoing violations of international law. As Israeli anticolonial activists, we have joined our…
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7 November 2023 Army says Amichai Friedman’s comments don’t align with its values after he told soldiers that Israel would make its former settlement bloc in Gaza look ‘tiny’ The rabbi at an Israeli military training base celebrated Israel’s actions in Gaza with messianic fervor and exulted over Israel someday controlling a swath of territory from Lebanon to Gaza in a video that went viral on social media Sunday. The military said he had been summoned to meet with superiors and explain himself. Rabbi Amichai Friedman, the rabbi at the Nahal Brigade’s training base, addresses a group of young soldiers…
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7 November 2023 The UK military and intelligence services may be aiding Israel’s attack on Gaza in at least seven ways. It is vital the International Criminal Court question Rishi Sunak, James Cleverly and Grant Shapps about this support. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the only permanent global court to have jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. It recently issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, has said the court has “active investigations ongoing” in relation to Gaza and the West Bank going back…
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8 November 2023 Horrifying video footage captures what appears to be an attempted assassination on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The president’s convoy came under a hail of gunfire after he disregarded a menacing ultimatum from renegade Palestinian security forces, urging him to declare war on Israel. Abbas holds the position of Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, or PLO, which governs the West Bank territory. Notably, the Palestine Authority president does not endorse the terrorist group Hamas, which controls the besieged Gaza Strip. Local media reported that “one of Abbas’ bodyguards was shot, and the attack was claimed by the organization known as ‘Sons of…
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6 November 2023 Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) of Saudi Arabia is between a rock and a hard place. The Kingdom remains dependent on the US for security, while the US is supporting and supplying the weapons for Israel’s slaughtering of Palestinian civilians. Added to the dilemma, is that MBS was very close to signing the accord with Israel, which is now on hold. On October 7, just hours after the Hamas attack on Israel, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a call for an “immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides.” Saudi officials had warned a…
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6 November 2023 Amichai Eliyahu, an Israeli Heritage Minister has admitted to the world that Israel has nuclear weapons ready to be used on the Palestinians. The Times of Israel reported that “Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said Sunday that one of Israel’s options in the war against Hamas was to drop a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip, in comments that were quickly disavowed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also suspended the minister from cabinet meetings.” Surely, Netanyahu is angry with Eliyahu’s comments since the Israeli government never confirmed nor denied that they have nuclear weapons, so Eliyahu got himself suspended. Eliyahu…
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6 November 2023 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is facing two troubles on the foreign front that have received a lot of media attention. The first is that his country is actually receiving much less media attention. For the past month, international attention has been drawn away from his war to another. The second is that he is confronting growing resistance in the U.S. House of Representatives. President Joe Biden’s plan to tie aid to Ukraine and aid to Israel together is both a tactical maneuver to ensure continued congressional support for Ukraine and an admission that that support can no longer be taken…
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We sit here stranded, though we’re all doin’ our best to deny it.” I do not know under what condition Bob Dylan wrote that song line. All I know is that it serves my purpose as I sit here at the bank of Nigeria searching for the right metaphor for what the country has become. For those not privileged to have a seat in Abuja, this is the ultimate end-time. ‘Japa’ used to be an option for the stranded, but that option is dead now; they’ve killed it. Yet, speaking out has become a big risk, especially in Yorubaland. A…
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The world’s attention has turned to the slaughter in Gaza as the Israeli military-political system enacts its brand of ethnic cleansing and genocide on the Palestinian people. The U.S. pretends to be standing by in order to ensure the conflict does not spread into a regional conflagration, a pretext rationalizing and disguising their desire for such a conflagration in order to destroy Iran and Syria as they have destroyed Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan in recent wars. By its own determination the U.S. proclaims itself to be indispensable and exceptional, a mythology applied over the life times of its citizens keeping…
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4 November 2023 Building solidarity requires confronting the crimes committed by the State of Israel from the very outset in 1948. This is the object of Felicity Arbuthnot’s article first published in 2017. According to Arbuthnot (in 2017): This “Nakba” (“catastrophe”) seventy years after Israel’s final founding, is ongoing “Nakba is ongoing” in October 2023, and the United Nations remains “Deaf Mute”. None of these issues have been raised by the U.N. Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres in his remarks to the U.N. Security Council on October 24: “The situation in the Middle East is growing more dire by the hour. The war in Gaza is raging and risks…
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• says at government selling price, cooking gas shouldn’t cost more than N500 per kg to consumers The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers has accused terminal operators of incessantly increasing the price of gas, exploiting and limiting its availability to Nigerians. The marketers, led by the association’s president, Oladapo Olatunbosun. on Monday, told the Senate that the Nigeria Natural Liquefied Gas has been consistent with its supply but the cabals have disrupted the availability of gas to Nigerians. Olatunbosun labelled some of the marketers as the cabals who were buying the product cheaply from the source and selling…
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China slams US report on Beijing’s military buildup and uses it to hit back at Washington’s recent actions in helping Israel and Ukraine as well as its buildup of military installations worldwide. The United States is the “biggest disruptor of regional peace and stability” in the world, China has said in a scathing response to a Pentagon report on China’s growing military buildup. “The US has sent depleted uranium munitions and cluster bombs to Ukraine, sent its carrier battle groups to the Mediterranean and weapons and munitions to Israel, is this the so-called ‘gospel’ the ‘human rights defender is bringing…
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The IDF has said it is broadening its ground operations in Gaza Oil and metals markets reacted strongly on Friday to news from the Middle East, where Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced they were “expanding ground operations” in Gaza. Oil prices climbed nearly 3% to a one-week high amid fears that the conflict between Israel and Palestine could spread to the broader Middle East, a crucial supplier of energy and a key oil shipping passageway. Global benchmark Brent futures rose $2.51, or 2.85%, to settle at $90.44 a barrel. The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude spiked $1.95, or…
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The economy may shrink more than 10% amid the conflict with Hamas JPMorgan has sharply lowered its fourth quarter economic forecast for Israel. According to a research note made public on Friday, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) may shrink 11% from the previous three months amid the escalation of hostilities with the Palestinian armed group Hamas. Earlier this month, the bank forecast a 1.5% downturn, but the initial projections were deemed “too optimistic,” analysts suggested. “Gauging the impact of the war on Israel’s economy remains difficult, both due to still-very high uncertainty about the scale and duration of the…
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Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has argued that the measure would help stop “crimes in Gaza” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has urged Muslim nations to impose an oil and food embargo on Israel to stop its military operation in Gaza. Speaking to students in Tehran on Wednesday, Khamenei said, “What Islamic governments must insist on is the immediate cessation of crimes in Gaza,” suggesting that Muslim countries should “block the export of oil and food to the Zionist regime,” as quoted by the state-run IRNA media outlet. He went on to claim that Israel is “now in a state of shock…
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Belgian trade unions have already refused to handle weapons destined for Israel The branch of Amnesty International for the Middle East and North Africa called on Wednesday for embargoing weapons deliveries to both Israel and Hamas to protect civilians in Gaza. “We’ve called for an arms embargo on all parties to the conflict in [Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories],” Amnesty MENA said on X (formerly Twitter). The group endorsed the strike of four Belgian trade unions, which are reportedly “blocking weapons transfers to Israel in response to ongoing unlawful attacks” that have killed and injured thousands of civilians in Gaza. “Others should follow suit!” Amnesty MENA added. Accompanying…
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More than 70% of people surveyed said they don’t favor either side The majority of Russians do not back any particular side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an opinion poll published on Tuesday shows. According to the survey of 1,500 people conducted between October 13 and October 15 by the Moscow-based pollster FOM, 73% of respondents said that their personal sympathy lies with neither side, while 10% said they support the Palestinians, and 9% said they favor Israel. Nearly 40%, however, could not answer what they believe is the root cause of the ongoing escalation of hostilities in the region. Roughly…
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Local law enforcement said the episode is being “intensively” investigated The Jewish section of a major cemetery in the Austrian capital was set ablaze and marred with swastikas, according to a religious leader in the city. The attack comes amid a surge of anti-Semitic incidents across Europe. Oskar Deutsch, a leader in Vienna’s Jewish community, reported the vandalism and arson in a social media post on Wednesday, saying areas of the city’s central cemetery were severely damaged in the blaze. “During the night a fire was set on the Jewish part of the central cemetery,” he wrote. “The anteroom of the ceremonial…
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An anonymous threat reportedly concerned 20 education facilities around the French capital Several Jewish schools around Paris have been evacuated following a bomb threat, triggering “panic” among parents, according to sources cited by the Jerusalem Post. Police launched a sweeping search of multiple schools on Monday after an anonymous suspect warned that “bombs would blow up in 20 different Jewish schools in the Paris area,” the outlet reported, citing “senior sources in the organized Jewish community.” “There was a bomb threat towards many Jewish schools. Some of these schools have been evacuated. In most schools, parents were asked to take their children home,” one of the…
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The Roman Catholic pontiff has commented on the Israel-Palestine conflict There are no winners in war, Pope Francis said on Wednesday in an interview with the Italian broadcaster RAI, urging the Israelis and the Palestinians to live together in peace as neighbors. “In war, one slap provokes another. One strong and the other even stronger, and so it goes on,” the Pope said, addressing the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s retaliation against Gaza in a lengthy feature that aired right after the evening news. The solution to the cycle of violence, the 86-year-old Jesuit argued, is to recognize an independent…
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17 October 2023 Protests against Netanyahu’s legal reform, which annulled the separation of powers, would have had as a side effect the appearance of fissures in the areas of Israeli Defense and Intelligence, due to the refusal of a significant number of reservists to join vital posts for the Israeli Defense, many of them grouped in the “Brothers and Sisters in Arms” block. Taking advantage of the alleged security holes in the Israeli Defense caused by the schism between the reservists and Netanyahu, the armed wing of the Islamist group Hamas, launched the largest military offensive since 2007 with the…
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Ariel Sharon, deceased former Israeli Prime Minister, said he was not concerned about Arab countries, or the Palestinians destroying Israel. He said his only fear was that the relationship between Israel and America would change, and the lack of US support for Israel would be the end of the country. US President Joe Biden denounced the proposed Israeli bill which, according to Biden, threatened stripping Israel from their coveted status as a democracy. Thousands of Israeli citizens protested the judicial reforms proposed by the extremist government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Street protests against the proposed bill began in January, and gathered momentum…
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The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the principal opposition party, should have had the simplest time winning the Nigerian presidential election in 2023. Muhammadu Buhari’s unprecedentedly bad and divisive leadership served as a powerful campaign against the All Progressives Congress, APC. To effortlessly retake control of the centre, the PDP only needed to present a unified front and a singleness of purpose. Yet, since Uche Secondus’s tenure as national chairman, PDP has lacked direction and influence and has swayed like a ship without a rudder. Secondus’ successor, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, turned out to be an even worse disaster. Ayu’s incompetent handling…
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Before Abuja, there was Lagos as our Federal Capital. And this is where I would want to believe that there is something about our North and Federal Capital Territories. Before independence and immediately after independence, Lagos had a succession of two ministers of Lagos Affairs, both were northerners. One was Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua, father of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. There was also Muhammadu Ribadu, grandfather of our immediate past First Lady, Hajia Aisha Buhari. Years later, Nigeria moved to Abuja and a long line of FCT ministers was recorded for the North. Now, some of the power elite…
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This article from Israeli’s largest newspaper is very long but it’s worth you taking your time over hours or days to read it. It took me 5 minutes to read it. Very interesting and informative pieces of information that American media and other western friends of Israel don’t tell us. Please read. Dear all…In order not to fall into frustration and depression, I hope that we Remember the following: More than 1,500 Zionists dead More than 5,000 wounded among them so far More than 200 prisoners, including at least 50 officers and 50 soldiersThe rest are all reserves The shekel…
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Although there were many oracles only a few became nationally famous for the impartiality of their judicial decisions; there were those at Awgu, Umunoha, Ozuzu, the Agbala oracle at Awka and, what became the oracle of highest appeal in all Ibo and Ibibio land, Arochuku. Awka was famous for its blacksmiths whose guilds took turns touring Iboland, settling temporarily in various places and manufacturing iron farming tools, swords and spears. Because of their superior products they were welcomed in all the clans. If an inter-lineage dispute arose, the visiting Awka blacksmith might suggest that it be referred to Agbala and…
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Susanne Wenger was famous as Adunni Oloriṣa. The BBC in 2008 described her as “white priestess of ‘black magic.’” A Nigerian said she was “white priestess of an African goddess.” Until her death in 2009, she was the custodian of Osun Osogbo grove and everything connected to its sacredness. But that task was not what Wenger came to do when she planted her nimble toes in the soil of Yoruba land around 1950. She came as an artist and wife of a linguist. She, however, did more than visual arts; she was a culture connoisseur, a critic of art and…
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The message of Israeli peace groups’ peaceful solutions are drowned out by the media’s addiction to interviews with military tacticians. In the midst of extensive coverage of the war in Gaza, there are questions that the U.S. mass media should address: 1. How did Hamas, with tiny Gaza surrounded by a 17-year Israeli blockade, subjected to unparalleled electronic surveillance, with spies and informants, and augmented by an overwhelming air, sea, and land military presence, manage to get these weapons and associated technology for their October 7 surprise raid? 2. What is the connection between the stunning failure of the Israeli…
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30 October 2023 “They are Killing Our Children” More than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed in the last three weeks in Gaza. Every day of this atrocious and ever-expanding Israeli onslaught at least a 1,000 more will be murdered. Schools and hospitals are being targeted. The unspoken yet deliberate objective is to kill Palestinian children. More than 40% of the casualties are children. Mosques, churches, residential areas, bakeries, communications infrastructure are targeted. Water, electricity and fuel have been cut off to Gaza and more than 200,000 housing units have been destroyed “Hundreds of besieged Palestinians, mostly children, are writing their names on…
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29 October 2023 The main press stable was keen to see the scrappy benefits of the 31-hour visit to Israel by US President Joe Biden. On National Public Radio (NPR), Scott Neuman expressed the view that the “largely symbolic” visit did yield a few “concrete accomplishments” including an announcement of $100 million in Palestinian aid, convincing Israel to permit humanitarian aid into Gaza and persuade Egypt’s strongman president Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to open up an access route via land into southern Gaza. If these were seen as achievements, one dare not look at the picture of bright success. On an individual level, sharing the same stage…
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29 October 2023 Targeting Palestinian Civilians As of Saturday morning October 28, Israel’s genocidal attacks on Gaza have killed more than 7,300 Palestinians including about 3,000 children according to Al Jazeera. Another 1,650 Palestinians are trapped under the demolished remains of their homes and buildings destroyed by Israeli bombing, with half of them being children. This is an Israeli war which specifically targets Palestinian civilians especially children as the IDF has bombed: Water, electricity and fuel have been cut off to Gaza and more than 200,000 housing units have been destroyed entirely or partly by Israel. 1.4 million Palestinians about half the population of Gaza, have been…
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29 October 2023 Al Jazeera is reporting (27 October evening) utterly massive and continuous bombardments of the northern Gaza Strip; unlike anything seen so far. They believe a ground offensive has begun. ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITH GAZA CUT OFF: phones, fax, internet, cellular – all off. Biden sends “war powers” notification to Congress over Gaza situation (27 October PM). All communications by cell phone, internet, were blocked or destroyed by Israeli bombing. Gaza is fully cut off from the rest of the world. Mass killing, extermination style may be expected. Israeli naval vessels have begun shelling the northern tip of the Gaza…
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30 October 2023 Introduction Israel has launched an invasion (October 7, 2023) of the Gaza Strip. As outlined by Felicity Arbuthnot with foresight 10 years ago in a December, 30 2013 article: “Israel is set to become a major exporter of gas and some oil, “If All Goes to Plan”. In the current context, Israel’s “All Goes to Plan” option consists in bypassing Palestine and “Wiping Gaza off the Map”, as well confiscating ALL Gaza’s maritime offshore gas reserves, worth billions of dollars. The ultimate objective is not only to exclude Palestinians from their homeland, it consists in confiscating the multi-billion dollar Gaza offshore Natural Gas reserves, namely those pertaining to the BG (BG Group) in 1999, as well the…
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Nigeria is a country where the best appears impossible but the worst will never happen. What a country! After all the preparations, brouhaha, humungous expenses, logistic nightmares, suspense, dramatics and histrionics that characterised the 2023 general elections and in particular the presidential election, on Thursday the 26th day of October 2023, the Supreme Court of Nigeria made a final and definitive pronouncement on the dejure (rightful) or lawful President. Courtesy of the unanimous judgments which the Supreme Court delivered in the separate appeals brought by PDP and LP and their candidates against the 6 September 2023 judgment of the Court…
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I had just arrived Abuja from Beijing, China on Monday when news broke that Nigeria won its case against Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Limited, which had been seeking enforcement of a controversial $11 billion judgement debt in its favour. The Commercial Courts of England and Wales upheld Nigeria’s prayer that the said gas processing contract was obtained by fraud. The judgement affirms the position of Nigeria’s lawyer, Mark Howard, that P&ID obtained the contract “by telling repeated lies and paying bribes to officials.” While we should rejoice about the court victory, I hope President Bola Tinubu, his Attorney General,…
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The report by Tasnim News Agency comes as the Pentagon has moved additional military assets into the Middle East Several thousand US troops have taken part in Israel’s ground operation in Gaza, the Iran-based Tasnim News Agency reported on Saturday. The Pentagon has recently announced plans to significantly reinforce its military presence in the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas conflict and tensions with Iran. According to the agency’s security sources, Israel’s assault on Gaza involved three divisions and several brigades and was also underpinned by 5,000 US military personnel. The outlet, however, did not provide any details about which troops…
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As West Jerusalem expands its operation in Gaza, the Turkish president has hardened his rhetoric against the Jewish state Türkiye will present evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza to the world, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a rally on Saturday. While Erdogan initially positioned himself as a potential mediator between the Israelis and Palestinians, he has since sided with the “freedom fighters” in Hamas. Israel’s operation in Gaza is “not defense, but an open, vicious massacre,” Erdogan told thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Istanbul. “Israel has been openly committing war crimes for exactly 22 days, but Western leaders have not even…
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Elon Musk has promised to help humanitarian organizations to stay connected amid an information blackout in Gaza Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Kahri has vowed that “Israel will use all means at its disposal to fight” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s planned provision of Starlink internet access to Gaza. “Hamas will use it for terrorist activities,” Kahri claimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter), adding that “there is no doubt about it, we know it, and Musk knows it.” In response, the tech billionaire said he is “not so naive,” explaining how the proposed scheme would work, while promising to “do a security check with both the US…
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27 October 2023 As the Israeli Defence Forces increasingly been reported to be facing difficulties achieving the objective of destroying the Palestinian militia Hamas, the United States has responded by providing growing levels of personnel and material support. While significantly escalating the American military presence in the region, the Pentagon has dispatched Marine Corps Lieutenant General James Glynn, who previously played a leading role in planning special operations against the Islamic State and served in Fallujah, Iraq, to advise Israeli forces. Formerly serving as the commanding general of Marine Special Operations Command, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stating that Glynn and other…
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28 October 2023 Facts, not opinion, are increasingly showing that the attack carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7 in Israel was the detonator for an Operation False Flag, similar to the Sept. 11, 2001 attack in the United States. Remarkable are the similarities, which we summarize in this fact sheet accompanying the Grand Angle episode. In 2001, Islamic militants from Al Qaeda manage to bring down the Twin Towers and strike the Pentagon without the CIA having any inkling that an attack of such magnitude was being prepared. In 2023, Islamic Hamas militants managed to penetrate Israel en masse, occupying…
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WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden and his team have markedly shifted their tone on the Israel-Hamas crisis in recent days, moving from unfettered support of Israel to emphasizing the need to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza ahead of a looming Israeli ground invasion. Biden has not changed his fundamental belief that Israel has the right and responsibility to defend itself in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack from Hamas militants that killed 1,400 people in southern Israel, aides say. But a rapidly rising Palestinian death toll, the difficulty of freeing hostages held by Hamas and an…
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On the surface, the piece “Palestine & Israel – Igbo & Yoruba” published 9th October, 2023 by one Adedamola Adetayo is one of those rants that do not deserve refutation. However, some lies, if left to fester, could mislead many people. This is especially true when you consider that Adetayo’s profanity against Ndigbo is not his first. “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth”, is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels. Among psychologists, something like this is known as the “illusion of truth” effect. One can find at least three more articles…
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Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has accused the Qatari network of “propaganda,” “encouraging violence,” and aiding Hamas The Israeli government has approved emergency regulations allowing it to suspend the operations of foreign media outlets amid the conflict with Hamas. The move paves the way for the closure of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera channel’s bureau in the country. Israel’s Ministry of Communications said that the new measures “allow the cessation of the activities of a foreign broadcasting organization that harms the security of the state, for the duration of the war,” in a statement on Friday, as quoted by the Ynet web portal. According to…
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Influencing the network would show Doha’s change of heart about Hamas US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked the Qatari government to change its relationship with Hamas, starting with the way Al Jazeera reports on the Israel-Gaza conflict, Axios reported on Wednesday. Blinken reportedly revealed this to a group of America’s Jewish community leaders on Monday, according to three people who attended the meeting and spoke with the outlet. The US diplomat visited Doha on October 13, just days after the Hamas incursion into Israel triggered the latest escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. During the visit, according to…
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24 October 2023 As President Biden visited Israel, and the Palestinian death toll in Gaza passed 3,300, the U.S.-based Center for Constitutional Rights released a legal and factual analysis of Israel’s unfolding genocide against the Palestinian people and U.S. complicity. The emergency briefing paper came on the heels of the U.S. veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning both Hamas’s attack on Israel and all violence against civilians and calling for humanitarian access to Gaza. The Center for Constitutional Rights produced this legal analysis in the midst of a situation still unfolding with devastating speed, in response to…
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The CEO of Confederated Facilitators Limited (CFL) Group of companies, Lai Omotola has posited that the soaring dollar to naira rate, alongside Nigeria’s economy is not being driven by market forces but by wealthy elite businessmen whom he tagged, ‘market cabals’ He stated this while speaking with journalist during a media parley organised by his company in commemoration of its 25th anniversary. According to him, “I have never seen elite business people whose only business they do is to speculate on their currency. That’s the only business they do. All of them, in everything they are doing, the underlying factor…
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Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, an Islamic scholar residing in Kaduna, has claimed that Christians cannot be trusted with the nation’s security. This was said by the divisive cleric in a sermon that lasted more than 14 minutes and was posted on his official Facebook page. In the same vein, the cleric yelled profanities at Chinwo Nyesom Wike and demanded that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu oust him as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, accusing him of courting the State of Israel. The same Gumi visited terrorists and bandits in the forests and pressed the federal government to grant them amnesty. By…
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~ A Must Read About 30 years ago, I slept at the Murtala Muhammed Airport for four days. No, I was not a homeless vagabond. I had bought the Nigeria Airways ticket to fly to the United States for a one-year sabbatical leave. But when I arrived at the airport, I realized that my ticket was not honored, though I had bought it legitimately. Whenever a plane was about to leave Lagos for New York, the NA officials posted a manifest list, and my name was not there. They would ask me to wait for the next list. This drama…
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Why do public office holders in Nigeria increasingly appoint a large number of personal aides? In November 2022, barely six months before the expiration of his term of office, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike doubled the number of his Special Assistants on Political Affairs from an already staggering 100,000 to an incredulous 200,000. At the inauguration ceremony of the additional 100, 000 appointees, Wike justified the move as the “implementation of the policy of stomach infrastructure” aimed at “putting money in the hands” of his constituents. 200,000 special assistants may have been an outlier (for Wike’s critics, it was a disguise for…
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The furor over Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s academic records is less about his person and more about the character of Nigerian society. In one sense, the ongoing commotion in Nigeria over the educational record of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is entirely about his personal failure to retire nagging doubts among the Nigerian public, and not just the political opposition, regarding the most basic details about his background and identity. Having seen his challenge to Tinubu’s victory at the February polls dismissed last month by the country’s Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), Atiku Abubakar, the standard bearer of the opposition…
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21 October 2023 The Infamous “Oded Yinon Plan”. Introduction by Michel Chossudovsky A popular article, first published on March 1st, 2013 Update and Analysis On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm.” which wasled by its Military Chief Mohammed Deif. On that same day, Netanyahu confirmed a so-called “State of Readiness For War”. Israel has now (October 7, 2023) officially declared a new stage of its long war against the people of Palestine. Military operations are invariably planned well in advance (See Netanyahu’s January 2023 statement below). Was “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm” a “surprise attack” ? U.S. intelligence say they weren’t aware of an impending Hamas attack. Did Netanyahu and his…
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President Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis on Sunday and discussed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, the White House and the Vatican said in separate statements. They discussed “the need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East,” the White House said. The Vatican earlier said the call, which lasted about 20 minutes, “focused on conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace.” Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing over 1,400 people. Israel has since retaliated…
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Father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, must have had the conversation last week between Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the recently cleared Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Ola Olukoyede in mind. While propounding the theory of what is now known as Freudian slips in his 1901 book he entitled The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, Freud discussed what in German is called Fehlleistungen. It is another name for faulty actions which mirror bits of unconscious mind leakages into conscious behaviour. This leakage, otherwise known as misspeak, according to him, prompts a speaker to say what is unintended…
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The escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has sparked fears over potential oil supply disruptions in the region Global oil prices saw a sharp increase on Wednesday amid fears that the conflict between Israel and the armed Palestinian group Hamas could spread to other countries in the Middle East, causing global oil supply disruptions. Markets across the world factored in risk premiums after an apparent missile strike on a hospital in Gaza City killed hundreds of civilians, including doctors, patients and people taking shelter. Both sides have blamed each other for the incident. Brent crude futures advanced nearly 3%, to $92.50…
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Like everything else, capitalism and democracy have ugly faces. The normal trend is that good men who love law and order win elections and form good government to protect the interest of all. Often they find that they have to confront criminal capitalism in form of organised crimes and unscrupulous businessmen and women who would not play by the rules. In such countries, it is not uncommon to hear of presidents and governors declaring war on crimes, corruption and impunity, justice departments filing cases against people and companies who have engaged in inside trading and courts convicting and finning companies,…
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