EDITOR—Prof Marandi clarifies the situation confronting Iran in the wake of Syria’s fall, the accumulating clouds of war and a probable “decapitating” assault by Israel and the West, now that these parties feel strengthened by the turn of events and the relative strategic isolation of Tehran. The Trump administration, riddled with committed Zionists, indeed offers little hope that civility, sanity, or diplomacy will prevail in the resolution of the largely manufactured “Iran aggression problem.” 

MEE—Using eyewitness reports, video footage, articles, photographs, eyewitness evidence and over investigatory material, much of it recorded by Israeli soldiers, the historian has produced what Haaretz calls “the most methodical and detailed documentation in Hebrew (there is also an English translation) of the war crimes that Israel is perpetrating in Gaza”.

Some of the most shocking incidents documented by Mordechai include a Palestinian woman with a child being shot while waving a white flag, starving girls being crushed to death while queuing for bread, a handcuffed 62-year-old Palestinian man getting run over by an Israeli tank and an air strike targeting people trying to help a wounded boy.

EDITOR—Jeffrey Sachs on how Joe Biden has been the most destructive president in American history, and how Donald Trump can repair the damage. A must watch video, considering that this transition period may be the most dangerous weeks humanity has faced in its entire history.

EDITOR—This video packs one of the most important and exhilarating discussions of the course of history in the US in the near future, as Dr Anthony Monteiro sorts out the multiplying trends and signs that indicate the US working class—at long last—may be detaching itself from the influence of duopolist oligarchy, and dumping the official narratives that have heretofore supported it. We should not fear the working class on the move, says Dr Monteiro, even if, in the absence of a clear and dependable leadership, it may (momentarily) stray into fascistic deviations. The current system is unsustainable. Its main vehicle, the Democrat Party, to control dissidents, is dead. The Trump phenomenon is unpredictable. No matter what he and his clique do, change of the real kind is coming, albeit not as envisaged by the ruling billionaires and most Americans. The massive, spontaneous positive reaction to Luigi Mangione’s killing of UHC’s CEO, Brian Thompson—an act of “propaganda by the deed”— shows the working class is not likely to return to the barn that easily.  And while anarchism may lead nowhere in terms of actually assuring the masses’ ascent to power, it marks a turning point in the possible use of violence for political ends.

ESSAM ELKORGHLI—The demise of Syria is a major blow to those who know the weight of Syria in Arab history and civilization. It is a hub of knowledge production and ancient civilization, with rich cultural production and art history. Just like many of Iraq and Libya’s artifacts and heritage are being destroyed and/or sold to western museums to satiate the gaze of museum goers and milking profits from entrance fees and orientalized exhibitions, while we (the people of Libya and Iraq) are left with hollow libraries and museums, Syria will experience the same. There will be a loss of individual freedoms, forced assimilation to an Islamist status quo, discrimination based on sects, and silencing of ideologically anti-imperialist knowledge production.

ERIC ZUESSE—“1. Ailing Views of U.S. Healthcare”, is reported that 56% say it is “only fair or poor.” America has the most privatized healthcare in the developed world, and therefore Luigi Mangione on December 17th was indicted for the December 4th murder of a top executive of America’s largest health insurance company, instead of a top Government official for healthcare, or of that company’s biggest stockholder and profiteer from America’s privatized healthcare system. (The public blame the employees rather than the owners of the mega-corporations.)

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE—Israeli media reports that the IDF now sees airstrikes on Iran as much easier to execute now that its pilots don’t have to worry about Syrian air defenses along the way, while The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump team is weighing its options for airstrikes on Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon (which there’s no evidence Iran is currently trying to do).

A new article from The Washington Post titled “Syria’s collapse and Israeli attacks leave Iran exposed” reports that “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled a desire to capitalize on gains against Hamas and Hezbollah and take on Tehran more aggressively under a new U.S. administration.” The article notes that Trump has expressed openness to war with Iran, saying that “anything can happen”.

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EDITOR—Streamed live 8 hours ago. Leading independent correspondent Pepe Escobar analyses the super-fluid situation in Syria, as competing blocs such as Türkiye, the US (and its momentary allies, the Kurds), Israel, and HTS (ISIS/ alQaeda) try to consolidate power over the land while incurring minimum strategic damage. Pepe believes that the next few months or even weeks will begin to show the high cost of controlling Syria, an immensely complex place, as the main players move their pieces to attain objectives which may come only at the expense of the others. Besides, some remnants of the Syrian Army may soon become the germ for a new resistance to the new regime. Some units are regrouping in Latakia, and a whole armoured division crossed into Iraq, under Bashar al-Assad’s brother’s command.  And don’t count Russia or Iran out, warns Pepe, as these are powerful nations with regional assets that are far from exhausted. Escobar also comments on the low-down assassination of Russian general Kirilov, a typical act of terror openly admitted by the Kiev regime, whose security operatives are assumed to have planned this attack, or acted at the behest of their NATO handlers.

RT Documentary—More than 150 PR agencies from the U.S. and Europe are shaping Ukraine’s media image. This campaign began back in 2014 during the Maidan uprising. After the new government took power, the U.S. established propaganda networks, [started} feeding deliberately false information to Western media. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry became a puppet of the CIA. This strategy was first refined in Iraq, where the U.S. used the full force of modern PR technology during the conflict.