Best of the Web:


Star of David

Best of the Web: Registered Israeli foreign agent driving contrived campus antisemitism crisis

Wyatt Reed
The Grayzone
Sun, 17 Dec 2023 00:00 UTC
fox news
© screenshot
Lawsuits accusing top US universities of harboring antisemitism all originate from one source: a corporate law firm that fielded the pro-settler ex-US ambassador to Israel, and which was registered as a foreign agent of an Israeli principal as recently as 2021.

The firm now represents professional Israel lobby activists posing as victimized "Jewish students" and seeking to crush the free speech rights of Palestine solidarity activists.

The fallout from December 5 House Committee on Antisemitism hearings has already cost University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill her job, while demands by billionaire pro-Israel donors and politicians for the firing of Harvard's Claudine Gay have grown by the day. Both stand accused of refusing to condemn calls for the genocide of Jews, even though no such calls have taken place on their campuses.

Meanwhile, little attention has been paid to the forces orchestrating the carefully choreographed, heavily-funded campaign to crush Palestine solidarity activism on campus.

Comment: A 'moral' takeover of US universities does not happen overnight, nor do influence and persuasion just snap into place. Israel's conquests have strategy and trajectory - most evident after the fact.

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Bad Guys

Best of the Web: Chinese shipping company OOCL ceases service to Israel because of "operational issues"


The Maritime Executive
Sun, 17 Dec 2023 04:24 UTC
Port of Ashod, Israel
© Courtesy Port of AshdodPort of Ashod, Israel
Chinese container carrier OOCL has decided to suspend all shipments to and from Israeli seaports, the company announced Saturday.

"Due to operational issues, OOCL will stop cargo acceptance to and from Israel with immediate effect until further notice," the firm said in a one-sentence statement on its website.

At least four container lines have abandoned shipping through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal because of the ongoing threat of attack from Houthi forces in northern Yemen. MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd have all signaled that they will take the Cape of Good Hope route, avoiding the risk of missile strikes, drone attacks or hijackings near Bab el-Mandeb.

Comment: The strangulation of the Israeli economy has begun. Who knew the fight would be led by Yemen?

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Bad Guys

Best of the Web: 'Operation Prosperity Guardian' set to protect ships in the Red Sea, carrier IKE stationed in Gulf of Aden

Sam LaGrone
USNI News
Mon, 18 Dec 2023 04:14 UTC
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)
© US Navy PhotoUSS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) sails the Persian Gulf Dec. 5, 2023.
The Pentagon, on Monday, announced an initiative to protect commercial traffic in the region after almost two months of attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea by forces in Yemen.

Operation Prosperity Guardian is a multi-national push to ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden under the structure of the existing Combined Task Force 153, according to the statement from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

"Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor launching ballistic missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) at merchant vessels from many nations lawfully transiting international waters," reads the statement from Austin.

"This is an international challenge that demands collective action."

Comment: And there you have it. It's not about 'freedom and democracy. It's about corporate profits. Dangerous times are ahead . . . .

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Fire

Best of the Web: Iceland volcano erupts! 4km-long, glowing-red fissure opens on same peninsula as capital Reykjavik

Miranda Bryant, Helen Livingstone
Guardian
Tue, 19 Dec 2023 15:44 UTC

Comment: No media reports mention that this thing is located but a few miles from Iceland's capital! Never good to be that confident with what natural disasters will or won't do...


This image made from video provided by the Icelandic Coast Guard shows its helicopter flying near magma running on a hill near Grindavik on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula sometime around late Monday, Dec. 18, or early Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023
This image made from video provided by the Icelandic Coast Guard shows its helicopter flying near magma running on a hill near Grindavik on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula sometime around late Monday, Dec. 18, or early Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023
A volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula in south-west Iceland has erupted after weeks of intense earthquake activity, spewing glowing orange jets of lava surrounded by billowing clouds of red smoke.

"Warning: eruption has started north of Grindavík by Hagafell," the meteorological office said on its website on Monday. The eruption started a few kilometres from Grindavík, a fishing town located about 25 miles (40km) south-west of Iceland's capital, Reykjavík. The town with a population of 4,000 was evacuated in November after the area was hit by a "seismic swarm" of more than 1,000 small earthquakes in 24 hours.

The government on Tuesday said the eruption did not present a threat to life, adding that there were no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland, while international flight corridors remained open.


Comment: Reminder of what the 2021 fissure looked like:



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Cloud Precipitation

Best of the Web: Australia summer floods: Airport submerged and crocodiles seen after record rain in Queensland - 7 FEET of rainfall dumped from Cyclone Jasper


BBC
Mon, 18 Dec 2023 12:11 UTC
Floods have inundated many places in far north Queensland, including Cairns Airport
© Joseph DietzFloods have inundated many places in far north Queensland, including Cairns Airport
Flash floods have inundated parts of northern Queensland - with the heavy rain thwarting attempts to evacuate a settlement hit by rising water.

Extreme weather driven by tropical cyclone Jasper has dumped a year's worth of rain on some areas.

Images show planes stuck on Cairns airport runway, a crocodile captured in Ingham, and people fleeing in boats.

Authorities called off the evacuation of Wujal Wujal's 300 residents due to adverse conditions.

No deaths or missing people reported have so far been reported.


Comment: Report from 4 days prior: Tropical Cyclone Jasper dumps 2 feet (624mm) of rain in 24 hours in North Queensland, Australia - 2nd heaviest daily rainfall on record for country

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Powertool

Best of the Web: Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly building a Hawaii compound with plans for an escape hatch, 'blind doors,' and an underground bunker

Sarah Jackson
Business Insider
Thu, 14 Dec 2023 00:00 UTC

Comment: What does arch-censor The Zuck know that we don't?!

Or rather, does he have a similar idea to what we know, that it's all going down, and he plans to survive the collapse?

More to the point, is Zuckerberg more comfortable living underground... because that's where he came from??


Mark Zuckerberg
© Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images
If his latest property development is any clue, Mark Zuckerberg might be a biiit of a doomsday prepper.

The Meta CEO is reportedly building a massive compound in Kauai, Hawaii, that will include features like a 5,000-square-foot underground bunker and an escape hatch, and be self-sufficient with its own energy, food, and water supply, according to a Wired article out Thursday, citing sources and planning documents obtained through public records requests.

Construction on Zuckerberg's compound, called Koolau Ranch, is estimated to cost around $100 million; coupled with the $170 million spent on the land for the property, the total price tag sits around $270 million, though that's likely still an underestimate, according to Wired.

The compound will have at least 30 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms and a network of nearly a dozen tree houses connected by rope bridges so guests can move between them "while staying among the treetops," Wired reports.
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Better Earth

Best of the Web: 'Unprecedented' ice mass gain over Antarctic sheet between 2021 & 2022, outpaced mass loss

Wei Wang
Research Gate
Thu, 09 Nov 2023 12:00 UTC
Antarctic ice gain

Comment: The information below is the abstract from a scientific paper published November 4th 2023 that has yet to receive much, if any, mainstream coverage - unsurprisingly - however the conclusion of their findings are stated fairly clearly.


Abstract and Figures

The Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) is susceptible to global climate change, and its mass loss has been 92 ± 18 Gt/yr between 1992 and 2020. Given the current intensive global warming, we investigate the AIS mass changes from January 2003 to December 2022, using the newly released satellite gravimetry and atmospheric datasets.

The results show that the continuous mass loss in the AIS between 2003 and 2020 was 141.8 ± 55.6 Gt/yr. However, the AIS showed a record-breaking mass gain of 129.7 ± 69.6 Gt/yr between 2021 and 2022. During this period, the mass gain over the East AIS and Antarctic Peninsula was unprecedented within the past two decades, and it outpaced the mass loss in the Amundsen sector of the West AIS from 2003 to 2022. Basin-scale analysis shows that the mass gain mainly occurred over Wilhelm II Land, Queen Mary Land, Wilkes Land, and the Antarctic Peninsula due to anomalously enhanced precipitation.

Comment: This seems to be further evidence showing that the apparent brief period of warming that our planet underwent in recent decades is fast being replaced with significant global cooling.

It also seems to support research showing that, whilst increased undersea volcanic and geothermal activity has led to a reduction of ice in some regions, it's being countered by the increasingly extreme cold temperatures from above: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Family

Best of the Web: Witnesses say IDF troops 'executed' women and children in Gaza school

Brett Wilkins
Common Dreams
Wed, 13 Dec 2023 00:00 UTC
mourners
© Ahad Hasaballah/Getty ImagesGaza women mourn slain civilians while collecting bodies of Palestinians killed in an airstrike
December 12 2023 • Khan Yunis, Gaza
The Biden administration "must respond to the reported execution-style massacre of women, children, and babies," said the spokesperson of a U.S. Muslim advocacy group.

Eyewitness testimony reported Wednesday by Al Jazeera accused Israeli troops of massacring forcibly displaced women and children sheltering at a school in northern Gaza, an allegation that prompted a leading U.S. Muslim advocacy group to demand a response from President Joe Biden.

The reported massacre took place at the Shadia Abu Ghazala School in the al-Faluja area west of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. Video footage aired by the Qatar-based news network showed numerous covered bodies piled in one of the school's classrooms.

One unidentified witness said:
"The Israeli soldiers came in and opened fire on them. They took all men, then entered classrooms and opened fire on a woman and all the children with her, including newborn children.

"The Israeli soldiers executed those innocent families point-blank."

Comment: Locked minds, big guns, black hearts. It is mass murder beyond unforgivable.

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Seismograph

Best of the Web: Long dormant volcanoes can erupt rapidly and explosively, study of Ciomadul reveals

Eötvös Loránd University
Phys.org
Tue, 12 Dec 2023 12:55 UTC
volcano crater
© István FodorCan a volcano erupt after tens of thousands of years of dormancy? If so, how can this be explained and what makes volcanic eruptions more dangerous, i.e., explosive? These are key questions in volcanic hazard assessment and can also draw attention to volcanoes that appear to be inactive. Even in a quiet, dormant phase, a volcano can rapidly become active, and its eruption can pose a previously unknown threat to the surrounding area. New research by Hungarian scientists is helping to reveal the signs before such a volcano erupts.
Can a volcano erupt after tens of thousands of years of dormancy? If so, how can this be explained and what makes volcanic eruptions more dangerous?

These are key questions in volcanic hazard assessment and can also draw attention to volcanoes that appear to be inactive. Even in a quiet, dormant phase, a volcano can rapidly become active, and its eruption can pose a previously unknown threat to the surrounding area. New research by Hungarian scientists is helping to reveal the signs before such a volcano erupts.

A team from the ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, and the HUN-REN-ELTE Volcanology Research Group, in cooperation with other scientists from Europe, studied Ciomadul, the youngest volcano in the Carpathian-Pannonian region.

Comment: Indeed there is a plethora of evidence across the disciplines that support this notion: Volcanoes, Earthquakes And The 3,600 Year Comet Cycle

See also: Washington volcano Mount St. Helens is 'recharging', 50 small earthquakes recorded in 1 week

And check out SOTT radio's:


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Eye 2

Best of the Web: US admits Army general regularly traveling to Ukraine in advisory role to Kiev-junta

John Vandiver
Stars and Stripes
Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:28 UTC
Antonio Aguto Jr., center, walks with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and U.S. Army Europe-Africa commander Gen. Darryl Williams
© Volker Ramspott/U.S. ArmySecurity Assistance Group Ukraine commander Lt. Gen. Antonio Aguto Jr., center, walks with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and U.S. Army Europe-Africa commander Gen. Darryl Williams at USAREUR-AF headquarters at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany, on June 14, 2023. Aguto is reportedly spending extensive time in Kyiv as a war adviser, according to a New York Times report.
A three-star U.S. Army general based in Germany is now spending a lot of time in Kyiv, where he is taking a hands-on role in improving the quality of advice the U.S. is giving to Ukraine's military, according to a New York Times report.

Lt. Gen. Antonio Aguto Jr., who leads the military's security assistance initiative for Ukraine from the U.S. Army's European headquarters in Wiesbaden, is being dispatched to the Ukrainian capital on a rotational basis, the newspaper said Monday.

Col. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for U.S. Army Europe and Africa, declined to comment when asked about Aguto's reported travels to Ukraine, citing operational security reasons.

Comment: Back in September, SOTT radio reported: NewsReal: Are Top Western Generals Being Killed in Ukraine?
[...] the notorious neo-Nazi 'Azov Battalion' in May 2022. At the time, Russian-language media cited Russian soldiers on the front-line claiming that they had encountered in the bowels of the 'Azovstal' industrial zone a number of high-level, active-duty, military personnel from the US, Canada, France, the UK and elsewhere in NATO.

[...] the Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyanskiy, in an explosive post on 'X', strongly suggested that THE top general in the French military (at least, until he formally retired in 2010), Jean-Louis Georgelin, along with US Army Major-General Anthony Potts, were among the names of senior Western military figures recently killed 'in the line of duty' while unofficially in Ukraine.
And so it seems that the unofficial direct involvement of Western military staff is now becoming official.


See also: Strategic reflections from Moscow

Seeing the response from Biden, bear in mind that Ukraine has not only lost vast swathes of its most profitable territory, but at least 500,000 men have been killed on the battlefield.

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