Comment: France has been behaving most strangely recently and despite all the problems which France faces domestically, it seems to be happy to distract such issues by picking a fight outside of its borders.

See also:

• France preparing deployment of 1,500 Foreign Legion to Ukraine in April — Russia
• Blow to France: Senegal opposition candidate Faye won 54 percent in presidential vote
• France: Senators call for ban on gender transition for minors, 'one of the greatest ethical scandals in history of medicine'
• France's megalomaniac Macron is gambling with world peace
• Incurable affliction of the nervous system? France all dressed up and nowhere to go

Comment:

1) Perhaps the retirement of Victoria Nuland was due to health reasons. Apart from ageing, she might have lost health since she handed out cookies in Ukraine around 2014. If that is the case, spinning stories around her departure giving other reasons could become a wild goose chase, without excluding the possibility that using this explanation as a prop in another explanation may serendipitously lead to correct ideas.

2) It is often helpful to review what has already been published and suggested, when considering alternative explanations. Below is a list of articles found by searching for articles that either include Crocus in the title or the summary. The older articles are last.

• Moscow launches probe into Crocus City fire safety staff
• The Mechanism: how the 'order' based on made-up rules is descending into savagery
• US claims its warning to Russia named Crocus Concert Hall
• Why is NATO's, Neo-Nazi junta's cover-up for terrorist attacks in Russia so sloppy?
• Russian intelligence official: 'US shielding itself by whitewashing Kiev role in Moscow terror attack'
• Putin warns Moscow terror attack mastermind: 'We will get them'
• Oh say can you see?
• US seeking to distort facts about Moscow terror attack - intelligence report
• Reuters reports Iran tipped Russia off about 'terrorist operation' ahead of attack, but Kremlin says it was not aware of any such warning
• Council of Europe's silence on Crocus terrorist attack 'shameful' - Moscow
• West behaving 'suspiciously' over Moscow terror attack claims - Lavrov
• Moscow terror attack planned and paid for by Kiev - MEP
• Terror mastermind told attack suspects to flee to Kiev - investigators
• Another suspect arrested in connection with Moscow terrorist attack
• Foreign state 'obviously' supported Moscow terror attack - Erdogan aide
• Ukrainian and western intelligence services certainly involved in Moscow concert hall attack
• The Moscow Crocus City Hall attack: A preliminary view
• New alliances - Another African leader talks Sahel security with Putin The African leader condemns the attack, but don't you think they are told what evidence has surfaced?
• View from India: The US is determined to destabilise Russia
• Korybko: Putin and Patriarch Kirill remind Russians that ethno-religious hate speech is unacceptable
• Best of the Web: Link between Crocus terrorists & Ukraine found - Russian Investigative Committee
• The Crocus Mall slaughter, Who did it?
• Best of the Web: Alastair Crooke: The Crocus concert hall atrocity: No going back
• True North
• Ukrainian 'Caliphate': What the West prefers not to notice when blaming ISIS for the terrorist attack in Moscow
• US 'exposed' itself over Moscow terror attack - Foreign Ministry
• President Putin calls for 'humanism and mercy' after Moscow terror attack
• Moscow slams 'mother of all fakes'
• 'Radical Islamists' carried out Moscow terror attack - Putin
• 'The Moscow terror attack was an inside job!' The strange and twisted world of the West's political and media Russia haters
• Moscow attack reminds us of the links between Islamists and Kiev's fundamentalist nationalists
• The Nuland - Budanov - Tajik - Crocus connection
• Dmitry Trenin: The American explanation for the Moscow terror attack doesn't add up
• 'Kill them all' - Medvedev enraged by Moscow terror attack
• West lying about Moscow terrorist attack - British MP Galloway
• Ukrainian bar mocks deadly Moscow concert hall attack
• Türkiye arrests 14 terrorist suspects, confirm Crocus attackers recent visit, asks why 'ISIS' attacks US-rivals Russia, Iran
• Shadows and Ashes: The Crocus City Hall massacre and the covert war's phantom menace ISIS, cui bono?
• US destroyed anti-terrorism cooperation - Moscow
• Suspects behind Moscow terrorist attack: What is known so far
• It's War: The real meat grinder starts now
• Best of the Web: Mass shooting and explosion reported at concert hall near Moscow leaves dozens killed and wounded

3) ISIS-Khorosan
From the article:

US government-tied media reports within little more than an hour that the Crocus City Hall attack was carried out exclusively by ISIS-Khorosan

Khorosan is in Central Asia, the Wiki has:

Greater Khorāsān^[2] or Khorāsān or Khurāsān [...] is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau between West and Central Asia that encompasses western Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, the eastern halves of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, and portions of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

About this region one finds these article, the oldest first:

• Central Asian states have become a 'terrorist breeding ground' (2017)
• Russian and Chinese intelligence: ISIS will start invasion to Central Asia with US support (May 2018)
• How did Washington become so wrapped up in Central Asia (Aug 2018) which has

Central Asia has traditionally been regarded by Washington as "Russia's soft underbelly", since it's a common belief within American think tanks that by establishing control over this region the US will be capable of subjecting the whole of Eurasia to its will, which means that American hegemony should remain uncontested.

• Uzbekistan is the key to Russia's counter terrorism strategy in Central Asia (Oct 2018)
• Lavrov: ISIS is attempting to turn Afghanistan into its base of operations in Central Asia (Nov 2018)
• The struggle for Uzbekistan: A key component of Washington's Central Asia pivot? (Mar 2019)
• Pakistani PM Imran Khan: Peace with Pakistan will give India direct access to Central Asia (Mar 2021, we now know that Imran Khan was taken out by CIA/US interests.) Before continuing the with links, it is worth noting, that the US left Afghanistan at the end of August 2021:
• EU trying to shut its borders to Afghan refugees & instead direct them to poor ex-Soviet states in Central Asia, Russia claims (Sep 2021)
• NATO in Central Asia 'unacceptable' - Russia (Mar 2022)
• Plots and counter-plots: Western skulduggery to realign Central Asia (Apr 2022)
• Central Asia: The prime battlefield in the New Great Game (Aug 2023)

Given the above situation in Central Asia, when US media within and hour frame ISIS-Khorosan, what are the implications?

For other articles by Gordon M. Hahn see these.
There are also two interviews:
MindMatters: Why Is Russia Like That? 400 Years of Russian Security Culture, with Gordon M. Hahn
The Truth Perspective: Interview with Gordon M. Hahn: Revolution, regime change and jihad

The Crocus as a symbol
Taking a different perspective, the Crocus is in northern latitudes a flower associated with the beginning of Spring, the departure of Winter. There could be a symbolic component to killing and burning at the Crocus City Hall. If that view is dark, there is another, since Saffron, which comes from the Crocus plant is a well known herbal medicine. In Saffron: Very expensive but highly therapeutic, one finds:

While the crocus (Crocus sativus) is loved and appreciated as a colorful harbinger of spring, its mythic fame and power come from its vibrant saffron fronds or threads.
[...]
Documents going back to Hippocrates reveal the use of saffron as a treatment in more than 90 illnesses over 4,000 years. During the Black Death demand for medicinal saffron skyrocketed. This exotic spice has been used for coughs, colds, stomach ailments, insomnia, uterine bleeding, scarlet fever, heart trouble, and flatulence.

Is it all just myth?

No. Modern research backs up the wisdom of the ancients. Saffron has been shown to modulate at least 22 biological pathways. Here are just a few of the proven curative benefits of saffron.

Another article, Saffron Could Save Your Eyesight has:

A recent study conducted by researchers from both Sydney University and the University of L'Aquila in Italy have found that saffron, one of the world's most valuable spices, helps to protect eyes from being damaged by harmful UV rays. The herb also helps to slow the progression of eye diseases like macular degeneration, which causes blindness.

Collected by hand from the deep red stamens of the saffron crocus, the saffron spice is worth up to $800 per pound depending on its quality. It is used in a variety of applications including as a food spice, a coloring agent, and a treatment for disease. Some 90 illnesses, and counting, can be treated with saffron.

It seems that there is more to the Crocus City Hall attack than meets the eye. The lessons that can be learned may eventually save.

Comment: Although this analysis by Electronic Intifada panelists is two months old, the conclusions match up with Israel's current actions (some graphic content)

Palestinian resistance keeps up the pressure, with Jon Elmer

Comment: Commentary and updates on the story:

BRAZIL IS ON THE BRINK

I'm reporting to you from Brazil, where a dramatic series of events are underway.

At 5:52 pm Eastern Time, today, April 6, 2024, X corporation, formerly known as Twitter, announced that a Brazilian court had forced it to "block certain popular accounts in Brazil."

Then, less than one hour later, the owner of X, @ElonMusk announced that X would defy the court's order, and lift all restrictions.

"As a result," said Musk, "we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit."

At any moment, Brazil's Supreme Court could shut off all access to X/Twitter for the people of Brazil.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Brazil is on the brink of dictatorship at the hands of a totalitarian Supreme Court Justice named Alexandre de Moraes.

President Lula da Silva is participating in the push toward totalitarianism. Since taking office, Lula has massively increased government funding of the mainstream news media, most of which are encouraging increased censorship.

However: Brazil's Lula compares Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza to Hitler's murder of the Jews

What Lula and de Moraes are doing is an outrageous violation of Brazil's constitution and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

At this moment, Brazil is not yet a dictatorship. It still has elections and the Brazilian people have other means at their disposal to confront authoritarianism.

But the Federal Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court are directly interfere in those elections through censorship.

Three days ago I published the Twitter Files for Brazil. They show that Moraes has violated the Brazilian Constitution. Moraes illegally demanded that Twitter reveal private information about Twitter users who used hashtags he considered inappropriate. He demanded access to Twitter's internal data, violating the platform's policy. He censored, on his own initiative and without any respect for due process, posts on Twitter by parliamentarians from the Brazilian Congress. And Moraes tried to turn Twitter's content moderation policies into a weapon against supporters of then-president Jair Bolsonaro.

I say this as an independent and non-partisan journalist. I'm not a fan of either Bolsonaro or Trump. My political views are very moderate. But I know censorship when I see it.

The Twitter Files also revealed that Google, Facebook, Uber, WhatsApp and Instagram betrayed the people of Brazil. If such evidence is proven, the executives of these companies behaved like cowards: they provided the Brazilian government with personal registration data and telephone numbers without a court order and, therefore, violating the law.

When Twitter refused to provide Brazilian authorities with private user information, including direct messages, the government attempted to sue Twitter's top Brazilian lawyer.

When I lived in Brazil in 1992, I was very left-wing. At the time, Lula and the PT's slogans were "Without fear of being happy".

In recent days, I have spoken to dozens of Brazilians, including professors, journalists and respected lawyers. Everyone tells me they are shocked by what is happening. They told me that they are afraid to speak their mind and that the Lula government is complicit in creating this climate of fear.

Brazil belongs to the Brazilians. It is not my country. As such, there are limits to what I am capable of doing.

But I can say things that many Brazilians do not feel safe saying: Alexandre de Moraes is a tyrant. And the only way to deal with tyrants is to confront them. It is up to Brazil's senators to confront the tyrant. And it is up to the people of Brazil to demand that their senators do so.

Comment: It can not be overstated the importance of understanding ponerology and thus to understand how we got where we are and to make sure to have the psychological knowledge to ensure that a new structure does not repeat the same process of ponerization.

Read it today:

Comment: After the derailed negotiations in Istanbul in March 2022, Zelensky has stuck to a script his sponsors would agree to. And what is the outlook for peace?

EU's Borrell admits EU, US 'can't afford for Russia to win Ukraine war', our 'interests will be damaged'
Existential angst of the multipolar world: West cannot let Russia win says Macron
Best of the Web: Dugin: Russia needs to win Ukraine war to birth multipolar world - US needs to win Ukraine war to maintain unipolar world
Best of the Web: A war Russia is set to win: The Europeans have been nicely played by the Americans - Former ambassador for India
When the secretaries of Defense and State said publicly the U.S. wants Ukraine to win and weaken Russia, Biden said tone it down
Moscow: NATO is an US tool to confront Russia in Europe and in that perspective, US has now got their vassals to fund and man the continuation of the conflict:
UK, German officials are latest in Europe calling for conscription 'in the event of war'
Best of the Web: France preparing deployment of 1,500 Foreign Legion to Ukraine in April — Russia
US Secretary of State Blinken says Ukraine WILL be NATO member
US claims its warning to Russia named Crocus Concert Hall
Why is NATO's, Neo-Nazi junta's cover-up for terrorist attacks in Russia so sloppy?

However, the question is - why is it all so sloppy and too obvious? If analysts and journalists noticed all this so easily, Russian intelligence and state services certainly know far more. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently pointed out this hypocrisy, referring to the offer by so-called "international institutions" to supposedly "help" with the investigation regarding the latest terrorist attack, but ignored similar Russian requests regarding the Nord Stream sabotage. It should be noted that this terrorist attack was also previously announced by the US, which pledged to ensure that the pipeline becomes "a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea". In other words, the true terrorists aren't even bothering to hide anymore (and haven't been for quite some time now).

All this clearly indicates that NATO wants war with Russia. It recently sent French President Emmanuel Macron to test this with pompous announcements of direct involvement. However, as most of Europe said it won't take part in this madness, NATO now needs a way to push Russia to attack first. The only way to do so is to provoke a reaction, which is why the world's most aggressive military cartel organized the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall. In that way, NATO is pushing Russia to retaliate and then present it as the "aggressor", giving the political West a perfect pretext to wage a "defensive war". That's the only way to ensure the participation of the entire (or at least most of) NATO. However, once the Pandora's Box is opened, there won't be going back.

It is to be seen if we will have more war or more peace.

Comment: Good to see signs of resistance from the people against the rule from Brussels and NATO.

See also:

• Slovakia's PM Fico: Ukraine's 'rampant neo-Nazis' were cause of war, Kiev NATO membership is attempt to start WWIII
• Slovakia implements criminal law reforms to the ire of eurocrats in Brussels
• Slovakia warns EU it will block 12th sanctions package if it includes nuclear fuel supplies
• Slovakia on brink of blocking legal recognition for trans people