Ministers were accused of a cover-up last night after it was revealed that soldiers did secretly spy on British critics of the Government's response to Covid.

The release of new documents contradict official assertions that a shadowy Army unit had only been monitoring foreign powers.

The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this year that military operatives in the UK's 'information warfare' brigade were part of a sinister scheme to keep a close eye on politicians and high-profile journalists who raised doubts about the pandemic response.

For most people, it's difficult to imagine much of what's happening today. And this is why so many seem in the dark about what we should do to alleviate our problems. Looking at the situation in which a proxy is being waged on Russia from Ukraine, nothing seems to add up. The same is true for the genocide now going on in Gaza. And when we superimpose problems like curing cancer and other diseases, environmental problems, and failing economies, the only thing we can see is that our leaders have failed miserably at prioritising. It's also obvious that we, the people, are the farthest thing from their minds.

Regarding visualisation, there's no bigger confusion than grasping just how much money the Western powers are shovelling into the war against Russia. So far, something like $233 billion has been donated to Ukraine. The top donors are the EU($90B) and the United States ($73B). Interestingly, most of the EU funding has been aimed at financial aid, while the US donates are mostly military aid. Neither the EU nor the US spent much on humanitarian aid, at least not by comparison. But then, humanitarian money does not go into the pockets of the elites, now does it? The arms companies and financial institutions seem to be leveraging this Ukraine mess for a return on assets. But that's another story. Now, I'd like to compare spending on Ukrainian and Israeli wars against efforts that do help human beings.

Let's look at one of humanity's most dreaded killers: cancer. In total, global oncology spending in 2022 was $193 billion. The numbers are far more telling in key research, where funding often comes from philanthropy. The Lancet reported recently that some 66,388 awards with a total investment of about $24.5 funded research for 2016-20. And now these figures have nosedived. In 2020, there were 19.3 million cases and 10 million deaths from the dreaded disease.

If we look at how many people are starving on our planet, it's appalling to think of billions thrown away on unwinnable wars for the sake of selling weapons. In 2021, U.N. World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley said it would take an estimated $40 billion annually to end world hunger by 2030. Let's think about that for a moment. Each day, 25,000 people, including more than 10,000 children, die from hunger and related causes. Envision the lost potential of all those children perishing, if you can. Beasley went on to etch the situation in stone with this statement:

"There is 400 trillion dollars' worth of wealth on the earth today, and the fact that 9 million people die from hunger every year... Shame on us. In the height of COVID, billionaires' net worth increase was $5.2 billion per day. At the same time, 24,000 people die per day from hunger. Shame on us. Every hour, the net worth of billionaires during the height of COVID was a substantial $216 million per hour. Yet 1000 people per hour were dying from hunger... Shame on us."

Syria's ally Russia on Monday (Nov 27) condemned Israeli air strikes on Damascus International Airport, describing them as provocative and dangerous.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday's strikes could aggravate tensions in the region, already inflamed by the Gaza war.

"We strongly condemn Israel's latest provocative attack on an important Syrian civilian infrastructure facility," Zakharova said in a statement.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government is "completely helpless," head of Bavaria Markus Soeder says

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his cabinet have led Germany into a "serious national crisis," Markus Soeder, the prime minister of the nation's most populous state, Bavaria, told journalists on Saturday. Berlin can now hardly find a way out of this predicament, the politician warned, adding that the government's "budget emergency" would likely turn into another burden for ordinary Germans.

Israel has been unable to achieve any meaningful victories against the Palestinian militants...

After repeatedly rejecting a truce with Hamas and labeling the idea "ridiculous", Israel agreed to a four-day cessation of hostilities in Gaza and a prisoner exchange. Six weeks of death and destruction, which Israeli and Western leaders declared should have led to the destruction of Hamas, have now bolstered the Palestinian movement's image throughout the Arab world and beyond.

The four-day truce that was implemented this Friday provided a sigh of relief for those most affected by the war in the Gaza Strip, but has in many ways spelled disaster for the Israeli government. As women and children, held captive by both Hamas and Israel, are being reunited with their families, the threat of further warfare looms. Although the loved ones of those released are now celebrating, the next steps will be crucial in determining the final outcomes of the 46-day battle that has now been placed on pause. At this time, it appears that the idea that "Hamas must go" is no more than a pipe dream.

On October 27, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to the sound of overwhelming applause, calling for a truce to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip. Although the non-binding resolution passed with a majority of 120 votes in favour, Israel and the United States outright rejected it. Tabled by Arab nations, the call for a truce was labeled as a "defense of Nazi terrorists" by Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the UN. This came after Hamas released four Israeli civilian hostages without conditions, for what the group said were humanitarian reasons.

Israel raging at Hamas for killing Israelis is like a man raging at his shadow for darkening his floor. It's maddening to see grown adults acting like Hamas are these foreign invaders who attacked Israelis out of the blue because of a hatred for Jewish people, like they're internet-radicalized neo-Nazis from eastern Europe or something.

Hamas attacked Israel because Israel is a murderous and tyrannical apartheid regime who butchers children and makes lives miserable for the Palestinian people. The violence on October 7 was the echo of the violence Israel has been inflicting on Palestinians for generations. Only a fool gets angry at his echo for talking back to him.

Israel has done more to damage Israel's image in the last seven weeks than anti-semites did in the last seven decades.

If you've ever wondered why society's most famous and influential voices all have dogshit status quo politics, just look at the current purge of pro-Palestine actors in Hollywood. If your own elite class interests and having loyalty to your rich friends isn't enough to keep you supporting the empire's information interests, you'll just get thrown out.

The influence which comes with celebrity status means you'll become a threat to the establishment power structure if you start sharing ideas and information which go against its interests. That's why there are so many safeguards in place to prevent that from happening. If you're forcefully critical of US foreign policy you won't be permitted to rise to celebrity status by the Hollywood gatekeepers who are responsible for US cultural hegemony and propaganda, and if you manage to sneak past the gatekeepers they'll throw you right out on your ass when you make it clear you're not a trustworthy empire loyalist.

Ukraine and its Western backers have already lost the conflict with Russia, former Pentagon adviser Douglas Macgregor claimed on Friday. The retired US Army colonel and decorated veteran urged Washington and Kiev to enter peace negotiations with Moscow as soon as possible.

Macgregor's comments came at a time of depleting Pentagon funds available for Ukraine, after President Joe Biden's administration failed to push a $105 billion spending package through Congress, a significant part of which was supposed to go to Kiev. The president was forced to sign a stopgap spending bill instead, which only included funding for domestic government agencies.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Macgregor claimed the US has "sent almost all of our war stocks, weapons systems and ammunition to Ukraine," adding that Washington does not "have a great deal left."

"The war in Ukraine is lost," he concluded, calling on the "fools" to "Make Peace."

One of the most enduring lessons of American history is that the banning of liquor sales and consumption ("the noble experiment") was a colossal failure. Drinking didn't go down much, but the profits ended up going not to legitimate businesses but bootleggers and the mob, while the murder rate soared to all-time highs in American history. It was the policy that made America's most famous gangster, Al Capone, famous -- and rich.

I was reminded of this when I saw recently that the Biden administration's Food and Drug Administration wants to ban menthol cigarettes. Menthol flavorings account for approximately 37% of cigarette sales. That demand will not disappear but it will be driven underground, creating more significant risks to consumers.

Ninety years after the failure of Prohibition, we are going to try it again with smokers. Ironically, many of the same liberals who campaigned for three decades for the legalization of marijuana and other soft drugs (something I generally support) now want to effectively ban smoking.

By easing virtually all limits on Israel's use of the stockpile, Biden could undercut U.S. military preparedness and congressional oversight.

The White House has requested the removal of restrictions on all categories of weapons and ammunition Israel is allowed to access from U.S. weapons stockpiles stored in Israel itself.

The move to lift restrictions was included in the White House's supplemental budget request, sent to the Senate on October 20. "This request would," the proposed budget says, "allow for the transfer of all categories of defense articles."

The request pertains to little-known weapons stockpiles in Israel that the Pentagon established for use in regional conflicts, but which Israel has been permitted to access in limited circumstances — the very limits President Joe Biden is seeking to remove.

This past week saw election victories for 'right-wing populists' in two Western countries, a premeditated mass stabbing by a Muslim migrant in Ireland which prompted a 'far-right' riot, and ongoing genocide in Gaza bringing the death toll to 20,000 Palestinians. On this NewsReal, Joe and Niall provide context for the worst rioting seen in Ireland's capital in a generation, note the obnoxiously pro-Israel stances of Argentina's new leader Javier Milei, and the Netherlands' (likely) new leader, Geert Wilders, and ponder what next for the 'final solution' in Palestine...


Running Time: 01:50:42

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