Egypt's atrophy could revive the Brotherhood

The unprecedented political, economic, and social crises in Egypt may trigger a resurgence of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has historically filled gaps the state cannot meet.

On the morning of 4 March, the State Security Criminal Court in Egypt sentenced the Muslim Brotherhood's supreme guide Mohammed Badie to death, along with seven of the outlawed group's leaders (Mahmoud Ezzat, Mohamed el-Beltagy, Amr Zaki, Osama Yassin, Safwa Hegazy, Assem Abdel Maged, and Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud) for organizing acts of violence eleven years ago in the so-called 'Platform Events' case.

The case traces back to 2013, days after the Egyptian military ousted the late Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Mursi in a Saudi–UAE-backed coup.

Technically, this ruling marked 80-year-old Badie's third encounter with a death sentence following the infamous "Rabaa Operations Room" case in 2015.

Yet, beyond notions of 'justice,' a deeper narrative unfurls – one laden with political gravitas. The court's ruling wasn't solely about holding individuals accountable for past transgressions; it was a strategic move by the Egyptian state.

Ticking time bomb

The government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is fearful of the impending social upheaval anticipated as a result of the state's faltering economy, flawed fiscal policies, decline in Arab world clout, and Egypt's impotence in the face of Israel's ethnic cleansing of Gaza – all ingredients for a potential powder keg primed to detonate.

Commentators suggest the next explosion could be of an unprecedented scale, eclipsing the Bread Intifada of 1977 and the 25 January revolution of 2011.

He recalled the role of the Brotherhood in the 1948 War, and then the effects of the Nakba on Egypt and the policies of the state, aimed at eradicating the popular Islamic social and political movement since the fifties:

We don't care if we are sentenced to death and imprisonment. Palestine is our first cause and the cause of the Arab and Islamic nation. Mr Judge, this is the root of the case. We are imprisoned until the deal of the century is completed.

Regardless of the accuracy of Badie's supra-temporal statement, it remains undeniable that the events unfolding in Palestine today are likely to cast a shadow on Cairo in the coming years, depending on which way the Egyptian authorities approach Gaza. The potent repercussions of a wrong move weigh heavily on Egypt's authorities.

State v Religion

In this context, it is worth reflecting on Roger Caillois' discussion in "Man and the Sacred" on the disparity between the state's temporal perspective and the religious perception of time.

A state typically adheres to an objective, temporal, and often linear vision, whereas religious frameworks usually embrace a "supra-temporal" perspective intertwined with a historical understanding – in which, given time, popular struggles will eventually outmaneuver a failed authority.

https://thecradle.co/articles/egypts-atrophy-could-revive-the-brotherhood

>>20620504

>Also in Russia to my knowledge GMO food is banned.

Confirmed

Russia has banned the import and cultivation of genetically modified crops and animals, except for scientific research purposes. The ban was signed into law in 2016 , following the Food Security Doctrine of 2020. Russia has also imposed heavy fines and penalties for unauthorized use of GMOs, and has funded research on gene-edited foods within its borders. The ban reflects Russia's negative attitude toward GMOs.

This Is Not ISIS - Rossiya Segodnya Editor-in-Chief on Moscow Concert Hall Attack

Ukraine and the West have resorted to false flag operations to persuade everyone that ISIS* was behind the terror attack in the Crocus City Hall concert venue near Moscow, said Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Sputnik's parent media group Rossiya Segodnya.

The head of the media group stressed that the names and faces of the perpetrators are already known to authorities and that the terrorists gave everything away during interrogation.

“It immediately became obvious why US media were claiming in unison that it was ISIS," she said.

Simonyan explained that the perpetrators were chosen to carry out the attack in a manner that would allow the West to persuade the international community that ISIS was behind the attack.

“Basic sleight of hand. The level of a railway thimble-rigger," she added." It has nothing to do with ISIS. It's Ukrainians."

She added that the enthusiasm displayed by Western media when they tried to persuade everyone that ISIS was responsible even before arrests were made gave them away completely.

“This is not ISIS. This is a well-coordinated team of several other, also widely known, abbreviations," Simonyan concluded.

The shooting occurred on Friday evening in the Crocus City Hall concert venue just outside Moscow and was followed by a massive fire, claiming at least 143 lives.

In the hours following the attack, Western media insisted that radical jihadist organization ISIS was behind it, while Ukrainian officials also said that they had nothing to do with the tragedy.

However, suspects were detained in Russia's Bryansk region near Ukrainian border. According to the data provided by law enforcing agencies, they had a support base on the other side of the border.

Moreover, while Kiev rushed to deny its involvement into the shooting, Ukrainian secret services have a long track record of terror attacks on Russian territory, from shelling in the Belgorod region to assassinations of political scientist Daria Dugina and journalist Vladlen Tatarsky.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240323/this-is-not-isis—rossiya-segodnya-editor-in-chief-on-moscow-concert-hall-attack-1117508480.html

>>20620567

God is not saying that to you asshole!

US bails Ukraine out after Moscow attack, covering Zelensky with ISIS — diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that a number of factors directly and indirectly indicate the US authorities’ involvement in sponsoring the Ukrainian terrorism

After the Crocus City Hall attack, the US tries to bail Ukraine out by mentioning the Islamic State (IS, ISIS) terror group, outlawed in Russia, and to cover itself and the Zelensky regime it created, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an article for kp.ru.

"The American political engineers cornered themselves with their tales that the Crocus City Hall attack was carried out by the ISIS terror group," the diplomat noted. "Hence Washington’s daily bailing out of its wards in Kiev, and the attempt to cover itself and the Zelensky regime they created with the scarecrow of the outlawed ISIS."

Zakharova noted that a number of factors directly and indirectly indicate the US authorities’ involvement in sponsoring the Ukrainian terrorism.

"Billions of dollar and an unprecedented amount of weapons, invested without accountability and with use of corruption schemes into the Kiev regime, the aggressive rhetoric regarding Russia, the rabid nationalism, the ban for peace talks on Ukraine, the endless calls for a force resolution of the conflict, the refusal to condemn the years-long terror attacks, carried out by the Kiev regime, and the massive informational and political support of any, even the most atrocious actions of Zelensky," she listed.

The spokeswoman also noted that previously, the US intervention in Middle Eastern affairs has led to the emergence, strengthening and institutionalization of a number of radical and terrorist groups that remain active in the region even today.

"What is the logic, you may ask? Money and power. And, considering the international legal ban on direct interventions, it is also about sowing a ‘controlled chaos’ and reshaping the world order by the hands of terrorists," she continued. "Attention, a question for the White House: are you sure it was ISIS, won’t you change your mind later?".

https://tass.com/world/1765181

>>20620647

kek

Willis Vs Willis: Fulton County District Attorney Goes Head-to-Head With Her Prior Self In Trump Case

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has finally broken her silence with CNN.

Willis insisted that she has done nothing wrong while declaring that “the train is coming” for Donald Trump.

On this occasion, CNN can be excused for not having an opposing view. Willis circa 2020 denounced Willis circa 2024.

Willis told a CNN reporter “I don’t feel like my reputation needs to be reclaimed. I guess my greatest crime is I had a relationship with a man, that’s not something I find embarrassing in any way. And I know that I have not done anything that’s illegal.”

The most obvious person to interview in rebuttal of that statement is Willis’s 2020 self. After all, she repeatedly declared that she would not have any romantic relationship with those in her office.

Willis ran against her former boss Paul Howard, who was embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal involving his relationship with women in his office.

Willis offered both experience and ethical leadership, including pledging repeatedly that “I will certainly not be choosing to date people that work under me.”

When confronted with this repeated campaign promise on the stand, Willis came up with a perfectly bizarre spin about Nathan Wade being literally “special” as a special prosecutor. While she hired him, supervised him, and controlled his continued employment with the office, she tried to suggest that he was not really part of the office in the same sense.

Willis notably stressed that she did nothing “illegal.” She did not address whether she acted unethically.

The court itself denounced her for unprofessional conduct in this controversy, including her speech at a church suggesting that racism was behind these allegations.

Moreover, it may be too early to tell if she is entirely free of criminal allegations. Many believe that both she and Wade gave knowingly false or misleading testimony.

That is a problem not just for them as individuals but for the office in this case.

Willis and Wade were both prosecuting people for the very same conduct of filing false statements with courts and making false statements. The two lawyers testified in tandem but only one was disqualified.

While the Court casts doubt on Wade’s testimony on the relationship, it ignored that Willis effectively ratified those claims in her own testimony.

Putting aside the pledge of a train coming for Trump, there is the problem that there are usually two tracks and another train may be coming for Willis as the state (and potentially the bar) looks into these allegations.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/willis-vs-willis-fulton-county-district-attorney-goes-head-head-her-prior-self-trump-case

>>20620679

>>20620679

The World's Top 50 Largest Banks By Consolidated Assets

Chinese Banks Keep on Growing

According to S&P, the four largest Chinese banks grew their assets by 4.1% in 2022, reaching a combined total of $19.8 trillion.

In fact, Chinese banks already account for over a third of the assets held by the largest banks on the planet. Four of the 15 biggest companies in China are banks.

Rank Bank Headquarters Total Assets

1 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 🇨🇳 China $5.7T

2 China Construction Bank Corp 🇨🇳 China $5.0T

3 Agricultural Bank of China 🇨🇳 China $4.9T

4 Bank of China 🇨🇳 China $4.2T

5 JPMorgan Chase & Co. 🇺🇸 US $3.7T

6 Bank of America 🇺🇸 US $3.1T

7 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 🇯🇵 Japan $3.0T

8 HSBC Holdings 🇬🇧 UK $2.9T

9 BNP Paribas 🇫🇷 France $2.9T

10 Crédit Agricole Group 🇫🇷 France $2.5T

11 Citigroup 🇺🇸 US $2.4T

12 Postal Savings Bank of China 🇨🇳 China $2.0T

13 Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group 🇯🇵 Japan $2.0T

14 Mizuho Financial Group 🇯🇵 Japan $1.9T

15 Bank of Communications 🇨🇳 China $1.9T

16 Wells Fargo & Co. 🇺🇸 US $1.9T

17 Banco Santander 🇪🇸 Spain $1.9T

18 Barclays PLC 🇬🇧 UK $1.8T

19 JAPAN POST BANK 🇯🇵 Japan $1.7T

20 UBS Group 🇨🇭 Switzerland $1.7T

21 Groupe BPCE 🇫🇷 France $1.6T

22 Société Générale 🇫🇷 France $1.6T

23 Royal Bank of Canada 🇨🇦 Canada $1.5T

24 The Toronto-Dominion Bank 🇨🇦 Canada $1.5T

25 China Merchants Bank 🇨🇳 China $1.5T

26 Goldman Sachs Group 🇺🇸 US $1.4T

27 Deutsche Bank 🇩🇪 Germany $1.4T

28 Industrial Bank 🇨🇳 China $1.3T

29 China CITIC Bank International 🇨🇳 China $1.2T

30 Shanghai Pudong Development Bank 🇨🇳 China $1.2T

31 Morgan Stanley 🇺🇸 US $1.2T

32 Crédit Mutuel 🇫🇷 France $1.2T

33 Lloyds Banking Group 🇬🇧 UK $1.1T

34 China Minsheng Banking 🇨🇳 China $1.1T

35 Intesa Sanpaolo 🇮🇹 Italy $1.0T

36 ING Groep 🇳🇱 Netherlands $1.0T

37 The Bank of Nova Scotia 🇨🇦 Canada $1.0T

38 UniCredit 🇮🇹 Italy $917B

39 China Everbright Bank 🇨🇳 China $913B

40 NatWest Group 🇬🇧 UK $868B

41 Bank of Montreal 🇨🇦 Canada $859B

42 Commonwealth Bank of Australia 🇦🇺 Australia $837B

43 Standard Chartered 🇬🇧 UK $820B

44 La Banque Postale 🇫🇷 France $797B

45 Ping An Bank 🇨🇳 China $772B

46 Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria 🇪🇸 Spain $762B

47 The Norinchukin Bank 🇯🇵 Japan $753B

48 State Bank of India 🇮🇳 India $695B

49 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce 🇨🇦 Canada $691B

50 National Australia Bank 🇦🇺 Australia $680B

The Chinese financial market is followed by the American market on our list, with six U.S. banks combining for $13.7 trillion in assets.

The top 10 on the list include four Chinese banks, two American institutions, two French, one Japanese, and one British.

The biggest climber on our rank was Swiss UBS Group AG. The bank surged to 20th place from 34th in 2021. Its $1.6 trillion asset size has been adjusted to incorporate troubled Credit Suisse Group AG, which UBS agreed to take over in an emergency deal orchestrated by the Swiss authorities in March 2023.

Assets held by the 100 largest banks totaled $111.97 trillion in 2022, down 1.5% from $113.67 trillion a year earlier. Some of the reasons include high inflation, interest rate hikes, and the Russia-Ukraine war, which dampened global economic growth and investor sentiment.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/worlds-top-50-largest-banks-consolidated-assets