CENTCOM chief urges 'broad expansion' of illegal war against Yemen: Report

Washington and London have launched dozens of airstrikes inside Yemen without congressional or parliamentary approval

The commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Michael Erik Kurilla, has urged authorities in Washington to take a more forceful approach against Yemen, saying current efforts to deter the nation’s pro-Palestine operations are “failing.”

In a private letter addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Kurilla calls for a “stepped-up ‘whole of government’ effort against the Houthis, employing economic, diplomatic, and potentially military pressure to discourage attacks on ships in the Red Sea,” according to officials who spoke with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

“Many people found the tone of the memo to be a bit shocking,” a defense official told the US daily, describing Kurilla’s words as implying that “US service members will die if we continue going this way.”

These concerns are also growing in the White House over recent reports that Russia is “considering” providing Yemen with advanced antiship missiles. However, according to Middle East Eye (MEE), the Kremlin was recently dissuaded from making such a move by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS).

News of Kurilla’s letter to Austin coincided with an unprecedented drone strike by the Yemeni Armed Forces that hit the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on 19 July. The advanced Yemeni drone, codenamed “Yafa,” bypassed the combined air defense systems of Israel, the US navy, the UK royal navy, and several EU warships stationed in the Red Sea before hitting a target just meters away from the US consulate building.

“What if the drone had exploded in the heart of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv?” asked Amir Bou Habout on Friday, a military affairs analyst for the Israeli news website Walla. “The drone incident proves that deterrence has collapsed.”

“I don’t think people really understand just kind of how deadly serious it is what we’re doing and how under threat the ships continue to be,” Commander Eric Blomberg with the USS Laboon told AP last month.

Since January, Washington and London have been leading an illegal war against Yemen in a failed attempt to stop the operations in support of Gaza. Despite heavily bombing the country dozens of times, Sanaa has continued to launch attacks on Israeli-linked ships and ports.

https://thecradle.co/articles/centcom-chief-urges-broad-expansion-of-illegal-war-against-yemen-report

Leader of $200 Million Ponzi Scheme Pleads Guilty to Mail and Wire Fraud Conspiracy and Faces 20 Years’ Imprisonment

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/leader-200-million-ponzi-scheme-pleads-guilty-mail-and-wire-fraud-conspiracy-and-faces

ISRAEL LOBBYIST IN HOUSE OF LORDS CLAIMS THOUSANDS OF POUNDS IN PUBLIC MONEY

Lord Polak has said he was urged to ‘stand up for Israel’ in parliament by David Cameron.

A leading lobbyist who described being made a member of House of Lords as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to advocate for Israel is claiming thousands of pounds in public funds for his parliamentary work.

Stuart Polak, who led the Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) for 25 years, has claimed almost a quarter of a million pounds since he was made a peer by then-prime minister David Cameron in 2015, according to analysis of his expenses by Middle East Eye and Declassified UK.

Polak’s expenses as a member of the House of Lords are entirely legitimate. Members do not receive a salary but can claim a non-taxable daily attendance allowance of £361 (£342 prior to April 2024), although they can also choose to claim a reduced allowance or no allowance at all.

But Polak’s place in parliament, and his entitlement to draw on public money while continuing to advocate for Israel, has been called into question at a time when Israeli leaders face accusations of genocide and war crimes over the conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza, during which more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Concerns about CFI’s relationship with the Conservative Party were also raised this week by Alan Duncan, a former foreign office minister who on Tuesday said he had been cleared of antisemitism by a party disciplinary panel and suggested there had been a “witch hunt” against him.

The case against Duncan came after an interview he gave to LBC radio in April, when he said that CFI was “doing the bidding” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He also accused Polak of “exercising the interests of another country, not that of the parliament in which he sits,” and called for him to be removed from the House of Lords.

In a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, Duncan claimed that an improper relationship existed between the CFI and the top of the Conservative Party, and called on the party to “decouple itself” from the lobby group.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said Duncan’s claims about links between the party and CFI were “false and entirely unfounded”.

MEE and Declassified UK approached Lord Polak and CFI for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.

Standing up for Israel

Polak stepped down as the head of CFI to take his place in the UK parliament’s unelected upper house as a Conservative peer in 2015.

But he remains the lobby group’s honorary president and a registered director, and is still considered to be one of the most important pro-Israel voices in Westminster.

Of the 40 questions he has asked since he became a Lord, only seven have not related to Palestine, Israel or the Middle East.

Polak has already made three trips to Israel in the first quarter of this year.

The first trip, in January, was described by CFI as a “special solidarity visit” by Conservative parliamentarians which included a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

The trip was funded by the European Leadership Network (Elnet), which was created to “counter the widespread criticism of Israel”. Elnet has described South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice as “politically motivated and legally tenuous”.

In February, Polak joined a CFI delegation of Conservative parliamentary candidates visiting the country, and in March he was part of a House of Lords delegation which met “Israeli politicians, religious leaders, Palestinian civil society and the British Ambassador to Israel”, according to the House of Lords register of interests.

Polak has made no secret of his determination to use his place in the Lords to continue speaking up for Israel.

https://www.declassifieduk.org/israel-lobbyist-lord-polak-claims-thousands-of-pounds-in-public-money/

Can America Survive When Bolsheviks Rule?

https://helenaglass.net/2024/07/21/can-america-survive-bolshevism-rule/

"CrowdStrike is a CIA/Mossad Asset - and the recent global computer outage was orchestrated as likely a test or Trial aka, Election 2024 disruptions. It was not an update gone awry - it was purposeful. How much disruption could be activated with a singular key stroke. Given computers run the tabulations of ballots, a shutdown would allow the interface of millions of corrupt ballots to suddenly invade the system which when updated would reveal - another Biden historic WIN!"

US Subsidiary Of Chinese EV Manufacturer BYD Donated Hundreds Of Thousands To Democrats

Well you can add this to a list of reasons Democrats just can't seem to stomach Elon Musk any more.

The U.S. subsidiary of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD and its top executive, Stella Li, have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates and organizations over the past decade.

A review of federal and state political spending records by the Daily Caller News Foundation reveals these contributions.

They found that between 2020 and 2023, BYD and Stella Li contributed over $40,000 to the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/us-subsidiary-chinese-ev-manufacturer-byd-donated-hundreds-thousands-democrats

How convenient! Three months out from election…this bullshit narrative gives cover for a whole host of events.

https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1814354970084553064

Aus state media

How Kamala Harris's run for the US presidency has reignited old racist and sexist tropes

Four years ago, when Kamala Harris became US President Joe Biden's running mate, she also became "the most derided woman" in US politics, according to a misinformation study.

The analysis identified Ms Harris, a black and south Asian woman, as a lightning rod for misogyny and racism. On Monday after Mr Biden endorsed her to lead the Democrats, it only took minutes for deeply offensive false narratives about her to resurface.

ABC NEWS Verify has been tracking how old tropes, falsehoods, and misinformation are already being weaponised against the current frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.

Our analysis also provides a preview of how grim the political discourse may yet become.

Kamala Harris, the 'diversity hire'

Few three-letter acronyms ignite controversy like DEI, which stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The term is a basic corporate framework about embracing all aspects of social identity (including race, sex, age, sexual orientation, physical disabilities, and socio-economic class) and promoting fair treatment and equal opportunities.

A Pew Research Center survey from last year showed a majority of US workers believed DEI was a "good thing", with only 16 per cent labelling it as a "bad thing".

But the term has become a racist dog whistle and the bogeyman of the far-right.

The term DEI in relation to Ms Harris on X (formerly Twitter) received renewed interest in the hours after Mr Biden's endorsement. Many among the flurry of posts suggested that Ms Harris was only chosen for her ethnicity and gender.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-23/kamala-harris-us-president-racist-sexist-tropes/104127680

>>21269479

I'm hoping for the Godfather III shooting styled funeral

What date will they announce Biden's death?

23 July for me