UN rapporteur: Tech firms and corporations profiting from Israeli 'economy of genocide'

Francesca Albanese's call for action comes in a scathing new report in which she names over 60 companies, including major technology firms like Google, Amazon and Microsoft, alleging their involvement in what she calls "the transformation of Israel's economy of occupation to an economy of genocide".

"By shedding light on the political economy of an occupation turned genocidal, the report reveals how the forever-occupation has become the ideal testing ground for arms manufacturers and Big Tech . . . while investors and private and public institutions profit freely," Albanese writes in the report.

"Too many influential corporate entities remain inextricably financially bound to Israel’s apartheid and militarism."

The detailed, 24-page report, which is set to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, identifies dozens of corporate actors, including those involved in the arms, technology, construction and energy sectors, which it says are complicit.

They range from companies which the report says are destroying Palestinian life, including weapons companies Elbit Systems and Lockheed Martin, to heavy equipment manufacturers whose machinery is used in building illegal Israeli settlements, such as Caterpillar and HD Hyundai.

'Unique testing ground'

The report also focuses on the historic and current role of technology companies which it says have profitted from "the unique testing ground" of the occupied territories, highlighting how the repression of Palestinians has "become progressively automated".

In October 2023, when Israel's internal military cloud overloaded, Microsoft Azure and the Project Nimbus Consortium, run by Google and Amazon, "stepped in with critical cloud and AI infrastructure", the report says.

The report also focuses on AI systems that have been developed by the Israeli military to process and generate targets during the war on Gaza, pointing to the collaboration between Palantir Technology Inc and Israel which predates October 2023.

"There are reasonable grounds to believe Palantir has provided automatic predictive policing technology, core defence infrastructure for rapid and scaled-up construction and deployment of military software, and its Artificial Intelligence Platform, which allows real-time battlefield data integration for automated decision making," the report said.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/un-israel-corporations-economy-genocide-report-reveals

Meta’s banning of two anti-Zionist comedians from Instagram is the latest example of Big Tech’s deep anti-Palestinian bias

The Instagram account of a well known anti-Zionist Jewish comedian was deleted after Meta's Public Policy Director for Israel and the Jewish Diaspora viewed one of his stories. This is just one example of the anti-Palestinian bias across Big Tech.

On Tuesday, May 27, 2025, Meta permanently deleted the Instagram account of anti-Zionist Jewish comedian Michael Schirtzer. According to Schirtzer, who provided screenshots to Mondoweiss for verification, the takedown happened after one of his stories was viewed by Jordana Cutler, Meta’s Public Policy Director for Israel and the Jewish Diaspora.

The video in question showed Israeli audience members walking out on one of Schirtzer’s shows as he told a joke about how a former Israeli soldier from the 8207 battalion was eaten by a shark. The April 2025 shark attack briefly became the subject of various online jokes, many of which poked fun by connecting it to the Israeli Occupation Forces’ indiscriminate targeting of Palestinians. “The shark swam past Israeli children, but it didn’t hit the children,” Schirtzer said in the video. “So even a shark can tell the difference between a child and a soldier.”

Everyone concerned with the Palestinian liberation struggle should know Cutler’s name and role well. On Monday, April 28, 2025, Cutler spoke at the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) International Policy Summit in Jerusalem. She explained how she had created her “new role” to include a focus on the “Jewish diaspora” alongside Israeli public policy work for Meta, effectively meaning she had forged a company position directly tasked with enforcing the false conflation between criticism of Israel and antisemitism. “We updated our policies to recognize that the term ‘Zionist’ can be used as a proxy for Jews and Israelis,” Cutler said in her remarks. In July 2024, Meta announced it was expanding its hateful conduct policy to restrict anti-Zionist speech. In October 2024, The Intercept reported that Cutler was personally pushing to censor Meta accounts of Students for Justice in Palestine by flagging them under Meta’s “Dangerous Organizations and Individuals” policy.

On May 29, 2025, Meta permanently disabled the account of Columbia University’s Palestine Solidarity Coalition, just as it had permanently banned the account for Columbia’s Students for Justice in Palestine on August 26, 2024.

Facebook’s 2016 hiring of Jordana Cutler, a former adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu who has explicitly claimed to operate as “a liaison” between Facebook and the Israeli government, rests alongside the 2020 appointment of former Israeli Ministry of Justice General Director Emi Palmor to the company’s regulatory Oversight Board as crucial developments in Meta’s consolidation of an increasingly elaborate digital architecture of anti-Palestinian erasure. During her tenure at the Israeli Ministry of Justice, Palmor petitioned Facebook to censor Palestinian political speech, and the Cyber Unit established by the Ministry of Justice standardized the process of clandestinely petitioning social media companies like Facebook to take down Palestinian content, much to the alarm of human rights organizations and Palestinian Civil Society organizations.

https://mondoweiss.net/2025/07/metas-banning-of-two-anti-zionist-comedians-from-instagram-is-the-latest-example-of-big-techs-deep-anti-palestinian-bias/

Thailand’s Prime Minister has been suspended

Thailand’s political center just cracked again. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended from office following a 7–2 ruling by the Constitutional Court. The court accepted a petition from 36 senators alleging a breach of ministerial ethics. The trigger was a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen. The call was made on June 15, days after a fatal border clash that left one Cambodian soldier dead. The fallout has been immediate. The ruling party is fractured. The coalition is bleeding. The military is watching.

The call was supposed to cool tensions. It did the opposite. In the recording, Paetongtarn referred to Hun Sen as “uncle” and labeled a Thai army commander “an opponent.” She also reportedly told Hun Sen, “If there’s anything you want, I will take care of it.” That line hit a nerve. The Thai military holds institutional weight. Publicly criticizing a senior commander during a national security crisis crossed a line. The audio was leaked by Cambodian media and circulated widely. Protests followed. One coalition party walked. The king approved a cabinet reshuffle hours before the court ruling.

Paetongtarn is now suspended from her prime ministerial duties. She remains in the cabinet as culture minister, a role she was appointed to just before the suspension. Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit is serving as acting prime minister. Paetongtarn has 15 days to submit her defense. A separate investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission is also underway. That probe could lead to permanent disqualification.

The political cost is already visible. Her approval rating has dropped to 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March. The Pheu Thai coalition is hanging by a thread. A no-confidence vote is expected. The Bhumjaithai Party has exited the alliance. Protesters filled Victory Monument over the weekend demanding her resignation. Many waved Thai flags and wore fatigues. The message was clear.

The Shinawatra name still carries weight, but the dynasty is fraying. Paetongtarn is the third family member to hold the office. Her father Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 coup. Her aunt Yingluck was removed by court order in 2014. Both were accused of ethics violations. Both were forced out. Now the daughter faces the same path. The court gave her 15 days.

https://youtu.be/_6gn899ZULk

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/3061392/court-suspends-pm-paetongtarn-from-office-in-hun-sen-phone-call-case

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-pm-paetongtarn-shinawatra-suspended-constitutional-court-leaked-phone-call-5213086

New Report Confirms ‘Covid Death’ Spikes in 2020 Were Driven by Hospitals, Not a Virus

An explosive new report is turning the “Covid pandemic” narrative on its head and the data is damning.

A bombshell analysis published by the Canadian research group Correlation reveals that the 2020 mortality surge across Europe and the U.S. didn’t follow the pattern of a viral outbreak.

Instead, the evidence points to something far more chilling: the mass mistreatment of vulnerable patients inside hospitals and nursing homes.

The 400-page report, authored by researchers Joseph Hickey, Denis Rancourt, and Christian Linard, lays out a case that the deadly first wave from March to May 2020 was not a natural pandemic.

It was a manmade medical disaster.

“Where excess mortality occurred, it was of institutional and iatrogenic origin, caused by mistreatment of frail and vulnerable people in hospitals and nursing homes,” the report states.

In plain English, people died because of the way they were treated, not because of a contagious virus.

Alarmingly, the report exposes synchronised death spikes that only emerged after the World Health Organization’s (WHO) official global pandemic declaration.

According to the data, excess deaths didn’t gradually spread like an infectious disease.

https://correlation-canada.org/constraints-on-hypothesis-of-disease-spread-during-Covid/

Ukraine drone attack on central Russia kills three, wounds 35

The attack comes shortly after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promises to increase Ukraine’s drone production.

A Ukrainian drone attack at an industrial plant in central Russia has killed three people and injured 35 others, a Russian regional governor has said.

Alexander Brechalov, head of the Udmurt Republic, said in a post on Telegram on Tuesday that the attack took place at a factory in Izhevsk city. Ten of the wounded were in a serious condition, he noted.

There was no immediate official comment from Kyiv. But a Ukrainian security official confirmed the attack, telling the news agency Reuters that the Kupol plant had been hit, with a fire breaking out as a result.

The facility, which produces air defence systems and drones for the Russian army, is located roughly 1,300km (800 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

If confirmed, the Ukrainian mission would be one of the deepest attacks of its kind inside Russia since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.

However, it is not as far as one Kyiv claimed last May, which reportedly hit an early-warning radar in the Russian city of Orsk, some 1,800km (1,120 miles) from Ukraine.

Speaking to the AFP news agency on Tuesday, an unnamed Ukrainian security service (SBU) official hailed the most recent drone mission.

“Each such special operation reduces the enemy’s offensive potential, disrupts military production chains and demonstrates that even deep in Russia’s rear, there are no safe zones for its military infrastructure,” they said in written comments.

The attack came a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would increase its drone production, following a surge in Russian drone attacks.

Moscow fired some 5,438 long-range drones at Ukraine in June, its highest monthly total yet, according to an analysis by AFP.

“The priority is drones, interceptor drones and long-range strike drones,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram late on Monday about Ukraine’s manufacturing drive.

The message followed a promise last month by Ukraine’s top military commander to improve the “scale and depth” of strikes on Russia.

In other developments, the Kremlin has denied the suggestion from one of United States President Donald Trump’s special envoys that it was deliberately stalling ceasefire talks.

Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy, said on Monday, “Russia cannot continue to stall for time while it bombs civilian targets in Ukraine.”

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that Russia was “not interested in drawing out anything”.

A date for a third round of negotiations has yet to be agreed.

Meanwhile, a Russian-backed official in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk said it is now fully under the control of Moscow. Ukraine is yet to respond to the claim.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/1/ukrainian-drone-attack-on-factory-deep-inside-russia-kills-three-wounds-35

How the Israel lobby got Keir Starmer to ban Palestine Action

https://youtu.be/t5HRutqIrYY

Arizona Medicaid Fraud

A group of sober living homes in Phoenix has been charging Medicaid for services they never provided. “Received more than $560 million for services that were not provided”

This is one city in America with one company. Imagine the fraud total nationwide, “This was a massive fraud scheme that billed for services that were never actually provided”

https://x.com/i/status/1940123798185156940

Wow, watch exchange with StateSpox

@SMArikat

: US-tax payers have given [🇮🇱] almost $23 billion in the last year, you have no leverage?

Miller: They’re a sovereign country

Said: That received $22 billion

Miller: That number isn’t correct

Lee: What is correct number

Miller: The reason it’s hard to answer that question

Lee: That you don’t want to, that’s why

https://x.com/i/status/1843718880868565333

Bibi Netanyahu HATES America…

https://youtu.be/fAZE6S1PAAA

Hackers claiming ties to Iran say they possess 100GB of emails from President Donald Trump’s inner circle and may soon leak or sell the trove, after previously distributing a batch to the media before the 2024 U.S. election.

In online conversations with Reuters on Sunday and Monday, the hackers—who use the pseudonym “Robert”—claimed to possess about 100 gigabytes of emails from the accounts of “White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan, Trump adviser Roger Stone and porn star-turned-Trump antagonist Stormy Daniels.”

Robert mentioned the potential of selling the material but did not provide further details about their plans or the content of the emails.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi described the breach as “an unconscionable cyber-attack.”

The White House and FBI responded with a statement from FBI Director Kash Patel, who said:

“Anyone associated with any kind of breach of national security will be fully investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) posted on X that “This so-called cyber ‘attack’ is nothing more than digital propaganda, and the targets are no coincidence. This is a calculated smear campaign meant to damage President Trump and discredit honorable public servants who serve our country with distinction”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/iranian-hackers-say-they-have-100gb-trump-emails

Not So Fast: Massie Announces He Has Enough Votes To Block 'One Big Beautiful Bill' In The House

Update (1450ET): Are we having fun yet? Major divisions within the House threaten to derail the Big Beautiful Bill, with Speaker Mike Johnson struggling to overcome resistance by fiscal conservatives.

Earlier in the day the House appeared ready to hold a test vote, however several conservative Republicans raised objections - suggesting that Johnson might not have the votes to move forward, given that he can only afford a handful of defections on the measure.

As of midday, at least two Republicans were a hard 'no' on the bill in its current form.

President Trump, meanwhile, met with holdouts at the White House as Democrats and Republicans argued over the merits of the bill on the House floor.

At the end of the day, Johnson has little room for maneuvering - as any changes to the bill would send it back to the Senate for further deliberation that could drag on for weeks.

Members of the House Freedom Caucus are livid over measures added to the Senate that increases costs.

"The Senate doesn’t get to be the final say on everything. We’ve got to work this out," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) Wednesday morning, adding that there are enough Republicans "right now" who wanted to reopen the bill and don't care about the July 4 recess deadline.

More moderate Republicans objected to Medicaid cuts approved by the Senate that went deeper than the House's May iteration.

Stay tuned… and maybe buy a hat or our personal favorite Anza knife?

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/house-gop-faces-rebellion-johnson-scrambles-salvage-trump-tax-bill

There's A Lot of Honest Pain Out There

Yesterday, someone left a comment on my post about Zohran Mamdani that stuck with me in a way few internet comments ever do. It wasn’t defensive or hostile—it was sobering.

The commenter challenged me, not to just oppose Mamdani’s ideology, but to think about why his message resonates at all. Here's what they said:

“You really ought to ask yourself: why does his message resonate? Why did Russia have a revolution? People don’t wake up, make the espresso, make an omelet, look out the back window across their deck, the lake, the boat, ready for a day of country living, and say ‘You know what, honey… how about we start that revolution today?’ Nobody does that. Revolutions are made by very unhappy people. Why are they unhappy? Mostly because society largely doesn’t work for them… There is a lot of pain out there, and a lot of it is honest pain.”

They’re right. There is a lot of honest pain.

And if you’ve followed anything I’ve written over the last several years, you know I’ve been screaming into the void about how broken our monetary system is. We have created an economy where the top 10% get wealthier with each crisis, while the bottom 50% watches their standard of living deteriorate. I’ve described it here when talking about the GameStop crisis (33:40).

The frustration bubbling beneath the surface is not irrational. It's earned.

People are watching the price of everything explode—housing, food, healthcare, energy—while wages stagnate. Meanwhile, Wall Street breaks records quarter after quarter. That disconnect doesn’t feel like capitalism to the average person. It feels rigged.

So when someone like Mamdani shows up and says “seize the means of production,” it doesn’t sound crazy to people living paycheck to paycheck. It sounds like maybe, finally, someone is taking their suffering seriously.

But here’s the part no one wants to talk about—especially not in polite political circles: the real culprit behind this pain is our broken monetary system. And both parties are to blame.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-07-02/theres-lot-honest-pain-out-there

Moderna To Ask For Clearance For Combination COVID-Influenza Vaccine

Moderna is going to ask regulators to approve its combination vaccine against COVID-19 and influenza, the company said on June 30.

The company said a phase 3 study evaluating its influenza vaccine candidate, mRNA-1010—which utilizes the same messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) platform as its COVID-19 vaccine—showed positive effectiveness.

In the trial, which featured 40,805 participants and compared mRNA-1010 to an existing seasonal flu vaccine in adults aged 50 and up, the relative protection from the candidate was 26.6 percent better. In a subgroup analysis among participants aged at least 65, the relative efficacy was 27.4 percent.

“Today’s strong Phase 3 efficacy results are a significant milestone in our effort to reduce the burden of influenza in older adults,” Stéphane Bancel, Moderna’s CEO, said in a statement.

Several companies, including Moderna, have been planning to introduce combination shots against COVID-19 and influenza.

Moderna, however, in May withdrew its application for approval for its combination vaccine, a move the company said came after consulting with the Food and Drug Administration.

Moderna at the time said it planned to resubmit the application before the end of 2025 after it received efficacy data from the phase 3 trial for mRNA 1010.

“An mRNA-based flu vaccine has the potential advantage to more precisely match circulating strains, support rapid response in a future influenza pandemic, and pave the way for COVID-19 combination vaccines,” Bancel said on Monday.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/moderna-ask-clearance-combination-covid-influenza-vaccine

Ron Paul: A Big Beautiful Bill For The Military-Industrial Complex

The US Senate worked through the weekend on the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The goal was to pass it quickly to ensure the House will then pass it and send it to President Trump’s desk before the July 4th holiday.

However, disagreements among Republican Senators over reductions in spending on programs including Medicaid and food stamps as well as language in the bill eliminating “clean energy” tax credits were preventing Senate Republican leadership from getting enough votes to pass the bill.

Also, some Republicans disagree with other Republicans in both the House and Senate on increasing the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. Many conservatives see this income tax deduction as encouraging states to maintain high taxes to fund big governments.

One item in the BBB that few Republicans are objecting to is the bill’s increase in military spending. The House version of the BBB added 150 billion dollars to the Pentagon’s already bloated budget. The Senate bill gave the military-industrial complex 156 billion dollars.

Increasing military spending contradicts President Trump’s promise to stop wasting money on endless wars that have nothing to do with ensuring the security of the American people.

Some of the BBB’s military spending will be used to put troops on the border. I support strengthening border security. However, I do not support using the military for domestic law enforcement, which includes enforcing immigration laws. Soldiers are trained to view people as potential enemies, not as innocent civilians to be protected. Introducing this mindset into domestic law enforcement will lead to abuses of liberty.

Increasing spending on militarism while cutting spending on programs that help low-income Americans is bad politics and bad policy. Polls show that the majority of Americans, including many Republicans, do not support overseas intervention.

https://ronpaulinstitute.org/a-big-beautiful-bill-for-the-military-industrial-complex/