– Strategic Syrian City Of Homs Poised To Fall To Anti-Assad Advance
https://archive.is/uQpj4
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The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
H/t reader I.:
“Giant banner unfurled outside the UK parliament”
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After Friday prayers in Ankara, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan issued an unexpected statement which for many is tantamount to a full-on admission this his intelligence services are behind Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s capture of Aleppo, and ongoing blitz south.
“The target is Damascus,” he said bluntly. “I would say we hope for this advance to continue without any issues.” Thus the president of Turkey has just issued over approval for a jihadist-led regime change operation, which echoes the bloodshed of over a decade ago which began in 2011.
But then given Turkey is a NATO member state, he quickly sought to put a little distance between himself and the fact that it’s a US-designated terrorist group leading the offensive, which is currently threatening central Syria, particularly the strategic city of Homs.
“However, while this resistance there with terrorist organizations is continuing, we had made a call to Assad,” he continued. It’s been well-known that Assad has long rebuffed these overtures, even as other regional states return their ambassadors to Damascus.
Read more‘Target is Damascus,’ Erdogan Hopes ‘Smooth March’ Toward Toppling Assad
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
The Canadian government announced on Thursday that it was prohibiting its citizens from owning another 324 types of firearms and is working to send them to Ukraine.
“As part of its comprehensive approach, on December 5, 2024, the Government announced the prohibition of more military-style assault-style firearms,” Canada’s Public Safety Department said in a press release.
“Amendments to the Classification Regulations have resulted in the prohibition of 104 families of firearms, encompassing 324 unique makes and models,” it added.
Read moreCanadian Government Wants To Send Guns It Just Banned To Ukraine
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One month ago, when multiple discount retailers (here and here) were lamenting the sudden collapse in US consumer purchasing power, we highlighted the reason this unexpected hit to US consumption: as the US personal savings rate had collapsed, the growth in consumer credit was slowing, and in last month, the Fed reported that credit card debt growth posted its first decline since the covid crash.
But fast forwarding just one month later, when in a striking reversal, October consumer credit growth unexpectedly reversed the dramatic September slowdown, and soared more than $19 billion, to a new record high of $5.084 trillion.
And while non-revolving credit – which is far less volatile and much more predictable – grew $3.5 billion, a bounce from last month’s tiny $1.54 billion but a far cry from the $10+ billion average in the post-covid era…
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The potential dangers of Artificial Intelligence have long been codified into our popular culture, well before the technology became a reality. Usually these fictional accounts portray AI as a murderous entity that comes to the “logical conclusion” that human beings are a parasitic species that needs to be eradicated. Keep in mind that most of these stories are written by progressives out of Hollywood and are mostly a reflection of their own philosophies.
Some of these predictive fantasies take a deeper look into our dark relationship with technology. In 1965, Jean Luc Godard released a film called ‘Alphaville’ which portrayed a society completely micromanaged by a cold and soulless robotic intelligence. Humanity gives itself over to a binary-brained overlord because they are tricked into believing a ruler devoid of emotion would be free from bias or corruption.
Read moreBrandon Smith: Three Horrifying Consequences Of AI That You Might Not Have Thought About
The global electricity demand is expected to grow exponentially in the coming decades, largely due to an increased demand from tech companies for new data centers to support the rollout of high-energy-consuming advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). As governments worldwide introduce new climate policies and pump billions into alternative energy sources and clean tech, these efforts may be quashed by the increased electricity demand from data centers unless greater international regulatory action is taken to ensure that tech companies invest in clean energy sources and do not use fossil fuels for power.
Read moreData Centers Are Sending Global Electricity Demand Soaring
Ukraine has launched another attack utilizing aerial and seaborne drones on Russia’s Crimean port city of Kerch, the Russian military confirmed Friday.
The attack temporarily halted traffic on the large Crimea Bridge, which links the Black Sea peninsula to mainland Russia and has come under major attack several times since the Ukraine war’s start.
Crimea has been hit on a semi-regular basis by Ukrainian drones and missiles, which often try to reach the Russian Navy’s Black Sea fleet’s operations in Sevastopol. Russia has reportedly in the last months been forced to transfer some naval assets to the Caspian Sea for greater protection.
According to regional media:
Read moreCrimean Bridge Temporarily Closed After New Drone Strikes On Kerch
H/t reader Kevin A.:
“@ 50:00
33 mins?”
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Something unprecedented just happened in the NATO and EU member country of Romania – a top court on Friday annulled the first round of the country’s presidential election. Essentially there will now be a ‘do over’ election.
The Constitutional Court made the decision even as voting is still underway in the diaspora. “The electoral process for the election of the President of Romania will be resumed in its entirety, with the Government required to set a new date for the election of the President of Romania as well as a new calendar program for carrying out the necessary actions,” the court said in a statement.
The court decided “to annul the entire electoral process for the election of the President of Romania… to ensure the correctness and legality of the electoral process” – in a controversial ruling which has simply never happened.
Calin Georgescu, the widely dubbed ‘far-right’ contender, came out on top in a first round of voting in a ‘shock’ outcome which left political opponents claiming Russian election interference.
Apparently the ‘smoking gun’ is related to mere social media posts on platforms like TikTok. “The Constitutional Court’s unprecedented decision — which is final — came after President Klaus Iohannis declassified intelligence on Wednesday that alleged Russia ran a sprawling campaign comprising thousands of social media accounts to promote Calin Georgescu across platforms like TikTok and Telegram,” The Associated Press details.
H/t reader Kevin A.
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This made the hair stand up on the back of my neck‼️
The past century’s TRUE HISTORY has been withheld from us in the West.
It’s absolute proof we are controlled by these people today. There is no other way to explain how this history is hidden. pic.twitter.com/8zwp36fPz5
— Brandon Taylor Moore (@LetsGoBrando45) December 3, 2024
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday warned that the new Cold War which has seen Moscow and NATO in a showdown over Ukraine for nearly the past three years is turning into a “hot” East-West conflict, according to the remarks in RIA Novosti.
Lavrov issued the comments before an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) council meeting in Malta. He said the West is behind a “reincarnation of the Cold War, only now with a much greater risk of a transition to a hot stage.”
He further lashed out at US hegemony in different sectors of the globe: “Military exercises are growing with native participation in the South China Sea, in the Taiwan Straits around the Korean Peninsula. Clearly, this is an attempt to destabilize the entire Eurasian continent,” the Russian top diplomat asserted.
Read moreLavrov Warns Europe The New Cold War Is Turning ‘Hot’
‘Doomsters’ is an occasional Russian expression used to categorise commentators that only see the ‘dark side to events’ (a vice quite prevalent during the Soviet era). Marat Khairullin, a highly respected Russian military analyst, says, “Today, a network of mercenary war bloggers has begun another round of moaning – this time about Syria, where apparently everything is lost for Russia”.
“Many see the events in Syria (and some add Georgia to the mix) as attempts to open additional fronts against our country. Perhaps that’s true. But in that case, it’s more appropriate to draw direct parallels with the reckless attack on Kursk, which left the Ukrainian armed forces in an almost hopeless position”.