Rachel Blevins

The NATO summit in Washington, DC, is coming to a close, with the U.S. and its top allies announcing new plans for air defense for Ukraine, while pledging "irreversible" support for Kiev, and calling China "a decisive enabler" of Russia. Sarah Bils, Co-Founder of DD Geopolitics, noted that while NATO still pretends Ukraine has a future in the alliance, even the New York Times is admitting that Kiev's aims to force its borders back to where they were in the 1990's are "all but impossible," and the West is just setting Ukraine up to become an endless vassal state.

A new report from the Lancet medical journal found that the true death toll from Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip could exceed 186,000—five times higher than the 37,396 reported last month. Prof. Francis Boyle, a human rights lawyer who represented Bosnia in a genocide case at the ICJ and won two orders in their favor, noted that these figures don't come as a surprise, and the true death toll could even be as high as 500,000 Palestinians killed so far by Israel's genocide in Gaza, when all deaths from disease, starvation, etc. are factored in.

It has been nine months since Israel began its bombardment and total blockade of the Gaza Strip, but Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people didn't start in October 2023. The much-needed context from the last century—from the Balfour Declaration, to the first Nakba, to Biden's decades-long support of Zionist aggression—has been ignored by the West. Dan Kovalik, a Human rights lawyer, professor and author, noted that the campaign to expel the Palestinians from their land has been "a slow, patient, but systematic genocide." He explained that his new book, "The Case for Palestine," in its most basic form means "the case for allowing Palestine and the Palestinian people to exist and live." Follow Dan Kovalik on X: https://x.com/danielmkovalik/ and check out his new book here: https://a.co/d/09W1KT2I

Russia is warning that Israel must be ready for the consequences if it moves forward with a reported plan to send eight older U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to Kiev. But with Israel ramping up tensions with Hezbollah in the north, it may need all of the help it can get… Sarah Bils, Co-Founder of DD Geopolitics, noted that while the West is showing no signs of an end to its proxy war against Russia, Zelensky seems to be looking to garner more support from his backers in the aftermath of his failed Not-Peace summit, by teasing the possibility of peace talks with Russia to get their attention.

Democrats are scrambling to figure out the future after Biden's performance at the first presidential debate made it clear that the White House can't keep blaming "cheap fakes" for the president's current mental state. The only problem? Biden isn't going down easily, and the Democrats don't seem to know who to replace him with... Kim Iversen, a Journalist and Host of the Kim Iversen Show, noted that the Democrats' current dilemma is one of their own making, as Biden's cognitive decline is nothing new, but the DNC has been so focused on selecting the right candidate to "beat Trump," that they haven't fostered support for other potential choices in case Biden isn't a viable option.

Dozens of countries have expressed interest in joining the growing BRICS alliance, with high hopes of ditching the U.S. Dollar, reducing their reliance on the West, and increasing their mutually-beneficial partnerships with countries like Russia and China. Prof. Richard Wolff, an American Economist and founder of Democracy at Work, noted that as with every empire, the U.S. has used and abused its power to the point that it is now headed for decline. While China is now the global super power on the rise... it begs the question, will Beijing follow in the footsteps of Washington and London in the past? Or will it take a different path?

The UN humanitarian chief is warning that a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah could be "apocalyptic," as Netanyahu teases the possibility of an invasion of Lebanon. Veteran Journalist Elijah J. Magnier noted that even if Israel increases the current war with Hezbollah by ramping up its attacks on Lebanon, Netanyahu may still stop short of a full-scale war. But by claiming he is putting Israel's focus on Hezbollah, he is both appeasing the fanatics in his government who want more war, and attempting to distract from the utter failure that has been his campaign to "defeat Hamas" in Gaza.

Days after Kiev carried out an attack on Crimea using U.S.-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles with cluster munitions that killed four people and injured over 150, Moscow is not backing down from calling out Washington for being just as responsible for the casualties as Kiev. Former CIA Analyst Larry Johnson noted that the U.S. didn't just supply the weapons, it also supplied the intelligence and helped Kiev pick the targets, and as a result, Russia has a variety of ways it can retaliate that go beyond the battlefield in Ukraine...

The British newspaper, The Telegraph, released a report citing anonymous "Lebanese whistleblowers" to claim that Iran is shipping "mysterious large boxes" weapons to Beirut's airport for Hezbollah. In response, the Israeli Military is claiming they wouldn't rule out a strike on the airport if they were targeted from it, even though such an attack would cause "international outrage toward the IDF." Palestinian-Syrian Journalist Laith Marouf went to the Beirut airport to see in person what happens to any cargo that arrives from Iran, and he noted that while American and British ambassadors were invited by the Lebanese Government to tour the grounds, they opted not to join...

The White House is claiming they don't know what Netanyahu is talking about, after the Israeli prime minister released a video accusing the U.S. of withholding weapons from Israel. As the Biden Admin was quick to note, while they did withhold a single shipment that was set to be used on Rafah... they have been providing billions of dollars in lethal aid to Israel otherwise. Palestinian-American Journalist Dr. Ramzy Baroud noted that the pressure is building on Israel from the international community, but it's also building on the United States, because Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people wouldn't be possible without U.S. support.

Dozens of countries sent their representatives to Switzerland for Zelensky's overhyped summit, which quickly turned into a "Blame Putin" party that resulted in a final declaration, which at least a dozen countries (including Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa) refused to sign. International Relations and Security Analyst Mark Sleboda noted that Russian President Putin's decision to list his demands for peace talks with Ukraine before the summit began, served as a reminder to the attendees that Moscow is willing to negotiate and should have been invited, in order for the gathering to be a legitimate “peace” summit.

A top Ukrainian military official is claiming Kiev plans to store some of the F-16 fighter jets it has been promised by the West abroad in other countries... despite warnings from Russia that it could target the warplanes, even if they aren't on Ukrainian soil. Sarah Bils, Co-Founder of DD Geopolitics, noted that as tensions continue to increase, both the attendance list for Zelensky's upcoming Not-Peace summit in Switzerland, and the U.S. removing its ban on arming Azov Neo-Nazis, serve as a reminder that the Kiev regime is on the decline, and NATO is struggling to keep up with the latest Russian advances...

Hamas has agreed to move forward with the ceasefire and hostage deal passed by the UN Security Council, and the only problem seems to be... Israel. While the talks were ongoing, Israel killed another 40 Palestinians in Gaza, as the confirmed death toll soars past 37,000 Palestinians killed by Israel, with thousands more buried under the rubble. Veteran Palestinian-American Journalist Said Arikat noted that if Israel supports this deal (as Blinken claims), then why did they carry out a massacre last weekend, in which they killed hundreds of Palestinians and three hostages (including an American citizen), just to rescue four hostages… who would have been released in the forthcoming deal?

Biden is rewriting history once again, as he gave a speech on D-Day attempting to rally support for Ukraine, comparing Russia to Nazi Germany, and celebrating Russian deaths while using statistics Zelensky could only dream of... International Relations and Security Analyst Mark Sleboda noted that Biden's egregious comments attempting to erase the price the Soviet Union paid to save the world from Nazi Germany, come as Zelensky is begging world leaders to attend his "Not Peace" summit in Switzerland, where even German Chancellor Scholz has admitted the meeting is just about trying to garner more support for Ukraine to continue NATO's proxy war against Russia.

Israel's president just became the latest official to threaten a full-scale war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, after Netanyahu claimed Israel is "prepared for very intense action in the north." This, as Hezbollah's deputy chief said this week that the group is not seeking to widen its conflict with Israel but is "ready for the battle and will not allow Israel to secure any victories." Meanwhile, Russian President Putin is calling out the ongoing claims from NATO members that Russia is planning some kind of attack on the alliance, calling the allegations "Bulls**t." At the same time, Putin is noting that as Western countries lift their restrictions on certain weapons they send to Kiev and allow them to be used on Russian territory... Moscow could easily do the same by providing long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

Tensions continue to build on the border between Lebanon and Israel, as Hezbollah's rockets spark fires in northern Israel. Netanyahu claimed that Israel is "prepared for very intense action in the north," as Hezbollah's deputy chief said the group is not seeking to widen its conflict with Israel but is "ready for the battle and will not allow Israel to secure any victories." Veteran Journalist Elijah J. Magnier noted that Hezbollah is prepared for all options, and has made it clear that the cross-border clashes will continue for as long as Israel continues its bombardment and blockade of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Zelensky's 5-year term came to an end this month, which has fueled the question of who is now the "legitimate" president of Ukraine, as Zelensky refused to allow elections, due to the fact that he has kept the country under martial law... International Relations and Security Analyst Mark Sleboda noted that the question of the Ukrainian presidency shouldn't start on 20 May 2024... it should go back a decade to the 2014 coup in Kiev that overthrew the last legitimate democratically-elected Ukrainian president. All of this, as NATO members start to give in to pressure to remove restrictions on the weapons they send to Ukraine being used to strike Russian territory (even though Kiev has already been doing just that, with NATO's help)

Zelensky is scrambling to prove he has support from the West amid reports that even Biden is planning to attend a Hollywood fundraiser instead of the NATO-backed "Ukraine Peace Summit" (which notably doesn't include Russia). Meanwhile, NATO Chief Stoltenberg is the latest leader in the alliance to put his support behind removing restrictions on the weapons NATO sends to Ukraine and allowing them to be used on "military targets" inside Russia. Of course, no one wants to talk about how many Western-supplied weapons Kiev has used against "non-military targets" in Russia, or the fact that the alliance isn't remotely prepared for the escalations it is pursuing.

Under pressure from the U.S. and the UK to set a dangerous precedent and illegally seize hundreds of Billions in frozen Russians assets that are being held in the EU...the Bloc has come up with a plan. They say they're going to take the interest generated from the assets, and use that to help Ukraine. George Szamuely of the Global Policy Institute noted that it's not just about the West illegally seizing Russian assets—it's about using those assets to arm Ukraine in its war against Russia... and this is likely just the beginning.

When asked if he believes Ukraine's failures on the battlefield this week are Washington's fault, Zelensky claimed “it’s the world’s fault,” accusing the international community of giving “the opportunity for Putin" to advance around Ukraine's second-largest city. Sarah Bils, Co-Founder of DD Geopolitics, noted that while Zelensky is lobbying for the flow of lethal aid from the West to continue, he's well aware of the growing manpower shortages and that his backers in Washington can't print new men to send to the frontlines...

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt carried out by a perpetrator who has shown support for the opposition party, and protested against policies that include the cutting of military aid for Ukraine. Meanwhile, the West is warning about the growing partnership between Russia and China, as Putin and Xi hold talks in Beijing. International Relations and Security Analyst Mark Sleboda noted that in the same way that Western leaders are sending their condolences to Fico, despite spending months demonizing his rise to power and its implications for NATO and the EU... they're also expressing concerns about ties between Russia and China, because the alliance threatens U.S. dominance in the growing multipolar world.

While the U.S. continues to provide unconditional military, political and public support for Israel, members of the Biden Admin are finally starting to say the quiet part out loud, with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell admitting the "total victory" over Hamas that Israel claims to be pursuing is not "likely or possible." Veteran Palestinian-American Journalist Said Arikat noted that this reality was obvious from the start, especially given the fact that the Palestinian resistance is a movement made up of people living under Israeli oppression who are fighting for their lands and their basic rights.

Nearly half a million Palestinians have fled Rafah after Israel unleashed its heaviest bombing in months across the Gaza Strip, leaving hundreds of civilians dead. It’s yet another reminder that nowhere in Gaza is safe, and Palestinians are constantly impacted by Israel's bombardment and blockade. Veteran Journalist Elijah J. Magnier noted that while Biden Admin officials like Secretary of State Antony Blinken may be claiming that Israeli forces need to "get out of Gaza" now, they continue to support Israel's ultimate goals of ethnically cleansing the Gaza Strip.

You know it's getting bad for Kiev when even CNN reporters are describing the frontline situation as a "nightmare" for Ukraine, as Russia goes on the offensive, capturing nine villages in less than a week. Veteran, Author and Russian Military Expert, Andrei Martyanov, noted that Moscow's latest gains shouldn't come as a surprise, and there is very little NATO can do, as members of the alliance continue to try to keep Kiev on life support while their forces crumble on the battlefield.