blog of the post capitalist transition.. Read or download the novel here + latest relevant posts
By Julia Conley Common Dreams Concerns about the safety of paraquat, a highly toxic herbicide, pushed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2021 to ban its use on golf courses — but the weedkiller is still permitted for agricultural use, and a new first-of-its-kind analysis shows how the EPA’s continued approval of the substance […]
EPA Allows Highly Toxic Weedkiller on Food Crops — But Not Golf Courses
El ejército israelí confirma su retirada, tras días de combates, de la zona del hospital de Shifa
Afp
Jerusalén | Gaza
Actualizado Lunes, 1 abril 2024 – 10:05
El ejército israelí ha anunciado este lunes que 600 de sus soldados han muerto desde el 7 de octubre de 2023, inicio de la guerra con el movimiento islamista palestino Hamas en la Franja de Gaza. “Nadav Cohen, de 20 años, de Haifa (…) murió en acción en el sur de la Franja de Gaza”, ha anunciado un portavoz del ejército israelí en su página web oficial, lo que eleva a 600 el número de soldados israelíes muertos en Israel y los Territorios Palestinos desde el comienzo de la guerra.
De los 600 soldados, al menos 256 han muerto en la Franja de Gaza desde el 27 de octubre, inicio de la operación militar terrestre lanzada en represalia por el ataque de Hamás en el sur de Israel el 7 de octubre, según un recuento de AFP basado en datos oficiales israelíes. Más de la mitad de las 600 personas muertas lo fueron en el ataque sin precedentes de Hamas contra Israel el 7 de octubre.
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Otros soldados murieron en Cisjordania ocupada o en la frontera con Líbano, donde los intercambios de disparos han sido casi diarios desde el 7 de octubre. Además, más de 1.523 soldados han resultado heridos en territorio palestino desde el inicio de la operación terrestre, siempre según el ejército israelí.
La lista de “bajas de guerra” publicada por el ejército israelí y en la que figuran los fallecidos desde el 7 de octubre de 2023 incluye a soldados y reservistas. Los israelíes que han cumplido el servicio militar, es decir, una gran parte de la población judía adulta, están obligados a ser reservistas hasta los 40 años, aunque algunos israelíes deciden seguir sirviendo después de esa edad. 169.500 soldados están bajo contrato (de servicio y profesional).
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from thefreeonline on 2nd April 24 by Vox Political
It seems landlords on the Tory benches in the House of Commons have sabotaged new legislation intended to end ‘no fault’ evictions.
Immigration and drug addiction caused huge rise in homelessness, according to Tory minister’s LIES-.. Oh, and the Tory plan to eliminate homelessness by 2027? It requires the death of anybody who is homeless.
It seems Housing Secretary Michael Gove is abandoning a promise to abolish a regulation known as Section 21, which gives landlords power to evict without giving a reason, by the next general election.
Instead, protection against so-called “no-fault” evictions, is being watered down to apply only to new tenancies.
Family who can’t afford 1 bed flat show bleak reality of Britain’s housing crisis – Mirror Online
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!.. Vox Political ad..
This will leave 90 per cent of England’s 12 million existing tenants vulnerable to being thrown out of their homes.
There may be fewer private landlords – but they are fleecing us more than ever
You can tell the Tories don’t have any hope for the next election; that’s why they’re still looking after their own and sticking the boot into everybody else. This is a taste of their true colours.
Britain’s landlords are living in the past, it seems, with many of them determined to exclude benefit claimants by using the archaic statement “No DSS”.Benefit claimants are the modern equivalent of dogs to private landlords, say MPs
Source: Government accused of turning renters reform legislation into a landlords’ charter | Morning Star
from thefreeonline on 2nd April 2024 by Al Mayadeen English
Immense destruction has befallen the area, caused by the killing and terror machine of this barbaric and lawless Israeli army ..
The Government Media Office in Gaza says that the Israeli occupation detained around 300 people from Al-Shifa Hospital and its vicinity while 100 individuals remain missing.
Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement – Hamas condemned the brutal Israeli crimes in the Al-Shifa Medical Complex and its surroundings, which have gone beyond the bounds of civilization and humanity, and held the administration of President Joe Biden responsible for the “horrific crime” as it continues to back and support the occupation.
After 14 days of seige and occupation of the medical facility, Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the Al-Shifa late Sunday, leaving behind hundreds of bodies both inside the hospital and in its vicinity, in addition to mass destruction, leaving the hospital completely out of service.
Read more: Italian doctor details horrific Israeli crimes in Gaza’s al-Shifa
The Resistance group highlighted some vital points “in light of this morning’s revelations following the withdrawal of the terrorist occupation army from the Al-Shifa Medical Complex and its
surroundings,” in addition to “the immense destruction that has befallen the area, caused by the killing and terror machine of this barbaric and lawless army .. and the horrifying executions discovered, as well as the bodies of martyrs found tied-up and buried alive .. or those crushed by tanks, in addition to other atrocities.”
Continue reading “‘Israel’ killed over 400 in Al-Shifa, Resistance vows steadfastness”Al Mayadeen’s correspondent: An Israeli aggression targets the Yarmouk Basin area in the western countryside of Syria’s Daraa province
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) received reports of an incident 150 NM northwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah
IRGC: The criminal Israeli operation came after “Israel’s” irreparable defeats and the steadfastness of the people of Gaza
IRGC: We offer our condolences to the leader of the Revolution on the martyrdom of Iran’s senior military advisors who were veteran freedom fighters of the Islamic Revolution
The Iranian ambassador in Damascus to Al Mayadeen: The attack reflects the reality of the entity that does not recognize any international laws and is ready to commit anything that goes against humanity
Iranian Ambassador to Damascus Hussein Akbari to Al Mayadeen: We will continue to stand by the resisting people, and we do not fear the criminality of this entity
Syrian FM Faysal Mekdad from the Iranian Embassy headquarters in Damascus: The Israeli occupation entity will not be able to affect relations between Iran and Syria
White House: Aware of reports of Iranian Consulate in Damascus hit by Israeli airstrike on Monday
Amir-Abdollahian holds “Israel” responsible for the consequences of the attack: State media
Iranian FM Amir-Abdollahian says Israeli attack on Iranian consulate in Damascus is a breach of all international conventions: State media
Three of the UK’s high street banks have been funding a large oil conglomerate with millions to pursue exploitative activities in the North Sea.
HSBC and NatWest, two of the United Kingdom’s largest banks, have been exposed and accused of funding fossil fuel expansion in the North Sea despite signing a pledge to comply with net zero climate goals, The Guardian reported.
Another high street bank, Lloyds, was also involved in similar funding activities but slowed them down since signing the agreement.
The three banks are part of the Net Zero Banking Alliance and have pledged to cease direct financing for new oil and gas projects and to align their lending and investment portfolios with net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest.
However, a report called Banking on Climate Chaos 2023 indicates that between 2016 and 2022, Lloyds, HSBC, and NatWest provided significant financial support to Ithaca Energy, with Lloyds subsequently selling off its debt facilities to the company and having no ongoing lending to Ithaca.
Ithaca Energy is a British oil and gas conglomerate that has been majorly involved in the exploitation of the Rosebank oilfield northwest of the Shetland Islands and has been funded with between $60 million to $78 million from each of the three banks.
Rosebank is the UK’s largest untapped oil field and holds around 500 million barrels of oil, which could emit 200 million tonnes of CO2 if fully utilized. Ithaca has been investing billions into developing Rosebank and aims to kickstart production by 2026, however, it has not officially declared its intentions to venture into renewables production, prompting critics to coin it a “pure play” company.
It is worth noting that the UK authorized the exploitation of Rosebank in September 2023.
Al-Shifa Hospital completely destroyed after Israeli forces withdraw
MEMO | April 1, 2024
The army fully withdrew from inside the hospital and the surrounding neighbourhoods towards areas south of Tel al-Hawa neighbourhood, southwest of Gaza City, witnesses told Anadolu.
The Israeli forces burned all buildings in the hospital resulting in complete cessation of services, the witnesses added
Israeli forces also burned the buildings of the kidney and maternity wards, mortuary refrigerators, and cancer and burn facilities, and destroyed the outpatient clinic building, according to the witnesses.
According to Palestinian medical sources, the hospital is now completely out of service and the army destroyed all medical equipment in the complex, operation rooms, and intensive care units.
The witnesses reported that scores of scattered bodies were found in the hospital and in the streets surrounding it.
They further noted that Israeli forces burned and destroyed many homes and residential buildings in the vicinity of the hospital.
The Israeli army raided the hospital, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip that houses thousands of patients and displaced people, on 18 March.
Al-Shifa Hospital completely destroyed after Israeli forces withdraw
from thefreeonline by Martin Jay at Strategic Culture
If you can get your head around the Moscow attacks or the British foreign minister’s recent video monologue where he explains how the UK is sanctioning a number of Chinese officials, have a thought about the European Union, a Rubik’s Cube which has all its faces painted one colour as its real identity is so opaque.
Now just weeks away from its own elections – yes, one of the most undemocratic organisations in the world even organises elections for its own fake parliament – the EU itself is “about to redefine itself”.
European Parliament Approves Controversial “Meme Ban”
Already there are signs that even EU leaders are growing tired of its foibles and delusional dreams about its identity on the international circuit as a geopolitical contender, but people, humble voters, will soon deliver a message to the elites which run the EU soon: reform or crumble.
After abandoning the interests of Europeans, wrecking the economy and its future, just to blindly follow the US war on Russia,and indeed on the EU itself.
Apparently suffering from a pandemic 0f Stupidity with mass delusions and Long Covid brain fog and acute RussoPhobia, the EU leaders blindly obeyed and keep on and on Sanctioning Russia.
Without ever asking their voters for consent the EU leaders compete in destroying their own industry, losing key resources and sabotaging their own economy -all in favour of the USA, and even of Russia!
Just recently, EU nerds in Brussels noticed that when all of the EU’s leaders descend on the grey, depressing Belgian capital – a city many associate with industrial scale , graft, chocolate and a pissing urchin – that they show anyone who’s paying attention who ultimately runs the EU: member states.
Or at least that’s the theory. In the last few days EU leaders attended a meeting at the European Council of Ministers building and voted to “condemn” illegal West Bank settlers in Israel, while still protecting their financial portfolios by rabidly supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza
Most editors of UK newspapers didn’t even understand what was happening.
It was reported as “EU slams Israel’s West bank settlers” or “EU possibly mulls sanctions against violent settlers” in a number of exclusive, European high-brow journals but completely unreported in the UK or US.
Perhaps the British press didn’t understand the significance of EU leaders – rather than the European Commission or the parliament – taking this initiative?
EU leaders themselves, purely in theory, have the power to overrule the Commission.
They hold the aces. And if they ever decide on a line or a certain policy, the European Commission would have no choice but to go along with it – affirming the old hacks’ dinner party circuit rambling that “the EU Council of Ministers is the most powerful institution in Brussels”.
EU intensifying efforts to revive Middle East peace process: Borrell
Perhaps it is. Or was. But what were EU leaders really trying to say with the stunt?
Simply that they need to pacify the ubiquitous demonstrators with a mild and indirect objection to Ursula von der Leyen’s repulsive, uncompromising support for the genocide in Gaza and send a signal that Jewish settlers’ violence when they steal Palestinians’ land is unacceptable ( as it has been for 75 years).
Just keep on stealing, murdering and looting as much as you can, but please do it peacefully, seems to be the message.
They’re more concerned with asserting that THEY really run the so-called EU “foreign policy” rather than Ursula or that Catalan fellow in Brussels otherwise known as Josep Borrell.
EU member states every now and again like to remind the elite in Brussels that they, member states, humour the EU hierarchy with this fantasy of being a geopolitical player with its own imaginary hegemony.
But its just a meaningless game, while some members like Ireland or Spain are radically against Israeli fascism while Germany is still supplying them Arms, leaving the EU or its “members” as usual impotent, hesitant and ultimately cowardly on the international stage?
Ultimately, all the EU can do is make statements. That’s it.
It has proven over and over again that it is powerless against anything that Israel does, regardless of that old chestnut often known as “international law”.
And the call from EU leaders for violence in the West Bank to stop is also an indicator to who are the super elites around the world who really control them: Jewish money and power.
And that Jewish money – American Jewish money – which has a key role in the banking system, the federal exchange, World Bank, IMF, Hollywood, both houses in U.S. politics and most of big business in America.
Since Israel finally declared itself a Jewish State it has declared any and everybody who criticizes its policies to be therefore guilty of anti-Semitism, and due for reprisals, very worrying for the dependent international elite. .
EU leaders didn’t meet in Brussels to thrash out a peace plan as they don’t have the instructions to do so.
Rising rejection of nationalist Jews in the West is the most important issue as it could be the thin end of the wedge which removes power from the elites who own Sunak, Scholz, Macron et al not to mention the European Union project which serves their global interests most admirably.
“We cannot afford for Russia to win this war. Otherwise the U.S. and European interests will be very damaged” he gushed. “It is not a matter of generosity alone … of supporting Ukraine because we love Ukrainian people. It is in our own interest”.
Of course, when he spoke of “our own interest” he literally meant his own interest and a few of his cronies on the elitist payroll which you might be fooled into thinking was the EU itself.
Oh you thought he was talking about the West in general and its population? Okay it is April 1st…
Who’s Running the EU? Big Global Corporations Which Aren’t Even European!
The Free 