Full text: Xi Jinping’s speech at the 16th BRICS Summit

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called on BRICS countries to work for high quality development of greater BRICS cooperation, in a speech addressing the 16th BRICS Summit.

Full text: Xi Jinping’s speech at the 16th BRICS Summit

Related:

“Friends for Peace” Group on the Ukraine Crisis Set up in the United Nations

Meeting with journalists from BRICS countries • President of Russia

Meeting with journalists from BRICS countries • President of Russia

Vladimir Putin answered questions from the heads of leading BRICS media agencies. The meeting was held ahead of the BRICS summit in Kazan.

The meeting was attended by the heads of media agencies from Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UAE. It was moderated by Head of the Rossiya Segodnya Media Group Dmitry Kiselev.

Meeting with journalists from BRICS countries • President of Russia

Biden confirms that there will be retaliation against Iran as U.S. intelligence leaks reveal Israeli plans.

American officials are trying to determine the source of the leak, which describes military drills and weapons placement, and how damaging it might be.

Leaked U.S. Intelligence Suggests Israel Is Preparing to Strike Iran (archived)

Related:

Pro-Iranian account leaks alleged U.S. intel on Israel’s attack plans

Middle East Spectator on Telegram

[2003] War and Empire: The Truth That Rockford Couldn’t Bear to Hear

Source

This is the Rockford College graduation speech Chris Hedges tried to give on May 17, 2003, before being drowned out by shouts and boos and fog horns. A Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the New York Times, he is author of the highly recommended War Is the Force That Gives Us Meaning.

War and Empire: The Truth That Rockford Couldn’t Bear to Hear

I saw this video months ago, but recently came across the text on Antiwar.com while searching for something else. He calls Putin a dictator, but Russia was fighting U.S.-backed terrorists in Chechnya at the time (see after the cut). The reason why the speech interested me is that Rockford isn’t far from where I grew up.

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Third of the four self-immolations: Cape Cod man who set self on fire outside Boston Israeli consulate died four days later

Cape Cod man who set self on fire outside Boston Israeli consulate died four days later

“We call ourselves the greatest nation in history, yet we spend more on weapons of war than we do on educating our children, helping the homeless, ensuring that all Americans have equal rights and protecting the environment combined,” Nelson said in the video.

According to Wikipedia, Matthew is the third person to self-immolate in protest of the slaughter of Palestinians. He was also a veteran and a friend of Aaron Bushnell’s. Samuel was the fourth and he survived.

Related:

A vigil for Matthew Nelson, who self-immolated outside Boston Israeli consulate (archived)

In February, Aaron Bushnell, a 25-year-old member of the U.S. Air Force, self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC. The act was live-streamed on Twitch. Attendees at Wednesdays vigil said [Matthew] Nelson, a U.S. veteran, was close friends with Bushnell, a Whitman native.

‘Jane Doe’ Who Immolated Herself At Israeli Consulate In Atlanta Last Year Is Still Alive

CBS journalist lights himself on fire over in Washington over US media coverage of Gaza war

Tribute to Aaron Bushnell by Iraq Veteran Mike Prysner

If you are a member of the US military want expert, confidential advice on how to get out, call the GI Rights Hotline 24/7 at 1-877-447-4487

Aaron Bushnell’s Extreme Act of Protest & Why the World Would be Better if He was Still With Us (odysee)

First Components of U.S. THAAD Missile Defense System Arrive in Israel, Secret Site 512 Expected to Play Key Role

First Components of U.S. THAAD Missile Defense System Arrive in Israel, Secret Site 512 Expected to Play Key Role

The THAAD system is designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their final phase of flight. Instead of using explosive warheads, THAAD relies on kinetic energy to neutralize incoming missiles by colliding with them at high speeds. The system’s radar and interceptors allow it to detect and destroy threats both inside and outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Each THAAD battery typically includes six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors, a radar system, and a command-and-control unit. A crew of approximately 95 U.S. soldiers operates the system.

This deployment follows Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Oct. 1, 2024, during which Iran launched more than 180 ballistic missiles, including the Fattah-1 hypersonic missile. Unveiled by Iran in 2023, the Fattah-1 can reportedly travel at hypersonic speeds and change trajectory mid-flight. While the U.S. has not yet encountered the Fattah-1 in combat, the THAAD deployment offers a chance to assess whether the system can counter this new Iranian missile.

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Zelensky Ukraine victory speech: Listen for the quiet parts

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Zelensky Ukraine victory speech: Listen for the quiet parts

Zelensky is going to give his “victory” speech on October 16 to Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, but much of the speech will be secret. The secret part is about giving up territory to Russia.

The Rada has just passed new legislation that allows NATO officers to command Ukrainian units. So far, the Russians have been mostly quiet, probably because they do not believe NATO will supply field commanders for Ukraine’s military. But if it happens, and that is a big if, the Russians will see it as NATO sending combat troops and react accordingly.

Some speculate that Zelensky will hint at a desire to get some sort of ceasefire and establish a buffer zone patrolled by a kind of coalition of NATO-willing. This is being billed as a Zelensky “concession” to the reality of Russia occupying Ukrainian territory.

There also are rumors that Ukraine may try to attack Transnistria, the breakaway area of Moldova that includes a few thousand Russian troops – some of them on an agreed peace-keeping mission and others protecting a huge ammunition dump left over from the Soviet period.

The Russians also have been attacking dry cargo ships in the port of Odessa that are unloading weapons and military supplies from Turkey.  

Moldova also has an important election on October 20. An attack on Transnistria could backfire and topple the current pro-NATO. pro-EU Moldovan government.

Following in the footsteps of Nikita Khrushchev? FYI, “Khrushchev Lied!”😉

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CIA personnel land in Lebanon, ramp up intel gathering to support Israel’s war

The CIA has sent additional agents to Lebanon and has increased its communications with Lebanese military, security, and political officials in an effort to obtain information about Hezbollah, and may have played a role in Israel’s recent attempt to assassinate a Hezbollah political leader, Al-Akhbar reported on 14 October.

CIA personnel land in Lebanon, ramp up intel gathering to support Israel’s war

Related:

Reddit (English translation of Tweet by Al Akhbar): Al-Akhbar: Ibrahim Al-Amin | The U.S. Enters the War: Officers Join the Beirut Station to Undermine the Resistance from Within | Is the CIA Involved in an Assassination Attempt on Wafiq Safa?

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Israel races to supply anti-missile shield

Israel races to supply anti-missile shield

“Israel’s munitions issue is serious,” said Dana Stroul, a former senior US defence official with responsibility for the Middle East.

“If Iran responds to an Israel attack [with a massive air strike campaign], and Hizbollah joins in too, Israel air defences will be stretched,” she said, adding that US stockpiles were not limitless. “The US can’t continue supplying Ukraine and Israel at the same pace. We are reaching a tipping point.”

Boaz Levy, chief executive of Israel Aerospace Industries, a state-owned company which makes the Arrow interceptors used to shoot down ballistic missiles, said he was running triple shifts to keep production lines running.

Some of our lines are working 24 hours, seven days a week. Our goal is to meet all our obligations,” Levy said, adding that the time required to produce interceptor missiles was “not a matter of days”. While Israel does not disclose the size of its stockpiles, he added: “It is no secret that we need to replenish stocks.

The Israeli military claimed in April that, with the help of the US and other allies, it achieved a 99 per cent interception rate against an Iranian salvo of 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles.

But Israel had less success fending off a second Iranian barrage of over 180 ballistic missiles fired on October 1. Almost three dozen missiles hit Israel’s Nevatim air base, according to open source intelligence analysts, while one missile exploded 700 metres away from the headquarters of the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency.

We are not seeing Hizbollah’s full capability yet. It has only been firing at around a tenth of its estimated prewar launching capacity, a few hundred rockets a day instead of as many as 2,000,” said Assaf Orion, a former Israeli brigadier general and head of strategy at the Israel Defense Forces.

“Some of that gap is a choice by Hizbollah not to go full out, and some of it is due to degradation by the IDF. . . But Hizbollah has enough left to mount a strong operation,” Orion added. “Haifa and northern Israel are still on the receiving end of rocket and drone attacks almost every day.”

“During the October 1 attack, there was a sense the IDF reserved some Arrow interceptors in case Iran fired its next salvo at Tel Aviv,” said Ehud Eilam, a former researcher at Israel’s Ministry of Defence. “It’s only a matter of time before Israel starts to run out of interceptors and has to prioritise how they are deployed.

Dana Stroul wrote the article that I previously posted back on September 28th.

Previously:

Israel and Hezbollah Are Escalating Toward Catastrophe (it’s not looking good for the IOF)

U.S. to Deploy Missile Defense System and About 100 Troops to Israel + More Updates