By Brandon Turbeville

As Israel sets the stage for a possible attack on Iranian forces inside Syria under the false pretext of “pre-emptive” self-defense against Iranian missiles, it appears that the United States and France are attempting to set a stage of their own. This stage, however, will be the same tired scene replayed repeatedly throughout the Syrian crisis – i.e. the alleged deployment of chemical weapons that will be blamed on the Syrian government in order to justify more airstrikes and missiles against the Syrian government and in defense of terrorist elements backed by the United States, Britain, and France.

Signs are now pointing toward the possibility that there is yet another chemical weapons propaganda ploy being set up in Syria in much the same way as the recent and now-debunked Douma chemical attacks were created and propagated throughout Western media.

Russian outlet Sputnik International, citing an unnamed source, has reported that,

“US security services are planning provocations with the use of prohibited substances in Syria. The operation is led by a former militant of the Islamic State *[Daesh], Mishan Idris Hamash. The aim is to stage a chemical attack against civilians to be further spread in the media,” the source told Sputnik.

According to the source, the preparations began on April 23. The civilians are being shipped to a territory near Jafra oil field to participate in a staged filming of an attack scene.

Although based on one source, it should be noted that France is now making statements similar to those it made in the run-up to the staged Douma chemical weapons attack where it announced that if Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons, France would take action.

“The goal of the strike against Syria was to prevent Bashar Assad from repeating such attack. If this happens, we can consider the possibility of repeated strikes,” French Defense Minister Florence Parley said.

As Syrian journalist and analyst “Arabi Souri” stated, “It’s the open invitation for terrorists to get ready to carry out a new chemical attack. Waiting for proper timing it in retaliation for the losses of some of their assets.”

By Brandon Turbeville

Over the past several days, Israel has been throwing its typical series of fits and tantrums both to its patron in Washington and to the “international community” that Iran may finally have the gall to defend itself. Of course, Iran’s possible actions are not presented as self-defense but as unjustified aggression and “hatred” of the settler state. Israel is typically declaring its right to “defend itself” but, in reality, that “defense” is nothing more than another act of offense in a long line of offenses against Iran.

Israeli media is now boosting up the idea that Iran is planning to launch missiles at Jerusalem as well as a coordinated attack against Israel with Hezbollah and “Shiites” in Syria as revenge for the numerous illegal attacks against Iran that Israel has undertaken in Syria over the last seven years.

One need only take a look at a recent article published in the Jerusalem Post to see a sampling of what Israeli media and the Israeli government are attempting to get across in terms of laying the groundwork for a “pre-emptive” strike on Iran. The article reads,

Israel is bracing for a barrage of missiles to be launched toward military positions along its northern front from Syria by Shi’ite militias trained and funded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran is reportedly very determined to carry out an attack. Intelligence reports have indicated such an attack is in the advanced planning stages and might soon be executed as Iran vowed to do in retaliation for an alleged Israeli air strike against the T4 airbase near Homs used by the IRGC two months ago.

Israel has allegedly uncovered involvement by Hezbollah commanders and senior operatives from Shi’ite militias in the planning of the retaliatory strike. It is believed these militias, along with experts from Hezbollah under the command of the IRGC’s Quds Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Qassem Soleimani, will launch precision-guided missiles or armed drones from a base in Syria.

“The idea is to use heavy Iranian missiles, including the Fateh-110 under the command and with the advisory work of Hezbollah but without an IRGC presence,” Channel 10 reported on Sunday night, adding that Hezbollah members from Lebanon have been brought to Syria to train Shi’ite militia members for the attack.

While military officials have briefed mayors across the country on the latest developments, the heads of local councils in northern Israel have told residents there have been no special instructions or precautions issued.

While Hezbollah and the IRGC are the only groups that have the weapons and know-how to launch such an attack, it is believed the missiles will be launched by one of the many Shi’ite militia groups deployed in Syria to give Tehran the ability to deny their role.

According to Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, a research fellow at the Middle East Forum, there are several key candidates who might launch the missile barrage for Iran.“The Syrian civil war has led to the expansion of the IRGC’s network of regional clients,” Tamimi told The Jerusalem Post. “[There are] a variety of groups that could possibly strike Israel on its behalf, such as one of the many new ‘Syrian Hezbollah’ groups integrated into the registers of the Syrian armed forces, or one of the Iraqi groups that emerged during the war, like Harakat al-Nujaba and its ‘Golan Liberation Brigade.’”Another possible group, Tamimi said, was a Palestinian organization linked to Hezbollah and the IRGC, such as the “Force of Return,” which is currently fighting for the regime of Bashar Assad in the Yarmouk camp outside Damascus.

“But it still remains the case that Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which maintains some bases in Syria, is the most likely and capable of carrying out an attack,” Tamimi said.

According to Michael Horowitz, senior regional analyst at Le Beck, a Middle East-based geopolitical consultancy group, having Hezbollah carry out the attack would go against the plans by Tehran, which is said to be trying to avoid full-fledged war with Israel.

“This would defeat the purpose of using Shi’ite militias, which in my opinion was meant to enable Iran to respond without actually provoking an escalation,” Horowitz told the Post.

In recent months, Israel has have identified and released pictures of several air bases throughout Syria it said are being used by Iranian forces. The pictures have been released to the media in an effort to deter Iran from carrying out their strike, as those bases would likely be targeted by Israel in response.

According to Horowitz, “Israel chose to publish such threats to send the message that it will see any attack coming from an Iranian-backed group as one actually coming from Iran, and thus will respond in kind.”

To be certain, Iran has issued opaque threats of retaliation against Israel. Remember, Israel has repeatedly attacked Iranian military positions and military assets inside Syria. Every one of those attacks were not only unjustified but also illegal.

Hezbollah has also begun moving its troops back into Lebanon as their mission has been accomplished in Syria. However, Hezbollah’s position in Lebanon is purely defensive, its main purpose being to defend the country against Israeli attacks.

There is no reason to believe that Iran or Hezbollah is preparing to launch a missile attack at Israel if, for no other reason than the timing. The Iranians may well issue threats but Iran is not foolish enough to launch a full-on missile assault against Israel for the sheer fact that the United States, always poised to fight and die to the last American for Israel, would be brought in to defend its regional bully directly, thus throwing all of Iran’s carefully won gains in both Syria and Iraq to naught.

There is little likelihood that Iran would risk all of the progress it has made not just against Western-backed Sunni terrorists in Syria but in increasing its influence in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen for short-lived revenge against Israel. Much like the question of timing when it came to Assad’s alleged and disproven use of chemical weapons, why would Iran, at this point, risk it all and most likely bring in a much more intense Western presence in Syria?

The fact is that Israel is simply trying to lay the groundwork for an assault of its own aimed at Iran and possibly Hezbollah under the guise of “pre-emptive” self- defense.

Israel is also concerned about the ability of Syria to defend itself against Israeli air assaults. As Kurt Nimmo wrote in his article, “Israel Complains Syria Is Defending Itself,”

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman is concerned Syria may finally be able to defend itself against Israel’s attacks.

Israel will definitely respond if S-300 systems are directed against it, says Israeli Defense Minister Liberman

Last month Russia said it will deliver free of charge its advanced S-300 missile system to the al-Assad government.

“Moscow will supply the Syrian government with the advanced S-300 missile system, the Russian Kommersant newspaper reported on Monday, according to Hadashot news,” Jerusalem Onlinereported on April 23. “Citing two Russian military sources, the newspaper said that the system, which will be provided to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for free, will arrive in Syria very soon.”

The Russians warned the Israelis will suffer “catastrophic consequences” if they attack the defense system.

This elicited Liberman’s response. “If the systems target our planes, we will certainly respond,” he told Kommersant.

“We have normal relations with Russia and we are taking into account its interests. We hope that Russia will consider our interests here, in the Middle East,” he added.

Israel’s primary interest in the Middle East is overthrowing the Assad government, getting rid of Hezbollah in Lebanon, continuing its ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians, and attacking imaginary nuclear weapons facilities in Iran while maintaining its own unacknowledged nuclear weapons stockpile.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh wrote a book about Israel’s nuclear arsenal, The Samson Option: Israel’s Nuclear Arsenal & American Foreign Policy.

Published in 1991, the book documents how Israel lied about developing nuclear weapons, stole reconnaissance intelligence from secret US satellites and used that data to target the Soviet Union, tricked US nuclear inspectors, and threatened Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon with the use of nuclear weapons on the third day of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, successfully blackmailing the White House to airlift much needed supplies.

It will be interesting to see how successful Israel will be against the S-300 missile system. It will need stealth aircraft like F-22 Raptor to defeat this highly competent missile system. A second option would be using electronic attacks from a platform like the EA-18G Growler. Both are American systems.

If both Syria and Iran are protected by S-300 and eventually the S-400 system, will Israel play the Samson card?

By B.N. Frank

“When you finally get off of it you suddenly think, ‘I’m thirsty, I’m hungry, I have to go to the bathroom’…but you don’t feel those while you’re on screens.”

On May 1, 2018 Good Morning America featured a segment about The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) new recommendations for kids and “Screen Time.”

For several years now, tech inventors including Steve Jobs have limited their own children’s use of technology in their homes as well as sent them to expensive private “low tech” schools.

All the while, technology has been marketed as necessary for American public school kids to get a good education. They start learning on computers at an early age. They spend a significant amount of time using tech in classrooms and for completing homework. PBS’s Sesame Street even has a character named “Smarty” who is a “Smart” phone.

Nobody may have addressed this hypocrisy better than Dr. Screen Mom when she titled her 2017 article, “The Rich Get Smart, The Poor Get Technology: The New Digital Divide in School Choice.”

Dr. Screen Mom isn’t the only one who has drawn attention to this. There’s even a documentary calledScreenagers.

Over the last year, there have also been confessions from remorseful tech inventors and investorsabout how they knowingly created software and products that could lead to “Digital Addiction.”

Despite all the bad press, tech companies continue to encourage and enable tech use for educational and recreational use. They continue to promote risky 5G technology which Dr. Ozdescribed as being necessary to “binge watch, surf, and post online” at higher speeds without our screens freezing up or becoming disconnected.

All things considered, because public school kids are required to use technology so much, it has made parents almost powerless in setting “Screen Time” limits for educational or recreational purposes. It has set up parents and kids to fail.

GMA followed-up the AAP guidelines with a 3-minute segment featuring a family who allowed a videotaped experiment of their 4 kids managing their own “Screen Time” for 48 hours. There was no bed time and no limits. There were melt downs though.

The parents kept tallies of screen time hours:

• 6-year-old Cooper: 35 hours
• 9-year-old Spencer: 46 hours
• 11-year-old Kaitlyn: 29 hours
• 11-year-old Jackson: 16 hours

The quote that introduced this article was taken from 11-year-old, Jackson, who actually spent the least amount of time on screens.

When 6-year-old Cooper was asked if he’d like to spend the next weekend the same way, he said yes. Remember, Copper spent 35 hours on screens within 48 hours.

Of course, parents should try to limit their kids “Screen Time.” But how do they do this when public schools require so much “Screen Time”? This is asking the impossible – especially when tech companies are even putting WiFi on school busses

The GMA segments were only about the AAP recommendations about limiting “Screen Time.”

AAP has voiced also voiced their concerns about RF exposure from cell phones and electronic “screen” devices over the years many times. Here are a few examples:

1. In 2012, AAP wrote a letter to the Federal Communications Commission Chairman and asked him to open up a review of RF guidelines from cell phone exposure.
2. In 2012, AAP wrote a letter to then US Representative Dennis Kucinich in support of his “Cell Phone Right to Know” Act.
3. In 2013, AAP wrote a letter to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn and FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg requesting that they call for a review of RF guidelines.

No “safe” level of cell phone or wireless (WiFi) radiation has still been scientifically determined forchildren or pregnant women. A documentary called Generation Zapped was produced about this.