Irish report on Global Smud Flotilla hijacking by Israel

The Taoiseach has condemned the interception in international waters by the Israeli military of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza earlier this week. 

All but two of the 175 activists detained by Israeli forces, and taken to the Greek island of Crete, have now been released. 

It is understood the seven Irish people held have also been released.

This evening, Sligo GP Dr Margaret Connolly, sister of President Catherine Connolly, spoke to RTÉ News from the flotilla. 

Yussra Ebrahim: Confronting the Heat

Iraqi refugee immigrant Yussra Ebrahim shares an anthology of poems and reflections she wrote over the course of the Palestinian genocide.

Yussra delivers her golden words at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire chapter of CreativeMornings on 17 de abril. 

Global citizens are fed up with their corrupt rulers

• Absolute bombshell on France 24 TV. Expert Jad Isaac confirms the Zionist regime has now seized 64% of Gaza under direct military occupation. He exposes their sinister plan to squeeze Palestinians into the smallest possible area to ethnically cleanse them. Where is the UN? Where is the World Court? Where are the voices from leaders of nations around the world?
• Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has hinted at the possibility of renewed military action against Iran. Katz’s  warning suggests that the current ceasefire may not be a permanent solution to the standoff with Iran. Katz stated, “…it is possible that soon we will be required to act again to ensure the achievement of those goals.” At the same time, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced a significant military resupply surge primarily from the US. Two cargo ships docked in Ashdod and Haifa, and multiple transport aircraft arrived within 24 hours, carrying approximately 6,500 tons of military equipment, including thousands of air and ground munitions, military trucks, and combat vehicles.

• Most Americans now say the US made the wrong decision by using military force against Iran. A new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found that 61% of Americans believe the use of military force against Iran was a mistake, while fewer than 20% described the military campaign as successful. The findings place public opposition to the war near levels seen during some of the country's most unpopular modern conflicts, including the Iraq War in 2006 and the Vietnam War in the early 1970s. The poll comes as Americans are feeling the war not only as a foreign-policy crisis but also as a kitchen-table problem. Rising gas prices, inflation fears, and broader food and economic uncertainty have become central to public anxiety over the conflict. 

• During the Israeli raid on the Global Sumud aid flotilla, German activist Hüseyin Oral reports he was beaten and robbed by Israeli soldiers while in detention. He says the soldiers beat him and stole his money and ID.

• Meet 36-year old illegal settler Yonah Schreiber, the zionist extremist who brutally attacked a 48 year old French Catholic nun in Jerusalem. Jonah pushed her to the ground and kicked her while she was in pain from the fall. A fellow illegal settler observed and did nothing to help the nun. Israel only detained Jonah after the video of his grotesque crime went viral. They are doing their best to suppress this story online. Israeli zionists appear to hate Christians.

• Trump declares it is “treasonous” to say that he is not winning the war against Iran. Anyone with any basic sense of humanity believes it is treasonous that Trump is waging an unnecessary  war, blowing up school children, and funding genocide on behalf of Israel. He's blowing his dog whistle in order to divide US public opinion. 
• The US State Department has approved massive military sales to Middle Eastern allies: Qatar: $4.01 billion (Patriot defense) plus $992 million (APKWS); Kuwait: $2.5 billion (battle command system); Israel: $992 million (APKWS); UAE: $147 million (APKWS).
• A CNN investigation reveals that most of the US military bases surrounding Iran were damaged by Iranian raids. 

• Trump told his corporate press followers that he was briefed by CENTCOM Commander Gen. Bradley Cooper and one of the options presented was to ‘blast the hell out of Iran’ and ‘finish them forever’. The Pentagon is thinking of 'field testing' a still unproven hypersonic missile. War$ in West Asia are good for testing new weapons systems say the warmongers inside the military industrial complex.

• Activists chant for Gaza and raise Palestinian flags during a demonstration in Italy; Celebrating International Workers' Day. 

• Filipino workers and activists burned effigies of Trump, Netanyahu, and Marcos Jr. as a three-headed monster on May Day outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
• One in four American farmers has NO fertilizer secured for spring planting. No fertilizer. No crops. No food. Farm bankruptcies are up 46% in 2025. 160,000 farms closed since 2017. Less than half of all farmers will even turn a profit this year. They're not struggling. They're being wiped out. Maybe the World Economic Forum and Bill Gates will save us all by having us eat crickets.
• Meta is allowing sanctioned Israeli settler groups to monetize content while banning Palestinian accounts, including journalists. 

• Israel has been dropping white phosphorus bombs on civilian areas in South Lebanon in the middle of the night. Launched against non-combatants. Well over one million people have been driven from their homes by the zionist IDF. The US continues to arm the IDF - funded by US taxpayers. 
• US and Israel say Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. Everyone knows that Israel (with US assistance) is the global leader of terrorism these days. Why is it OK for Israel to have nuclear weapons? Iran has actually repeatedly stated they don't intend to build nukes. They just want a civilian nuclear power program for energy production and medical purposes. 

• The daughter of US Republican State Senator Jay Block (retired military) from New Mexico says, "Israel pays money to my father, and he spreads propaganda. I am deeply ashamed of this situation. I believe my father has sold his soul to the devil. I hope his career ends!" 
• The Trump administration has literally been begging private satellite companies to hide images of destroyed US bases surrounding Iran. The Pentagon is terrified the world will see how Iran has completely humiliated Hegseth's collapsing military operation. And what about four aircraft carriers and destroyers recently having had major fires on-board? No real explanations are ever given to the taxpayers. Was it sabotage?

• Epstein class update: When the Panama Papers came out it revealed how rich people around the world are part of an enormous criminal conspiracy to dodge taxes and hoard stolen wealth in offshore accounts. Literally nothing happened except the reporter Daphne Carvana Galizia who led the investigation was assassinated.
• New York Times: With uncharacteristic insightfulness the article (below) argues that the amalgamation of US 'tactical' victories in Iran did not lead to any strategic victory, and has somehow contradictorily left Iran in the stronger negotiating position. The reason is that the US has been exposed as woefully unprepared for modern warfare. America has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on ships and planes that might be good at defeating competitors’ ships and planes but ineffective against cheaper, mass-produced weapons. The American economy does not have the industrial capacity to produce enough of the weapons and equipment it needs. And the country has struggled to fix these problems because of a sclerotic government and a consolidated defense industry that resists change.

• Reuters: Saudi Arabia’s only legal liquor store, serving foreign diplomats and residents in the capital, Riyadh, is experiencing severe shortages due to supply problems stemming from the war in Iran. The shortages affect many types of beverages, including wine, beer, and tequila. According to the report, only “very expensive drinks or unknown brands” remain on the shelves.
• Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom – Yoav Limor: 'It is difficult to ignore the frustration within the Israeli army regarding the situation in Lebanon. What was supposed to be a strategic ambush that would bring Hezbollah to its knees has turned into a strategic ambush against Israel.'
• Tasnim – How did the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupt Starlink satellite internet? The common perception is that SpaceX’s Starlink network, which includes more than 9,400 low-Earth-orbit satellites, is completely independent from ground infrastructure. However, an analysis published by the American outlet HSToday claimed that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since March 2026 has paralyzed the supply chain for critical equipment used by the network. Helium, cooling gases, and specialized semiconductors, all of which transit through the strait, are now effectively blocked. Each Starlink ground station includes 1.4-meter antennas and equipment weighing several tons, which reach West Asia and Africa only by sea through the Strait of Hormuz. With the strait closed, no new equipment or spare parts are arriving. The report states that if undersea cables, which carry 97% of global internet traffic, were also cut it would create a 'no cables, no satellites' scenario. 

• Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, Assistant for Inspection Affairs at Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, stated: 'The Iranian Armed Forces are in a state of full readiness. We are completely prepared for any new adventure or act of recklessness by the Americans.  The actions and statements of US officials are propaganda aimed first at lowering oil prices and secondly at escaping the predicament they have placed themselves in. The armed forces, the people, and the various political currents all recognize the necessity of preserving unity and cohesion.' 

the funnies

May 2: Remembering Odessa massacre

This video is by Regis Tremblay who joined Phil Wilayto and me in Odessa, Ukraine on May 2, 2016 for a remembrance event with the Mother's Committee of those killed at the Trades Union Hall in 2014 by Nazis.

International Solidarity with the People of Odessa!

On May 2, 2014, the people of Odessa, Ukraine, experienced the worst civil atrocity in Europe since World War II. Scores of people died when a fascist-led mob chased a group of progressive activists into the five-story House of Trade Unions in Kulikovo Square - and then set it on fire. Some died from the flames, some from smoke inhalation, some from gunshot wounds. Some leapt from the building, only to be beaten to death when they hit the ground. Dozens of cellphone videos posted on the Internet clearly show that this was a mass lynching. Just google “May 2, 2014, Odessa.”

But even though many of the attackers’ faces are clearly visible on the videos, to date not one of the perpetrators has been brought to justice - while victims who survived the fire were sent to jail, many without ever being charged with a crime.

See much more on the May 2 crime here

Bruce

France fears a united Africa

May Day international news round-up

• Irish activist Fra Hughes reports from Crete: Many illegally detained participants from the non-violent Global Sumud Flotilla savagely beaten. Broken noses, broken ribs, many needing hospitalization after being kidnapped by the zio baby killers. They beat them and stole their money. Please raise your voices and hit the streets. Two members illegally transported to the zio racist state. Demand our governments are not complicit in the deportation of their citizens from Greece who have committed no crime.

• Spain has summoned the Israeli regime's charge d'affaires and strongly condemned the interception and arrest of 175 Gaza-bound Sumud aid flotilla activists, including 30 Spanish citizens.
• The paperwork and legalities for passage through the Strait of Hormuz are being completed by Iran. One by one they are negotiating with countries for passage. ‘Indian ships can pass through Strait of Hormuz without restrictions’ says Iran’s Ambassador to India. ‘Passage of Indian ships has been completely secure, and this process will continue in the future’. Iran grants Russia exemption of all transit fees to cross the Strait of Hormuz. Insurance companies are beginning to insure ships and cargo for the passage.  

• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine told the Senate during hearings about Moscow's aid to Tehran. He refused to go into details, given the public nature of the hearing. “There are certainly certain actions there," Caine said. Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, a Republican and Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, went even further. “There is no doubt that Vladimir Putin's Russia is taking serious actions to undermine our efforts to achieve success in Iran," he said.

• Iran's President says US naval blockade is an extension of military operations. "Continuation of this oppressive approach is intolerable."
• Footage published on Iranian channels with the description that Iranian security forces installed these inflatable rocket launchers throughout the country and reported them to Mossad-affiliated ‘Iran International’, under the guise of an ordinary citizen. Many flight sorties and missiles were wasted bombing these mockups. 

• Tehran Municipality says Iranians whose homes have been damaged are welcomed to stay at hotels until their homes are rebuilt. The municipality will cover all expenses. So far, 6,677 citizens have been accommodated in 45 hotels and accommodation complexes.
• Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico: We are under pressure from oil prices depending on how Trump sleeps. When he sleeps well, prices go down. When he doesn’t and makes some statement, oil automatically goes up. 

• A major fire aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins has disabled the ship, causing a full loss of power and propulsion in the Indo-Pacific region. 
• Major damage caused to the Ghandour hospital following the Israeli airstrike that targeted Nabatieh al-Fawqa, southern Lebanon. 
• CBS News (now a Zionist run TV network): U.S. officials say the Iran war has likely cost closer to $50 billion—about double the $25 billion publicly cited by the Pentagon. The lower figure excluded major expenses like destroyed equipment and damaged bases. Much of the added cost comes from replacing lost munitions and assets, including dozens of MQ-9 Reaper drones.

• Iran has unveiled a plan to counter the US military's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, activating a rail route to supply oil to Beijing.
• Israeli settler attacks nun outside a church in occupied Jerusalem, pushing and kicking her on the ground as another settler watches and does nothing. 

• Banksy unveiled a new sculpture in Waterloo Place, London. A suited man blinded by his own flag and walking off a platform, widely read as satire on blind patriotism. 

• Question: The US is playing Peru in the World Cup. Who do you cheer for? Pope Leo response: 'Probably Peru'. Boycott FIFA games in the US.

• CNN investigation says some of the US facilities in the region have become unusable after Iranian attacks during the war. At least 16 US bases in 8 countries were seriously damaged by Iranian attacks. The targeted sites include key radar, communications, and aircraft systems—high-value assets that are difficult and costly to replace. One congressional aide said assessments range from “fully destroyed” to “repairable but strategically vital.”

• Pakistani officials: We conveyed to Washington a revised Iranian response to the latest US conditions for ending the war. 

China building parallel satellite navigation system

The United States is trying to control what the world can see in the Iran conflict. But in doing so, it may have created an opening for China to step in—and take over from space.

As American companies like Maxar Technologies and Planet Labs restrict access to satellite data, Chinese firms are rapidly expanding their own capabilities. From high-frequency imaging constellations like Jilin-1 to navigation systems like BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, a parallel system is emerging—one that doesn’t rely on the United States.

This video breaks down:

• Why the U.S. is clamping down on open-source intelligence
• How China is filling the gap with satellite imagery
• The role of space-based intelligence in modern warfare
• And why control over information may matter more than control over the battlefield

Because this isn’t just about Iran.

Update from Iran: Persian Gulf Day

• Last evening the Israeli Navy stormed boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla near the Greek island of Crete, hundreds of nautical miles from Israel. This is in international waters. It is piracy. This is the largest civilian flotilla to challenge the siege on Gaza carrying people from across the world who refuse to keep watching a genocide in silence. Organizers say Israeli navy in speedboats approached pointing lasers and semi-automatic assault weapons, ordering participants to the front of the boats and onto their hands and knees. Israel captured 179 activists from 21 sail boats. Thirty-two flotilla boats remain afloat although some were damaged by Israeli naval forces and may be forced into ports on Crete for repairs. No doubt the Israeli naval forces will be lurking like sharks in the waters off Crete waiting for the remaining small boats to come out.
• According to noted journalist Seymour Hersh, Trump is now talking about paying Iran $25 billion to open the Strait of Hormuz, having become disgusted with Netanyahu for luring him into a war that even he now realizes can’t be won: "Trump, in a political panic over the economic fallout from the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, is now talking to Iran, as an Israeli insider put it, about ending the current impasse in return for a payment from the US of at least $25 billion, and possibly much more, to the government in Tehran. In return, Iran would end its blockade and open the strait to all traffic, ending a crisis for Trump, the US, and much of the world.” That sounds an awful lot like the 'bags of cash' Trump accused Obama and John Kerry of traitorously giving the Iranians to seal the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal.
• Iran’s IRGC Aerospace Force commander says even if new US attacks are limited, Iran will respond forcefully and long.

• The representative of the Jewish community in Iran announced yesterday the renewal of allegiance to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Mojtaba Khamenei (may his shadow endure).
• A record-breaking community sports gathering in Tehran. Over 10,000 athletes from the city’s exercise stations came together on Nature Bridge to celebrate National Persian Gulf Day. 

• Tomorrow May 1st, is PERSIAN GULF day. It marks the kicking out of the Portuguese from the Strait of Hormuz in 1622 by Iran. Trump just tweeted this very disturbing AI graphic with the name 'Strait of Trump'. Trump can only get victories online and can’t actually militarily control the PERSIAN Gulf so he resorts to online propaganda. It will always and forever be the PERSIAN GULF.  

• Axios: Trump has spoken to Netanyahu “every day this week.” 

• Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett: The country is falling apart. We seize territory and then have to withdraw because we don't have enough forces to hold it. Meanwhile, there are about 100,000 healthy young men from the ultra-Orthodox community who are not serving in the military, and the government is giving them billions of dollars.
• After the arrest of nine IDF soldiers for raping a Palestinian POW to death, and a week of protests and debates, Israel’s courts have now officially ruled that a sexual assault can only be defined as a crime or rape if it’s committed against a Jewish woman. 

• Britain and other north European states will create a naval force outside of NATO to counter Russia, chief of naval staff in the UK, General Gwyn Jenkins, said. Jenkins announced that members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (Jef), which has been in place since 2014, signed a statement of intent last week to set up a new “multinational maritime force.” The Jef includes the Netherlands, all five Nordic nations (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and the Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.) This is actually about trying to grab control of the Arctic Ocean which Russia has the largest border with.
• Iran's envoy to Russia Kazem Jalali: "The people of Iran have absolutely no trust in the Americans when it comes to negotiations." 

• “The Haitian Revolution was the first global shock to the colonial order,” Fortifi Lushima, national coordinator of the non-governmental organization Urgence Panafricaniste in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told Sputnik. But independence came at a high price. In 1825, France imposed a staggering debt of 150 million gold francs on Haiti, aiming to deter other colonies from rebelling. "The logic was simple: to show other French colonies that striving for freedom would lead to poverty and instability," Lushima explained.
• "This is the gift we received from those who boast about humanity and peace." The head of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran spoke with foreign journalists who toured the university since it was attacked by the US and Israel. 

• The Irish government has agreed to put in motion a plan to terminate government-provided accommodation for Ukrainian migrants, as well as cut benefits for those living in rentals. An estimated 125,000 Ukrainians have received temporary protection in Ireland since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. 
• “The whole world must unite to call on the US for peaceful talks." Einar Tangen (international commentator on geopolitics and the global economy based in Beijing) believes only a united global front could pressure Washington to change course, calling for sanctions relief, reparations, and a shift toward genuine negotiations. 

• USS Truxtun (DDG-103) warship has been resupplied at Mumbai port inside India. This is evidence that India is helping USA to do blockade of Iran.
• Energy prices are set to jump by 24% this year to their highest level since 2022, while overall commodity costs will rise by 16%, the World Bank said, adding that the US-Israeli war on Iran has triggered “the biggest energy supply shock in history.” Prices could climb further if the conflict intensifies. The global oil prices continue to rise, as the price per barrel has exceeded 120 dollars.
• The US has announced a coalition aimed at pressuring China to relinquish its interests in two ports in the Panama Canal, accusing Beijing of infringing on Panama’s sovereignty and politicizing global trade. China has called the claims “baseless.”  Further evidence of the US attempt to restore its control of Latin America.

• A leaked plan to grant the US military sweeping overflight access to Indonesia's airspace has triggered a domestic backlash over concerns that Jakarta is "colluding with the aggressor" amid Washington's war on Iran. Analysts say the defence document, first reported by New Delhi-based newspaper the Sunday Guardian, raises concerns that President Prabowo Subianto may be trading away Indonesia's strategic independence. The proposal, which reportedly emerged following a meeting in February between Prabowo and Trump, is said to grant American military aircraft "blanket" overflight access to the Southeast Asian nation's airspace for contingency operations, crisis response and joint exercises. Behind the scenes, divisions have emerged. According to a Reuters report on Wednesday, Indonesia's foreign ministry sent a letter marked urgent and confidential to the defence ministry in early April warning that granting blanket overflight rights risked entangling Jakarta in foreign conflicts. Indonesian President Subianto has accepted appointment to Trump's phony 'Board of Piss'.

• Major league bombshell. Former Republican-party US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene explicitly confirms Donald Trump was forced to make a secret deal with the Zionist lobby to become president. She exposed how the Trump administration is completely held captive by Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel. 
• An audio tape just revealed Juan Orlando Hernández, former convicted criminal president of Honduras, brags that his pardon was financed by the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu with Trump's concurrence.
• Maduro once said whoever takes Venezuela to the IMF is a traitor and the people have the right to take to the streets. This week, President Delcy Rodríguez announced Venezuela is back at the IMF. The IMF does not save countries. The IMF traps them. Austerity. Privatization. Hunger. Argentina is the example. Premium beef exported. Donkey meat for locals. That is the IMF model. Venezuela was free of the IMF for years. Now the door is open again. The same institution that helped strangle Argentina, Ghana, and dozens of others. 
• The identity of the female thief who stole champagne and wine from the table during the attempted assassination of Trump has been revealed as the Ukrainian ambassador to the US Olga Stefanyshyna!

Native wisdom from the elders

 

If the world feels overwhelming right now… this is for you.

This video brings together powerful, grounded wisdom inspired by Native American teachings on how to stay calm, steady, and connected during difficult and uncertain times. These are simple but meaningful lessons about fear, patience, balance, and staying rooted in what truly matters.

Shared through the voices of elders, these messages remind us that even in chaos, we can choose clarity, protect our peace, and move forward with strength.

You don’t need all the answers—you just need to stay steady.

If something here speaks to you, take a moment to reflect… and come back whenever you need it.

Think about it....Latin America squeeze is on

 

Argentina becoming
a new home for zionist settlers,

along with Syria, Thailand, Greece, Crete,
and many other locations
still unknown.
At least to me.

Seems like 'Greater Israel'

is expanding.

Not just regionally

but internationally.

The zionist mobster pirates

going for the whole enchilada.

At the same time
zionist co-genocider Trump 

threatens
Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil 
and more down yonder south.

Think of squeezing a lemon.

The zionist plan is to squeeze
Latin America
from the top
to the bottom.

Cuba

to

Argentina.

zionists understand 

their Israel project is

shot to hell.

They are largely 

done in West Asia.

Tel Aviv is crashing,

just like Trump's 

'non-existent'

Epstein and Israel rape cult. 

It's run out of gas.

Just think about it,

a new zionist project
in Latin America.

Updated strategy emerging.

Disperse the zionists

rather than concentrate 

in one nation like Palestine.

If they are willing to 
burn down Patagonia 
so they can then buy it,
along with grabbing Argentina's 
national water company,
then these 'chosen people'
will do anything 

to stay in control.

Keep your eyes open,
let me know 
if you see anything.

Bruce