Protest at UK airbase hosting U.S. bombers for Iran attack

BBC 

Anti-war protest at RAF base being used by US

Dozens of demonstrators have been protesting outside RAF Fairford, which is being used by US forces as a base to strike Iran.

A US bomber capable of carrying 24 cruise missiles landed at the Gloucestershire site on Friday and three more arrived earlier.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently approved the use of UK bases for "defensive" US action against Iranian missile sites.

Liz Maison Pierre and Lorna Dixon were among the 50 to 60 protesters at RAF Fairford. They said they believed "a lot of people are going gung-ho into this war without any thought".

"Starmer needs to stand up and say, 'No, don't use our bases'," they added.

Chris Cole – from Drone Wars UK, an organisation that stands against armed drones – was part of the group.

He said: "It's important people stand up and say no to what's going on. We're out here to say on behalf of the public that we disagree with this." 

Melting economy - only $$$ for war

As the Iran war rages on, global markets including US assets are melting down. 

The financial panic has begun as investors grapple with the potential collapse of GDP and a horrific inflationary word thanks to a new forever oil crisis.

Is this coming crisis part of Mr. Big's engineered plan? Collapse the US economy, force digital money, hand our military (the only thing that would likely be funded) over to Israel. 

The war machine to build Greater Israel.  

War zone updates

• Demonstration in the German capital, Berlin, opposing the aggression against Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine. 

• Western governments and Arab monarchies are increasingly isolated as their populations firmly understand what is going on with this war on Iran. 

• Macron called Iran today and told them to cease and desist. French leadership, like in the US, is a flat joke. 

• Protests in the Cypriot capital Nicosia called for the closure of British military bases following Iranian attacks, with demonstrators rejecting the transformation of their country into a platform for wars, describing the British presence as "bases of death". 

• Brent crude rises again, exceeding $109 per barrel.
• Pentagon is disguising the deaths and injuries of military and CIA personnel during this war. Trump fears letting the truth be heard by the American people. 
• Reports out of Germany say 650 Americans dead or injured – among those that are flown to Germany for medical assistance.
• IDF is having a rough time in Lebanon. Israel's military is now over extended and worn out. Many reserves who have been called up are refusing to fight.
• Reports that Israel wants to false flag missile attack Al Quds, blame Iran and in such a way cause strife between Sunni and Shia.
• US State Department orders diplomats in Saudi Arabia to return home. 
• Israel threatens to kill Iran’s new supreme leader.
• The cost of gas in Europe has risen by almost 70%. The Ukrainian Nazi regime has been carrying out attacks on the Druzhba pipeline as a means to impose an energy blockade on Hungary and Slovakia. 
• Venezuela to ‘put up statue of Trump as great liberator’ says US Interior Secretary Burgum.
• It appears that the US is evacuating its Air Force refueling tankers from its Saudi Arabia base. These tankers had been supporting bombing operations in Iran, and now they have been evacuated to Europe, out of Prince Sultan Airbase. The evacuation comes after intense attacks on the base last night.
• Britain has just two days' worth of natural gas in storage, sparking fears of a shortage crisis as the Middle East conflict shut down the world's largest gas facility and Iran closed a key shipping channel.
• Massive rallies in Iran continue in support of the leaders of their nation. Does Trump have this kind of support?

Keep paddling,

Bruce 

Monthly peace protest held in Brunswick, Maine

Click on the photos for a better view

We had 25 folks come from up and down Maine yesterday on a cold, wet and misty afternoon. Our hour long monthly protest vigil held in Brunswick was our 2nd time at this spot this week. It's the busiest intersection in the town and a key north-south roadway (US1).

Our signs and banners reflected our concerns over Iran, Palestine, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the growing cost of endless US war$. When he ran for president in the last election Trump promised that he would not start any new wars. But it has become obvious that his need to distract the world from the Epstein files has made him desperate to change the news cycle.

So far Trump says only six US military personnel have lost their lives in this latest madness with its zionist partner Israel. But word coming from sources in West Asia suggest that several hundreds of US GI's have been killed and wounded. Several F-15 jets have been shot down, expensive MQ-9 intel drones have also been knocked out of the sky over Iran, but the corporate media is keeping all of that quiet.

We've been on the streets every month at busy intersections in different Maine communities since early in 2022. Today we felt it was the most positive response to our presence that we've yet witnessed. People are increasing angry over this insanity. And the public fears our growing economic collapse.

Fuel costs are rising. Most Mainers heat with oil-based furnaces and its getting expensive. Food costs are off the charts. The pot holes in our roads are massive after our harsh winter and the state does not have the funds to fix most of them. Rental housing has become very expensive and the cost of purchasing a home is beyond the reach of most people. And job lay-offs this past month soared.

So spending $1 billion a day on this misbegotten war on Iran is hitting home for most Mainers. Sadly our political leaders (from both parties) don't have a hell of alot to say about any of these problems. Most of them take money from AIPAC, the weapons industry, big Pharma and Wall Street.

Aegis destroyers firing missiles

Before the protest yesterday in Brunswick, MB and I drove the 10 miles to the city of Bath for an early Lenten season protest vigil at Bath Iron Works (BIW) shipyard where Navy Aegis destroyers are built. These warship are loaded with first-strike cruise missiles and interceptor missiles to take out any retaliatory strikes on the ships. These warships are now accompanying the Pentagon's aircraft carriers harassing Iran. They are currently working on six of these new destroyers at BIW.

Eight of us went to lunch after the Brunswick protest and reviewed the day as well as sharing our thoughts on what comes next with Iran. 

Anyway we cut it the US and Israel are dangerous fascist colonial aggressors that are failing in their arrogant desire to control the world's energy markets. We agreed that our continued protests are a top priority in all of our lives.

Our next monthly peace vigils will be held in downtown Farmington on April 11 and Lewiston on May 2 (Corner of Main & Lincoln Streets next to Veterans Park) - both at 1:30 pm.

In peace,

Bruce  

Photos by MB Sullivan 

What is real poetry?

Gil Scott Heron (may he rest in peace) takes us on a poetic journey to consider what good poetry is or is not.

Mainstream poetry has long been defined by the ruling cultural elites as superior. Even if you could not understand it. You just were not 'sophisticated' enough.

Heron challenges us to consider how street poetry goes against the 'intellectual' grain and is more relevant to the lives of people in his community.

He gives some examples. 

Sunday song (with bonus)

Hegseth braggadocio spurs reactions

Response to Hegseth and Trump by former Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia

Underground living in Tel Aviv, Israel

Rockets & Penises in the Persian Gulf - George Carlin - Jammin' In New York (1992) 

Kids killed in Iran school on day 1

Iranian school children who were murdered as a result of a genocidal  American air strike on a school in Minab, Iran on the very first day of this unnecessary war by the zionists in Washington and Tel Aviv. 

Secretary of Endless War Pete Hegseth bragged that the US did a 'double tap' over Minab. After the initial strike of the school parents ran to find their children. As rescue efforts began the US hit the site again.

Trump has now denied US responsibility for the strike on the school that killed 175 people, most of them children, suggesting instead that a faulty Iranian missile was to blame.

His remarks contradict investigations by AP, CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post.

In a related story Trump has expelled prominent conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson from his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, saying Carlson has “lost his way.” 

The breaking point between the two came over the US-Israeli attack on Iran, which Carlson has characterized as “absolutely disgusting and evil.”

We urge all people around the world to boycott the USA. Boycott US stores, products, films, etc. Boycott the FIFA world games held in the US this year. You collectively have the ability to impact the US. Please do what you can.

Huge German student protest against the draft & war$

By Guy Smallman

Thousands of students walked out of their classes for a huge protest against conscription in Berlin this week. This was repeated across the country. 

As of January 1st a new law requires males born from 2008 to complete military registration forms and undertake medical screenings to assess their suitability for service in the German Army.

There is little doubt that the decision by German Chancellor Merz to fly to the USA on Tuesday for a meeting with Trump in support of the attack on Iran (without consulting the German Parliament or his fellow European leaders) has inflamed things here. 

There is also a growing support for Palestine among younger people that I've not previously seen here.

As with all the protests I cover here, there was some truly awesome live hip hop complimenting the speakers.

the funnies

Latest news from US-Israel war mongering against Iran

The Islander

The New York Times — not a Telegram channel, not a Russian state broadcaster, the New York Times — has published satellite imagery confirming what Iran said it was doing while Washington was busy telling you it wasn’t working. Every major US base across the Gulf. Systematically and methodically hit.

Bahrain, Fifth Fleet headquarters, the nerve centre of American naval power in the region. Al Udeid Qatar — already missing its $1.1 billion AN/TPY-2 radar. Camp Arifjan Kuwait. Ali Al Salem. Prince Sultan in Saudi Arabia. UAE facilities. SATCOM terminals destroyed. Radomes cracked open. Satellite dishes gone. Missile tracking infrastructure — the AN/TPY-2 radar systems that coordinate every Patriot and THAAD battery in theater — targeted with what the imagery confirms was not luck but architecture.

Iran didn’t just strike US bases. It mapped the communication and coordination layer that makes American missile defense function as a unified system and then it peeled it apart, base by base, across five countries simultaneously.

This is not retaliation but doctrine. Thirty years of studying exactly how the American military machine sees, communicates, and coordinates and then, when the moment came, going straight for the eyes. The interceptors are blind. The magazines are depleted. The Navy can’t guarantee escorts in the Strait. Raytheon is being summoned to emergency meetings. South Korea is sitting exposed. And the New York Times just put the satellite pictures on the front page.

Washington built the most expensive military architecture in human history. Iran just showed you the blueprint for how to dismantle it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ This is not going according to plan.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese flee the southern suburbs of Dahieh in Beirut following Israeli occupation threats to flatten its neighborhoods.

🔹🔹🔹🔹

IRGC PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE: “Heavy Khorramshahr-4 missiles of the IRGC Aerospace Force were launched towards the heart of Tel Aviv in the 19th wave”

➡️”In the 21st statement of Operation True Promise 4, the IRGC Public Relations announced: The heavy Khorramshahr-4 missiles of the IRGC Aerospace Force, with one-ton warheads, were launched at dawn today in the 19th wave of Operation True Promise 4 under the blessed code “Ya Hassan ibn Ali (peace be upon him)” towards the heart of Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport, and the Israeli air force’s Squadron 27 base at the airport.

➡️The successful penetration of these strategic missiles, led by attack drones, through the seven layers of regional and domestic air defense of the occupied territories, created a real hell for the aggressors.

➡️It is worth noting that in the 18th wave of Operation True Promise 4, 20 American military targets in the region, including in Bahrain, the UAE, and Kuwait, were effectively struck.

➡️The planning, operational coordination, and targeted allocation of offensive roles among the powerful branches of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces across comprehensive and multiple fronts—beyond the military estimates of the US and the Zionist regime—have transformed the equation of war.

➡️The flight of cowardly American soldiers from regional bases and their sheltering in hotels of host countries, as well as the use of civilian facilities in Persian Gulf countries as cover by the criminal US army, are not hidden from the IRGC’s intelligence monitoring. The brave soldiers of the IRGC are lying in ambush to hunt the soldiers of the aggressive US army and will not let them go.”

Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives says 'We are not at war'. Sure looks and smells like war.

🔹🔹🔹🔹

Politico – US urgently looking for more people and resources to sustain Iran war for AT LEAST 100 days.  Trump initially gave a 4-week timeline for the conflict.  Seems POTUS didn’t expect the wide fallout of his and Bibi’s Iran gamble.

France gave permission for the US to use their bases in the region.

UK – We have allowed the use of our bases to counter Iranian missiles.

-Iranian Revolutionary Guard:

We targeted Ben Gurion Airport and the 27th Air Force base of the Israeli military with Khorramshahr-4 missiles.

Our missiles penetrated seven layers of air defense in the occupied territories and caused havoc for the enemies.

We inflicted significant damage on 20 U.S. military targets in Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE.

• -Tehran is being carpet bombed.  Of course it is all civilian targets.  In the past hour or so, 30 police stations were targeted.  Marwa Osman created a a list.

CNN says no panic in Iran. No protests against the government witnessed. Thought the US was destroying Iran?

The elementary school in the city of Minab was just one of the first civilian locations targeted. The attack was carried out from US's Al Dhafra Air Base in UAE; many more civilian facilities have been attacked during the past 5 days. Here is some of them:

• Residential areas in Niloufar Square, Tehran (over 20 innocent people were killed)
• A densely populated residential complex in Sanandaj, western Iran
• The historic Radio Citadel and Golestan Palace, south of Tehran
• Gandhi Hospital, Tehran
• Tehran Grand Bazaar, Tehran
• Abuzar Hospital, Ahvaz, southwestern Iran
• The vicinity of the Iranian Red Crescent Society building, Tehran
• Khatam al-Anbia Hospital, Tehran
• The Welfare Organization, Tehran
• Motahari Hospital, Tehran
• Vali-Asr Hospital, Tehran
• Trauma and Burn Hospital, Tehran
• Ameneh Infant Care Centre, Tehran
• Shahid Rajaei Heart Hospital, Tehran
• Residential homes surrounding Sepah Square, Tehran
• Residential areas in Maragheh, northwestern Iran (over 27 innocent people were killed)
• Baqaei Hospital, Ahvaz, southwestern Iran
• Emergency medical base, Chabahar
• Emergency medical base, Sarab, northwestern Iran
• Emergency medical base, Hamedan, central Iran
• Hazrat Abolfazl Hospital, Minab, southern Iran
• Shahid Mahallati Primary School, Tehran
• Hedayat School, Narmak, Tehran
• A sports hall in Lamerd, Fars Province, southern Iran (18 innocent boys and girls were killed)
• 35 innocent people were killed in Fars Province, central Iran
• Bazaar in Baharestan Square, central Tehran
• A park for children in Tehran
• Emergency medical centre, Tehran

• A kindergarten in Narmak
•Residential homes in Narmak district, Araghi st., Marzdaran blvd, Tehran
•Arg Square, The historic Radio Citadel and Golestan Palace, south of Tehran
•Attack on Mir-Damād Boulevard, causing damage to residential and medical facilities
•Attack on 2 headquarters of the Diplomatic Police

The Embassy of Iran in China shared a Chinese song from 60 years ago, and it suddenly went viral. Most Chinese people born after the 1970s had almost never heard it before. The reason it became popular is that the lyrics perfectly reflect the actions of the United States.

Indian reactions to Modi & Israel

'We should not support a country committing genocide'. 

• Sonia Gandhi, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson: 

“When the targeted killing of a foreign leader draws no clear defence of sovereignty or international law from our country, and impartiality is abandoned, it raises serious doubts about the direction and credibility of our foreign policy. Silence, in this instance, is not neutral.”

• Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha:

“PM [Narendra] Modi must speak up. Does he support the assassination of a head of state as a way to define the world order? Silence now diminishes India’s standing in the world. India must be morally clear. We should have the courage to speak plainly in defense of international law and human lives. Our foreign policy is rooted in sovereignty and the peaceful resolution of disputes –and it must remain consistent.”

• M. A. Baby, general secretary, Communist Party of India: 

“While we have differences with certain non-democratic measures adopted by the Iranian government, the murder of their Supreme Leader and other top officials by the Imperialist United States and Zionist Israel in violation of Iran’s national sovereignty and international law is utterly reprehensible and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. When world peace is under threat, India should play a lead role in rallying all democratic voices together so that there is a cessation of violent attacks and countermeasures.”

• Dr Zakir Hussain, foreign policy expert:

“This will not stop with this. It will also lead to Pakistan. Turkey will also come into this. The larger plan (of the US) is to control the region and hand over the leadership of the region to Israel.”

• Omair Anas, an international relations expert with a focus on the Middle East:

“The impact of this conflict will reflect on energy prices. If this conflict [becomes] prolonged, there will be a crisis in energy supply as well as prices. So its impact is going to be [felt] on India.”

Iran War: A Rockefeller & Rothschild Ploy for the Great Reset Agenda

The US’ problem with Iran had nothing to do with the nuclear program, the same way they lied about Iraqi WMDs and Venezuelan narcotics trafficking.  

According to US investment banker Catherine Fitts in an interview with Tucker Carlson, it was about the fact that Iran had rejected the globalist digital currency model planned by the ruling capitalist class, especially the Rockefeller and Rothschild families.

When US Army General Wesley Clark was told in 2001 that the US was “going to invade seven countries in five years,” it meant nations whose central banks “were not on board with programmable money.”

She said the aim was to assert control over the central banks of: 

▪️ Iraq

▪️ Syria

▪️ Lebanon

▪️ Libya

▪️ Somalia

▪️ Sudan

▪️ Iran

Once that was done, they would be placed under a globalist Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) framework, which is the foundation of the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset agenda.

A centrally controlled CBDC system with globally interoperable digital IDs cannot tolerate independent sovereign monetary systems or oil trade.  This is why the United States attacked Venezuela and is turning their crosshairs towards Cuba, while NATO wages a proxy war against Russia, and Washington encircles China and the DPRK with military bases.

As Fitts told Tucker Carlson in the interview: 

💬 “I think one of the reasons we're seeing so much tension around Iran is because Iran right now is the big leakage in the system”

💬 “Iran's central bank counts. One of the reasons it counts is because their oil and energy is very important.”

The pursuit of independent payment systems and the establishment of alternative markets free from US influence by Iran and BRICS makes them a sticking point for the globalist financial elites. 

Iran didn’t just strike US bases. It mapped the communication and coordination layer that makes American missile defense function as a unified system and then it peeled it apart, base by base, across five countries simultaneously.

Washington built the most expensive military architecture in human history. Iran just showed you the blueprint for how to dismantle it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ 

This war is not going according to plan.