Every time somebody at the White House uses the word "concerned" - they should get a heavy electric shock.

White House 'concerned' by reports Israel military is using white phosphorus

The White House says it is “concerned” over new reports that Israel used US-supplied white phosphorus in a bombing attack in Lebanon that injured civilians and burned down houses.

John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council, has just been briefing reporters aboard Air Force One, and was asked about the allegations. Israel has previously denied it uses white phosphorus, which critics say put civilians at risk of serious and long-term injury, and is banned from use in civilian areas.

Kirby said the Biden administration would be raising the issue with Israel’s government:

We’ve seen the reports, we’re certainly concerned about that. We’ll be asking questions and trying to learn a little bit more. It’s important to remind that white phosphorus does have a legitimate military utility in terms of illumination and reducing smoke to conceal movements. And obviously any time that we provide items like white phosphorus to another military, it is with full expectation that it’ll be used for legitimate purposes and in keeping with the law of armed conflict.

Impossible to prevent spread of disease, Gaza doctor warns

Adnan El-Bursh - BBC Arabic correspondent in Rafah

Disease is continuing to spread across the Gaza Strip, especially in overcrowded shelters. I sat down with Dr Marwan al-Hams, the director of the Martyr Mohammed Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital, in the southern city of Rafah. The hospital has 63 beds, and is caring for 145 patients, some of whom lay on the hospital floor as we spoke. Rafah is now home to around one million displaced Palestinians, on top of the pre-war population of 300,000.

“The medical situation across Gaza but especially in Rafah is catastrophic,” Dr al-Hams tells me. He says hospitals are receiving patients with severe diarrhoea, fatigue and high temperature. There are also high rates of bacterial infections and skin diseases. Medicine to treat such conditions is hard to find. Food poisoning is another concern, linked to the lack of fresh drinking water and spread of water contaminated with sewage around displacement camps.

“People are resorting to eating old bread. They wash it, dry it in in front of a fire or over a heater and then eat it.”

- BBC

Zelensky held a council with generals and the Minister of Defense, they say without Zaluzhny, where he instructed to build defense lines from Kupyansk to Ugledar in the east, and in the north of Ukraine - along the borders with Belarus and the Russian Bryansk and Kursk regions.

But that’s not all, the “Zelensky line” will be created in the Nikolaev region and in sections of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

The total length of the defensive lines that should be created by order of Zelensky can be from 2.8 thousand km.

It is estimated that to make fortified areas for 2.8 thousand kilometers it will be necessary to spend at least 10 billion dollars.

• Slavyangrad

Death and Destruction in Gaza - John Mearsheimer

[..]As I watch this catastrophe for the Palestinians unfold, I am left with one simple question for Israel’s leaders, their American defenders, and the Biden administration: have you no decency?

Your Saturday Briefing

The Eurozone remains in recession, with the composite PMI falling from 47.6 to 47 despite expectations that it would rise slightly, marking 7 consecutive month below 50, or stagnation. In the UK, the services PMI rising might stop them from technically being in a recession, but it's not looking much better for them overall either.

As Pakistan continues to deport 1.7 million Afghanis back to Afghanistan - most of who were living in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces - their absence is causing labor shortages in agriculture and mining. The lack of migrant remittances heading from Pakistan to Afghanistan will also hurt Afghanistan, which is already among the poorest countries on the planet following the US's mission to bring freedom and democracy there.

Putin has stated that the coming decade will see a massive expansion of infrastructure, especially in railroads, linking Russia to south and east Asia.

China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, has stated that the Middle East should no longer be a geopolitical arena of great powers, after a meeting with Iran and Saudi Arabia, which is kind of a hilarious statement to make with US aircraft carriers circling it like sharks.

The ruling emir of Kuwait, Sheikh-Nawaf Al Ahmed Al Sabah, has died at the age of 86. He took power in 2020 after the old emir died, and will be succeeded by Sheik Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, who is 83 years old.

China is experiencing a cold snap, leading to yellow alerts for cold temperatures. It is predicted that in northern regions, daily low or average temperatures would approach or break records. Authorities are setting up relief supplies, and roads, railways, and schools are being closed, especially after a railway accident in Beijing after a train was unable to brake in time due to icy rails and collided with another train, injuring 515 people.

Somalia has received $4.5 billion in debt relief from the IMF and World Bank due to their implementation of a poverty reduction strategy and sound macroeconomic management. Citizens seem generally pleased.

The German Defense Minister, Pistorius, told the German troops that have been kicked out of Mali that they fulfilled their mission and their achievements were not in vain, which I suppose is technically true, if the objective of the mission was to not stop rebel groups and keep the country in a state of chaos to maintain extractive industries.

Eight million Chadians will vote in a referendum for a new constitution tomorrow; the yes side seems certain to win as the government has been waging a campaign for it. The referendum is the final step towards elections promised by the military government.

Two unidentified men had sex in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in a Senate hearing room. Dudes rock.

Argentina's Presidential Spokesman has confirmed that the country is going through hyperflation, with inflation rising at 1% per day, or nearly 4000% per year. The government has simultaneously ordered protests to be made effectively illegal, promising harsh resistance in the face of any blockades.

Egypt should straight up close the canal for European ships until euros sanction Israel.

Milei

YPF and Axion, oil companies in Argentina, have announced that they will increase fuel prices by 37%. They will join the other oil companies in the country, which have already announced this readjustment.

This readjustment is due to the strong devaluation of the peso as a result of the new economic measures announced on Monday by the government.

The spokesman for the Argentine Presidency, Manuel Adorni, said that today, December 14, the Argentine Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, will announce a new public order protocol.

This comes at a time when tough economic measures are being taken, and criticism from the unions is growing, with strike threats beginning to circulate.

Milei announces 'severe sanctions' for those who block streets to protest in Argentina. The new president has issued a warning to the so-called 'picketers', who have scheduled an action for the 20th

Is there a collection of statements of genocidal intent by the Zionists since 10/7?

Summoning Salt music

...and then, after the two speedrunners at the top of the leaderboard - Russia and China - took a short break, five new runners decided to enter the race to see who could collapse US global hegemony the fastest. Palestine brought new strategies to the field, such as extensive tunnel networks, regional non-state military power alliances, and inexpensive mass-produced weaponry. Meanwhile, Venezuela threatened a war in a rainforest, which the United States has a -33% combat bonus inside as proven by Vietnam. Last but not least, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso discovered an obscure technique from decades ago called federation, and though this takes a long time to execute, it pays off later on in the speedrun...

If you want to do mental self harm here is a bullshit "left critique" of leftists who have grown addicted to caring about palestine. This is only worth reading if you plan to engage in posting battles against Zionists using crybully idpol language otherwise it is entirely drivel for babies

https://leftrenewal.net/ ( highly astroturfed domain too)

Milei is a poopy head, israel has shit for heart, this has been scat politics analysis of the day