The leaders of Hamas do not live in Gaza, they live in Doha, Qatar….  So, it comes as no surprise the Qatari government, the official sponsors and finance operators of the Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is one subsidiary, will act as the negotiators for the release of captured Israeli hostages.

{Go Deep on Qatar}  👀

Of course, the Qatar negotiations will be for an exchange of Hamas prisoners in Israel, in exchange for Israeli women and children held hostage.  See how that works?

Sorry, I forgot, we are not allowed to talk of these things.  We must pretend not to know them.

DOHA/GAZA (Reuters) -Qatari mediators have held urgent calls to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by the militant group and held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters.

Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters its involvement in mediation talks with Hamas and Israeli officials, including over a possible prisoner swap.

The ongoing negotiations, which Qatar has been conducting in coordination with the United States since Saturday night, are “moving positively” said the source, who has been briefed on them.

“We are in constant contact with all sides at the moment. Our priorities are to end the bloodshed, release the prisoners and make sure the conflict is contained with no regional spillover,” foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told Reuters, without elaborating.

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The coverage of the attacks by Hamas against the Israeli people is extensive, but have you paused to notice a very peculiar dynamic?

As familiar to most news consumers, various media war correspondents are embedded throughout the Israel and Gaza region.  Flak jackets and helmets are worn by CNN, BBC, Fox News and all the international agencies who are covering the Israeli War.  All of that footage is common and familiar.

Television streams are lit up with the continuing coverage and the audience is brought in live to the fight, despite the dangers and the military combat that is taking place throughout the area.  Brave war correspondents are doing what they do, showing the public exactly what is happening on the ground as the fighting continues.

Yet, the extensive footage triggers a reminder of something….

The war in Ukraine has been raging for 20 months, and not once, not even one single time, did we see simultaneous international war correspondents delivering their reporting, showing action on the front lines, donning their protective gear and taking the audience toward the battles in a similar fashion.

The contrast between the War in Israel and the “War” in Ukraine could not be starker when viewed through the prism of what a real combat war looks like.

Why is that?

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You want to go deep weeds, let’s go deep weeds.  Almost all of the conversations about the $6 billion given back to Iran have focused on the fungible aspect of money.  While true, that focus misses the key and essential point, where the money was delivered.

The captured $6 billion was held in a South Korean bank, the result of sanctions violations.  What the Biden/Blinken crew did, was move the money from South Korea to a bank in Qatar.

Now, many people may not at first understand the nature of how that makes such a significant difference.  The lack of understanding is the result of people not fully grasping what Qatar does in the Middle East.   Qatar is the financial center for Islamic extremist operations.  Qatar is the banking center for the Muslim Brotherhood.  The Brotherhood is the political umbrella for a host of Islamic extremist groups.

Qatar is well known to CTH readers and those who follow the deep weeds of geopolitics.  Qatar has historically been the financial center and funding mechanism of the Muslim Brotherhood.  In many ways Qatar is to the U.S. State Dept, CIA and political elements of the Intelligence Community in the Middle East, as Ukraine is to those same entities in Europe.

We have outlined the long history of Qatar as it pertains to a myriad of U.S. interests.

EXAMPLES: •When the Obama/Clinton State Dept wanted to fund the covert weapons to the Benghazi rebels, they used Qatar. •When President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expelled the radical leaders of The Brotherhood from Egypt, they went to Qatar.  •When President Donald Trump asked the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to confront radical Islamic extremism, the Arab nations confronted Qatar.  •When Qatar was forced to expel the five most radical leaders of The Brotherhood, they went to Turkey.  [Turkish President Recep Erdogan is aligned in common principle with The Brotherhood.]  •When the U.S. released captured Islamic extremists from Gitmo (al-Qaeda in Afghanistan), they were transferred to Qatar.  •When the Taliban took back control over Afghanistan, the al-Qaeda leaders from Qatar went back to Afghanistan.

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Following reports of U.S. casualties and hostages taken in Israel, the U.S. Aircraft Carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), as well as the other Ships in Carrier Strike Group 12 which includes Ticonderoga-Class Cruiser USS Normandy (CG-60), as well as Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyers USS Ramage (DDG-61), USS McFaul (DDG-74), and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), are reportedly heading towards the Eastern Mediterranean.

(Military) – […] Along with the Ford the U.S. is sending the cruiser USS Normandy, destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt and the U.S. is augmenting Air Force F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.

“The U.S. maintains ready forces globally to further reinforce this deterrence posture if required,” Austin said in a statement.

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Victor Davis Hanson is a man not known for short-term thinking.  Indeed, while his analysis does not always contain the same scope of datapoints reviewed here, his opinions are generally rooted in accepting things as they are, not as he would pretend them to be.

Recently during an interview with Tucker Carlson, as he contrasts the targeting of President Donald Trump, VDH was far more distraught than previously noted in his analysis. He increasingly sees our American options for a peaceful approach to retain our constitutional republic, diminishing.

Today, VDH takes the overall geopolitical landscape and outlines his thoughts below on the Hamas terror attack against the nation state of Israel.  Victor Davis Hanson:

A 50th Anniversary War?

Why did Hamas stage a long-planned, carefully executed and multifaceted attack on Israeli towns, soldiers, and civilians—one designed to instill terror by executing noncombatants, taking hostages, and desecrating the bodies of the dead?

And how were the killers able to enter Israeli proper in enough numbers to kill what could be hundreds and perhaps eventually wound what could be thousands?

a) Ostensibly, radical Palestinians wanted to stop any rumored rapprochement between the Gulf monarchies—the traditional source of much of their cash—and Israel, by forcing the issue of Arab solidarity in times of “war”, especially through waging a gruesome attack aimed at civilians and encompassing executions and hostage taking. Iran likely was the driving force to prompt the war—given its greatest fear is a Sunni Arab-Israeli rapprochement.

b) Arab forces have had only success against Israel through surprise attacks during Israeli holidays, as in the Yom Kippur War (i.e., was it any accident that the present attack began 50-years almost to the day after the October 6, 1973 beginning of the Yom Kippur War?). And so they struck again this Saturday during Simchat Torah, coming at the end of a weeklong Jewish celebration of Sukkot—in hopes that others will join in as happened in 1973. (So much for the Arab warnings not for Westerners to conduct war during Ramadan).

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UPDATE:  Outline edited as original review cited Mar-a-Lago case, this is DC case.

As expected, the first legal motion to dismiss the DC January 6 case is based on the first constitutional application, presidential immunity. [Full Filing pdf HERE]

President Trump’s attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche say within their first filing that special prosecutor Jack Smith’s case against President Trump is an attempt to criminalize actions that were well within his White House duties, such as enforcing federal election laws.

“The Constitution, the Supreme Court, and hundreds of years of history and tradition all make clear, the President’s motivations are not for the prosecution or this Court to decide. Rather, where, as here, the President’s actions are within the ambit of his office, he is absolutely immune from prosecution.”

[Source pdf]

It is a strong and compelling argument, citing numerous prior cases and rulings on the plenary power of the executive and the constitutional establishment of the President as the absolute power within the executive branch.   The argument hits one of three core tenets that Jack Smith has used to establish his case.

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The claim by Newsweek is rather alarming – that the Dept of Homeland Security and FBI consider President Trump supporters as domestic violent extremists (DVE’s) in combination with official designation from the FBI as “domestic terrorists.”

There’s nothing within the article, the citations or the quotes from multiple anonymous officials within the domestic surveillance system, that will seem a surprise if you take away the hyperbolic use of adjectives and descriptive statements. Yes, to the Newsweek readers, anyone who would challenge their worldview or political position is dangerous; after all, these are the same people who equate words with violence.

Remember, DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas recently announced a quasi-government panel that would be the arbiters of definitions.  In essence, the braintrust who will define activity to be compatible with the rules and restrictions on speech. Officially the group is called the “Homeland Intelligence Experts Group“; unofficially Mayorkas has selected the domestic speech police.  Fear much? 😂

Does it worry me to be labeled as a domestic terrorist because I distrust government and support President Trump? No, not one bit. Label me with whatever description you need in order to quantify your fear; it matters not.

Within the pearl-clutching Newsweek outline, the thread which ties the claims together is intelligence official’s inability to quantify the threat We The People represent because there are just too many of us.

…”But I say this as a citizen as much as a government analyst,” the senior official says. “We are in a unique moment and the numbers are daunting.” (read more)

Daunting?  Yes, I’m sure they are.  With President Trump carrying support from the majority of the country, does the “threat” description applied by the minority really matter just because they are in power?  Again, no, not even a little.

The need for control is a reaction to fear.  Please, quiver more; we laugh, love, enjoy our family and celebrate our freedom assembly regardless of your tremors.

I have experienced these arbiters first-hand.  I have been to their inquisition and laughed.  It doesn’t matter what deep state institutional echo-chamber they crawl out from; they are weak and pathetic people who could not survive without the indulgences and facilitating services the “extremists” control.

Oh, the truckers are “potential threats”, lol, ok good; try finding food in the supermarket if the truckers take a break for a week to restore their wounded sensibilities.

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Comrades, do not be alarmed.  Dear Leader takes all action in your best interest.

All good citizens support the regime.

“If you see something, say something.” Notify authorities if you suspect any subversive activity may be taking place.

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According to several media sources, and the principals themselves, the RNC has threatened both Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy if they appear together on a Fox News broadcast.

The issue for the RNC is that both candidates would be running “afoul of their pledge to only participate in sanctioned debates.”

“Christie, the former New Jersey governor, and Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, were set to appear simultaneously on FNC’s “Special Report” evening news program. However, both candidates said RNC officials warned them doing so would run afoul of their pledge to only take part in sanctioned debates — and rule them out of the Nov. 8 showdown in Miami.” (MORE)

The private corporation known as the Republican National Committee, will not accept or allow unapproved candidate appearances.  OK, you accept that as the baseline for the next part?

Now consider:  “FOX News Channel’s Sean Hannity will moderate a red vs. blue state debate between Florida Gov. and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis and Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom, FOX News Media announced Monday.”

RNC has no issue with DeSantis -v- Newsom.  RNC approves and sanctions DeSantis -v- Newsom.

Modern American politics is a corporate control operation.  The Republican wing of that private, corporately controlled operation is affirmed by constructing the illusion of choice.  The illusion of choice requires strict control mechanisms.  The RNC is the control mechanism.

Can you see it now?

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is the controlled operative, the installed end point of the funnel in this equation.

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