Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

CNN fabricated story – “ordinary citizen” was a corrupt intelligence officer

Published 20 December 2024
– By Editorial Staff
CNN's Clarissa Ward described the event as “one of the most extraordinary moments I've witnessed”.
3 minute read

Left-liberal CNN is accused of deliberately fabricating a story about a release from a Syrian prison after the fall of the Assad government.

An “ordinary citizen” the broadcaster claims to have found in a “secret prison” has been revealed to be an intelligence officer accused of involvement in murder, torture and extortion.

CNN’s foreign correspondent, Clarissa Ward, was filmed claiming to find a prisoner lying under a blanket in a Damascus jail cell with an armed rebel fighter, days after the Assad government was toppled.

In the clip, it appears that the locked cell is found by chance, and when Ward, who speaks English throughout, enters it, she discovers a man lying under a blanket who thanks her, kisses her hand and is escorted out of the building.

In nearly twenty years as a journalist, this was one of the most extraordinary moments I have witnessed”, Ward herself claimed.

Introduced as Adel Ghurbal from the city of Homs, and as an “ordinary citizen”, the man is falsely reported to have been imprisoned for months and not given food or drink for days.

Well-fed and well-trimmed

According to the man himself, he had been interrogated by the Syrian security services because of the content of his phone and had also been beaten.

When the video was released, many people pointed out that the prisoner’s beard and hair were trimmed and his nails well-trimmed. Nor did he appear emaciated or dehydrated – which would have been normal after months in a dark cell and days without food and drink.

It was soon revealed that the man was no ordinary citizen, but Salama Mohammad Salama – known as Abu Hamza and a first lieutenant in the Syrian Air Force intelligence service.

The intelligence officer is said to have been imprisoned over a dispute with a superior over the distribution of extortion money, but is also accused of being involved in murder, torture and corruption-related crimes.

Salama in uniform at his desk. Photo: Unknown

Disappeared after the feature

According to Syrian fact-checker Verify-Sy, Salama was “involved in theft, extortion, and coercing residents into becoming informants” and is also accused of “killed civilians, and was responsible for detaining and torturing numerous young men in the city without cause or on fabricated charges”.

That the CNN story about the released “ordinary citizen” was false and fabricated is a fact. However, it is unclear whether the news organization knew the man’s story in advance and deliberately chose to manipulate its readers – or whether they themselves were deceived.

After a storm of criticism, CNN itself published an article admitting that the man in the news report had apparently worked for the country’s intelligence service and had been accused of various crimes.

It now claims that it is “unclear how or why Salama ended up in the Damascus jail”, and states that his “current whereabouts are unknown”, and that it has therefore not been able to contact him to ask more questions.

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Musk on Trump’s budget: “A disgusting abomination”

Donald Trump's USA

Published today 15:44
– By Editorial Staff
Musk believes the budget "undermines" the work of DOGE.
2 minute read

Tech billionaire and former White House Efficiency Chief Elon Musk sharply criticizes US President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, which was recently passed by a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.

According to Musk, the budget proposal is a “disgusting abomination” – and he is supported by several prominent libertarian figures.

The budget proposal, which aims to prevent a tax increase at the end of the year while raising the ceiling on the US’s already staggering national debt by an additional $4 trillion, has now been sent to the Senate.

Musk, who recently resigned as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has repeatedly criticized the budget, claiming that it undermines his efforts to reduce the federal budget deficit.

I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination”, he wrote on X on Tuesday.

Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it”, he added.

In an interview with CBS News last week, Musk emphasized that the legislation “undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing” because it “increases the budget deficit”.

However, House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed Musk’s criticism, saying that the legislation actually secures $1.6 trillion in savings, reduces spending, and provides tax breaks.

With all due respect, Elon is simply wrong about the One Big Beautiful Bill, he told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, adding that “Congress is working hard to get this to President Trump’s desk by July 4th”.

When asked about Musk’s criticism, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt replied that Trump is aware of the former presidential adviser’s views on the matter.

– It doesn’t change the president’s opinion, she told reporters on Tuesday.

Trump himself seems to wholeheartedly support the budget:

Passing THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL is a historic opportunity to turn our country around”, he wrote on social media, urging the Senate on Monday “to work as fast as they can to get this bill to MY DESK before the fourth of JULY”.

Even libertarian senators Thomas Massie and Rand Paul have criticized the budget, pointing out that it raises the US debt ceiling by several trillion dollars.

Large-scale Ukrainian attack on Russian air bases

The war in Ukraine

Published 2 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Defense analysts in the West describe the attack as the largest single offensive against the Russian air force since the war began in 2022.
3 minute read

The Ukrainian military, in cooperation with the country’s intelligence service SBU, has carried out one of the most extensive attacks to date against Russian air bases. The target is said to have been to knock out Russia’s strategic bombers – aircraft that have played a central role in recent months’ missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.

According to several corroborating reports, at least five military airfields deep inside Russia were attacked during the night of Saturday. The operation, which according to unconfirmed sources went under the code name “Spider’s Web”, is said to have been planned for over a year.

Among the bases attacked are Olenya on the Kola Peninsula near Murmansk, Ukrainka in the Amur region of the Russian Far East, and facilities in Irkutsk, Ivanovo, and Ryazan. According to information in the international press, the attacks were carried out using drones that were smuggled into Russia and hidden in civilian transport vehicles near the respective air bases.

Ukrainian authorities claim that over 40 Russian bombers were hit or damaged, including heavy strategic aircraft of the Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-22 types, as well as a Beriev A-50 radar reconnaissance aircraft.

Images and videos circulating on social media show what appear to be several destroyed aircraft and extensive fires at Russian bases, including Olenya, over 1,500 kilometers from the nearest Ukrainian territory.

The Russian Defense Ministry has confirmed that several bases were attacked but says most of the drones were shot down and the damage was limited.

Extent unclear

No independent confirmation of either the Ukrainian or Russian reports has been presented so far, but several defense experts in the West describe the attack as the largest single offensive against the Russian Air Force since the war began in 2022.

The extent of the damage is still unclear, but according to reports in the Kyiv Post, among others, entire hangars have been destroyed and the damage could amount to several billion dollars.

For Russia, this would mean a significant weakening of its ability to carry out long-range attacks against Ukrainian targets, as the aircraft types involved are difficult to replace in the short term.

Several analysts also point to the psychological and symbolic value of the attack. The strategic bombers not only play a conventional role in the war, but are also important in the logistics of the nuclear arsenal. The damage is therefore seen as a loss of prestige for Moscow.

Some analysts also interpret the attack as a deliberate show of force by Kiev ahead of the planned peace talks in Istanbul, which, according to Russian and Turkish media, are set to begin on Monday.

Railway sabotage with civilian casualties

At the same time, two separate acts of railway sabotage have been reported from Russian territory. One of them, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, led to derailment and several deaths. The other occurred in the Kirov region.

Explosive devices are said to have detonated on the tracks shortly before military transports passed by. Although the connection with the airbase attack has not yet been confirmed, several military analysts consider the events to be coordinated.

The attack has also brought to light a legal complication in the START treaty between Russia and the US, which is still in force. Under the terms of the agreement, strategic bombers must be visible to satellite surveillance, which makes it difficult to hide them in protected hangars, something that may have facilitated the Ukrainian drone attacks.

The fact that Ukraine managed to strike with such precision and range – deep into Russian heartland – also raises questions about how the country’s military capabilities have developed and what help it has received from Western intelligence services.

UK invests billions in new arms factories

The new cold war

Published 2 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
BAE Systems, based in the UK, is Europe's largest arms manufacturer, employing more than 83 000 people and producing, among other things, the Challenger tank.
2 minute read

The UK will invest $2 billion in new arms factories as part of a major military buildup, Defense Secretary John Healey announces ahead of the government’s Strategic Defense Review tomorrow.

The investment includes at least six new ammunition and explosives factories, as well as the purchase of over 7,000 domestically produced long-range weapons, including drones and missiles.

– The hard-fought lessons from Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind it, said Healey.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer also underlines the need to respond to alleged threats from states with advanced military capabilities singling out Russia, Iran and North Korea in particular.

– We are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, so we must be ready to fight and win, he declares.

The investment is also said to be aimed at stimulating the economy, and will see the UK spend a total of around £6 billion on munitions during the current parliamentary term.

AI to improve decision-making in combat

– We welcome investment in new munitions factories, but we don’t know when they will be ready – only that these orders should have been placed months ago, said James Cartlidge, defense spokesman for the Liberal Conservative opposition.

The UK, one of Ukraine’s most generous funders, has decided to raise its defense budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with a long-term goal of 3% by 2034.

Meanwhile, Moscow warns of rising tensions and accuses former prime minister Boris Johnson of sabotaging the 2022 peace talks and pressuring Ukraine to leave a claim he denies.

Meanwhile, the UK government has announced it will invest billions in artificial intelligence to improve decision-making on the battlefield and has committed to spending an additional £1.5 billion to improve the country’s military housing.

Jewish Power leader: “Time to go full force into Gaza”

The situation in Gaza

Published 30 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Ben-Gvir has long been identified as one of Israel's most belligerent voices - and wants Gaza completely emptied of Palestinians.
2 minute read

Israel’s invasion and bombing of Gaza have been described as among the most extensive in modern times and condemned worldwide because of the high number of civilian casualties.

However, the country’s far-right security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has long been one of the strongest voices calling for further escalation of the situation – now he is insisting that it is time for Israel to “go in with full force” into the already bombed-out territory.

Ben-Gvir, who also leads the Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party, believes that Israel should take control of both Gaza and the West Bank and has been criticized over the years, even in Israel, for praising Jewish terrorists and mass murderers.

Itamar Ben-Gvir also caused a major uproar when he attended the so-called “wedding of hate” in 2015, where guests celebrated the murder of a Palestinian family in the village of Duma. At the wedding, participants waved weapons and stabbed knives into a picture of the 18-month-old boy who was killed in the arson attack – an act that Ben-Gvir had previously defended.

The number of Palestinians killed during Israel’s invasion and bombings is unclear – but is estimated to be between 40,000 and hundreds of thousands.

However, given that Hamas has said that the new US-backed ceasefire proposal does not meet their demands, Ben-Gvir believes that too much caution has been exercised so far and that it is now time to seriously use military force.

Mr. Prime Minister, after Hamas rejected the deal proposal again – there are no more excuses, Ben-Gvir said on his Telegram channel.

– The confusion, the shuffling and the weakness must end. We have already missed too many opportunities. It is time to go in with full force, without blinking, to destroy, and kill Hamas to the last one.

Ben-Gvir’s definition of terrorists who must be eliminated includes, according to him, not only combatants but also all Palestinians who are considered to sympathize with the Islamist group.

He has also previously argued that it is difficult to determine which Palestinians belong to Hamas and which do not, and he has repeatedly argued that Gaza should be permanently emptied of Palestinians.

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