Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Congressman: “Every Republican has a personal Israel lobbyist”

Published 15 June 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Ted Cruz is one of the most explicitly pro-Israel members of the Republican Party. But he is not alone.
3 minute read

Libertarian congressman Thomas Massie reveals in an interview with Tucker Carlson that every Republican in congress has a personal Israel lobbyist from AIPAC with whom they are in close contact and who tells them how to vote on various issues.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is one of the most influential lobbying groups in the United States and the world, working to promote what it calls “pro-Israel policies” in the United States in various ways.

This often involves “buying” individual politicians at the federal or state level by simply donating very large sums of money to their election campaigns – in exchange for their pledge of loyalty to Israel and the Jewish diaspora in the United States.

Large sums are also spent on ad campaigns and other lobbying to smear and oppose politicians who are perceived in various ways as “enemies” of Israel – for example, for opposing Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

Thomas Massie, a Republican member of the House of Representatives, tells Tucker Carlson in an interview that AIPAC’s influence is greater than many could have imagined, and that all his party colleagues in congress have a personal Israel lobbyist with whom they are in very close contact, ask for advice, and who invites them on trips to Israel.

Fear of reprisals

Massie himself is deeply unpopular with the Israel lobby for questioning unlimited US military and economic support for Israel, and he says his party colleagues often complain that they are afraid to vote the way he does for fear of reprisals and problems.

– And I have Republicans who come to me and say, ‘That’s wrong, what a PAC is doing to you. Let me talk to my AIPAC person.’ By the way, everybody but me has an AIPAC person.

– It’s like your babysitter. Your AIPAC babysitter who is always talking to you for AIPAC. They’re probably a constituent in your district, but they are, you know, firmly embedded in AIPAC.

He goes on to say that he doesn’t know if Democratic members of congress also have a personal Israel lobbyist with whom they are in close contact, but notes that at least that is the case for Republicans.

– And when they come to D.C., you go have lunch with them. And they’ve got your cell number and you have conversations with them.

Thomas Massie has long been opposed by the Israel Lobby. Photo: Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0

Nothing to gain by telling

When Tucker Carlson says it sounds “absolutely insane” and asks why the public doesn’t know about it, Massie explains that neither party benefits when the frequent contacts become public knowledge.

– It doesn’t benefit anybody. Why would they want to tell their constituents that they’ve basically got a buddy system with somebody who’s representing a foreign country? It doesn’t benefit the congressman for people to know that. So they’re not going to tell you that.

– They pay for trips for congressmen and their spouses to go to Israel. I’m not the only Republican who hasn’t taken the AIPAC trip to Israel, but I’m probably one of a dozen that hasn’t taken that trip and the other ones just haven’t got around to it.

Massie is one of the few Republicans who has long been at odds with AIPAC, and the lobbying group spent billions trying to smear him ahead of a Kentucky primary in early May, for example, effectively painting him as a supporter of the terror-listed Palestinian group Hamas. The witch hunt failed to produce the desired results, however, and the Libertarian managed to win with 76% of the vote.

Ahead of the November presidential election, the Israel lobby has announced plans to spend nearly $100 million to combat political candidates it perceives as harmful or hostile to Israel.

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Russia conducts nuclear drills – Sweden offers Gripen jets to Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published today 18:02
– By Editorial Staff
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy together with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during a visit to Saab in Linköping, Sweden, where a letter of intent regarding the export of around a hundred Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine was promised. Simultaneously, Russia conducted a large-scale nuclear weapons exercise, including the launch of a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region.
2 minute read

Russia carried out a large-scale nuclear missile exercise on Wednesday, while Sweden signed a letter of intent to export Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine. The announcement comes one day after the United States announced that a planned summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin has been postponed.

The Kremlin released video footage showing Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov reporting to President Putin about the exercises. Russia launched missiles from ground-based platforms, submarines and aircraft, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States. However, the missiles did not contain live nuclear warheads.

During critical phases of the Ukraine war, Putin has repeatedly reminded the world of Russia’s nuclear capabilities as a warning to Kyiv and its Western allies. NATO also conducted nuclear deterrence exercises in October.

Sweden offers fighter jets

Sweden announced that the country has signed a letter of intent to export Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine. The announcement comes as European governments intensify their efforts in the Ukraine war, which has now lasted three years and eight months.

Ukrainian pilots have been in Sweden to test the Gripen, a robust and cost-effective alternative to the American F-35.

— We have begun work to acquire Gripen and expect that the future contract will provide us with at least 100 such aircraft, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to Swedish defense company Saab.

Kyiv aims to receive and begin using the aircraft as early as next year.

Summit postponed

After months of stalled diplomacy, Putin and Trump spoke last week and unexpectedly announced that they would hold a summit in Hungary within a couple of weeks. But after a phone call between the countries’ foreign ministers, the White House announced that Trump has no plans to meet Putin “in the foreseeable future”.

Trump explained that he did not want a “wasted meeting” – something the Kremlin said Putin also wants to avoid.

— The dates have not been set yet, but thorough preparation is needed, and that takes time, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The delay came after Russia reiterated to the United States its conditions for peace, including that Ukraine should hand over control of the entire Donbas region, according to three sources to Reuters. This represented a rejection of Trump’s statement that both sides should stop at the current front lines.

Shares in European defense companies rose on news of the postponed summit. Most European governments strongly support Kyiv and have pledged to increase their military spending for the war.

Swedish defense minister calls on Europe to enter “war mode”

The new cold war

Published yesterday 15:05
– By Editorial Staff
Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson wants Europe to tighten sanctions against Russia and accelerate military preparations.
2 minute read

Europe must enter “war mode” and mentally prepare for armed conflict with Russia. This is the demand from Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson in an interview with the German media network RND, where he also calls for tightened sanctions.

The statements come as the EU accelerates its military investments, and the defense minister’s words have attracted international attention, not least from Russian media.

— A change in mentality is needed – we must enter ‘war mode’ to resolutely deter the threat, defend and preserve peace. Russia constantly tests our unity and determination, Jonson declares.

He emphasizes that Europe must prepare “both mentally and militarily for the possibility of war”.

The Swedish defense minister also calls for tightened sanctions against Russia and believes that frozen Russian assets should be used to support Ukraine’s military.

— Only then will Putin understand that this war threatens his own power and cannot be won, he asserts.

The defense minister refers to Russia’s alleged military losses in Ukraine. Over the past year, according to Jonson, “more than 300,000 of the country’s soldiers have been killed or wounded” to capture “less than 0.5 percent of Ukraine’s territory”.

Arms deliveries from the US

Jonson also defends European arms purchases from the United States and argues that Europe “simply does not have or cannot yet produce” certain weapons systems.

— Ukraine needs these assets quickly. If Europe lacks them, it is logical to procure them from the US, he says.

The statements coincide with the European Commission presenting a plan last week to expand joint arms procurement to at least 40 percent by 2027.

Moscow has previously rejected European claims that Russia poses a threat to the EU and described the narrative as a political distraction from Europe’s domestic crises.

French banking giant found complicit in atrocities in Sudan

Published yesterday 10:47
– By Editorial Staff
The al-Bashir regime was able to continue its export of oil and cotton thanks to credit guarantees from French bank BNP Paribas.
2 minute read

A jury in New York has found that French banking giant BNP Paribas, through its operations in Sudan, helped support Omar al-Bashir’s regime and is therefore liable for the abuses that took place under his rule.

Three Sudanese victims have been awarded a total of 20.75 million dollars in damages.

The eight-member jury sided on Friday with the three plaintiffs – two men and one woman, all originally from Sudan but now American citizens. They had testified about horrific events under al-Bashir’s rule, where they were subjected to torture, burns, stabbings and sexual abuse by Sudanese soldiers and pro-government militias.

— I have no relatives left, Entesar Osman Kasher told the court in Manhattan.

The trial focused on whether BNP Paribas’ financial services constituted a “natural and adequate cause” of the harm suffered by victims of ethnic cleansing and mass violence.

Provided credit guarantees to the regime

The French bank, which operated in Sudan from the late 1990s until 2009, provided credit guarantees that enabled Sudan to fulfill import and export commitments.

The plaintiffs argued that these guarantees allowed the regime to continue exporting cotton, oil and other commodities, which gave the country billions of dollars that helped finance the atrocities.

Bobby DiCello, who represented the plaintiffs, called the verdict “a victory for justice and accountability”.

— The jury recognized that financial institutions cannot turn a blind eye to the consequences of their actions, he said.

A spokesperson for BNP Paribas told news agency AFP that the verdict is “clearly wrong and there are very strong grounds to appeal the verdict”. The defense argued that the bank’s operations were legal in Europe and that there was no connection between the bank’s actions and what happened to the plaintiffs.

Previous penalty

BNP Paribas had in 2014 agreed to plead guilty and pay a penalty of 8.97 billion dollars for transferring billions of dollars for Sudanese, Iranian and Cuban entities that were subject to economic sanctions.

The US government recognized the Sudan conflict as genocide in 2004. The war claimed approximately 300,000 lives between 2002 and 2008 and displaced 2.5 million people, according to the UN.

Al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for three decades, was deposed in 2019 and is wanted by the International Criminal Court on genocide charges.

Trump pressures Zelensky to accept Russia’s peace terms

The war in Ukraine

Published 20 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
3 minute read

Donald Trump has, according to multiple sources, urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to Russia’s demands to end the war in Ukraine. A stormy meeting at the White House on Friday was reportedly marked by raised voices, heated arguments, and Trump’s repeated echoing of Putin’s positions.

During the meeting, Trump allegedly warned Zelensky that Putin had threatened to “destroy Ukraine” if the country does not accept the terms, reports Financial Times.

Sources with insight say the meeting between the parties devolved several times into “shouting matches”, where Donald Trump used profanities and threw frontline maps across the room.

Trump reportedly insisted that Zelensky must hand over the entire Donbass region to Moscow, and repeated arguments that Putin had made in a phone call the day before. At the same time, he later supported freezing the current frontlines, reflecting his shifting stance on the issue.

Zelensky and his delegation had hoped to convince Trump to deliver Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, but the US president refused.

If the reports are accurate, the meeting can be compared to the contentious meeting in February, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance criticized Zelensky for lack of gratitude toward the United States.

Donald Trump Volodymyr Zelenskyj
The meeting between Zelensky and Trump in February earlier this year ended in open quarreling. Facsimile: Fox4

Zelensky’s position unchanged

European officials report that Trump repeatedly echoed Putin’s arguments word for word on several occasions, even when they contradicted his own previous statements about Russia’s weaknesses.

One official said Trump called the conflict a “special operation, not even a war” and warned Zelenskyy that Ukraine risked destruction.

Trump also expressed that Russia’s economy “is doing well”, which contrasts with his previous public statements that Putin’s economy is near collapse.

Zelensky commented to journalists:  Trump wants a quick victory – an end to the war – and that would be a victory for all reasonable people. Putin, however, wants the total occupation of Ukraine.

After the meeting, Zelensky stated that he had made clear to Trump that Ukraine’s position remains unchanged. Trump told Fox News on Sunday that he was convinced the conflict could be ended, adding that Putin “going to take something, he’s won certain property”.

Ukraina - ryska drönarattacker - juni 2025
While peace negotiations between the parties are marked by disagreement and stubbornness, fighting continues with undiminished intensity (archive image June 2025). Photo: screenshot/Youtube/@CNN

Donbass in exchange for other regions

Putin has proposed in talks with Trump that Ukraine hand over all of Donbass in exchange for smaller areas in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, Zelenskyy stated that there is still no clarity about exactly what Russia is willing to give up in these regions.

Ukrainian officials warn that giving up the remaining Donbass would give Moscow territory that it only partially controls, since the war began over three years ago.

Oleksandr Merezhko, chairman of Ukraine’s foreign affairs committee, says: – To give the Donbas to Russia without a fight is unacceptable for Ukrainian society, and Putin knows that. It’s not about getting more territory for Russia; it’s about how to destroy us from within.

Trump’s repetition of Putin’s rhetoric dampened hopes among many European allies for increased support to Kiev, despite him previously expressing frustration over Putin’s unwillingness to negotiate directly with Zelensky.

Zelensky commented after returning home: – We have moved closer to a possible end to the war. That doesn’t mean it will definitely end, but President Trump has achieved a lot in the Middle East, and riding that wave he wants to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

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