Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Libertarian Javier Milei wins Argentine presidency

Published 20 November 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Argentina's new President Javier Milei during an election rally.

Controversial libertarian economist Javier Milei has been elected Argentina’s next president. With nearly 90 percent of the votes counted, Milei received nearly 56 percent of the vote, compared to 44 percent for his runoff rival, Economy Minister Sergio Massa.

The 53-year-old Milei can be mildly described as a bit of an oddity in both the Argentine and global political landscape, having been compared to former U.S. President Donald Trump, among others. He has built his appeal largely on promises to revive the economy at a time when Argentina is facing its sixth recession in ten years. Argentines have long been frustrated by a cost-of-living crisis combined with triple-digit inflation, which reached its highest level since the early 1990s during the summer.

Libertarians typically view government activity as an infringement on individual freedom and advocate a free market combined with significantly lower taxes and little or no social spending. Milei has also maintained a sharp rhetorical line towards the cultural left, to which the formally Catholic Milei has included, for example, Pope Francis.

Even before the official results were announced, Sergio Massa conceded defeat in a statement.

– The result is not what we expected and I have contacted Javier Milei to congratulate him and wish him good luck, Massa said, also thanking his supporters.

– I am a man of democracy and I value nothing more than the verdict of the people. I am convinced that tomorrow we can start working with Javier Milei to ensure an orderly transition (of power), said former president Alberto Fernandez on X.

During the campaign, Milei made several sweeping proposals, including the abolition of the country’s central bank. He also advocates cutting public spending in order to fix the economy. It has also been noted that he is open to the cryptocurrency bitcoin as a way to reform the economy.

– The central bank is a fraud, a mechanism by which politicians cheat the good people with inflationary taxes (which is why bitcoin) represents the return of money to its original creator, the private sector, he has previously said.

Javier Gerardo Milei

Javier Milei was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, on October 22, 1970. His mother Alicia was a housewife, and his father Norberto was a bus driver and later a businessman in the bus industry. The family is of Italian origin. Milei first gained attention as an economist and author of several books on economics and politics before becoming politically active.

Milei calls himself an anarcho-capitalist and wants to legalize organ trade, among other things. He aims to abolish the central bank and introduce the American dollar as the currency in Argentina.

He supports former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former US President Donald Trump, particularly for their anti-communist stance and criticism of socialism. He sees the United States and Israel as his main allies. He has also expressed his intention to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the Argentine embassy there from Tel Aviv.

At the beginning of Russia's intervention in Ukraine in early 2022, Javier Milei entered the Argentine national congress palace with a Ukrainian flag to show his solidarity with Kyiv.

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Large-scale Ukrainian attack on Russian air bases

The war in Ukraine

Published yesterday 12:43
– 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.

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 yesterday 7:13
– 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.

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.

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.

Australian whistleblower loses court appeal – remains in prison

Published 30 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The documents leaked to the press by McBride showed, among other things, how Australian special forces executed unarmed Afghans.

Australian whistleblower David McBride will not have his prison sentence reduced. The Australian Capital Territory Court of Appeal ruled on Wednesday, rejecting McBride’s attempt to appeal the five-year and eight-month sentence he was handed down last year.

McBride, a former army lawyer, pleaded guilty to stealing and leaking classified documents about war crimes committed by Australian special forces in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. This information was then used as the basis for ABC’s high-profile investigation, The Afghan Files, in 2017.

In his appeal, McBride claimed that he had acted in the public interest, citing the oath he had sworn as a member of the military. However, the court rejected this argument and ruled that the oath actually obliged him to act “according to the law“.

– It is my own conscience and the people of Australia that I answer to. I have kept my oath to the Australian people, McBride said in a statement through his lawyers.

– People who have stood up for what is right in history have suffered far more than I have. … It is a great privilege to sacrifice for the country and I am confident the outrage produced by this judgment will be felt by all Australians. I will not give up.

“It can’t be illegal to tell the truth”

McBride can apply for parole after serving two years and three months, which means August 2025 at the earliest. However, his lawyer Eddie Lloyd says he will probably not be able to begin parole hearings until August 2026.

The decision has drawn criticism from rights groups and lawyers, who point out that McBride is the only person so far to be jailed over allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan. A 2020 military report recommended that 19 soldiers be investigated for 39 cases of suspected war crimes, but only one – Oliver Schulz – has been charged so far.

Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, recently lost a civil case that found he had killed four unarmed Afghans in violation of the laws of war, but he has not yet been charged.

It cannot be a crime to expose a crime. It cannot be illegal to tell the truth”, McBride’s lawyers wrote, announcing that they will now take the case to Australia’s highest court.

“Those who committed the crimes are walking free”

The lawyers are also calling on Justice Minister Michelle Rowland to pardon McBride. Her office declined to comment, but said it was considering further protections for whistleblowers in the public sector.

– David should never have spent a single day behind bars. Yet as we speak, he is returning to a cold, dark prison cell – preparing for winter in a concrete jungle – while those who committed crimes walk free and those who covered up those crimes have been rewarded with medals and promotions, Lloyd said.

The Nordic Times has previously reported on McBride’s case in connection with his prison sentence.

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