Book Review Norman Finkelstein's "Gaza's Gravediggers." "he focuses not on the Israelis who actually carried out the mass killings, but on those 'in high places' around the globe who enabled and continue to enable the genocide. He says at the beginning, “… this volume documents the complicity, born of cupidity and corruption, cowardice and careerism — of officials in high places. Its purpose is to send a firm warning to those occupying positions of public trust: We are watching you.” mondoweiss.net/2026/09/norma… @normfinkelstein @MouinRabbani

NATO is clearly spooked Russia is about to attack, but I find it difficult to believe the Russians in their present state are capable of a major offensive. Not sure what their play is unless it’s just to expose US guarantees as unreliable but that seems like a major gamble.

this footage was important to leak to the public

An interview with Iranian MP Fadahossein Maleki sheds some interesting light on what may have been happening behind the scenes in Tehran’s relations with Beijing over the past few weeks. - The starting point was Pezeshkian’s visit to Bishkek and the controversy in Iran over the absence of a formal bilateral meeting with Xi Jinping. Maleki now acknowledges quite openly that there was some substance behind the perception of a cooling of relations: the Chinese, he says, were unhappy about certain issues, while Tehran was itself dissatisfied with some Chinese positions, particularly what it regarded as insufficient support during the war. - Then Abbas Araghchi met Wang Yi three times in roughly two weeks, in Bishkek, Delhi and finally Beijing. Maleki describes the last trip in unusually explicit terms: it was necessary to “repair relations” with China. In other words, Araghchi appears to have spent considerable diplomatic capital trying to put the relationship back on track. - None of this means that China is abandoning Iran. Quite the opposite on the diplomatic front. On Thursday Beijing joined Moscow in vetoing the US-drafted Security Council resolution extending the mandate of the Panel of Experts monitoring UN sanctions on Iran. - But many analysts,including myself, believe that this episode may say something about the limits of the Iran-China “strategic partnership”. Beijing is prepared to give Tehran considerable diplomatic cover, while remaining much more cautious when its own economic and security interests are involved. - There is an interesting Iranian reading of this. Iranian observers note that China benefits from a Gulf security architecture still largely guaranteed by the United States, without having to bear its costs. Meanwhile it expands trade and investments, builds commercial links and increases its presence around the region’s ports. It can therefore deepen its economic footprint while Washington continues to provide much of the security umbrella. - This helps explain the ambiguity now visible in Tehran: China remains indispensable, but expectations are being reassessed. Maleki himself warned that Beijing should be careful not to play both sides. - Perhaps that is the real lesson of the past few weeks: China is becoming increasingly assertive in defending Iran diplomatically, but remains far more selective when support for Tehran risks colliding with its broader interests in the Persian Gulf. - And there is an interesting footnote to all this. Recent reports from Yemen claim that debris from a Chinese-made DF-15 ballistic missile was found after a Saudi strike against the Houthis, possibly pointing to its first operational use by Riyadh. The claim has not been independently confirmed, but the symbolism is difficult to miss: while Beijing provides diplomatic cover to Tehran, Chinese weapons may also be finding their way onto the other side of a regional conflict involving one of Iran’s closest partners. #Iran

Umar bin Ladin, son of Osama talks about the Pashtuns of Afghanistan from his time there. Quite an interesting interview.