𝗜𝗦𝗥𝗔𝗘𝗟 𝗗𝗘𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝟳𝟬𝟬 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗡 𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗡... Late last night, Israeli forces carried out an unprecedented act of destruction across southern Lebanon, detonating nearly 700 tons of explosives underground around Yohmor El Chqif, Arnoun, and Kfar Tebnit. The violent blasts triggered shockwaves felt as far north as Iqlim al-Kharrub and Khalde. Residents across the region were shaken by powerful ground tremors, while homes in El Qlaiaa suffered structural damage and shattered windows, leaving the surrounding air heavy with the stench of gunpowder and endangering the historic, UNESCO-listed Beaufort Castle. To put this destruction into perspective, setting off 700 tons of explosives in a single night is roughly equivalent to firing over 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles, 600 medium-range missiles, or nearly 200 intercontinental ballistic missile warheads all at once. The explosion was so powerful that the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research registered it across all seismic monitors, noting that the ground movement mimicked a 3.8 magnitude earthquake. The fallout was so severe that pulverized rock, stone dust, and white debris blanketed neighboring southern villages, a haunting visual testament to a systematic campaign aimed at rendering southern Lebanon entirely uninhabitable, amounting to nothing short of targeted ethnic cleansing and catastrophic destruction. What makes this unchecked aggression even more appalling is the total spinelessness and utter silence from the Lebanese government and state leadership in Beirut. While innocent civilians are terrorized, their property ruined, and their land literally turned upside down, Lebanese officials do nothing beyond taking notes and compiling casualty stats. The Israeli military operates with absolute impunity, fully aware that international bodies will turn a blind eye and that the helpless, passive cabinet in Beirut won't lift a finger to defend its own sovereign territory or protect its people.show more

Israel has confirmed its intention to occupy southern Lebanon.... 🇮🇱🇱🇧 The Defence Minister confirmed the armed forces’ intention to occupy the entire region south of the Litani River until the area is safe for the population and free of Hezbollah’s presence. Over the last few days, the Israeli air force has bombed the main evacuation bridges used by the Lebanese population to flee northwards, whilst IDF ground forces continue to build up along the border. The towns are subject to intense bombing and systematic destruction by Israel, which coincides with recent statements and speeches by the Israeli Defence Minister, Israel Katz (who ordered the destruction of border villages in southern Lebanon ‘in line with the model applied in Gaza’) and the Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who has threatened that “the southern suburbs of Beirut (Dahiya) could soon resemble Khan Younis”. The main areas where Israeli forces are massing are located in the occupied Golan Heights and in Kiryat Shmona (which has come under heavy attack from Hezbollah in recent days), suggesting that these will be the main axes of the occupation: on the one hand, occupying new positions on the slopes of Mount Hermon, and on the other hand reaching the Litani River and advancing towards Wadi el-Hjeir, in order to ‘encircle’ the southern towns whilst advancing towards Tyre and along the secondary axes in the south. However, with Israel’s current capabilities, it could only create a buffer zone along the Lebanese border. The IDF Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, warned at a security cabinet meeting on 25–26 March 2026 that the army “will collapse in on itself” if the manpower shortage is not resolved. He cited “10 red flags” (serious warnings), including the exhaustion of reservists who have already completed 6 or 7 rotations, the expansion of missions and the lack of new conscription laws. Furthermore, the military spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, acknowledged that the IDF needs around 15,000 additional soldiers to fulfil current missions. Moreover, this does not take into account the additional reserve troops that will be required to sustain a long-term occupation on the ground, nor the cost this may entail, given the history of previous Israeli occupations of Lebanese territory.show more

BREAKING: Lebanon has ordered the Iranian ambassador to leave... the country by 29th March. Persona non grata. The host nation of Iran’s most successful proxy just told the patron state to get out. This happened on the same day that Hezbollah fired its 55th rocket and drone attack since March 22nd. On the same day that the IDF struck hundreds of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and Beirut’s southern suburbs. On the same day that the Lebanese Health Ministry reported 18 killed and 65 injured from Israeli strikes on Lebanese soil. Lebanon expelled the ambassador of the country whose proxy is fighting a war from Lebanon’s territory while Lebanon’s own citizens die in the crossfire. Process what that means. Lebanon has two governments. One sits in the Grand Serail and issues decrees. The other sits in Dahieh and launches missiles. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has banned all Hezbollah military and security activities. He has demanded weapon surrender. He has expelled the Iranian ambassador. And Hezbollah has responded by firing another barrage into northern Israel this morning. The decrees do not reach Dahieh. The Lebanese Armed Forces remain non-engaged. The state issues orders that the parallel state ignores. The ambassador leaves. The rockets do not. Lebanon created Hezbollah’s host environment and Hezbollah consumed it. Iran’s IRGC dispatched advisors to the Bekaa Valley in 1982 during the Israeli invasion and the chaos of civil war. They trained Shiite militants. They funded mosques, hospitals, schools. They built a social infrastructure that the Lebanese state could not provide, then militarised it. Hezbollah’s 1985 manifesto pledged allegiance to Ayatollah Khomeini. Iran provides an estimated $700 million annually. Forty-four years later, the organisation that Iran built inside Lebanon is more powerful than the state that hosts it. The ambassador can be expelled. The $700 million pipeline cannot. The expulsion is not strength. It is the last card a government plays when it has no others. Lebanon’s economy loses $30 to $80 million per day from the strikes. Five hundred and seventeen thousand people are displaced. The banking system collapsed in 2020 and never recovered. The currency has lost 98 percent of its value since 2019. And now Israel is striking Lebanese territory daily because Hezbollah is using Lebanese territory to attack Israel in solidarity with an Iranian war that the Lebanese government did not start, does not support, and cannot stop. The country is being destroyed by a war between its tenant and its neighbour, and the landlord has no power over either. Hezbollah fights because Iran’s sealed packets and $700 million command it. Israel strikes because Hezbollah fires from Lebanese positions. Lebanon’s government expels an ambassador because expelling an ambassador is the one sovereign act it can still perform. The army cannot disarm Hezbollah. The police cannot enter Dahieh. The courts cannot prosecute a militia that provides social services to a third of the population. The only tool the state has left is a diplomatic note handed to a man whose organisation does not need his presence to continue operating. The Axis of Resistance was designed for exactly this: to fight from inside states that cannot control the fight. Lebanon is the template. Iraq, Yemen, and Syria are the copies. The patron state provides the funding. The proxy provides the violence. The host state absorbs the retaliation. And when the host state protests, the proxy ignores the protest and the patron state sends a new ambassador. The rockets will continue after March 29. The ambassador will leave. The $700 million will not.show more

‼️ Lebanon Under “Eternal Darkness”: Massive Israeli Coordinated Strikes... Across the Country Lebanon witnessed a massive, coordinated wave of Israeli strikes today, including direct hits in central Beirut. This appears to be one of the largest single waves of attacks on the country in decades. Strikes have hit multiple areas across: •Beirut and its southern suburbs •Southern Lebanon •The Bekaa Valley and Baalbek region Locations in the capital include densely populated neighbourhoods such as Corniche al-Mazraa, Musaytbeh, Basta, Ain el-Tineh, Hay el-Lija , Manara, & others, alongside additional strikes in surrounding areas including Choueifat, Aramoun, & Bchamoun. Across the south & Bekaa, dozens of towns & cities have also been targeted in a wide geographic spread. The scale, simultaneity, and distribution of these strikes point to a highly coordinated operation carried out across multiple fronts at once. Lebanon’s Health Minister says hospitals are overwhelmed, with over 350 casualties reported across the country, including both killed & injured. Let that sink in over 350 within a spate of 10 minutes. Israeli media reports the operation has been named “Eternal Darkness,” & military leadership has confirmed that strikes against Hezbollah will continue under this campaign. At the same time, conflicting signals are emerging around the ceasefire. Israeli officials say there will be no halt to operations in Lebanon, while Iran, despite agreeing to a two-week pause with the United States, has warned it may respond if attacks on Lebanon continue. This suggests the ceasefire may be partial, not comprehensive, with the risk of escalation still very much present.show more

ATTENTION! Iran Ballistic Missile capacity (SITREP)—how much longer can... they sustain these barrages? It’s just past 0200 local in Tel Aviv time now. Iran has over 3,000 ballistic missiles but cannot launch all simultaneously (they’ve already launched 8 waves). Current evidence leans toward a maximum of around 180-200 missiles launched at once in recent attacks. It seems very likely that infrastructure limits simultaneous launches to far below 3,000. Iran possesses a significant ballistic missile arsenal, estimated at over 3,000 missiles, making it the largest in the Middle East. However, the capacity to launch all these missiles at once is constrained by logistical and strategic factors, including the number of launch platforms and the nature of their deployment. Recent military actions show Iran launching up to 180-200 missiles in a single strike. These numbers are significantly lower than 3,000, indicating a limit to simultaneous launch capacity. Iran's infrastructure and launch capacity, including transporter-erector-launchers (TELs) and underground facilities, does not support launching 3,000 missiles at once. The focus on sequential or ripple-fire systems further supports this limitation. My assessment is Iran is getting toward the end of their ballistic missile capacity (for a variety of reasons). They likely still retain hundreds but their ability to launch very large numbers is hindered by infrastructure destruction over the past several days as well as launch capabilities. That said, DO NOT underestimate Iran’s ability to do as much as humanly possible to attempt to destroy Israel. That has been their stated goal for years and until there is regime change to someone more aligned with Israel and the west, expect this war to continue. Iran's ballistic missile program has been a focal point of regional and international security discussions for many years, particularly given its implications for Middle Eastern stability and global non-proliferation efforts. Iran's ballistic missile inventory comprises a diverse array of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) and medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs). One notable development is an automated missile launch system revealed since 2020, capable of positioning up to five fully fueled ballistic missiles on an underground railcar for sequential ripple-fire through a single vertical shaft. This is what Israel is facing now. Barrages of dozens of these simultaneously and my assessment is more to come. Strategic and Logistical Considerations Launching 3,000 missiles simultaneously would require an unprecedented number of launch platforms and coordination, likely exceeding Iran's current capabilities. Strategically, such an action would deplete Iran's entire arsenal, leaving it vulnerable to counterattacks. Our Israeli allies need to prepare for another round of massive amounts of missiles. Iran—you better get ready for a strategic counteroffensive. The Israelis have planned this war for a long time and my sense is that they are far more ready than you, particularly their population. The Iranian people DO NOT want to suffer any longer under their brutal tyrannical regime. This war will end with a clear victor. Donald J. Trump JD Vance DNI Tulsi Gabbardshow more

The situation in northern Israel is getting surprisingly little... attention in the West. Here’s some background and an explanation of just how dire it is. World War Three gets closer by the day, and I’m not exaggerating. UNSC resolution 1701 (2006) is that Hezbollah agree to stay north of the river Litani in Lebanon. This puts Israeli settlements out of anti-tank rocket range. However, Hezbollah have broken this and since 7th October have fired thousands of rockets into Israel, displacing some 60,000 Israelis from their homes. To be clear, Hezbollah is a direct Iranian proxy, who live like a virus inside the almost-dead body of the Lebanese state. Their fighters are far superior to Hamas, having gained serious experience in the Syrian civil war. They have no real ground manoeuvre or air power, but their tunnels in the chalk rock of southern Lebanon are better than Hamas’ and they have an estimated 150,000 rockets. There are UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon, but (shockingly for the UN, I know) they’re as much use as a bacon sandwich at a Bar Mitzvah. One very senior Israeli source described them to me as “an umbrella that folds when it rains”. So Israel has a real, very serious problem. They do not have the manpower to assault into Lebanon for any kind of sustained campaign, especially whilst Gaza is ongoing. So, in polite terms, they are kicking the shit out of it from the air (over which they have total superiority) and relying on missile defences. Thousands of targets have been struck in the last 9 months but Hezbollah retain very significant missile capability. This is why Israel are beholden to the USA to offer obscenely generous ceasefire terms to Hamas (that Hamas appear to be declining). They cannot afford to lose American military aid with this threat on their northern border. In the videos below, in the first vid you see the war zone northern Israel has become. The second one is the settlement of Katzrin in the Golan Heights. Surrounded on all sides by fires. In a statement to Qatari-funded Muslim Brotherhood mouthpiece Al Jazeera, yesterday Hezbollah said, “We simultaneously attacked 15 bases in the Golan and the Galilee using 150 rockets and 30 drones. This is the most extensive attack carried out by the organization since October 8, this attack came in response to the assassination in Joya and in order to deter Israel from carrying out further assassinations of this type.” On top of that, Iranian proxies in Iraq took responsibility last night for the joint operation they carried out together with the Houthis (Iranian proxies in Yemen), which launched these ballistic missiles and UAVs towards the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Haifa (third video). Iran is besieging Israel on all sides, and Israel is bending, not breaking. This situation is genuinely dire. It explains why Hamas will not sign a ceasefire deal, and why other non-Iran aligned Gulf states are meeting with IDF commanders. The entire region is teetering on the edge of a much more widespread conflict with Iran, and Israel is taking the brunt of it. If this situation deteriorates, our allies in the Gulf may call for aid. As a second front in the war against the Iran-Russia-China-Qatar axis of malign global actors, this could not be more serious or worrying. And all the while we see subversive Iranian proxy organisations organising protests about Gaza on Western streets. Hopefully the West is not defeated domestically before the war even starts in earnest.show more

A brave Lebanese photo journalist who is still based... in Nabatieh was able to capture at least one Merkava tank burning in the outskirts of Arnoun Castle, on the outskirts of Nabatieh region, after a failed Israeli invasion attempt from Yohmor village towards the strategic hill top. The resistance did announce earlier targeting 3 Merkava tanks with ATGMs, while Israeli evacuation helicopters were seen at least 3 times today evacuating Israeli casulaties from the battlefield. The blackout imposed on the area by the Israelis warning everyone for complete evacuation of entire South Lebanon and targeting cars on the roads lead to very few journalists able to access the area and report the situation. I added a video for the area for the audience to understand the location and geography of the scenes, where Arnoun castle sits on a hill top located 5 kms away from the borders, and is elevated 700 m above sea level and 300 meters above its outskirts. more than 200 Israeli airstrikes attacked the vilages in direct outskirts of Arnoun and Yohmor and Zawtar in the last 48 hours, with continuous artillery shelling. I was not able to reach there today after the road i usually take, Zefta, was warned and bombed. Yesterday, the same road witnessed an ugly attack against a truck loaded with horses, their owner was trying to evacuate them from his farm in Zefta village. These images coming from the frontline are very important as they dismantle the Israeli systematic psychological warfare on our people about an "easy invasion", and depict the reality on the ground they are facing despite all their unlimited fire power and unchalleged air superiority due to unconditional and open western support.show more

⚡️🇵🇸BREAKING: Press Statement Issued by the Government Media Office:... The occupation army has unleashed hell on civilians, destroying 1,600 residential buildings and 13,000 tents, and forcibly displacing 350,000 people from eastern Gaza to its center and west. ➤ The Government Media Office strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli occupation army’s brutal targeting of Gaza City and its residential neighborhoods. This comes as part of systematic policies of destruction, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement carried out since the ground invasion began on August 11, 2025, and continues to this day. ➤ Contrary to the claims of Israeli “Defense Minister Yoav Gallant” that “the gates of hell in Gaza have been opened on the resistance and the army’s operations will escalate against it,” the reality is the opposite: the occupation deliberately unleashes fire on defenseless civilians, hundreds of thousands of children, women, and the elderly, destroying homes, hospitals, schools, mosques, and tents, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, while justifying ongoing genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement. ➤ The occupation has committed large-scale destruction, including the complete demolition of more than 1,600 multi-story residential towers and buildings, and severe damage to more than 2,000 others. Over 13,000 tents sheltering displaced people were also destroyed. Since the beginning of September 2025 alone, the occupation has demolished 70 towers and residential buildings completely, severely damaged 120 more, and destroyed over 3,500 tents. ➤ These towers and buildings contained more than 10,000 housing units accommodating over 50,000 residents. The tents destroyed sheltered over 52,000 displaced people. In total, the occupation has demolished shelters and tents that housed more than 100,000 individuals, forcing the displacement of over 350,000 civilians from eastern Gaza neighborhoods to the city center and west, clearly reflecting the deliberate commission of war crimes through a policy of systematic ethnic cleansing and genocide. ➤ Administratively, Gaza City consists of several major neighborhoods and camps, including: Al-Shuja’iya, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Tuffah, Al-Daraj, Al-Rimal North, Al-Rimal South, Tel al-Hawa, Sheikh Radwan, Al-Sabra, Al-Nasr, Al-Shati Camp, Sheikh Ajlin—each of which contains subdivisions such as Al-Shuja’iya’s Harazin, Turkman, and Al-Muntar, among others. ➤ By presenting these facts to the world, the Government Media Office affirms that the Israeli occupation deliberately targets civilians, their homes, and their places of displacement, committing genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement in a clear and systematic manner, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. The office calls on the international community to act urgently to stop these crimes and provide protection for defenseless civilians.show more

🇳🇵| #Nepal | The devastation in #Rasuwa is not... an act of nature. It is the visible wound of a nation that has been carved up and sold by its own political class to foreign corporations and global financial institutions. Nepal's sovereignty has been under quiet, systematic attack for decades, and the landslide is the result. The government of Nepal did not merely fail to protect its people. It actively enabled their destruction through policies that prioritised foreign investment, "development" loans, and infrastructure projects over the lives of those in the mountains. The same pattern we have exposed across India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan is operating here. The globalist machine needs Nepal's rivers, its hydropower, its strategic location between China and India, and its people as a cheap, disposable labour force. What has happened in Rasuwa is part of this same plan. The hydropower rush in the Himalayan rivers has destabilised the slopes. Roads are carved through unstable geology without proper engineering, funded by development banks that demand Nepal remain a debtor nation. Forests are stripped. The people are told to accept "progress." Then the rains come, engineered or not, and the mountain comes down. The state calls it a natural disaster. The media says "pray for Nepal." And the same companies that pushed the projects arrive later for the "reconstruction." Nepal's tragedy is that its people have been taught to see themselves as victims of geography. They are victims of governance. The same globalist networks that are flooding Assam, burning Europe, shaking Turkey and Japan, and bulldozing Palestine are now tightening their grip on the Himalayas. Nepal is a key piece on that board. Its government has signed the agreements. The land has been mapped, zoned, and mortgaged. The people are in the way. I will not pretend that a single, tidy "plan" explains every layer of corruption in Nepal. But I will say this clearly: the flood and landslide did not have to be fatal. The deaths are the result of decades of deliberate neglect, of state capture by local and foreign oligarchs, and of an economic model that treats the mountains and their people as resources to be extracted rather than lives to be protected. The people of Nepal deserve more than prayers. They deserve the truth. That truth is that their government has failed them, and the same invisible system that is devastating the rest of the world is now using their rivers, their mountains, and their grief as fuel. The prayer posts will fade. The system will remain. Unless the people of Nepal, and of every targeted nation, choose to stop accepting the lie that the land is their enemy. The land is not the enemy. The land has been betrayed. The monsoon is the trigger. The real weapon was wielded long before the rain came.show more

Iran launches symbolic missile attack against Israel, which retaliates... strongly After Iran launched a symbolic attack against Israel in protest against the attacks on Beirut, hours later it was Israel's turn to retaliate, this time indeed with violence and hitting more than 10 targets in Iran, including Tehran airport and Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Kermanshah, Karaj, and some other areas in western Iran. Israel used air-launched ballistic missiles from Iranian airspace and also dared to launch cruise missiles from ships stationed in the Mediterranean. The White House said the US had no part in the attack; however, strangely, American tanker planes were seen in the air. Refueling whom? It wasn't my motorcycle. There are two questions at this moment: One is that since the Iranian retaliation did not hit targets in Israel in a significant way, it is very likely that Iran still has a serious problem with the refurbishment and upgrade of its long-range missiles. And the other is that perhaps the US has not only reinstated THAAD radars and others but also added more batteries brought from Asia that were positioned in advance in the corridors. Be that as it may, the current situation forces Iran to retaliate and show that it possesses real means of inflicting damage on Israel. There will be no ceasefire in Lebanon in the way Iran desires, simply because Israel saw the quantity of missiles that Hezbollah accumulated in a short period of time and will not allow that again. Israel has its own agenda, its own interests, and they are completely antagonistic to the peace plan that has been discussed. Trump is trying to save his political skin, but Netanyahu will impose his agenda and Trump will be dragged along by it. But while Trump isn't dragged along, Iran seems to be wanting to settle scores with Israel, launching a new wave of missiles along with Yemen, which, by all accounts, has also decided to launch missiles against Israel. It remains to be seen what the level of these attacks will be. In the last few instances, the Houthis launched merely symbolic attacks. Join my substack and support my work:show more

🚨BREAKING: Massive Explosion Rocks Tehran After U.S.–Israel Strike Raw... footage is now circulating showing a massive detonation in Tehran after reported U.S. and Israeli missile strikes on Iranian military infrastructure. The blast is so powerful that the shockwave appears to ripple across multiple city blocks, sending a towering column of fire and smoke into the sky. This is the scale of modern precision warfare. The ongoing campaign against Iranian military targets has already produced repeated explosions across the capital as strike packages hit command centers, missile facilities, and security compounds tied to the regime. Explosions and heavy bombardment have been reported across Tehran as the conflict escalates into its fifth day. Video like this shows the moment a hardened target is hit. A flash… a shockwave… then a rolling fireball expanding outward as the structure collapses and debris erupts into the air. When a strike generates a blast that large, it usually means one of three things was hit A weapons storage facility A missile command site Or a major military compound. Multiple strikes in Tehran over the past several days have already destroyed IRGC facilities and key regime infrastructure as the joint campaign expands. The message behind footage like this is unmistakable. When hostile regimes threaten Americans… launch missiles across the region… and build underground weapons networks… The response from the United States of America and its allies arrives with OVERWHELMING precision and force. That explosion lighting up the Tehran skyline is the sound of military capability meeting its target. DO NOT THREATEN AMERICANS! Because when the United States responds… the entire world hears it. #SilentMajoritySpeaks #AStoneGrooveshow more

The Saudi offensive is only just beginning. Today, hundreds... of drones, dozens of helicopters and a large combat aviation force were used against Houthi positions, which lost ground in open terrain along the coast. Anyone expecting the Saudis to act as they did in the Yemeni civil war, where they were defeated, is mistaken. This will be an extremely hard war for the Houthis, who will retaliate against the Saudi and Emirati oil industries. The central question comes down to two points: 1How far are the Saudi and Emirati industries willing to overlook the economic damage? Yes, the bill will reach the Emirates as well before long, since their proxies are already fully engaged and moving into the front lines. 2Inevitably, Iran will have to act more decisively. Once the Saudis and Emiratis are ignoring the damage to their own economies, in a not-so-distant scenario Trump could resume the war and likewise overlook Iranian retaliation against the GCC’s industry. That is the picture taking shape if the war in Yemen continues to escalate. A more brutal resumption of Yemen’s civil war will be far more consequential than it was years ago. There is a bet that Iran, in its current economic situation, has limited capacity to finance the Houthis, and that this is therefore a golden opportunity. The problem is that the Yemenis still hold an arsenal that will certainly last for months of fighting, even with the massive support of Saudi allies. This conflict will quickly evolve into one fought mainly with drones and 4x4s on the front, with missiles flying from both sides aimed at the economy and logistics.show more

This morning, Israel withdrew from its first Lebanese village... since the invasion in March, and the Lebanese Armed Forces have moved in to fill the void. The question is: Does this signal the beginning of a forced Israeli retreat, or the start of Lebanon’s long road to recovery? The answer is complicated. Israel can continue destroying Hezbollah infrastructure indefinitely, but it will pay massive international costs for doing so, with no way, short of a full invasion, to extinguish the group entirely. The framework agreement gives Israel legitimacy and time to uproot Hezbollah, but what Lebanon gives, it can also take away. If Beirut loses momentum and descends into state collapse, the entire agreement evaporates, and Hezbollah recovers out of Israel’s reach. This is the project President Joseph Aoun carries to Washington, where he meets Trump for the first time. Trump had no direct communication with Aoun during his first year in office—no meetings, calls, or letters. His sole contact has been in the form of inconsistent messaging on Lebanon’s fate: declaring after the June 26 agreement that “Iran is out, Hezbollah is out, and the road to peace between Israel and Lebanon is in,” then pivoting to pressure Netanyahu for unconditional withdrawal in the spirit of the Iran MOU, telling him, “They don’t want you there. You should redeploy,” before abandoning both positions altogether in favor of his own scheme, declaring, “Syria will do the job.” Aoun has already proven his willingness to buck Iran and pursue eventual peace with Israel. That was enough to earn this meeting. But anyone with a functioning memory knows the track record is bleak. Lebanon’s LAF claimed to have cleared Hezbollah infrastructure south of the Litani in late 2025, yet Israel continues finding significant assets there a year since their declaration. More damning still, LAF commander Rodolphe Haykal has explicitly prioritized “civil peace” over confronting Hezbollah—a strange priority for a general with orders to the contrary. The Lebanese military has proven as effective at disarming Hezbollah as UN peacekeepers have been, which is to say, not at all. Lebanese leaders have repeatedly promised and failed to disarm the group over the past 35 years—from the Taif Accord through the 2024 ceasefire. The uncomfortable truth is that throughout Lebanon’s history, only foreign powers—the United States, France, Israel, and Syria—have successfully disarmed Lebanese militias. Before Aoun goes all in on Hezbollah disarmament, he needs ironclad U.S. commitments. That means Delta Force-style training units for elite LAF operations, drones and sensors for border security, organized international fundraising for reconstruction, and business initiatives to rebuild Lebanon’s shattered economy. He also needs assurance that Trump will not abandon him halfway through his push. Trump, for his part, will demand specifics: a detailed plan for Hezbollah disarmament, removal of military officers complicit with the group, suspension of anti-normalization laws blocking Israeli-Lebanese civilian contact, and a clear reaffirmation that peace with Israel is Aoun’s strategic objective. Most critically, Aoun must decisively kill Trump’s recurring fantasy of deploying Syrian troops into Lebanon—a move that would resurrect memories of Assad-era brutality and paradoxically strengthen Hezbollah’s popular support. The circumstances favor success. The U.S.-Iran MOU is in tatters, eliminating easy alternatives to the framework. This week’s Rome talks were productive. Pilot zones are advancing. Trump will likely warm to Aoun personally, provided he takes a note from Zelensky and wears a suit. But this is about far more than personal rapport; the future of Lebanon hangs in the balance.show more

The Israeli Air Force has dropped over 12,000 bombs... in Iran since the start of the war, in over 8,500 separate strikes on Iranian regime targets, the military says. A senior IAF official says that "in 18 days, we flew as much as we would in a year." Of the 12,000 munitions, 3,600 alone were used in strikes in Tehran, according to the IDF. IAF fighter jets have carried out 5,700 separate sorties, including over 540 to central and western Iran and 50 deeper east in the country. Military officials say that the IAF is carrying out constant air operations over Iran to thwart ballistic missile fire on Israel, using new techniques that allow for longer operations without the need for refueling. In this formation, dubbed "metro sorties" by the IAF, drones and fighter jets loiter before carrying out strikes on ballistic missile launchers, Iranian soldiers, and other targets, based on "real-time information." When a new target is identified, IAF aircraft can be quickly dispatched to strike it. This was the case for the killing of Iran's intelligence minister, Esmaeil Khatib, in Tehran yesterday, according to the IDF. Officials say this effort relies on maintaining air superiority over Iran. The military assesses that its strikes have destroyed around 85% of Iran's air defense and detection systems. More than 300 targets relating to Iran's air defenses, including missile launchers and radars, have been struck, the IDF says. In terms of Iran's advanced air defense systems, the IAF assesses that it has destroyed 92% of them, with only a handful of such systems remaining, including some that are hidden and not in use. The IDF says it has destroyed around 80% of Iran's older air defense systems, along with 80% of its radars. Iran also has what the military describes as "decentralized" air defense systems, where missile launchers are connected to various optical systems, such as rudimentary cameras with artificial intelligence tracking software, to target Israeli aircraft. Some 75% of these systems have been destroyed, and military officials acknowledge they are much harder to locate than the advanced systems. Additionally, the IDF says it has destroyed or disabled around 60% of Iran's estimated 470 ballistic missile launchers. Some previous military estimates put this number at 70%. Around 200 of the launchers were destroyed in strikes, while another 80 are not considered to be operational after the IAF struck tunnel entrances to subterranean facilities where they are stored, according to the military. The IAF says it continues to hunt down the remaining roughly 200 launchers to reduce the missile fire on Israel. The military also assesses that Iran still has hundreds of ballistic missiles that can reach Israel. It has so far launched over 350 at Israel, with the rate of fire slowing to 10-20 missiles a day in the past week, with just one or two missiles at a time.show more

10th of July - Israeli War on South Lebanon... update: Israeli killer drones have carried out 5 attacks since morning, including at least 2 civilian cars in areas that are not even included in their proclaimed yellow zone (area occupied by drone strikes and surveillance). Israeli Hermes 450 drone attacked a pickup truck by 2 missiles this morning on Kfardajjal road, linking Nabatieh to Kfarsir and central Litani area. The pickup was for a contractor with the municipal council and carrying garbage from a nearby town to be dropped in a location their. The road is used by most of the people returning to towns of Qsaybeh, Adsheet, Kfarsir and Qaqaaiyet al-Jeser and others. 2 men who were municipality workers, were seriously injured and taken to hospital. At noon, Israeli drones targeted a civilian SUV on the outskirts of Kfarromman. The terrorist attack was carried out by 2 missiles also, as video shows, and until now we have unconfirmed information about 1 man who was murdered. Other Israeli drone strikes were reported since morning, including 1 on Ali Taher hill, 1 on Zawtar and another one Qaqaaiyet al-Jeser. These 3 are still being investigated and it is hard to reach any of those areas by civil defense or any first responders team. This is happening while the Lebanese current authorities are insisting on continuing their negotiation process with Israeli enemy, and not even condemn any of these daily agressions, according to the "good intentions" paper they signed some weeks ago in Washington.show more

The Australian government does not deserve our trust, or... our respect. Today, Minister Penny Wong sat back in her chair grappling for words, desperately looking for the right lie to tell. It is worse than dishonest - it is an absolute lack of care. Penny Wong came to this country when she was 8 years old. She came to a country that afforded her the ability to become who she is, and she is now doing her part to destroy it. Back in the 70’s, when she came, Australia was a fair-minded place and a great place to be. Yet here she is... Here in Australia. Undermining our country and lying to our faces. Because she can’t tell the truth. Because if she did, it would destroy any semblance of care for Australia tied to her old party’s Labor brand. It would say the quiet part out loud. The truth. The truth that the Albanese government is more interested in the fortunes of the ISIS brides, women who chose to leave this country to go and fight against our people, than those of us that can’t find or afford a place to live here at home. I am tired of being told how to think by people that completely lack morals and couldn’t care less. People that are elected and paid to operate in the national interest but always put their twisted ethics and back pockets ahead of our nation and our people. I don’t know when Labor stopped caring about Australian workers or worse, when they started hating Australia, but they have and they do. The absolute lack of opposition, the lack of authentic choice has pushed us into a place where these absolute traitors to the interests of the people who pay them - goes entirely unchecked. We are careening out of control, unchecked migration, an energy grid that is just about to collapse, no industry to speak of, and no good reason to start or maintain a business in this place. It happened fast, but those of us who pay our taxes and take risks to make Australia a better place, are being undermined and white-anted by our politicians. The people we are forced to trust, and must pretend to respect, because they have the force of law on their side. Not because they are any good at their jobs. Not because they have earned our affection. No. Simply because they are in charge and there is little to nothing that can be done about it. It is becoming apparent that the two party system has outlived its useful life. Too much corruption, too many words too carefully chosen in a pantomime between to political forces that don’t really want to change anything. They just want to have their go, to have their turn to jam their grubby hands into the till. Surely with this major and catastrophic failure by the so-called Honourable Minister Senator Wong, the people will be able to see through the veil and into the absolute and irresponsible lack of care at the heart of this deceitful Labor government. They lie about everything, and they can, because they don’t have an opposition worthy of the title. I am growing more confident by the day that the only solution to our woes is a new political force, a fresh, Australia first force, that will act in the national interest and put all these corrupt and useless used-car salesmen red and blue in the dustbin of history. It can’t come soon enough. Time is short. I just want Australia back.show more

Madain Saleh, also known as Al-Hijr, is a pre-Islamic... archaeological site located in the northwest of Saudi Arabia. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Middle East and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2008. Madain Saleh is a place of great historical and cultural significance, and it is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula. Madain Saleh was the second city of the Nabataean kingdom, which was established in 2nd Century BC. The Nabataeans were an Arab tribe who were known for their expertise in carving tombs and buildings out of rock. They were also skilled in agriculture, trade, and commerce. The Nabataean kingdom was centered in Petra, which is located in modern-day Jordan. Madain Saleh served as a strategic outpost for Nabataeans, and it was an important stop on the trade routes that connected the Arabian Peninsula with the Mediterranean world. Archaeological site of Madain Saleh covers an area of 13 square kilometers. It is located in a remote desert region, and it is surrounded by rocky mountains and valleys. The site contains around 130 tombs, which were carved out of the sandstone cliffs. The tombs are adorned with intricate carvings and inscriptions, which provide insights into the culture and religion of the Nabataeans. The most famous tomb at Madain Saleh is the Qasr Al-Farid, which means "the lonely castle." This tomb is located on a hilltop and is surrounded by a large courtyard. It is the largest tomb at the site, and it is considered to be one of the finest examples of Nabataean architecture. The tomb was never completed, and it is believed that it was abandoned after the death of the Nabataean king who commissioned it. Another important tomb at Madain Saleh is the Tomb of Lihyan son of Kuza. This tomb is located in the southern part of the site and is carved into a rock cliff. It features a large entrance hall, a central chamber, and a series of smaller rooms. The tomb is decorated with intricate carvings and inscriptions, which provide insights into the religious beliefs of Nabataeans. Madain Saleh is not just a site of tombs; it also contains a number of other important structures. These include the Al-Khuraymat and Al-Sabika temples, which were used for religious ceremonies and rituals. The site also contains a number of houses, wells, and cisterns, which provide insights into the daily lives of the Nabataeans. Madain Saleh was abandoned in the 3rd Century AD, after decline of the Nabataean kingdom. The site was rediscovered in the 19th Century by the Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Since then, it has been studied by archaeologists from all over the world. The site is now managed by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, which has carried out extensive restoration and preservation work. Madain Saleh is not just a site of historical and cultural significance; it is also a place of great natural beauty. The site is surrounded by rugged mountains and valleys, and it is home to a diverse range of flora and fauna. Visitors to the site can enjoy hiking and camping, as well as exploring the ancient ruins. Madain Saleh is a site of great historical and cultural significance, and it is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the history and culture of the Arabian Peninsula. Ancient ruins at Madain Saleh provide a glimpse into the engineering and architectural skills of the Nabataeans, as well as their religious beliefs and cultural practices. However, as the site becomes an increasingly popular tourist destination, there are concerns about its preservation and the impact of tourism on the local environment. It is important that the Saudi government and local communities work together to ensure that the site is protected and that tourism is managed in a sustainable way. 🎥© Paris Verra #archaeohistoriesshow more

JUST IN: The intelligence unit that detonated Hezbollah’s pagers... in 2024 just dropped thousands of leaflets over Beirut asking Lebanese civilians to disarm Hezbollah themselves. Israeli jets flew over Verdun, Hamra, Ain al-Mreisseh, and the southern suburbs on 13 March and released paper. Not bombs. Paper. Each leaflet carried the logo of Unit 504, the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate’s human intelligence division, a QR code linking to WhatsApp and Facebook channels, and a message: “You must disarm Hezbollah, Iran’s shield. Lebanon is your decision, not someone else’s. Unit 504 is working to ensure the future of Lebanon. If you want to be part of real change, we are here to listen.” Another leaflet referenced Gaza: “remarkable success” and the threat that Beirut faces the same if Hezbollah is not removed. Another quoted an Arabic proverb: “If your neighbour is well, you are well.” This is the same unit that coordinated the September 2024 pager operation that detonated thousands of Hezbollah communication devices simultaneously, the most devastating intelligence operation against the organisation in its history. The same unit that assassinated Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata in 2019. The same unit commended with the IDF’s second-highest award for clandestine operations in Syria and Lebanon between 2013 and 2018. Unit 504 does not do publicity. It does recruitment. The QR codes are not information campaigns. They are intake forms for the most effective human intelligence operation Israel has ever run against Hezbollah. Lebanese cyber security experts immediately warned the public not to scan the codes. The Lebanese Army issued advisories. Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general Naim Qassem gave a defiant speech declaring readiness for a “long battle.” The warnings reveal the fear: not that civilians will scan the codes out of curiosity, but that some of them will scan them out of conviction. Lebanon has buried nearly 800 dead since the escalation began. Eight hundred thousand are displaced. The southern suburbs have been bombed repeatedly. The 2024 ceasefire collapsed in hours when Hezbollah launched 100 rockets at Israel to avenge Khamenei’s assassination. The Lebanese government banned the military operation. Hezbollah ignored the ban. The army with 80,000 troops watched a militia with 100,000 fighters and $700 million to $1 billion in annual Iranian funding drag the country into a war it did not choose, cannot stop, and does not control. The leaflets are addressed to that helplessness. Israel is asking Lebanese civilians to do what their own government, their own army, and the United Nations have failed to do since Resolution 1701 in 2006: disarm the militia that holds the country hostage. The request is absurd on its face. A population under bombardment being asked by the country bombing it to rise up against the militia the country is bombing. The circularity is the point. Israel cannot disarm Hezbollah from the air. Hezbollah cannot be disarmed from within without civilian willingness that does not exist at scale. And the leaflets acknowledge both impossibilities by offering a third path: intelligence cooperation, one informant at a time, one QR code at a time, one person who decides that the militia that dragged their country into war deserves to be reported rather than protected. The leaflets will not disarm Hezbollah. But they do not need to. They need to produce doubt. Doubt in Hezbollah’s ranks about who scanned. Doubt in commanders about which neighbour is reporting. Doubt in the organisation’s internal security about whether the unit that turned their pagers into bombs can turn their neighbours into informants. Unit 504 does not need Lebanon to rise up. It needs Lebanon to whisper.show more

THIS IS WHY THE SOUTHERN LEBANESE ARE ANGRY 🇱🇧🇮🇱... The Full 14 Articles Lebanon Signed Read Like a SURRENDER, Not a Treaty Al-Jadeed obtained the complete Trilateral Framework signed in Washington, the document no government released in public. The clauses, in plain language: 1) DISARM FIRST (Art. 4): Lebanon commits to the "complete and verified disarmament" of every non-state armed group on its soil, Hezbollah unnamed but unmistakable, before anything is given back. 2) WITHDRAWAL IS THE REWARD (Art. 2, 5): The IDF only "progressively redeploys" out of two pilot zones, governed by a Security Annex that DOESN'T EVEN EXIST YET, and Israel's "no territorial ambitions" pledge is conditioned entirely on a disarmament IT ALONE gets to certify as complete. 3) SOVEREIGNTY ON PAPER (Art. 6): Lebanon holds the "exclusive sovereign authority" over war and peace, a clause built to outlaw the resistance by name without naming it. 4) AID ON A LEASH (Art. 9, 11): U.S. money to the Lebanese army is "strictly conditioned on verifiable milestones" and oversight. Beirut also pledges to choke off all funds to non-state groups, then keep reconstruction money out of their hands entirely. 5) RECONSTRUCTION, SEPARATELY GATED (Art. 10): Washington will "rally partners" to rebuild Lebanon, but on a SEPARATE track from the conditioned aid, leverage held in reserve. 6) THE TELL (Art. 14): The whole framework closes with both governments expressing "deep appreciation for the vision and leadership of President Donald J. Trump."show more

While Trump bs’s the world on his scripted fall... out with Israel, the U.S. military is carrying on with its construction of a base near Gaza while Israel controls over 50% of Gaza! Check out the details: This $500 million base will house up to 10,000 terror forces they say is part of a stabilization force on 350 acres of Palestinian land. There will be 26 watch towers, multiple bunkers, an arms range and a massive warehouse with weapons all protected by barb wire! The construction is led by a U.S. general while around 200 U.S. troops are stationed in Israel as part of the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), which coordinates humanitarian and security assistance into Gaza. Meanwhile, There’s no reconstruction happening in Gaza while Palestinians live in tents and in fear of kosher terrorists. The Israeli Minister of war crimes, Israel Katz, proudly announced: We currently hold over 60% of Gaza, and all of it has been destroyed. It has been destroyed both above and below ground. This is the difference in the approach we have introduced. Kosher child killer found out! Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, the battalion commander of the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade of the Israeli occupation forces, was killed in southern Lebanon alongside three other soldiers. According to investigations into the murder of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, this is the same battalion that murdered her and six of her family members in their car on January 29th, 2024. They also murdered two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics, Youssef Zeino and Ahmed Al Madhoun, who were killed when their ambulance was struck while attempting to rescue her.show more

Lads. Sit down and give me your ear a... while, for I have watched from the water long enough and the hour is upon us whether we have the stomach for it or not. You remember. Or your fathers told you, or their fathers did, and the knowledge of it is in the marrow of you whether you drew breath in those days or not. The moors in the grey hour before dawn. Wet heather soft under the boot. Peat smoke rising from a low stone chimney a mile out across the bog, thin as a prayer. A sky the colour of a gun barrel and the gulls lamenting above the headland. The smell of turf burning, and wet wool, and the ferrous tang of the sea when the wind swung around out of the Atlantic and put the taste of iron on your tongue. A man could walk that land and know every stone of it was his by inheritance, because his grandfather had broken his back upon it, and his grandfather before him, back through the generations until you reach men whose names are lost and whose bones are in the soil you are standing on. The potato fields. God be good to us, the potato fields. Lazy beds cut straight as a gunwale, the ridges black and shining after a night of rain, women bent double with creels lashed to their backs and the children at their skirts, drawing the crop up by the hand for there was never any other means devised nor wanted. Hands split open at the knuckles and never entirely healed in this life. Hunger within living memory. Grandmothers who had seen the blight with their own eyes and would not speak of it from the year of it until the day they were laid down, save that a crust was kept always on the dresser which no soul in that house was permitted to touch. Not ever. Not for any reason under heaven. And the chimney sweeps. Wee lads no heavier than a sack of meal, black to the bone with soot, their lungs ruined before they were old enough to marry and old men entirely by thirty. Up the flues at first light, the skin worn off them by the brick, eyes crimson at the rim, breathing the black in with every draw of air. And the coal miners a half mile beneath our feet, down in the wet dark, the roof of the world muttering over their heads, the canary gone silent, a man's whole existence measured out in the shilling a ton and the dust he carried home in his chest to cough up of a Sunday morning into a rag. Fathers who descended and were never hauled up again. Widows at the pit head with the shawl drawn over the head and no tears remaining in them for they had spent those long ago. That was the tariff paid to keep the hearth lit. That was the reckoning of being warm in winter in the Ireland that was. And after the labouring week, Friday evening, and a man had earned the peace of what followed. Home first. Peeled the day off him in the yard. A shower of ice cold moor river water out of a tin bucket punctured with holes, hung on a nail on the gable wall, the water running clean down the back of him and carrying the week's dust and sweat away into the drain. Scrubbed till the skin was pink beneath the grime. Clean shirt laid out by the wife. The hair combed down with a drop of water. Then, and only then, did a man set himself to the table. A meat pie from the baker, tenpence if he was known to you, a shilling and no change if he was not, put down upon a proper plate. Fish and chips for threepence, the salt and vinegar soaked through the newspaper, but carried home and ate slowly at your own table with your people around you, not walked with through the streets like some vagrant tinker off the road. A man ate as a man who had earned his portion, for he had. And later, with the dishes cleared and the kettle set, down the road to the tavern. Low beams black with a century of smoke. A turf fire muttering in the grate. The air thick with pipe smoke and the vapour of wet overcoats steaming themselves dry on the backs of chairs. A pint of stout, cold and black as a cove at midnight, elevenpence laid down on the counter, a head on it thick enough to strike a match upon. A second one because you had it coming to you and no man present would dispute it. A fiddle starting up in the corner of its own accord. The old men in the snug who remembered matters the history books had long since mislaid. A song before the bolt was thrown on the door. The walk home beneath a firmament crowded with stars, the stout warm in the gut of you, the week behind you, and your own door waiting with the latch unlocked for you had no enemies in that parish. That was the country. That was the covenant. Honest labour, plain food, a cold wash, a hot meal, a cold pint, your own tongue in your own mouth, your own soil beneath your boots, and no man standing above you save the Almighty Himself. Now regard her. Regard her close. The fields disposed of to men who have never set foot upon them and never shall. The harbours signed away by the stroke of a pen in a room you were not admitted to, and foreign keels dragging out of our waters the living that sustained this island for a thousand years, while our own boats rot at their moorings for want of a quota. The tradesmen undercut by imported labour and imported goods. The shops shuttered along every main street from Donegal to Cork. The young ones scattered to London and Sydney and Boston and the Gulf because there is nothing remaining for them beneath their own roof. And the entirety of this rotten arrangement dressed up in the soft mannerly language of progress by men in towers of glass who could not tell a lazy bed from a grave, nor a trawler from a tugboat, nor an honest day's work from a pension plan. And now they arrive with the next imposition. A digital identity. A number assigned to each soul. A card required to buy your bread. A code required to draw your own earnings out of your own account. A file kept on every man, woman and child from the cradle forward. Permission asked to move. Permission asked to speak. Permission asked to earn. A levy upon every breath drawn and a regulation upon every step taken. No. And no again. And no for a third time so there is no misunderstanding of it. We do not require your digital identity. We did not request it. We did not vote upon it. We do not consent to it. We do not need your permission to exist upon the soil our forefathers are buried in. We are a free people. We have carried ourselves this far upon our own two backs. Through famine and empire and civil war and black lung and blight and the emigrant ship out of Cobh, we have come this distance under our own steam, and the arrangement appears to be serving us well enough without your intervention. We buried our own. We fed our own. We raised our own roofs and took our own fish and reared our own children in our own tongue. We are in your debt for nothing. Not a signature. Not a biometric scan. Not a single solitary inch. And while we are upon the subject, let us speak plainly of the tax man, for he has gone too long without proper introduction. The tax collector and the tax man are the one article under two names, and the article is a parasite. There is no dressing it up finer than that. A man who produces nothing, who grows nothing, who catches nothing, who builds nothing, who mends nothing, who has never in his professional life lifted anything heavier than a pen, and who arrives at your door with the full apparatus of the state at his back to carry off the fruits of labour he did not perform. He is a middleman between your sweat and some scheme dreamt up in a committee room by his own kind, and the great majority of what he takes is consumed by the machinery of the taking itself before ever a penny of it reaches the road or the hospital or the schoolhouse he claims to be funding. And I will go further while I have the floor. Finance itself, the whole apparatus of it, money breeding money in the dark without a hand laid upon a tool or a spade turned in the earth, is slavery dressed in a good suit. It is the oldest swindle known to man and it has never been anything other. A man who produces nothing yet lives off the productive labour of others through the charging of interest upon money conjured out of nothing is a parasite of a rarer and more refined order than the tax man, but a parasite all the same, and between the pair of them they have the working people of this island bled white and lectured at for the pleasure. A man who will not work with his hands, nor with his back, nor with his mind at some honest problem of the real physical world, is no man that I recognise. He is a ledger entry in a suit. The country was not built by ledger entries. The country was built by farmers and fishermen and masons and smiths and sweeps and miners and shipwrights and midwives and mothers, and those are the people whose say should carry in her councils, and no other. Here is what I put to you. Let each man and woman of this island direct the first tenth of their earnings themselves, by their own judgement, to the purpose they see as worthy. The school down the road. The lifeboat station. The hospice. The widow on the corner. The roof of the chapel. The harbour wall. Whatever it may be. Let the people who earned the money decide where the money travels. You will find the roads mended and the ports dredged and the schools standing and the old ones cared for inside of five years, and done better and for less, because the hand that earned the coin knows the weight of it and will not squander it upon consultants and committees. And let us have done with the paper currency and the numbers in a screen that can be frozen at the whim of a clerk in a tower. Bring back the coin. Gold for the great transactions. Silver for the weekly commerce of a working life. Copper for the small change of the day. Metal you can bite. Metal you can weigh. Metal that cannot be conjured out of nothing by a keystroke, nor erased out of existence by another. Real money for real labour. A coin in the hand is a free man's wage. A number in a database is a collar around a free man's neck, and they are fitting that collar now while we stand arguing over the colour of it. Feel it in your gut. That is not nothing. That is your blood relating to you what your ears will not hear. That is every forebear who starved and fought and coughed the black dust into a rag and descended the shaft regardless, standing at your shoulder and saying no further. Not one more field. Not one more harbour. Not one more son upon a plane. Not one more free man converted into a number in a ledger for the convenience of the parasites. This is the hour. Make no error about it. Ireland is redeemed in this generation or she is lost beyond recovery, and every true son and daughter of her knows it in the marrow. There is no middle ground remaining. There is no waiting it out. There is standing now, upon your own two feet, or there is watching her go under the waves for the last and final time. So stand. Stand with your farmers. Stand with your fishermen. Stand with your tradesmen and your miners and your sweeps and your mothers and your old ones. Raise the tricolour. Speak the tongue. Walk the land. Hold the line in the streets of every town and city and do not break it, for they are relying upon you to break and to go home and to forget by Tuesday. She is calling her children home. Every stone of her, every breaker on her western shore, every acre of wet heather and every coal in every hearth the length and breadth of her is calling. Answer her. Take her back. Every field, every harbour, every last inch of her. Take her back, or lose her entirely. There is no third road open to us.show more