Dr. Regina Watteel | There are those of us who live in reality and there are those who are playing along with a simulated narrative fabricated to shape the “new normal.” Those who are both ethical and rational are awake in this dystopian nightmare. | Had the global response to Covid-19 been grounded in reality, the last 2.5yrs would have proceeded much the same as it had the decade prior. The Covid-19 episode would’ve been but a blip — a mostly unimpactful scare that had little effect on our children and the economy. ■ The data was clear from the get-go: the risk to children was close to zero and the risk to most of the labour force was small and manageable. The elderly and those with comorbid conditions were at significant risk; resources should have been directed towards improving hospitals, long-term care and early intervention. What actually played out was surreal.[...]This plunge into the world of dark mathematical fantasy has continued, showing no semblance of reality whatsoever or signs of letting up anytime soon.[...]They've gone from manipulating real data to relying fully on contrived mathematical models to fabricate faux benefits in support of unconstitutional policies.

The US vice president has said neither China nor Russia are the most serious challenge to the continent, but its retreat from core values | Europe faces its greatest threat from within rather than from foreign powers, US Vice President J.D. Vance has said, expressing concern about what he called the continent's abandonment of its core values. ● Vance told the Munich Security Conference on Friday that while Washington is preoccupied with the question of achieving a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine, Europe has bigger problems.

■ Medvedev applauds Vance’s ‘humiliating rebuke’ of Europe (RT)

🚨 Statement from Ahmed Al-Qudra, Director of the Prisoners’ Media Office: The severe condition In which the prisoners are released exposes the scale of crimes and violations inside prisons, as the marks of torture and oppression are evident on their bodies. This demands a firm… pic.twitter.com/GiUX701g37

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) February 15, 2025

The Palestinian Resistance handed over three Israeli captives in Khan Younis, with Resistance fighters from the al-Qassam Brigades and al-Quds Brigades present, clad in military gear. Meanwhile, 369 Palestinian detainees are set to be liberated. | The Palestinian Resistance released three Israeli prisoners—Alexander Tropanov, Sagi Dekel Chen, and Yair Horn—in Khan Yunis on Saturday, located in the southern Gaza Strip. This release is part of the sixth batch in the prisoner exchange process outlined in the ceasefire agreement. ● The event saw hundreds of fighters from the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, stationed in the square where the captives were released. ● At the prisoner handover site, the Resistance showcased around ten different weapons captured from the Israeli occupation during the battles, as reported by Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in Khan Younis.

■ Freed but Scarred: Palestinian Prisoners Expose Occupation’s Brutality (Palestinian Chronicle)
■ Hamas expects new round of indirect ceasefire talks with 'Israel' (Al Mayadeen)

This song goes out to young people all over the world who have been leading the way in defending the dignity of humanity over this past year. Website: https://www.mistahi.com

Michael Lesher | Because here’s the thing: Israeli soldiers captured during a military operation – one launched, please remember, by the victims of Israel’s brutal, decades-long occupation and the criminal blockade that has crippled Gaza since 2007 – are not “hostages.” They are captured soldiers who (in my view) are lucky not to have been put on trial for complicity in crimes against humanity. | Dear fellow religiously-observant Jews, I have a request to make of all of you. ● Please, please – in the name of minimal decency – spare me another round of weepy propaganda over the release of some Israeli captives formerly held by inmates of the concentration camp you helped to create in Gaza. ● I cannot bear your misplaced sentimentality over the freed Israelis – many of whom actually wore their IDF uniforms as they left behind the ruins of what used to be Khan Younis – any more than I can tolerate your hypocrisy about the Israeli genocide you have applauded for over a year. [...] I am only asking you to begin to call things by their right names. Can you at least do that much – before making another sanctimonious speech? Before posting another self-pitying comment on Facebook about “our hostages”?