Friday friyaaaaay

The Spaces reviewed fast-moving developments from Lebanon to Gaza and beyond through a strongly critical lens of Israeli and U.S. policy. The host (Leila/Mina Uncensored) opened with Lebanon’s MTCL border mechanism now headed by a civilian (Ambassador Karam), stressing its mandate remains limited to border/security issues and does not imply normalization; critics highlighted Karam’s politics and timing amid Israeli strikes. Speakers argued Israel’s recent threats were fearmongering constrained by winter, while Hezbollah’s Secretary-General vowed to protect itself and Lebanon and warned Israel ignores agreements. They cited a U.S. envoy’s alleged suggestion to bomb a funeral, called for declaring her persona non grata, and decried ongoing attacks in Gaza/West Bank and Yemen. Policy and geo-economics segments covered delays and disputes around the EuroAsia Interconnector, a sudden U.S./Israeli shift to “dialogue” and Resolution 1701, and suspicion this buys time to deploy new northern air defenses. A tech/cyber block alleged deep Israeli influence in cybersecurity/AI, warned of a tech bubble and data exposure (OpenAI subpoenas), and urged caution. Additional items included Venezuela strategy analysis, Sudan’s RSF atrocities, India hiring BCG, and a late-breaking F-16 scramble over DC/Baltimore treated cautiously pending verification.

Friday Space Summary: Lebanon–Israel border mechanics, regional escalation, Gaza, pipelines, cyber, and global politics

Participants and roles

• Leila Hatum (host; Mina Uncensored): Led the session; provided analysis on Lebanon–Israel border mechanisms, East Med energy, Israeli military posture, and broader regional dynamics.
• Nina: Offered updates on the EuroAsia Interconnector, Yemen, Venezuela, and Gaza’s pediatric care crisis; posed questions on Tom Barrack.
• N.Y. (State Department Crimes): Commented on US politics, media/AI control, Israeli influence across institutions, and cybersecurity; shared Substack work.
• Silence: Shared breaking items and short-form news tracking; raised a DC F‑16 scramble alert.
• TJ: Highlighted prediction markets/CNN partnerships, the “Jakarta Method,” and a new film on British colonial counterinsurgency in Palestine.
• Saddest Valkyrie (Saddest): Requested resources; closed with reflections and interest in authentic sources.

Lebanon–Israel border committee and normalization debate

Appointment of a civilian head to the Lebanon MTC

• Context: A civilian (Ambassador Karam) was appointed to lead Lebanon’s Military Technical Committee (MTC) overseeing border/security talks. According to Leila, this committee historically focuses strictly on border and security issues regardless of whether it is headed by a civilian or military figure.
• Mandate clarity: The Lebanese presidency emphasized the committee’s remit remains limited to border/security, rejecting claims that it could become a channel for broader “economic cooperation” talks.
• Leila’s view: Direct versus indirect contact with the Israeli side is procedural and not “normalization.” She cites UNIFIL tripartite meetings where Lebanese officers historically speak via UNIFIL mediators while seated in the same room as Israeli counterparts.

Controversy over Ambassador Karam

• Profile and criticism (Leila): Described Karam as a right‑wing figure, ex‑Ambassador to Washington (early 1990s), alleged to have had contact with Israel’s ambassador at the time; resigned subsequently. Characterized as aligned with Lebanese Forces (LF) politics, anti‑resistance, and supportive of US involvement in Lebanese affairs while calling for “sovereignty.”
• Local context: From the Jezzine/Ja’sin area of South Lebanon, which Leila notes is historically divided between communities that resisted versus those that collaborated during the occupation. She sees his appointment as ideologically problematic but not changing the committee’s mandated scope.

Hezbollah Secretary General’s speech

• Key lines (as summarized by Leila): “Hezbollah will protect itself and Lebanon.” Asserted Israel never implements agreements, will keep probing borders and destabilizing Lebanon as part of “Greater Israel.”
• On Karam: The Secretary General labeled the appointment as de facto normalization, criticizing silence while “bombardment” continued.
• Leila’s interpretation: The phrasing suggests Hezbollah is prepared to defend itself and, by extension, Lebanon, but warns that if wider escalation occurs others must be ready to defend themselves.

Israeli military posture, winter timing, Resolution 1701, and negotiation signaling

• Winter factor (Leila): Israel’s recent wave of threats—conveyed through multiple intermediaries (Egypt, France, UK, US)—fizzled as winter set in. She argues winter conditions and readiness constraints limited the likelihood of a major ground operation.
• Fear‑mongering and pressure (Leila): Threats were intended to induce Lebanese decision‑makers to concede under fear of attack, aiming for acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 enforcement to push resistance forces north of the Litani.
• Air defense build‑up (Leila): Claimed new US/French air defense systems, including a “laser dome” layer, are being deployed along Israel’s northern frontier in anticipation of future escalation (target window March–April).
• Negotiation pivot (Tom Barrack): Nina and Leila cited statements attributed to Tom Barrack advocating dialogue and acknowledging Israel cannot “crush Hezbollah.” Leila interprets the rapid shift—from threatening rhetoric to urging talks—as coordinated signaling aligned with 1701 implementation pushes and French envoy visits.
• Caution on negotiations (Nina): Sees negotiation calls as time‑buying to prepare “something big.”

US envoy controversy and Lebanese political response

• Morgan Ortagus claims: Leila cited Channel 14 reporting that Ortagus suggested Israel strike mourners at a funeral on Feb 23, 2025. She openly treats the report as credible unless disproven, underscoring distrust. She is frustrated that Lebanese cabinet/parliament figures aligned with the resistance have not pressed to declare Ortagus persona non grata.
• Tactical escalation (Leila): Warned if the US engages directly in hostilities, Lebanese resistance should target US assets in Lebanon (e.g., embassy), framing it as a countermeasure rather than a first strike.

Gaza, West Bank, and PA

• Gaza: Continued bombardment, daily casualties, and disappearances. Nina relayed on‑the‑ground updates from a pediatric ICU doctor in Gaza: near‑total collapse of medical infrastructure, no lab or surgical equipment, some teams resorting to injecting antiseptics due to lack of proper meds, only seven PICU beds for children at one hospital; severe malnutrition compounded by sepsis and shock; urgent need to open Rafah to aid—“two‑sided, not one‑sided.”
• West Bank: Leila and N.Y. characterized the situation as “end of the West Bank as we knew it,” including land seizure, cultural vandalism (e.g., ancient stones), and impunity.
• PA criticism: Leila condemned the PA as complicit or ineffective.
• Netanyahu: Repeated, unambiguous opposition to a Palestinian state, presented by Leila as confirming the permanent occupation/expansion agenda.

Yemen and Sudan

• Yemen: Nina reported Saudi border fire killed a child; Saudis claimed a border trespass; Yemenis denied. Pattern of sporadic cross‑border fire persists.
• Sudan/Darfur (El Fasher): Leila asserted RSF (with backing from US/“Zionists” and regional supporters) continues massacres; narratives of “secured areas” are contradicted by facts on the ground.

East Mediterranean energy and pipelines

EuroAsia Interconnector and EastMed ambitions

• Nina: Europe lacks funding for Stage 2; seeking UAE investors for green energy tie‑ins; disputes between Cyprus/Greece and Turkey over maritime rights block route claims; EU fiscal stress undermines timelines.
• Leila: Expanded to US‑driven east‑to‑west energy corridor linking the Gulf (UAE) to East Med (Occupied Palestine/Israel, Egypt) onward to Cyprus and Greece. Turkey’s 2019 maritime MoU with Libya presents a major legal/geopolitical barrier to any pipeline routing from Cyprus/Greece across claimed Turkish EEZ. She highlighted the odd inclusion of the UAE as a “non‑voting member” in the East Med Gas Forum purely due to pipeline politics, not geography.

US and global politics, media, and AI

US institutions, media control, and activism

• N.Y.: Detailed concerns about US Central Command and allied militaries/NGOs enabling starvation and deprivation in Gaza and the West Bank, calling the State Department “the department of war crimes.” Praised Minnesota’s Somali community’s activism in response to domestic political attacks and emphasized continuing to expose institutional complicity.
• Helen Thomas case (Leila and N.Y.): Recounted Thomas’s career and her confrontation in which she distinguished ethnicity from religion and criticized Zionist narratives. Leila described ensuing punitive measures against Thomas as illustrating media/institutional suppression.
• Allegations about ICE (Leila): Claimed 145–150 ICE agents in major US cities are IOF reservists; some allegedly served in Gaza/West Bank. N.Y. framed this within broader Israeli penetration of US cyber and infrastructure. These claims were presented without external corroboration within the space.

Tech industry and cybersecurity

• Apple/Microsoft talent churn: Silence flagged a reported exodus of senior personnel at Apple within 72 hours (AI, UI, policy, legal); Leila linked the Big Tech ecosystem (Meta, Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, etc.) via deep mutual investments and components (e.g., Nvidia chips), warning of a systemic bubble and domino risk.
• Israeli dominance in cyber (Leila and N.Y.): Asserted that Israeli firms control most global cyber security markets—often by purchasing, bankrupting, or absorbing competitors—and that many Arab states use Israeli‑made cyber tools. They cautioned that Israeli‑built software often includes deliberate backdoors.
• AI privacy risks (N.Y.): Warned that OpenAI logs are being subpoenaed; AI outputs/code can be manipulated; “outages” often mask new surveillance layers. Advised distrust of AI tools and awareness that server‑side logs persist.

EU fine and US “Granite Act” proposal

• EU fine: Nina referenced reports of the EU fining Elon Musk/X ~€120M for misinformation-related violations.
• Granite Act (Nina): Described a Wyoming‑born proposal to let US residents sue foreign governments (e.g., EU) for censorship attempts affecting US speech, strip immunity, and seize assets to satisfy judgments. She framed it as likely beneficial to US/Israeli dual nationals and responsive to Silicon Valley/X pressures. (Status at the federal level was described as “under consideration.”)

India contracts Boston Consulting Group; implications for Pakistan and the Belt & Road

• Leila highlighted India’s appointment of Boston Consulting Group for major defense sector work, calling BCG a CIA‑adjacent “shell” based on her prior investigations. She inferred potential strategic intent to destabilize the Pakistan corridor critical to Iran–China connectivity (Silk Road/BRI) by fueling border tensions. She warned BCG would “siphon money” while delivering chaos.

Venezuela

• Nina: Urged listeners not to be distracted by US military posturing around Venezuela (Caribbean fleet movements, bases at Puerto Rico/Trinidad & Tobago). She assessed the primary US objective as political capture of government levers to control state‑owned resources (especially oil), rather than a direct large‑scale invasion. She reminded listeners of prior failed attempts to force regime change and emphasized geographic proximity of Russia/China to US western borders as strategic context.
• N.Y.: Declared support for Venezuelans’ right to resist Western colonial intervention.

Prediction markets, colonial counterinsurgency, and cultural memory

• TJ: Noted Kalshi’s prediction markets reaching ~$1B weekly volume, partnerships with CNN/CNBC, and concerns over manipulation (including orchestrating events to win bets). N.Y. added reports of Google insiders gaming PolyMarket.
• Jakarta Method (TJ): Summarized Vincent Bevins’s book tracing US‑backed extermination of leftist/indigenous movements from the 1950s–1980s designed to create today’s neoliberal order.
• “Palestine 36” film (TJ): Reviewed Jonathan Cook’s analysis of Anne‑Marie Jacir’s new film on the 1930s, showing British officer Orde Wingate’s night raids and war crimes—training Jewish militias in tactics that became foundational to later Israeli military doctrine. Nina added context about earlier British/French colonial partitioning of the Levant and Mandate maneuvers that set the stage for Zionist settlement.

US military alert and verification caution

• DC/Baltimore alert (Silence): Shared leaked ATC audio halting runway operations due to F‑16 activity; ABC reportedly confirmed jets were scrambled for an “airspace violation,” but crews found no aircraft. N.Y. posited advanced spoofing technology may have been used to send a signal; Leila urged caution, noting audio can be AI‑forged, and called for official confirmation from airport authorities. She anticipates a possible “cyber attack” explanation.

US aid to Lebanon

• $90M arms deal claim: N.Y. flagged a post; Leila responded that such “aid” often amounts to non‑combat support (tents, hammers) or outdated Humvees, and in past cases Lebanon has paid for equipment later labeled as US “aid.” She referred to exposing similar claims during Ambassador Michele Sison’s tenure.

Closing and resources

• Archives: Leila pointed to an extensive library of recorded spaces (Monday/Friday cadence), with occasional Arabic segments translated to English, and prior interviews (e.g., Crispin Flintoff’s show) detailing investigations into Gaza-related “foundations” and alleged CIA‑linked consulting firms.
• Substack/Articles: N.Y.’s Substack features AI/cyber pieces and analyses of Google/Microsoft/OpenAI; Leila mentioned upcoming compilations on corporate complicity in Gaza.
• Quick daily news: Silence posts concise regional updates (≈10/day) for efficient tracking.
• Next space: Monday at 10pm Beirut/Gaza, 2pm EST, 8pm GMT.

Salient takeaways

• Lebanon’s MTC leadership shift is politically contentious but does not, per official statements and Leila’s analysis, alter the border/security-only mandate.
• Hezbollah signals readiness and skepticism that Israel honors agreements; the resistance sees winter as delaying large Israeli operations, while Israel and allies are, per Leila, racing to fortify northern air defenses ahead of spring.
• Negotiation rhetoric from figures like Tom Barrack is read by the panel as tactical timing/signal management, not de-escalation.
• Gaza’s pediatric ICU situation is catastrophic; panel calls for Rafah to open to sustained aid flows.
• EastMed energy plans face funding and legal/geopolitical obstacles (Cyprus–Greece–Turkey maritime disputes; 2019 Turkey–Libya MoU).
• Allegations of deep Israeli influence in US institutions (media, AI, ICE) and global cybersecurity recur; panel warns about AI privacy and surveillance.
• India’s BCG defense engagement is framed as a potential US-aligned move against Pakistan’s BRI corridor.
• Venezuela analysis centers on government capture for resource control rather than imminent large-scale invasion.
• Verification is stressed regarding US military alerts; treat viral audios cautiously without official corroboration.