Secret HistoryS


Star of David

Top Secret: In a 2018 letter, Netanyahu asks Qatar to fund Hamas

Nir (Shoko) Cohen
ynet
Sun, 05 May 2024 06:22 UTC
3 guys
© Dana Kopel/Mark Schiefelbein/ ReutersBenjamin Netanyahu • Sheikh Mohammed Thani • Yahya Sinwar
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the government of Qatar to continue the transfer of money to Gaza, in a secret letter sent to the Qatari leadership in 2018 and only seen by a handful of people since. In the letter, Netanyahu explained that the funding would reduce the motivation of terror groups there to carry out attacks, would prevent a humanitarian crisis and was vital for preserving regional stability.

There are two different time periods for Qatari funding of the Gaza Strip, which allowed Hamas to grow from an insignificant terror organization into a military empire with battalions, an underground network of tunnels and the fire power of a small army.

Between 2007 and 2014, Qatar provided Hamas with funds, away from any international oversight or review. From 2014 on, funding from Qatar was coordinated with the United States and Israel.

The 2014 war in Gaza was the turning point. The U.S., UN, Israel and Qatar decided soon after the war to set up a new system in which $30 million would be delivered to the coastal strip by Doha each month.
Some $10 million was to buy fuel from Israel, needed to operate Gaza's power station, $10 million to pay the salaries of government employees, and the final $10 million was to be given in $100 stipends to some 100,000 Gazan families in need.
That was the time when the notion that Hamas would back away from its intent to destroy Israel as long as it accumulates governing and economic assets took root in Israel.
Read More...
Design

Rare Roman dodecahedron found in England, purpose continues to baffle archaeologists

Samantha Tipper
The Conversation
Thu, 02 May 2024 13:52 UTC
dodecahedron
© Norton Disney Archaeology GroupThe newly discovered dodecahedron photographed during the dig.
Roman dodecahedra are something of an enigma: there is no known mention of these 12-sided, hollow objects in ancient Roman texts or images.

First discovered in the 18th century, around 130 dodecahedra have been found across the Roman Empire, although it is interesting that the majority have been found in northern Europe and Britain, and none have been found in Italy.

Dodecahedra are quite intricate, featuring a number of round holes, with knobs framing the holes. It would have taken a very skilled craftsman to make them. They are made out of a copper alloy and would have been quite expensive, due to the amount of time and metal that was used to create them, which adds to their intrigue.

Comment: They certainly are intriguing, although there is solid evidence showing ancient civilisations had knowledge and technologies, as well as trade networks, previously not thought possible: According to Leonardo Da Vinci Botany:
For the ancient Greeks and Renaissance Neoplatonists, the Dodecahedron represented the entire universe, while the other Platonic polyhedra represented the four elements: earth (the cube), air (the octahedron), water (the icosahedron) and fire (the tetrahedron).
The design and location of the dodecahedra bring to mind the 5000-year-old stone balls of northern Europe, which also continue to baffle archaeologists:

Neolithic carved stone balls
© National Museums ScotlandSome of the 3D models of Neolithic carved stone balls found in Scotland, with the famous Towie ball at the center.
Of which it is said:
The carved stone balls have been taken as evidence of knowledge of the five Platonic solids a millennium before Plato described them. Indeed, some of them exhibit the symmetries of Platonic solids, but the extent of this and how much it depends on mathematical understanding is disputed, as configurations resembling the solids can naturally arise when fitting equal-sized knobs with minimal gaps onto the surface of a sphere.[citation needed] There does not appear to be much special attention given to the Platonic solid arrangements over less symmetrical arrangements of knobs over the balls, and some of the five solids do not appear.[16][17]


Read More...
Butterfly

Roman snail dye found in UK for first time, and it's beautiful


BBC
Fri, 03 May 2024 13:40 UTC
snail pigment roman
© Frank GieccoAbout 12,000 snails were needed to make two grams of the precious pigment in Roman times, archaeologists said
A rare dye made from snails for the robes of the Roman elite almost 2,000 years ago has been unearthed at a cricket club.

The chunk of Tyrian purple, roughly the size of a ping pong ball, was dug up at Carlisle Cricket Club as part of ongoing yearly excavations.

A Roman bathhouse was discovered at the site in 2017 and in the last three years 2,000 items including pottery, weapons, coins and semi-precious stones have been found.

Lead archaeologist Frank Giecco said the find was of "international significance" and the first time the precious pigment had been discovered in the UK.

Comment: See also: And check out SOTT radio's:

Read More...
Info

Experts say that the Stone of Destiny was a doorstep

oguz kayra
Arkeonews Net
Thu, 02 May 2024 18:21 UTC
Stone of Destiny
© Perth Museum, UK
The Stone of Destiny's recorded links to Scottish royalty date back almost 1000 years, and its origins are shrouded in mystery, with legends linking it to biblical heroes and ancient Egyptian pharaohs. But now a new exhibition celebrating the Stone of Destiny has revealed it may originally have been a doorstep.

Stone of Destiny also known as the Stone of Scone, and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone.

The new theory comes after the Stone underwent scientific analysis prior to being moved from Edinburgh Castle to its new permanent home at Perth Museum, which opened last month.

A recent analysis of the 335-pound stone found that wear on the top of the historic artifact appears to have been caused by footsteps prior to its being used as the crowning stone of Scotland's monarchs at Scone, near Perth, in medieval times.

Alexander III's coronation in 1249 is the first known instance of the Stone of Destiny being used for a crowning ceremony. The story goes that it was covered in gold silk cloth, which covered up its heavily worn surface. Once more the stepped-upon surface was hidden as Edward Longshanks had it integrated into his throne at Westminster after plundering it. In 1996, it was formally brought back to Scotland and put on display alongside other Scottish regalia in Edinburgh Castle's Crown Room.

Stone of Destiny left Scotland again last year for a very brief stint back inside Edward's throne for the coronation of Charles III. Analysis carried out in preparation for its transportation to Westminster Abbey for the Coronation determined that the Stone was quarried from the Scone area, suggesting it may originally have been used in a nearby church or possibly a Roman building.
Read More...
Info

7000-year-old settlement discovered in Serbia


Kiel University
Fri, 26 Apr 2024 22:55 UTC
A field campaign provides important new insights into the Late Neolithic period in Southeastern Europe.
Vokány site
© Fynn WilkesHere at the Vokány site (Hungary), the combination of standard methods, such as surface sampling and the latest geophysical technologies, provided the researchers from Kiel with important new insights into the Late Neolithic period in Southeastern Europe.
Together with cooperation partners from the Museum of Vojvodina in Novi Sad (Serbia), the National Museum Zrenjanin and the National Museum Pančevo, a team from the ROOTS Cluster of Excellence has discovered a previously unknown Late Neolithic settlement near the Tamiš River in Northeast Serbia. "This discovery is of outstanding importance, as hardly any larger Late Neolithic settlements are known in the Serbian Banat region," says team leader Professor Dr Martin Furholt from the Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology at Kiel University.

Geophysics reveals a 13-hectare settlement structure

The newly discovered settlement is located near the modern village of Jarkovac in the province of Vojvodina. With the help of geophysical methods, the team was able to fully map its extent in March of this year. It covers an area of eleven to 13 hectares and is surrounded by four to six ditches.

"A settlement of this size is spectacular. The geophysical data also gives us a clear idea of the structure of the site 7000 years ago," says ROOTS doctoral student and co-team leader Fynn Wilkes.

Parallel to the geophysical investigations, the German-Serbian research team also systematically surveyed the surfaces of the surrounding area for artefacts. This surface material indicates that the settlement represents a residential site of the Vinča culture, which is dated to between 5400 and 4400 BCE.

However, there are also strong influences from the regional Banat culture. "This is also remarkable, as only a few settlements with material from the Banat culture are known from what is now Serbia," explains Fynn Wilkes.
Read More...
Archaeology

Cranky to the end: Ancient scroll claims Plato spent his last night listening to music, criticized slave-girl flautist's 'lack of rhythm'


The Daily Mail
Tue, 30 Apr 2024 16:20 UTC
Plato
Plato was known for his theories on politics, poetry and ethics.
One of history's most influential philosophers, Plato was known for his theories on politics, poetry, knowledge and ethics.

And, thanks to a newly discovered scroll buried by Mount Vesuvius, we now know that the ancient Greek thinker was sharp in his criticisms until the very end, spending his last moments blasting a slave-girl flautist's 'lack of rhythm'.

The centuries old passages detail Plato's final hours and reveal that the philosopher, who was suffering from a fever, had been listening to music and welcoming guests before he died at the age of 80 or 81 in around 348BC.

Comment:

Read More...
Magnify

Israel's complex relations with Iran

Thierry Meyssan
Voltaire Network
Wed, 24 Apr 2024 14:59 UTC
Iranian and Israeli flags
While the mullahs' rhetoric is clearly anti-Israeli, relations between the two countries are far more complex than one might think. There are in fact two opposing groups in Iran, one intent on doing business by all means with the rest of the world, while the other aims to liberate peoples from colonization. The former has never stopped doing business with Israel, while the latter fights against it, just as it fights against the imperialism of the United Kingdom and the United States.

The conflict between Israel and Iran is distinct from that between the Arab population of Palestine and Jewish immigrants. Contrary to popular belief, the Persians have never been the enemy of the Jews. In fact, in ancient times, it was Cyrus the Great who enabled the Jews to escape from Babylon, where they had been held in slavery.

After the Second World War, when the United States seized the remnants of the British Empire, US President Dwight Eisenhower reorganized the Middle East. To dominate it, he appointed two regional powers to represent him: Iran and Israel. The two countries were both friends and rivals.

Comment: See also:

Read More...
Star of David

Flashback Israel-Saudi Arabia: Netanyahu promotes normalisation with new map erasing Palestine

MEE Staff
Middle East Eye
Fri, 22 Sep 2023 16:52 UTC
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
© ReutersIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds up a map showing the occupied West Bank and Gaza as part of Israel during his speech at the UN General Assembly, 22 September 2023
Illustration shown by Israeli prime minister at UN includes occupied West Bank and Gaza as part of Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a new map erasing Palestine during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly's (UNGA) 78th session on Friday.

The illustration showed a "new Middle East" wherein the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip appeared to be part of Israel.

An earlier erroneous map shown by Netanyahu also included the Palestinian territories as part of Israel in 1948.

Comment: Is it not noteworthy that Netanyahu was campaigning for a redrawn Middle East without the Palestinians a couple of weeks before the conflict that reignited in early October of 2023?

For other articles that mention the idea of a Greater Israel - Eretz Yisrael (Wiki link), see the following articles. Even without going into details, the concept has a long history. The Wiki for Greater Israel has
The same sentiment was recorded by Ben-Gurion on other occasions, such as at a meeting of the Jewish Agency executive in June 1938,[5] as well as by Chaim Weizmann.[4][6] Ben Gurion said:
We shall smash these frontiers which are being forced upon us, and not necessarily by war. I believe an agreement between us and the Arab State could be reached in a not too distant future."[7]
The above quote from Ben Gurion has a reflection in the statements found in the article:
Netanyahu enthusiastically promoted the reshaping of the region based on establishing ties with Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia.

"There's no question: the Abraham Accords heralded the dawn of a new age of peace," he claimed. "I believe we're on the cusp of a more dramatic breakthrough: a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia."
At the moment events are not really working in favour of such a development, although the US and European allies support Israel.

Read More...
X

Russia's "Fourteen Points" for a European Security Policy: Why was Moscow's 2009 proposal rejected?

Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirović
Global Research
Fri, 26 Apr 2024 00:00 UTC
medvedev
© UnknownFormer Russian President, Deputy Security Council Chair Dmitry Medvedev
In 2009, Russian President Medvedev (President from May 7th, 2008 to May 7th, 2012) called for a new European security policy known as "Fourteen Points" as a new security treaty to be accepted to maintain European security as the ability of states and societies to maintain their independent identity and functional integrity (this Russian draft European security treaty was originally posted on the President's website on November 29th, 2009).

This treaty proposal was passed to the leaders of the Euro-Atlantic States and the executive heads of the relevant international organizations such as NATO, EU, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and the Organization of Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In this proposal, Russia stressed that it is open to any democratic proposal concerning continental security and is counting on a positive response from Russia's (Western) partners.

However, not so surprisingly, D. Medvedev's call for a new European security framework (based on mutual respect and equal rights) became interpreted particularly in the USA in the fashion of the Cold War 1.0, in fact, as a plot to pry Europe from its strategic partner (USA).
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

La Colonisation: French history of death, torture and indescribable violence in the pearl of its evil empire

Tamara Ryzhenkova
RT
Wed, 10 Apr 2024 18:19 UTC
Algeria under France
© RT / RT
Many issues arising from France's colonial crimes in Algeria have still not been resolved

Every year, Algeria remembers the colonial crimes committed by France against the Algerian people. The North African country commemorates several such dates throughout the year: February 13 - the day of the first nuclear test, July 5 - Independence Day, November 1 - Revolution Day, which marked the beginning of the eight-year independence war of 1954-1962, and December 11 - the day on which mass demonstrations started in 1960, and were brutally suppressed by French troops.

Algeria's colonial period lasted for over 130 years, but the nation didn't give up on its dream of breaking free from colonial oppression. Algeria's sovereignty was finally recognized in 1962. But independence was won with a great deal of blood. According to official Algerian data, about 1.5 million local residents died in the war with France (1954-1962), about one sixth of the country's population at the time.

Comment: By the same author there is also:
'We have provided everything possible for their freedom': How the USSR helped France's most important colony stick it to Paris

Read More...