Israel Continues to Lie About Gaza’s Starvation Crisis

In the grim shadow of Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe, a sinister disinformation campaign, orchestrated by Israel and amplified by right-wing politicians and propagandists, seeks to obscure the deliberate starvation of Palestinians. This grotesque manipulation of truth, peddled by figures like New Zealand’s Cameron Slater, Juliet Moses, Ani O’Brien, and Rachel Stewart, attempts to whitewash a genocide by blaming Palestinian suffering on medical conditions or external failures, while Israel’s blockade strangles even more innocent civilians to death.
 

On Monday, the Las Angeles Times reported:

Israelis rebuff Trump, insisting images of starvation in Gaza are ‘fake’

The Israeli government is defending a top military officer who dismissed images of starving Palestinians as “fake” over the weekend, despite President Trump stating Monday that he believes the pictures are real.

The rupture comes amid growing international pressure on Israel over dire circumstances in the Palestinian enclave, and as two Israeli human rights groups, in a first, characterized the Israeli operation in Gaza as a genocide.


In recent days, photographs and videos of desperate Palestinians crowding aid stations and of emaciated children have spread across the globe. Even so, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Sunday that “there is no starvation in Gaza.”

And on Sunday, during a press tour of a small area of the Gaza Strip, Effie Defrin, a commanding officer and Israel Defense Forces spokesman, told reporters that visuals emerging from Gaza were “breaking our hearts.”

“But most of it is fake, fake distributed by Hamas,” Defrin said. “It’s a campaign. Unfortunately, some of the Israeli media, including some of the international media, is distributing this information and those false pictures, and creating an image of starvation which doesn’t exist.”

Much of the mainstream media, too often weak in the face of Israel's propaganda machine, has often been complicit in amplifying these lies, failing to challenge the narrative with the rigour it demands. As the United Nations, aid agencies, and even starving Hamas prisoners bear witness to this engineered famine, the world must confront the moral bankruptcy of those who excuse Israel’s actions while children waste away in front of our eyes.

Israel’s campaign hinges on a cruel distortion: that images of emaciated Palestinian children, like one-year-old Muhammad Zakariya al-Matouq, reflect pre-existing medical conditions rather than widespread starvation. Right-wing propagandists in New Zealand have eagerly echoed this disgusting lie. Rachel Stewart, in a venomous X post on 1 August 2025, criticised Stuff for supposedly using a photo of a “malnourished” Gazan child, falsely claiming the New York Times retracted its use due to the child’s cerebral palsy.

Juliet Moses, Cameron Slater, and Ani O’Brien have similarly been cited for pushing this narrative, alleging media exaggerate starvation to vilify Israel. These claims, rooted in selective truths, ignore the undeniable: Muhammad’s condition worsened due to Israel’s blockade, which denies food and medical supplies, as confirmed by his doctor. This tactic, highlighting medical issues to dismiss intentional starvation, is a hallmark of Israel’s “Pallywood” propaganda, designed to dehumanise Palestinians and deflect blame.

The mainstream media’s susceptibility to this disinformation is a scandal in itself. Outlets like the New York Times and BBC have faced criticism for initially omitting medical context in stories about children like Muhammad, but their clarifications, such as the Times’ note on 23 July 2025, affirm that starvation compounds these conditions. However, when propagandists like Moses and Slater seize on these oversights, they distort the narrative to suggest no famine exists, a claim contradicted by overwhelming documented evidence.
 

On 23 July, PBS reported:

More than 100 aid groups sign open letter warning of starvation in Gaza

Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The head of the World Health Organization said Gaza is “witnessing a deadly surge” in malnutrition and related diseases, and that a “large proportion” of its roughly 2 million people are starving.

Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by U.N. agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security.

...

In an open letter, 115 organizations, including major international aid groups such as Doctors Without Borders, Mercy Corps and Save the Children, said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, “waste away.”

The letter blamed Israeli restrictions and “massacres” at aid distribution points. Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. human rights office say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on crowds seeking aid, killing more than 1,000 people. Israel says its forces have only fired warning shots and that the death toll is exaggerated.

The Israeli government’s “restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death,” the letter said.

The World Health Organisation reported 63 malnutrition deaths in July alone, and one in five children under five facing acute malnutrition. But the true picture will be much worse. The media’s failure to consistently challenge Israel's disinformation about the cause of these deaths and mass starvation, often due to fear of being labelled antisemitic, allows these disgusting lies to fester, undermining the truth of Gaza’s man-made famine.

Israel’s blockade, intensified from March through to July 2025, slashed aid to a trickle, compared to the 500–600 trucks required each and every day, as per UN estimates. The Gaza Health Ministry reports 127 hunger-related deaths since October 2023, including 85 children. Of course, given the difficulties in locating people who have starved to death in a "war" zone, this will be an underestimation. Even Hamas prisoners, held in dire conditions, are starving, not because of Hamas’s actions, but because Israel’s restrictions ensure there’s not enough food to go around.

The claim that Hamas diverts aid lacks evidence; USAID and UN reviews, who have no reason to counter the Israeli narrative other than to tell the truth, found no systematic theft. Yet, Israeli officials like David Mencer and Benjamin Netanyahu shamelessly blame Hamas and the UN, accusing them of engineering shortages while ignoring Israel’s role in blocking aid. This is a grotesque inversion of responsibility: Israel, not Hamas, is starving both civilians and prisoners. They are doing this with the help of many western leaders, including Donald Trump, whose propaganda concerning the genocide is often just as dishonest as Israel's. The atrocities we are witnessing would end tomorrow if Western leaders truly wanted them to.

The disinformation campaign also targets the United Nations and surrounding countries, falsely claiming they fail to distribute aid. Israel’s ambassador Danny Danon accused UN aid chief Tom Fletcher of colluding with Hamas, offering no evidence at all to back up his false claims. COGAT, Israel’s aid coordination body, claimed 4,500 trucks entered since May 2025, but the UN notes these are insufficient and face military restrictions, rendering distribution nearly impossible.

Airdrops, lauded by Israel and the US as major humanitarian gestures, are a farcical distraction. UNRWA’s Philippe Lazzarini called them “expensive, inefficient, and dangerous,” with many landing in the sea or without parachutes, killing desperate civilians. The US and Israel’s Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), supposedly replacing UN systems, has been a complete disaster, with over 1,000 Palestinians killed at its militarised aid sites so far. Many of these civilians are being murdered by Western soldiers who then return to their home countries without any consequences.

The United States and Israel's theatrics of providing aid mask the reality that aid volumes are a fraction of what’s required. The World Food Programme warns of famine-like conditions for 470,000 people, making a joke of the promise that this type of genocide would never happen again.

The right-wing's lack of action to curb this crisis, enabled by a disinformation campaign and amplified by discredited muckrakers like Slater, Moses, O’Brien, and Stewart, isn't just dishonest, it’s complicity in genocide. The blood of these starved children is on their hands. By parroting Israel’s lies, they obscure a crisis where women and children die daily from hunger, their bodies “eating themselves” in a slow, cruel death, as Dr Omar Abdel-Mannan described. The UN’s Michael Fakhri calls this “the fastest starvation campaign in modern history,” preventable yet enabled by international inaction and impunity.

Two Israeli human rights groups, B’tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, have labelled it a genocide, citing deliberate starvation tactics, which is clearly another war crime perpetrated by Israel and its accomplices. The mainstream media must reject their propaganda, amplify the voices of the besieged and starving, and hold Israel accountable. New Zealanders, too, must see through the lies of local propagandists and demand justice for Gaza’s rightful inhabitants. Because if we don't stop this type of genocide, aided and abetted by right-wing propagandists, it will continue into other countries, perhaps even your own.

Luxon Doesn't Think the Proud Boys are Terrorists

In a highly questionable move, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has allowed the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a track record of extreme violence, to slip off the New Zealand terrorist watch list. Despite advice from the NZ Police and other government agencies, Luxon’s administration opted not to renew the designation under the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, effectively decriminalising support for a group linked to the January 6 US Capitol riot that caused nine deaths, including the deaths of five police officers.

Earlier this month, RNZ reported:

It's no longer illegal to be a proudly violent Proud Boy

It started as a fringe movement in the United States - a group of self-described "Western chauvinists" known as the Proud Boys.

A bunch of them were jailed after the 6 January US election riots, and they have now been pardoned by President Trump.

Their legacy of far-right extremism, violent rhetoric, and polarising influence has raised questions not just in American courtrooms but on Kiwi shores too.

"They have been organising in New Zealand, although they deny that is the case," Stuff investigative journalist Paula Penfold tells The Detail.

"Now, the terrorist designation that they were given [in New Zealand] in 2022 has been allowed to expire, and we don't yet know the reasons for that to have been allowed to happen, we don't yet know whether the Proud Boys are still active in New Zealand, but we think it's pretty important that our authorities should find out."

Founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes, the Proud Boys quickly gained notoriety for their involvement in violent street clashes, their role in the 6 January Capitol riots, and their unwavering embrace of conspiracy theories.

This decision, shrouded in secrecy, raises serious questions about the National-led government’s priorities and its troubling alignment with extremist ideologies. As we dissect this choice, we must also confront broader patterns of complicity, from ACT’s flirtations with white supremacists to National’s cosy relationship with Trumpian politics, and the urgent need to curb the influence of fascists in Aotearoa.

The Proud Boys’ designation, established in 2022, was a response to their role in the Capitol riot and their crypto-fascist tactics. Yet, Luxon’s inaction suggests a troubling dismissal of his own agencies expert advice and previous decisions made by the Jacinda Ardern administration.

Why would he take such a risk? Evidence points to political expediency. National’s coalition with ACT and NZ First, the most right-wing New Zealand government in decades, may be reluctant to alienate conservative voters by targeting far-right groups. 

But questions remain. Why would, for instance, the National coalition of chaos fail to designate the Proud Boys, a group who murders police officers, as terrorists while putting other white supremacist groups on the list?

Last week, the NZ Herald reported:

Extremist white supremacist group behind race war plots remains on NZ terrorism watchlist

A violent neo-Nazi hate group with international reach has been relisted as a terrorist entity by the New Zealand Government, amid ongoing efforts to prevent extremist ideologies from taking root or operating within the country.

The Base is a white supremacist “militant accelerationist paramilitary group” that advocates for the violent overthrow of existing governments to establish white “ethnostates”.

The group’s ideology is said to be “rooted in extreme racism, antisemitism, and the belief in an impending race war”.

It is active in the US and Canada, with reports of training cells in Europe, South Africa and Australia.

The group, also known as TB, was first designated as a terrorist entity in New Zealand in June 2022 alongside another US group, the Proud Boys.

The decision also appears to align with diplomatic pressures from the Trump administration, which has pardoned Proud Boys members, even those who murdered police, and downplayed their threat. Many Proud Boys are reportedly linked to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), engaging in human rights abuses by abducting law abiding migrants and detaining them in concentration camps without due process. Allowing such individuals, some convicted of killing police, freedom to travel to New Zealand is reckless and indefensible. Clearly, fascists with blood on their hands should be barred from our shores, full stop.

This isn’t an isolated incident. The National-led government’s flirtation with extremism is part of a broader and uglier pattern. ACT leader David Seymour, for instance, has accepted donations from individuals openly advocating for violence against Muslims, including those boasting about bombing mosques. Such associations aren't mere oversights; they signal a willingness to court extremist support for political gain.

Similarly, the recent invitation of James Lindsay, a US commentator who peddles debunked “white genocide” conspiracies, to speak at ACT’s 2025 Rally underscores how far-right ideologies are being promoted and platformed by our right-wing politicians. Lindsay’s rhetoric, cloaked in free speech dogma, fuels division and emboldens white supremacists to hate on minority groups.

 

In 2022, Salon reported:

Meet James Lindsay, the far right’s “world-level expert” on CRT and “Race Marxism”

In a Feb. 5 appearance on Glenn Beck’s talk show — which Beck called “probably the most important podcast perhaps that we’ve ever done” — self-proclaimed critical race theory expert James Lindsay issued a dire warning. While discussing dark right-wing theories about “The Great Reset” and Democratic-run reeducation camps for the unvaccinated, Lindsay warned that a severe reckoning was at hand for the world’s elites: “It’s coming for them. They’re going to lose all of their power. They’re going to be exposed for crimes the likes of which we’ve never seen in human history.”

...

In 2018, as a math PhD running a business that fused massage therapy with martial arts, and a supporting character in the foundering New Atheism movement, Lindsay became a national name by pulling off a deft hoax that made liberal academics look dumb. Along with two co-conspirators, Helen Pluckrose and Peter Boghossian, Lindsay drafted 20 fake research papers with outlandish premises — to research canine “rape culture” at dog parks, or a proposition that men use dildos on themselves to overcome transphobia — and submitted them to a series of often obscure scholarly journals.

Around a third of the papers were accepted, and in 2018, the hoaxers, all of whom then called themselves liberals — although Boghossian was closely associated with accused white supremacist and “race realist” Stefan Molyneux, who has argued that Black people are “collectively less intelligent” than other races — revealed the experiment as an exposé on the terminal wokeness of academia, particularly the identity-oriented fields that the three called “grievance studies.”

 

When government-aligned parties amplify such divisive voices, they legitimise hate, undermining the social cohesion Aotearoa prides itself on.

Luxon’s government also helps to promote extremist views while also mirroring the Trump administration’s playbook, particularly in its erosion of indigenous rights. National’s coalition has pushed unpopular policies like the review of the Treaty of Waitangi, which undermines Māori sovereignty and echoes Trump’s marginalisation of Native American communities. This alignment isn’t coincidental.

As Trump pardons Proud Boys and weakens democratic norms, National’s soft stance on far-right groups suggests a shared ideological drift. Both governments prioritise appeasing conservative bases over protecting marginalised communities, whether it’s Māori here or migrants in US detention (concentration) camps. This convergence is a stark warning: when leaders downplay extremism, they pave the way for its normalisation.

The need to reduce white supremacist influence in New Zealand has never been more urgent. The Proud Boys, with their history of violence and ties to authoritarian regimes, are not a theoretical threat. Their lapsed designation risks emboldening local white supremacist sympathiser.

Aotearoa must not become a haven for fascists or a stage for their propaganda. Luxon’s government must reverse course, heed the advice of their security experts, and reinstate the Proud Boys’ designation as terrorists without further delay. Beyond that, it must reject the influence of extremists, whether through donations to ACT or invitations to divisive figures.

New Zealanders deserve a government that stands firm against hate, not one that cuddles it for political points. This is a moment for vigilance. The National-led government’s actions, ignoring advice, platforming extremists, and aligning with Trump’s racist agenda, threaten the values of inclusivity and justice that define Aotearoa. We must demand accountability, reject fascism in all its forms, and protect our communities from those who would divide us. The Proud Boys belong on the terrorist watch list, and white supremacists belong nowhere near our politics.

The Moral Abyss of Concentration Camps

The concept of detention centres and concentration camps is a grim spectre in human history, a mechanism of dehumanisation and control that has no place in a civilised world. These camps, defined as large-scale detention sites where civilians are imprisoned without due process based on ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs, are an affront to the principles of justice, dignity, and human rights.

From the Nazi atrocities to contemporary proposals that echo their chilling intent, concentration camps represent a deliberate stripping away of humanity, a policy rooted in fear, supremacy, and exclusion.

On Monday, the Guardian reported:

Israeli plan for forced transfer of Gaza’s population ‘a blueprint for crimes against humanity’

Military ordered to turn ruins of Rafah into ‘humanitarian city’ but experts call the plan an internment camp for all Palestinians in Gaza


Israel’s defence minister has laid out plans to force all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah, in a scheme that legal experts and academics described as a blueprint for crimes against humanity.

Israel Katz said he has ordered Israel’s military to prepare for establishing a camp, which he called a “humanitarian city”, on the ruins of the city of Rafah, Haaretz newspaper reported.

Palestinians would go through “security screening” before entering, and once inside would not be allowed to leave, Katz said at a briefing for Israeli journalists.

Israeli forces would control the perimeter of the site and initially “move” 600,000 Palestinians into the area – mostly people currently displaced in the al-Mawasi area.

Eventually the entire population of Gaza would be housed there, and Israel aims to implement “the emigration plan, which will happen”, Haaretz quoted him saying.

Since Donald Trump suggested at the start of the year that large numbers of Palestinians should leave Gaza to “clean out” the strip, Israeli politicians including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have enthusiastically promoted forced deportation, often presenting it as a US project.

Katz’s scheme breaks international law, said Michael Sfard, one of Israel’s leading human rights lawyers. It also directly contradicted claims made hours earlier by the office of Israel’s military chief, which said in a letter that Palestinians were only displaced inside Gaza for their own protection.

Israel and the United States’ use of detention centres for genocide and mass deportations demand a fierce and unflinching critique. Historically, Nazi Germany’s concentration camps stand as a horrifying benchmark. Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi regime operated over 44,000 camps and incarceration sites, imprisoning millions, including Jews, Romani people, political dissidents, and others deemed “undesirable.”

Approximately 1.65 million people were registered prisoners, with around one million perishing in camps like Auschwitz, Dachau, and Treblinka through starvation, forced labour, and gas chambers. These camps were not mere prisons but industrial-scale machines of death and oppression, designed to eradicate entire communities. Their legacy is a stark warning: when a state targets a group as “other,” the descent into barbarity is swift and catastrophic.

In 2025, Israel’s proposed “humanitarian city” in Gaza, as outlined by Defence Minister Israel Katz, bears a chilling resemblance to this dark history. The plan, reported by Haaretz and The Guardian, aims to confine 600,000 displaced Palestinians, eventually the entire 2.1 million population of Gaza, into a sealed-off area built on Rafah’s ruins. Palestinians would face “security screenings” and be barred from leaving, with the stated goal of “voluntary emigration” that critics, including former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, label as ethnic cleansing.

Legal scholars like Michael Sfard argue this violates international humanitarian law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention’s prohibition on forced transfers. The plan’s language of “humanitarian” aid masks a reality of mass detention and starvation, with 758 Palestinians already murdered and over 5,000 injured at aid distribution centres since May 2025. Such policies echo the Nazi tactic of disguising genocidal intent as “resettlement,” a comparison that, while sensitive, is grounded in the mechanics of control and displacement.

So, anyone who doesn’t go to the concentration camp will be “eliminated.”

Doesn’t sound genocidal at all… pic.twitter.com/mvuLIENeRm

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) July 10, 2025

However, the scourge of detention centres is not confined to Israel's genocide in Palestine, but festers globally, exposing a troubling trend of state-sanctioned oppression. In China, over one million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities are detained in Xinjiang’s “re-education” camps, where forced labour, cultural erasure, and torture are documented by Human Rights Watch. Australia’s offshore detention centres on Nauru and the now closed Manus Island detention centres held approximately 1,200 refugees in conditions described by the UN as “inhumane,” with 14 deaths reported since 2013.

In Libya, UN reports estimate 20,000 migrants are held in detention centres, often subjected to torture and extortion, with 3,000 deaths recorded in 2024 alone. These global examples mirror the dehumanising logic of historical concentration camps, using euphemisms like “processing” or “re-education” to sanitise systemic cruelty.

Across the Atlantic, the United States under the Trump administration is reviving its own form of detention horror. Reports from Reuters and the New York Times reveal plans to use military bases like Fort Bliss to detain up to 10,000 migrants, with ambitions to scale this to hundreds of thousands as part of the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. Currently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holds 41,000 people in for-profit facilities, with Guantánamo Bay recently reactivated for indefinite detention.

These centres, often compared to concentration camps by scholars and activists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, mirror the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. The rhetoric of “invasion” and dehumanising terms like “animals” used by Trump is no laughing matter, and recalls Nazi propaganda, fostering indifference to the suffering of detained families, including children who are routinely separated from their parents.

People are comparing Trump's Alligator Alcatraz detention centre to Hitler's concentration camps. But they're wrong! Just look, the roofs are a completely different colour. #uspoli #fascism pic.twitter.com/nBdwFlezf9

— Peter Murphy (@PeterWMurphy1) July 13, 2025

The moral bankruptcy of concentration camps lies in their denial of individual rights and their reliance on collective punishment. Whether it’s the 27 Palestinian detainees tortured at Israel’s Sde Teiman camp, as documented by Amnesty International, or the 2.5 million deportations under U.S. policies since 2020, these systems thrive on dehumanisation. They're not solutions but atrocities, breeding cycles of violence and causing untold damage.

Israel’s occupation, America’s xenophobia, and the global detention regimes around the world must end, not through war but through political pressure,  justice and a recognition of our shared humanity. To ignore this is to court the same indifference that enabled the Holocaust’s horrors. We must resist these atrosities, for history shows what results if nothing is done.

DOGE is Legally Liable for Texas Drownings

In a world increasingly battered by the ferocity of climate-driven storms, the catastrophic Texas floods of July 2025 stand as a grim testament to governmental negligence. 

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the previous stewardship of Elon Musk and propelled by Donald Trump’s administration, slashed funding and staffing to critical agencies like the National Weather Service (NWS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).


On Tuesday, AP reported:

 

Debate erupts over role job cuts played in weather forecasts ahead of deadly Texas floods

Questions linger about level of coordination

Questions remain, however, about the level of coordination and communication between NWS and local officials on the night of the disaster. The Trump administration has cut hundreds of jobs at NWS, with staffing down by at least 20% at nearly half of the 122 NWS field offices nationally and at least a half dozen no longer staffed 24 hours a day. Hundreds more experienced forecasters and senior managers were encouraged to retire early.

The White House also has proposed slashing its parent agency’s budget by 27% and eliminating federal research centers focused on studying the world’s weather, climate and oceans.

The website for the NWS office for Austin/San Antonio, which covers the region that includes hard-hit Kerr County, shows six of 27 positions are listed as vacant. The vacancies include a key manager responsible for issuing warnings and coordinating with local emergency management officials. An online resume for the employee who last held the job showed he left in April after more than 17 years, shortly after mass emails sent to employees urging them to retire early or face potential layoffs.

Democrats on Monday pressed the Trump administration for details about the cuts. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded that the administration conduct an inquiry into whether staffing shortages contributed to “the catastrophic loss of life” in Texas.

These cuts, which saw NWS staffing plummet by 20% across half its field offices and 550 meteorologists depart, directly undermined the ability to issue timely flood warnings. The result? Over 100 lives lost, including 27 girls at Camp Mystic. This is not just a moral failure, it’s a legal one, demanding prosecution for negligent acts by federal employees.

The evidence is damning. The Austin/San Antonio NWS office, tasked with forecasting for the flood-ravaged Texas Hill Country, operated with six of 27 positions vacant, including a critical warning coordination role. Forecasts underestimated rainfall by up to 50%, and warnings, though issued, failed to reach communities effectively.

Former NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad has pointed to these staffing shortages as a direct cause of inadequate alerts. Yet, while Musk and Trump championed “efficiency” to justify slashing vital infrastructure, they funnelled tax cuts to themselves and their elite allies, a grotesque prioritisation of profit over people which has resulted in numerous American lives lost.

Legal precedents underscore the potential for accountability. In Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation (2009), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was held liable for negligent maintenance of flood control systems, a ruling that bypassed sovereign immunity by focusing on operational failures.

Similarly, Freeman v. United States (1971) found the government liable for failing to warn of dangerous weather, affirming a duty to disseminate critical information. Indian Towing Co. v. United States (1955) further established that once the government undertakes a service like weather forecasting, it must execute it with accuracy and care.

DOGE’s cuts, which left NWS offices understaffed and unable to coordinate effectively, mirror these operational lapses. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, such negligence by federal employees, caused by politicians cutting funding, could (and should) face prosecution, especially if specific regulations on staffing or warning protocols were violated.

Climate change amplifies this tragedy. Scientists like Avantika Gori note that warming oceans fuel more intense, localised storms, as seen in Texas with 30 to 50 cm (12-20 inches) of rain falling in hours. Governments worldwide, including New Zealand’s, share liability for failing to mitigate climate change or bolster infrastructure against its impacts.

The Paris Agreement’s tepid progress and inadequate emissions reductions leave communities vulnerable, with leaders complicit in disasters they’ve failed to prepare for. In Texas, DOGE’s cuts exacerbated this vulnerability, turning a climate-driven deluge into a massacre.

Musk and Trump’s actions reflect a callous disregard for public safety. While they gutted NOAA’s budget by 27% and eliminated research centres, they celebrated tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, a moral bankruptcy that echoes across the globe.

Governments, whether in Washington or Wellington, have a duty to protect citizens from foreseeable harms. By prioritising fiscal “efficiency” over robust forecasting and mitigation, they’ve failed in that duty.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for an investigation is a start, but it’s not enough. Those responsible for these cuts must face legal consequences, not just political scrutiny.

The Texas floods are a clarion call. Climate change demands urgent investment in resilient systems, not reckless tax cuts to appease billionaires. Governments worldwide must be held accountable, legally and morally, for failing to act.

In New Zealand, we watch with horror, knowing our own climate inaction could invite similar tragedies. The time for excuses is over; the time for justice is now.

The Dust of Israel's Genocide Settles Across the World

In the annals of human cruelty, the Holocaust stands as a grotesque monument to industrialised slaughter. Hitler’s regime exterminated six million Jews, alongside Romani people, disabled individuals, political dissidents, LGBTQ+ communities, and intellectuals, a genocide shrouded in secrecy, its full horrors only grasped after the German's were defeated.

Fast forward to present day, as Israel’s war machine grinds Gaza into dust, we witness a genocide not hidden in the shadows, but broadcast in real-time, livestreamed, tweeted, TikToked, into our living rooms. 

In the 1940's, after WW2 had begun, the world knew little of the Nazi's extermination camps; today, we watch Palestinian children being burnt alive by white phosphorus, entire families buried under rubble, mass graves and starving civilians shot while scrambling for poisoned flour. And yet, Western governments, complicit in arms and rhetoric, look on and do nothing to bring an end to this modern day atrocity.

The Nazi genocide unfolded largely beyond global scrutiny. Western nations, even those at war with Germany, possessed only fragmented intelligence on Hitler's extermination camps. The 1942 Riegner Telegram, confirming Hitler’s plan to annihilate European Jewry, was met with disbelief. 

Newspapers buried reports; governments hesitated to act. By 1945, when Allied forces liberated Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz, the scale of mechanised murder stunned the world, but by then, it was too late. This historical blindness is often invoked to excuse inaction. "We didn’t know," they said. But today, there is no such defence. 

 

On Monday, the Guardian reported:

Israeli plan for forced transfer of Gaza’s population ‘a blueprint for crimes against humanity’

Military ordered to turn ruins of Rafah into ‘humanitarian city’ but experts call the plan an internment camp for all Palestinians in Gaza

Israel’s defence minister has laid out plans to force all Palestinians in Gaza into a camp on the ruins of Rafah, in a scheme that legal experts and academics described as a blueprint for crimes against humanity.

Israel Katz said he has ordered Israel’s military to prepare for establishing a camp, which he called a “humanitarian city”, on the ruins of the city of Rafah, Haaretz newspaper reported.

Palestinians would go through “security screening” before entering, and once inside would not be allowed to leave, Katz said at a briefing for Israeli journalists.

Israeli forces would control the perimeter of the site and initially “move” 600,000 Palestinians into the area – mostly people currently displaced in the al-Mawasi area.

Eventually the entire population of Gaza would be housed there, and Israel aims to implement “the emigration plan, which will happen”, Haaretz quoted him saying.

Since Donald Trump suggested at the start of the year that large numbers of Palestinians should leave Gaza to “clean out” the strip, Israeli politicians including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, have enthusiastically promoted forced deportation, often presenting it as a US project.

Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed at least 57,645 Palestinians according to official counts, though the true death toll is catastrophically higher. With over 10,000 bodies still buried under rubble and thousands more missing, independent analysts estimate the actual fatalities likely exceed 150,000, a figure that includes entire families erased from civil records. 

Among the dead are more than 20,000 children, many burned alive by US-supplied white phosphorus or crushed in their homes by 2,000-pound bunker-buster bombs. Hospitals, designated as shelters, have been systematically targeted and now serve as mass graves.

“This genocide is in 4k on your telly & your only answer, you're not gonna be able to say I didn't know, the only answer you're gonna be able to give to your kids is I didn't care...”

🇮🇪Game Of Thrones Star Liam Cunningham pic.twitter.com/C2ZN3fTT7k

— The Resonance (@Partisan_12) July 8, 2025

The UN reports that 90% of Gaza's children now suffer acute food deprivation, with Israeli snipers routinely shooting those who approach aid trucks. Unlike the Holocaust, this extermination campaign unfolds before our eyes, journalists document mothers cradling their children's severed limbs, teenagers bleeding to death in gutted streets, and bulldozers piling corpses into anonymous trenches. 

These images flood social media in real time, yet Western leaders like Donald Trump, Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz respond by accelerating weapons shipments to Israel.

The United States, Britain, Germany, and other allies have armed Israel to the teeth. Since October 2023, the Biden and Trump administrations fast-tracked over 100 weapons transfers, including 2,000-pound bunker busters that flatten entire blocks. British-supplied fighter jets bomb UN shelters. German-made tanks crush ambulances. This is not self-defence; it is extermination. 

Worse still is the legal cover provided. The US vetoed multiple UN ceasefire resolutions. The ICC’s warrant for Netanyahu was met with outrage from Washington and London, the same capitals that once vowed "Never Again." The hypocrisy is staggering: Putin is a war criminal for Ukraine, but Netanyahu gets a blank cheque.

“If you supply weapons to somebody that is accused of acts of genocide, then you yourself become complicit in those acts as well”

Retweet if you agree with Corbyn pic.twitter.com/VglGmJfoAM

— Nadeem Ahmed (@Muqadaam) July 5, 2025

Some still parrot the fiction of Israeli "self-defence." But no nation has a right to "defend" itself by starving two million people to death, half of them children. No war justifies bombing hospitals, shooting paramedics, or executing entire families. 

The International Court of Justice has ruled Israel’s actions a genocide, a finding largely ignored by Western media who still often try to justify Israel's actions by framing Palestinian deaths as "collateral damage." This is not war. It is slaughter. And it is funded by our taxes. 

 

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." ~ Albert Einstein


What Must Be Done

Silence is complicity. The Holocaust was allowed to happen because the world turned away. Today, we cannot claim ignorance—only cowardice.

1. Boycott & Divest: Pressure companies arming Israel (Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Elbit). Demand pension funds divest from genocide.
2. Streets, Not Petitions: Protests must escalate. General strikes. Blockades. The anti-apartheid movement didn’t win with polite letters.
3. Vote Out the Complicit: Donald Trump, Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz all are complicit. Support candidates who call for an arms embargo.
4. Amplify Palestinian Voices: Share their testimony. Challenge media bias. The truth is their only weapon.

History will judge this moment harshly. When the next generation asks, "What did you do?" What will you be able to say?

People Linked to Jeffrey Epstein Who Have Died

The web of Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal network and its ties to powerful figures continues to unravel, revealing a chilling pattern of suspicious deaths, allegations of intelligence connections, and unanswered questions. From Epstein’s own mysterious death in 2019 to the unsolved murders of Barry and Honey Sherman, the apparent suicide of key witnesses like Virginia Giuffre, and the overdoses of victims like Carolyn Andriano and Leigh Skye Patrick, a trail of tragedy surrounds those linked to the disgraced financier. Allegations of Mossad involvement, elite blackmail operations, and systemic abuse persist, fueled by figures like Robert Maxwell and claims of espionage. 

This post explores the lives, deaths, and connections of deceased individuals caught in Epstein’s orbit, shedding more light on a scandal that refuses to fade.

Jeffrey Epstein, Age 66, Financier and Convicted Sex Offender: Epstein supposedly died by suicide by hanging in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. As the central figure in a sprawling network of sexual abuse and trafficking, Epstein was convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor, though his plea deal sparked controversy for its leniency and apparent coverup to protect the powerful. His 2019 arrest revealed allegations of trafficking dozens of underage girls, with victims like Virginia Giuffre detailing systemic abuse at his properties. 

Speculation about his death being a murder rather than suicide persist, fuelled by lapses in prison protocol, such as guards failing to check on him and malfunctioning cameras. Some, including former intelligence operative Ari Ben-Menashe, have claimed Epstein worked with Mossad, leveraging his connections to powerful figures to gather compromising material for blackmail. His death silenced a key figure in an international scandal, leaving many questions unanswered about the extent of his criminal network and its protectors.

Barry Sherman, Age 75, Canadian Pharmaceutical Billionaire: Barry Sherman and his wife Honey were found dead in their Toronto home on December 15, 2017, initially considered a murder-suicide but later investigated as a targeted double homicide, which remains unsolved. Sherman, founder of Apotex, was linked to Epstein through elite financial and social circles, though no direct evidence confirms a close relationship. His wealth and influence placed him in networks where Epstein operated, raising questions about potential overlap in their business dealings. The mysterious nature of the Shermans’ deaths, with no arrests made years later, has led to speculation of foul play tied to their high-profile connections. 

The lack of resolution in the case continues to fuel theories about targeted killings within elite circles.

 

Honey Sherman, Age 70, Philanthropist and Wife of Barry Sherman: Found dead alongside her husband Barry on December 15, 2017, in their Toronto home, Honey’s death is part of the same unsolved double homicide. As a prominent philanthropist, she moved in the same elite social circles as her husband, which indirectly connected her to Epstein’s network, though no specific ties to his criminal activities are documented. The suspicious circumstances of her death, including the staging of the bodies to initially suggest a murder-suicide, have prompted speculation about motives related to the Shermans’ wealth or connections, but no evidence points to direct Epstein-related criminality. The ongoing mystery of their deaths keeps them in the orbit of conspiracy theories surrounding powerful figures.

Virginia Giuffre, Age 41, Victim and Accuser: Giuffre, a prominent survivor of Epstein’s sexual abuse, died by suicide on April 24, 2025, at her farm in Neergabby, Australia. Her testimony was pivotal in exposing Epstein’s trafficking network, accusing him, Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Andrew, and Jean-Luc Brunel of abusing her as a minor. Giuffre’s allegations detailed a sophisticated operation where she was coerced into sexual acts with high-profile figures, implicating Epstein’s use of his wealth and connections to exploit vulnerable girls. 

After years of legal battles and public advocacy, her suicide came amid a marriage breakup, reported struggles with the psychological toll of her trauma and relentless scrutiny. Some online discussions have questioned whether her death was truly self-inflicted, citing her role as a key witness, but no direct evidence supports claims of foul play. 

Her death marked a tragic loss for survivors seeking justice.

Daniel Anderl, Age 20, Son of Federal Judge Esther Salas: Daniel Anderl was shot and killed on July 19, 2020, at his family’s home in New Jersey by Roy Den Hollander, a lawyer with a personal vendetta against Judge Salas. Salas was overseeing a case involving Epstein’s financial ties to Deutsche Bank, which examined suspicious transactions potentially linked to his trafficking operations. Den Hollander, a self-proclaimed men’s rights activist with a history of misogynistic writings, killed Anderl and wounded Salas’s husband, targeting her for her judicial role. While no direct evidence ties Epstein pedophile network to the attack, the timing and Salas’s involvement in an Epstein-related case sparked speculation of a deeper connection. 

 

Jean-Luc Brunel, Age 75, Modelling Agent and Epstein Accomplice: Brunel, a French modelling agent, died by apparent suicide in his cell at La Santé Prison in Paris on February 19, 2022, while awaiting trial for rape of minors and sexual harassment. Accused by Virginia Giuffre and others of scouting underage girls for Epstein’s trafficking network, Brunel was a key figure in supplying victims under the guise of modelling opportunities through his agency, MC2. His death, like Epstein’s, raised suspicions of foul play due to its timing and the high stakes of his upcoming trial, which could have exposed further details about Epstein’s operations. While no confirmed Mossad connections exist, Brunel’s role in Epstein’s network, which some allege had intelligence ties, keeps such speculation alive. 

His apparent suicide prevented further testimony that might have implicated other powerful figures in the scandal.

Carolyn Andriano, Age 36, Victim and Witness: Andriano died of a drug overdose (methadone, fentanyl, and alprazolam) on May 23, 2023, in a West Palm Beach hotel room, ruled accidental. She testified against Ghislaine Maxwell, describing how Epstein abused her starting at age 14, with Maxwell facilitating the encounters. Her testimony helped secure Maxwell’s 2021 conviction for sex trafficking. 

The overdose, occurring in an area tied to Epstein’s activities, has been called suspicious by some online commentators, who note the pattern of deaths among Epstein’s victims. No evidence links her death to targeted foul play, but her history of trauma and addiction, exacerbated by her abuse, highlights the lasting impact on Epstein’s victims. 

Her death silenced another voice that could have shed light on the network’s inner workings.

Pedro Gaspar, Age 29, Model and Party Promoter: Gaspar died on August 6, 2012, of a suspected drug overdose in a Manhattan apartment owned by Epstein’s brother, Mark. Associated with Jean-Luc Brunel’s MC2 Models, Gaspar was reportedly involved in Epstein’s social scene, which allegedly included procuring girls for his trafficking network. The overdose’s suspicious nature, given his proximity to Epstein and Brunel, has led some to question whether it was accidental or tied to efforts to silence those with knowledge of Epstein’s activities. No direct evidence of a targeted killing exists, but his death in a property linked to Epstein’s family and his role in the modelling world raise lingering doubts about the circumstances surrounding this young mans death.

Bill Richardson, Age 75, Former Governor of New Mexico: Richardson died in September 2023 of natural causes. Virginia Giuffre accused him of being one of the individuals Maxwell directed her to give a massage to, implying sexual activity, though Richardson vehemently denied meeting her and was never charged. As a prominent political figure, his inclusion in Epstein’s contact book and Giuffre’s allegations placed him under scrutiny, but no concrete evidence of criminality or pedophilia emerged. Speculation about Epstein’s network having intelligence ties, including to Mossad, occasionally touches figures like Richardson due to his elite connections, but no specific Mossad link is substantiated. 

His death, reported as natural, closed a chapter on one of Epstein’s more contested associations.

Marvin Minsky, Age 88, MIT Scientist: Minsky, a pioneering computer scientist, died in January 2016 of a cerebral hemorrhage, considered natural causes. Virginia Giuffre claimed Maxwell directed her to engage in sexual activities with him, an allegation, which led to no criminal charges, that surfaced after his death. Minsky’s association with Epstein came through his visits to Epstein’s private pedophile island and funding from Epstein for AI research at MIT, raising questions about the financier’s influence in academic circles. His connection to Epstein underscores how the pedophile financier cultivated ties with intellectual elites, potentially for leverage or blackmail.

Leigh Skye Patrick, Age 29, Victim: Patrick, an Epstein survivor, died in 2017 from a drug overdose in a West Palm Beach hotel room, the first of two Epstein victims to die of overdoses in the area. Her being a victim of Epstein’s abuse made her a key witness in his trafficking network, though specific details about her experiences or testimony are scarce. The overdose, like Carolyn Andriano’s, occurred in a region closely tied to Epstein’s operations, prompting speculation about whether such deaths were truly accidental. The pattern of overdoses among Epstein’s victims raises questions about the long-term impact of their trauma and potential vulnerabilities exploited by others.

Alfredo Rodriguez, Age 60, Former House Manager: Rodriguez, Epstein’s house manager in Palm Beach, died in January 2015 from mesothelioma, a fast acting cancer caused from exposure to asbestos. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for attempting to sell Epstein’s “black book,” a contact list detailing the financier’s network, which included names of victims and high-profile figures. Rodriguez’s insider knowledge made him a significant figure in early investigations into Epstein’s activities, and his attempt to profit from the book suggests awareness of its value in exposing criminality. 

His death from natural causes occurred before Epstein’s 2019 arrest, but some speculate he faced threats due to his possession of sensitive information. Epstein’s alleged intelligence ties keep such theories in circulation.

Stephen Hawking, Age 76, Scientist: Hawking, a renowned theoretical physicist, died on March 14, 2018, of natural causes related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His name appeared in Epstein’s contact book, suggesting a social or professional connection, possibly through Epstein’s funding of scientific endeavours or events like a 2006 conference Hawking attended on Epstein’s island. No allegations of pedophilia or criminality have been made against him, but his presence in Epstein’s orbit reflects the financier’s efforts to align with intellectual giants, potentially for influence or credibility. 

His death, expected due to his long-term illness, has not been tied to foul play.

Michael Jackson, Age 50, Celebrity: Jackson, a global music icon, died on June 25, 2009, from a drug overdose involving propofol and benzodiazepines, administered by his physician, ruled a homicide due to medical negligence. His name in Epstein’s contact book and reported visits to Epstein’s Palm Beach property was likely a social connection, driven by Jackson’s celebrity status and Epstein’s pursuit of influential figures. Accusers in Jackson’s separate allegations of child sexual abuse, including Jordan Chandler in 1993 and Gavin Arvizo in 2003, claimed he molested them during sleepovers at his Neverland Ranch, though these cases were settled out of court for $22 million and acquitted in 2005, respectively. Posthumous claims by Wade Robson and James Safechuck in 2019 alleged prolonged abuse, but were dismissed due to statutes of limitations. 

No evidence directly ties Jackson to Epstein’s pedophilia or trafficking network, and his death is unlikely to be linked to Epstein-related foul play, though his presence in Epstein’s orbit fuels speculation about his elite connections.

Ted Kennedy, Age 77, Former Senator: Kennedy, a long-serving U.S. senator, died on August 25, 2009, from brain cancer. His name in Epstein’s contact book suggests a social or political connection, likely due to Kennedy’s prominence and Epstein’s cultivation of powerful allies. No allegations of pedophilia or direct involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities have been substantiated, though Kennedy’s past controversies, such as the Chappaquiddick incident, have long fuelled scrutiny of his personal conduct. 

His death from a well-documented illness is not considered suspicious, though his elite status made him a target for Epstein’s networking.

Ivana Trump, Age 73, Former Spouse of Donald Trump: Ivana Trump died on July 14, 2022, from accidental blunt impact injuries after a fall at her New York City home. Mentioned in Epstein-related files, likely due to her high-profile social connections in New York and Palm Beach elite circles, she had no direct allegations of involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities. Her ex-husband Donald Trump’s documented ties to Epstein, including flights on his "Lolita Express" airplanes, place her in proximity to his pedophile network. However, no evidence suggests foul play beyond the accidental nature of her death. 

Her presence in Epstein’s orbit likely reflects his access to prominent social and political figures.

David Koch, Age 79, Businessman: Koch, a billionaire industrialist and philanthropist, died on August 23, 2019, from prostate cancer. Although some sources claim they had a close friendship, his name in Epstein’s contact book points to a connection through elite financial and social circles, as Koch’s wealth and influence aligned with Epstein’s network of powerful figures. No allegations of pedophilia or direct criminality tied to Epstein have been made against him, and his death from a long-term illness is not considered suspicious. Epstein’s cultivation of billionaires like Koch suggests strategic networking, possibly for financial or social leverage.

Ethel Kennedy, Age 96, Widow of Robert F. Kennedy: Ethel Kennedy died on October 10, 2024, of natural causes. Mentioned in Epstein-related files, likely due to her prominent social and political connections as a Kennedy family matriarch, she had no direct ties to his criminal activities. Her advanced age and public profile made her a peripheral figure in Epstein’s network, with no allegations of pedophilia or Mossad involvement. 

Her death, expected due to her age, has not been linked to foul play, but her inclusion in Epstein’s files underscores his networks reach into America’s political dynasties.

Robert Maxwell, Age 68, Media Tycoon: Robert Maxwell, father of Ghislaine Maxwell, died on November 5, 1991, after falling from his yacht near the Canary Islands, officially ruled an accidental drowning. His connection to Epstein is through Ghislaine, a key figure in Epstein’s trafficking network. Maxwell, a British media mogul, was widely alleged to have been a Mossad agent, with former Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe claiming he facilitated the sale of bugged PROMIS software to governments and institutions, enabling espionage. His financial empire, riddled with fraud and embezzlement, collapsed posthumously, revealing he had misappropriated pension funds. 

His mysterious death has fuelled theories of Mossad assassination, with suggestions he was killed after attempting to blackmail the agency for financial aid to cover debts. While no direct evidence ties him to Epstein’s pedophilia, his intelligence connections and Ghislaine’s role raise questions about the family’s broader ties to covert operations.

John Tower, Age 65, Former U.S. Senator: John Tower died on April 5, 1991, in a plane crash near Brunswick, Georgia, officially attributed to mechanical failure. His connection to Epstein is indirect, through Robert Maxwell, with whom he was allegedly involved in the PROMIS software scandal. Authors like Gordon Thomas claim Tower facilitated the sale of bugged software, allegedly modified by Mossad for espionage, to U.S. institutions, including nuclear research facilities. The crash that killed him and his daughter has been speculatively linked to Mossad by some, who argue his knowledge of the software’s backdoor capabilities made him a liability, though no definitive evidence supports this. 

No allegations of pedophilia or direct Epstein-related criminality exist, but Tower’s death, occurring months before Maxwell’s, adds to speculation about intelligence-related eliminations within elite networks.

Unresolved Questions About Epstein's Paedophile Network

Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal enterprise represents one of the most sophisticated pedophile and blackmail operations in modern history, facilitated by an extensive surveillance network that recorded illicit activities across his Manhattan townhouse, Palm Beach mansion, Little St. James island, New Mexico’s Zorro Ranch, and the New Albany estate.

Despite numerous investigations and document releases, critical aspects of this extensive operation remain unexamined, including the technical infrastructure that enabled it, the individuals who implemented these systems, and the apparent institutional failures that have allowed key evidence to disappear or remain hidden.

Recent developments have added new complexity to the case. The United States DOJ is apparently still reviewing materials from the FBI investigation into Jeffrey Epstein as Attorney General Pam Bondi supposedly wants to release more files. However, Bondi’s public statements have created confusion rather than clarity.


On Wednesday, Stuff reported:

Mystery surrounds the Jeffrey Epstein files after Bondi claims 'tens of thousands' of videos

It was a surprising statement from Attorney General Pam Bondi as the Trump administration promises to release more files from its sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein: The FBI, she said, was reviewing “tens of thousands of videos” of the wealthy financier “with children or child porn.”

The comment, made to reporters at the White House days after a similar remark to a stranger with a hidden camera, raised the stakes for President Donald Trump's administration to prove it has in its possession previously unseen compelling evidence. That task is all the more pressing after an earlier document dump that Bondi hyped angered elements of Trump’s base by failing to deliver new bombshells and as administration officials who had promised to unlock supposed secrets of the so-called government “deep state" struggle to fulfill that pledge.

Yet weeks after Bondi’s remarks, it remains unclear what she was referring to.

...

The filing suggests a discovery of recordings after the criminal cases had concluded, but if that's what Bondi was referencing, the Justice Department has not said.

The department declined repeated requests from the AP to speak with officials overseeing the Epstein review. Spokespeople did not answer a list of questions about Bondi’s comments, including when and where the recordings were procured, what they depict and whether they were newly discovered as authorities dug through their evidence collection or were known for some time to have been in the government's possession.

“Outside sources who make assertions about materials included in the DOJ’s review cannot speak to what materials are included in the DOJ’s review,” spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said in a statement.

What the Stuff article fails to mention is that Bondi, in April 2025, was secretly recorded claiming the FBI was reviewing “tens of thousands of videos” of Epstein “with children or child porn,” statements that were later contradicted by FBI Director Kash Patel. Patel then appeared on the Joe Rogan show, claiming that the delay was because of the amount of evidence they were having to look through. 

Patel's appearance was likely due to Bondi’s February 2025 release of “declassified” Epstein files, 200 pages of public flight logs and a heavily redacted contact book, which received substantial backlash from observers, with most of the material having already been released and used in the trial of Epstein associate and abuser, Ghislaine Maxwell. 

The limited nature of these releases, combined with contradictory statements about video evidence, has fuelled speculation about continued cover-ups. This analysis examines some of the systemic failures that continue to obstruct justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and his pedophile accomplices.

Representatives Robert Garcia and Stephen F. Lynch have demanded answers from Attorney General Pamela Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel about whether the Epstein files are being withheld because they personally implicate President Trump. Senator Marsha Blackburn has requested the FBI Director release complete, unredacted Epstein records. These congressional actions highlight the political dimensions of the case and the continuing pressure for transparency, while also revealing the extent to which partisan considerations may be influencing investigative decisions.

Allegations of Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, have emerged from multiple sources, suggesting his blackmail operation may have served geopolitical interests. Former Israeli intelligence operative Ari Ben-Menashe alleged in 2020 that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell acted as Mossad assets, using their access to influential figures to collect compromising material for strategic leverage. 

Court documents from Virginia Giuffre reference Epstein’s ties to international networks, potentially including foreign intelligence, while former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s documented visits to Epstein’s properties raise questions about their relationship. The Tel Aviv branch of Jean-Luc Brunel’s MC2 modelling agency, linked to Epstein’s victim recruitment network, further confirms an Israeli connection. Although no definitive evidence has been made public, the FBI’s failure to investigate these international ties, combined with missing surveillance data, leaves critical questions unanswered about whether Epstein’s operations intersected with Mossad’s objectives.

Another largely unexplored aspect of Epstein’s criminal enterprise was his comprehensive surveillance network, which was professionally installed. A surviving victim, Maria Farmer, in her first television interview, alleged that Epstein had extensive surveillance inside his home, including tiny pinhole cameras, and that Epstein showed her cameras throughout his house. Now deceased victim, Virginia Giuffre’s memoir describes a room equipped with monitors displaying real-time footage from throughout the properties, suggesting a centralised monitoring system. 

The 2006 Palm Beach police raid uncovered multiple hidden recording devices, while court documents reference compact discs labeled with “young" victims names discovered in Epstein’s safe, indicating systematic cataloging of recorded material. Conservative radio host Buck Sexton correctly noted that “Epstein was running a blackmail operation based on surreptitious video, as evidenced from the extensive surveillance set ups in his various mansions”.

The scale and sophistication of Epstein’s surveillance network required professional-grade information technology infrastructure. Such systems demanded secure data transmission, encrypted storage, and remote access capabilities, features consistent with enterprise solutions like those offered by Citrix Systems, technology mentioned in Jeffrey Epstein’s released files. Products such as Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops, Workspace, or NetScaler provide the encryption and remote access functionalities necessary for managing sensitive surveillance data across multiple properties while maintaining operational security. 

The technical complexity of managing surveillance systems in New York, Palm Beach, and Little St. James simultaneously would have required specialised expertise in network architecture, data storage systems, and security protocols, expertise that Jeffrey Epstein was reported to not have himself. This level of sophistication suggests the involvement of experienced IT professionals with access to enterprise-grade technology platforms.

Central to understanding Epstein’s technical infrastructure is Tim Newcombe, aka Tim Newcome, listed on page 95 of Epstein’s contact book with two Columbus, Ohio telephone numbers identifying him, despite an extensive attempt to scrub the internet of any leads. Jeffrey Epstein’s house manager Alfredo Rodriguez identified Newcombe as a “Citrix Systems programmer” likely responsible for IT and surveillance systems across Epstein’s numerous properties. Newcombe’s professional associations include Newcome Corp./NES and Digital Interiors, Ohio-based firms specialising in fibre optics and home security systems. Additionally, Newcombe appears to have connections to Ambassador Software Works, a company funded by Rev1 Ventures, an investment fund with ties to Leslie Wexner’s extensive Ohio State University network.

This connection is particularly significant given Wexner’s central role in Epstein’s operations and the billionaire’s influence within Columbus’s technology and the US business ecosystem.

Wexner’s relationship with Epstein from the mid-1980s through 2007 provided the foundation for much of Epstein’s wealth and operational capacity. As Wexner’s financial manager with power of attorney, Epstein controlled significant assets including the New Albany estate where Maria Farmer alleged abuse occurred in 1996. Newcombe’s Columbus base suggests Epstein leveraged local technical expertise to maintain IT systems at Wexner-connected properties, potentially utilising Citrix tools to secure surveillance feeds and manage encrypted data. 

The geographic concentration of technical resources in Columbus, combined with Wexner’s institutional connections, created an environment where sophisticated surveillance systems could be implemented and maintained with minimal external oversight. This local network effect may have facilitated the blackmailing and pedophilia operation’s longevity through technical sophistication. It may also explain why evidence is still only now being decrypted.

Despite the apparent significance of Newcombe’s role, several critical questions remain unanswered: What specific technical services did Newcombe provide to Epstein’s properties? How extensively was Citrix technology utilised in the surveillance infrastructure? Why has Newcombe’s involvement not been subject to a formal investigation? 

The absence of investigation into these technical enablers represents a significant gap in understanding the full scope of Epstein’s pedophile and blackmailing operation.

FBI agents and FOIA analysts have been holed up in the bureau’s sprawling Central Records Complex in Virginia as they process thousands of documents of Jeffrey Epstein files, yet critical evidence appears to have been compromised or lost. Surveillance video taken outside of the Manhattan jail cell of accused child-sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein during his apparent first suicide attempt was permanently deleted, raising questions about the bureau’s evidence preservation protocols. The video cameras being turned off when Epstein apparently did commit suicide is also questionable. 

The FBI’s 2019 raid on Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse reportedly uncovered extensive photographic and video evidence, but the current status and contents of these materials remains unclear. Why were authorities so unprofessional in gathering evidence or securing crime scenes? Journalist Michael Wolff and others have noted the apparent disappearance of substantial evidence collections, suggesting either systematic destruction or deliberate concealment.

The failure of US law enforcement is equal to that of New Zealand's apparent lack of concern for an international pedophile ring. Epstein’s international "model" recruitment network extended beyond Jean-Luc Brunel’s MC2 agency, located in New York City, Miami, and Tel Aviv, to include an unnamed New Zealand "mother" modelling agency linked to Brunel’s recruitment operations. This connection suggests a systematic approach to international trafficking that utilised legitimate business fronts to identify and recruit victims. 

The New Zealand connection remains uninvestigated, potentially shielding additional accomplices. Adding to the New Zealand connections, Karen and Brice Gorden, New Zealanders who managed operations at Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, represent another unexplored dimension of his international pedophile network that may still be operating to this very day.

Epstein’s financial dealings are another unresolved area that's crying out for further investigation. The convicted pedophile used complex networks of banks, investment funds, and financial institutions to hide and embezzle his wealth. Bank of America, for instance, processed $170 million for billionaire Leon Black in connection with Epstein-related transactions, while investments in Liquid Funding Ltd. and Bear Stearns hedge funds remain opaque, much like Donald Trumps earlier financial fraud that he's still to face any consequences for. 

These financial networks enabled the operation’s scale and sophistication while providing mechanisms for money laundering and asset concealment. The institutional failure to fully investigate these financial enablers represents another significant gap in accountability efforts.

Last year, the Guardian reported:

Donald Trump ordered to pay over $350m in New York financial fraud case

Donald Trump, his eldest sons and associates have been ordered to pay over $350m plus pre-judgment interest by a New York judge who found them guilty of intentionally committing financial fraud over the course of a decade.

Federal agencies’ focus on consumer-grade platforms and social media monitoring overlooks the sophisticated enterprise technologies that likely enabled Epstein’s operations, both in money laundering and blackmail through recording child sex abuse. The FBI’s Operation Innocent Images and similar initiatives target generic platforms while ignoring enterprise-grade solutions like Citrix systems that could have secured blackmail operations and facilitated encrypted communications. 

This technological blind spot in federal investigations reflects broader institutional limitations in understanding and investigating sophisticated criminal enterprises that utilise legitimate business technologies for illicit purposes.

The systematic loss or destruction of surveillance evidence suggests either incompetence or deliberate concealment within federal agencies, further eroding the public's trust in these institutions. The technical complexity of Epstein’s surveillance systems required specialised expertise to properly investigate and preserve evidence, yet there is little indication that federal agencies brought appropriate technical resources to bear on the case, or investigated all potential leads.

This will be a sort of #EpsteinBlackBook cheat sheet. I've tried to id the correct people, although some are more difficult than others because of the lack of details provided.

Will put an * next to the ones circled in the book.https://t.co/L6ZCffGcM2https://t.co/ANcZlE2mgJ

— Agenthades (@Agenthades1) July 20, 2019

As well as numerous pedophiles in positions of power, the Epstein case reveals fundamental weaknesses in federal agencies’ capacity to investigate technologically sophisticated criminal enterprises. Future investigations must include comprehensive examination of enterprise-grade systems used to facilitate criminal operations, investigation of IT professionals and technology contractors who enabled criminal infrastructure to be installed and maintained, robust procedures for preserving and analysing digital evidence in complex cases, and enhanced cooperation with international partners to investigate transnational criminal networks.

Twelve Epstein accusers have sued the FBI for allegedly failing to protect them, with the complaint filed in federal court alleging the FBI “turned its back on survivor victims”. This legal action highlights the need for institutional accountability and reform within federal agencies responsible for investigating complex criminal enterprises. The systematic failures in the Epstein case, from evidence preservation to witness protection, require comprehensive review and reform of federal investigative procedures.

The Epstein surveillance network represents a case study in how sophisticated criminal enterprises can exploit legitimate technologies and institutional weaknesses, as well as compromising corruptible powerful people, to operate with relative impunity. The unresolved questions surrounding technical infrastructure, the role of IT professionals like Tim Newcombe, and the systematic failures in evidence preservation highlight the need for more comprehensive and technically sophisticated approaches.

Until authorities confront these systemic weaknesses and pursue the unresolved leads in the Epstein case, the full scope of the operation will remain obscured, and justice for victims will remain incomplete. The shadows that continue to shroud critical aspects of the Epstein blackmailing and pedophile operation are not merely the result of the case’s complexity, they reflect fundamental failures in how institutions investigate, preserve evidence, and pursue accountability in cases involving sophisticated technologies. Only by addressing these systemic failures can we hope to prevent similar operations in the future and deliver justice to those who've been victimised by them.