Grayzone investigative journalist Max Blumenthal has obtained a leaked audio recording of Elliot Brandt, CEO of AIPAC, Israel’s biggest US lobbying group. In the recording, Brandt describes three politicians as tools for Israeli propaganda: Marco Rubio, now Donald Trump’s warmongering, Islamophobic secretary of state; deranged Israel fanatic congresswoman Elise Stefanik and former national security adviser, now US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, who was caught having secret war-planning meetings with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Isn’t that what a reasonable person would call treason? Watch below:

Here’s that audio

AIPAC’s CEO identified Rubio, Waltz and Ratcliffe as de facto Israeli assets during an off the record meeting in DC pic.twitter.com/SsqGPgMQm7 https://t.co/rJyz6gGjQ0

— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) March 12, 2026

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Featured image via the Canary

TSSA rail union members in revolt against the union management’s war on their democracy and branches have arranged a demonstration at the union’s HQ. The protest will take place on Tuesday 24 March from 5pm at Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4SQ.

The union’s deeply unpopular general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust moved, in February 2026, to disenfranchise all the union’s retired members — and boasted about it. Senior TSSA figures also said that she and her coterie lied to justify it and have put the union’s structures into collapse.

Worker and member revolt at TSSA

Eslamdoust claimed to be “proud” of what she had done, claiming that she was fulfilling the recommendations of the Kennedy Report, which exposed the bullying and sexual harassment of former general secretary Manuel Cortes and his cronies. Members and staff, furious at Eslamdoust’s endless war on union workers and member democracy, have not been shy about accusing Eslamdoust of propagating the abuses of the Cortes era rather than undoing them.

The Kennedy Report doesn’t say one word about closing retired branches.

In fact, the report only mentions retired members — at all — a single time. It does not recommend closing their branches, instead saying that the union relies too heavily on them and needs to encourage more working members to take up positions.

It also notes that if working members are not actively engaged in the union, TSSA management can easily stitch up elections to key positions. Ironically, this was exactly how Eslamdoust was installed despite having no relevant experience. It is how her cronies have been kept in their positions despite huge election wins for their rivals.

Because of this risk, the report suggests that TSSA staff who are not TSSA members (most are GMB members, a union now de-recognised by Eslamdoust and her allies) must be allowed to challenge her for the top job. Rather than implement this, Eslamdoust declared war on the union’s branches that might organise and nominate against her.

Finally, for this foreword, I want the TSSA to examine its democratic standing and traditions. It appears that engagement at branch level is dwindling and is heavily orientated towards retired members. This can present a real problem. Not only because it detaches the leadership from the reality of the current world of work as it is being experienced by members, but also because it means there is no healthy throughput of talent to key roles within the organisation. Only TSSA members can stand for election to General Secretary (GS), the most powerful role in the union. The most likely candidate to be successful in a GS election is someone who knows the organisation inside and out – i.e. a staff member. Very few staff members belong to the TSSA. So, GS elections are, to all intents and purposes, uncontested (or are notionally contested by candidates who have little prospect of winning). A key individual is seen to be ‘groomed’ for the post by the small number of senior managers who hold power, and that individual is then ‘crowned.’

That’s all clear enough — and not remotely what the management claims. So to try to persuade furious members that it is, Eslamdoust’s ally John Rees sent an email to retired members claiming that the change is “fully aligned” with Kennedy’s recommendations. And to embellish the claim, he added that it was “comprehensively and fully accepted” by the union’s annual conference after its publication:

This change is fully aligned with the recommendations of the Kennedy Report, which was comprehensively and fully accepted by TSSA Annual Conference in 2023. The report set out a clear direction to consolidate retired members’ structures in order to strengthen representation, improve consistency, and ensure long-term sustainability.

Eslamdoust’s ‘wreckord’

In 2024, Eslamdoust and her allies wrecked the TSSA’s annual conference and blocked a planned no-confidence vote against her.

But this is just the tip of a very large iceberg of member, rep and staff disgust with their ‘leader’. The TSSA has been embroiled for years in strikes because of the union workers’ fury at Eslamdoust’s attacks on them and their GMB union reps, both public and private. The attacks culminated, in January 2026, with Eslamdoust de-recognising GMB as the workplace union — an outrageous move for a union boss, and one that came after Eslamdoust told the Guardian that she is only being criticised because she is female.

That demand for special treatment failed — and TSSA members and staff are now taking their fight to the public square right outside her front door.

Featured image via the author

A US military refuelling plane has crashed in Iraq. All of the six crew members are confirmed dead. An Iran-backed group in Iraq has claimed responsibility, according to Reuters. Yet unverified rumours of a midair collision are circulating.

Open source account Osint Defender posted an image of the surviving KC-135 Stratotanker at an airport in Israel. The image appeared to show damage to the aircraft’s tail:

Photos of a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker, at what appears to be Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel (note the car’s license plate), with visible damage to the tail have emerged following the crash of a KC-135 due to a mid-air collision with another Stratotanker… pic.twitter.com/c9SLUnDSMQ

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 13, 2026

US officials have denied the crash was due to enemy fire:

Two aircraft were involved in the incident One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely. This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.

Press discipline

Meanwhile UK press discipline is fully intact. Numerous outlets uncritically quoted defence secretary John Healy’s claim that Russia was secretly supporting Iran after an attack on foreign bases in Iraq.

The Guardian, Mirror, Sky, Huffpost UK and the BBC (plus various international outlets) all leant heavily on the term ‘hidden hand’ from Healey’s speech on 12 March.

The Guardian, for example, said:

Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” lies behind Iran’s military methods, the UK defence secretary has said, after a night in which drones struck a base used by western forces in Erbil, northern Iraq.

They also cited a UK general:

Lt Gen Nick Perry, the chief of joint operations, told Healey as he visited the UK’s military command centre in Northwood it appeared that Russia had since passed back tactical advice to Iran and its proxies on how to deploy them.

No firm evidence of hands (hidden or otherwise) was produced from what the Canary can see. One of the bases struck in Iraq houses UK special forces troops, it was reported. A French army officer seems to have been killed in the same  attack – or series of attacks – in Iraq:

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the death of Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion from Varces-Allières-et-Risset, serving with the 7th Battalion of the French Army’s elite Chasseurs Alpins, following an Iranian drone attack earlier tonight against a joint base near… pic.twitter.com/QQCWTz7smT

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 13, 2026

Media analysts Media Lens said:

Ramping up the Orwellian propaganda:

Putin’s ‘hidden hand’ and ‘Russian tactics’.

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‘UK defence secretary says’

The Guardian performing its usual state-friendly role by pumping out this MoD press release. 👇https://t.co/Se1pvPhbCP pic.twitter.com/bVHxlUgriI

— Media Lens (@medialens) March 12, 2026

This sort of reporting is fast becoming a habit. On 7 March, the Rupert Murdoch-owned Times claimed the drone which hit a UK base in Cyprus on 1 March contained a Russian component. They did so without presenting any evidence or even stating who had told them.

Clearly, Iran and Russia are allies and exchange tactics and technology – as do the US and UK. What this looks like – given no evidence has been presented – is manufacturing consent around Russia, rather in the style of George W. Bush’s 2003 ‘axis of evil’ rhetoric. The Canary, however, likes to see some receipts before uncritically parroting UK government claims.

Featured image via the Canary

The confusion and fear over Trump’s illegal war on Iran are fuelling anger, even in his own ranks in the MAGA camp.

MAGA podcaster Joe Rogan has called Trump’s war plan ‘insane,’ as military families are flooding hotlines, desperate to avoid deployment. The fallout is now reaching areas Trump likely never expected to be touched.

Disquiet on the home front

US army veteran Mike Pryzner of the Center on Conscience and War, says service members are flooding his hotline.

[The] phone has been ringing off the hook. A LOT more units have just been activated for deployment than the public knows about… https://t.co/qax3F23lwM

— Mike Prysner (@MikePrysner) March 6, 2026

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The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have confirmed they are financing occupation, apartheid and genocide by funnelling £5.5 million into the coffers of an ‘Israeli’ firm. The Ditch report that the Six Counties (a term for the North of Ireland) force have a seven year contract with the company. It started in November 2019 and will terminate in the same month this year.

However, the PSNI are refusing to provide any further details about the company or the nature of the contract. They cite “national security” fears as the reason, the catch-all term relied upon by government departments when they don’t want embarrassing info getting out. Not only that, but the police force acknowledge they are actively trying to protect the profits of the Zionist land thieves:

A release under Freedom of Information is considered a release into the public domain and would therefore be a release in effect to other competitors. Disclosing the winning bid proposal in this matter would provide an advantage to rival businesses and undermine the main contractor’s trading ability to tender for future contracts.

PSNI breaking BDS

Good – undermining the trading ability of Zionist companies is exactly what everyone should be doing. It is a key way of holding to account the rogue, terrorist pseudo-state, when Western ruling classes refuse to do so.

It is called for the the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to do in the Zionist entity in the same way boycotting wrecked the racist regime of apartheid South Africa. Boycotting Zionist tech is especially crucial, given the key role it plays in the military-industrial-genocide complex of so-called ‘Israel’.

The PSNI elaborated on their “national security” worries by saying that releasing further information:

…would likely… endanger the physical or mental health or safety of individual officers.

They added:

Confirming or denying the existence of such arrangements on a blanket nationality basis could enable adversaries to build an intelligence picture across policing (the ‘mosaic effect’) and would be likely to prejudice law enforcement and/or national security functions.

If the firm is deeply tied into the Zionist entity’s recent mass slaughter campaigns, revealing its name would bring additional reputational damage to the PSNI. Though surprise, surprise – they don’t cite this as one of their reasons for refusing further details.

The PSNI have previously acknowledged they are looking into privacy breaching face scanner systems, known as Live Facial Recognition Technology (LFRT). British police have adopted the Zionist-made Corsight AI system as part of their roll-out of the notoriously unreliable tech. It is therefore possible that this firm is the one contracted by the PSNI. The company was founded in 2019, the same year the PSNI’s contract with the mystery apartheid firm started.

The force has a long history of backing the Zionist entity

The Ditch also point out a 2021 report by The Detail which highlights the North of Ireland force’s previous involvement with Zionist terrorists. At the time, they reported:

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is working on at least four security research projects which involve the Israeli ministry responsible for police and prisons, or a company providing surveillance to Israeli settlements.

The ‘Israeli’ prison complex is a gulag system used for mass torture, rape, murder, and molestation of children. Settlements – better described simply as ‘stolen land’ – are part of the ongoing project of illegal dispossession of Palestinian territory that has gone on for a century and more. The PSNI has seen it as perfectly fine to funnel money into ensuring that continues, even now in the wake of a holocaust.

The force has essentially operated as a proxy of the Zionist entity – launching frivolous prosecutions of peaceful activists; assisting in mass arrests violating free speech of anti-genocide campaigners; and just recently, abducting a Belfast campaigner from his home and falsely imprisoning him.

Clearly the PSNI don’t want further highlighting of their Zionist sympathies revealed through details of their exact current relationships with law-breaking Zionist companies. However, their systematic and sustained attempt to eliminate peaceful and lawful anti-holocaust resistance in the North of Ireland and England has proven beyond all doubt where they stand.

Featured image via the Canary

American political scientist and professor John Mearsheimer warned in an interview that if Israel starts losing its war on Iran, it will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons.

He described Israel as the most ruthless state on the planet and warned that its influence in Washington has dragged the US into a war it never should have fought.

Professor Mearsheimer warns that “no country on the planet is more cruel and deadly than Israel,” and cautions that if Israel begins to lose its war against Iran, it would not hesitate to consider using nuclear weapons. pic.twitter.com/TAFN9YiAxm

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 12, 2026

Israel have Trump in the palm of their hand

On the one hand – Mearsheimer describes Trump as a unilateralist who rejects international law and treats allies with contempt in the interview.

However, Mearsheimer suggests that Netanyahu has such a powerful hold on him that Trump’s unilateralist, deal-making persona can’t stand up to the pressure from the Israel lobby.

His damning judgement on Israel was shared by social media users.

“There is no state on the planet more ruthless, more murderous than Israel.”

Professor John Mearsheimer warns that if Israel starts losing the war against Iran, they will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons. pic.twitter.com/m3Re0fsp2Z

— DOAM (@doamuslims) March 12, 2026

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American professor John Mearsheimer:

“This is a remarkably dangerous situation.

There is no state on the planet more ruthless, more murderous than Israel.

The idea that they would use nuclear weapons against Iran is certainly plausible. And I really worry about this scenario.” pic.twitter.com/1dASTInqMU

— sarah (@sahouraxo) March 12, 2026

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Furkan Gözükara described it as the “ultimate nightmare scenario” to emphasize that, according to Mearsheimer, a nuclear strike represents the absolute worst  outcome.

Wow Mearsheimer warns of the ultimate nightmare scenario: Israel using nuclear weapons against Iran. Since conventional weapons cannot stop Iran’s nuclear program, Israel is highly likely to launch a nuclear strike. pic.twitter.com/0XiYvJni24

— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) March 12, 2026

Iran won’t back down

In the interview, Mearsheimer stated that Israel’s goal is to “wreck” Iran.

He also pointed out that last year’s 12-day war ended because the Israelis and Americans decided to stop—not the Iranians.

In the current conflict, because the war poses an existential threat to the Iranian state, Mearsheimer argued that Iran can play the “long game.” He noted that they have enough short-range missiles and drones to sustain a prolonged conflict.

Other Mearsheimer clips are gaining traction on X, including his reference to a Lancet report stating that between 1971 and 2021, the U.S. murdered 38 million people through sanctions.

Prof. John Mearsheimer: Between 1971 and 2021, the US murdered 38 million people pic.twitter.com/QqzcVx8vHv

— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) March 9, 2026

As damning as Mearsheimer’s critique of Trump is, his judgment on Israel cuts far deeper.

Featured image via the Canary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has insinuated that employers are abusing Access to Work. All so they don’t have to employ further staff or pay for reasonable adjustments.

Top DWP civil servants gave evidence at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and National Audit Office’s (NAO) joint inquiry into Access to Work. The department has rightly come under scrutiny for completely fucking up the scheme, which is supposed to help disabled people stay in work.

The department came under fire for not only horrendous delays to accessing the scheme, but how much they’re completely stripping away previously agreed support.

DWP blames employers for Access to Work failures

However, this is the DWP, so they had an excuse. And as expected it’s complete fucking bollocks. Instead of admitting that they’re cutting support to save a few quid, they blamed employers.

DWP permanent secretary Peter Schofield said one of the problems was employers expecting Access to Work to provide things that should be covered under reasonable adjustments such as “ergonomic chairs”. Which to be fair, big employers should pay for, but it could also be a hindrance to employ a disabled person for smaller employers.

But then he also made an even worse claim:

The support worker plays a massively important role for so many customers, but we were seeing job aides whose role was not to help level the playing field up for customers with disabilities, but more to do a task that would be something that actually an employer would normally take on an additional employer to do.

So it was sort of misusing the scheme in a way that was inappropriate.

To put it clearly, the DWP is accusing employers of getting government-funded support workers instead of paying an extra employee.

He then explained this more explicitly

You can just imagine in a busy office environment what exactly is your role? I mean, are you doing this really important support work that was described by this customer in this case study, or are you doing something that is actually enabling the employer to avoid having to employ an extra person on the taxpayer’s expense?

And there it is, the reminder that disabled people are scrounging off the taxpayer. This, coupled with comments on the “changing nature of disability” and eligiblity reminds you what the DWP truly thinks of disabled people.

Neil Couling proving he’s still the worst person at the DWP

Of course, Neil Couling couldn’t resist getting in on this. Couling is most recently known for saying the carers allowance was carers own fault, actually.

He made an even wilder claim about employers abusing the system:

I’ve seen applications coming from big employers who, they literally have an access to work department, their job is in funnelling claims to DWP, I mean, at one level, I don’t mind that, if they also have a bigger reasonable adjustments team, they’re looking at what they can do in their own department under the Equalities Act, to do what they should be doing already.

He also attempted to justify why so many are now seeing their funding cut. Couling said:

We were making mistakes on cases in 23, 24, as we attempted to clear that backlog, as Peter suggested, in too much of a hurry,

So those cases are coming up now for renewal, and they are producing lower awards, and people are saying, ‘Why have I got a lower award? Nothing has changed in my life.’

But we’d wrongly gave them a job aide, normally for 100% of the time, and we should have given them about 20% of the time. Because the job aides are not designed to do the work, they’re meant to support, lift the disabled person to the same level of… an employee.

The end of this part here was truly bizarre to watch. Couling seemingly meant ‘nondisabled person’, not employee, but struggled to find the word. I’ve edited it out for clarity in the quote, but he actually said

lift the disabled person to the same level of a, of a, umm yknow, of an an employee.

I can only speculate, but it appeared like his internal monologue was going ‘don’t say normal person, don’t say normal person!’

They just doesn’t care about disabled people

They also couldn’t resist a sly dig at neurodivergent and mental health conditions. Speaking on the subject, Bill Thorpe, DWP director for disability and health support said:

It’s a kind of societal phenomenon that is very challenging. The Department for Health and Social Care are looking at this in their review into prevalence and what’s the best approach to support people.

The review he’s referring to here is Streeting’s obsession with overdiagnosis, which was disproven last week by thirty-two experts. It’s also happening at the same time that the DWP is working to tighten eligibility criteria for PIP.

It’s clear from the DWP’s evidence that they still don’t hold the tiniest shred of guilt or shame over the way they treat disabled people. The DWP don’t actually care about fixing their problems to best support disabled people, they’d much rather make it everyone else’s fault. But they’d especially rather use any way they can to tear down the very people they’re supposed to support

Featured image via the Canary

We spoke to the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man cast about the new film! Join Cillian Murphy, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth and Steven Knight as they discuss Tommy Shelby’s legacy, how amazing the film set was and having input on the soundtrack.

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