News Breakdown | Deciphering Propaganda

I know that I owe you all news two news breakdowns, actually, for this week. I'm afraid I was a bit under the weather this week, so I got behind. And I know I also owe you a new session of the Quranic psychological decolonization. What I'm gonna do to try to make up for at least the news breakdowns, I'm gonna do something a little bit different today, which is to take at least one story, if I can find another one. There was another one that I have in my mind, but there's one story that I've seen going around on X.

Many people shared it, and people brought it up also in the chat, in the Middle Nation chat, claiming that The United Arab Emirates had offered a billion dollars to South Africa to bribe them into dropping their case at the ICJ. So I wanted to just go through the process that I go through to research something, to verify something, or to check the veracity of a story when it comes along. Now, with a story like this one, I have to say that the default assumption is that it's propaganda. For the simple reason, that every story like this that has come out in the last six months, the last seven months against either The UAE or Saudi Arabia making this claim or that claim with regards to their alleged support for Israel, every such story has been proven wrong, has been proven to be a fabrication, has been proven to be a lie, and usually has proven to, have been, originated, from the Zionist themselves, from Zionist media sources, and so on, and then spread like wildfire across Muslim, social media. So the default assumption, when any story like this comes out, the default assumption, based on seven months of experience now, the default assumption is that it's a lie, and that it's inaccurate.

But we have to check. We have to know. Now I'll say that the the the other process, like when I first read a story, there's the there's there's that sort of a process, which is, well, how does this measure up to what we've heard before? If you're someone who follows the news, then you can do that. And so when I read a story like this or a headline like this, as I say, based on experience, my assumption will be that doesn't sound credible.

And then the next assumption or the next step would be to just apply common sense. Common sensically my own common sense tells me, that The United Arab Emirates has already been investing billions of dollars in South Africa. And it also tells me that that's that that's not how investment works. You you make an investment because you're gonna get something out of it financially. You don't make an investment for the sake of as as a bribe.

If it was going to be a bribe, it'd be a bribe. It'd be straight money. Just straight cash delivered to the hands of South Africa, to the hands of, for example, the foreign minister Pandora of South Africa, to get her to drop the case. You don't you wouldn't do that through investment. Investment, there has to be a viable investment, and then that investment would have to be approved through the Dubai Investment Authority and through South African authorities because that's all above the board.

That's all above board. That that kind of a financial transaction is all above board. So it all has to be subject to regulators and so on. And again, you you would make an investment with the anticipation of getting a return on your investment financially. So just common sensically, it doesn't make sense to me.

The idea that they would bribe them, into, dropping the case, and they would use investment to do that rather than just a straight bribe of cash, or gifts or whatnot. And then again, commonsensically, another thing pops into my mind, which is where you could just because the case is already at the ICJ, it it's not really, feasible to imagine that, South Africa could now drop the case. I'm not even sure, and this is something this is one of the things that I would research, in doing this story, in looking at this story, would be can a can can could South Africa even drop the case now that it has been brought by the ICJ brought to the ICJ and accepted by the ICJ and is being heard by the ICJ? Is it even possible for them to say, oh, well, changed our minds. Let's drop the case.

It sounds to me like someone made up this story who doesn't know how investment works, who doesn't know how the the ICJ works, and and is just generally not familiar with with these types of processes. And then and then another aspect of that is or another element here is that The UAE did not join the case, the ICJ case. They didn't join South Africa in the case. Many countries have. The UAE is not one of them.

However, The UAE is a member of the OIC, and they're also a member of the Arab League, and both the Arab League and the OIC have joined the case with South Africa. So ipso facto, The UAE is in the case, has joined the case, by means of, the OIC and by means of, the Arab League. So doubly, they have joined the case. I would also point out that in fact, bringing a case against, Israel at the ICJ, was initially, suggested, by Mohammed bin Salman at the, at what was it? The extraordinary they called it, I think, the extraordinary or emergency summit of the Arab League and the OIC when they had that meeting.

When was that? In December? I'll I'll check. But I think it was in December. One of the conclusions that they reached at the at the end of that meeting was that there should be a case prepared and delivered to the ICJ against Israel for genocide.

And that was a joint agreement that was signed by all the members who participated in that in that summit, which included The UAE. So all of these factors combined, don't really lend themselves to the credibility of this story. But again, we'll check it out. Let me actually find the story itself because I've mostly only seen the headline going around, which is probably what everyone who has forwarded it, on social media is probably all that they've also read, since as we know, people do tend to do that. They just see a sensational headline, and then they tweet it out or they, repost it or what have you, without even reading the, the substance of the article.

So let me find the article, and then I'll go through it, and then go step by step of how I, check the veracity of that report. Okay. So I found the article, and it was originally published by a website called Emirates Leaks, which also I have to say doesn't have a good reputation with me. Given my experience working with detained in Dubai, we have found that this, this website is, largely inaccurate and very irresponsible with what they report. That's from my personal experience, so that's not something not something that would benefit any anyone else in the audience.

Okay. Let me read the article. Diplomatic sources revealed an offer made by The UAE to South Africa, which includes huge investments to withdraw from suing Israel in the International Court of Justice. Emirates leaks sources Emirates leaks sources reveal UAE officials sought to persuade South Africa to drop its court of justice case against Israel by offering billions in oil refinery investments. According to the sources, Emirates officials sought for weeks to secretly offer various temptations to their counterparts in South Africa, including opening various economic relations between the two countries.

In addition, the only Emirates the the only Emirati request from South Africa was to withdraw from suing Israel, or at least reduce the severity of the genocide charges, including I'm sorry, included in the file in the Court of Justice. However, South Africa insisted, after filing the lawsuit, on proceeding with the inter International Court of Justice and ignoring the Emirati offer, according to the same sources, who indicated, extreme disappointment in Abu Dhabi at the failure of these attempts. For the fifth consecutive month, The UAE has positioned itself as the primary regional ally of Israel, and its ongoing conflict with the Gaza Strip. Also, media outlets and, online platforms linked to The UAE have initiated a significant campaign backing Israel while seeking to vilify Palestinian resistance groups. How so?

In parallel, The UAE took advantage of its regional relations to avoid opening other arenas against Israel, especially in Syria. Wait a minute. The in parallel, the UAE took advantage of its regional relations to avoid opening other arenas against Israel, especially in Syria. The UAE warned the Syrian regime against interfering in the war between, the Palestinian factions and Israel, or allowing it, allowing to be launched, or sorry, allowing attacks to be launched from Syrian territory on Israel. Now, who has more power in Syria?

Iran or The UAE? According to Axios, okay, that's an actual source, The UAE wields considerable influence over the Syrian government, surpassing that of many Arab nations in the region, notably due to Abu Dhabi's, early move to restore relations with Assad. They do have they do have influence for sure, but I don't think it's anywhere near the influence as compared to Iran. The UAE also enjoys a close relationship with Israel, after the two sides, signed a peace treaty in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords brokered by former US president Donald Trump. The American website, Axios, stated that Emirati officials conveyed messages, to senior Syrian counterparts stressing the significance of refraining from involvement in the conflict.

I mean, you could you could look at it, however you wanna look at it, but the way that I would see that is, if that's a thing that happened, this is this is trying to contain the conflict and trying to de escalate, which is something that all of the BRICS nations and, all of the Arab states, have encouraged. Not to mention, that Hamas has not called for, other other nations to become involved. According to the site, the Emiratis informed the administration of US president Joe Biden about their contacts with the Syrians, unsurprising. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the Aqsa flood operation launched by Hamas on cities and villages in the occupied Palestinian territories near the Gaza Strip as constituting a dangerous and massive escalation. Indeed, I don't see why that would be a controversial statement.

In a statement, the ministry also voiced its, significant discontent regarding reports of Israeli civilians being abducted from their residencies, as captives, emphasizing the necessity for both sides for both sides civilians to be fully safeguarded under international humanitarian law. It stressed the importance of them not, becoming targets in the conflict. Although expressing profound, regret for the loss of lives from both sides due to the eruption of violence, the ministry urged both parties to halt the escalation and refrain from, exacerbating the situation, which could lead to further tragic outcomes of, affecting civilian lives and infrastructure. Seems reasonable. Meanwhile, Israel, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, Yair Lapid announced that he spoke by phone with Emirati foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed, who expressed his, solidarity with Israel.

For his part, the official Emirati news agency, said that bin Zayed, had, phone calls with Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen, and Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, about developments in the situation in the region. You would maybe wanna take note of the fact that he is, building connections and building ties and rapport with opposition figures in Israel. In addition, The UAE minister of state state for foreign trade, Thani al Zayudi, denies any impact of the Israeli aggression against Palestinians on the relations between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi. Speaking from Dubai on the sidelines of the countries of of of his country's signing of the latest trade agreements with Georgia, Zayudi said that The UAE's priority is to access markets in all regions of the world. That's a true statement.

The Emirati minister emphasized, we maintain a separation between trade and politics. As criticism from Arab and Islamic communities grows over The UAE's perceived disgraceful actions. Look at that phrasing. Leading some to liken the nation to the Zionists among Arab states saying that they are Zionists. Okay.

That's the article. That's the that's the totality of the article. There are no sources named, just, it says here, sources, Emirati leaked sources. That's all it says. Who are these sources?

What is their position? Their source could be a a barber. Their source could be anyone. Satapasui, South Africa too. This doesn't make any sense at all.

According to the sources, again, there's no one. There's no identification of who this person is or who these people are, and how or why they would be in a position to have this information. That the the fact that South Africa the fact that they're that the Emiratis right. There's not even a dollar amount here. Billions, offering billions in oil refinery if there was any credibility in the story, and credibility in the sources, then more detail would be included in what what they supposedly leaked.

For example, where's that money coming from? That those billions. First of all, how many billion? Second of all, who's giving it? Is it the Abu Dhabi fund?

Is it the Dubai fund? Who who where's that money coming from? Is it is it coming from a sovereign wealth fund? One of the sovereign wealth funds in The UAE, or is it coming from private businessmen? Or from where?

And, again, how much is it? And what specifically is that money supposed to be going to? What sort of investment specifically? Not just oil refinery or oil refining, but more specifically. Otherwise, it it it it just it doesn't sound credible when you don't have any any real details.

Okay. I'm looking up, something about UAE investment in Africa generally, which I know is massive, not specifically South Africa, but UAE, UAE and Africa generally. Since 2021, The UAE has outdone China, France, The UK, and The US in investment pledges to Africa. For China, twenty eight sept 28,000,000,000 28,700,000,000.0 investment packages, dollars were were made to Africa in 2022 and 2023, while France made 31,900,000,000.0 investment packages in the same period. The UAE pledged 52,800,000,000.0 to Africa, the continent, in 2022, and 44,500,000,000.0 in 2023.

They just recently made a pledge, but this is just specifically to Egypt of 35,000,000,000. So they're outspending, China and The United States and, France and The UK, almost, combined. During COP twenty eight last year, the renewable energy company announced plans to spend, 15,000,000,000 on green hydrogen product production in Africa. This is Zambia. Let's see if we have South Africa specifically.

During the African Climate Summit, blah blah blah, 4,500,000,000.0, another billion from Abu Dhabi. This is, not specifically South Africa. Let me see what is there specific to South Africa. Nigeria, 375,000,000. Okay.

Here we have something. The UAE's f nine capital, South Africa's, QGC partnership to invest 1,000,000,000, in producing green metals, so not oil refining. See, that's another thing. That article, seems to be written by someone who doesn't understand much about The UAE's economy or about The UAE's investment strategy in Africa, or, elsewhere. In that their investments in South Africa their investments in Africa are a broad range of sectors, of economic sectors, financial sectors, industrial sectors, and their most of their investments in Africa with regards to energy have to do with green energy.

Now that just came to mind because they say green metals, that they're they're interested in renewable energy and so called green energy, and they're investing a lot in the transportation and of course in land, real estate. They're they're the, I think, one of the the largest landowners of a foreign country in Africa, in the Continent Of Africa. So here that we have so so what I'm saying is, this is someone who doesn't know much about the UAE economy, so they think oil, even though, oil revenues only account for, like, 30% of the GDP of the, Emirates. But everyone thinks the Emirates, they think oil. When you think Emirates, you think oil.

So someone who wants to fabricate a story, a propaganda piece, they'll think, well, it's probably oil. It's probably oil is believable because everyone thinks oil with The Emirates. But here we have, UAE's, f nine capital, South Africa's QGC, partnership to invest a billion dollars in producing green metals. South Africa's Q global commodities, QGC, and Abu Dhabi's f nine Capital Management have agreed to a partnership to invest a billion dollars in mines producing green metals, Bloomberg reported Friday. This is in '20, October 2023, so, October 21, so, two weeks or so after October 7, agreed to a partnership to invest 1,000,000,000 in mines producing green metals.

The venture is expected to develop deposits of metals, including lithium, copper, nickel, in Southern And Eastern Africa. Q, Global Commodities, which is owned by a coal investor, I have no idea how to say that name, in South Africa, is into coal mining and hold stakes in, metal deposits in the country. Part of this plan is to list the company on the stock market in The UAE or Canada once the mines are operational, so on and so on and so on. So there's an investment that was, post, October 7. And let me see when did the, when did the ICJ case when did South Africa go to the ICJ?

Okay. So South Africa, the Republic of South Africa institutes proceeding against the state of Israel on the 12/29/2023. So the The UAE was already making investments in South Africa, just after October 7 prior to this case, being made at the, ICJ. Now you could pretend that that that that offer or or that that, investment was supposed to be a bribe, but it went through, without the, without South South Africa withdrawing the case. So there's no reason to believe that there's any connection whatsoever between those two events.

Okay. And now we have another story that's just from, May 9. Abu Dhabi, United Day of Emirates, Aliyah Satellite Communications Company, The UAE's flagship satellite solutions provider, welcomed a high level delegation from the government of South Africa led by his excellence his excellency deputy president Paul Mashat, Mashatile, to discuss closer cooperation in the satellite communications sector. He has said to expand its presence in South Africa to support the government's objectives to improve connectivity across the country. We are delighted to work on the senior delegation from South Africa, so on and so on and so on.

So investments are ongoing between The UAE and South Africa with without any request for any intervention with regards to the case against Israel. And then you can go to the to the website of The UAE, embassy in South Africa, and they have a whole section here about the bilateral economic relations between the two countries, between South Africa and The United Arab Emirates have a strong economic focus and The UAE has become one of the main importing partners within the Gulf Cooperation Council for South Africa. As many South African companies are benefiting from opportunities in The UAE in a variety of sectors and so on and so on. South Africa and The UAE have, which is characterized by the blah blah blah. The UAE is one of South Africa's lucrative markets in the Arabian Gulf and current statistics show that trade between South Africa and The UAE, especially gold exports from South Africa is gaining momentum, so on and so on.

UAE exports to South Africa, oil related products, machinery, transportation equipment, consumer electronics, home appliances, ball bearings, computer accessories, and textiles. In the rest direction, major South African exports to The UAE comprise base metals and allied products, steel for both construction and general engineering, machinery, electronics equipment, minerals, defense equipment, chemicals, plastic goods, and foodstuffs. At present, South Africa is The UAE's thirty fifth largest trade partner. The cross investment culture between South Africa and The UAE is gaining momentum and must be encouraged. So again, this story, for all of the reasons that I mentioned at the beginning, does not seem credible.

It doesn't seem logical. And the the current existing investment relationship between The UAE and South Africa doesn't bear out that this is the case or that that story has any credibility or validity, and Allahu Anam. But, the the the evidence to the contrary, or anyway, the the the evidence that exists doesn't lend credibility to that story and a law of honor. Again, if The UAE wanted that case to be dropped, then they could simply at this point, the the only practical thing to do would actually be to just bribe the judges. Okay.

So according to the International Court of Justice website, talking about how the court works, when, you know, when you end up researching stories, you end up learning things that you didn't know before. A case may be brought to a conclusion at any stage of the proceedings, by a settlement between the parties, or by a discontinuance. In case of the latter, an applicant and an applicant state in case of the latter, an applicant state may at any time inform the court that it does not wish to continue the proceedings, or that the two parties may declare that they have agreed to withdraw the case. The court then removes the case from the list. So it is possible.

It would be possible theoretically for South Africa to drop the case, but it would have to, have reached an agreement have reached an agreement with Israel, with regards to that, to drop the case. Now, this brings up another issue, in that, what The UAE is accused of having done here, is clear bribery and clear tampering, with a case that's being brought before the International Court of Justice, which in and of itself must be a crime. I mean, at the very least, if this story were true, then The UAE and whoever, brought that offer, that alleged offer to South Africa, it's also not clear who they spoke to in South Africa, If they were to have made that offer, then that would be a case of bribery, corruption, obstruction of justice, potentially a violation of international law, and they were trying to interfere with the performance of the duties of the, International Court of Justice. So, one would expect criminal charges to be brought, against whoever those alleged officials were, who brought this this bribe to South Africa. Again, this is another indication that the story is, not credible in that no money amount is mentioned, where the money is coming from isn't mentioned, where the money is supposed to go to isn't mentioned, and who were the, who was approached with the offer, who who made the approach, and who did they approach.

None of that's clarified, and that that should have been those details should have been, present. If the person is close enough, their their alleged source if their alleged source is close enough, to these events and to this, these actions, and this conspiracy, if they're close enough to the conspiracy to know about it, then presumably they would be close enough to the conspiracy to know those details. How much money, where the money is coming from, is it coming from a sovereign wealth fund, is it coming from private investors, is it coming from where, and to whom is it being offered, Which companies? Which oil refineries? And who to which official in the South African government was that offer was made to?

And who refused it? And what were the consequences of that refusal? Because there would be consequences to that refusal. That would be a major diplomatic, international, and criminal incident if they actually did try to do that. So if there's any validity to that story, it would have, first of all, been reported in more credible media outlets than The Emirates leaks.

It would have piqued the interest of investigative reporters, not to mention, of course, it would have piqued the interest of the South African government themselves who would want to know whether or not the, The Emirates was trying to bribe their officials and trying to tamper with justice, the the the proceedings of the International Criminal Court. So no. Or the the International Court of Justice rather. So no, it doesn't appear to me that this story has any credibility whatsoever. So this was just sort of to give you an idea of the sort of critical process that you should go through, and the research process that you should go through when you come across a story like that.

And I hope that that sort of makes up for the fact that I didn't do a, two news breakdowns this week. I'll do another one of these soon.