Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with members of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration, in Tehran, Iran, 27 Aug 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
Iran’s supreme leader opened the door Tuesday to renewed negotiations with the US over his country’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, telling its civilian government there was “no harm” in engaging with its “enemy.”
Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir once said: “You don’t make peace with your friends.” Any opportunities for negotiation over nuclear proliferation should be vigorously pursued.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks mirror those around the time of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran’s nuclear program greatly curtailed in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
“This does not mean that we cannot interact with the same enemy in certain situations,” Khamenei said. There have been indirect talks between Iran and the US in recent years mediated by Oman and Qatar. Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, also warned Pezeshkian’s Cabinet, “Do not trust the enemy.”
Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), unlike Israel.
In other developments, Iran’s pro-reform President Masud Pezeshkian has appointed lawmaker Abdolkarim Hosseinzadeh as his deputy for rural development and underprivileged areas, making him the first-ever Sunni cabinet member since 1979. While this is a sign of progress in theocratic Iran, the next two incidents are not. A 31-year-old woman named Arezou Badri was partially paralyzed after police opened fire on her vehicle as she was driving with her sister in northern Iran’s Mazandaran province on 22 July. Human rights activists cited sources saying police shot Badri because her car was under a confiscation order for her refusal to wear a hijab in the vehicle.
And in central Iran, an unidentified man was publicly hanged for killing a lawyer. The 20-year-old man was convicted of fatally shooting the victim with a hunting rifle in front of his wife and son in August 2021. This was the first public hanging of the year in Iran which typically carries out executions inside prisons. In 2022, Iran publicly hanged a man convicted of fatally stabbing two members of a paramilitary force during violence connected with nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy. Iran executes more people annually than any other nation except for China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International.
American critics of Iran should not throw stones. The US has a rich history of police brutality, as you may have read on this site or elsewhere, and capital punishment is still legal in 27 states. 21 states executed one or more inmates in the last 10 years.
Sources:
Iran’s Khamenei opens door to talks with US over Tehran’s nuclear program (voanews.com)
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) | IAEA
President Appoints Iran’s First-Ever Sunni Cabinet Member (rferl.org)
Iran publicly hangs man convicted of murder (voanews.com)
Criminal Gang Suspected in Brazil Sugarcane Fires
A firefighter tries to extinguish flames in a sugarcane plantation near Dumon city, Brazil, 24 Aug 2024
On top of the world’s dwindling forests adding to global climate change, a criminal gang is suspected in setting fire to sugarcane fields in Sao Paulo state. The fires that started last week spread rapidly through parched fields during the weekend, at the peak of the country’s dry season, and destroyed thousands of hectares of sugarcane plantations, sending up clouds of smoke that cloaked nearby cities. More than 2,100 fires blazed in sugarcane fields, resulting in the burning of 59,000 hectares (146,000 acres) of sugarcane areas and crop regrowth areas. Sao Paulo accounts for about half of Brazil’s sugarcane planting.
The government suspects that one of Brazil’s largest crime gangs, Primeiro Comando da Capital — commonly known as PCC — was behind the fires, seeking to retaliate against measures to combat the criminal trade in adulterated fuels. Organized crime has bought bankrupt fuel plants and hundreds of gas stations and the arson could be a way of retaliating against government actions combating organized crime. PCC was set up in 1993 by inmates at a maximum-security prison in Sao Paulo and moved from drug trafficking to become Brazil’s most powerful and feared criminal gang.
Source:
Crime gang suspected in Brazil sugarcane fires, official says (voanews.com)
First Human Case of EEE in Massachusetts Since 2020 Prompts Warnings
To protect residents from EEE, new curfews on outdoor activities are being implemented or recommended across the Pilgrim State.
Massachusetts officials announced the first confirmed human case of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) in the state since 2020. Four Massachusetts towns are at “critical” risk of Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) after an 80-year-old man tested positive for the dangerous mosquito-borne illness, the state Department of Public Health (DPH) recently announced. Officials did not release specific details about where or how the man was exposed to the virus or his current condition. The virus causes severe illness and has a 30 percent fatality rate. Twelve Massachusetts residents contracted EEE in 2019, six of whom died. One out of the five people who contracted the virus in 2020 also died. The mosquitoes most likely to spread EEE are most active during the dusk to dawn hours.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), EEE symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes, and drowsiness. Many people who survive the illness suffer from ongoing neurological problems. There are no vaccines to prevent EEE or medicines to treat it.
The CDC also warns of a COVID-19 surge after finding samples of a variant in the wastewater of 20 states.
Sources:
Covid variant surge: Latest CDC guidelines on isolation and symptoms as cases rise (nbcnews.com)
Summer Food Safety: Five Recalled Products to Check for in Pantry and Fridge
More than 60 ice cream products were recalled due to a potential listeria contamination, according to the FDA.
Several household food items have recently been recalled by companies this summer and you may want to check your pantries, fridges, freezers and cabinets to be sure they’re not holding onto something with the potential for foodborne illness.
This summer, ice cream, tahini, fresh sliced deli meat, and black pepper have all been on recall lists. Below are five notable recalls over the last three months.
1. Boar’s Head deli meats
Boar’s Head first recalled its liverwurst along with several styles of ham, bacon and bologna on 26 July due to listeria. Then, on 30 July, the company expanded the recall to include even more of its meat products, including poultry, hot dogs, sausages, and other prepacked meats.
A full list of recalled Boar’s Head products is available here.
The products had sell by dates through October 2024. Unlike the other recalls on this list, Boar’s Head products were actually linked to an outbreak of listeria with 43 sick people identified in 13 states — all were hospitalized and three died.
Consumers who purchased products are urged not to consume them and to dispose of them promptly or return them to retailers. They are also advised to clean refrigerators thoroughly so other foods do not become contaminated.
2. Totally Cool, Inc. ice cream products
Totally Cool, Inc., a Maryland-based manufacturer, recalled more than 60 brands of ice cream products on 24 June for potential listeria contamination. Brands included Hershey’s Ice Cream, Jeni’s Ice Cream, Chipwich, Yelloh! and more.
A full list of products can be found here.
Recalled ice cream products had use-by dates extending all the way into 2026. While no illnesses had been reported at the time of the recall, listeria has the potential to cause severe and potentially fatal
3. Snapchill LLC canned coffee
Snapchill LLC., a Wisconsin-based manufacturer, recalled more than 90 canned coffee products on 17 June because the company’s processes could have led to growth of deadly botulinum toxin.
A full list of recalled brands can be found here.
Cans ranged in size from 7 to 12 ounces. No illnesses have been reported but botulism is a potentially fatal form of food poisoning.
4. Al’Fez natural tahini
AB World Foods US, Inc., an Illinois-based manufacturer, recalled its 5.6 ounce glass jars of Al’Fez Natural Tahini on 12 July due to potential salmonella contamination.
No illnesses have been reported, but salmonella, like listeria and botulism, can be deadly, especially for children the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.
The recalled Al’Fez Natural Tahini was sold in jars with specific lot numbers and best-before dates. Recalled products include lots: 3031, 3080, 3270 and 3297 with corresponding best-before dates of 2024 JL 31, 2024 SE 09, 2025 MR 27 and 2025 AL 04.
5. Baraka brand ground black pepper
UBC Food Distributors, a Michigan-based manufacturer, recalled Baraka branded black pepper on 3 June due to potential salmonella contamination.
The recalled pepper has an expiration date of Jan 2026 and comes in a 7-ounce clear plastic package. No illnesses have been reported at this time.
Sources:
Summer food recall recap: 5 recalled products to check for in your pantry and fridge (msn.com)
Alabama Man Pleads Guilty to Detonating an Explosive Device Outside of Alabama Attorney General’s Office
Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert in a photo posted to social media (L) and in downtown Montgomery, AL. (Image: US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama).
Sadly, political violence in the US is becoming standard, almost routine, as this case demonstrates. Kyle Benjamin Douglas Calvert (26) of Irondale, Alabama, pleaded guilty in federal court to the malicious use of an explosive device.
Calvert detonated an explosive device during the early morning hours of 24 Feb 2024 outside of the Alabama Attorney General’s Office in downtown Montgomery. No injuries were reported. Calvert admitted during the plea hearing to manufacturing the device himself, using items such as nails and screws to act as shrapnel along with accelerants to cause an explosion. Prior to planting the device, Calvert placed stickers on various state buildings depicting different graphics and advocating for various political ideologies. Some stickers included the phrase “Support your local antifa.” As reflected in the plea agreement, Calvert claims he has no affiliation with antifa. After placing the explosive device near the Attorney General’s Office, Calvert lit its fuse and fled the scene. Law enforcement arrested Calvert on 10 April.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled for Calvert at a later date who faces a minimum penalty of five years and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. This young man, who tried to implicate the antifa movement with this dangerous explosive, threw his life away over hatred.
Republicans Angry with Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Trump Re-Indictment
Undated photo of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is “grasping at straws” once again, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson said about a superseding indictment unveiled Tuesday against former President Donald Trump.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team earned praise Tuesday from multiple experts — including Trump’s former lawyer — over his slimmed-down indictment accusing Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. The new indictment removed some allegations following a summer Supreme Court ruling that found former presidents enjoy broad immunity for official acts in office. The precise wording of the superseding indictment makes it clear that Trump’s acts were personal, rather than official acts. Trump’s former attorney called it a “forceful document.”
Trump blasted the re-indictment as a “resurrection” of a “witch hunt” and his allies have also come to his defense. That includes Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the House Speaker who called the MAGA leader “the most persecuted politician in the history of our country.”
“Today, after getting two of his cases thrown out by the courts, Jack Smith is grasping at straws once again,” Johnson wrote Tuesday night on X. “Just 70 days before the election, Smith has brought yet another bogus indictment. Americans are sick of this corruption and shameless lawfare.”
And Americans are sick at the lack of justice over the past several years towards a twice-impeached, civilly-liable sexual predator who was criminally convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records, paying hush money to silence a woman he slept with behind his wife’s back, and inspired a lunatic attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
Yes Mr. Speaker, Americans, and most of the international community, are sick of this felon who blithely aspires to lead the most powerful country in the world.
Sources:
https://www.justice.gov/sco-smith
North Korean Supremo Kim Jong Un Shocks Listeners by Using South Korean Terms in Speech
Kim Jong Un addresses flood victims from his luxury train during a visit to Uiju County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea, 9 Aug 2024. One of the train cars transformed into a stage and the residents observed how their leader gets comfortably and securely around. (KCNA via Reuters)
Kim Jong Un recently shocked North Korean flood victims when he addressed them in a speech that contained words and phrases commonly used by South Koreans – terms that would get ordinary citizens sent to work in coal mines or prison camps.
Authorities regularly punish users of South Korean lingo because it suggests that they learned to speak that way from watching illegal South Korean movies and TV shows – considered “anti-socialist” and a bad capitalist influence – that have been smuggled into the country.
But these draconian laws apparently do not apply to Kim Jong Un. Earlier this month, he called flood victims fellow “citizens” instead of “comrades.” The young dictator also referred to older flood victims as “elders” rather than “seniors” or “respected grandparents,” and abbreviated “television” to the more American-sounding “TV” as is common in the South, rather than “terebi,” which is more common in the North. Kin Jong-Un also told the flood victims that they were “navigating rough terrain” rather than the more Northern expression of being in a “difficult and tiring situation.”
In the speech, Kim also used more Southern sounding terms for “medical patient,” referred to drinks as “beverages,” rather than the more Northern term which refers to all drinks simply as “water.”
His use of these terms suggests that Kim Jong-Un might be secretly watching the banned South Korean movies and TV shows or he’s learning those words from people in his entourage. Several US-based experts are perplexed given that North Korea has been so adamantly punishing people for doing the same.
Sources:
Kim Jong Un shocks listeners by using South Korean terms in speech — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)
North Korea sentences 20 young athletes for ‘speaking like South Koreans’
In North Korea, speaking in Southern accent gets you sent to the coal mines
Talking like ‘capitalist’ South Koreans can lead to prison or death in North Korea
State media shows North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un leading flood rescue
Coriolanus 