A Lebanese army soldier inspects a site damaged by an Israeli airstrike in the Christian-majority region of Aito in north Lebanon, 27 km from Tripoli. 14 Oct 2024, (Photo: Reuters).
At least 18 people were killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike on an apartment building in northern Lebanon far from Hezbollah fighter strongholds in the south and east of the country.
Hours earlier, an Israeli airstrike on a hospital courtyard in the Gaza Strip killed at least four people and triggered a fire that swept through a tent camp for people displaced by the war, leaving more than two dozen with severe burns.
Palestinians survey the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people at Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, 14 Oct 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
A total of 61 people were wounded in Sunday’s IDF attack. Later, an IDF attack in southern Gaza killed 15 people overnight, including six children and two women. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, with more than half of them women and children.
Israel, without providing evidence, said Monday’s strike at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah in Gaza targeted militants hiding out among civilians. In recent months, Israel has repeatedly struck crowded shelters and tent camps, alleging that Hamas fighters were using them as staging grounds for attacks.
The hospital was already struggling to treat a large number of wounded from an earlier Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter that killed at least 20 people when the early morning airstrike hit, and fire engulfed many of the tents.
Several secondary explosions could be heard after the initial strike, but it was not immediately clear if they were caused by weapons or fuel tanks. Israel has ordered the entire remaining population of the northern third of the territory along the Mediterranean Sea, estimated at around 400,000 people, to evacuate to the south. Israel has not allowed any food to enter the north since the start of October.
Hundreds of thousands of people from the north heeded Israeli evacuation orders at the start of the war and have not been allowed to return.
The latest strikes came a day after a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base in northern Israel killed four soldiers — all of them 19 years old — and severely wounded seven others in a counterattack after Israel launched its special military operation against Lebanon nearly two weeks ago.
In a phone call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, a man indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed his condolences for Sunday’s attack that killed four IDF soldiers. There is no information whether the SECDEF called his counterpart in Lebanon to express his condolences that two Lebanese Army soldiers were killed by the IDF last week.
Austin also “raised concern for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and stressed that steps must be taken soon to address it,” Pentagon press secretary MG Pat Ryder said in the statement.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reached two hospitals in northern Gaza to deliver aid needed to keep the hospitals functioning.
The WHO reported that deliveries were made “amid ongoing hostilities” and that WHO and Palestine Red Crescent Society drivers “were subjected to humiliating security screening and temporary detention at a checkpoint — which is unacceptable.”
The US, Israel’s chief arms supplier, announced it is sending an advanced missile defense system to Israel and about 100 American troops to operate it.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, is a ground-based interceptor designed to defend against ballistic missiles. Its deployment comes after Iran launched a counterattack of 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on 1 Oct after an Israeli attack on Beirut killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Likud PM Benjamin Netanyahu is planning reprisals on Iran.
The THAAD system is used to shoot down ballistic missiles and is not used to conduct offensive operations. When asked about the missile deployment decision Sunday, US President Joe Biden said only that he had ordered the Pentagon to deploy the system “to defend Israel.” He declined to answer follow-up questions.
For eight years, analysts, investigators, politicians, pundits, and the American electorate have been wondering what hold Russian President Vladimir Putin has on Republican ex-President Donald Trump. Please see article below. In Oct 2019, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously pointed her finger and chided then-POTUS Donald Trump:
“With you, Mr. President, all roads lead to Putin.”
Now people in the US and worldwide are wondering what kind of hold must Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu have on Democratic US President Joe Biden to give Netanyahu, an indicted war criminal, such carte blanche in the Middle East? Netanyahu is doing everything he can to widen and protract the war in the Middle East, which is contrary to the interests of US national security, the American taxpayer, and the Democratic Party.
Moreover, this brutal campaign only hurts Biden’s reputation and legacy as he winds down his Presidency and hands the torch over to VPOTUS Kamala Harris. The enormous military, financial, and intelligence assistance the Biden Administration has given to Ukraine will NOT offset the black mark of allowing Benjamin Netanyahu to conduct this horrific Nakba 2024 against the Palestinians, the Lebanese, the Syrians, Yemenis, and Iranians. For POTUS Joe Biden, the pejorative “Genocide Joe” is going to stick to him forever, much like the late POTUS Lyndon B. Johnson was forever linked to “baby-killing” in Vietnam. In 2015, Professor Julian Zelizer wrote that LBJ “wrecked his presidency” in Vietnam, much like Joe Biden is doing now in the Middle East.
Above is an unidentified woman in My Lai, Vietnam, the scene of a war crime perpetrated by the US Army on 16 Mar 1968. At least 347 and up to 504 civilians, almost all women, children, and elderly men, were murdered. On 31 Mar 1968, two weeks after the My Lai Massacre, LBJ announced on national TV that he would not seek his party’s nomination for re-election. In 2024, POTUS Biden announced he would not seek his party’s nomination. Both Democratic POTUS became one-term presidents.
A Palestinian mother wails after her four sons were killed by Israeli naval shelling near Gaza City as they played football on a beach. This attack happened TEN YEARS AGO in July 2014.
Pres. Biden is scheduled to visit Germany on 18 Oct after a previously planned trip was canceled due to Hurricane Milton. While the people of Israel or Ukraine may throw laurels and flowers at Pres. Biden’s feet, the people in the Middle East might throw their shoes at him or even worse.
On 13 May 1958 during a goodwill tour of South America, Republican VPOTUS Richard Nixon’s motorcade was attacked by angry people in Caracas, Venezuela, after the US granted asylum to deposed former dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez. This is described as “most violent attack ever perpetrated on a high American official while on foreign soil.” While some aides were hurt, Nixon finally made it unharmed to the US Embassy in Caracas. Twenty-one years later, angry students would storm the US Embassy in Tehran, Iran, after the US granted asylum to the deposed dictatorial Shah of Iran.
Even though the VPOTUS vehicle was equipped with shatter-proof glass, it was barely able to withstand the pummeling it received from the furious mob.
Sources:
18 killed in Israeli airstrike on northern Lebanon apartment building (voanews.com)
How LBJ wrecked his presidency in Vietnam | CNN
Attack on Richard Nixon’s motorcade – Wikipedia
Ukraine: North Korea Sending Soldiers, Weapons to Russia
Cartoon: Rebel Pepper
During his nightly address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that North Korea is effectively involved in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He provided no further details other than: “This is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about transferring people from North Korea to the occupying military forces.”
He provided no further details in his nightly address on October 14. Zelensky claimed on October 13 that North Korea has sent soldiers and weapons to Russia to support the war in a sign of the increasing alliance between the Kremlin and Pyongyang.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) recently reported that several thousand North Korean troops had arrived in Russia and were being prepared for deployment in Ukraine. North Korea has already been providing Moscow with weapons, ammunition, artillery shells, and short-range missiles.
In frontline news, Ukraine recently procured and supplied one million drones to the front where five people were killed and eight wounded by Russian shelling.
Russia forces captured the town of Mykhaylivka, at the gates of the town of Selydove, and south of Pokrovsk, where its troops have been advancing for weeks. Moscow has been trying to capture Pokrovsk, a mining city that was home to around 60,000 people.
Russia evacuated some 30,415 people, including nearly 8,000 children, from areas bordering Ukraine due to shelling and attacks. They were placed in nearly 1,000 temporary accommodations across Russia.
Last week, the GUR (Ukrainian Military Intelligence) reported that six North Korean officers were KIA by a strike in Donetsk. The Ukrainian military should begin a PSYOP program with leaflets and loudspeakers, advising North Korean soldiers how to defect or surrender, just as South Korea does at the DMZ. There should be fluent Korean linguists in Ukraine and if not, the ROK embassy in Kiev would surely assist. Kim Jong-Un and Vladimir Putin are in desperate situations: one regime needs cannon fodder and ammunition for its war of attrition, the other regime needs food, uranium, and economic support. And for Kim Jong-Un, this military adventure allows him to analyze how effective his inexperienced ground forces would perform in combat since the DPRK hasn’t been at war since 1953.
Source:
Zelenskiy Claims North Korea Sending Soldiers, Weapons To Russia (rferl.org)
Canada Expels Indian Diplomats, Accusing Them of Intimidation and Extortion Campaign
Sikh protesting the killing of Shaheed Hardeep Ninjar in British Columbia, in Sep 2023. (Photo: Carlos Osorio / Reuters)
The Canadian police accused the Indian government of orchestrating homicides and extortion in Canada to intimidate and silence Sikh separatists and dissidents. Canada expelled India’s top diplomat and five others, saying they were part of a vast criminal network.
The bitter dispute began last year with an assassination of a Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time that his killing had been orchestrated by the Indian government.
India, in return, expelled Canadian diplomats.
The Sikh community is an integral part of Canada. The current head of the NDP is Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh, as was the former Minister of National Defense, Harjit Sajjan. Unfortunately, Ottawa must act unilaterally against New Delhi, as Washington is working hard to strengthen its relationship with India to counter Beijing.
Canada’s first turbaned RCMP officer, Sergeant Baltej Singh Dhillon, British Columbia Provincial Intelligence Center, at the 2010 Sikh Remembrance Day Ceremony.
Millions of Canadians tune in regularly to watch Harnarayan Singh, co-host of Hockey Night in Canada.
Sources:
Three Insurrectionists Face Justice for Attacking US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021
“I’m dressing in all black,” Norwood wrote under the name “Robbie” on 5 Jan, in text messages. “I’ll look just like ANTIFA. I’ll get away with anything.” (Photo: FBI)
William Robert Norwood III (41) of Greer, SC, pleaded guilty to a felony offense for his conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol. The Honorable US District Judge Carl J. Nichols will sentence Norwood on 21 Feb 2025.
Norwood drove from South Carolina to Washington D.C. to attend then-President Trump’s speech on 6 Jan 2021. After the rally, Norwood entered the US Capitol building and eventually made his way to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. While befouling her office, Norwood recorded a video of himself:
“Well we in this b— now. What now? This is our house,” “Where you at Nancy?”
Norwood also assisted other rioters to invade the Capitol building by opening doors. After order was restored, the defendant stole a USCP helmet and plate carrier (for an armored vest).
The FBI arrested Norwood on 25 Feb 2021 in South Carolina.
Ryan Wilson (41). (Photo: FBI)
Ryan Wilson (41) of Athena, OR, was found guilty of a medley of felonies and misdemeanors for his conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attempt at interfering with the peaceful transition of power on Capitol Hill. Wilson was convicted following a bench trial before the Honorable US District Judge Trevor N. McFadden who will sentence Wilson on 16 Jan 2025.
Wilson and his father traveled from Oregon to Washington, DC and attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on 6 Jan 2021. He joined the mob and assaulted USCP officers at the Tunnel, the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement that day. Before the melee, Wilson put on a black balaclava which covered his face. Wilson grabbed a pipe from a fellow rioter and rammed it towards the police repeatedly and forcefully. This miscreant used the pipe to attack the heads and faces of police officers who deployed OC spray, which hit Wilson. He then threw the pipe toward the police line, turned around, and exited the Tunnel.
The FBI arrested Wilson on 7 Sep 2023.
Henry Phillip “Hank” Muntze (Image: FBI)
Henry Phillip “Hank” Muntzer (55) of Dillon, MT, above, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, 12 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution by the Honorable US District Judge Jia M. Cobb for his role in the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Muntzer traveled from Montana to Washington, DC, to attend the Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally at the Ellipse on 6 Jan 2021. Muntzer joined the mob which breached the restricted Capitol grounds. Muntzer recorded multiple videos commenting he had passed “through all the tear gas” to “tak[e] the Capitol by storm.” Inside, Muntzer joined other rioters in a collective effort to push back a line of USCP officers, causing at least one police officer to fall down the stairs. Muntzer continued to resist police efforts to clear the Rotunda and was one of the very last rioters in the area. The FBI arrested Muntzer on 18 Jan 2021.
In this undated photo from the Montana Standard, Muntzer is seen loudly joking with a local police officer about his felonious conduct on 6 Jan 2021.
GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump is counting on members from a large “bag of deplorables” like these three lunatics to help him win November’s election, just weeks away. These three white supremacists represent America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), die-hard racists clinging on to the last vestiges of white supremacy in the US. Heeding the idiotic call of Trump, these three imbeciles threw their lives away with these felony convictions.
Sources:
http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2021/images/03/02/1-1.pdf
Ex-CIA Director: Vladimir Putin Cultivated Donald Trump as ‘Source’
Then-President Donald Trump attends a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on 28 Jun 2019. Former D/CIA Leon Panetta said Putin views Trump as a “source.” Regular readers of Coriolanus are aware that Vladimir Putin speaks English, as well as German. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Former CIA director Leon Panetta said that Russian President Vladimir Putin views former President Donald Trump as a “source” that he can use to his benefit.
Appearing on the One Decision podcast, Panetta discussed allegations in journalist Bob Woodward’s new book War that Trump and Putin had as many as seven private phone calls since early 2021, after Trump left office.
Panetta said that it would be “very unusual” for the Russian president to be engaged in communication with a former POTUS.
He added that Putin “knows how to work a source, and he’s got a source that is very near the top in this country, he, himself is going to engage that source.”
“That really is what the bottom line is — is that Trump has turned into a source for Putin, and somebody who can help him manipulate what he wants to get done,” Panetta said.
Panetta, who was D/CIA between 2009 and 2011, said that it would be concerning if the pair remained in private communication.
“The mere fact that a former president of the US is having regular conversation with our primary adversary raises real questions about where is his basic loyalty. Is it really to the United States of America? Or is it to Donald Trump?” he said.
Speaking on the podcast, Panetta described watching Trump publicly side with Russia over the FBI regarding election interference claims during a meeting with Putin in 2018.
Panetta said that in that moment Trump “basically said he trusted Russian intelligence more than he trusted United States intelligence.” He said this led him to believe that Trump was a “very dangerous person.”
Trump has continued to compliment the Russian president, publicly praising him as “smart,” even after the Russian leader’s invasion of Ukraine.
Donald Trump and disgraced retired US Army General Michael Flynn are the two greatest threats to US national security.
Sources:
Vladimir Putin Cultivated Donald Trump as ‘Source’: Ex-CIA Director – Newsweek
Kenya: Mpox (FKA Monkeypox) Cases Reach Ten
The ten cases are distributed across nine counties with Nakuru recording two cases, Taita Taveta one case, Busia (one), Nairobi (one), Mombasa (one), Makueni (one), Kajiado (one), Bungoma (one) and Kericho (one). No deaths have been registered among the confirmed cases. Authorities continue to screen travelers at all Points of Entry (POEs). In the last 24 hours, 117,377 travelers were screened, bringing the total number of travelers screened at 26 POEs to 1,146,353.
Kenya has a population of 58,246,378; GDP per person is $5,700 (2023 est.). Kenya recently deployed ~400 police officers to Haiti to help restore law and order and combat the armed gangs which have caused violent anarchy in the country.
Authorities called on Kenyans to mitigate the spread of Mpox by avoiding close physical contact with individuals infected with or showing symptoms of Mpox, limiting the number of sexual partners to reduce the risk of exposure, and washing hands regularly with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral illness. There are vaccines for mpox, which should be considered along with other public health interventions. Common symptoms of mpox are a skin rash or mucosal lesions which can last two- to four weeks accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes.
In May 2022, an outbreak of mpox appeared suddenly and rapidly spread across Europe, the Americas and then all six WHO regions. The global outbreak has affected primarily (but not only) gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and has spread person-to-person through sexual networks. More information on the global outbreak is available here, including information on community responses to control the outbreak.
Sources:
MoH confirms one more Mpox case in Kericho (the-star.co.ke)
CIA
The Cats of Delhi: A Quiet Revolution On the Streets
Cat sitting in front of an artist, New Delhi (Photo: Andrew Marttila)
According to experts, cats have long been relegated to a mythos of bad luck in India. “The superstition against a cat crossing your path is real here,” explained a social researcher with a focus on animal ethics. “Young people are challenging these notions. What you must understand is the emphasis on staying with family—family is the social structure that binds Indian society. But as people are moving out to urban spaces for better opportunities, they are wanting a companion, and bringing in cats. This is a first-generation concept in India.”
While cats may not be commonly seen as pets, many people do show consideration for their feline neighbors, especially in Delhi’s marketplaces. The threat of street dogs kept cats moving from rooftop to rooftop, but canine sterilization efforts have started to stabilize the dog population, and cats are emerging more and more at street level.
Feline jumping a fence. (Photo: Andrew Marttila)
Orange cat in New Delhi. This one looks like a mini-tiger roaring. (Photo: Andrew Marttila)
Cats of the World (Andrew Marttila/Penguin Random House)
Source:
The cats of Delhi: A quiet revolution above the streets | Salon.com
Coriolanus 