Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein FBI Files “Ticking Time Bomb” for President Donald J. Trump

Ghislaine Maxwell (63), the British socialite serving a 20-year sentence for child sex-trafficking, is prepared to testify before the US Congress about the so-called “Epstein Files,” including an alleged list of clients and associates of the late financier and sexual deviant Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein died in 2019 under mysterious circumstances while in federal custody awaiting trial. This sex trafficker is the only person convicted in this imbroglio, despite the fact that sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein allegedly controlled a web of underage girls for decades. Epstein’s victims alleged they were groomed by Ghislaine Maxwell and then passed around as sex toys to his oligarch friends and billionaire business associates who regularly visited his homes and private island in the US Virgin Islands, Little Saint James. Jeffrey Epstein’s jet was dubbed the “Lolita Express.” Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60856925

Both of Jeffrey Epstein’s private islands, Little and Great Saint James, were listed for sale at $125m. The proceeds were intended to pay Epstein’s many victims. (Photo: Reuters)

“All aboard the ‘Lolita Express.’ Please do not disrobe until we have reached cruising altitude. Thank you.”

The ex-president used Jeffrey Epstein’s former jet for campaign appearances after his own jet developed engine problems. Link: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/13/trump-jeffrey-epstein-plane

Predictably, pushback against having Ghislaine Maxwell testify before Congress was hard from Republican lawmakers. President Donald Trumpf becomes irate when asked about Jeffrey Epstein and he desperately implored his key communicators to stop discussing the Epstein files in the media and the internet.

The Rare Instance Where The Cover-Up is Not Worse Than the Crime

Then-real estate oligarch Donald J. Trump with sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. She located and groomed vulnerable underaged girls for powerful male clients. (Undated photo circa 1980s to early 1990)

Oligarch Donald Trumpf and Jeffrey Epstein admiring somebody at a 1992 party. (Image: Public domain)

Inheritor of a real estate empire Donald Trump, sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, and an underage girl at a party. (Public domain photo circa 1990s).

Donald Trump stated that avoiding sexually transmitted diseases in the 1990s was his “personal Vietnam.”  

Link: Donald Trump Calls Avoiding STDs His ‘Personal Vietnam’

Sexual deviants Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell meeting President Bill Clinton in what appears to be a formal setting. (Public domain photo circa 1990s).

Retired POTUS Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein. (Public domain photo circa 2000s).

Retired POTUS Bill Clinton with Jeffrey Epstein. Look at the wry expression on Epstein’s face. (Public domain photo circa 2000s).

Oligarchs enjoying themselves while poor people starve.

Canada PM Mark Carney (second from left) was photographed with Ghislaine Maxwell (second from right), along with his wife Diana Carney (right) at a British music festival in the summer of 2013. Canada PM Mark Carney denied knowing Jeffrey Epstein and stated he was ‘tangentially acquainted'” with Ghislaine Maxwell (Photo: News Licensing / MEGA)

Donald Trump will be meeting Prince Andrew’s brother, King Charles III, in the UK this coming September.

UK Prince Andrew with Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Guiffre. (Public domain photo circa 1990s).

The Justice Department stated that no-one else is likely to be prosecuted in relation to the Epstein case, including Britain’s Prince Andrew who was accused by Virginia Giuffre, of allegedly sleeping with her when she was 17 and underage. Prince Andrew has consistently and vehemently denied all charges against him and settled a civil lawsuit with Ms Giuffre with no admission of wrongdoing. Ms Giuffre (41) committed suicide earlier this year.

Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cql67qk0dd3o

How Did We Get Here?

Jeffrey Epstein’s Second Arrest

On 6 July 2019, Jeffrey Epstein was arrested by the FBI-NYPD Crimes Against Children Task Force at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on sex trafficking charges. He was jailed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in NYC. A dozen FBI agents forced open the door to his Manhattan townhouse, the Herbert N. Straus House, with search warrants. The search of his townhouse turned up evidence of sex trafficking and also found “hundreds” and perhaps thousands” of sexually suggestive photographs of fully “or partially nude females”.

Some of the photos were confirmed as those of underage females. In a locked safe, compact discs were found with handwritten labels including the descriptions: “Young [Name] + [Name]”, “Misc nudes 1”, and “Girl pics nude”.

Epstein requested to be released on bond, offering to post $100 million with the condition that he would also submit to house arrest in his NYC mansion. US District Judge Richard M. Berman denied the request on 18 July, saying that Epstein posed a danger to the public and a serious flight risk to avoid prosecution.

On 29 Aug 2019, nineteen days after Epstein was found dead in his jail cell, the case against Epstein was closed by Judge Berman. Prosecutors stated they would continue an investigation for potential co-conspirators.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Epstein

Ghislaine Maxwell Convicted in 2021

Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on 29 December 2021.

For her role in the massive pedophilia criminal enterprise, Ghislaine Maxwell (USMS #02879-509) was sentenced to 20 years confinement in Tallahassee FCI with a release date of 17 July 2037.

Ghislaine Maxwell (USMS #02879-509) federal mugshot in 2022.

After Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal was denied by the Supreme Court, she signaled that she is willing to testify before the US Congress.

Links:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced-20-years-prison-conspiring-jeffrey-epstein-sexually-abuse

Public Demands to Release the FBI Epstein Files

Senator Blackburn requested something similar from the IRS regarding Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s business dealings: 

www.blackburn.senate.gov

When the Epstein files were not released, the Trumpf junta released two distractions from the CIA and the National Archives. You read about the USSR UFO encounter here on Coriolanus, a ‘nothing burger’ story and then a few weeks ago more JFK assassination files were released. When these distractions died out, in fits and starts and using dissembling language, US Attorney-General Pam Bondi affirmed that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and she released a video recording of Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell in MCC in this unsigned letter from the Justice Department and FBI:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1407001/dl?inline

In the letter, USAG Bondi assures the public that there is “no incriminating client list.”

Well of course there would not be a made-to-order incriminating client list in the files; such a list would have to be compiled by the FBI linking the names and images of suspects with victims, phone records, flight logs, witnesses, wiretaps, telephone pen registers, and financial records. Names would be triaged as suspects or innocent people caught up in this dragnet.

Moreover, technical analysts pointed out that that there are nearly three minutes missing from the surveillance video of Jeffrey Epstein’s cell.

Link: The FBI’s Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Had Nearly 3 Minutes Cut Out | WIRED

Moreover, a mafioso who was incarcerated in that very same cell claimed that ‘there’s just no way Epstein was able to kill himself; it would be almost impossible.’

Link: https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/man-who-served-time-in-same-cell-as-epstein-says-theres-just-no-way-he-was-able-to-kill-himself-it-would-be-almost-impossible/

Note: Coriolanus has been to both Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan and the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, albeit the client visiting rooms. Your author can attest that federal incarceration facilities are secure with surveillance cameras monitoring all the nooks and crannies of the prisons.

Charges were dropped against the two Bureau of Prisons (BOP) correctional officers, Tova Noel and Michael Thomas, who were on duty the night of 10 Aug 2019 when Jeffrey Epstein allegedly killed himself from his cell. Noel and Thomas were accused of falling asleep and surfing the internet that night rather than checking on Epstein every 30 minutes. Both admitted to having “willfully and knowingly” falsified records to make it seem they were monitoring Epstein properly.

Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/case-dropped-jail-guards-duty-night-epstein-died-rcna10557

The DOJ OIG concluded the BOP personnel were negligent in their duties that night. Link:

Official NYC Medical Examiner Findings in Question

Dr. Michael Baden, who was in the room for Epstein’s autopsy and has been called as an expert witness in high-profile cases, said that injuries found on Epstein’s body, including fractures to his larynx and hyoid bone, were “extremely unusual in suicidal hangings” and more consistent with “homicidal strangulation.” Baden’s comments suggest Epstein’s family might contest the autopsy results in future legal proceedings. Dr. Baden also noted that the NYC Medical Examiner who conducted the autopsy on the dead sex offender’s body did not personally sign off on the ultimate finding that Epstein killed himself.

Links:

Jeffrey Epstein’s autopsy: A closer look — “60 Minutes” – CBS News

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/forensic-pathologist-person-who-performed-epstein-autopsy-in-my-presence-didnt-sign-off-on-suicide-finding/

The Role of the Intelligence Agencies in this Cauldron of Vile

The FBI has an extensive dossier on Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as Donald Trump following the several Russiagate investigations. Special Counsels Robert Mueller and Jack Smith and their investigative teams have a mountain of derogatory information about Donald Trump housed in their craniums, and Trump’s name certainly appears in the Jeffrey Epstein files. But what about the other intelligence agencies or law-enforcement bodies worldwide?

Allegations and rumors have circulated for decades that Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, the late disgraced oligarch Robert Maxwell, was a Mossad asset. He reportedly gathered derogatory information on people to be used as leverage against them, blackmailing them to assist the Mossad. Moreover, British intelligence officers suspected that Robert Maxwell was a Soviet agent, according to Foreign Office papers which have been released.

After the former Mirror newspapers chief and ex-Labor MP died mysteriously at sea on 5 Nov 1991, there was widespread speculation that he might have been a double or even a triple agent, but the FBI apparently found nothing in a decade of monitoring him, despite his known links with MI6, the KGB, and the Israeli intelligence service Mossad.

Robert Maxwell’s file, titled “Captain Ian Maxwell”, at the National Archives in Kew, London, has been found to contain reports submitted to the Information Research Department (IRD), a covert unit of the Foreign Office, describing him as “a thoroughly bad character and almost certainly financed by Russia.”

If true, this is how Ghislaine Maxwell learned her tradecraft with Jeffrey Epstein and would explain their fabulous fortunes. The two amassed a library of video tapes of hundreds of wealthy males in lurid sex acts with underaged girls.

Links:

Did Jeffrey Epstein really work for the Mossad? Piers Morgan digs into t – JFeed

FO suspected Maxwell was a Russian agent, papers reveal

There is no doubt that the FBI, the Kremlin, and the Mossad all have damaging information on Donald Trump. Ironically, for years Trump’s foes kept looking and digging for a Russia connection, which there is, but completely overlooked the possibility of an Israeli hold on Trump via the Mossad, thanks to Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. That might explain a lot of Trump’s deferential behavior towards Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, including sanctioning the ICC because this august body indicted these two alleged war criminals.

Will this project finally take shape for Donald Trump?

Whither Ghislaine Maxwell?

Ghislaine Maxwell pacing the yards of FCI Tallahassee in Feb 2024. No doubt she misses champagne and caviar. (Photo: Splash News)

Ghislaine Maxwell is finding that grey prison gym attire is not as flattering as her Christian Dior cocktail dresses. (Photo: Splash News)

Ex-socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, the only person convicted in this global muti-decade sex trafficking enterprise, is scheduled for release on 17 July 2037 at the age of 76. Perhaps Ms. Maxwell is seeking a pardon from President Trump in exchange for perjuring herself in front of Congress, thereby exonerating him.

USAG Pam Bondi is certainly protecting Donald Trump as well as hundreds of wealthy people– the so-called ‘Deep State’– by not cleanly releasing the Epstein files. This has angered the conspiracy-minded Republican base who wanted to see hated Bill Clinton and other liberals get exposed. For their own sake, the Deep State superrich would like to see the Ghislaine Maxwell problem ‘go away’ PDQ.

Ms. Maxwell most likely took the precaution of creating a ‘dead man’s switch,’ meaning her attorneys or few friends will release damaging information to the media or the FBI to avoid a suicide like Jeffrey Epstein or an untimely “accident.”

Endnote: President Trump will be meeting King Charles in the UK this coming September. Coriolanus wonders what the two immensely wealthy men won’t be discussing.

The Irony of the US Police: Nearly 50% of Murderers Get Away With it

In the US, people are getting away with murder. The clearance rate, the share of cases that result in an arrest or are otherwise solved, was 58% in 2023, the latest year for which FBI data is available. And that figure is inflated because it includes murders from previous years that police solved in 2023.

In other words, a murderer’s chance of getting caught within a year essentially comes down to a coin flip. For other crimes, clearance rates are even lower. Only 8% of car thefts result in an arrest.

Compared with its peers, America overall does an unusually poor job of solving killings. The murder clearance rates of other rich nations, including Australia, Britain and Germany, hover in the 70s, 80s and even 90s. Several issues, including a lack of resources, the sheer volume of cases and a distrust of the police, have converged to make the jobs of American detectives much more difficult. “It’s a serious problem,” said Philip Cook, a criminal justice researcher at Duke University. The lack of legal accountability emboldens criminals, leading to more crime and violence resulting in “a vicious cycle.”

Every eleven minutes someone in the US is murdered with a firearm. In 2022, the CDC reported that 48,000 people in the US were killed with a firearm, a wartime casualty figure without a foreign invader.

The Irony of the Police State

One blogger wrote the ICE annual budget is approximately $28 billion. Many countries have smaller budgets. ICE’s budget is now bigger than these American states:

Delaware: $6.07 billion

Idaho: $5.26 billion

Maine: $7.84 billion (annualized for a two-year budget cycle)

Montana: $4.68 billion (annualized for a two-year budget cycle)

New Hampshire: $5.20 billion

Rhode Island: $7.29 billion

South Dakota: $4.06 billion

Vermont: $5.23 billion

Wyoming: $4.45 billion (annualized for a two-year budget cycle)

American police are the direct descendants of the Slave Patrol, more akin to political control and law-enforcement rather than genuine sleuthing or crime solving. Add the tsunami of firearms flooding the country, economic inequalities, a suspicious population wary of cooperating with the police, and Americans suffer a high rate of unsolved homicides. There are just not enough seasoned investigators to catch the perpetrators.

Source:

US Health and Safety Update

The US is the only industrialized Western country in the world that does not offer universal healthcare coverage for its residents, unlike Germany, Israel, the UK, Canada, Australia, or France. The term ‘medical bankruptcy’ is unknown in those countries. And Donald Trump is making it harder for Americans to say healthy.

Trump Program Cuts Worsening Life for Americans

PBS reports:

“Americans are losing a vast array of people and programs dedicated to keeping them healthy. Gone are specialists who were confronting a measles outbreak in Ohio, workers who drove a van to schools in North Carolina to offer vaccinations and a program that provided free tests to sick people in Tennessee.

State and local health departments responsible for invisible but critical work such as inspecting restaurants, monitoring wastewater for new and harmful germs, responding to outbreaks before they get too big — and a host of other tasks to protect both individuals and communities — are being hollowed out.

The Trump junta is cutting health spending on an unprecedented scale, including pulling $11 billion of direct federal support because the pandemic is over and eliminating 20,000 jobs at national health agencies that in part assist and support local public health work. It’s proposing billions more be slashed.”

To pay for unneeded tax cuts for the oligarchs, the 2025 Republican budget guts the few social safety nets many Americans depend on, like Medicaid or SNAP. These draconian cuts will be felt by the masses after the 2026 midterm elections, giving the GOP a chance at the polls in Nov 2026.

In 2025, the Trumpf junta has gutted weather surveillance and medical research, and placed quacks, mountebanks, and charlatans in charge of America’s food safety and health organizations, like antivax advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and Dr. Mehmet Oz to administer the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Oz owns $33 million in heath insurance companies doing business with the agency he is running.

Link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/12/13/dr-oz-companies-tied-medicare/76917868007/

RFK Jr had his own children secretly vaccinated according to his first cousin, Caroline, the daughter of JFK.

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Kills Four in Florida

This twelve-year-old girl contracted necrotizing fasciitis while on vacation in 2019.

Four people are dead, and more than half a dozen are sick, after contracting a rare “flesh-eating bacteria” in Florida this year, state health officials confirmed.

The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, found in saltwater, brackish water and inside raw or undercooked seafood, led to deaths in Bay, Broward, Hillsborough, and St. Johns counties, according to the Florida Department of Health (FDOH).

So far in 2025, 11 people contracted Vibrio vulnificus across Florida, with four dying and seven becoming ill, the FDOH reported. The FDOH did not specify the source of the new cases or say where the ill contracted the bacteria.

Vibrio vulnificus is a naturally occurring bacterium that lives in warm, brackish seawater. It’s created when fresh water from a river or lake meets seawater, and people contract Vibrio vulnificus by swallowing water with it or getting it in a wound.

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis prioritizes state funds on law-enforcement and election security, not the environment, like keeping Florida’s waters clean. The Trump budget cuts do not help Floridians either.

Link:

Rare ‘flesh-eating bacteria’ kills 4 in Florida this year

Pneumonic Plague Kills Arizona Victim

Pneumonic plague attacks the lungs, quickly killing victims,

A Northern Arizona patient died after becoming infected with a severe form of plague. The Arizona Department of Health Services has conducted rapid diagnostic testing and issued a “presumptive diagnosis of Yersinia pestis the bacteria that causes the plague” NAH said in a statement.

Plague is the same illness that killed millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages. Today, it is rare but can crop up mostly in rural parts of the western US and certain parts of Africa and Asia, according to the US CDC. The Arizona resident died from pneumonic plague, a severe lung infection.

Yersinia pestis is a bacterium that causes a potentially life-threatening disease called plague. Plague is spread among wild rodents and other animals. Doctors can cure human patients of the disease with antibiotics, but it must be treated promptly. Humans usually contract plague from being bitten by an infected flea or by touching an infected animal.

Link: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/07/11/arizona-pneumonic-plague-death-what-to-know/84597349007/

Measles and COVID Spreading in America

As you read previously on Coriolanus, measles is spreading in Mexico because indigenous and religious communities near the Texas border believe in Robert F. Kennedy’s antivax rhetoric. The Trumpf junta announced that annual COVID-19 shots for healthy younger adults and children will no longer be routinely approved. As of 8 July 2025, the CDC estimates that COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 25 states, declining or likely declining in 0 states, and not changing in 21 states.

Links:

https://www.cdc.gov/cfa-modeling-and-forecasting/rt-estimates/index.html

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/trump-administrations-deep-cuts-to-public-health-leave-system-reeling

Following a powerful 7.2 earthquake off the coast of Alaska, the National Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami warning. Luckily there were no casualties. The NWS, NOAA, and USGS are the agencies that the Trumpf junta are gutting of funds, resources, and personnel.

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) fighting for poor people in America.

US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who does not take a penny from AIPAC and supports Zohran Mamdani for Mayor of NYC, stated that Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ (BBB) which is cutting medical and nutritional aid to poor people, will kill 50,000 vulnerable Americans per year.

Link: https://www.help.senate.gov/dem/newsroom/press/news-sanders-releases-new-report-detailing-devastating-impact-of-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-on-health-care-in-america

Couple Adopts Two Orphaned Kittens

Gaza De-Population Campaign Continues

Palestinians waiting for bread 28 Oct 2024. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the Gaza Strip is on the brink of a famine. (Photo: Mohammed Salem / Reuters)

96 Palestinians were killed and 277 wounded in the Gaza Strip over the last 48 hours. At least 43,020 people have been killed and 101,110 wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since 7 Oct 2023. At this rate of homicide, by year’s end the Likud Party and the IDF will have killed close to 50,000 Palestinians while maiming 150,000 in the Gaza Strip. The IDF detained approximately 100 Palestinians at Kamal Adwan Hospital. The people apprehended included fighters who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians, an army statement claimed. The IDF reported that weapons, funds and intelligence documents were found in the hospital and surrounding area. Israel’s forces “arrested and deported all the medical staff” at Kamal Adwan Hospital, except one unidentified individual.

IDF jets attacked the city of Tyre, Lebanon, killing at least seven people and wounding 17 others. Beirut accuses Jerusalem of intentionally trying to destroy its medical infrastructure. (Photo: Ahmad Kaddoura / Anadolu)

Hard working CIA Director William J. Burns was meeting in Qatar with his Israeli counterpart, David Barnea of the Mossad, to re-start negotiations for a cease-fire and a release of the hostages.  Mr. Barnea, who studied in the US years ago, had urged Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate with Palestinian resistance leaders immediately in order to release the Israeli captives. At the time of the surprise attack on Israel (7 Oct 2023), at least 2,000 Palestinians were being held in security detention without hearing or trial. Other reports cited larger numbers of detentions and torture. In Nov 2023 the first prisoner swap between the Palestinian captors and the IDF concluded. Afterwards, Netanyahu opted for a permanent solution to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. USSECSTATE Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders at least 11 times for cease-fire negotiations, but this was all kabuki theater. According to some people close to Joe Biden, he felt betrayed by being pushed out in favor of VPOTUS Kamala Harris to take on GOP candidate Donald Trump. Then, Biden felt “humiliated” by Netanyahu who only played lip-service to him about a cease-fire before the all-important US presidential elections. Netanyahu, indicted as a war criminal by the Hague like his fellow war-monger Russian President Vladimir Putin, effectively tarnished Joe Biden’s legacy as he winds down his multi-decade career of American public service.  

Sources:

(4) Updates LIVE: Israel’s three-week siege of northern Gaza kills at least 1,000 (aljazeera.com)

U.S. and Israeli Spy Chiefs Meet for Gaza Cease-Fire Talks: Live Updates – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Barnea takes over Mossad; Cohen: Mossad struck deep into Iran’s heart – Israel News – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

Israel/OPT: Horrifying cases of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees amid spike in arbitrary arrests   – Amnesty International

Kim Jong-Un’s Close Aide in Russia Overseeing North Korean Troops

Kim Jong Un (C) inspecting a special operations training base of the Korean People’s Army while enjoying a smoke. General Kim Young Bok, Vice Chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff, is second from right. (Undated photo: Rodong Sinmun·News1)

General Kim Young Bok, a close aide to leader Kim Jong Un, has arrived in Russia to oversee North Korean troops there helping Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The North Korean troops are mobilizing near the front lines in Ukraine. An estimated 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were in Russia undergoing training.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to deny or confirm that North Korea had sent troops to help his army. The arrival of the North Koreans has raised fears in Ukraine, its Western allies and South Korea about what they see as a dangerous escalation of the Ukrainian war.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency that Russia was transporting North Korean soldiers to the front lines in trucks with civilian license plates. Russian police stopped a Kamaz truck with civilian license plates on the Kursk-Voronezh highway which was reportedly loaded with North Korean military personnel, but the driver did not have documented combat orders.

South Korean NIS (FKA KCIA) reported that North Korean soldiers will receive $2,000 per month in pay, but the Ukrainian government-run news platform United24 said that that most likely this money would “remain with the state.”

Separately, The New York Times reported that the first North Korean troops had made the nearly 6,500 km (4,038 mile) journey to the Kursk region, with thousands more arriving daily.

Citing troop movement data from a senior Ukrainian military officer, the newspaper said that as many as 5,000 North Korean soldiers were expected to have arrived this week.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) released a satellite image by Airbus Defense and Space showing Russia’s Khabarovsk military facility, where the NIS said North Korean personnel are gatherung. (Photo: AFP)

As expected, (and posted here on Coriolanus) Ukraine initiated a PSYOP program to induce these North Korean soldiers to surrender.

“We appeal to the soldiers of the Korean People’s Army who were sent to support the Putin regime. Don’t die senselessly on foreign soil. Do not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home.

(Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate, or GUR, prepared this Korean-language message on its Telegram messaging channel).

“Surrender! Ukraine will provide you with shelter, food, and warmth,” it added, introducing its surrender hotline “I Want to Live.”

Ukraine promises food and shelter to North Korean soldiers if they surrender. The “I Want to Live” project released a video offering food and shelter to North Korean soldiers who surrender during the war in Ukraine. (RFA English)

There should be no surprises in this reporting that North Korean supremo Kim Jong-Un would send a trusted aide to overwatch the deployment of his cannon fodder and that Pyongyang would keep the soldier’s renumeration for fighting and dying against Ukraine. Kiev’s PSYOP program was to be expected as they have been inducing Russian soldiers to surrender since Putin’s brutal invasion began in Feb 2022. The next development to monitor is whether South Korea begins transferring potent mass casualty weapons and trainers to Ukraine in response.

Sources:

Kim Jong Un’s close aide in Russia overseeing North Korean troops: report – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Ukraine urges North Korean soldiers to surrender, offering food, shelter – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Russia pays North Korean soldiers about $2,000 a month: South’s spy agency – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

France: Why Are They Suddenly Deporting Kurdish Activists?

Demonstrators hold the Kurdistan flag during a rally in Paris in 2016 to protest against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after 11 HDP lawmakers were detained as part of a terror-related investigation. (Photo: Francois Mori / AP)

In March and April, France deported three Kurdish activists to Turkiye: Firaz Korkmaz (24), Mehmet Kopal (37), and Serhat Gultekin (28). All were suspected of having close ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been in conflict with the Turkish state for 40 years. France, along with its Western allies, considers the PKK a terrorist organisation. Approximately 150,000 Kurds reside in France.

The Kurdish Democratic Council of France (CDKF), an umbrella group of 27 Kurdish associations, has condemned the deportations and warned that more cases are under investigation.

In late April, eight Kurdish men were arrested, accused of extorting funds from the Kurdish community to support PKK activities, which is seen as financing terrorism.

French authorities also raided exiled Kurdish broadcasters Sterk TV and Medya Haber TV in Belgium at the request of the French judiciary. The CDKF says this level of action is unprecedented. Prior to April, no Kurdish activists had been handed over to Turkiye since 2019, when diplomatic relations between Paris and Ankara hit a low point.

The friction was partly due to France’s support for the Kurdish YPG, which was fighting the Islamic State in Syria, but is viewed by Turkiye as an extension of the PKK.

Since April, French authorities have revoked refugee status from 50 Kurdish militants and deported the three activists. The case of Serhat Gultekin has drawn particular concern.

A member of Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish HDP party, Gultekin had been reportedly tortured and persecuted in Turkiye before fleeing to France in 2017. He applied for political asylum and continued his activism in exile. In April 2023, Gultekin and ten others were found guilty of extortion and financing terrorism.

He was sentenced, but in a highly unusual move the anti-terrorist state prosecutor specifically warned of the dangers of sending him and the others back to Turkiye “in view of the danger they had faced” and “the risks that an expulsion would expose them to”.

The court agreed, but French authorities took a different view. On 12 April, the day before the judge was set to rule on Gultekin’s asylum claim, the Interior Ministry issued a deportation order.

“Plainclothes police officers put him in a truck, handcuffed him, tied him up and took him to the airport,” said Gultekin’s lawyer.

“In the truck, they told him: ‘Serhat, we’re going to send you to Turkiye. Whether you like it or not’.”

When Gultekin landed, members of Turkey’s MIT secret services were waiting. He is now serving a six year and three-month sentence in an Istanbul prison.

On 26 Sep, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal declared Gultekin’s deportation “illegal”, stating it violated Article III of the European Charter of Human Rights, which prohibits torture.

The CDKF is also fighting to prevent the deportation of Idris Kaplan, another activist sentenced in absentia to life in Turkiye as an alleged PKK leader.

“You can’t hand your allies over to their enemies in the name of security or diplomatic agreements. That’s a basic moral principle,” argued CDKF spokesperson Agit Polat in Le Monde, pointing to Kaplan’s role in fighting the Islamic State armed group alongside French special forces in Iraq.

On 8 Oct a court suspended Kaplan’s expulsion order.

So why have French authorities taken a tougher stance on Kurdish activists? One theory is that economic interests are now outweighing human rights concerns. Ratings agency Moody’s recently downgraded France’s outlook from “stable” to “negative,” opening the door to a potential credit rating cut citing concerns over the country’s finances. The downgrade reflects “increasing risk that France’s government will be unlikely to implement measures that would prevent sustained wider-than-expected budget deficits and a deterioration in debt affordability,” said Moody’s Ratings. Moody’s affirmed France’s credit rating at Aa2, saying this was supported by its “large, wealthy, and diversified economy.”

Kostas Pikramenos, co-author of a book on Turkey’s MIT intelligence service, says Kurdish activists may be used as bargaining chips in intelligence negotiations. The expulsion of the three Kurds is most likely part of a “seduction operation by France to sign commercial contracts” with Turkiye, Pikramenos told Marianne news magazine, pointing to a $40bn order of 200 Airbus aircraft by Turkish Airlines (THY) in late 2023.

(Image: Airbus.com)

The CDKF believes France may be paying Turkiye for its intelligence cooperation. Ankara reportedly shared information on planned ISIS-K attacks during the 2024 Olympics, according to an anonymous French intelligence source. French President Emmanuel Macron publicly warned that ISIS-K had attempted several attacks on French soil in recent months.

Meanwhile, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) emphasised that it “independently assesses” Interior Ministry requests to revoke refugee status. These decisions can be appealed in the National Asylum Court.

The CDKF has warned that five more Kurdish activists could face deportation in the coming months.

Sources:

What’s driving France’s sudden deportation of Kurdish activists? (rfi.fr)

Prosecutor seeks prison terms for alleged PKK members on trial in Paris

Turkey opens another ‘Kafkaesque’ trial against scholar exiled to France

Moody’s downgrades France to ‘negative’ credit outlook (rfi.fr)

Alaska and US Military History: The “Eskimo Scouts”

The USS Concord is a typical late 19th-century US gunboat (Photo: Edward Hart circa 1890).

The US Navy recently apologized for the 1882 shelling and burning down of Angoon, a Tlingit village of 420 people in Alaska (highlighted in red).

Years after this atrocity at Angoon by the USN, Uncle Sam would ask the Eskimo population to help defend Alaska from Imperial Japan. The indigenous men proudly formed and served in the “Alaska Territorial Guard” AKA the “Eskimo Scouts.” Note the age range of those who served: 12-80.


Note the resemblance between the Inuits of North America (above) and the Buryats of Siberia (below) from across the Bering Strait.

The Free Buryatia organization announced that around 150 Buryat soldiers who were serving in the Russian Army in occupied territories of Ukraine have resigned their positions and asked to be returned home. (Source and Photo: 150 Buryat Soldiers in Russian Army Resign kyivpost.com)

Canada’s military similarly employs indigenous tribes in their northern provinces called “the Canadian Rangers.” Above former Tory Canadian PM Stephen Harper is on the rifle range for a photo-op with these tundra experts.



Sources:



https://apnews.com/article/navy-1882-tlingit-village-alaska-bombing-apology-b7da179eb05bd30afa373f9fc093305e

US Army

Taiwan: 60 People Sickened from Suspected Food Poisoning

Taiwan has a population of 23,595,274 and GDP per capita is $47,800 (2019 est.) (Map and Data: CIA)

60 people have reported symptoms of food poisoning after buying boxed meals from an eatery in Kaohsiung. The health department said patients fell ill with symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea and fever after eating boxed meals purchased from a small storefront restaurant in the city’s Sanmin District the previous day.

46 patients sought medical attention, while 14 others were found via contact tracing. Seven of the 46 patients have been hospitalized, and one was treated in the emergency room.

29 students from Kaohsiung Medical University were among the customers who had bought lunch from the eatery and 20 of them had to seek medical attention.

Personnel from the Kaohsiung Department of Health collect food samples from a storefront restaurant in the city’s Sanmin District for testing in this undated photo. Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Department of Health.

City officials inspected the eatery and ordered its closure for seven days, citing several violations of food safety regulations. The violations included open trash bins, no records of fridge temperatures, and no records of employee health checks.

While no leftovers from the 410 boxed lunches sold were available for testing, health officials took samples of the food items in the eatery. Samples were also taken from the sick customers and the kitchen workers at the eatery and will be tested for pathogens.

The eatery will have to pass another inspection before it could be allowed to reopen. The source pathogen of the food poisoning is still being investigated.

Sources:

60 people fall ill from suspected food poisoning in Kaohsiung – Focus Taiwan

Florida Militant Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During 6 Jan 2021 Attack Against US Capitol

Jeremy Michael Miller (Photo: FBI)

Jeremy Michael Miller (45) of Florida was arrested and charged by the FBI for felony and misdemeanor offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.

Miller was identified in video footage on 6 Jan 2021 on the Lower West Plaza of the US Capitol grounds fighting with police along a line of metal bike rack barricades. Miller allegedly grabbed a bike rack and tried to pull it away from police. Police quickly reestablished their line and video footage show Miller allegedly linking arms with other rioters and using their backs to push into the barricades; however, the group was unable to break through the police line.

(Photo: FBI)

Rioters, including Miller, violently resisted police on the Upper West Terrace. The defendant allegedly pushed his body against a police riot shield, attempting to stop or push through a line of officers.

(Photo: Getty Images)


Video footage shows that this maniac then tried to pull a riot shield away from another police officer, grabbing with both hands in an attempt to wrest the shield away. After several failed attempts, Miller retreated back into the mob.

In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Jeremy Michael Miller represents one of America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), a white supremacist holding on to the last vestiges of white supremacy in the US. He heeded the idiotic call of Donald J. Trump that minorities stole the 2020 election and now will either plead guilty to a lesser count or be found guilty in a trial. Either way, this 45-year-old lunatic threw his life away over racism and ignorance.

Source:


https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/florida-man-arrested-assaulting-law-enforcement-and-other-charges-during-jan-6-capitol-4

Sneaky Alabama Bear Steals Trash Can from Garage

Russian Citizen Arrested for Illegally Exporting US-Sourced Microelectronics with Military Applications to Russia

Photo: Russian Shahed drone arrived in Belarus on 14 Sep (Getty Images)

Denis Postovoy (44) was arrested on charges of conspiring to violate US export control laws. Residing in Sarasota, FL, the defendant is accused of smuggling, money laundering, and defrauding the US by exporting microelectronic components with military applications to Russia.

Postovoy allegedly began his illicit activities in February 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, by acquiring US-made microelectronics used in drones and exporting them to Russia without proper licenses. 

Postovoy allegedly operated through a network of companies in Russia, Hong Kong, and other locations, purchasing the components from US distributors and using intermediary destinations to conceal the final destination of the shipments. The scheme aimed to strengthen Russia’s military capabilities.

Postovoy’s companies, including Hong Kong-based WowCube HK Limited and Russia’s Vector Group, are said to have played a key role in the scheme by submitting false documentation and transshipping goods through countries like Switzerland and Hong Kong. Payments were allegedly funneled through foreign bank accounts, including those in Russia and Hong Kong, to US suppliers of the microelectronics. 

Postovoy’s arrest is part of a broader effort coordinated by the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, a joint initiative of the Departments of Justice and Commerce to prevent hostile regimes from acquiring sensitive technologies. 

Denis Postovoy faced previous litigation from the State of Florida.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Sources:

District of Columbia | Russian Citizen Arrested for Illegally Exporting U.S.-Sourced Microelectronics with Military Applications to Russia | United States Department of Justice

STATE OF FLORIDA VS POSTOVOY, DENIS (unicourt.com)

Louisiana Man Sentenced on Felony and Misdemeanor Charges for Actions During 6 Jan Attack Against Capitol Hill

Willard Purkel (51) of Covington, LA, was sentenced on 12 Sept 2024 to 60 days in prison, nine months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution after he previously pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges related to his conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the Capitol.

Purkel pleaded guilty on 3 Jun 2024, to a five-count indictment charging him with civil disorder, a felony, and misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.

The FBI arrested Purkel on 30 Nov 2023, in Louisiana. His son, Colby (USMS #89223-510), was sentenced last month to three weeks in prison for his role in the riots.

In the 44 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,504 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 560 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Source:

District of Columbia | Louisiana Man Sentenced on Felony and Misdemeanor Charges for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

Doctors Without Borders Ceases Operations in Russia

MSF volunteers serve in these locations

The Swiss-based Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group on September 16 said it has been forced to close its operations in Russia. “It is with a heavy heart that we have to close our activities in Russia,” said the head of the group’s Russia program. “Our organization’s work is guided by the principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality, and medical ethics. We provide assistance based on the needs.” MSF has been in Russia since 1992 but said it received notice in August from the Justice Ministry that its office was removed from the register of nongovernmental organizations.

This draconian move only punishes Russians in remote areas who have little to no access to healthcare. The elites and the oligarchs can access medical care and medicines under the sanctions, unlike the average Russian.

Source:

Doctors Without Borders Ceases Operations In Russia (rferl.org)

NORAD Tracks More Russian Military Planes Near Alaskan Air Space

Russian IL-38 (undated imagery)

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked two Russian IL-38 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on 15 Sep 2024.

The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.


An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.


NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft and inform appropriate actions. NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America.

The string of recent interceptions began Sept. 11 when NORAD spotted a pair of Russian military aircraft operating in international air near ADIZ but also did not enter Canadian or United States sovereign airspace, according to a release on Wednesday.

However, Russian flights occur “regularly” into the airspace known ADIZ with other recent interceptions in recent as July and May.

July’s incident arrived days after the Kremlin’s Defense Ministry claimed it had intercepted two US B-52N bombers near the Russia’s borders just days prior.

Then on Friday, a pair of TU-142s were detected by NORAD. Those aircraft are Russian reconnaissance and anti-submarine planes. A day later came reports of two Russian IL-38 planes detected, followed by Sunday’s announcement.

Earlier in the summer, NORAD intercepted two Chinese and two Russian military jets flying near Alaska in what officials say was the first known time the two large nations had been recorded operating together.

At the time of their joint encounter, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that Russia and China are “always testing us.”

The US Army recently deployed a large contingency of paratroopers, radar units and at least one M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System to Shemya Island, off the coast of Alaska.

A US Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) launches ordnance during RED FLAG-Alaska 21-1 at Fort Greely, AK, 22 Oct2020. This exercise focused on rapid infiltration and exfiltration to minimize the chance of a counterattack. (USAF photo by Senior Airman Beaux Hebert)

This deployment occurred concurrently with Russia’s own extensive naval exercises taking place across the Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Arctic Ocean to assess Russian combat readiness, the EurAsian Times reported.

Sources:

NORAD detects and tracks Russian aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone > North American Aerospace Defense Command > Press Releases

NORAD says it continues to track more Russian military planes near Alaska’s air space – UPI.com

Iran Allegedly Hiring Hells Angels to Target Enemies in West

Recent open source reporting reveals that Iran has been hiring criminal organizations, including the Hells Angels, to assassinate or abduct Iranian dissidents or political critics living in the West. A British journalist was recently attacked in London and US authorities uncovered several plots. In total, 88 violent plots linked to Iran have been identified over the last five years by journalists and law-enforcement agencies.

Hells Angels’ boss Ramin Yektaparast is wanted in Germany on terror charges; he has been living in Iran since 2021 Credit: Instagram

Iranian drug trafficker Naji Sharifi Zindashti illustrates how Iran’s intelligence operations are integrated with organized crime.

Heroin kingpin Naji Sharifi Zindashti allegedly contacted Hells Angels bikers to kill an Iranian defector Photo: FBI

But the nexus between state players and organized crime is not a new phenomenon and should not come as a surprise to anyone.

Saigon’s notorious underworld was the scourge of the Viet Cong in the 1950s and 1970s. Chiang Kai-Shek relied on the Green Gang, a powerful criminal organization in Shang Hai to suppress dissidents (until finally losing the Civil War to Mao Tze-Dong). Israel employs a terrorist organization, the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), to assassinate Iranian nuclear scientists. We see in open press reporting Russian oligarchs with links to the Kremlin and organized crime; Chechnya is a basically a criminal fiefdom of Russia run by warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.

Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) cooperates with both the powerful Haqqani Network (HQN) in Afghanistan and with Ibrahim Dawood and his notorious D Company. This criminal terrorist organization has business tentacles in India, the UAE, Morocco, the UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Italy, France, and allegedly Mexican criminal organizations.

Sources:

Iranian man and two Hells Angels accused in murder-for-hire plot in U.S. (nbcnews.com)

Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists – Wikipedia

How Iran is using dark underworld of Hells Angels ‘hitmen’ to wipe out critics & crack down on dissent in Europe & US – The Sun | The Sun

Iran Allegedly Hiring Hells Angels and Criminal Gangs for Global Assassination Campaign (semperincolumem.com)

The evolving terror funding matrix: Pakistan, ISI and D Company and its global criminal web | South Asia Monitor

Wanted Persons / Internet / Home – INTERPOL (archive.ph)

D-Company – Wikipedia

Green Gang – Wikipedia

WHO: Over 22,500 Palestinians Suffered ‘Life-Changing Injuries’ in Gaza

Palestinian children at a temporary field hospital in southern Gaza Strip. Photo: WHO/Christopher Black

More than 22,500 people – a quarter of those wounded in Gaza since Israel’s offensive began – have life-changing injuries, requiring rehabilitation services “now and for years to come”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) reported. These include severe limb injuries, amputations, spinal cord trauma, traumatic brain injuries, and major burns.

Israeli forces invaded Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel.

Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, highlighted that the surge in rehabilitation needs is occurring alongside the wholesale collapse of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.

“Patients can’t get the care they need. Acute rehabilitation services are severely disrupted and specialized care for complex injuries is not available, placing patients’ lives at risk. Immediate and long-term support is urgently needed to address the enormous rehabilitation needs.”

Services such as wound care, physical therapy, and psychological support are either inaccessible or entirely unavailable, leaving thousands at risk of further complications, disabilities or even death.

According to the UN health agency, only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional, primary healthcare and community-level services are frequently suspended, due to insecurity, attacks and repeated evacuation orders.

Gaza’s only limb reconstruction and rehabilitation centre, located in the Nasser Medical Complex and supported by WHO, has been non-functional since Dec 2023 due to lack of supplies and staff, and was further damaged in a Feb 2024 raid.

Additionally, the loss of trained physiotherapists due to the fighting between Israel and Hamas has further hampered rehabilitation efforts.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Cabinet have well-incubated the next generation of Israel haters and antisemites.

Source:

Over 22,500 have suffered ‘life-changing injuries’ in Gaza: WHO | UN News

CBP: Record Number of Canadian Illegal Border Crossers Between 2021-2024

This image might represent a small portion of the US-Quebec border. (Undated photo: The Sun)

From 2021 through July 2024, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 150,701 Canadians illegally entered or attempted illegal entry into the US. The majority were apprehended at the US-Canada border, followed by other locations nationwide, with a small number at the US-Mexico border.

The greatest number of Canadians encountered or apprehended by CBP or Border Patrol agents was in fiscal 2022: 47,126 (northern border 40,600; nationwide 6,413; 113 at the Mexican border). , according to the data.

The overwhelming majority are single military age adults.

Not all Canadian border crossers are native-born but include foreign nationals who received Canadian travel documents. Canadian citizens for years have legally traveled to the US for work and as tourists.

Over 1,100 individuals on the US terrorist watch list, referred to as known or suspected terrorists (KSTs), attempted to illegally enter the US-Canada border since fiscal 2021. They include an Iranian with alleged terrorist ties living in Canada and a Canadian woman previously arrested by Texas officials for claiming to threaten to kill former President Donald Trump. The terrorist watch list is not legal proof that someone is a terrorist but that the name is associated with a KST; border authorities are mandated to double-check the person’s bona fides.

As reported recently on Coriolanus, a Pakistani national living in Canada was arrested after announcing his idiotic plan to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish Center in Brooklyn, NY to avenge Palestinian deaths at the hands of the IDF. This lunatic plot by a young man with no reported military or firearms experience or training was quickly and easily neutralized before the suspect reached the US border.

The number of Canadian illegal border crossers is not comparable to the nearly three million Mexican illegal border crossers since fiscal 2021. Among them, more than 22,000 Mexicans were apprehended by US federal agents after illegally entering or attempting entry from Canada. CBP data indicates that illegal border crossers holding travel documents from Canada and Mexico, America’s NAFTA partners, appear to be circumventing US immigration law.

The CBC reports that legal emigration from Canada to the US hit a ten-year-high. The Census recorded 126,340 people left Canada for the US in 2022, a 70 per cent increase over a decade ago. Of the 126,340, 53,311 were born in Canada, 42,595 were Americans repatriated, and 30,434 were foreign-born immigrants to Canada who decided to move to the US instead.

Canadians cite increased taxes, declining healthcare services, career opportunities, and high cost-of-living as their major reasons for emigrating to the US. Many find Florida’s weather attractive.

Marco Terminesi grew up in Woodbridge, Ont. but now lives in South Florida and sells real estate — mostly to Canadians — in Palm Beach County. He says a lot of prospective buyers are motivated to leave Canada because of politics. (Photo: Marco Terminesi)  

Sources:

Border security, migrants, Canadian order | Homeland Security Newswire

Emigration from Canada to the U.S. hits a 10-year high as tens of thousands head south | CBC News

Brazilian Dog is Footvolley Star Teaching Beachgoers How to Play

Rio de Janeiro’s main beaches bustle with commotion on sunny weekends. But activity ground to a near standstill on one stretch of sand. People held up their phones to record athletic feats they’d never before witnessed, or even imagined.

The game? Footvolley, a combination of soccer and beach volleyball. The athlete? A three-year-old border collie named Floki.

Floki sparks wonder among bystanders, because he hangs tough in a game that even humans struggle to get a handle on. Footvolley rules are essentially the same as beach volleyball, but with a slightly lower net and, like soccer, players are forbidden from using hands and arms. Floki springs up from the sand to drive the ball with his mouth. He has become something of an internet sensation in Brazil, with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and TikTok.

Floki’s owner, Gustavo Rodrigues, is a footvolley coach, but swears he didn’t plan this. He had wanted an American Bully, a decidedly less sprightly breed. Floki came into Rodrigues’ life instead and quickly revealed his potential when, at just two months old, he started jumping after birthday balloons.

Source:

This Brazilian dog teaches beachgoers to play footvolley | AP News

IDF Kills Ten in Southern Lebanon Preceding US Secretary of State Blinken Visit to Israel and Start of America’s DNC Convention

Israel Defense Forces killed at least ten people during an overnight strike in southern Lebanon, including a mother and her two children. This was the deadliest Israeli strike in southern Lebanon since October 2023. Hezbollah retaliated by firing 55 rockets into northern Israel, causing some fires but no casualties.

This was a calculated move by war crimes-indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to cause a counterattack from the Shia Crescent during critical negotiations with Hamas to reach a cease-fire and release the remaining Israeli hostages (which includes eight AMCITs).

Moreover, the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) gets underway shortly in Chicago. Any reprisal attack from the Shia Crescent during the convention would demonstrate to Democrats the dangers that Israelis must endure (ignoring the fact that the perils are caused by none other then the bellicose Likud Party).

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, D/CIA William Burns, and D/DIA Director Lt Gen Jeffrey A. Kruse, as well as the hardworking American taxpayer, must be wondering how and why Benjamin Netanyahu keeps insulting their intelligence with his lethal provocations and brutal policies.

More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza and over 500 Palestinians have been murdered in the West Bank since October 2023. The Likud Party should simply change its name to the Tsaba (War) Party.

Sources:

Israel kills 10 in southern Lebanon strike ahead of Antony Blinken’s visit – UPI.com

240520-panel-report-eng.pdf (icc-cpi.int)

GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Unravelling and Getting Ridiculed

Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Pennsylvania which was reported to have empty seats and video shows supporters trickling out during one of his rambling speeches. The oldest man to ever run for President also shouted out “North Carolina!” forgetting that he was conducting his rally in Pennsylvania. And with less than 90 days before Election Day, the frustrated 45th President has been unable to stick Kamala Harris with a famous nickname, a shtick to attack enemies he may have learned years ago at the fabled Friar’s Club in NYC .

While Trump historically came up with effective epithets such as “crooked Hillary,” “sleepy Joe,” “Sloppy Steve” (Bannon), or “Lyin’ Ted” (Cruz), the ex-president has yet to come up with nicknames for Harris or Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that have stuck. Trump’s attempts at branding Kamala Harris with “Laffin’ Kamala,” “Lyin’ Kamala,” or “Crazy Kamala” have been ineffective on his Truth Social platform.

Responding to a Republican commentator who remarked Kamala Harris is “beautiful,” Donald Trump replied:

“I say that I am much better looking than her. I’m a better-looking person than Kamala.”

A Democratic strategist responded: “This guy has lost his f—— marbles” and Team Kamala weighed in: “Trump melts down over Kamala Harris being on the cover of TIME Magazine.”

Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party have effectively commandeered the media narrative since President Biden exited the race on 21 July. And after the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the two candidates should see a two to four-point boost in polls. Meanwhile, as Trump prepares for his televised debate with Kamala Harris on 10 Sep, he must also be distracted by his imminent sentencing date on 18 Sep for his 34-count felony conviction in NYS.

Watch below or click here.

Watch below or click here.

‘More empty seats’: Reporter shows people ‘trickling out of’ Trump’s rally as he’s talking – Raw Story

Trump likely in state of ‘panic’ due to ‘ineffective’ nicknames for Kamala Harris: report – Raw Story

‘Lost his marbles’: Trump ridiculed for claiming to be ‘better looking’ than Kamala Harris – Raw Story

USAF Security Personnel Exchange Gunfire With Unknown Assailants

USAF security personnel exchanged gunfire with an unknown shooter in a passing vehicle who twice within two hours opened fire on an entrance to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, early Saturday morning. There were no casualties and the San Antonio Police are investigating.

The motive, number of assailants, or how many rounds were fired are still being determined. The entrance was closed for several hours and the base was not locked down. US and NATO bases in Europe have been on high alert after several attempts by Kremlin-linked saboteurs and infiltrators were thwarted.   

In an average year, 4,122 people die and 7,726 are wounded by firearms in Texas. The Lone Star State has the 29th highest rate of gun violence in the US. Texas firearms licenses in 2021: 1,006,555. 45.7% of Texans say they live in homes with guns.

Sources:

Guards at San Antonio Air Force base exchange fire with unknown shooters – UPI.com

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/09/politics/intelligence-russian-sabotage-threat-us-bases-europe/index.html

Gun-Violence-in-Texas-2024-05.pdf (everystat.org)

Lockouts at Canada’s Two Largest Railroads May Disrupt US Supply Chain

Canada’s two largest railroads are starting to shut down their shipping networks as a labor dispute with the Teamsters Union threatens to cause lockouts or strikes that would disrupt cross-border trade with the US. The union represents 10,000 workers at both railroads and they seek cite crew scheduling, rail safety, and worker fatigue has their main sticking points.

Both the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) railroads, which haul millions of tons of freight across the border, have stopped taking certain shipments of hazardous materials and refrigerated products. They are threatening to lock out Teamsters Canada workers starting Thursday if deals are not reached. On Tuesday, CPKC will stop all shipments that start in Canada and all shipments originating in the US that are headed for Canada. CN barred container imports from US partner railroads.

The two railroads handle about 40,000 carloads of freight each day, worth about $1 billion. Shipments of fully built automobiles and auto parts, chemicals, forestry products and agricultural goods would be hit hard, especially with harvest season looming.

Analysts expect work stoppages to last only a few days, but if they continue, there could be significant supply chain disruptions. Both railroads have extensive networks in the US, and CPKC also serves Mexico. Those operations will keep running even if there is a work stoppage.

Sources:

Lockouts at Canada’s 2 largest railroads may disrupt US supply chain (voanews.com)

Nearly 68M People Suffering from Drought in Southern Africa

About 68 million people, 17% of the population in Southern Africa, are suffering the effects of an El Nino-induced drought that has wiped out crops across the region. The drought, which started in early 2024, has hit crop and livestock production, causing food shortages and damaging the wider economies.

This is southern Africa’s worst drought in years, owing to a combination of naturally occurring El Nino — when an abnormal warming of the waters in the eastern Pacific changes world weather patterns — and higher average temperatures produced by greenhouse gas emissions.

Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi have already declared the hunger crisis a state of disaster, while Lesotho and Namibia have called for humanitarian support. Heads of state from the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) were meeting in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare to discuss regional issues including food security.

Sources:

Nearly 68M suffer from drought in Southern Africa, SADC says (voanews.com)

Kiev Opens Investigation into Alleged Beheading of Dead Soldier

Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska speaks at a Russian war crimes exhibition in London (Undated image: James Manning/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s Office is investigating an allegation that a Ukrainian soldier participating in the recent Russia incursion was beheaded. A video circulating on social media on 16 August showed a Russian soldier beside a pole with a severed head.

The Telegram channel DeepState identified the Russian soldier in the video as a member of the 155th Marine Brigade, which is deployed near the Kolotilovka checkpoint in the Belgorod region. Ukrainian forces were fighting in that area on 12 August.

Authorities in Kiev are also investigating a 18 June report that Russian troops beheaded a Ukrainian soldier in the eastern Donetsk region.

The desecration of soldiers’ bodies, including mutilation and beheadings, is a war crime.

Sources:

Kyiv Opens Investigation Into Alleged Beheading Of Dead Soldier (rferl.org)

Ukrainian Prosecutor Says Russian Troops Beheaded Ukrainian Soldier (rferl.org)

Melting Arctic Permafrost Could Release Mercury into Waters as Temperature Rise

Flowing across Alaska to the Bering Sea, the Yukon River erodes the permafrost along its banks and carries with it sediment downstream.

As our planet warms, permafrost which contains large amounts of accumulated mercury, is eroding faster and releasing this highly toxic metal into the environment.  Though the mercury released from melting permafrost doesn’t pose a toxic threat today, its impact will grow over time. Mercury gradually accumulates in the food chain, beginning with plants, fish, and animals that humans eventually consume.

Natural atmospheric circulation causes pollutants to move towards higher latitudes. This results in mercury accumulating in the Arctic where it is absorbed by plants which then die and become part of the soil. This freezes in the permafrost – where the ground stays frozen all year round – and over thousands of years, mercury concentrations build up in the soil. In this form, mercury isn’t particularly dangerous. But this toxic metal is released when the soil thaws, and the Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average. This poses a major environmental and health threat to the five million people living in the Arctic and more than three million people who live in areas where the permafrost is expected to disappear completely by 2050.

Unless mankind does something soon, the earth as we know it today won’t be the same for future generations.

Sources:

Melting Arctic permafrost could release a ‘mercury bomb’ as temperatures rise | Euronews