china

Donald Trumpf’s Moral and Mental Fitness in Question Again

Fellow Travelers: Your humble author is trying to keep up with the madness out of the White House, but this is becoming a daunting task.

President Donald Trumpf released an AI-generated video depicting a surreal vision for Gaza, reimagining the war-torn territory as a glitzy, Dubai-style resort, complete with towering skyscrapers — and a golden statue of himself. Felon Musk appears to be enjoying morsels and Trumpf and Benjamin Netanyahu are seen sun-bathing together.

Only a maniac could create such a film when the ashes in Gaza are still smoldering and an accurate death toll of Palestinians butchered by the IDF has not been finalized. Recall that Trumpf’s son-in-law, real estate developer Jared Kushner (a man who never worked a day in his life whose father is an ex-convicted) expressed an interest in modernizing the Gaza Strip (once the pesky Palestinians have been removed).

The lunacy continues. This month America’s Godzilla signed an executive order establishing a sovereign wealth fund (SWF) for the US, aiming to create one of the world’s largest such funds. Given the nation’s $36 trillion debt, the administration is exploring funding options, including the potential sale of federal public lands. Interior Secretary (and billionaire) Doug Burgum estimated these federal lands and natural resources could be worth up to $200 trillion. This approach has raised concerns about the preservation of public lands and their traditional uses, such as recreation and conservation.

Yosemite National Park, California.

Why should America’s working class enjoy inexpensive national parks when the oligarchs could extract the wealth from the land or charge people to enjoy nature while the wealthy fly off to their private resorts? And why conserve trees and fresh water when the world’s climate is doing just fine?

Trumpf’s Economic Plans Will Destroy the American People

America’s Godzilla has a budget plan that will rip health care away from millions while handing out $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, the overwhelming majority of which go to billionaires and wealthy corporations. Trumpf’s personnel and budget offices issued a memo to the leaders of all executive branch agencies directing them to submit “reorganization plans” within two weeks and prepare for large-scale firings.

Food line during America’s Great Depression.

When Dotard Trumpf fires all those people, in anti-Keynesian form he will reduce demand for consumer items, house and auto loans, and higher education. America’s Godzilla is ensuring that the oligarch class have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with unneeded tax cuts, while the masses will have to look for jobs, shop for food at Dollaramas, sleep in cars or homeless shelters, find care for their elderly parents, or borrow money to pay medical bills.

Only somebody pathologically unempathetic or insane could think pauperizing millions of Americans is a formula for economic growth and success. Trumpf is only concerned about the welfare of these people below.

In keeping with Trumpf’s desire to accommodate the oligarchs, Godzilla is planning to introduce a new visa to attract them to America — something he is calling a “gold card.”

For $5 million, oligarchs will be able to apply to become lawful permanent residents. Trumpf said the program would be rolled out in two weeks, would bring in “very high-level people,” and said the proceeds from the program could help pay down the deficit.

With the US government no longer investigating or sanctioning Russian oligarchs, what an ingenious method of getting them American citizenship.

Refugees most likely from Honduras escaping violence and poverty, making their way north, (Photo: ANC News).

Every year thousands of poor refugees try to make their way to America for a better life, some dying, some losing their entire savings, only to have Trumpf turn them back. The US was built on the blood and bones of immigrants for centuries. Worse, many immigrants have fought and died for the US military as pathway to citizenship.

An Iraq War veteran thrice-over who has lived in the US for nearly 30 years has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Arizona, sparking outrage among local leaders. Marlon Parris, a legal resident, was arrested on 22 Jan while on his way to an ATM, despite having a “Letter of No Interest” from ICE.

Marlon Parris, originally from Trinidad and Tobago, entered the US in the late 1990s. Only a few years after entering the US, Parris joined the US Army, becoming one of the first deployed to Iraq after 9/11. Legal aid may save him yet from deportation.

America’s Godzilla wants to see a “whitification” of the US with his deportation plans while bringing in wealthy foreign oligarchs. Trumpf’s complete lack of empathy for non-whites, the down-trodden, handicapped people, or the poor, Palestinians, America’s natural resources, reflect an absolute void in humanity. An amoral creature occupies the White House that 49.8% of the American people voted in. In true fascist format, Trumpf will not allow liberal or “hostile’ journalists into the White House. When the economy falls into recession, unemployment soars, food and fuel prices soar, and more die from spreading diseases and gun violence, who will affected Republican voters blame?

Vladimir Putin is pleased with the way his protege is dismantling America from within.

Sources:

https://www.newsweek.com/us-veteran-deportation-ice-immigration-arizona-2030449

https://www.npr.org/2025/02/25/nx-s1-5308649/trump-green-card-gold-card-immigration

Trump Quietly Plans To Liquidate Public Lands To Finance His Sovereign Wealth Fund

https://www.axios.com/2025/02/26/trump-doge-rif-government-worker-layoffs

US National Security in Dire Jeopardy

Russian Vladimir Putin (L) and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (R) enjoying a laugh at America’s expense.

Several staffing moves of the Trumpf administration has been intentionally done to weaken US national security.

First, the ODNI.

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, has moved to fire more than 100 intelligence officers over explicit chats they allegedly sent around in an internal agency messaging board. Gabbard spearheaded a directive to oust the individuals who partook in the explicit conversations using the National Security Agency’s (NSA) “Intelink” platform. 

“There are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in … what is really just an egregious violation of trust,” Gabbard said.

NSA said in a Tuesday statement that the agency is aware of the posts that “appear to show inappropriate discussions” by personnel in the intelligence community (IC), and an internal probe is underway. 

As Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard overseas the entire USIC. But the ODNI was created to prevent another 9/11 attack on the US. In 2000, CIA was aware of an Al-Qaida plot to attack the US and FBI agents were monitoring Al-Qaida suspects taking flying lessons in Florida. But both agencies didn’t share their sensitive information with each other and hence the creation of the ODNI.

Gabbard is using this “Intelink” scandal has an excuse to purge the USIC of LGBTQ personnel. Her mission as DNI is to oversee the smooth facilitation of intelligence between the agencies, not impede it or demoralize it. USIC personnel must undergo periodic counterintelligence investigations and polygraphs to ensure their employment fitness and loyalty to the US government. Coriolanus has worked with several LGBTQ personnel in the USIC and they were just as loyal and patriotic as anyone else. Intelink, which Coriolanus has used, is basically an internal “Google” platform for the USIC that is constantly monitored. If system abuse occurred on Intelink, there is no reason to fire experienced these analysts, code breakers, linguists, or investigators which cost the American taxpayer money to recruit, vet, and train.

This is just an excuse to rid the USIC regime of non-white, non-heterosexual personnel.

Tulsi Gabbard belongs to a secretive Hindu cult in Hawaii that preaches anti-homosexual ideology and Islamophobia.

Second, the FBI.

Besides the stunning confirmation of immensely under-qualified Kash Patel as Director, which is a ten-year appointment, the Deputy Director is former USSS agent and tattooed rightwing podcaster Dan Bongino.

Dan Bongino in Stuart, Florida, on 18 Mar 2021. (Photo: The Washington Post / Getty Images)

Described as an “unqualified henchman,” Bongino has spent years publicly criticizing the agency he will now help run, pushing conspiracy theories about corrupt FBI leadership and agents who were out to get President Donald Trumpf.

His appointment as deputy marks the first time in the FBI’s 117-year history that the second-in-command post has not been held by one of its senior agents.

It further increased fears – already high following Patel’s confirmation as director – that the administration would attempt to use the bureau to pursue its political enemies.

“Donald Trumpf just named far-right MAGA podcaster Dan Bongino, a notorious conspiracy theorist who promoted the lie that the 2020 election was ‘stolen,’ to serve as Deputy Director of the FBI. God help us all,” posted the X account Republicans Against Trumpf.

Third, the man on top.

President Trumpf finally met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leader of America’s greatest ally, but he didn’t know what AUKUS meant. The journalist asked because China is conducting naval wargames in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. Click here and watch:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1895189082529243418

Fourth, the man behind Trumpf.

Addressing FSB officers (Russian intelligence), President Vladimir Putin declares “victory.” Click here and read the translation if you don’t understand Russian:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1895123888943546538

What would this man below say about the state of US national security today?

Gabbard moves to fire 100+ intel officers over explicit chat messages

https://globalextremism.org/post/tulsi-gabbard/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/24/dan-bongino-fbi-deputy-director

Mystery Illness Kills 50 in Democratic Republic of Congo

 DRC has a population of 115,403,027 people and GDP per capita is $1,500. (Source: CIA) 

An unknown illness first discovered in three children who ate a bat has rapidly killed more than 50 people in northwestern Congo over the past five weeks.

The interval between the onset of symptoms – which include fever, vomiting and internal bleeding – and death has been 48 hours in most cases.

These “hemorrhagic fever” symptoms are commonly linked to known deadly viruses, such as Ebola, dengue, Marburg and yellow fever, but researchers have ruled these out based on tests of more than a dozen samples collected so far.

The latest disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on 21 Jan with 419 cases recorded and 53 deaths. The outbreak began in the village of Boloko after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours.

There have long been concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where wild animals are popularly eaten. The number of such outbreaks in Africa has surged by more than 60% in the last decade, the WHO said in 2022.

After the second outbreak of the mystery disease began in the village of Bomate on 9 Feb, samples from 13 cases were sent to the National Institute for Biomedical Research in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, for testing, the WHO said. All samples were negative for common hemorrhagic fever diseases, although some tested positive for malaria. Last year, another mystery flu-like illness that killed dozens of people in another part of Congo was determined likely to be malaria.

Scientists have found one-fifth of the Ebolavirus genome in a greater long-fingered bat captured near an abandoned Liberian mineshaft. (Photo: © Ivkuzmin/Dreamstime.com)

Bats are basically virus reservoirs, immune to the pathogens they unintentionally carry. In DRC, poverty, food insecurity, and mass internal refugees are contributing to the spread of these zoonotic diseases.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/25/health/congo-mystery-illness/index.html

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7228346/#jzo12769-sec-0002

Belgium: China Hacked Intelligence Service

The Belgian federal prosecutor started a probe into alleged Chinese hacking of Belgium’s intelligence service VSSE in Nov 2023. The prosecutor added that it had received an accusation filed by VSSE in relation to the case.

Hackers allegedly linked to Chinese espionage had exploited a breach in an American cyber company and gained access to 10% of the Belgian intelligence service’s emails. While classified data remained safe, the personal information of nearly half of the Belgian service’s members may have been compromised.

 Francisca Bostyn, Administrator General of Belgium State Security. (Photo: Public domain)

Belgian counterintelligence services have their hands full as Brussels is a hotspot for espionage with so many international organizations based there, including NATO and the EU. Besides dealing with organized crime, Russian spies, and the potential of jihadist terrorism as a former colonial power, the VSSE must contend with Chinese espionage and an untrustworthy ally in the US. That an American cyber company was involved in the breach is not a surprise as these contractors have been previously cited in the US for poor security protocols in their systems.

Sources:

https://www.nextgov.com/ideas/2024/10/americas-defense-contractors-are-failing-basic-cybersecurity-and-china-exploiting-it/400596/

https://www.reuters.com/world/belgian-prosecutor-probes-alleged-chinese-hacking-intelligence-service-2025-02-26/

Click to access vsse_intelligence_report_2024_en.pdf

Afghanistan: Taliban Using Modern Surveillance Systems

Thousands of cameras are now being used to monitor the movements of Kabul residents. (Photo: BBC)

The BBC reports:

“In a crowded control center, surrounded by dozens of TV screens, the Taliban’s police force proudly shows off its newly-acquired network of 90,000 CCTV cameras – used to watch over the day-to-day lives of millions of people.

“We monitor the entire city of Kabul from here,” says Khalid Zadran, a spokesperson for the Taliban police chief, pointing to one of the screens.

The authorities say such surveillance will help fight crime, but critics fear it will be used to clamp down on dissent and to monitor the strict morality code enforced by the Islamist Taliban government under their interpretation of Sharia law.

The BBC are the first international journalists allowed to see the system in action.

Inside the control room, police officers sit in rows watching the live streams from thousands of cameras, keeping tabs on the lives of the six million people who live in Kabul.

From car license plates to facial expressions, everything is monitored.”

Taliban spokesperson Khalid Zadran says the surveillance system is being used to reduce crime. (Photo: BBC)

The Taliban apparently monitor their own personnel with these cameras. Human rights groups are concerned that this unwarranted surveillance will be used to suppress dissent, especially against women who are forced to wear face coverings when in public and are prevented from employment or higher education. No doubt the cameras are from China who has established ties with Kabul and opened a rail link into the landlocked country.

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjev9kzxeqqo

Ukraine-Russia Update

Spy Convicted for Treason

The Security Service of Ukraine reported the conviction of an unnamed 33-year-old resident of the city of Novohrodivka, Donetsk region, who worked for the Russian FSB and passed on intelligence on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Detained last year, the court sentenced her to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The investigation established that the FSB agent passed to the enemy the geolocations of fortified areas, checkpoints and artillery positions of Ukrainian troops in the hottest direction of the front — Pokrovske.

To collect information, the traitor traveled hundreds of kilometers in fixed-route taxis to the areas of Kurakhove, Myrnohrad, Novohrodivka, Selydove and Mykhailivka, where she covertly recorded the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and transmitted their coordinates to her Russian handler via messenger.

Russian Antiwar Critic Arrested

Ekaterina Barabash, Russian film critic, who was put under house arrest in Moscow for ‘fake news’ about war in Ukraine. (Facebook)

Independent Russian film critic Ekaterina Barabash was placed under house arrest by a Moscow court for posting “fake news” on her Facebook account about the war in Ukraine, her son Yurii Barabash reported on Facebook on 26 Feb.

Detained by the Russian Investigative Committee on 23 Feb, Barabash will remain under house arrest until April 25. The Russian Investigative Committee, which is supposed to probe serious federal crimes, claimed in a Telegram post on 26 Feb that Barabash “admitted her guilt in full” during an interrogation.

Crackdowns on freedom of expression in Russia have only intensified since the start of Moscow’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

Born in Kharkiv, Barabash is the daughter of a famous Ukrainian literary scholar. For speaking out in support of Ukraine fighting against a war of total annihilation, the 63-year-old could face a financial fine of up to five million rubles ($57,500) or up to ten years in prison.

Over 10,000 Ukrainian Youth Apply for Military Contracts

Young soldiers of the “Da Vinci Wolves” battalion who recently joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine undergo training before being sent to the front in Ukraine on 8 Apr 2024. (Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images)

Ukraine’s military has received over 10,000 applications from volunteer recruits aged 18 to 24 following the introduction of lucrative “special contracts.”

The contracts, aimed at recruiting additional military personnel who are not subject to mobilization, provide a number of benefits, including a Hr 1 million ($24,000) annual salary, 0% interest mortgage rates, and free higher education.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry also said those who complete one year of service would be allowed to travel abroad. Currently, with a few exemptions, all men aged 18-60 are prohibited from travelling overseas while martial law is in place.

US lawmakers and NATO allies have continuously urged Ukraine to lower its draft age from 25 to 18 to address manpower shortages. Currently, Ukrainian men aged 25 to 60 are subject to conscription. But you previously read here on Coriolanus, Ukrainians are loathe to send young men under 25 to war as this is their weakest demographic cadre after the fall of the USSR and subsequent mass exoduses.

Source:

https://kyivindependent.com/

Mexico Extradites 29 Drug Traffickers to US

Drug traffickers Miguel Ángel Treviño and Rafael Caro Quintero in a photo composition. (Photo: Miguel Dimayuga / AP / Proceso)

Mexico has extradited 29 drug traffickers who were being held in different prisons across the country to the US on Thursday, according to the Mexican attorney general’s office. Among the 29 are the former leaders of the Los Zetas cartel, Miguel Ángel and Omar Treviño Morales, known as Z-40 and Z-42. As well as Rafael Caro Quintero, former head of the Guadalajara Cartel, and José Ángel Canobbio, alias El Güerito, a lieutenant of Los Chapitos, one of the factions of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Mexican Drug Cartels Areas of Operation

The extraditions come in the midst of negotiations between Mexico and the US, due to Washington’s intention to apply a 25% tariff on Mexican exports. Since he took office on 20 January, US President Donald Trumpf– America’s Godzilla — has threatened several times to apply the levy on the entry of Mexican products into the country, a threat based on drug trafficking north of the border, mainly in the form of fentanyl, and the migratory flow that reaches the southern US states. America’s Godzilla reiterated that the tariffs will be applied as of 4 Mar, after a one-month moratorium.

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum (Photo: Office of the President)

The newly-elected and popular President Sheinbaum is on a tight-rope, balancing dealing with America’s Godzilla to the north who is threatening her country with punitive economic sanctions, while upholding Mexico’s cherished sovereignty, uplifting her people out of poverty, and not offending the dangerous drug cartels. The tragedy of her position is that the fault lies with the US, not Mexico. America’s insatiable demand for drugs, particularly fentanyl, is fueling organized crime on both sides of the border. Moreover, the flow of illegal weapons into Mexico from the US is fueling an abominable homicide rate in her country. The Mexican people call it the “Iron River.” There is only one firearm store in the entirety of Mexico, located on a military base outside the capital, yet globally, Mexico is one of six countries with the highest level of firearm mortality. These weapons originate in the US and Mexico has threatened lawsuits against US firearm manufacturers. As you read here on Coriolanus, 2,600 Americans have been arrested in Mexico over the last six years for various offenses involving smuggling and organized crime.

Footnote: The previous President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador travelled without a professional bodyguard detail for the entire length of his five-year tenure without a single incident. Below he was photographed with his commercial plane stuck on a tarmac. Whether President Sheinbaum will employ a bodyguard detail from the Mexican Army after the extraditions of these cartel members is not clear.

President López Obrador said it would be embarrassing to board “a luxurious presidential plane in a country where there is so much poverty.” (Photo: Reuters, 21 Sep 2018).

Sources:

Stop US Arms to Mexico – www.stopusarmstomexico.org

https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-02-27/mexico-extradites-29-drug-traffickers-to-the-united-states-including-the-leaders-of-los-zetas.html

Golden Retriever Puppy Steals Ducklings

Trumpf Continues Purging Pentagon of Competent Leadership to Putin’s Delight

President Donald Trumpf continued purging the Defense Department of experienced, capable leaders through his inept and alcoholic SECDEF “Whiskey Pete” Hegseth. The latest victim is a 40-year veteran of the US Navy and someone easily qualified to be the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff CJCS). Admiral Lisa Franchetti spent roughly half of her 40-year career at sea, commanding a destroyer, two carrier strike groups and the US Sixth Fleet. She was the first female officer to rise to the Navy’s top job of Chief of Naval Operations.

Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the US Chief of Naval Operations, during a media conference in Perth, Australia, in July 2024. (Photo: Richard Wainwright/EPA, via Shutterstock)

The announcement came in a statement emailed to reporters Friday night, shortly after President Trumpf said he was firing Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

“Whiskey Pete” Hegseth said in his statement that he would also replace Gen. James C. Slife, the Air Force’s vice chief of staff, as well as the top uniformed lawyers for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. was the 21st Joints Chiefs of Staff Chairman. (Photo: United States Air Force)

Trumpf and Hegseth are firing competent commanders because they are minorities and competent and will weaken US national security. The purge of civilian and military inspectors-general, as well the military’s top lawyers, signals a dark future era of unaccountability within the DOD which already has trouble with contractor corruption, bribery, cost overruns, etc. Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, and Sailors fighting discrimination will not find sympathetic voices with the Trumpf-Hegseth appointed Inspector-Generals or Judge Advocate Generals (JAGs).

‘The US Is Doing Russia’s Work’ Say Ecstatic Propagandists

Putin’s media mouthpieces are in a lather of excitement over Trumpf’s recent moves, including abandoning Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky.

Coriolanus completed several tours with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and will be perfectly blunt. “Whiskey Pete” Hegseth is an alcoholic, misogynist US Army National Guard officer who never made it past the rank of Major. He is neither competent nor experienced enough to qualify as an aide-de-camp to Admiral Franchetti or General Brown, let alone lead the world’s most powerful military. This dipsomaniac and Trumpf sycophant didn’t have the courage to fire General Brown or Admiral Franchetti in person.

A national disgrace leads the US Department of Defense.

Below are screen captures of “Whiskey Pete” Hegseth hurling an axe at a target during his Fox TV show. The axe would strike and injure a US Army NCO playing in the military band behind the barrier.

“Whiskey Pete” Hegseth was later sued over this idiotic incident.

The US proposed its own UN resolution marking the third anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine after refusing to back one drafted by Kiev and backed by Europe. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described it as “a simple, historic resolution … that we urge all member states to support in order to chart a path to peace.”

The draft US resolution does not condemn Russia as the aggressor in the conflict, nor does it make any acknowledgement of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. “This resolution is consistent with President Trumpf’s view that the UN must return to its founding purpose, as enshrined in the UN Charter, to maintain international peace and security, including through the peaceful settlement of disputes,” Rubio’s statement said.

No wonder Russian President Vladimir Putin is thrilled with his intelligence asset, America’s Godzilla, who is destroying US institutions through DOGE, appointing incompetent cabinet secretaries, while firing thousands of capable civil servants in health, aviation safety, forestry management, agricultural surveillance, environmental protection, and nuclear weapons security.

How much destruction will America’s Godzilla wreak in four years on behalf of Vladimir Putin?

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/22/politics/ukraine-war-us-proposes-un-resolution/index.html

Update: Ukraine-Russia

Front Page of the Rightwing New York Post ( 21 Feb 2025)

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he was willing to step down if it meant peace in Ukraine. His remark came days after President Trumpf questioned his legitimacy and called him a “dictator without elections,” echoing a Kremlin talking point.

“If it brings peace to Ukraine, and if you need me to step down — I am ready,” Mr. Zelensky said during a news conference on Sunday, on the eve of the third anniversary of the war. “Second, I can exchange this for NATO.”

This is a highly unlikely scenario given Trumpf’s opposition to allowing Ukraine into the military alliance. EU leaders are meeting for an extraordinary summit on 6 Mar to discuss additional support for Ukraine, European security guarantees and how to pay for European defense needs.

Cuban Mercenaries Fighting for Kremlin

(Image: RFE/RL.org)

Cuban mercenaries have been fighting for Russia, like Frank Dario Jarrosay Manfuga (36) above who joined Russia’s army in Jan 2024 and was captured in Mar 2024.

A former geography teacher he later became a professional musician to increase his income.
“I never intended to kill anyone. I never wanted to participate in a war. I have a family,” said Manfuga, who claimed he was tricked into boarding a Russia-bound plane with the promise of a job in construction. He has no desire to return to Russia or Cuba and Manfuga’s claim that he was duped could not be verified.

An estimated 5,000 Cuban soldiers are fighting for Russia,” Orlando Gutierrez-Boronat, co-founder of the Cuban Democratic Directorate, a US-based NGO advocating for democratic change in communist Cuba reported. “This network could not function without the Cuban regime’s approval.” Unlike North Koreans, Cuban fighters in Russia have left a significant social media footprint, with many openly embracing the Kremlin’s militarism and ideology.

Putin Promotes War Criminal

Unindicted war criminal Major-General Sergei Atroshchenko.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has promoted Sergei Atroshchenko, who ordered the bombing of a drama theater in Mariupol on 16 Mar 2022, to the rank of Major-General.

The AP reports as many 600 Ukrainians were killed in a deliberate strike against defenseless civilians. (Photo: CNN)

After occupying Mariupol, Russian forces began demolishing the drama theater building to destroy evidence of the war crime.

Ukrainian Security Services Prevent Assassination

The Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police detained a saboteur who prepared a terrorist attack in the center of Odessa on 20 Feb.

The saboteur set up an IED near the car of the special prosecutor. Law enforcement officers pursued and detained the perpetrator, an 18-year-old resident of Odessa. He was recruited by Russian intelligence through a Telegram channel in search for “easy” money. On the instructions of the Russian special services, the saboteur personally constructed an improvised explosive device (IED) with a capacity of 300g in TNT equivalent.

To increase the lethality, the suspect stuffed the explosives with metal nuts and planted it under the military prosecutor’s car. Opposite the “target”, the attacker installed a hidden mobile phone with a remote access function for the FSB. Later, the Russian special service remotely activated the explosives, injuring a passer-by.

During exploitation of the crime scene, a mobile phone with evidence of his communication with his Russian handlers was seized from the detainee.

President Zelensky is capable, competent, and clever, a genuine national leader who cares about the future of his people. Ukrainian secret services continue to thwart Russian assassination attempts within their homeland. This suspect, like other young miscreants, prepared the IED for money, not out of love for Mother Russia or hatred of Ukraine. No doubt that Major-General Sergei Atroshchenko is on the Special Prosecutor’s list or in the cross-hairs of the Ukrainian espionage network for either justice or vengeance. Ukrainian military intelligence has previously liquidated HVT war criminals within Russia. The case of the Cuban mercenaries underscores their need for money and loyalty to Russia, as well as demonstrating that Moscow still needs manpower. Lastly, the question of American mercenaries fighting for Russia emerges as some are fugitives from US justice. How will they be treated by the US government at the end of hostilities?

Two criminals in love. Benjamin Netanyahu would complete the menage-a-trois.

Sources:

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-cuban-recruits-fighters-ukraine-mercenaries/33315782.html

https://english.nv.ua/nation/putin-promotes-atroshchenko-to-military-general-after-mariupol-theater-bombing-50492041.html

https://ssu.gov.ua/novyny/sbu-ta-natspolitsiia-po-hariachykh-slidakh-zatrymaly-ahenta-fsb-yakyi-na-zamovlennia-rf-pidirvav-avto-viiskovoho-prokurora-v-odesi


https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-leaders-meet-extraordinary-summit-ukraine-eu-defence-march-6-2025-02-23/

US Bloodbath: No End in Sight to America’s Undeclared War on Itself

General Garibaldi’s red shirts prevailed over the Army of the Two Sicilies in the Battle of Volturno (Oct 1860. (Courtesy of Peter Dennis)

In the past 48 hours several shootings terrorized and killed American citizens, including police officers, throughout different parts of the US.

Louisville, Kentucky

Police work the scene of a shooting outside a driver’s licensing office in Louisville, Kentucky, 21 Feb 2025. (Source: WHAS TV)

Three people were shot and killed in a parking lot outside a driver’s licensing office in Louisville, Kentucky. A male victim died at the scene while two female victims died at a hospital. No suspect is in custody and the shooter fled the scene. Authorities didn’t discuss any potential connection between the victims.

“There does not seem to be a public threat,” police said at a news conference, even though the murderer was on the loose.

In an average year, 827 people die and 1,857 are wounded by guns in Kentucky. The Bluegrass State has the 11th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. Gun deaths and injuries cost Kentucky $9.6 billion each year, of which $183.4 million is paid by taxpayers. In Kentucky, 54.6% of adults have firearms at home. Licenses in 2021: 108,833

York, Pennsylvania

Patrolman Andrew Duarte had served with the West York Borough Police Department for over two years and previously served with the Denver Police Department for five years. This was a good-looking young man who seemed quite happy. (Photo: public domain)

Officer Andrew Duarte died while responding to a 10:43AM call about an active threat at UPMC Hospital in York, Pennsylvania.

No patients were injured during the shooting, and the five-story, 104-bed hospital has been secured, according to a statement by Pennsylvania State Police. It’s unclear if there were any other injuries.

“At this time, the shooter is deceased and there is no danger to the public. The hospital is secured,” police said.

In an average year, 1,759 people die and 4,020 are wounded by guns in Pennsylvania. The Keystone State has the 20th highest rate of gun violence in the US. Pennsylvania firearm licenses in 2021: 348,167. An estimated 40.7% of adults in Pennsylvania have guns in their homes.

Virginia Beach, Virginia

VBPO Cameron Girvin. He seemed like a happy person. No photo available of VBPO Christopher Reese.

Police Officers Christopher “Chris” Reese and Cameron Girvin were shot while conducting a traffic stop at Sylvan Court at approximately 2330 Friday evening.

“While on patrol Officer Reese and Officer Girvin observed a car with an expired plate and executed a traffic stop. During the traffic stop the officers asked the subject to exit the vehicle and the subject refused; when finally exiting the vehicle the subject “tussled” with the officers and immediately produced a pistol, shooting both Officer Reese and Officer Girvin. While the officers were incapacitated and on the ground, the subject shot each officer a second time and then fled the scene. The subject was found in a shed near the initial scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

First responders attempted life-saving procedures and both officers were transported to local hospitals but would succumb to their wounds.”

Nota Bene: Coriolanus does not like the use of the word “tussled” as any local or federal judge would immediately question the definition of the word and what exactly transpired between the police officers and the suspect (who was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound).

In an average year, 1,065 people die and 1,911 are wounded by guns in Virginia. Around 44.6% of adults in Virginia have guns at home. Federal firearm licenses: 423,707.

Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico

Security Forces members assigned to the 377th Security Forces Squadron responded to an incident at approximately 2AM Saturday, 22 Feb resulting in a shooting incident. One Airman received a nonfatal gunshot wound to the hand and was transported to UNM Medical Center for treatment. He has since been released with no life-threatening injuries.

The other Airman was found dead at the scene. The cause of death and the incident remains under investigation by local authorities. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations was leading the probe along with the FBI and Albuquerque PD. Authorities said there is currently no threat to the public, even though the suspect remains at large.

In an average year, 433 people die and 618 are wounded by guns in New Mexico. The “Land of Enchantment State” has the 12th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. In New Mexico, 46.2% of adults have at least one gun at home. Firearms licenses in 2021: 122,968

Indiana

Trinity Shockley (18) Credit: Morgan County Sheriff’s Office

Last week, an 18-year-old from Mooresville, Indiana, was arrested for allegedly planning a mass school shooting at Mooresville High School. The Mooresville Metropolitan Police Department received information around 7PM 11 Feb from the FBI about someone who was potentially planning a school shooting on 14 Feb 2025.

During the department’s investigation, officers identified the person of interest as Trinity Shockley, of Mooresville. Court documents say Trinity is transgender, going by the name Jamie. Someone called the FBI and reported that Trinity was planning a shooting and that she had access to an AR-15 and ordered a bulletproof vest.

This is a catastrophe averted. The student reportedly had expressed admiration for other mass shooters, including Nikolas Cruz, who murdered 17 people and wounded 17 others at Parkland High School, Florida on 14 Feb 2018.

In an average year, 1,111 people die and 1,556 are wounded by guns in Indiana. Indiana has the 30th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. Indiana firearm licenses in 2021: 157,546. In Indiana, 44.8% of adults have at least one firearm at home.

NRA-rated A+ Republican US Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at the 2015 CPAC convention. (Photo: Adweek)

In 2022, the CDC reported the US suffered 48,000 gun-related homicides. These are wartime casualty numbers. Every day 327 people are shot in the US. Of those, on average, 117 will die. By contrast in 2023 the entire country of Canada with approximately 41.6m people suffered 289 homicides by firearms. That averages to less than one firearm-related murder per day.

The US government may wish to consider deploying US Army medics or US Navy Corpsmen like the soldiers below throughout the country to triage and treat her daily casualties, like a warzone.

(Photo: US Army)

Unless America does something drastic and soon, her undeclared war with herself will reach 50,000 annual gun deaths possibly in 2025 or 2026. But remarkably, America’s Godzilla is doing the exact opposite. Trumpf recently signed an Executive Order reversing federal firearm regulations, making purchasing guns easier.

Sources:

https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/indiana/18-year-old-charged-allegedly-planning-mass-shooting-mooresville-high-school-trinity-shockley/531-3ab9d4e1-1d0c-4948-a6e3-289847054be5

Click to access Gun-Violence-in-Indiana-2024-05.pdf

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/gun-ownership-rates-by-state/41/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/protecting-second-amendment-rights/

Click to access Gun-Violence-in-New-Mexico-1.pdf


https://www.kirtland.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4074588/one-airman-dead-and-another-hospitalized-outside-kirtland-release-2/

Click to access Gun-Violence-in-Virginia-2024-05.pdf

https://www.odmp.org/

South Carolina Convict to be Killed in First Firing Squad Execution in 15 Years

Brad Sigmon. (Photo: Courtesy of Brad Sigmon legal team)

“A South Carolina man on death row has chosen to be killed by firing squad, and if his execution goes forward next month, it would be the first time in 15 years that capital punishment in the US is carried out by gunfire. Brad Sigmon (67) is scheduled to be shot to death on 7 Mar, part of a spate of rapid killings the state has pursued in the last six months as it revives executions after a 13-year pause.

South Carolina now directs those on death row to choose how they will be killed — electric chair, lethal injection or shooting. If they decline to make a selection, the state electrocutes them. Attorneys for men on South Carolina’s death row have previously objected to firing squads, raising concerns about the pain caused by shootings and arguing the method constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. But Sigmon selected a firing squad in part because of concerns about the state’s lethal injection methods, his attorneys said.”

Utah and Idaho are also considering the use of firing squads (I wrote an OP about this several weeks ago). One rifleman is anonymously given a powerful blank cartridge so he can think that he wasn’t the one who killed the prisoner. (Photo: NY Post / Shutterstock)

Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/21/brad-sigmon-death-penalty-firing-squad

Australia Warns Airlines to Beware of Chinese Navy Live-Fire Exercise

Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and auxiliary ships. (Photo: navalnews.com)

Australia warned international airlines flying between Australian airports and New Zealand to beware of Chinese warships conducting a live-fire exercise in the Tasman Sea.

Regulator Airservices Australia had warned commercial pilots of a potential hazard in airspace between the countries as three Chinese warships conduct exercises off the Australian east coast.

Several international flights had diverted as a result.

“It would be normal practice where a task group is engaging in exercises for there to be advice given to vessels and aircraft in the area and Airservices Australia is doing what it should do, which is to give that advice,” Australian FM Penny Wong said.

Australia was discussing with China about the notification and transparency around its naval exercises, “particularly live-fire exercises,” Wong said.

Australian military ships and planes have been monitoring the Chinese warships for days as they pass in international waters off the Australian east coast.

The Royal Australian Navy Fleet consists of 27 commissioned ships and 11 non-commissioned ships manned by 16,000 officers and seamen; 4,600 in the reserves. The Chinese navy has 384,000 active personnel manning 788 ships and 600 aircraft.

Civil aviation has paid the price of flying near active military warzones Russia shot down a Malaysian Airlines several years ago, as well as an Azerbaijani Airways flight recently. This warning and quarantine zone is an obvious safety measure from Canberra. Conducting live fire drills in this vicinity is clearly a provocation from Beijing. Since Australia and New Zealand are allies of the US, perhaps China is testing the reaction from Trumpf.

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/australia-warns-airlines-beware-chinese-navy-live-fire-119033470

https://www.airservicesaustralia.com/

Inside Britain’s Fascist Fight Clubs: Secret Footage Shows Far-Right Group Preparing for ‘Race War’

“A white supremacist group masquerading as a fitness club has been secretly working to build a far-right militia, holding training sessions in plain sight.

An undercover investigation by ITV News has revealed how ‘Active Club England’ is following a blueprint established by neo-Nazi networks in the US and Europe, using extreme fitness and fraternity as a front to recruit and radicalize members for a so-called “race war”.

ITV News has uncovered how a recruitment drive in the wake of the 2024 summer riots attracted dozens of new members. By capitalizing on social unrest, the group expanded to more than 100 members, with one branch drawing enough new followers to begin fortnightly training sessions at a park in Vauxhall, south London, just steps from MI6 headquarters.”

Last year Scotland Yard’s counter-terror chief reported a “startling” rise in the number of children in London becoming lured into terrorist activity with arrests now running at double the 20-year average.

Fight club members regularly took part in boxing training sessions in London and had to meet strict fitness standards. (Credit: ITV News)

Jay Barlow was sentenced in Sep 2024 for the possession of a knife and a racist offence against a police officer. (Credit: Metropolitan Police)

Rundo was arrested in a Romanian gym in 2023. (Credit: X/@Shtuni)

From 30 Jul to 5 Aug 2024, [a] far-right, anti-immigration protests and riots occurred in England and Northern Ireland.

There are hundreds of these right wing maniacs ready to commit violence against immigrants, people of color, Muslims, and Jews in the UK, and many have already sone so. Worse, these neo-Nazis are preparing for an ominous “race war.” One thug laments on the difficulties of obtaining firearms in the UK, unlike the ease found in other countries. Britain’s MI5 and Scotland Yard have their hands full dealing with these dangerous lunatics. The Kremlin has been linked to supporting rightwing, white supremacist groups throughout Europe and no doubt Elon Musk’s social platforms are facilitating their hate messages.

Watch the video here: https://www.itv.com/news/2025-02-11/undercover-footage-shows-far-right-group-preparing-for-race-war

Source:

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/terrorism-arrests-children-london-far-right-islam-metropolitan-police-b1129874.html

Is This A Woman or a Man?

Ms. Hunter Schafer (Getty Images)

“Hunter Schafer, a transgender woman and star of hit HBO teen drama Euphoria, has said a new US passport lists her as male, despite selecting female when she filled out the paperwork. Ms. Schafer said she changed her gender markers for her driver’s license and passports when she was a teenager, but that her birth certificate was never amended. The US State Department, which issues passports, says on its website that it will “only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer’s biological sex at birth.”

America’s Godzilla reversed the US State Dept policy which previously allowed a citizen to mark “X” under gender for their passport.

Thailand has long recognized a third gender called Kathoeys or “Ladyboys.”

So are DHS airport inspectors or border patrol agents at the Ports of Entry (POE) going to conduct strip searches or genetic tests on Ms. Schafer or kathoeys from Thailand?

Whatever happened to the time-honored American tradition of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?”

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4klq45ngvo

Cat in Shelter Was Sad So He Was Sent to Nursing Home

Donald Trumpf is America’s Godzilla

Salon writes: ‘Trumpf’s First Week: “Designed to destroy the US from within.”

During the first ten days of his second term, Trumpf’s dozens of executive orders and edicts have included “freeing virtually all of his supporters who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, attempting to nullify the 14th Amendment and end birthright citizenship, declaring a national emergency on the US-Mexico border, launching nationwide raids against undocumented immigrants and their communities as part of ‘the largest deportation plan in American history,’ escalating attacks on the LGBTQ community, closing down government programs and offices focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, withdrawing from both the World Health Organization and the Paris climate accord, and throwing out many other changes made by the Biden administration regarding the environment, the economy, education and other areas.”

As well as handing over the federal government to gluttonous oligarch racist Elon Musk and his DOGE and moving to eliminate USAID and the EPA, Trumpf fired dedicated FBI agents who had investigated Jan 6 insurrectionists. Recall that at the 2018 Helsinki Summit, Trumpf sided with Russia’s FSB over America’s FBI and CIA.

To bypass the immigration court system for his massive deportation plan, Trumpf intends to implement the obscure 1798 Alien Enemies Act, last used to justify internment camps for people of Japanese, German, and Italian descent during World War Two.

Yes they are, but not to white supremacists like Donald Trumpf, Elon Musk, and Republicans

After Trumpf announced that he was slapping tariffs on Canadian goods, hockey fans in both Ottawa and Calgary responded by booing the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ before their respective hockey games. Trumpf said Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China. The Wall Street Journal wrote the tariffs ‘Makes No Sense,’ savaging it as the ‘Dumbest Trade War in History.’ In retaliation, Ontario Premier Doug Ford “ripped up” Ontario’s nearly $100 million contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink in the wake of US tariffs on virtually all Canadian goods. Several Canadian provinces removed US wines from their shelves.

The effects of the Dotard-in-Chief’s imbecilic policies had an immediate effect on the world economy. On 3 Feb, the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded more than 500 points lower at the open. The S&P 500 shed 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.9%. Crude oil jumped 2% on concern of supply disruptions in North America from the new tariffs.

Followers of the Watch, Coriolanus is doing his utmost best to keep up with America’s Godzilla as he destroys the US and sows discord between Canada, NATO, and the EU on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the global billionaire oligarchy.

Sources:

https://www.salon.com/2025/01/30/first-week-designed-to-destroy-the-united-states-from-within/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ford-ripping-up-province-contract-with-starlink-1.7448763

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canadian-hockey-fans-boo-us-national-anthem-calgary-ottawa

https://apnews.com/article/stock-market-trump-tariffs-5f365936ea9bdf45a0460556f3a5f4e8

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-plans-invoke-obscure-18th-century-wartime-law-bid-mass-deportations-2025-02-03/

German General Warns: “We Are No Longer at Peace”

German Alexander Sollfrank, Commander of the Operational Command of the Bundeswehr.

The commander of the German military’s newly established Operational Command, Alexander Sollfrank, warned of increasing Russian attempts to disrupt life in Germany in an interview with dpa. There have been “intrusion attempts” into facilities of the Bundeswehr, as Germany’s military is known, as well as drone sightings.

“We are no longer at peace. We are observing hostile activities against the Bundeswehr in Germany, against infrastructure, including spying.”

Last year US and German counterintelligence agents foiled a Russian assassination attempt on Armin Papperger, the CEO of an arms manufacturer sending weapons to Ukraine. The plot was one of a series of Russian plans to assassinate defense industry executives across Europe who were supporting Ukraine’s war effort.

Western intelligence agency cooperation saved Armin Papperger’s life.

NATO continues to maintain a high alert level for Russian sabotage and espionage.

In the latest incident over the weekend, an undersea cable between Sweden and Latvia, which is used by the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), was damaged, although the exact cause remains still unclear. The authorities in Stockholm are investigating possible serious sabotage and have detained a suspicious vessel.

Undersea cables are vulnerable to damage by large heavy anchors. (Source: TeleGeography, “Submarine Cable Map”, 20 May 2022)

In a separate German interview with Bild, NATO Chief Mark Rutte has said he has ideas about any future peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow that are a “little secret,” but will ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin will “never try again” to conquer Ukraine.

“We must ensure that (Putin) can never, ever again conquer even one square kilometer of Ukraine,” the NATO chief replied, adding the most important thing for NATO to do right now is to support Kyiv with weapons and training for its soldiers.

Rutte went on to say that if Ukraine decides to enter peace talks, it will then have to bring Putin to the negotiating table.

“I can’t describe to you exactly how these talks will go,” Rutte said, adding: “I already have ideas about what this composition could look like. But we don’t want to make Putin any smarter than he already is. We’re making it a little secret.”

“The front is moving in the wrong direction. But at what price?,” the NATO Chief advised, adding, the Russians are paying for it with 1,000 to 1,500 people a day who are dying or seriously wounded. And yet the Russians are not achieving their goals.”

“Only the end is certain — Putin will never try again after this,” Rutte concluded.

Thanks to the devastating UK-manufactured and supplied Storm Shadow drone weapon system, NATO has given Ukraine a fighting chance.

These interviews are for German public consumption as the only language the Kremlin understands is action or force. But demonstrating confidence and unity against Russia is welcome, especially in the light that a Vladimir Putin protege now occupies the White House. NATO is signaling they are stepping up to fill the imminent void the US will be leaving.

Despite Trumpf’s efforts, the ICC has outstanding international arrest warrants issued for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes.

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

Sources:

https://kyivindependent.com/putin-will-never-try-again-after-this-nato-chief-has-secret-ideas-for-ukraine-peace-talks/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/german-general-warns-russian-meddling-111425881.html

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/11/politics/us-germany-foiled-russian-assassination-plot/index.html

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_225230.htm

Former Federal Reserve Senior Adviser Indicted For Economic Espionage

John Harold Rogers (63) of Vienna, VA, a former Senior Adviser for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (FRB), was arrested on charges that he conspired to steal Federal Reserve trade secrets for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

In furtherance of the conspiracy, Rogers allegedly made false statements to the Federal Reserve Board Office of Inspector General, and those false statements had a material impact on its investigation.

John Harold Rogers. Do you wonder if this Judas is smiling today? (Photo: Social media)

“As alleged, the defendant violated the trust placed in him by the Federal Reserve Bank by putting US trade secrets in the hands of his PRC co-conspirators, knowing full well that such information would benefit the PRC Government and PRC instrumentalities.”

“The Chinese Communist Party has expanded its economic espionage campaign to target US government financial policies and trade secrets in an effort to undermine the US and become the sole superpower.”

Rogers, a US citizen with a Ph.D. in Economics, worked as a Senior Adviser in the Division of International Finance of the FRB from 2010 until 2021, where he was entrusted with confidential FRB information. The confidential information that Rogers allegedly shared with his Chinese co-conspirators, who worked for the intelligence and security apparatus of China and who posed as graduate students at a PRC university, is economically valuable when secret.

China holds a large amount of US foreign debt (approximately $816 billion as of Oct 2024). The data Rogers shared with his co-conspirators could allow China to manipulate the US market, in a manner similar to insider trading. Gaining advance knowledge of US economic policy, including advance knowledge of changes to the federal funds rate, could provide China with an advantage when selling or buying US bonds or securities.

The indictment alleges that from at least 2018, Rogers allegedly exploited his employment with the FRB by soliciting trade-secret information regarding proprietary economic data sets, deliberations about tariffs targeting China, briefing books for designated governors, and sensitive information about Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) deliberations and forthcoming announcements. He passed that information electronically to his personal email account, in violation of FRB policy, or printed it prior to traveling to China, in preparation for meetings with his co-conspirators. Under the guise of teaching “classes,” Rogers met with his co-conspirators in hotel rooms in China where he conveyed sensitive, trade-secret information that belonged to the FRB and the FOMC.

In 2023, Rogers was paid approximately $450,000 as a part-time professor at a Chinese university.

On 4 Feb 2020, in response to questioning by the Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board, Rogers lied about his accessing and passage of sensitive information and his associations with his co-conspirators.

Rogers is charged with conspiracy to commit economic espionage and with making false statements. Conspiracy to commit economic espionage carries a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $5 million. Making false statements carries a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison.

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

John Harold Rogers (63) threw his life away for 30 pieces of silver.

As the British Empire gave way to the US and the Cold War with the USSR emerged after WWII, China now wishes to be new world hegemon. But in reality, the struggle is between global billionaire oligarchs versus the masses.

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/former-senior-adviser-federal-reserve-indicted-charges-economic-espionage

US Mercenary Firms to Take Charge of Key Gaza Checkpoints as Part of Ceasefire

Palestinians make their way back to their homes in northern Gaza. (Photo: Ramadan Abed / Reuters)

US “private security” contractors will deploy armed guards to Gaza and inspect vehicles of Palestinians returning to their homes in the north via an Israeli-installed checkpoint that divides the strip into two parts.

Citing two Israeli officials and a source with direct knowledge, Axios reported that the planned deployment is expected to start in the coming days.

The two US companies, Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) and UG Solutions, will operate a checkpoint on the Netzarim corridor, a key road south of Gaza City. Salaries for these ex-US Army Special Forces soldiers, Rangers, or USN Seals will probably range from $1,000 to $1,500 per day.

Israeli forces set up the Netzarim corridor, which divides the Gaza Strip into two halves, during its war on the strip to prevent displaced Palestinians from returning to the northern part.

The deployment was negotiated as part of the ceasefire agreement, brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar, between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. It aimed to solve a key sticking point around the movement of displaced Palestinians back to northern Gaza.

“The consortium’s role is to oversee, manage, and secure a critical vehicle checkpoint along Salah al-Din Road, facilitating the safe return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza. The consortium aims to ensure orderly vehicle movement while preventing the transport of weapons northward, in line with the ceasefire terms,” a source familiar with the issue claimed.

The US contractors are expected to remain in Gaza until the end of the first phase of the deal, which took effect on Sunday. According to the agreement, Palestinians displaced to the south could return seven days into the truce.

An Egyptian security company, which has been approved by the Egyptian intelligence service, will also be involved in the checks.

“There may be additional members and nationalities in the future,” a source familiar with the issue said.

It will be the first time in decades that US private security companies will operate in Gaza. American contractors have a dark history of crimes against non-combatants and civilians in war zones.

US mercenaries in Iraq.

Four security guards from the private military firm Blackwater received jail sentences for killing 14 civilians, including two children, in Iraq’s Baghdad in 2007, a massacre that sparked an international outcry over the use of mercenaries in war. However, they were later pardoned by Donald Trump during his first presidential term in 2020.

There is a reason why the United Nations stands firmly against the use of mercenary fighters: Because mercenaries, at the end of the day, have performed far more atrocities than acts of valor on the battlefield.

Sources:

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2025/01/mil-250124-presstv04.htm

https://brewminate.com/blackwater-and-the-corporate-mercenaries-whove-changed-the-rules-of-war/

Western France Battles Worst Floods in Decades Following Storm Ivo

More than 1,600 people have fled their homes in western France as a third major storm in a week brought record rainfall and extreme flooding.

Storm Ivo hit areas already struggling with flooding from storms Eowyn and Herminia. Red weather alerts remain active in three regions of Brittany – Ille-et-Vilaine, Loire-Atlantique, and Morbihan.

Their combined impact of the storms was exacerbated by the fact that the ground was already drenched from previous persistent rainfall.

National weather service Météo France warned that the situation could get worse in the coming days and authorities are on high alert. The French interior ministry said Paris had dispatched 1,500 additional firefighters to the affected areas.

“It’s quite catastrophic,” a local resident said. “I am also thinking of how the clean-up will be difficult for all these people once the waters recede.”

The night and day flying Tiger mosquito, an invasive species, carries chikungunya, dengue, and Zika, and they are spreading in France. See threat map below

The danger of waterborne diseases as well as breeding grounds for Tiger mosquitos have drastically increased in this area of western France, presenting another problem for the wobbly Macron government. Last year Paris sent warships and rescuers to Mayotte following Cyclone Chido which may have killed thousands.

Sources:

https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20250131-western-france-battles-worst-floods-in-decades-after-triple-storm-assault

Tiger mosquito warning in France

https://www.yahoo.com/news/france-rushes-help-mayotte-where-092132223.html

US Urges Ukraine to Hold Elections After Ceasefire

Retired US Army Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, Special US Envoy to Ukraine and Russia.

FTA:

“The US is urging Ukraine to hold elections, possibly by the end of the year, particularly if a truce with Russia is reached in the coming months, according to President Donald Trump’s top Ukraine official.

Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told Reuters that presidential and parliamentary elections, suspended since the all-out war began, “need to be done.” He argued that most democratic nations hold elections during wartime and that doing so would strengthen Ukraine’s democracy. “That’s the beauty of a solid democracy, you have more than one person potentially running,” Kellogg said.

Trump and Kellogg have indicated they are working on a plan to broker a peace deal within the first months of the new administration, though details remain scarce. While the strategy is still being developed, two sources familiar with White House discussions and a former US official briefed on the matter said Trump officials are considering pushing Ukraine to hold elections as part of an initial ceasefire with Russia.

The Kremlin has questioned the absence of elections, with Russian President Vladimir Putin insisting that the Ukrainian leader lacks the legal authority to sign binding agreements. However, Putin has said Zelensky could still take part in negotiations if he first repeals a 2022 decree that bans talks with Russia while Putin remains in power.”

As predicted, the Trumpf-Putin axis talking points against Ukraine have begun. This agitprop plants the seed in the American media that Ukrainian President Zelensky is somehow corrupt or illegitimate by not holding elections. Such elections give the Kremlin an opportunity to allow hidden pro-Kremlin Fifth Columnists to run for Parliament. This position is nothing short of a blatant attempt to undermine President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine.

You wonder what retired US Army Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg thinks about the despicable manner in which Trumpf disposed of his former warrior-colleague, retired US Army General Mark Milley?

US Army General Mark Milley’s portrait was removed from the Pentagon hours after Trumpf’s inauguration ceremony.

Source:

https://kyivindependent.com/us-urges-ukraine-to-hold-elections-after-ceasefire-trumps-envoy-tells-reuters/

Sudan: Dengue Outbreak Amid Worsening Health Crisis and Conflict

Per CIA, Sudan has a population of slightly over 50m people with a GDP per capita of $2,500. 

Health authorities revealed an outbreak of dengue fever in the Naqib area of Drudib locality in the Red Sea state, where more than five deaths and more than 200 infections were recorded, amid growing concern about the rapid spread of the disease and the absence of effective intervention. Citizens expressed their fears about the deterioration of the health situation and the weak medical response.

Reports confirmed 11 new cases of cholera, including two deaths, bringing the total to 52,517, with 1,407 deaths. Four new cases of dengue fever were also recorded, bringing the total to 9,283 cases and 16 deaths in the Gedaref and White Nile areas. More than 330,000 displaced people have arrived in the states of Kassala, Gedaref, and River Nile, amid severe shortages of potable water and health services, further complicating the humanitarian crisis.

Sudan is undergoing an ethnic war between “riverine Arabs” from the former ruling class in Khartoum and “Darfur Arabs.” These “Darfur Arabs” were considered backwards and “Africanized” by the former rulers. But “Darfur Arabs” comprise the RSF base and in turn dislike the former Khartoum ruling class. Russia is duplicitously supplying both sides of the conflict and the US will be withdrawing aid and assistance to Africa, including eliminating USAID, under the new Trumpf regime.

Accused war criminal RSF commander Gen. Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa.

Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sources:

تفشي حمى الضنك في “لنقيب” وتفاقم الأزمة الصحية في السودان

https://www.state.gov/genocide-determination-in-sudan-and-imposing-accountability-measures/

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2772

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/russia-sudan-war-saf-rsf-hedges-bets-both-sides-support

Bengal Cat and Mini Dachshund Having Fun

Israel Conducted the Worst Bombardment of the 21st Century

Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza in front of the morgue in Deir al Balah on 31 Oct 2024. (Photo: Fatima Shbair / AP)

In intensity and concentration of violence in the 25-mile-long Gaza Strip, the Nakba may have been the most destructive aerial and artillery bombardment of the 21st century. This takes into account the nearly three-year Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The level of physical destruction has been compared to the firebombing of Hamburg in the Second World War.

Rubble after the Allied bombing of Hamburg in July 1943.

Rubble after Israeli bombing of Gaza. (Photo: Ashraf Amra / Anadolu / Getty Images)

The Palestinian death toll, which the official Hamas-run health ministry puts at 46,600, is more than ten times its count in all previous Gaza conflicts since 2008 combined. 110,265 Palestinians have been injured. The IDF maintains 17,000 of the dead were militants. So, who were the 29,600 non-combatant casualties?

Just over half of the dead are women, children, or the elderly. Israel says the figures are suspect because of Hamas’s control of the ministry in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has not released figures for its losses.

UN experts estimate that at least 19,000 children have been orphaned in Gaza, but the true figure is probably higher. Those other wars did not involve this much bombing and this much displacement in such a small and crowded place, with a population that includes such a high proportion of children, said Jonathan Crickx, a spokesman for UNICEF.

In any war, the dead are often the lucky ones: the numbers of the maimed and crippled often dwarfs those of the dead.

According to Save the Children, on average the Israeli bombardment in Gaza maimed 15 children a day (475 per month), leaving them with lifelong disabilities.

UNICEF reports there are over 1,000 child amputees in Gaza like this girl pictured above.

Another nightmare for Muslims in the Middle East is coming…

Islamophobe Sebastian Gorka. Said his PhD adviser: ‘I would not call him an expert in terrorism.’ (Undated screengrab)

Soon the notorious virulent rightwing anti-Iranian Sebastian Gorka will be assuming a prominent national security role in the upcoming Trumpf administration. Americans will begin to hear anti-Iranian rhetoric from Fox News and other right-wing media outlets. With a Republican soon to be in the White House and a Likudnik in charge of Israel, the potential for conflict with Iran will greatly increase. Locations of American servicemembers stationed in the Middle East can be seen in the map below.

President Biden ended the “forever wars” because Americans were getting tired of this:

Remains of a fallen US Soldier coming home. (Photo: US Army)

Sources:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/worst-bombardment-21st-century-reshaped-081258905.html

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/news/media-centre/press-releases/explosive-weapons-left-15-children-a-day-in-gaza-with-potentiall

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2024/04/six-months-into-the-war-on-gaza-over-10000-women-have-been-killed

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2017/nov/16/sebastian-gorka/fact-check-former-white-house-aide-says-iran-every/

https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/18/politics/gorka-credentials/index.html

https://www.unicef.org/sop/stories/facing-life-gaza-strip-new-disability

Letter from President Joe Biden to the American People

Four years ago, we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities. We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War. But we came together as Americans, and we braved through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure.

Today, we have the strongest economy in the world and have created a record 16.6 million new jobs. Wages are up. Inflation continues to come down. The racial wealth gap is the lowest it’s been in 20 years. We’re rebuilding our entire nation—urban, suburban, rural, and Tribal communities. Manufacturing is coming back to America. We’re leading the world again in science and innovation, including the semiconductor industry. And we finally beat Big Pharma to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors. More people have health insurance today in America than ever before. I signed one of the most significant laws helping millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic materials and their families, as well as the most significant climate law ever and the first major gun safety law in nearly 30 years. Today, the violent crime rate is at a 50-year low.

I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case. America is an idea stronger than any army and larger than any ocean. It’s the most powerful idea in the history of the world. That idea is that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We’ve never fully lived up to this sacred idea, but we’ve never walked away from it either. And I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.

Vice President Harris and I asked our staff to prepare a detailed summary of the progress we’ve made together throughout the last four years. Below, I’m sharing our record with you. I hope you’ll do your part to build on the progress we’ve made.

It has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years. Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States. I have given my heart and my soul to our nation. And I have been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people.

History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep the faith and remember who we are. We are the United States of America, and there is simply nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.

Thank you.

Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

Sources:


https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/15/the-biden-harris-administration-record/

The above link will take you to FACT SHEET: The Biden-Harris Administration Record, as well as the transcript of his televised Oval Office farewell to the American people.

The 2024 Democratic Party suffered the same stinging loss like in 1968. Antiwar Democrats opposed to supporting the brutal South Vietnamese regime and the wasteful war were shut out of the DNC convention in Chicago. Rather than vote for Republican Richard Nixon or Segregationist George Wallace, the pacifists abstained. In parallel fashion, antiwar Democrats opposed to US support of the brutal Jerusalem regime were shut out of the DNC convention in Chicago. Rather than vote for Republican Donald Trump or Green Party Jill Stein, the pacifists abstained. This accounted for the depressed turnout for Democrats in both 1968 and 2024, despite their domestic policy achievements. Both incumbent Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Joe Biden watched their VPOTUS crash and burn by not heeding to the antiwar bloc of their party, letting the Vietnam War and Gaza Nakba tarnish their images.

Why Do Ukrainians Oppose Lowering The Conscription Age?

Soldiers carry a coffin of Ukrainian soldier Andriy Kuzmenko, who was killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, during a farewell ceremony at the St. Michael’s Monastery in Kyiv on 10 Jan. (Photo: AP)

The US, Kyiv’s main military backer, has called on Ukraine to lower the conscription age from 25 to 18 as the country struggles to fend off advancing Russian forces amid a shortage of new recruits. In April, Ukraine reduced the mobilization age from 27 to 25. But in Nov 2024, the Biden administration pushed Ukraine to lower the draft age again to 18. On 12 Jan, President-elect Donald Trump’s designated national-security adviser Mike Waltz repeated the message.

That has led some Ukrainian families to send their sons overseas to avoid conscription.

Svitlana Pokalchuk has sent her two teenage sons abroad for their safety. (Photo: RFE/RL)

The Issue:

The 18-25 age group is the weakest of Ukraine’s working age demographics. A dramatic fall in the birth rate in the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, continued into the 2000s amid ongoing economic hardship.

“Our lowest birth rate in history was in 2001,” says Oleksandr Hladun, deputy director at the Ukrainian Academy of Science’s Demography Institute. “This contingent is currently the smallest. And this means that in 25-30 years even fewer children will be born.”

Economic problems and the war took another toll on the Ukrainian population as thousands emigrated. Today 25% of Ukrainian high school students wish to continue their studies abroad.

This is why Ukraine is facing manpower shortages and its people are reluctant to lower the draft age. The leadership of much larger Russia doesn’t care about how many of their young men die as you have previously read on Coriolanus.

Ukrainian police conducted hundreds of raids nationwide to shut down routes used by military-aged men to flee the country to avoid military service. (Photo: dpsu.gov.ua)

As the US Navy once used press gangs to obtain sailors, Kyiv has been employing the same tactic searching for and detaining draft evaders of military age.

ICC-indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin depicted by a street artist in Sweden.

Sources:

https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-conscription/33275293.html

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/30122

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/45211

WHO: Suspected Outbreak of Marburg Disease Kills Eight in Tanzania

(Image: CDC)

WHO received reliable reports from in-country sources regarding suspected cases of MVD in the Kagera region of the United Republic of Tanzania. Six people were reported to have been affected, five of whom had died. The cases presented with similar symptoms of headache, high fever, back pain, diarrhoea, haematemesis (vomiting with blood), malaise (body weakness) and, at a later stage of disease, external hemorrhage (bleeding from orifices).

Nine suspected cases were reported including eight deaths (case fatality ratio (CFR) of 89%) across two districts – Biharamulo and Muleba– in the NW corner of Tanzania.

The regional risk is considered HIGH due to Kagera region’s strategic location as a transit hub, with significant cross-border movement of the population to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Republic of Rwanda has confirmed more than 60 cases of Marburg virus disease primarily associated with hospitals in Kigali, including some deaths. This is the country’s first Marburg outbreak.

Like Ebola, the Marburg virus originates in fruit bats and spreads between people through close contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or with surfaces, such as contaminated bed sheets.

The global risk is currently assessed as LOW.

The suspected culprit, the Egyptian rousette fruit bat. (Photo: Kim Taylor)

Sources:

https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON552

https://www.cdc.gov/marburg/situation-summary/index.html

Lunatic From India Sentenced for Attempted Attack on White House With Truck

(Photo: Rockwood School District)

Sai Varshith Kandula (20) of St. Louis, MO was sentenced in US District Court to 96 months in federal prison for an attempted attack on the White House with a rented truck on 22 May 2023 in an attack that aimed to overthrow the democratically elected government of the United States in order to replace it with a dictatorship fueled by Nazi ideology.

Kandula pleaded guilty on 13 May 2024, to a charge of willful injury or depredation of property of the US before US District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich. Kandula is an Indian national who was born in Chandanagar, India. At the time of the incident, he was a lawful permanent resident of the US with a green card. In addition to the prison term, Judge Friedrich ordered Kandula to serve three years of supervised release.

Kandula admitted to investigators that he would have arranged for the killing of the US President and others if necessary to achieve his objective. His actions were calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion. The maniac was armed with a Nazi Swastika banner and no firearm. Kandula’s idiotic attack caused $4,322 in damage to the National Park Service.

Kandula clearly needs mental hygiene assistance which hopefully the BOP can provide. After his eight-year sentence ends, he will be deported forthwith back to India.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/attempted-attack-white-house-rented-box-truck-results-8-year-sentence-missouri-man

Bootleg Alcohol in Istanbul Kills 23 People in 48 Hours

The Arnavutköy district has become one of Istanbul’s most famous nightlife locations.

Twenty-three people in Istanbul have died in 48 hours after drinking tainted alcohol.

At least 43 others were hospitalized — 32 of them in intensive care — Turkish officials said. Since the start of the new year, they said a total of 34 people have died from the effects of bootleg alcohol. Alcohol tainted with methanol is suspected to be the cause.

Methanol is a substance that’s often added to alcohol to increase its potency. It’s often used in illegally produced products instead of ethanol because it’s cheaper, according to a study which looked at illegally produced alcohol in southern Turkiye, and it can cause blindness, liver damage and death.

Turkiye suffered previous incidents of methanol poisoning. Tainted alcohol sickened 110 victims in 2024, killing 48 of them, after the government raised taxes on alcohol.

This may affect tourism to Turkiye. At its height in 2019, Turkiye attracted approximately 51 million foreign tourists which contributed towards its GDP. In 2023, tourism revenue reached $54.3 billion USD. Last year, several tourists from Australia, the UK, and the US died from methanol poisoning in Laos.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/istanbul-tainted-alcohol-people-dead/

https://travelwiththegreens.com/what-percentage-of-turkey-s-gdp-is-contributed-by-tourism.html

Besides You, Loyal Followers of the Watch, Who Else is Skipping Donald Trump’s Coronation?

Napoleon crowns himself then Josephine while an angry pontiff watches on. Pope Francis won’t be attending the inauguration. Artist: Jacques-Louis David

The Leader of the Pack, former First Lady Michelle Obama.

House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith.

NYS Attorney General Letitia James.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.

Former Director CIA, General Michael Hayden.

The leader of the second largest economy and probably third most powerful militar in the world, Chinese President Xi Jinping. According to News18, Vice President Han Zheng or Foreign Minister Wang Yi might represent China on 20 Jan.

Mexico’s newly-elected President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Pope Francis selected ardent anti-Trump Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy (70) to be the Archbishop for the Washington DC diocese. (AP Photo 27 Aug 2022 / Andrew Medichini, File)

The “Maybes”

Matt Gaetz doppelganger Jair Bolsonaro, depending on whether the Brazilian Supreme Court releases his seized passport.

ICC-indicted war criminal Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Is there anybody on the planet that does NOT think Benjamin Netanyahu and his unrelenting US-funded Nakba didn’t cost the Democrats the White House in November 2024?

Trump churlishly demanded that US flags fly full mast for his coronation, disrespecting the late President Jimmy Carter for whom President Biden ordered a month of official mourning. But in essence, these are the flags that Trump really represents:

President Trump’s Official Portrait Resembles Georgia Arrest Mugshot

The photo on the right is Donald Trump’s mugshot, taken when he was arrested on 24 Aug 2023 in Fulton County, GA after being indicted on racketeering charges. The photo on the left is the official portrait which will hang in every federal facility in the US and abroad on 20 Jan 2025. This is simply breathtaking that this convicted felon would replicate that image.

This portrait of President-elect Trump and VP-elect JD Vance soon circulated on social media:

Coriolanus prefers this to be the official portrait of President-elect Trump, which was taken at Mar-A-Lago, Florida:

German Shepherd Meets Kitten for First Time

Germany: Thousands Protest Rightwing AfD Congress

Police officers clash with protesters during a demonstration near the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party congress in Riesa, Germany, on 11 Jan 2025. Note that polizei officers can be identified with their numbers if they are abusive. Anyone arrested in Germany must be seen by a judge within 24 hours or they must be released. (Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen / Reuters)

Thousands of protesters shouting “No to Nazis” gathered in the German town of Riesa, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party held a key convention approving co-leader Alice Weidel as candidate for chancellor in next month’s snap election.

The meeting, which brought 600-odd delegates together on Saturday, eventually got under way two hours behind schedule after police cleared thousands of protesters mounting blockades in the AfD stronghold town, located in the eastern state of Saxony.

Saxon left-wing politician Nam Duy Nguyen was beaten by a police officer during the protests and was temporarily unconscious. A companion of the state parliament member was also hit in the face and injured. The police seemed to efficiently clear the path of protestors for the AfD.

Neo-Nazi Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD party, gestures after she was elected as top candidate for chancellor in the upcoming general elections at the party congress in Riesa, Germany, on 11 Jan 2025. Ms.Weidel apparently has an unpleasant voice, reminding listeners of nails scratching against a blackboard. (Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen / Reuters)

Alice Weidel’s grandfather, Hans Weidel, was a prominent Nazi judge. Appointed directly by Adolf Hitler, he was responsible for sentencing opponents of the Third Reich.

So much for the American taxpayer-funded De-Nazification and Marshall Programs following the Second World War.

Sources:

https://www.politico.eu/article/hidden-nazi-heritage-germany-far-right-leader-afd-alice-weidel-hans-weidel-warsaw/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/11/german-protesters-attempt-to-block-far-right-afd-congress

France Hands Over Last Army Base in Chad Ahead of 31 Jan Deadline

French soldiers in the Sahel. The last of them left the Abéché military base in Chad on 11 Jan 2025 as part of a withdrawal agreement.

In late Nov 2024, Chad abruptly ended military cooperation with its former colonial ruler, and French troops began leaving the country in late Dec 2024. Chad was the last Sahel country hosting French soldiers with approximately 1,000 personnel. French soldiers and fighter aircraft have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since the country’s independence in 1960, helping to train the Chadian military.

Per CIA, the Chad population is approximately 19,000,000 and GDP per capita is $1,800.

Anti-French sentiments have swept Chad, with thousands of people protesting for French military departure after Boko Haram insurgents killed 40 Chadian soldiers in the Lake Chad region in Oct 2024. The Chadian government accused France of failing to provide support or intelligence, leading to demands for French troops to withdraw and the termination of the defense pact.

Chadians waving Russian flags. (Photo: Denis Sassou Gueipeur / AFP)

Chad is rich in natural resources: petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, and salt. The Russian Wagner Group has been increasing its presence in other Sahel countries protecting mining operations that funnel resources back to Moscow to finance Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the Central African Republic (CAR), where Wagner is ubiquitous, mercenaries have killed or driven out artisanal miners and taken over processing operations across the northern and eastern regions. In Sudan, Wagner has smuggled millions of dollars in gold from the country.

Undated photo of Wagner mercenaries, a new “Afrika Korps” for the Kremlin. Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses Wagnerites of committing war crimes in Africa and the US designated them a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).


The French geo-political and military footprint in Africa continues to shrink while the Kremlin (and Beijing) increase their influence operations on the Dark Continent.

Sources:

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250111-france-hands-over-second-army-base-in-chad-ahead-of-31-january-deadline

https://www.dw.com/en/why-chad-ended-its-military-deal-with-france/a-71173204

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx6462wl07o

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/12/mali-atrocities-army-and-wagner-group

https://adf-magazine.com/2023/03/wagner-group-targets-chad-for-sahel-expansion/

https://ascir.org/2021/11/18/why-china-is-building-africas-railways/

North Korea Intensifies Surveillance of Chinese Phone Users Along Border

North Korea has intensified its crackdown on Chinese mobile phones along its 840-mile border with China as part of efforts to tighten internal controls by limiting communication with the outside world. The border has been previously described as “porous” and there are 25 official border crossings between North Korea and China.

Authorities recently caught a Musan resident attempting to make a call to China. “The state security department’s radar bureau detected and arrested them within one minute of placing the call. They remain in state security detention,” a source reported.

Along the border, Ministry of State Security radar units use specialized equipment to track specific frequencies and signals, enabling real-time detection of calls to China. When agents detect Chinese telecommunications frequencies in residential areas, they immediately raid the suspected location.

The bridge over Tumen River in Yanbian, Jilin Province, connects China to North Korea. (Photo: IC)

In Yanbian, China, an ethnically Korean region on the border with North Korea, many people have relatives on the other side of the river. But these relationships are frequently kept secret. Ethnic North Koreans on the Chinese side of the border have difficulties finding spouses.

A view from the Chinese side of the bridge. A portrait of Kim Il-sung hangs on the North Korean side. (Photo taken in 2014: IC)

The Friendship Bridge over the Tumen River is for railway use only and connects North Korea to Russia. They share a ten-mile terrestrial border and a 12-mile maritime border.

Kim Jong-un wants to limit outside information from entering North Korea, a practice that has gone on for decades. There is nothing to suggest that this is affecting smuggling across the border. Moreover, there is no information that North Koreans calling migrants and relatives in the Russia Far East Oblast have been geo-located and arrested like the poor victims cited in the article. So this crackdown may also be tied with Pyongyang’s recent tilt towards Moscow, away from Beijing.

The North Korean supremo enjoying a cigarette with light refreshment while his people starve and his soldiers get slaughtered in Russia. (Photo: Reuters)

Sources:

https://www.dailynk.com/english/n-korea-intensifies-surveillance-of-chinese-phone-users-along-border/

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/887269.shtml

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/north-korean-migrants-vladivostok-12172018161113.html

Flight Crew ‘Astonished’ to See Glowing Objects ‘Zig-Zagging’ at 45,000 Feet Over the Bahamas

(Photo: NBC News Miami)

A Florida-bound flight crew witnessed strange orbs glowing and darting around in the night sky while flying over the Bahamas at high altitude.

“All of a sudden I heard traffic control say, we have a foreign object, can you please identify,” Flight Attendant Cassandra Martin recounted.

The flight attendant with Surjet, a private carrier, claimed that she and two pilots saw objects that left them awestruck and searching for answers as they returned to Fort Lauderdale in an empty plane. Good thing her Smartphone was handy.

(Photo: NBC News Miami)

“It started as white and then it just got green and almost like an electric some type of energy around it.”

Cassandra Martin described the objects as changing in color and exhibiting “daunting” flying capabilities while returning on a flight from the Bahamas. (Photo: NBC News Miami)

One explanation rendered for the Bahamian incident is a phenomenon called “ball lightning.” Below are some photographs for comparison.

Former NASA astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao nearly collided with a pair of metallic orbs while flying his Grumman AA5BTiger in Texas last summer. He said the orbs showed “no visible means of propulsion” when they whizzed by within 20 feet of his plane.

Astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao gives a thumb up shortly after landing aboard the Soyuz-TMA-5 spacecraft in Kazakhstan in April 2005. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)

“They came right at me,” said Dr. Leroy Chiao, who was the commander of Expedition 10. He said the spheres were “perfectly smooth” and emphasized he witnessed the orbs on a sunny, cloudless day with good visibility.

The DOD investigates sightings and imagery of unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) and you can read about their findings here: https://www.aaro.mil/

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2025/01/04/us-news/ex-nasa-astronaut-dr-leroy-chiao-says-metallic-orbs-he-saw-had-no-visible-means-of-propulsion/

https://nypost.com/2025/01/11/us-news/florida-flight-crew-astonished-to-see-glowing-objects-zig-zagging-at-45k-feet-over-the-bahamas/

China Suddenly Building Fleet of Special Barges Suitable for Taiwan Landings

Artist’s impression of the special barge being used as a pier to land tanks and troops across an otherwise unsuitable beach. The tanks are transported by civilian roll-on roll-off (RORO) ferries. (Image: navalnews.com)

From navalnews.com:

“China is building at least five new special purpose barges which appear tailor made for amphibious assault. The barges may provide the PRC (People’s Republic of China) with a unique way to offload large numbers of tanks directly onto Taiwanese roads.

A number of special and unusual barges, at least three but likely five or more, have been observed in Guangzhou Shipyard in southern China. These have unusually long road bridges extending from their bows. This configuration makes them particularly relevant to any future landing of PRC forces on Taiwanese islands.

Each barge has a very long road span which is extended out from the front. At over 120 meters (393 ft) this can be used to reach a coastal road or hard surface beyond a beach. The barges are reminiscent of the Mulberry Harbors built for the allied invasion of Normandy during World War Two.”

The Global Firepower Index (GFI) ranks China’s military third out of 145 countries; Taiwan is ranked 22nd. Besides an outright D-Day style invasion of Taiwan, Beijing can blockade the island republic with its much larger navy, cut its underseas cables with anchors as the Russians have been doing in the Baltic Sea, and quarantine Taipei into eventual submission.

As previously reported here on Coriolanus, half of the US Navy’s amphibious ships are in dire condition. The USN 7th Fleet is headquartered at Yokosuka, Japan.

“Zero Day” is an upcoming Taiwanese TV series about a fictional invasion of their island which may be a way to psychologically ready their population for the realities of a potential war with Beijing. In 2022, there were at least ten Taiwanese soldiers serving in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. Said one of the soldiers: ‘There’s a big chance that this will happen to Taiwan.’

Sources:

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/01/china-suddenly-building-fleet-of-special-barges-suitable-for-taiwan-landings/

https://www.globalfirepower.com/

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/4563961

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Day_(Taiwanese_TV_series)

Farmer Uncovers Large Rare Ancient Hunt Mosaic in Turkiye

This mosaic spans 84 square meters (Image Copyright Elazığ Museum)

A farmer planting an orchard in eastern Türkiye has uncovered a rare, largely intact mosaic dating back to the late Roman period, offering a glimpse into ancient hunting practices.

The mosaic includes dramatic depictions of animals such as a rare Anatolian leopard, may be the largest of its kind ever discovered in the country.

A team of conservators has been working to protect the mosaic. (Photo: Elazığ Museum)

The mosaic “is the first of its kind to have survived to the present day as a whole and in its portrayal of animals, all of which were once found here. There may be larger mosaics elsewhere in Türkiye, but those consist of geometric patterns or mythological subjects.”

One researcher speculated that the mosaic may have been part of a Roman official’s residence: “an expression of power.”

The mosaic survived empire changes and wars over the mileenia.

Turkiye is choc-a-bloc with antiquities and historical relics. Below is the fabled city of Cappadocia:

Underground city in Cappadocia, Turkiye.

Hotel carved from stone in Cappadocia, Turkiye.

Source:

https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/01/07/turkish-farmer-uncovers-rare-ancient-hunt-mosaic-likely-the-largest-of-its-kind-in-turkiye

Food Poisoning Cluster on Cathay Pacific Flights Inbound From Nepal to Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Center of Health Protection (CHP) announced a food poisoning cluster of passenger groups on Cathay Pacific flight CX640 from Nepal to Hong Kong. This is the second cluster discovered in two days with the same airline flying from the same region. The cause of the food poisoning cluster is still under investigation.

The first cluster involves 16 individuals from an inbound flight from Kathmandu to Hong Kong. The second cluster on flight CX640 involves 20 individuals from distinct family groups.

All involved passengers reported symptoms like vomiting, nausea, and fever shortly after their arrival in Hong Kong.

Per CIA, Nepal has a population of 31,122,387 and per capita GDP is $4,000.

After monsoon season in 2023, Nepal recorded several cases of water- and food-borne illnesses, including a massive cholera outbreak.

Sources:

http://www.travelradar.aero

https://kathmandupost.com/health/2023/07/26/food-poisoning-water-and-vector-borne-diseases-on-the-rise

Gorilla Infant Rescued From Airplane Cargo Hold Recovers at Istanbul Zoo

Zeytin, a 5-month-old male gorilla infant who was rescued at Istanbul Airport, drinks milk in a specially created section of a zoo, in Istanbul, Turkiye, 12 Jan 2025. (Photo: Khalil Hamra / AP)

The 5-month-old endangered gorilla was discovered in a box on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand and named Zeytin, which means olive.

Shy, Zeytin plays in a specially created section of a zoo, in Istanbul, Turkey, 12 Jan 2025. (Photo: Khalil Hamra / AP)

As a major international hub, Turkish customs officers have intercepted other illegally traded wildlife, including Nile crocodiles and monitor lizards. Wildlife officials are considering returning the endangered primate back to his original habitat.

Poor Zeytin was separated from his mother and should be fostered within a troop of gorillas so he could be properly socialized. (Photo: Khalil Hamra / AP)

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gorilla-airplane-cargo-istanbul-zoo-turkish-airlines/

https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=gorilla&searchType=species

Wagner Mercenary With Drone Arrested at US-Mexican Border

Wagnerite Timur Praliev receiving an award from the Bashkortostan branch of the Defenders Of the Fatherland Foundation on 12 Dec 2024. (Photo: Social media)

US Border Patrol agents detained Timur Praliev (31) on 4 Jan near the border town of Roma, TX, after crossing the Rio Grande River into the US. He told agents he was a citizen of Kazakhstan. Praliev was charged with illegally entering the US, a federal misdemeanor.

Praliev was carrying two passports and $4,000 along with 60,000 Mexican pesos ($2,895.11) in cash and a drone in his backpack. His activities with the Wagner group are not known nor are his reasons for crossing into the US with a drone. Praliev pleaded guilty and the prosecuting attorney (AUSA) requested a 15-day sentence.

Drones are inexpensive sabotage weapons that can cause costly damage. One drone temporarily disabled an aircraft fighting the California wildfires.

A few years ago in Canada, a drone struck this Cessna airplane.

The State Dept designated the Wagner Group a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and their fighters have been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine. The FBI will be de-briefing Timur Praliev to re-trace his steps, locate his contact in the US, and ascertain his mission. The USIC considers Mexico a “soft spot” as Russian operatives are not under strict surveillance like in the US or Canada. NATO and the US elevated their CI/OPSEC posture in 2024 because of the threat of Russian sabotage.

The late leader of the terrorist Wagner Group Yevgeny Prigozhin with his murderous mercenaries in Bakhmut. (AFP)

In Jan 2023, Andrey Medvedev crossed into Norway from Russia’s far north and is believed to be the first member of the Wagner Group to defect to the West.

Andrey Medvedev in uniform before defecting from Wagner. (Photo: Gulagu)

Medvedev took a circuitous route to escape Russia, avoiding the 830-mile Finnish border. His attorney says he wants to testify against his former comrades who committed war crimes, including seeing “deserters being executed” by the Wagner Group’s internal security service while fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

As Andrey Medvedev dashed towards the remote Russia-Norway border, he claims he could hear the sound of attack dogs snarling behind him. The Norwegian police have detained him.

Sources:

https://www.valleycentral.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2025/01/Timur-Praliev-Criminal-Complaint.pdf

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-wagner-fighter-illegal-entry-us-mexico-timur-praliev/33271493.html

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1220

https://www.state.gov/countering-the-wagner-group-and-degrading-russias-war-efforts-in-ukraine/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64374948

https://yle.fi/a/74-20043336

Syrian Intelligence Agency Thwarted Planned Islamic State Attack on Shiite Shrine

Lebanon’s Najib Mikati (L) shaking hands with Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus. (Photo SANA via AFP)

Intelligence officials in Syria’s new de facto government thwarted a plan by the Islamic State group to set off a bomb at a Shiite shrine in the Damascus suburb of Sayyida Zeinab.

The intelligence service is “putting all its capabilities to stand in the face of all attempts to target the Syrian people in all their spectrums.”

Sayyida Zeinab has been the site of past attacks on Shiite pilgrims by ISIS.

Per CIA, Syria has a population of nearly 24 million people: Arab ~50%, Alawite ~15%, Kurd ~10%, Levantine ~10%, other ~15% (includes Druze, Ismaili, Imami, Nusairi, Assyrian, Turkoman, Armenian)

The new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa seems pragmatic and if the governments of Turkiye, Lebanon, Israel, Iraq, and Jordan cooperate, Syria won’t become a failed state. Approximately 2,000 US soldiers are operating in Syria, even though US Central Command have consistently reported having only 900 troops there.

Islamic State (IS) terrorists grew out of the remnants of Al Qaida in Iraq (AI). These Salafists consider Shiites heretical.

Sources:

https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5100156-syrian-intelligence-says-it-foiled-isis-attempt-target-damascus-shrine

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/11/lebanons-pm-meets-syrias-de-facto-leader-in-damascus

North Korea Includes Russian Language in Official Postal Stamp Description for First Time

North Korea has included Russian in the description of its new postal stamps set to be issued in the new year, reflecting the country’s growing alignment with Russia.

A stamp release notice uploaded on the Korea Stamp Corp.’s website included images and descriptions of four postal stamps scheduled for issuance on 20 Jan in four languages — Korean, English, Chinese, and Russian — along with an order form.

It is believed to be the first time that North Korea’s stamp release notice has included Russian.

The Russian language was not even included in the notice for the North’s stamp issuance celebrating the special year of friendship between Pyongyang and Moscow in 2015.

Vladimir Putin has been assisting Kim Jong-un with his WMD program, a troubling issue for Beijing, in return for the 12,000 North Korean soldiers sent to die fighting in Ukraine. Pyongyang is appearing to prioritize its ties to Moscow over Beijing. Similar stamps issued in 2023 placed China-related stamps ahead of Russia-related ones. Pyongyang is also opening a beach resort for use by Russian tourists in May 2025. An old expression is regaining currency on the Korean peninsula: “Japan was our enemy for 100 years, China has been our enemy for 1,000 years.”

North Korea recently test-fired a hypersonic missile as USSECSTATE Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul, South Korea. Thanks to the Kremlin, the new hypersonic missile supposedly flew 12 times the speed of sound for about 1,500 km. (Photo: Reuters)

Sources:

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2025/01/103_390102.html

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/north-korea-missile-test-1.7424588

https://www.upu.int/en/home

European Space Agency (ESA) Releases Up-Close Photos of Mercury

Mercury’s dark craters may contain frozen water which BepiColombo will investigate once it is in orbit around the planet.

Source:

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/BepiColombo/Top_three_images_from_BepiColombo_s_sixth_Mercury_flyby

China Reports First Cases of Monkeypox (Clade 1b mpox)

The China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) announced the country’s first confirmed clade 1b mpox cases, which involve a foreigner who had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and four close contacts.

China is the twelfth country outside of Africa to detect clade 1 mpox, which is different from the clade 2 mpox virus spreading globally. The novel clade 1b virus is thought to spread more easily among contacts, including in households. Most cases have been linked to travel to affected African countries.

Outside of Africa, limited secondary transmission has now been reported in the UK, Germany, and China.

China CDC quickly launched investigations in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Beijing, and Tianjin.

Beijing gained experience in dealing with infectious diseases thanks to the COVID pandemic, but they have yet to provide the World Health Organization (WHO) with full details about the 2019 outbreak. China’s population density makes it susceptible to fast-moving diseases like the coronavirus. Human rights groups may be concerned that Beijing could use mpox as an excuse to quarantining (detaining) Uighurs in Zhejiang province or other minorities such as Tibetans.

Sources:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/mpox/china-reports-mpox-clade-1b-cluster

https://www.chinacdc.cn/jksj/jksj01/202501/t20250109_303772.html

Chinese Jet Maker Increases Efforts to Take Airbus and Boeing Share of Aviation Market

The COMAC C919 is a narrow-body single aisle passenger jet being used for key routes, but is awaiting certain certifications which will allow it to fly internationally.

China is the second largest civil aviation market in the world after the US and has embarked on a course of expansion aimed at rapidly increasing its aircraft market share, through Comac, the country’s first domestic state-owned aerospace manufacturer.

Some of China’s largest airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines are already using Comac’s flagship aircraft, the C919, on domestic routes.

Beijing’s aim to be less reliant on foreign aircraft manufacturers. This is in line with China’s plans to advance its technological power over the next few years.

Both short-haul and long-haul air travel has surged post-pandemic, boosted by cheaper fares and more deals on popular destinations. Mordor Intelligence expects the aviation market to expand from $343.54bn to $395.76bn by the end of the decade.

Comac is manufacturing one C919 aircraft per month. IBA, an aviation consulting company, estimates that this figure can potentially go up to 11 monthly by 2040.

In contrast, Boeing currently produces 38 737 MAX aircraft monthly, with plans to triple this number by 2027. Airbus has also announced that it expects the A320 aircraft production to hit about 75 units per month in 2027.

Boeing is experiencing production and delivery issues, but their recent horrific crashes have also hit investor and consumer sentiment. Passengers now enquire whether their flight will be on a Boeing 737 MAX.

Airbus is facing production supply chain issues, but is manufacturing a new eco-friendly fuel-efficient aircraft, the A220-300, which is also one of the quietest civilian airplanes in the world.

Air Canada’s total firm orders for the A220-300 stands at 65 aircraft.

Last year US Senators grilled outgoing Boeing CEO David Calhoun on Capitol Hill: ‘Why haven’t you resigned?’ The disgraced oligarch began his testimony by standing and facing relatives of Boeing plane crash victims: “I apologize for the grief that we have caused.” Shareholders shamelessly approved an obscene $33m pay package for Calhoun. (Photo: Samuel Corum / Bloomberg / Getty Images: 17 May 2024)

Aerial view of Beijing’s Daxing International Airport, one of the largest and busiest of the world.

Sources:

https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/01/03/chinese-jet-maker-ramps-up-efforts-to-push-airbus-and-boeing-out

https://www.btimesonline.com/articles/171983/20241231/how-many-boeing-plane-crashes-have-occurred-in-2024-and-what-we-know-about-the-737-800-model.htm

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/18/boeing-calhoun-senate-hearing-00163929

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/17/investing/boeing-shareholders-vote-to-approve-usd33-million-ceo-pay-package/index.html

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/boeing-charged-737-max-fraud-conspiracy-and-agrees-pay-over-25-billion

USIC Finds No ‘Havana Syndrome’ Link to Foreign Powers, But Two Agencies Say It’s Possible

US intelligence has found no evidence linking a foreign power to the mysterious “Havana syndrome” injuries reported by some US diplomats and other government personnel, though two agencies now say it’s possible a foreign adversary may have developed or even deployed a weapon responsible for the injuries, called Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI).

In the new assessment released by US intelligence, five of the seven agencies concluded that it is very unlikely that a foreign adversary was behind the injuries.

Two of the agencies, however, reached a different conclusion, determining that there is a possibility that a foreign power may have developed or even used a weapon capable of causing the reported injuries. Such a device would presumably rely on acoustic energy, microwaves or anther kind of directed energy.

One of the most capable men in Joe Biden’s cabinet is D/CIA William Burns. During a mission to Moscow in 2021, Burns delivered a secret warning to Russian intelligence services that they will face “consequences” if they are responsible for the mysterious health incidents known as “Havana Syndrome.”

Director Burns told the Russian spies that harming US personnel and their families would break the unwritten rules of acceptable behavior for professional intelligence services. If it was determined that the Kremlin was responsible, there would be repercussions.

If no attacks occurred after this warning, perhaps the Russians were responsible and got the message. As an old Cold Warrior, Coriolanus remains suspicious and vigilant about Putin as the Russians spend time and resources on DEW.

Other theories about the causes of “Havana syndrome” offer plausible explanations.

1) Powerfully chirping crickets found in Cuba, like this one below. Since US personnel were away so long from Havana, perhaps the racket that these voluble crickets make were long forgotten or these crickets migrated to Cuba after the 1960s.

The Indies short-tailed cricket Anurogryllus celerinictus chirping mimics “in duration, pulse repetition rate, power spectrum, pulse rate stability, and oscillations per pulse” to the symptoms described by victims of the AHIs.

2) Overexposure to pesticides. Cuba uses Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHP). US facilities may have been over-fumigated before American personnel arrived, which eventually sickened them.

3)  A researcher at realclearscience.com states that the symptoms of “Havana syndrome” are basically the “power of suggestion” and “self-validation.” A “psychogenic” mass psychology effect on US personnel may have played a role.

Without any smoking sun or access to the raw data, Coriolanus can only investigate and analyze the Havana syndrome puzzle from afar. But this detective below would have certainly solved the mystery for us once and for all.

“Ah, just one more thing, Ma’am!”

Sources:

Click to access NIC-Unclassified-ICA-Updated-Assessment-AHI-December2024.pdf

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/cia-director-warns-russians-consequences-source-havana-syndrome-rcna6684

https://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2024/07/01/havana_syndrome_finally_putting_the_myth_to_rest_1040905.html

https://ipen.org/sites/default/files/documents/hhps_cuba_executive_summary_cuba_april_2021.pdf

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/danvergano/havana-syndrome-jason-crickets

Two Lynx Cats Spotted in Scotland After Two Others Captured

Eurasian lynx, the largest species of lynx, were once native to Scotland, but died out 500 to 1,000 years ago. They are still found elsewhere in Europe, Asia and Russia. Sadly, one of the four lynx died soon after capture from stress.

Sources:

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/01/10/scotland-lynx-cats-loose-Cairgorms-National-Park/9881736531206/

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jan/11/one-four-lynx-captured-scottish-highlands-dies-wit/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS

Donald Trump Resurrecting Another 19th-Century America White Supremacist Ideology

Flag of the Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC)

The 19th-century nativist “Know Nothing Party” members were rabid anti-Catholic Protestant whites and would greet each other touching their eye, nose, and then making a zero with their fingers (“Eye Nose Nothing”).

Convicted scapegrace Republican George Santos and US Senator Marco Rubio doppelganger secretly rendering the “I Know Nothing” shibboleth during his short, foul tenure in the revered chambers of the US Congress. (Photo: Public domain).

For a decade, Donald Trumpf has been subtly (and brazenly) flashing these ancient shibboleths for a decade, letting his white supremacist followers know that he is “one of them.” This coded greeting evolved to three fingers representing “W” for white and the thumb and index finger making a “P” for power. Rightwing white Catholics were no longer excluded from the club.

Trumpf’s calls for invading Panama and Greenland is a resurrection of another 19th-century white supremacist ideology that incubated with the Knights of the Golden Circle (KGC). This occult movement of Southerners (Northerners were called “Copperheads” during the Civil War) wanted to expand American hegemony and slavery into Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America.

The Knights of the Golden Circle was reportedly organized in Lexington, KY, on 4 Jul 1854, by Virginia-born Gen. George W. L. Bickley (1819–1867).

Sketch of a Knights of a Golden Circle meeting. One KGC leader claimed they had 65,000 oath-bound members.

In “The Idea of a Southern Nation” (1979), historian John McCardell called the Knights of the Golden Circle “that most bizarre offshoot of Southern expansionism.“

With Cuba and Mexico now off limits, vulnerable Panama because of its economic and national security relevancy is now an expansionist target, as well as mineral-rich Greenland. Global warming is making Greenland’s under-tundra resources more accessible, something that Tesla, Apple, and other hi-tech companies would like easy, inexpensive access to. Knowingly or unknowingly, Trumpf is tapping into a 19th-century expansionist cult whose ideas somehow still resonates with some white Republicans.

Had the Confederacy won the American Civil War. (Map courtesy of imaginarymaps.com)

In response to Trumpf’s idiotic blathering, the King of Denmark, Head-of-State of a loyal NATO ally and important intelligence partner, changed the 500-year-old royal Court of Arms to prominently include Greenland and the Faroe Islands:

Whether this helps the situation for Greenland and Denmark remains to be seen. Donald Trumpf Jr. just visited Greenland on Tuesday in what he called a “personal day trip.” He then posted a photo with a group of locals in a bar wearing pro-Trump caps, delivering them a message on behalf of the paterfamilias: ‘We’re going to treat you well.’

(Photo: Reuters)

Nota Bene: Danes are the only other people in the world that celebrates America’s Independence Day:

Rebild National Park Society is the first Danish-American friendship association and has existed for more than 100 years. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin is savoring every second of this.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Know-Nothing-party

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_of_the_Golden_Circle

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/06/danish-king-changes-coat-of-arms-in-apparent-rebuke-to-donald-trump

Ukraine: Two Russian High Value Targets (HVTs) Eliminated in Storm Shadow Missile Attack

The moment two Russian HVTs joined the Choir Invisible from their command post in Lgov, Kursk (Credit: East2West)

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is reaching its third terrible year, the Ukrainian military is stubbornly and successfully fighting off Vladimir Putin’s hegemonic designs on its Slavic neighbor. Kiev recently unleashed a (UK-manufactured) Storm Shadow missile attack targeting Russian HVTs hiding in a bunker in Kursk on 30 Dec 2024. At least 30 Russians were WIA.

Among those rendered ineffective were Russian Lieutenant Colonel Valery Tereshchenko, chief of communications of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division, and Colonel Pavel Maletsky, commander of 656th separate engineer-sapper battalion.

The late Russian Colonel Pavel Maletsky. (Credit: East2West)

The late Lt-Col Valery Tereshchenko. (Credit: East2West)

The UK, like the US, has done yeoman’s work helping the Ukrainians against Russia. But only the UK and NATO will continue assisting Kiev after the Trumpf/Putin/Musk cabal assumes power in two weeks. Expect the Ukrainian military to exert maximum force against the Russian invaders until the last possible minute. Because of the quickly compressing timetable, the Ukrainian sabotage network inside Russia may accelerate plans to assassinate HVTs before any ceasefire. Last year, the Ukrainian GUR may have done the US a tremendous service by neutralizing Lt-General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s CBRN defense unit who was also under investigation for alleged war crimes by the Kiev government.

Sources:

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/two-high-ranking-russian-officials-killed-in-missile-attack-as-ukraine-fires-at/

https://www.thesun.co.uk

https://apnews.com/article/russia-explosion-head-of-nuclear-defense-forces-killed-9656bce946a9f552454df9debe5fbd18

IDF Soldier Flees Brazil Amid Gaza War Crimes Investigation

An Israeli soldier accused of committing war crimes in Gaza has fled Brazil where he was vacationing when the case was brought against him in the South American country.

The unidentified soldier is accused of participating in the mass demolition of civilian homes in Gaza amid Israel’s war against Hamas in the Palestinian enclave.

An Israeli border police officer stands guard as municipality workers demolish a Palestinian house. (Image by Sebastian Scheiner / AP Photo.)

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid lambasted the need for a soldier to flee a country where they were vacationing in the dark of night to evade investigation as “a huge political failure.”

“How did we get to the point where the Palestinians are better than the Israeli government in the international arena?” Yair Lapid asked on X.

Palestinians mourning over the body of a relative killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza, 6 Jan 2025. (Photo: Dawoud Abu Alkas / Reuters)

Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that a total of 45,854 combatants and civilians have been killed and 109,139 wounded, injured, or maimed in Israel’s Nakba against the Palestinians following the 7 Oct 2023 surprise attack which resulted in 1,269 Israelis deaths and 250 captives taken for a prisoner swap.

On 21 Nov 2024, the ICC at the Hague issued an international arrest warrant for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes. Similarly, on 17 Mar 2023 the ICC had issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

These indictments are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Sources:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/01/06/soldier-flees-Brazil/8791736147621/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/1/6/live-israel-pounds-gaza-as-ceasefire-talks-with-hamas-gains-momentum?update=3425712

https://www.icc-cpi.int/defendant/netanyahu

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrants-against-vladimir-vladimirovich-putin-and

US Sanctions Alleged War Criminals in Sudan

The US Treasury Dept sanctioned the leader of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Gen. Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousafor for committing genocide in the Northeast African nation’s nearly two-year-old civil war.

USSECSTATE Antony Blinken announced the largely symbolic genocide determination. The US has repeatedly declared that war crimes have been committed by both warring parties in Sudan’s civil war, but Blinken alleged that the RSF’s systematic murder and sexual violence targeting individuals based on their ethnicity now meets the high threshold of genocide.

US Treasury sanction targets include the paramilitary weapons supplier Abu Dharr Abdul Nabi Habiballa Ahmmed and seven related companies.

Alleged war criminal RSF commander Gen. Mohammad Hamdan Daglo Mousa.

This is an ethnic civil war between “riverine Arabs” from the former ruling class in Khartoum and “Darfur Arabs.” These “Darfur Arabs” were considered backwards and “Africanized” by the former rulers. But “Darfur Arabs” comprise the RSF base and in turn dislike the former Khartoum ruling class. An estimated 61,000-150,000 have been killed, creating 2,170,592 refugees, while internally displacing 7,720,119 people. Russia is duplicitously supplying both sides of the conflict.

Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

Sources:

https://www.state.gov/genocide-determination-in-sudan-and-imposing-accountability-measures/

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2772

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/russia-sudan-war-saf-rsf-hedges-bets-both-sides-support

Filipino Fishermen Capture Suspected Chinese Underwater Spy Drone

Soldiers gather around the Chinese-made submersible drone recovered near San Pascual, Masbate on 30 Dec 2024. (Photo: PNP-Bicol)

Local fishermen hauled in a six-foot-long yellow underwater drone off the coast in the Philippines that police believe may have come from a Chinese submarine.

Three fishermen found the bright yellow drone about six miles off the coast of San Pascual in Masbate province, police said in a release posted on Facebook.

The sea drone carried the markings – “HY-119” – referring to “underwater navigation and communication system,” police said.

According to manufacturer sources, the Sea Wing can carry Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) sensors, as well as turbulence meter, Turbidimeter, chlorophyll sensor, dissolved oxygen sensor, nitrate and other biochemical sensors. It can also carry Acoustic sensors such as ADCP (acoustic Doppler current profile), underwater acoustic communication and hydrophones, as well as naval and military relevance.

USIC and naval personnel will have an opportunity to exploit this drone. Besides the Defense Attache office in Manila, US experts are in nearby Japan and South Korea.

Sources:

https://www.ibtimes.com/china-spy-drone-captured-phillippines-3757793

http://www.hisutton.com/Chinese-Sea-Wing-Submarine-Drone.html

Canada: The CBSA Announces First-Ever Canadian Land Pre-Clearance Operation in US

From the Government of Canada:

“The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced its intention to launch its first preclearance operation in 2025. Preclearance supports the national security and economic prosperity of both Canada and the US by facilitating the secure and efficient movement of people and goods across the border.

The initiative will have Canadian border services officers working at a shared facility at the Cannon Corners port of entry in New York (adjacent to the Covey Hill, QC port of entry). For the two-year duration of the operation, travelers entering Canada will go through Cannon Corners instead of the Covey Hill port of entry, which will be closed to travelers during that time.”

(Map: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/)

“At the preclearance site, Canadian officers will examine travelers and goods to decide whether they are admissible into Canada, as they currently do at ports of entry in Canada. This includes screening for dangerous goods, such as firearms and drugs, before they leave the US. While officers will be able to conduct most types of immigration processing at this site, claims for refugee protection cannot be processed at preclearance. Travelers seeking refugee protection in Canada will need to use a Canadian port of entry.”

Cannon Corners, NY is west of the major Champlain POE (US I-87/ Canada I-15).

“Updates on the initiative and launch date will be shared on the CBSA’s website and social media platforms.

Quote from The Honorable David J. McGuinty, Minister of Public Safety:

“Today’s announcement demonstrates our shared commitment with the United States to bolster border security and streamline the flow of legitimate trade and travel between our two countries. Preclearance is yet another example of how Canada and the United States work together every day to intercept security threats early, while delivering large-scale economic benefits for Canadians and Americans.”

Quick facts:

The Preclearance in the US Regulations provide CBSA officers with the necessary authorities to carry out immigration services at preclearance sites in the US.

The US currently has preclearance operations at eight Canadian airports.

Canada is investing $1.3 billion to bolster security at the border and strengthen the immigration system, all while keeping Canadians safe.

Remarkable that the Canadian government is spending so many resources to placate the childish and boorish Donald Trumpf. Creating discord within NATO allies and Western countries is exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin wants and Trumpf is following his instructions perfectly. The present discourse in some American circles that somehow Trumpf is responsible for PM Justin Trudeau’s resignation as head of the Liberal Party are inaccurate. The PM was dealing with domestic issues such as housing, immigration, and strengthening Canada’s national healthcare system long before Trumpf’s horrific electoral win this past Nov 2024.

Sources:

https://www.canada.ca/en/border-services-agency/news/2025/01/the-cbsa-announces-first-canadian-land-preclearance-operation-in-the-us.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4306292/The-border-town-immigrants-creeping-Canada.html

China: HMPV Virus Outbreak

Masked people walk through a station in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: 3 February 3, 2020, with an image of a virus inset by LewisTse Pui Lung / Rost-9D/iStock / Getty Images Plus / Canva)

News reports and social media posts are warning of a new outbreak of a little-known virus called human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China, but officials are yet to confirm this.

Instead, official reports from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that rates of multiple flu-like illnesses are on the rise in China.

Human metapneumovirus (HMPV) is a virus that can cause flu-like illness in people of all ages, although some people are more at risk, including young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

The virus was only discovered as recently as 2001, but it is in the same family as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): another flu-like virus.

https://twitter.com/COVID19_disease/status/1874481684122607783

There is not enough information from reliable sources on the extent and severity of a possible HMPV outbreak in China to accurately predict the risk of a pandemic.

However, this is a virus that already circulates among populations in China, the US and elsewhere, so there is more herd immunity against it than there would be against a novel virus, such as COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.

(Photo: Getty Images)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly called on Beijing to share more information on the 2019 COVID outbreak which they have yet to do. Worldwide, there have been 777,074,803 confirmed cases of the disease, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and more than seven million deaths. Information sharing and cooperation will save lives for any epidemic, but Beijing is not known for its transparency so rumors will continue to circulate that SARS-CoV-2 was a leaked Chinese biological weapon.

Sources:

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158676

https://www.newsweek.com/human-metapneumovirus-hmpv-china-outbreak-explainer-2009126

Cat Jumps in Every Shower Her Mom Takes Shower

Lunatic Attacks Crowd in New Orleans, Killing 16, Injuring 35 in “Name of ISIS”

Shamsud-Din Jabbar (42) from Texas, drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. After hitting the crowd, Jabbar exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement. Police officers returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital. 

At least 16 people, including the suspect, were killed according to the New Orleans coroner. At least 35 others were injured, some critically.

An ISIS flag was located in the rented Ford pickup truck, as well as weapons and a potential IED. Other potential IEDs were also located and rendered inert in the French Quarter. A fire broke out the same day of the attack at an Airbnb in the St. Roch neighborhood, which investigators believe the suspect rented. A man from Jabbar’s house in North Houston surrendered after law enforcement entered.

The FBI reported that Jabbar was born and raised in Texas and served in the US Army for ten years. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and was honorably discharged at the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Suspect Had Troubled Background: Perfect for Recruitment

Jabbar’s past criminal history included a 2002 arrest for misdemeanor theft and a 2005 arrest for driving with an invalid license. Jabbar was twice divorced, resulting in financial problems.

A Texas judge issued a temporary restraining order against Jabbar in 2020 after his second wife asked for one during their divorce case. The order mandated that Jabbar refrain from threats, physical harm or other stipulated behavior against his ex-wife and either of their children, and required her to avoid the same activity. In a court filing, Jabbar’s ex-wife stated the marriage had become “insupportable because of discord or a conflict of personalities.”

Like the similar Christmas attack in Magdeburg Germany in Dec 2024, the suspects were mentally defective with suicidal ideations. This made them perfect for ISIS recruitment online. The attackers are convinced that the West is at fault for their unhappy and miserable lives, so if they’re going to kill themselves, take as many infidels as possible and be rewarded with a first-class ticket to Paradise. Lenin called them “useful idiots.” There will be more copycat attacks in the future using this successful tactic by disgruntled miscreants who are cynically radicalized and recruited online by ISIS. Compare the eyes of the perpetrators in the above and below photos.

 The ‘unstable’ 50-year-old Saudi doctor, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, calmly ate shrimp and drank beer before he allegedly rammed his SUV into a crowded market in the city of Magdeburg that killed five and injured scores of revelers.

The FBI has set up a digital tip line asking the public with information or video of the incident to submit them to www.fbi.gov/bourbonstreetattack or call 1-800-CALL-FBI. 

Sources:

FBI Statement on the Attack in New Orleans — FBI

Shamsud-Din Jabbar: What we know about the New Orleans attack suspect | CNN

Montenegro: Twelve Killed in Mass Shooting, Suspect Kills Himself

Two children were among twelve people killed in a mass shooting that started at a restaurant in the small town of Cetinje in Montenegro and continued at three different locations.

Per CIA: Montenegro has a population of ~620,000 people and GDP per capita is $27,800. Montenegro became an official EU candidate in 2010 and joined NATO in 2017.

A local man is suspected of carrying out the shootings, identified by the police as Aleksandar Martinovic (45). He “killed members of his own family”, a government minister said, adding that the suspect was thought to have been drinking heavily before the rampage. The suspect died of a self-inflicted wound to the head.

Police stand at a checkpoint near where a gunman opened fire at a restaurant and killed several people in Cetinje, Montenegro, on 1 Jan 2025 (Photo: Stevo Vasiljevic / Reuters)

The mass shooting was the second gun rampage over the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. In Aug 2022 an attacker also killed ten people, including two children, before he was shot and killed by a passerby.

Montenegro is known for its gun culture and many people traditionally have weapons. The national security council will now consider “all options” in the aftermath of the attack, including a complete ban on the possession of weapons.

In any country, alcohol and easy access to firearms is a lethal combination as these poor victims discovered. The takeaway here is the Montenegrin government is considering a nationwide ban on firearms. But this is unlikely for several reasons. The history of ethnic violence in the Balkans (e.g. the Second World War, the Bosnia Civil War, and Kosovar Albanian independence) may make gunowners reluctant to surrender their weapons. Moreover, little Montenegro ranks fifth in Europe on the Global Organized Crime Index. These powerful gangs may surrender their legally registered weapons but will no doubt keep their unregistered firearms.

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/2/at-least-10-killed-in-mass-shooting-in-montenegro-suspect-kills-himself

https://ocindex.net/country/montenegro

Ukraine: Russian Helicopter Downed by Sea Drone for First Time

A Ukrainian Magura V5 drone boat armed with R-73 missiles. (Image credit: Russian Telegram channels) Inset: the Russian Mi-8 as seen by the targeting system. (Image credit: Ukrainian Military Intelligence)

Ukraine claims that for the first time one of its sea drones has downed a Russian military target in the air during a day of intense attacks by both sides as the war edges closer to its three-year anniversary.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR) claimed on 31 Dec that a Magura V5 sea drone equipped with missiles shot down an Mi-8 helicopter in a battle near Cape Tarkhankut on Crimea’s west coast.

Another Russian helicopter, the GUR said, was hit by fire but managed to return to a Russian airfield.

“GUR soldiers destroyed an air target for the first time in the world using a Magura V5 naval drone,” the intelligence agency said in the post, which had grainy video of what it said was evidence of the attack.

The video has not been independently verified.

In the video, you saw the Mi-8 release chaff to divert missiles. This downing of a helicopter by a maritime drone is another historic first in this nearly three year long war. The face of war is changing exponentially and at this conflict’s end, the Ukrainian military and intelligence services will be one of the most experienced and capable forces in the West. Indubitably, Chinese military observers are making note of these developments for any future conflict with India, Taiwan, or the US in terms of producing weapons, as well as deploying them.

The Mi-8 is the world’s most-produced helicopter, with over 17,000 units used by over 50 countries. In addition to its most common role as a transport helicopter, the Mi-8 is also used as an airborne command post, armed gunship, and reconnaissance platform. The Mi-8 is “the AK-47 of the skies.”

Sources:

Ukraine Says It Downed Russian Helicopter With Sea Drone For First Time

Mil Mi-8 – Wikipedia

Cuba: Hepatitis A Advisory for Tourists

The Cuban Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) has issued an alert for tourists who plan to visit the island due to the increase in cases of hepatitis A, a highly contagious virus that can seriously affect health.

Hepatitis A is mainly transmitted through contaminated food and water, as well as by close contact with an infected person. This viral disease affects the liver and can be especially dangerous if not treated properly. The increase in cases in Cuba is due to the consumption of raw or undercooked food and the use of non-potable water, which favors the spread of the virus.

The hepatitis A virus can remain on surfaces for several months and is not spread through casual contact, such as sneezing or coughing. However, people can become infected if they eat food handled by someone with the virus who did not wash their hands well after using the bathroom, if they ingest contaminated water or food, or if they have sexual contact with an infected person.

Symptoms usually appear within a week of infection and include unusual tiredness and weakness, nausea, abdominal pain, clay-colored stools, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, dark urine, joint pain, and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).

To prevent infection, hepatitis A vaccination, which consists of two injections separated by six months, is recommended. In addition, tourists traveling to countries with active outbreaks, such as Cuba, should follow some key precautions:

• Wash all fruits and vegetables with bottled water and peel them before eating.
• Avoid eating raw or undercooked meat and fish.
• Drink only bottled water and use it to brush your teeth.
• Do not consume drinks or ice of dubious origin.
• If bottled water is not available, boil tap water before consuming it or use it to make ice.
• Wash your hands frequently, especially after using the bathroom or before preparing food.

In the event of any symptoms of hepatitis A, travelers are urged to see a doctor as soon as possible for treatment and to avoid serious long-term complications.

Tourism in Cuba is an industry that generated over 4.7 million visitors in 2018 and is one of the main sources of revenue for the island. 1,109,339 Canadians vacationed in Cuba that year.

The hepatitis A alert may be the result of vexing potable water problems in Cuba. Water shortages are increasingly flaring tempers, including in capital Havana, as problems mount for hundreds of thousands of residents already ragged from shortfalls in food, fuel, and electricity. Upwards of 600,000 people – more than 1 in 20 on the Caribbean island of ten million citizens – are suffering from water supply issues.


Sources:

https://www.codigosanluis.com/alerta-en-cuba-por-brote-de-hepatitis-a/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/hundreds-of-thousands-in-cuba-without-water-1.7036536

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Cuba

US Treasury Sanctions GRU-Affiliated Entity That Used Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Interfere in US 2024 Election

Excerpt from the US Dept of the Treasury press release linked at bottom:

“At the direction of, and with financial support from, the GRU (Russian military intelligence), the Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) and its personnel used generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation that would be distributed across a massive network of websites designed to imitate legitimate news outlets to create false corroboration between the stories, as well as to obfuscate their Russian origin. CGE built a server that hosts the generative AI tools and associated AI-created content, in order to avoid foreign web-hosting services that would block their activity.”

GRU insignia.

“The GRU provided CGE and a network of US-based facilitators with financial support to: build and maintain its AI-support server; maintain a network of at least 100 websites used in its disinformation operations; and contribute to the rent cost of the apartment where the server is housed. Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin played a key role in coordinating financial support from the GRU to his employees and US-based facilitators.”

The USG sanctioned Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin (undated photo from public domain)

This is indeed another “smoking gun found at the crime scene” and Russian interference was just another factor in the Democratic Party’s catastrophic loss last year.

But regardless of Russian interference, Americans have proven they can elect a person of color twice to the White House, as well as a woman. In 2016, Hilary Clinton won the popular vote over Donald Trump by 2,864,974 votes, but lost the medieval and anachronistic Electoral College vote with help from the Kremlin. Ultimately, anti-war Democrats and Independents disgusted by US support for Israel in the Gaza war simply stayed home on 5 Nov 2024, like their disgusted predecessors did in 1968 over VPOTUS Hubert Humphrey’s support for the wholly unpopular Vietnam War.

American Vietnam War protestors in 1968

American Gaza war protestors in 2024

For the sake of the Democratic Party and future elections, instead of blaming Russian interference or scapegoating the tiny Arab-American community for the 2024 catastrophe, they should re-examine their foreign policy and not ignore the tremendous anti-war segment of the American population.

VPOTUS Kamala Harris meets with indicted war criminal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on 25 Jul 2024. This loathsome man, the :curse of Israel,” is responsible for over 45,000 deaths and 100,000 injuries in what scholars denounced as a genocide of the Palestinian people. (Photo: Nathan Howard / Reuters)

Sources:

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2766

https://tostpost.com/news-and-society/27504-valery-korovin-biography-and-photos.html

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-officially-wins-popular-vote-29-million/story?id=44354341

UK: Woman Who Vanished 52 Years Ago In Coventry Reappears Safe And Well

(Sheila Fox, missing since 1972, in an undated photo courtesy of the West Midlands Police)

Sheila Fox, who vanished from Coventry in 1972 at just 16 years old, has been found alive after over five decades. The breakthrough came after West Midlands Police launched a fresh appeal for information, releasing a photo from around the time of her disappearance. Within hours of the appeal, the public provided valuable leads that ultimately helped officers track down Fox, who is now 68 years old and living in another part of the country.

In 1972, when Fox disappeared, authorities believed she may have been in a relationship with a man and could have left Coventry to start a new life elsewhere. Despite numerous investigations over the years, she was never found. However, with the help of a photo from the time, officers from the cold case investigation team revisited the case, determined to give her family the closure they had longed for.

Detective Sergeant Jenna Shaw praised the team’s hard work and the public’s assistance in solving the case. The investigation was complex, involving the examination of old evidence, but the breakthrough was a reminder of how new perspectives and public involvement can lead to resolutions.

While the details of Fox’s life over the past 52 years remain private, authorities are relieved to have located her and ensured she is safe and well. Her family, too, now has the long-awaited answers they needed. The case highlights the importance of not giving up on cold cases, as even the oldest investigations can sometimes have happy conclusions.

Sources:

The BBC

Newsx.com

Under the Trumpf Junta, How Soon Before America Joins the List of Pariah States?

After Trumpf’s stunning 2024 electoral win, Russian despot Vladimir Putin gleefully declared that the “New World Order” is dead. According to former National Security Advisor John Bolton, Trumpf mulls about withdrawing the US from NATO. Under Project 2025, America’s Richard III will attempt to deport massive numbers of vulnerable migrants while further eroding the country’s social safety nets and civil liberties. The maps below from worlddata.info represent current and former Pariah and Rogue states:

“Pariah states are those states that are considered outcasts because of their government. Anyone who does not abide by international rules or refuses to cooperate with the international community in wide areas must expect sanctions. Many of the former and current pariah states owe their classification to their autocratic rule, under which their own people suffer.”

“The term ‘rogue state’ goes back to the US government under George W. Bush, which used it to describe aggressive states that threaten either the USA itself or its allies. Although the term was new, the concept of the exclusion of dangerous nations was introduced in 1994. The first countries to be considered ‘Rogue States’ were North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, and Libya.”

Salon magazine wrote this heinous hobglobin that offended the people of Canada, Mexico, Greenland, Denmark, and Panama the “21st century Jefferson Davis.” (Photo illustration by Salon / Getty Images.)

Sources:

https://www.worlddata.info/pariahstates.php

https://www.econotimes.com/Putin-Declares-Death-of-New-World-Order-Backs-Trumps-Foreign-Policy-in-Stunning-Statement-1693214

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trumps-mass-deportation-plan-what-we-know-and-latest-news.html

https://www.salon.com/2020/07/04/donald-trump-is-the-21st-century-jefferson-davis-history-will-judge-him–and-us/

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn

https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/trumps-outrageous-designs-on-greenland?open=false#%C2%A7trumps-outrageous-designs-on-greenland-and-panama

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/12/politics/us-out-nato-second-trump-term-former-senior-adviser/index.html

Tiny Octopus Befriends Diver Who Visits Him Everyday

Octopi are intelligent, affectionate, and playful creatures, as you will see below.

Desertions Spark Panic, and Pardons, in Ukraine’s Army

Oleksandr left his unit without permission after six months of hard fighting, but later returned to the army (Photo: AFP)

Oleksandr LNU (photo in link) deserted from the front line in eastern Ukraine after watching his fellow servicemen being pulverized by Russian bombardments for six months. Then, those remaining were ordered to counterattack.

It was the final straw for Oleksandr (45) who had been holding the line in the embattled Lugansk region in the early months of the war. Even his commanding officer was reluctant to send his men back toward what looked like certain death. So when Oleksandr saw an opening to save his life, he did.

“We wanted to live. We had no combat experience. We were just ordinary working people from villages,” the soft-spoken serviceman.

Family, friends, and army comrades gather to mourn Ukrainian army paramedic Nazarii Lavrovskyi (31) at his funeral at Lisove cemetery in Kiev, 24 April 2024 (Photo: Francisco Seco / AP)

Oleksandr’s is just one of many cases plaguing the Ukrainian military, which has already suffered at least 43,000 losses in nearly three years of fighting, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed this month. The government is also struggling to recruit new troops.

Figures published by the Ukrainian general prosecutor’s office show that more than 90,000 cases have been opened into instances of soldiers going absent without leave or deserting since Russia invaded in 2022, with a sharp increase over the past year.

Members of Ukraine’s ‘Da Vinci’ Assault Battalion without masks or blurred faces. Kiev now offers amnesty for first-time deserters if they return to their units. (Photo: AFP)

Shell shock and PTSD have devastating effects on soldiers, on top of them dealing with plain innate fear and miserable living conditions in the front lines. This is not a new phenomenon. Drone operators or logistical personnel in the rear are most likely not deserting, but frontline soldiers are. During the Second World War, 50,000 American soldiers of the “Greatest Generation” deserted in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 1942 to 1945; there were no desertions reported in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO).

Kiev offering amnesty or pardons is a positive step in improving morale, as well as maintaining their exhausted manpower levels. The Ukrainian Army may also consider extended Rest and Recreation (R & R) leaves, like US servicemen enjoyed in Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Hawaii, Taiwan, and Singapore, during the long and tortured Vietnam War.

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/21/why-is-ukraines-army-facing-a-desertion-crisis

https://www.ibtimes.com/desertions-spark-panic-pardons-ukraines-army-3757026

https://www.npr.org/2013/06/17/189275754/wwii-deserters-stories-of-men-who-left-the-front-lines

Russian Arrested For Running Gay Travel Agency Found Dead in Cell

The late Andrei Kotov in court (Photo: SOTA)

Authorities claim Kotov organized a New Year holiday trip to Egypt and a Volga River cruise centered around LGBTI+ themes.

Denying the charges, Kotov defended himself in court, stating that the tours were purely of a tourist nature and did not involve any ideological propaganda.

“The LGBTQ+ community in Russia has been under legal and public pressure for over a decade but especially since the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in 2022. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has argued that the war is a proxy battle with the West, which he says aims to destroy Russia and its “traditional family values” by pushing for LGBTQ+ rights.”

Helmeted riot police detain clearly dangerous looking LGBTQ+ rights activists during a St Petersburg march. (Photo: Getty Images)

One of Russia’s most famous sons, the man who composed “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker,” was LGBTQ+.

You wonder what music Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to?

“The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus. Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.”

― Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Sources:

https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-lgbt-gay-travel-arrest-death/33257088.html

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/russian-man-arrested-for-allegedly-running-gay-travel-agency-dies-in-custody

What Will the Incoming Trump Regime Prosecute and What Will the FBI Investigate?

The President-elect already announced he will vindictively go after his enemies once he assumes power.

The Trump/Putin/Musk cabal, with advice from the rightwing Federalist Society (AKA the) “Feudalist Society”) will appoint Assistant US Attorneys (AUSAs), as well as the US District Marshals which are basically well-paying sinecures, in the below 94 federal districts.

Under the new regime, will these AUSAs defend anti-trust measures against oligarchs or prosecute violators of the Clean Water Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act?

The President-elect intends to nominate the reactionary and unpopular Kash Patel to be Director of the FBI.

If confirmed by the US Senate, this unqualified and incompetent Trump loyalist will be D/FBI. (Undated photo)

While the FBI will continue to investigate nefarious Iranian and Chinese operations in the US, as well as ISIS plots, will the FBI continue to investigate Russian espionage or white supremacist organizations?

Notorious convicted Russian spy Maria Butina infliltrated the GOP and the NRA.

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases in Florida Prompt Warnings for Disney World Guests

(Image credit: Inside The Magic)

In 2024, Florida reported 83 confirmed cases of Vibrio vulnificus, almost doubling the 46 cases seen in 2023. 17 deaths have been attributed to the bacterium this year compared to 11 in 2023.

The recent spike in cases is linked to two powerful hurricanes—Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton—which battered Florida with heavy rainfall and flooding. These conditions create ideal environments for Vibrio vulnificus to thrive in warm, brackish, and saltwater areas.

The Florida Department of Health has identified counties with elevated cases, including Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota. Fortunately, Disney World is located in Orange and Osceola Counties, where Vibrio vulnificus cases remain rare.

According to the CDC, this bacteria can enter a human through an open wound or by consuming seafood contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus.

Necrotizing fasciitis can result in life-long complications from loss of limbs or severe scarring due to surgically removing infected tissue. Even with treatment, up to 1 in 5 people died from the infection.

Global warming has been linked to the increase in flesh-eating bacteria in several states.

In 2016, Aimee Copeland went ziplining in Georgia and fell into shallow dirty water. She became infected with Vibrio vulnificus and lost all of her limbs.

Aimee Copeland was 24 at the time and pursuing an MA degree in psychology. (Photo: John Loomis)

Florida suffers red tide and blue-green algae blooms, which hurt people, animals, pets, and marine life. Emergency declarations have shut down beaches and fishing along large parts of both coasts. Nitrogen and phosphorus entered the watershed harming agriculture. There is a fresh water shortage in southern Florida because the salinity of Florida Bay has changed.

Remarkably, Floridians have no right to bodies of water ‘free of pollution.’ For the second time this year, a Florida appellate court has ruled against environmentalists fighting to enact a widely supported local clean water measure.

Sources:

https://insidethemagic.net/2024/12/disney-world-flesh-eating-bacteria-emd1/

https://www.cdc.gov/group-a-strep/about/necrotizing-fasciitis.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2024/02/02/flesh-eating-infections-rising-on-the-east-coast-scientists-warn—global-warming-is-making-it-worse/

https://people.com/human-interest/aimee-copeland-flesh-eating-bacteria-survivor/

https://www.yahoo.com/news/floridians-no-bodies-water-free-204050826.html

Florida’s Water Pollution

Retired US Army General: Elon Musk is National Security Risk

US Army Lieutenant-General Russel Honore in Cameron Prairie, LA on 25 Sep 2005. (Photo: Carlos Barria / Reuters)

Retired US Army Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré branded Elon Musk a “national security risk,” citing Musk’s history of appeasing and praising the Chinese Communist Party and his multiple business deals with them, particularly in the space race.

In a scathing op-ed published in The New York Times (NYT), Honoré noted that Musk and his company SpaceX already face federal reviews for failing to provide details of meetings with foreign leaders, but said that such infractions were “just the beginning of my worries.”

Musk has previously borrowed at least $1.4 billion from banks controlled by the Chinese government to help build a “gigafactory” in Shanghai for Tesla. The factory was responsible for more than half of Tesla’s global deliveries in the third quarter of 2024.

“China does not tend to give things away,” Honoré wrote. “The country’s laws stipulate that the Communist Party can demand intelligence from any company doing business in China, in exchange for participating in the country’s markets. “This means Mr. Musk’s business dealings in China could require him to hand over sensitive classified information, learned either through his business interests or his proximity to President-elect Donald Trump.”

The NYT reports that the egomaniacal oligarch is being investigated by the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General, the USAF, and the Pentagon’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. Musk had not disclosed frequent meetings with foreign leaders, most notably Russian president Vladimir Putin. Musk has been violating the rules set out by his “top secret” security clearance for years and Israeli officials have expressed concerns that he could leak sensitive state secrets.

Elon Musk’s murky background of how he obtained his fabulous wealth and the circumstances surrounding his immigration to the US remain unclear. There have been calls to investigate and deport the racist Elon Musk back to South Africa for obtaining his US citizenship under false pretenses. Linked at bottom are the specific USCIS regulations on US naturalization which Musk may have violated.

An indictment or accusation is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Sources:

Opinion | Elon Musk Is a National Security Risk – The New York Times

Retired Army general declares Musk a ‘national security risk’ in brutal NYT op-ed | The Independent

https://futurism.com/elon-musk-investigated-violating-terms-top-secret-clearance

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-l-chapter-2

American Police Brutality: NYS Prison Guards Beat Inmate to Death

Warning: Some Followers of the Watch may find the following images graphic and disturbing. This is one of the most cruelest stories that ever beset the author’s eyes.

NYS prison inmate Robert L. Brooks bleeding and disoriented. (Photo: AFP)

This brutal racist attack on inmate Robert L. Brooks (43) happened at Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate NY on 9 Dec in an examination room. Brooks was serving a twelve-year sentence for assault. Other officers stood by and watched as the handcuffed and helpless Brooks was abused and beaten by several correctional officers while blood poured from his face during the 30-minute episode.

After the beat down, Brooks was taken to Wynn Hospital in Utica and declared dead from “asphyxia due to compression of the neck,” in the early morning of 10 Dec.

One guard is holding Brooks in a chokehold as officers try to move him. (Photo: AFP)

One prison guard kicks and stomps on Brooks’ chest. (Image: Office of the New York State Attorney General)

NYS Governor Kathy Hochul began the process of firing the guards and had already suspended 13 without pay. One guard has already resigned.

Marcy Correctional Facility received a scathing evaluation by an oversight agency following a two-day monitoring visit from 11-12 Oct 2022.

Key Highlights: Observations of a Retaliatory Environment, Racial Disparities in Disciplinary Process Affecting Access to Food for Incarcerated Individuals

Marcy Operating Outside HALT Guidelines by Incarcerating Individuals with Mental Health Conditions in SHU Units

The Empire State incarcerates approximately 32,600 convicts which provide white, rural non-college graduates with pensioned careers and peace officer status. There are over 15,000 sworn members in the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS). This nationwide pattern of hiring rural whites to guard minority convicts is called the “prison-industrial complex.”

Note the correlation between the prisons above and this 2020 election map below:

The competent NYS Attorney-General Letitia James will most likely be leading the prosecution.

Compare America with Scandinavia.

Norwegian prison guard playing volleyball with inmates. (Photo: NY Times)

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2024/12/27/us-news/ny-prison-guards-beat-handcuffed-inmate-robert-brooks-video/

https://www.correctionalassociation.org/press-releases-archive/2023-marcy-pvb-release

https://doccs.ny.gov/

https://www.syracuse.com/news/2024/12/body-cam-shows-ny-prison-guards-pummeled-handcuffed-inmate-during-fatal-assault-investigator-says.html

France: In 2023, 62% of Criminal Convictions Were for Sexual Offenses

This woman is protesting domestic violence, an issue that continues to plague France. A 2018 report said one out of ten women were raped at least once in their lifetimes. (Photo: The Globe Post and AFP)

Rape was the most frequently convicted crime in French courts in 2023, with 1,800 cases resulting in convictions.

Sexual crimes accounted for 62% of the 2,900 criminal convictions handed down by French courts in 2023.

Aggravating circumstances were considered in more than 70% of these cases, and 10% involved perpetrators who were the victim’s spouse or partner.

In total, nearly 550,000 people were convicted of all crimes in 2023, while some 900,000 offences were recorded in criminal records.

However, serious crimes such as murder, rape, armed robbery and violent crimes, accounted for only 0.3% of these infractions.

The average length of French prison sentences in 2023 was 9.7 months.

This outrageous case in 2024 blackened both of France’s eyes.

The hideous Dominique Pelicot, who drugged and raped his wife Gisele Pelicot, appears during his trial with 50 co-accused at the courthouse in Avignon, France, 17 Sep 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (ZZIIGG / Reuters)

Below are what French prisons look like. All photos courtesy of acidcow.com:

Endnote: France, an EU and NATO member which hosts INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, is unhappily and ironically a top ten member of the Global Organized Crime Index.

Sources:

https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20241228-rape-tops-criminal-convictions-in-france-justice-report-shows

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2024/09/19/french-mass-rape-trial-something-was-wrong-suspect-tells-court_6726653_7.html

Cat Simply in Love With Woman That Saved Him

Vietnam 63 Years Ago Today: First US Soldier Killed in Ground Combat

James T. “Tom” Davis was sent to the Republic of Vietnam in May 1961 with the US Army Security Agency (ASA) to pinpoint enemy radio transmitters. (Images: Davis family via Mark Raab)

In a tortured experience known as the Vietnam War which would eventually cost American families 58,220 of their brave sons and daughters, the very first US Army Soldier to die in ground combat was Specialist James T. “Tom” Davis 63 years ago today, on 22 Dec 1961.

James T. “Tom” Davis was a Tennessee native like Medal of Honor awardee Alvin Cullum York (immortalized by Gary cooper in the 1941 film Sergeant York),

James Davis enlisted in the US Army after high school, becoming a signals intercept specialist with the Army Security Agency (ASA).

The ASA was formed in 1945 to intercept and monitor enemy and friendly radio communications (AKA SIGINT). The ASA operated covertly in Vietnam as “radio research units.” Coriolanus is proud to write that one of his military instructors in university served with the ASA during the Vietnam War.

Excerpts from Mark Raab’s excellent article:

“The 3rd Radio Research Unit arrived at Tan Son Nhut on 13 May 1961 and was the first entire US Army unit to deploy to Vietnam. The men who got off the plane wore civilian clothes, a reflection of their secretive assignment. Previously, members of the military arrived as individuals and were placed in units after they were in-country. US personnel in Vietnam in May 1961 were assigned to Military Assistance Advisory Group-Vietnam, formed in November 1955. The US had approximately 3,000 military personnel in Vietnam at the time.”

“Tracking a Viet Cong radio signal west of Saigon on 22 Dec 1961, Specialist Davis and a contingent of ten South Vietnamese soldiers headed to meet the enemy. But their vehicle struck a powerful mine, killing nine ARVN soldiers. Specialist Davis pulled his surviving ARVN driver out of the disabled truck and fired upon the attacking Viet Cong guerillas with his carbine. Some 50 feet away from the vehicle, Davis was hit by enemy fire and fell.”

“The Viet Cong, no longer receiving any return fire, rushed to the wounded Davis. They shot the Soldier in the head and rifled through his pockets searching for anything valuable. The guerillas didn’t recover his watch which Davis kept in his breast pocket away from his electronic devices.” But Specialist Davis’ efforts weren’t in vain.

“Using fresh intelligence from the 3rd Radio Research Unit, US and ARVN personnel headed west to attack the Viet Cong at the Thieng Quang pineapple plantation in Operation Chopper on 24 Dec 1961, the first helicopter assault of the Vietnam War and the birth of the Air Cavalry.”

Specialist James “Tom” Davis was buried in his hometown at Livingston’s Good Hope Cemetery on 3 Jan 1962. On 10 Jan, less than three weeks after his death, the ASA officially named the 3rd Radio Research Unit’s Tan Son Nhut compound “Davis Station.”

Historical Footnotes:

Major Dale Buis (L) and Sergeant Chester Ovnand (R) courtesy of The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

In 1959, the first American soldiers to die in Vietnam were Major Dale Buis and Sergeant Chester Ovnand when their compound was attacked by Viet Cong guerillas.

The first American personnel to die in Vietnam were two CIA pilots supporting the French military during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954: James McGovern and Wallace Buford.

 

(Undated photo of CIA pilot James Bernard McGovern Jr)

Endnotes:

During the Cold War, Airman John Cash was a SIGINT specialist. As a crack Morse code interceptor, he deciphered Soviet signals for USAF intelligence.

While monitoring the Soviet Morse Code chatter on 5 Mar 1953, Airman Cash became the very first American to hear of the death of the Soviet supreme leader, Joseph Stalin. The “Man in Black” then relayed the important information to his superiors, a secret Johnny Cash wouldn’t reveal for many years and the rest is history.

Sources:

https://www.historynet.com/first-us-soldier-killed-vietnam/

Johnny Cash, the Man in Black, Was a Morse code Intercept Operator during the Cold War

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alvin-Cullum-York

Kiev In Flames After Massive Russian Attack:

“A Tale of Two Cities”

Ukrainian rescuers extinguishing a fire at the site of a 20 Dec Russian missile attack in Kiev. (Photo: Roman Pilipey /AFP via Getty Images)

This undated but highly appropriate photo below was taken in the closed Russian city of Yekaterinburg:

ICC-indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin continued his Nakba against Ukrainians with a massive drone attack against Kiev as winter begins to set in. This is the man that President-elect Donald Trump admires. Casualty counts are still being tabulated.

Ukrainians take shelter in a metro station during the 20 Dec attack on Kiev.

This poor child was heard calling “Mama!” as a woman led her briskly to safety, away from the burning car behind them, following Russian air strikes on Kiev on 20 Dec.

St. Nicholas Church was among the buildings damaged in Kiev.

More than 600 residential buildings in the capital were left without heating as a result of the attacks.

A Ukrainian woman appears shocked, cradling her terrified dog, in the wake of the attack.

A Tale of Two Cities

Just as ICC indicted war criminal Russian President Vladimir Putin is cruelly immiserating the people of Ukraine this winter, so too is similarly indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu cruelly immiserating the people of Gaza. Ukrainian lives matter, and so do Palestinian lives.

Do either of these ten-year-old girls below look like terrorists?

The visibly emotional Nadine (10) questioned why she and the people around her were being pitilessly attacked by the IDF. (Photo: Social media)

After losing her eye in an IDF attack, Areej Asaliya (10) said “My life will never be the same again.” But what future would poor Areej have had anyway in the impoverished devastated ghetto of Gaza? (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

One of the major differences between Putin’s Nakba against the Ukrainians and Netanyahu’s pogrom against the Palestinians: Funding.

The hard-working American taxpayer is rightfully funding the defense of one people from suffering while wrongfully funding the suffering of another. Since Feb 2022, the US has allocated $113.4 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine. Meanwhile, the US committed over $3.3 billion in foreign assistance to Israel in 2022, the most recent year for which data exists. About $8.8 million of that went toward the country’s economy, while 99.7% of the aid went to the IDF. From 1951 to 2022, US aid to Israel totaled $317.9 billion.

Sources:

https://www.rferl.org/a/air-raid-warning-attacks-kyiv-ukraine/33248178.html

https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-strikes-kyiv-ukraine-/33246699.html

https://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-globally/gaza-israel-hamas-militant-group-10-year-old-breaks-down-viral-video-7318773/

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-money-has-the-us-given-ukraine-since-russias-invasion/

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-military-aid-does-the-us-give-to-israel/

https://archive.is/Vr1wz

https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/20/russia-ukraine-ballistic-missiles-drones-cyberattack-putin/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/russia-winter-cold-power-1.6661362

Will US Make an Example of Luigi Mangione?

Luigi Mangione escorted by an army of police officers as if he was a nefarious and dangerous super combination of Hannibal Lecter and Osama Bin Laden.

After the murder of Mammonish UnitedHealthCare CEO Brian Thompson, a wealthy man who proudly put profits over people, NYPD detectives began the nationwide manhunt for his alleged killer.  After being identified by a fast-food worker in Altoona, PA, Luigi Mangione was arrested and readied for extradition to NYC where he would be prosecuted by Manhattan County District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

On 17 Dec, a Manhattan County Grand Jury indicted Luigi Mangione (full indictment linked below):

Mangione Charged with one count of Murder in the First Degree and two counts of Murder in the Second Degree

But two days later on 19 Dec, the federal government (through the SDNY AUSA) charged Luigi Mangione with a litany of charges that includes death (by lethal injection).

From the official AUSA statement:

“As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country.“

Why would the federal government pursue charges when a Manhattan County Grand Jury already indicted Luigi Mangione?

Luigi Mangione’s defense counsel questioned conflicting federal charges she described as “highly unusual.”

“Is there one case? Two cases? Two investigations? Is it a joint investigation?” Karen Friedman Agnifilo asked US Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker. 

“There are a lot of factors here that I think are very confusing, highly unusual,” she added.

Perhaps because the Empire State does not have capital punishment and the federal government may want to make an example of Luigi Mangione.

When you re-read the AUSA statement, the US Attorney admits the USG wants to quash the “grossly misguided” message, as well as the messenger.

Put another way, the American elites simply won’t tolerate attacks on capitalism or the murder of one of their own. Some people have to be made examples of. Uncle Sam has a history of making examples. First, in 1953 two alleged “atom spies” were executed:

In June 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the only American civilians executed for espionage during the Cold War, a case prosecuted by the notorious Roy Cohn.

The funeral services were held in Brooklyn on 21 Jun 1953. The Rosenbergs were buried at Wellwood Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Pinelawn, NY. The Times reported that 500 people attended and some 10,000 stood outside.

Based on subsequent Russian decryptions, Ethel Rosenberg knew about Julius’ espionage work “but that due to ill health she did not engage in the work herself” and an innocent woman was executed.  

Another example was the infamous federal execution of Timothy McVeigh on 11 Jun 2011. Instead of being imprisoned in a Supermax BOP facility for life with other convicted terrorists and murderers, American society demanded vengeance for the 168 people killed (including 19 children) and 684 injured in the 19 Apr 1995 terrorist attack in Oklahoma City, OK.

Execution chamber, USIP Terre Haute, IN.

Since 1976, sixteen people have been executed under federal jurisdiction by the US government. All were executed by lethal injection at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, IN. According to the US BOP, there are 4,982 prisoners incarcerated for Homicide, Aggravated Assault, and Kidnapping Offenses. Not all federally convicted murderers in prison are executed.

And what is this misguided message the US government wants to extinguish? The dangerous and inconvenient truth that unregulated capitalism, particularly in the health insurance industry, doesn’t work for the poor and suffering masses and that seeking private retribution for these injustices simply won’t be tolerated.

Today, the elites seem to be demanding vengeance– not justice– for killing one of their own or else the Manhattan DA would be trying this open and shut murder case. But since Mangione won’t face the death penalty in a NYS court, the US government intervened, giving itself the option of extracting its pound of flesh from Luigi Mangione. Having said that, Coriolanus strongly suspects that should Luigi Mangione be federally convicted, he will face life behind bars in a remote prison in Colorado.

But America’s wealthy elites and CEOs ought to pay attention to the suffering of the masses which will only increase under the imminent Trump-Musk-Putin regime and Project 2025. Nationwide, health industry executives and politicians have been scrambling to secure their homes with infrared robotic cameras, bulletproof glass, and secret doors to safe rooms. A robust phalanx of sinister-looking bodyguards and a medic have been observed accompanying super-oligarch Elon Musk.

A common and daily scene during the French Revolution.

Sources:

https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-murder-indictment-of-luigi-mangione/

https://manhattanda.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mangione-Indictment-FINAL-as-filed.pdf

Luigi Mangione’s attorney takes issue with federal, state charges

https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/luigi-mangione-charged-stalking-and-murder-unitedhealthcare-ceo-brian-thompson-and-use

https://www.justice.gov/d9/2024-12/signed_complaint_mangione.pdf

https://manhattanda.org/

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg – Wikipedia

 Terrified CEOs resort to extreme secret security tactics after Brian Thompson assassination amid copycat fears | Daily Mail Online

US: Avian Flu Advisory

California Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a State of Emergency to streamline and expedite the state’s response to Avian influenza A (H5N1), commonly known as “Bird Flu.” Tests have confirmed H5 avian flu in two cats that died after drinking recalled raw milk and LA county health authorities are investigating three other possible cases in cats that weren’t exposed to raw milk.

The virus has spread in 16 states among dairy cattle, following its first confirmed detection in Texas and Kansas in March 2024.

In Louisiana, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial backyard flock (non-poultry) in Bossier Parish.  This is the first case of HPAI in domestic birds in Louisiana during this outbreak, which began in February 2022.

The Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has detected highly pathogenic avian influenza in an Ottawa County flock, following an investigation from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD)

According to an announcement from the department Monday, this is the first detection of the disease in a Michigan poultry flock since the state worked to manage the largest outbreak of the disease in May 2024 and the second in an Ottawa County commercial facility since the disease was first detected in the state in 2022. 

According to the CDC, the public health risk associated with these avian influenza detections in birds remains low.  As a reminder, the proper handling and cooking of all poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F is recommended as a general food safety precaution.

The avian flu will probably be the Trump administration’s first health challenge. The incoming president gained experience during the COVID pandemic and Americans will see how Trump and his cabinet handle this growing emergency which potentially threatens the economy, people, and cats.   

Sources:

USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Backyard Non-Poultry Flock in Louisiana | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

CORRECT-ATTESTED.pdf

Governor Newsom takes proactive action to strengthen robust state response to Bird Flu | Governor of California

Highly pathogenic avian influenza detected in Ottawa County, MDARD warns.  • Michigan AdvanceLos Angeles County confirms avian flu in cat deaths as more cases suspected | CIDRAP

Germany: Demented Saudi Refugee Rams Car into Crowd Killing Several and Injuring Hundreds

A nine-year-old child and four adults have been killed after a car drove into a crowd at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg.

More than 200 people were injured – at least 41 critically – in the attack on Friday evening.

A black BMW SUV ploughed 400 meters through the crowded market in an attack that lasted about three minutes. The suspect has been named in local media as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi citizen who arrived in Germany in 2006 and had worked as a doctor.

Taleb al-Abdulmohsen (Social media)

Prosecutor Horst Walter Nopens said that the investigation was ongoing but suggested the background to the crime “could have been disgruntlement with the way Saudi Arabian refugees are treated in Germany”.

The suspected attacker has no known links to Islamist extremism and he appears to be a “lone actor.” His social media and posts appear to suggest he had been critical of Islam.

A source close to the Saudi government told the BBC it sent four official notifications known as “Notes Verbal” to German authorities, warning them about what they said were “the very extreme views” held by al-Abdulmohsen.

The source, who asked not to be named, said these notifications were ignored.

However, another experienced counter-terrorism expert said the Saudis may be mounting a disinformation campaign to discredit someone who tried to help young Saudi women seek asylum in Germany.

Al-Abdulmohsen is thought to have driven into the market through an entry point which was reserved for emergency vehicles.

The suspect is a psychiatrist who lived in Bernburg, around 40km (25 miles) south of Magdeburg. Originally from Saudi Arabia, al-Abdulmohsen arrived in Germany in 2006 and in 2016 was recognised as a refugee. He ran a website that aimed to help other former Muslims flee persecution in their Gulf homelands.

Friday’s incident is not the first time people at a Christmas market have been attacked in Germany.

In 2016, Anis Amri, a Tunisian man who failed to gain asylum in Germany and had links to the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, drove a truck into crowds gathered at a church market in Berlin, killing 12 and injuring 49 others.

Two years later, a gunman opened fire on a Christmas market in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, killing five and injuring another 11 people. The gunman was shot dead by police two days later.

Only last month, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser talked about the need for “greater vigilance” at the highly popular markets but said there were no “concrete” indications of danger.

She also reportedly pointed to tougher laws on weapons in public spaces following a knife attack in Solingen, west Germany, in August in which three people died.

The RW AfD will gain in the snap elections and auslanders (even innocent ones) will be deported from Germany in 2025.

Elon Musk recently tweeted:

“Only the AfD can save Germany.”

AfD Neo-Nazis spent Election Day at Mar a Lago. The tall man on the left is a reputed porn star. (Image: Social media)

All of this terrorism, discord, and xenophobia in the West makes Vladimir Putin’s day. Elon Musk must be ecstatic that his tweet reached an international audience before news of this callous and brutal attack at Christmas revelers in Germany reached most Americans in the US.

Sources:

German Christmas market attack: Nine-year-old among five killed

December 21, 2024 – Coverage of the Germany Christmas market attack | CNN

China: Seven Alleged Spies Arrested in Guam During US Missile Testing

Seven Chinese citizens have been arrested for allegedly attempting to illegally enter Guam, a US territory, while the military was conducting a key missile defense test.

The incident, which occurred on 10-11 Dec 2024, has raised concerns about potential espionage as four of those detained were found “in the vicinity of a military installation,” Guam’s Customs and Quarantine Agency said. The arrests came as the US Missile Defense Agency conducted an interception test involving advanced radar systems at Andersen Air Force Base on 10 Dec 2024.

“Conducting espionage against US military facilities, especially those with missile launch capabilities, could provide the PRC with potentially valuable intelligence,” US think tank Institute for the Study of War said.

The USN destroyer John Paul Jones launches an SM-6 during a live-fire test of the ship’s Aegis weapons system. The Missile Defense Agency’s first flight tests involving its defense of Guam architecture will include the Aegis series. (Photo: US Navy)

The arrested individuals reportedly arrived on the island by boat from Saipan. Guamanian authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, but there has been no immediate response from China’s foreign ministry to the arrests or the allegations.

Chinese intelligence uses the million grains of sand approach to collect information and China’s satellites and radar can efficiently gather telemetric data, so these seven alleged spies were sent to Guam to pick up any scrap of ancillary information about the missile launch, the vessel, photos of crew members, telephone numbers, or any grain of sand that will help create a mosaic of intelligence in Beijing.

Sources:

Seven Chinese nationals tried to illegally enter Guam as US tested missile, authorities say | The Independent

First flight test for Guam missile defense planned for end of 2024

Future White House Press Conferences Under Donald J. Trump

Below are the questions the White House Press Corps should be asking President Trump next year:

“Thank you, Sir, for answering my question about deportations. One follow-up, please. Does President Musk agree with you?”


“Sir! Sir!” How long did it take President Putin to select your Cabinet appointments?”


“Sir! Will President Musk be given Air Force Two?”


“Thank you, Sir! Does President Putin email or call you with his instructions?”


“Mr. President, did you run this idea past Elon Musk? And he OK-ed it?”


“Sir, how long does it President Putin to make decisions impacting US national security? And has his English improved when he gives you directions?”

Golden Retriever Gets Puppy Sibling to Grow Up With