Trumpf Junta Update: Dystopia, Dysfunction, Fascism, Misery, Cover-Ups, Fraud, Waste, and Abuse

Followers of the Watch: Keeping up with the madness, chaos, and abject dysfunction of the Trumpf junta is challenging. You will read that Dummkopf Trumpf is in the process of consolidating power for the Republicans and the oligarchs, while wasting millions of dollars of money and trying to cover up his connection to the lurid late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

Trumpf Vetting Top Military General Appointments in Loyalty Test

President Donald Trumpf is now meeting with four-star general nominees personally, a notable departure from past practices that raises ethical concerns about the further mingling of political roles within the military’s highest ranks.

Expanding Trumpf’s role in vetting future four-star generals comes amid a trend by this junta of tapping the military for the president’s domestic agenda, including the creation of new militarized zones along the southern US border, deployments to tamp down public protests over immigration raids, and the use of troops to bolster immigration enforcement and deportations.

Source:

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/07/30/trump-vetting-top-general-nominees-it-could-be-seen-loyalty-test.html

Leaked DHS Memo Reveals US Military to Bolster ICE on American Streets

This leaked internal memo circulated inside DHS suggests that Dotard Trumpf’s use of the military for domestic law enforcement on immigration could soon get worse. The memo lays out the need to persuade top DOD officials to get much more serious about using the military to combat illegal immigration—and not just at the border. It suggests that DHS is anticipating many more uses of the military in urban centers, noting that LA-style operations may be needed “for years to come.” And it likens the threat posed by transnational gangs and cartels to having “Al Qaeda or ISIS cells and fighters operating freely inside America,” hinting at a ramped-up militarized posture inside the interior.

Trumpf’s resurrection of the infamous 1919-20 Palmer Raids, combined with DOD support, normalizes a militarized American society. Trumpf has amassed a $200 million war chest of political funds, even though he is Constitutionally forbidden to run for POTUS a third term. So, what is the money for? Perpetuation of GOP power over America with willing generals, a Republican Congress, and a subservient Supreme Court to supporting fascist-oligarch rule. Some Republican governors are gerrymandering their congressional districts to ensure white GOP candidates will have easy wins in the 2026 mid-term elections.

Sources:

https://newrepublic.com/article/198689/department-homeland-security-memo

Trump, Term-Limited, Amasses $200 Million War Chest for Political Ambitions – The New York Times

https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-states-redraw-congressional-midterms-texas-california-2103010

President Trumpf Announces US Nuclear Submarines Moved Closer to Russia

Dummkopf Trumpf said he had ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in “the appropriate regions” in response to remarks from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between the nuclear-armed adversaries.

Trumpf’s move is a rhetorical escalation with Moscow but not necessarily a military one, given that the US already has nuclear-powered submarines that are deployed and capable of striking Russia.

Medvedev said Trumpf should remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort, after Trump had told Medvedev to “watch his words.”

Kabuki Theater

The location of USN nuclear-armed submarines (Ohio-class) is supposed to be ‘restricted information,’ like the maximum speed of USN aircraft carriers. Russia not knowing the location of constantly moving US nuclear subs makes them a threat and part of America’s defensive triad. When the USAF moves strategic aircraft, civilians near the bases see them, or they are spotted in commercially available satellite imagery, so that may be discussed in a narrow, limited manner. (e.g. “No comment”). Trumpf or Pete Hellsbreath shouldn’t be discussing any issues of US nuclear submarines with an adversary or in public. Announcing the submarine movement towards Russia is simply poor kabuki theater between the Trumpf junta and the Kremlin, as Trumpf is buying time for the Kremlin to continue its war against Ukraine while demonstrating to the American people that he is really trying to stop Russian President Vladimir Putin. Similarly, the Trumpf junta has bought time and financially supported Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip.

Source:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/trump-nuclear-submarines-russia-positions-1.7599792

Trumpf Junta Investigating Former Special Counsel Jack Smith

Jack Smith is now under formal investigation by the Office of Special Counsel, marking the first official inquiry into his conduct.

Smith had been tapped by the Justice Department to lead two high-profile criminal cases involving President Dummkopf Trumpf—one focused on classified documents and another on Trumpf’s role in the events of 6 Jan 2021, and whether they constituted an effort to overturn the election. Both cases ultimately ended in dismissal.

The Hatch Act Unit—which is responsible for ensuring that federal employees do not engage in political activity in violation of the law—is now examining Smith’s conduct.

The probe was initiated after Republican Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter to the Office of Special Counsel earlier in the week, accusing Smith of using his authority to deliberately sabotage Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Smith, who had been appointed to his position by Attorney General Merrick Garland during the Biden administration, stepped down in January after Trumpf returned to the White House.

Republican critics of Smith have long lied that the charges brought against Trumpf were less about the law and more about politics, aimed at damaging his chances in the upcoming election.

This is pure partisan revenge against an honorable attorney who successfully prosecuted war criminals at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague. Jack Smith was stymied all the way by arcane Justice Department policies about prosecuting former presidents and impartial Republican judges like Aileen Cannon who kept sabotaging and delaying his cases until the November 2024 elections which Trumpf narrowly won.

SC Jack Smith sabotaged by the very system he spent years protecting

Source:

Ex-Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith Under Investigation After Claims of Playing Politics: ‘No One Is Above The Law’ | Matzav.com

Trumpf Revives Presidential Fitness Tests for Children, Then Names Registered Sex Offender to the Council

In the middle of his vexing Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal, Dotard Trumpf re-established the Presidential Fitness Tests for students. Trumpf said he aims to address Americans’ declining health and physical fitness, including “crisis levels” of obesity, chronic disease, inactivity, and poor nutrition. He chose HHS Secretary anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr, to lead the program, as astonishing as that is, Trumpf then chose retired NFL legend Lawrence Taylor (66), a registered sex offender, to sit on the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

Retired NFL legendary linebacker Lawrence Taylor won two Superbowls, but led a deeply-troubled off-field life. (Photo: Elsa Getty Images)

Then the White House announced that Dummkopf Trumpf (79) won his sixth club championship by an incredible ten strokes, three under par.

Sources:

NFL legend Lawrence Taylor arrested and charged with failing to report move as sex offender again

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/trump-revive-presidential-fitness-test-rcna222264

https://giantswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/giants/2025/08/01/new-york-giants-lawrence-taylor-saquon-barkley-donald-trump-council-sports-fitness-nutrition/85477778007/

Trump Claims Sixth Club Championship Win of 2025

Trumpf Junta Wasting Millions of Dollars of Food Aid for Poor People

A well-nourished man steals maize from a starving child at an MSF food distribution site in Sudan.

More than 60,000 metric tons of food have languished in warehouses in the US and around the world. 15,000 pounds of food have languished for months and expired in a Georgia warehouse before they could be sent overseas to famine-stricken areas like Sudan. Mana Nutrition’s warehouse holds plenty more of the peanut paste, a crucial element in treating malnutrition. A $50 million supply has been stacked for months in their facility as the Trumpf junta upended foreign aid and the food was never shipped. The food could still help 60 million people, Mana estimates. “This is a giant glut,” David Todd Harmon said. “All contracted. All bought and paid for. It’s just not been picked up.” Mana’s decision to jettison part of its food cache was the third instance in recent weeks in which important nutrition and family planning assistance slated for overseas was marked for destruction.

This is beyond Fraud, Waste, and Abuse of American taxpayer money, but contemptible racist cruelty at the hands of the worst USSECSTATE in American history, Marco Rubio, an empty suit void of vision, integrity, and empathy, and his master, eugenicist Dummkopf Trumpf. The Republican Party touts itself as “Christian,” but there is nothing “Christian” about letting poor people starve and wasting money already allocated by Congress to combat global famine. Meanwhile, the junta is wasting $200 million on renovating the ballroom of the White House into a gaudy eyesore. $200 million could feed approximately 800,000 poor Americans for one month; approximately 66,666 could be fed for one year with the same amount.

Lastly, as you previously read here on Coriolanus, junta members and lobbyists are profiting mightily from this misery as the leaders of poor countries are now paying bribes to get US foreign assistance from Dotard Trumpf.

Sources:

As world’s hunger worsens, vast supplies of U.S. aid remain stranded – The Washington Post

Archived link:

As world’s hunger worsens, vast supplies of U.S. aid remain stranded – The Washington Post

Global Witness

The White House Announces White House Ballroom Construction to Begin – The White House

Elon Musk’s DOGE Wasted $21.7 Billion of American Taxpayer Money

US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) released a Minority staff report unveiling that Elon Musk’s brainchild, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has generated at least $21.7 billion in waste across the federal government between 20 Jan 2025 and 18 July 2025. The report, “The $21.7 Billion Blunder: Analyzing the Waste Generated by DOGE,” follows a months-long investigation into Elon Musk and DOGE and is the most comprehensive effort to date to quantify taxpayer dollars squandered by DOGE despite its ostensible goal of eliminating government waste.

“This report is a searing indictment of DOGE’s false claims. At the very same time that the Trump Administration is cutting health care, nutrition assistance, and emergency services in the name of ‘efficiency’ and ‘savings,’ they have enabled DOGE’s reckless waste of at least $21.7 billion dollars,” said Blumenthal. “As my PSI investigation has shown, DOGE was clearly never about efficiency or saving the American taxpayer money. I urge Inspectors General to take up our investigation’s findings and initiate a comprehensive review of DOGE’s careless actions.”

Sources:

[2025-07-31] The $21.7 Billion Blunder: New PSI Report Reveals…

2025-07-31-Minority-Staff-Report-The-21.7-Billion-Blunder.pdf

White House Press Spokesperson Says Trumpf Deserves Nobel Peace Prize

Laughably, WH Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that Dummkopf Trumpf deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize: “President Trump has brokered, on average, one peace deal or ceasefire per month. It’s well past time that President Trump was awarded the Noble Peace Prize.” Her full idiotic statement is below. Note that college educated Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt misspelled “Nobel.”

“On the peace front, President Trump helped deliver an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. The two countries were engaged in a deadly conflict that had displaced more than 300,000 people until President Trump stepped in to put an end to it. The president spoke directly on the phone with the acting prime minister of Thailand and the prime minister of Cambodia to inform both leaders that unless they brought their conflict to an end, there would be no trade discussions or agreements with the United States.

“Almost immediately afterward, a peace was brokered that will save thousands of lives and allow for trade negotiations with these countries to resume and they have. The president has now ended conflicts between Thailand and Cambodia, Israel and Iran, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India and Pakistan, Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia.

“This means President Trump has brokered, on average, about one peace deal or ceasefire per month during his six months in office. It’s well past time that President Trump was awarded the Noble [sic] Peace Prize.”

The winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on 10 October 2025 by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway, and will be awarded on 10 December 2025. Only an insane person would think Dotard Trumpf would even be considered for this prestigious award.

This preposterous and imbecilic proposal was followed by Trumpf (79) making suggestive comments about Karoline Leavitt’s (27) appearance: “She’s become a star. It’s that face. It’s that brain. It’s those lips, the way they move. They move like she’s a machine gun,” Trump said. “She’s a great person, actually. But she’s – I don’t think anybody has ever had a better press secretary than Karoline. She’s been amazing.”

Sources:

Ron Smith on X: “Karoline Leavitt: President Trump has brokered, on average, one peace deal or ceasefire per month. It’s well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.🤔 These people are living in their own reality. https://t.co/x9hxCd4Mte” / X

Trump gushes over Karoline Leavitt: ‘It’s that face, it’s that brain, it’s those lips, the way they move!’ | The Independent

Ghislaine Maxwell Update

The abhorrent Ghislaine Maxwell in court. (Image: Reuters: Jane Rosenberg)

Notorious sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell offered to testify before Congress, but with major conditions, including immunity. Then House Oversight Chair James Comer announced scheduled congressional deposition is indefinitely postponed. In a letter to Maxwell, Comer said he would agree to delay the meeting after her lawyers earlier this week requested a postponement in the planned 11 Aug testimony citing a pending Supreme Court petition regarding her case. Maxwell’s attorneys also made a number of requests in order to facilitate her cooperation with the Oversight panel’s questioning ” some of which Comer rejected outright.

Comer agreed to delay the interview until after the Supreme Court rules on her appeal, which claims that her 2021 sex trafficking conviction was barred by Epstein’s earlier plea deal. That’s not likely to happen before the court begins its annual term in October.

Ms. Maxwell is allegedly seeking a presidential pardon from Dotard Trumpf. The notorious sex trafficker was then quietly moved from her prison at FCI Tallahassee, FL, to a ‘softer’ prison in Texas that has an ‘honor system.’ That means that somebody waived Maxwell’s sex offender status.

The Deputy Attorney-General handling the matter is also Trumpf’s personal attorney, raising all sorts of conflict of interest problems.

Congress Subpoenas Justice Dept for Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein Files

The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the Department of Justice for files in the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. It’s part of a congressional probe that lawmakers believe may show links to Dotard Trumpf and other former top officials.

The Republican-controlled committee also issued subpoenas for depositions with former President Bill Clinton, former USSECSTATE Hillary Clinton and eight former top law enforcement officials. The committee’s actions showed how even with lawmakers away from Washington on a monthlong break, interest in the Epstein files is still running high.

Link: https://archive.ph/oMGic

Anti-Trumpists in the US Senate Can Do More

US Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) presides over a hearing of the Permanent Select Committee on Investigations on 15 Nov 2022. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)

US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) can hold public hearings about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. His committee won’t have subpoena powers to compel testimony since Democrats are in the minority; however, Senator Blumenthal can invite witnesses to testify before Congress, as you see above. Such witnesses would include the AUSA, FBI agents, and NYPD officers that investigated Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, as well as their victims. All of them would have to voluntarily appear at the hearings.

And Coriolanus is not alone in suspecting that notorious sex predators Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were Mossad assets collecting derogatory information on behalf of Israel. Obviously Israel and AIPAC does not want any alleged connection between them exposed. When Ghislaine Maxwell is finally released from federal custody in approximately 20 years, Coriolanus would not be surprised if this UK citizen found refuge in Israel.

Link: Was Jeffrey Epstein, Superconnector of the Rich and Powerful, a Spy? – Business Insider

Many, many powerful people want to see the Ghislaine Maxwell problem go away permanently.

Sources:

Maxwell offers to testify before Congress but with major conditions, including immunity | CNN Politics

https://oversight.house.gov/release/chairman-comer-subpoenas-ghislaine-maxwell-for-deposition-at-federal-prison/

Donald Trump Among Public Figures Redacted by FBI in Jeffrey Epstein Files: Report – Newsweek

www.politico.com

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/ghislaine-maxwell-prison-trump-pardon-epstein-b2800443.html

https://www.muellershewrote.com/p/exclusive-someone-waived-ghislaine

Trumpf Cuts Funding of Public TV and Radio Out of Revenge

Since the 1980s, Sesame Street has featured a few greedy, grouchy characters who have had names like Ronald Grump and Donald Grump (Image: The Washington Post)

Dummkopf Trumpf childishly cut public television and radio funding after decades of mockery on Sesame Street. WQXR-FM is just one of the victims of Trumpf’s churlish decision. Enjoy the 24/7 commercial-free classical music here while the station still has operating funds: https://www.wqxr.org/

Source:

Donald Trump seeking to end public television funding after decades of mockery on Sesame Street | The Independent | The Independent

But it Can and is Happening in America Right Now

90 years ago novelist Sinclair Lewis wrote It Can’t Happen Here about a dangerous demagogue who becomes a fascist POTUS. The novel was soon produced into a play and decades later in 1968 ABC aired a made-for-TV film roughly based on Sinclair Lewis’ dystopian novel. You will recognize some of the actors, as well as the writer, of this nearly forgotten movie, Shadow on the Land:

US Nuclear Power Plant Horror Stories

Locations of radioactive sites in the US. 80 atomic power plants mottle America.

South Carolina: Radioactive Wasps Found at Nuclear Waste Site

The Northern Paper Wasp (Photo: https://birdwatchinghq.com/)

The US Department of Energy discovered a radioactive wasp nest near the Savannah River Site (SRS) nuclear waste facility in South Carolina. The nest was found to have ten times more radiation than permitted levels. The wasp nest was found near tanks that are being used to store millions of gallons of liquid nuclear waste. The nest was sprayed with insect killer, removed and disposed of as radiological waste. Wasps generally fly only a few hundred feet from their nest and the nest was found in the middle of the 310-square-mile SRS meaning there is little chance they flew outside of the facility. Investigators say that the radiation was not related to any nuclear waste leak and that there was no impact on the environment or the public.

The population within a 50-mile radius of the Site center in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties in South Carolina and in Richmond, Burke, and Screven counties in Georgia, is 803,370. The largest population concentration is in the Augusta, Georgia, metropolitan area.

The SRS opened in the 1950s, when it was creating plutonium to be used in the core of nuclear bombs. The site continues to operate today, but with a focus on nuclear material for power plants. There are approximately 80 commercial nuclear power plants across 34 states, and each of these produces nuclear by-products (spent nuclear fuel), which is often stored on-site in pools or dry casks.

The site is administered by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) which the Trumpf junta and DOGE recklessly targeted for budget and personnel cuts.

But If no leaks of spent fuel were reported, how did the wasps become radioactive?

Sources:

EM-SR–SRMC-FTANK-2025-0003

In 1954, a science fiction film portrayed ants mutated by atomic radiation from US weapons testing in the Mojave Desert. Them! remains a classic film to this day.

Florida: Nuclear Plant Workers Afraid to Report Safety Concerns

Dummkopf Trumpf’s Mar-A-Lago resort is approximately 30 miles away from the Port St Lucie nuclear facility,

A culture of fear has persisted at a Florida nuclear power plant owned and operated by the state’s largest utility, Florida Power & Light (FPL). Workers were hesitant to report safety concerns to upper management lest they face retaliation. Inspectors came to this conclusion after interviewing more than 75 employees at the St. Lucie plant, located on a barrier island an hour north of West Palm Beach. A federal database showed workers’ anonymous complaints of wrongdoing at the plant skyrocketed last year. On-site workers filed far more reports here than at any other of the nation’s 54 nuclear power plants. The findings come as the utility asks regulators for permission to hike Floridians’ electric rates by billions of dollars over the next four years. FPL’s proposed increase represents the largest rate hike request in US history. FPL CEO Armando Pimentel Jr’s total 2024 compensation was $11.4 million.

Nuclear power plants need large amounts of water for cooling and hence their locations near rivers or oceans, but ocean water temperatures have been rising for decades. Moreover, the power, intensity, and frequency of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean have also been increasing. With all of these safety and environmental challenges, the Port St Lucie nuclear plant could be a potential Floridian Chernobyl.

Hurricane Milton was the most powerful storm to hit Tampa Bay in 100 years.

Sources:

Florida nuclear plant workers were too afraid to report safety concerns, records show

Amid climate concerns, nuclear plants feel the heat of… | Canary Media

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/08/04/doh-21-infections-tied-to-consumption-of-raw-milk-in-northeast-and-central-florida/

Canada: Drug Cartel Banking Activity

‘The Trumpf junta’s focus on illegal drugs has put Mexican cartel activity in Canada under the microscope. This analysis finds that cartel activity in Canada is increasingly a problem and has worsened over the last two decades. Based on a case study analysis of drug seizures in Canada, both large and small, it is clear that the main products being moved by these organizations are fentanyl, street drugs (cocaine and meth), and illegal tobacco. A conservative estimate on the size of the illicit market for those products is $2.672 billion CAD per year. Not only is the market significant for these products, but the distribution of these products is shifting to online marketplaces/retailers, facilitated by major financial institutions (banks, credit card companies, Interac), and delivered directly to the doors of buyers by Canada Post. With Canada listing Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, the potential consequences for these institutions are significant.’

To counter these nefarious groups, the Government of Canada recently proscribed seven international criminal organizations as terrorist groups: Cártel del Golfo, Cártel de Sinaloa, La Familia Michoacana, Cárteles Unidos, La Mara Salvatrucha, Tren de Aragua, and Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. This means any property of that group in Canada can be frozen and gives Canadian law enforcement more tools to prosecute terrorist offenses, including those related to financing, travel, and recruitment. This listing enhances domestic law enforcement capabilities, while respecting other countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Canada’s competent law-enforcement agencies include uniformed RCMP officers, investigators, accounting forensics experts, and linguists, all at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is highly ranked as an employer by college graduates and attracts talented individuals.

Sources:

Cartel Activity in Canada – Consumer Choice Center

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2025/02/government-of-canada-lists-seven-transnational-criminal-organizations-as-terrorist-entities.html

Unknown Hackers Breach Website Used by USIC

Unidentified hackers recently compromised a major intelligence website used by the CIA and other agencies to submit details of sensitive contracts, according to the National Reconnaissance Office, the spy satellite service that runs the site.

The breach targeted proprietary intellectual property and personal information submitted on the Acquisition Research Center website in support of several innovative CIA spying programs.

In addition to the intelligence website hack, Microsoft revealed that Chinese state hackers compromised the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a central nuclear weapons agency.

The extent of the breach is not fully known, but people familiar with the activity said hackers likely obtained information on key technologies for CIA operations.

Other potential areas of compromise could include the US Space Force, its efforts to build surveillance satellites and space weapons, and the Golden Dome missile defense program.

Data from one highly sensitive program, Digital Hammer, was compromised.

Digital Hammer compiles cutting-edge technologies for human intelligence gathering, surveillance and counterintelligence operations. The program focuses on the threat of Chinese intelligence and information operations.

Portions of many Digital Hammer programs are unclassified. However, others submitted to the National Reconnaissance Office acquisition center are classified and involve capabilities essential to covert operations and strategic intelligence collection.

Digital Hammer is a closely guarded program working to develop open-source intelligence platforms, analytics, and items such as miniaturized sensors and hidden surveillance tools.

Other programs seek to develop acoustic and communications systems, artificial-intelligence-powered data collection, analysis and behavior prediction tools.

Countersurveillance and signature reduction technologies also are part of the program. Lori Ann Duvall-Jones, CIA deputy director of the Office of Acquisition Management, said in a 2023 speech that Digital Hammer is a contracting vehicle that allows vendors to present offerings “within a CIA space.”

There is no further information on the damage this breach caused in US intelligence operations and the suspects range from Russia, China, Israel, North Korea, India, Iran, or their proxies. Unfortunately the USIC is now led by a gaggle of incompetent lickspittles whose priorities are finding and firing undesirable employees (minorities, non-MAGA loyalists) and not on countering genuine threats to the Nation. America’s adversaries could not be luckier than today thanks to the Trumpfian Stalinist purges of competent, experienced intelligence employees.

Dipsomaniac USSECDEF Pete Hegseth, the most underqualified person to ever lead America’s nuclear-armed defense establishment, has his own share of OPSEC blunders.

Source:

Major intelligence website hacked in search for CIA spying secrets – Washington Times

Latin American Drug Cartels Snuck Operatives into Ukraine for Drone Training

Ukrainian servicemember operating a drone (Photo: Anadolu News Agency)

Ukrainian counterintelligence services are investigating the infiltration of Latin American drug cartel members into the country’s International Legion, with operatives seeking advanced drone training to later deploy against rivals and security forces in their home countries.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched a joint investigation with military intelligence after Mexico’s National Intelligence Center warned in early summer that Mexican volunteers had joined Ukraine’s foreign fighter units specifically to acquire first-person view (FPV) drone capabilities. The probe has since expanded to include Colombian nationals, raising concerns about Ukraine’s inadvertent role as a training ground for transnational criminal organizations.

The investigation centers on several Spanish-speaking units within the International Legion, particularly the tactical group “Ethos,” operating in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. Ukrainian investigators reportedly suspect that some Mexican and Colombian volunteers intentionally sought placement in drone operator units to later use this training in the service of foreign criminal organizations.

One noteworthy case is that of a Mexican national operating under the alias “Águila-7,” who registered in March 2024 using fraudulent Salvadoran documentation. Posing as a humanitarian volunteer, he completed comprehensive drone training in Lviv while demonstrating exceptional technical expertise that eventually had instructors suspicious.

His extensive technical knowledge, including familiarity with electronic warfare countermeasures and thermal detection avoidance, reportedly stood out. Background investigations later revealed probable connections to Mexico’s elite GAFE special forces, some of whose former personnel have historically transitioned to cartel employment, notably through the ultra-violent Zetas organization.

The infiltration demonstrates remarkable operational sophistication for a nonstate group, with suspects employing false identities, forged documentation and front companies to facilitate their passage into Ukrainian territory and military structures. Intelligence analysts have identified a network of private security firms across Latin America that appear to have coordinated these placements.

Additional cases have emerged involving former FARC guerrillas who infiltrated the system using Panamanian and Venezuelan identity documents. At least three former FARC fighters passed through the International Legion using forged documents, with their relocation reportedly organized by cartel-linked entities.

The revelations highlight Ukraine’s unintended emergence as a premier training ground for modern asymmetric warfare techniques amid its conflict with Russia. Ukrainian authorities have developed comprehensive curricula covering drone manufacturing, tactical deployment, electronic warfare resistance and real-time battlefield coordination. Coincidentally, these capabilities also represent exactly the type of force multiplication that criminal organizations seek.

Mexican cartels are already conducting drone attacks against rivals and security forces domestically, making the acquisition of Ukrainian battlefield-tested tactics particularly concerning for regional security.

An unnamed SBU official said: “We welcomed volunteers in good faith. But we must now recognize that Ukraine has become a platform for the global dissemination of FPV tactics. Some come here to learn how to kill with a $400 drone, then sell this knowledge elsewhere to the highest bidder.”

This is Not a New Phenomenon

White supremacist militia members, well-trained by the US military.

Infiltrating military organizations in order to receive lethal training for nefarious purposes is not a new phenomenon. In the US, white supremacists began joining the US Army and USMC years ago after the draft ended in order to learn combat skills to later form militias. Some have conducted domestic terrorist attacks in America. Street gangs from the minorities also joined the US military, using their skills for criminal enterprises once they separate from the service. This case in Ukraine is unique in that criminal organizations invested time and personnel to send their operatives to a faraway warzone where they may get discovered or possibly killed in combat. Ukrainian SBU is competent and experienced and will soon locate these drug cartels operatives and prosecute or extradite them to their home countries.

Source:

Drug cartel operatives snuck into Ukraine for drone training: report

‘Laughing Gas’ Abuse Fatally Climbing Among US Youth

JAMA reports:

“Teenagers and children across America are increasingly inhaling nitrous oxide, better known as “laughing gas” or “whippets” to get high. Inhaling nitrous oxide comes with serious health risks: Blood clots, frostbite, asphyxiation, heart palpitations, hallucinations and even paralysis, brain damage, or death. Sold in canisters, easy access appears to be growing throughout the US. There are no age restrictions on buying nitrous oxide which is available online and in gas stations across the country. US deaths linked to misuse of the common, legal inhalant climbed nearly sevenfold — 578% — between 2010 and 2023. In 2023, 156 Americans, many of them children, died from huffing nitrous oxide. Eighth-graders make up a large proportion of users.

Nitrous oxide is often inhaled with a balloon. (Photo: Matt Cardy / Getty Images News)

Many nitrous oxide products come in flavors that are especially enticing to children or teenagers, like berry or cotton candy and often come with flavored nozzles. The research focused on 14 years of US CDC data on nitrous oxide-related deaths. Fatalities were rare and relatively stable until about 2010, when there were 23 deaths nationwide. But after that point, death rates began to climb. The US FDA issued a warning earlier this year, listing 15 nitrous oxide products with names like Baking Bad, Cloud 9ine, Cosmic Gas, and Whip-It! Canada has seen incidents of nitrous oxide abuse rise and similarly issued a warning this year.

The corporations or business enterprises that manufacture and market nitrous oxide products know exactly what they are doing: practicing a form of vulture capitalism. These entities make profits from selling legal, dangerous chemicals to vulnerable youth simply for the sake of profit regardless of the health consequences. Americans are already paying for costly health insurance and exorbitant medical expenses and the Trumpf cuts to the social safety nets will further exacerbate the problems of the poor. The parents of young victims of nitrous oxide abuse will receive expensive medical bills and must hope their health insurance will cover them (if the victims survive).

Sources:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2836925?resultClick=3

FDA.gov

Canada recall

Tiny Kitten Challenges Giant Husky

UK Intelligence Services Expose and Sanction Russian Spy Ring

From left to right, top row: Nikolay Korchagin; Aleksey Lukashev; Aleksandr Osadchuk; and Artem Malyshev. Bottom row: Vladislav Borokov; Yevgeniy Serebriakov; Anatoliy Kovalev; and Ivan Yermakov.

A string of Russian spies and their units have been exposed by Britain’s security services over their years-long campaign of cyber hacking, arson, and sabotage.

Spies who targeted the daughter of the former double agent Sergei Skripal, five years before both were nearly killed in the Salisbury novichok incident, are among 18 Russian military intelligence officers who have been sanctioned.

Others have been unmasked for a “sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity”, covert bombings and arson attacks in Britain and Europe, in an effort to destabilise the West and try to derail support for Ukraine.

David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said: “GRU spies are running a campaign to destabilise Europe, undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty and threaten the safety of British citizens.” He added that Russia had also targeted media outlets, telecommunications providers, energy infrastructure and political and democratic institutions.

This month three men were convicted over an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked business in London, which police said was carried out at the behest of the Wagner mercenary group.

Other sanctioned individuals include Aleksandr Vladimirovich Osadchuk, a GRU colonel accused by the FBI of masterminding cyber-operations, including targeting the 2016 US presidential election.

Aleksey Lukashev (L) and Ivan Yermakov (R).

Russia will continue its vigorous espionage and sabotage campaign against the West in an effort to derail support for Ukraine during its desperate struggle to defeat them. While the Trumpf junta has naturally de-prioritized counterintelligence operations against the Kremlin, Canada, NATO, and EU intelligence agencies have increased their efforts. The UK is lucky to have an incredibly talented and experienced new Director-General of MI6, Blaise Florence Metreweli CMG and MI5 Director-General Sir Kenneth Douglas McCallum KCB, unlike the US national security team purposefully saddled by inexperienced nincompoops and sycophants Tulsi Gabbard, John Ratcliffe,
Kashyap Pramod Patel, and Pete Hegseth.  

Director-General of MI6, Blaise Florence Metreweli CMG

Sir Kenneth Douglas McCallum KCB 

Sources:

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/uk-sanctions-russian-spies-over-malicious-activity-nsv65xgwh

Archived link: UK sanctions Russian spies over ‘malicious activity’

Colombia: Russian Spy Arrested

Colombian police arrest Jesús Ramos Santos, a 21-year-old suspected of espionage and planning a terrorist attack in Lithuania on behalf of Russia. (Source: X)

Colombian authorities have detained 21-year-old Jesús Ramos Santos, wanted by Lithuania on charges of espionage and alleged involvement in a terrorist plot linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine. He was arrested in the city of Barranquilla, the Colombian National Police confirmed.

Lithuanian prosecutors allege that Ramos Santos was spying on UAB TVC Solutions, a Lithuanian company involved in supplying drones to Ukraine as part of its defense against Russia’s full-scale invasion. He is also suspected of planning a terrorist act in the city of Šiauliai, where a key NATO air base is located.

The arrest operation took place on 6 July:

“This individual created a group whose aim was to carry out terrorist acts in Europe through arson and was engaged in espionage targeting a company supplying drones to Ukraine,” said Colombia’s National Police Director, Carlos Fernando Triana Beltrán.

He confirmed that Ramos Santos is subject to extradition.

Although initially reported as a Colombian citizen, investigative outlet Agentstvo revealed that Ramos Santos grew up in St. Petersburg and holds Russian citizenship. His mother confirmed that he had traveled to Lithuania in September 2024—the timeframe during which Lithuanian authorities believe he conducted espionage activities on behalf of Russian interests.

As noted previously on Coriolanus, Colombia’s security services are manned by a body of experienced professionals, having dealt with the FARC, ELN, and drug cartels. Colombian military veterans have joined Ukraine’s Foreign Legion, and sadly some of them have joined Mexico’s drug cartels. Russia’s espionage network is deeply entwined in Mexico and South America. Brazil was used as a ‘passport factory’ by Russian intelligence and their operatives have enjoyed a wide degree of latitude in Mexico which does not prioritize them as an espionage threat the way the US used to and the way Canada still does.

Sources:

👀 Kremlin espionage reaches Latin America: 21-year-old Russian hacker arrested in Colombia over drone sabotage plot | Newsinterpretation

Russia used Brazil as base to create ‘spy factory’ that was used in missions to United States, Europe and Middle East

Back to the Cold War: Russia uses Mexico as a hub for spying on the U.S.

Spain Awards Wiretap Contract to Chinese Company Huawei

In 2021 the Canadian RCMP arrested Huawei Executive Meng Wanzhou on charges of fraud and circumnavigating sanctions on Iran. (Photo: CBS News)

The Spanish government is using Huawei to manage and store judicially authorized wiretaps in the country used by both law enforcement and intelligence services, despite concerns about how the Chinese government could compel Huawei to assist Beijing with its own intelligence activities.

The Ministry of the Interior officially awarded Huawei a €12.3 million ($14.3 million) contract following a standard public procurement process, as first reported by Spanish digital newspaper The Objective. Huawei had already been contracted to provide technical support to SITEL (Sistema Integrado de Interceptación Legal de las Telecomunicaciones), Spain’s integrated system for intercepting telecommunications.

While the contract for storing wiretaps requires Huawei to comply with cybersecurity guidelines set by the Spain’s National Cryptologic Center. There is “growing unrest” in the National Police and Guardia Civil over the Chinese company’s involvement with sensitive systems.

Concerns about Huawei have seen the company restricted from 5G networks across the EU, as well as varying levels of bans in networks of NATO allies such as the US and UK.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been among the EU’s most supportive leaders regarding Huawei, and has pushed back against the bloc’s efforts to restrict it from 5G networks. Huawei has opened research facilities in Madrid and is a major employer as a technology contractor for a number of public administrations.

Natasha Buckley, a researcher at RUSI and lecturer in cybersecurity at Cranfield University, stated that Spain’s approach to the company stood in stark contrast to that of other NATO allies and many EU member states.

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei) and a number of non-US affiliates have been placed on the Entity List,  in order to further address the continuing threat to US national security and foreign policy interests posed by Huawei and its non-US affiliates.

This is a remarkably poor decision by the Spanish government. The Ministry of State Security (MSS) uses the ‘thousand grains of sand’ approach to collecting tiny bits of intelligence to construct a rich mosaic for decision-makers in Beijing. China has successfully welded their tremendous industrial capacity with their national security strategy.   There is a wide body of evidence incriminating Huawei as an extension of Chinese intelligence. Using hidden cookies and backdoor codes, the MSS can penetrate Western cyber-infrastructure to collect information as well as be able to shut down civilian or military electronic devices linked in by the “IOT” (AKA the “Internet of Things”).  

China has built a capable large army of cyber operators.

Links:

Spain awards Huawei contracts to manage intelligence agency wiretaps | The Record from Recorded Future News

Security, complexity and Huawei; protecting the UK’s… – NCSC.GOV.UK

U.S. Restrictions on Huawei Technologies: National Security, Foreign Policy, and Economic Interests | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Federal Register :: Addition of Huawei Non-U.S. Affiliates to the Entity List, the Removal of Temporary General License, and Amendments to General Prohibition Three (Foreign-Produced Direct Product Rule)

Office of Public Affairs | Chinese Telecommunications Conglomerate Huawei and Subsidiaries Charged in Racketeering Conspiracy and Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets | United States Department of Justice

The United States Further Restricts Huawei Access to U.S. Technology – United States Department of State

Extradition case of Meng Wanzhou – Wikipedia

huawei-zte investigative report (final).pdf

Donald Trumpf’s Sep 2025 UK Visit Timed So He Can’t Address Parliament

The blimp was an eye-catching part of the protests against Trumpf’s state visit in 2019. (Getty Images)

In mid-September, US President Donald Trumpf will be visiting the UK and meeting with British officials. But one thing he won’t be doing on his trip is addressing Parliament.

“The date of the US president’s trip is being deliberately timed for mid-September when there is a parliamentary recess, handing the UK an excuse for not offering the speech. Mr. Trumpf is also expected not to visit Buckingham Palace or enjoy a ceremonial carriage ride down the Mall in London — features of many past state visits from world leaders.”

Earlier this year, Trumpf met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his visit to the US. The Labor government under Starmer have concerns that Labor MPs could protest a joint address to Parliament, possibly by staying away en masse, causing potential embarrassment to Mr. Trumpf.

“It means the US president will not achieve something enjoyed by his predecessors Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama,” the Telegraph reporters note. “The lack of an address to Parliament risks a backlash from Mr. Trumpf, who British officials privately acknowledge is sensitive to perceived slights.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, they observe, addressed the UK Parliament when he was in London in early July.

“British officials involved in the state visit planning are keenly aware of the US president’s desire to beat his presidential predecessors in the scale and opulence of the events,” according to Riley-Smith and Furness. “There are discussions about how to outdo his first state visit in 2019.”

The reporters add, “Mr. Trumpf will become the first elected leader in modern times to enjoy two UK state visits — a fact he has been sharing privately with friends.”

Samaritans Visited Trumpf’s Scotland Golf Resort Earlier This Year

Drone footage shows Trump’s Turnberry resort clubhouse splattered with red paint. Two volunteers were reportedly charged for voicing their disapproval against Dummkopf Trumpf’s. (Images: Hassan Ghani via Reuters)

“There, there Mr. President. You’ll get to address Parliament another time.

Source:

‘Potential embarrassment’: Trump’s UK visit ‘deliberately timed’ to not offer him a speech – Alternet.org

56 Years Ago Today on 20 July 1969: “One Small Step for [a Man], One Giant Leap for Mankind.”

US Astronaut Neil Armstrong about to step on the Moon. (Photo: NASA)

The US flag is wired to give the appearance of fluttering on the airless Moon (Photo: NASA)

Left to right: Neil ArmstrongMichael CollinsBuzz Aldrin

Some Historical Background You May Be Unaware Of

P-51C Mustang fighter flown by the Tuskegee Airmen. (Photo: USAF)

President John F. Kennedy, a World War Two veteran, wanted to link America’s space race with the growing civil rights movement. To that end, President Kennedy instructed NASA to recruit and train qualified pilots from the minority community to become astronauts. African-American pilots had served with great distinction in the Second World War. During the Second World War, the Tuskegee Airmen purposefully painted the tails of their fighter aircraft red to show the Nazis who they were and they were unafraid. African-American pilots also served their country valiantly during the Korean War, like this aviator below.

Jesse L. Brown the first African-American naval officer killed in the Korean War, and a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

This Man Should Have Been America’s First Black Astronaut

USAF Captain Ed Dwight, Jr. (Photo: USAF)

In 1961, at the direction of President John F. Kennedy, USAF Captain Ed Dwight, Junior became the first African-American to enter the USAF training program from which NASA selected astronauts. Although he completed training at the Aerospace Research Pilot School in 1963 and advanced to the second round of the program, he was controversially not selected for the Astronaut Corps.

Look at the camaraderie evident between these astronaut trainees. (Photo: USAF)

The man responsible for Captain Dwight’s disqualification was none other than USAF Chuck Yeager, the man who first broke the sound barrier on 14 Oct 1947. A racist from West Virginia, General Yeager covertly countermanded JFK’s desire to see black astronauts in the space program, particularly Captain Ed Dwight.

“Yeager instructed staff and participants at the school that “Washington is trying to cram the nigger down our throats. [President] Kennedy is using this to make ‘racial equality,’ so do not speak to him, do not socialize with him, do not drink with him, do not invite him over to your house, and in six months he’ll be gone.” In his autobiography, Dwight details how Yeager’s leadership led to discriminatory treatment throughout his training at Edwards Air Force Base.”

Link: Chuck Yeager – Wikipedia

You will never read or watch Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff the same way ever again.

Despite racist Chuck Yeager, USAF Captain Ed Dwight made it into space at age 90 on a Blue Origin private space launch last year.

Ed Dwight, America’s first Black astronaut candidate, is shown exiting Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft on 19 May 2024. Dwight was among six passengers that launched atop the company’s suborbital rocket. (Photo: Blue Origin / Felix Kunze)

Just One More Thing…

American aerospace engineer John Houbolt as he stands at a chalkboard in July 1962 showing his lunar orbit rendezvous plan for landing astronauts on the moon. (Photo: NASA / LARC /Bob Nye /PhotoQuest /Getty Images

In April 1961, President John F. Kennedy had energized America’s space program by pledging to send “a man to the moon and [return] him safely to the Earth” before the end of the 1960s and he wanted to merge that with the civil rights movement as you just read. Safely returning an astronaut from the moon was the more difficult part of the equation as there are no rockets or launchpads on the moon.

The Pilgrim Project

The One-Way Space Man crew capsule. (Image credit: Bell Aerosystems)

To ensure the US would send a man to the Moon before the USSR, NASA established the Pilgrim Program. This was a one-way mission for one or two astronauts selected for this perilous journey. NASA was to pre-launch containers filled with oxygen tanks, water, food, and supplies ahead of the astronauts for them to survive on the Moon until NASA would be able to recover them at a future date. In this way, America would beat Russia to the Moon.

Source: https://www.wired.com/2012/04/one-way-space-man-1962/

Archived link: https://archive.ph/KalEw

Countdown is a 1968 American science fiction movie directed by Robert Altman and based on the 1964 novel The Pilgrim Project by Hank Searls.

Tiny Kitten Wanders Up to Woman On Her Way To Work In Mexico

CIA Historian: ‘Donald Trump Has Put US National Security in the Hands of Crackpots and Fools’

Underqualified sycophant D/FBI Kashyap Pramod Patel, Hare Krishna off-shoot cult member DNI Tulsi Gabbard, and lickspittle D/CIA John Ratcliffe testifying before Congress. (Photo: Getty Images)

Some quotes from eminent CIA historian Tim Weiner about the Trumpf junta:

After watching the US stand with Russia, Iran and North Korea, as it did in February 2025 when it voted against a UN resolution condemning the invasion of Ukraine, CIA historian Tim Weiner said:  “You come to the realization, if you hadn’t already: ‘My God, the president of the United States has gone over to the other side. He has joined the authoritarian axis.’”

Following two impeachments (and two acquittals), an insurrection and another election, Trump is back in the White House and bent on revenge. “Donald Trump hates the CIA,” Weiner said, noting that Trumpf considers the agency the beating heart of a “deep state” that he believes is working to undermine him. Consequently, the president has appointed “a coterie of dangerously incompetent and servile acolytes to the highest positions of national security”. Weiner describes the new CIA director, John Ratcliffe – a former personal injury attorney, MAGA congressman and, briefly, DNI in Trump’s first term – as “a spineless person who will do whatever Trump tells him to do.”

“For decades, the CIA has tried to hire people who don’t look like they just got off the bus from Kansas on the very sound principle that if you want to spy in a nation like Somalia or Pakistan or China, it might be wise to have a workforce that is not made up exclusively of white guys, and who speak languages other than English,” Weiner said. “Diversity was one of the CIA’s few superpowers, and the mindless abolition of the effort to diversify the CIA’s officers and analysts was one of the most stupid self-inflicted wounds that D/CIA John Ratcliffe could have delivered.”

The appointment of Tulsi Gabbard as DNI, who oversees the CIA and 17 other intelligence agencies, only compounds problems, Weiner said. Gabbard has never worked in the intelligence community and has been accused of parroting Russian propaganda. “What ally would share secrets with a dangerously deluded person like that?”

The amateurish ‘Signalgate’ affair cost National Security Advisor Mike Waltz his position at the White House.  His reward is being named US Ambassador to the UN, pending US Senate confirmation.

22-year-old Thomas Fugate is the DHS official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism. His previous experience was landscaping before graduating college.

CIA historian Tim Weiner. (Photo: Jessica D. B. Doyle)

Followers of the Watch are keenly aware of the Stalinist purges the Trumpf junta has been conducting to rid itself of undesirables. Tom Nichols at the Atlantic reinforces this point. He writes that DNI Tulsi Gabbard and D/FBI Kashyap Pramod Patel in true McCarthy-like fashion are “hunting down politically unreliable members of America’s intelligence and law-enforcement communities, rather than catching enemy spies, terrorists, or bank robbers.’

FBI employees have been polygraphed on whether they have cast aspersions on Director Kashyap Pramod Patel.

Links:

CIA historian Tim Weiner: ‘Trump has put national security in the hands of crackpots and fools’ | Politics books | The Guardian

The Federal Bureau of Paranoia – The Atlantic

USAG Pam Bondi Requests Data on Migrants Being Held in California’s County Jails

“The Department of Justice issued requests to sheriffs in multiple major California counties—including Los Angeles and San Francisco Counties—for lists of all inmates in their jails who are not citizens of the US, their crimes of arrest or conviction, and their scheduled release dates.

In recent years, the US suffered an invasion of illegal aliens at an unprecedented scale.  Far too many of those illegal aliens have gone on to commit crimes on American soil, including rapes, murders, and other violent crimes.  Today’s data requests are designed to assist federal immigration authorities in prioritizing the removal of illegal aliens who committed crimes after illegally entering the US.  Although every illegal alien by definition violates federal law, those who go on to commit crimes after doing so show that they pose a heightened risk to our Nation’s safety and security.

“Removing criminal illegal aliens is this Administration’s highest priority. I look forward to cooperating with California’s county sheriffs to accomplish our shared duty of keeping Californians and all Americans safe and secure.

The Department of Justice hopes that California sheriffs will voluntarily produce the requested information.  But if necessary, the Department will pursue all available means of obtaining the data, including through subpoenas or other compulsory process.”

Est. California population in 2023: 38,940,231 

58 California Counties and 62 Jails Incarcerate Vulnerable Migrants

The immortal Jackie Gleason.

County Sheriffs are elected in the state of California which is home to San Bernardino County, the largest county in the contiguous US, as well as Los Angeles County, the most populous county in America (population est. 9,757,179).

Detainees in California jails are either serving less than one-year terms for minor offenses or are defendants awaiting trial, unable to post bail or were not granted pre-trial release by the presiding judge. The county jail population for California was 62,581 in 2022 and 56,800 in 2024.

A 2023 report from the Prison Policy Initiative indicates that Black and Hispanic people are overrepresented in California’s incarcerated population (including both prisons and jails) compared to their share of the state’s population. For example, Black individuals, who make up about 6% of California’s adult population, accounted for 28% of the prison population in 2023, and Hispanic individuals, about 38% of the adult population, comprised 46% of prisoners.

Oath Keeper and Riverside County Sheriff Republican Chad Bianco

Prominent amongst these sheriffs in California is Chad Bianco who was elected by the people of Riverside County. A well-known Republican, Bianco announced his 2026 candidacy for governor and openly aligns himself with Donald Trump. Bianco confirmed that while he was a lieutenant in 2014, he was a dues-paying member of the Oath Keepers, a white racist anti-government extremist group. No doubt Sheriff Bianco will immediately comply with this fascist request from USAG Pam Bondi.

Link: https://www.foxla.com/news/chad-bianco-oath-keepers-riverside-county-sheriff

ICE agents will be awaiting these jailed migrants the moment they are released from a county jail.

California: World Class Economy

California remains the 5th largest economy in the world since 2017. California is the 5th largest economy in the world for the seventh consecutive year, with a nominal GDP of nearly $3.9 trillion in 2023 and a growth rate of 6.1% since the year prior, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). On a per capita basis, California is the second largest economy in the world.

Link: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/04/16/california-remains-the-worlds-5th-largest-economy/

California is a Powerful Blue State Led By Competent Democrat

Democrat Gavin Newsom was re-elected Governor of California on 8 Nov 2022. (Photo: Getty Images)

58.47% of eligible voters chose Kamala Harris on 5 Nov 2024; 38.33% opted for Dummkopf Trumpf, giving Democrats 54 Electoral College votes.

Dummkopf Trumpf and his junta declared war against Blue State California because a telegenic and competent Democrat is a potential Presidential candidate in 2028, Governor Gavin Newsom. Trumpf releasing California’s reservoir waters earlier this year and sending in the military to intimidate Californians are all attempts at undermining Gavin Newsom, as well as rounding up migrants as part of their overall national campaign to bleach the US of non-whites.

In a show of force, soldiers and heavily-armed federal agents ride on an armored vehicle at MacArthur Park Monday, 7 July 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo / Damian Dovarganes)

Sycophant USAG Pam Bondi has already poorly mishandled the Jeffrey Epstein files disclosure, but has competently profited from Trumpf’s tariff policies via insider trading.

Link: https://lailluminator.com/2025/05/18/bondi-trump/

These two have a joint history of corruption. In 2016, journalists uncovered The Trumpf Foundation illegally donated $25,000 to a political group supporting then-Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. Her office was deciding whether to take legal action related to the fraudulent Trumpf University. After the contribution was banked, Florida AG Pam Bondi declined to prosecute Trumpf University.

Link: The Trump Foundation-Pam Bondi scandal – CREW | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Justice Department Diktat:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-department-justice-requests-data-criminal-illegal-aliens-california-jails

US DOD to Deploy Counter-Drone Capabilities at US-Mexico Border After Drug Cartels Surveil US Forces

Soldier employing an anti-drone projector at McGregor Range Complex, NM, 28 June 2019. (Photo: Mylinda DuRousseau / US Army)

The Pentagon is preparing to deploy counter-drone capabilities around the US-Mexico border as part of its ongoing support of the Trumpf junta’s immigration enforcement and security mandates.

Mexican drug cartels have reportedly been using drones to conduct surveillance of US military and law-enforcement personnel at the US-Mexico border.

The rapid emergence, proliferation and application of drones are fundamentally shifting the way that militarized groups and other adversarial organizations conduct warfare.

The DOD is still trying to effectively respond to several recent high-profile drone incidents that impacted military officials and American civilians domestically and abroad, including in New Jersey and at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia.

Followers of the Watch are aware that the US has been deploying drones along the US-Mexican border, and most likely they are flying over Mexican airspace. The drug cartels also have drones and they have been utilizing armed drones against each other. USNORTHCOM has deployed thousands of US Army Soldiers to the US-Mexican border that are vulnerable to these cartel drones.

The Jalisco Drug Cartel drops hand grenades onto a rival drug cartel’s camp in the town of Tepalcatepec, Mexico. (Photo: Twitter)

Recall from a previous post on Coriolanus that the Mexico drug cartels have recently began recruiting experienced and dangerous Colombian military veterans. Moreover, the cartels have been able to either bribe US border agents or hack the phones of careless USIC personnel operating in Mexico, making targeting of their enemies easier.

No one should under-estimate the caliber of Colombian military veterans who have gained experience, tenacity, and competency after decades of fighting a counter-insurgency against the FARC and ELN.

The real solution to this problem is for Americans to quit their incessant appetite for drugs and for obscenely making money gun-running weapons to the Mexican cartels. Without the American demand for drugs, business would dry up for the cartels. Without firearms and ammunition, the cartels would be vulnerable to Mexican security forces.

Links:

DOD to deploy counter-drone capabilities at US-Mexico border as cartels surveil troops | DefenseScoop

https://www.northcom.mil/Newsroom/Press-Releases/Article/4133410/new-authorities-allow-service-members-to-patrol-along-southern-border/

https://nypost.com/2022/01/12/mexicos-deadliest-cartel-is-dropping-bombs-from-a-drone-onto-rival-camps-in-new-turf-war/

Italian Mafia Leader Caught in Colombia

Giuseppe Palermo (AKA ‘Peppe”) in Bogota, Colombia. (Photo: Colombian National Police)

Colombian authorities captured an alleged leader of the Italian ’Ndrangheta mafia in Latin America who is accused of overseeing cocaine shipments and managing illegal trafficking routes to Europe. Police identified the suspect as Giuseppe Palermo, also known as “Peppe,” an Italian who was wanted under an INTERPOL Red Notice, which called for his arrest in 196 countries.

Palermo was apprehended on the street in Colombia’s capital Bogota during a coordinated operation between Colombian, Italian, and British authorities, as well as Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency.

Palermo is believed to be part of “one of the most tightly knit cells” of the ’Ndrangheta mafia, said Carlos Fernando Triana, head of the Colombian police, in a message posted on X.

The ’Ndrangheta, one of Italy’s most powerful and secretive criminal organizations, has extended its influence abroad and is widely accused of importing cocaine into Europe. The suspect “not only led the purchase of large shipments of cocaine in Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, but also controlled the maritime and land routes used to transport the drugs to European markets,” Triana added.

The ’Ndrangheta originated in the Calabria region of Italy, and is supposedly led from Palermo, the “Toe of Italy.” Their cross strait rival to the west is the Sicilian mafia.

Illegal cocaine production reached 3,708 tons in 2023, an increase of nearly 34% from the previous year, driven mainly by the expansion of coca leaf cultivation in Colombia, according to the UN. The ’Ndrangheta is reportedly also involved in a wide array of other illegal activities, including arms trafficking, money laundering, racketeering, extortion, and loan sharking.

This is a small victory for fighting drug-trafficking, but Giuseppe Palermo will be quickly replaced within the organization. They are believed to exert influence over local and national politics in Italy and is understood to have infiltrated various sectors of the legal economy both within Italy and internationally. Estimates in 2013 suggested the organization’s revenue reached €53 billion.

There is No Escape from the ’Ndrangheta

In 2009 Lea Garofalo tried to escape the ’Ndrangheta family she was born in to but was assassinated for this infamia. (Photo: Harper Collins Canada)

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/colombian-authorities-arrest-alleged-leader-italian-mafia-latin-123692646

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/’Ndrangheta

Lea Garofalo was killed by her Mafia family. Now she’s the face of anti-mob protests | CBC Radio

Harper’s Magazine Weekly Review

Summarized succinctly for us by Clarissa Fragoso Pinheiro. Our eternal gratitude to her.

In Texas, the search for at least 166 missing people after the July 4th Guadalupe River flooding was paused as heavy rains and flash floods forced further evacuations. The US Homeland Security secretary defended the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to the Texas floods, despite reports that two thirds of its disaster hotline calls went unanswered due to a staff shortage. “Our entire office is just … gone,” said a senior civil service officer after the US State Department laid off more than 1,300 employees, many of them were notified by email. A preliminary report on the Air India crash that killed 260 people last month found that the plane’s fuel switches were cut off shortly after takeoff, possibly by one of the pilots. In posts to Truth Social, the US president announced 30% tariffs on goods from Mexico and the European Union, 35% tariffs on those from Canada, and 50% tariffs on all Brazilian imports, the latter partly in retaliation for the country’s treatment of its former far-right president, who is on trial for attempting a coup d’état, a proceeding that the US president called a “Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!” The US president criticized Brazil’s recent Supreme Court rulings that would require social media companies to actively monitor and remove harmful content from their platforms; and on X, the Sesame Street character Elmo, whose account was hacked, and xAI’s chatbot Grok posted anti-Semitic messages. “Too eager to please,” said Elon Musk of the chatbot’s praise for Adolf Hitler. The US Federal Communications Commission approved two deals with T-Mobile after the communications company agreed to abandon its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; it was reported that some Harvard University graduate schools closed their diversity, equity, and inclusion offices; and in Alaska, a creek’s name was changed from Nazi Creek to Kaxchim Chi’anaa, or “gizzard creek.”

In ICE detention centers, accounts from detainees described food shortages and spoiled food; US immigration officials may soon be able to deport migrants to countries other than their countries of origin with as little as six hours’ notice; and a 57-year-old farmworker died after falling 30 feet from a greenhouse roof during an ICE raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California, where about 200 immigrants and four US citizens were arrested. The Trump Administration filed a suit against the state of California over the high price of eggs, citing animal welfare laws, and dropped charges against a Utah plastic surgeon accused of destroying COVID-19 vaccines, selling fake vaccination cards, and administering saline shots to children at their parents’ request. MAGA influencers criticized the Trump Administration for its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, and a former MAGA influencer and the current deputy FBI director said he is considering resigning after clashes with the US attorney general over the Epstein case. A former New York governor who resigned from his post in disgrace announced his independent candidacy for mayor of NYC, and the US president nominated a self-described “alpha male” and “manosphere” content creator to be the US ambassador to Malaysia. A team of researchers found that among primates, females are almost as likely as “alpha males” to dominate the opposite sex.

A 54-pound Martian rock will be auctioned in New York, the original Hermès Birkin bag sold for more than $10 million in Paris, and a wedge of blue cheese sold for $42,232 in Spain. Flamingos invaded Italian rice fields, threatening risotto production; and Canadian researchers found the nation’s oldest known puffin. A man was charged with smuggling 14 toucans inside his dashboard across the US–Mexico border, a mother was arrested and charged after her son died due to being left for several hours in a hot car while she was getting lip filler, and it was reported that extreme heat caused cars to catch fire in Death Valley National Park. In Queens, New York, “parking wars” erupted as a woman was slashed in the face over a parking spot outside a hookah lounge, and two women attacked one of their neighbors for attempting to park in front of their house; and in Brooklyn, a parking spot sold for nearly $250,000. “End your parking woes forever!” claimed the listing for the spot. In the Bronx, the New York Police Department requested that an illegal swimming pool be dismantled after children were seen jumping from scaffolding into its waters; and in Arizona, a man was fined for offering free cold water in his driveway. Wisconsin police found drugs in a bag labeled “Definitely Not a Bag Full of Drugs,” researchers found that magic mushrooms might slow aging, and an Australian woman was found guilty of murder by mushroom after serving a poisonous beef Wellington to her guests. “It is of course upsetting to learn that one of my recipes … is entangled in a tragic situation,” said the chef who posted the recipe to her blog. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police proposed collaborating with a local farmers market to make “Jack-Knife Jelly, Pothole Preserves, and the ever-popular … Traffic Jam!” after thousands of blueberries spilled onto a British Columbia highway. Both blueberries and mushrooms were placed under a severe recall notice by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Link: https://harpers.org/

Published in a separate magazine, this political cartoon below summed up the Texas flood disaster and the Republican mindset of cutting government programs perfectly. Texas Republicans had the opportunity to accept federal money to install an emergency siren in Kerr County, Ground Zero of this preventable loss of life. Link: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/weather/2025/07/11/kerr-county-considered-adding-warning-sirens-years-before-flood-why-didnt-it-happen/

Buffalo News editorial cartoonist Adam Zyglis defended this message.

For Followers of the Watch That Are Chess, Boxing, or Dance Aficionados

Massive Archive of Critical Chess Positions from Historic and Modern Games

Bobby Fischer vs. Boris Spassky Game VI, World Chess Championship, Reykjavík, Iceland 1972

Link: 30,000 Chess Puzzles

Two Legendary Pugilists Sparring

Pandas Just Want to Have Fun

Serial Killer At Large in Middle East

An international arrest warrant issued by the ICC remains active for Benjamin Netanyahu. The allegations: Responsible for using starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing attacks against civilian populations; crimes against humanity including murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.

This man is dangerous. Do not approach and call INTERPOL immediately at telephone number 33 4 7244 7000 if he is seen or located.

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

Netanyahu’s Thugs Bully Greta Thunberg

After Israeli police arrested antiwar Samaritan Greta Thunberg (bottom right of photo) for trying to feed the starving people in Gaza last week, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had Greta Thunberg watch death films of the 7 Oct 2023 Palestinian raid into Israel which was conducted to capture hostages for a prisoner swap. After she politely declined and this brutal chapter was completed, Greta was deported. Then Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a surprise attack on Iran called Operation Rising Lion.

The Donald Trumpf junta was aware of the imminent attack and had ordered non-essential State Dept and DoD personnel home from several locations in the Middle East days before the attack. US negotiators were about to begin the sixth round of nuclear talks with their Iranian counterparts in Rome.  Recall that Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Israel is not. Iran’s nuclear program was being monitored by the IAEA under the JCPOA agreement, until Dotard Trumpf recklessly pulled out of it during his first Reign of Terror. Note the number of Iranians previously assassinated by the Israelis and the recent victims of Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloodlust:

US and UK forces are ready to assist the belligerent Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. The UK has sent Tornado fighter jets to the Middle East and the already US presence in the Middle East is on high alert.  The Iraqi government wants the remaining US military personnel out of the country because they did not like Israel using their airspace to attack Iran. Moreover, US personnel in Iraq are vulnerable to attack by pro-Iranian Shia militias who see the US as an ally of Israel, which it is thanks to AIPAC.

With nothing substantial or intelligent to convey at the G-7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada and still stinging from his humiliating birthday parade where his own wife Melania (AKA Melanoma) nodded off, President Dotard Trumpf used the Israeli war as an excuse to depart after the first day of talks on Monday. Air Force One is a ‘flying White House’ with all of the telecommunications necessary to prosecute a war so there was no technical reason for him to go. But with sharp Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukraine President Volodomir Zelensky scheduled to meet him Tuesday, Dotard Trumpf “chickened out,” living up to his new sobriquet ‘TACO Don’: Trumpf Always Chickens Out.

Ottawa allowed Trumpf to enter the country since as a convicted felon, he is prohibited by law from entry into Canada. While there, Trumpf unabashedly promoted Russian President Vladimir Putin (72), an ICC-indicted war criminal:

Netanyahu Plotted to Murder Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), shakes hands with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Tehran, with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (R). [Handout: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader]

Murder-Death-Kill Campaign Continues in Gaza

While the G-7 leaders enjoyed fine wine, food, and Canadian hospitality in Alberta, this is happening in the Gaza Strip. The abominable cruelty and misery inflicted on these poor people by the Israelis is unimaginable. Have they no pity? (Photo: Al Jazeera)

The IDF killed at least 65 Palestinians and wounded 315 others in the Gaza Strip this past weekend.  Since October 2023, the hardworking American taxpayer has helped to kill 55,362 Palestinians, with an additional 128,741 injured or maimed. The majority of the victims are women and children. After US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ensured US aid would flow uninterrupted to Israel by capitulating on the GOP budget, the IDF resumed ethnic cleansing on 18 March. Since then, the IDF murdered 5,071 Palestinians; 16,700 others were injured or maimed. In the West Bank, Israeli lunatics set fire to agricultural land in the town of Turmus Ayya northeast of Ramallah, destroying several olive groves.

So, while Americans and Canadians celebrated Father’s Day this past weekend, Palestinians mourned the deaths of their fathers, thanks to Western complicity. Adjusting for inflation, US aid to Israel from 1951 to 2022 totaled $317.9 billion, making it the largest recipient of American foreign aid since World War II. In March, USSECSTATE Marco Rubio expedited $4bn of American taxpayer money to Israel.  The Democratic Party, which has become an effective platform for AIPAC, will permanently lose seven to eight million antiwar Samaritans and progressives in future national elections against the GOP just as they did in 1968 and 2024. Their consciences will be clear.

Meanwhile Benjamin Netanyahu, a serial killer in the likes of John Wayne Gacy, Jack the Ripper, Son of Sam, the Zodiac Killer, or Charles Manson, remains at large in Israel, although the indicted war criminal makes occasional appearances at his criminal corruption trial in Tel Aviv. The Israeli National Police have not arrested and turned Netanyahu over to the Hague for prosecution.

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

Sources:

https://www.state.gov/military-assistance-to-israel/

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-military-aid-does-the-us-give-to-israel/

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/technology-science/artc-israel-ranks-10th-best-health-care-system-in-2024-review

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israels-pension-system-ranked-third-best-in-world-646239

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg7gl4zegyo

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/19/world-court-finds-israel-responsible-apartheid

UK: Blaise Metreweli Appointed as First Woman to Lead MI6

Blaise Metreweli has spent her entire career in the intelligence community and is of Georgian ancestry. She will take over from Sir Richard Moore later this year. (Photo: UK Foreign Office / AP / BBC)

Blaise Metreweli (47) will be the first woman to lead the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). She is currently Director General “Q”, the head of the crucial technology and innovation division that keeps the identities of operatives secret. “Q” comes up with methods to counter adversaries like China that uses biometric surveillance. Metreweli joined MI6 in 1999 and worked continuously as an intelligence officer, including director-level roles at MI5, the domestic intelligence service.

Historic note: The first head of MI6 was Royal Navy Captain Mansfield Cumming. He always signed his letters “C” and the codename has stuck. Captain Cumming wrote in green ink, so to this day, the head of MI6 is the only person in Whitehall who will write in green.

As predicted, a woman will take charge of MI6 for the first time. MI6 appointed an experienced and well-regarded insider who is fairly youthful over the other two qualified female candidates. Ms. Metreweli will run rings around the rank amateurs leading the USIC: ODNI Tulsi Gabbard, D/CIA John Ratcliffe, and D/FBI Kashyap Pramod “Kash” Patel. Dotard Trumpf appointed the first female D/CIA during his first administration, Gina Haspel.

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxyx04dv1wo

DNI Tulsi Gabbard Illegally Interfering in Inspector-General (IG) Offices

Senior Democratic lawmakers accused DNI Tulsi Gabbard of violating the law with personnel moves that threaten the independent oversight of the 18 intelligence agencies she oversees. In this letter, they provide new details of a standoff between Gabbard and her congressionally mandated inspector general. At stake is the fate of an office established by Congress in 2010 to provide independent oversight over what are now 18 US civilian and military intelligence agencies. Dotard Trumpf has frequently shown hostility toward inspectors general ” he fired one of Johnson’s predecessors during his first term in 2019 ” and in Jan 2025 he fired most inspectors general at federal Cabinet agencies.

Islamophobic, homophobic Tulsi Gabbard is the most underqualified person to ever lead a US intelligence organization. This shrew was chosen to lead the USIC to gut it, not empower it to protect US interests. These moves to fire the IGs protect Felon Musk and other cronies from being scrutinized of the abominable and massive larcenies they are perpetrating on the American taxpayer. Moreover, without independent IGs, there are no watchdogs keeping the Trumpf-filled USIC from abusing its tremendous powers of surveillance, wire-tapping, and data collection.

Emptyhead Tulsi Gabbard admitted use of the Signal App chat was a mistake. Then she used ArtificiaI Intelligence (AI) to de-classify the JFK assassination files, which led to the disaster of people’s personal information– specifically their social security numbers– being made public. This became a bonanza for identity thieves. At least 200 Congressional staffers personal data was exposed, as well as others.

Sources:

https://democrats-intelligence.house.gov/

https://www.rawstory.com/tulsi-gabbard-ai/

Dotard Trumpf Pick to Lead FAA Lied About His Pilot License

Republic Airways President and CEO Bryan Bedford testifies in Washington, 11 Jun 2025. (Photo: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

Bryan Bedford, the nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration, for years erroneously stated in his Republic Airways bio that he is a pilot with a “commercial” rating.

Bedford’s biography at Republic Airways, the regional airline where he has been CEO since 1999, said until Thursday that he “holds commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings.” The word “commercial” has since been removed. The FAA registry that houses data on pilot’s licenses does not list any such commercial credentials for Bedford.

Similar language asserting commercial credentials for Bedford appeared in his Republic bio since at least 2010according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

The ‘President Plane Crash’ meme has proven to be generally true, as US aviation safety has declined since Dotard Trumpf’s inauguration.

A far better choice to head the FAA would be any number of retired USAF generals, rather than a political donor who for decades has been lying about his aviation credentials.

Sources:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/04/16/has-flying-in-america-become-more-dangerous/

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/15/trumps-faa-pick-has-claimed-commercial-pilot-license-he-doesnt-have-00406090

Germany Has Evidence of Russia’s Plans to Attack NATO

Bruno Kahl, President of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), stated that Russia is preparing to test the credibility of NATO’s Article V, adding that German intelligence has concrete evidence of the Kremlin’s preparations for potential aggression against the Alliance. The BND chief emphasized that Moscow no longer believes in the reliability of NATO’s collective defence system ” particularly Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty, which guarantees a joint response in the event of an attack on a member state.

 “We are very sure, and we have intelligence evidence to back this up, that [Russia’s full-scale invasion of] Ukraine is only one step on Russia’s path towards the West.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has issued similar warnings in the past, repeatedly stating that Germany must be “ready for war” by the end of this decade. Ukraine’s intelligence chief publicly echoed the same analysis.

Putin and his protege at the 2018 Helsinki Summit (Photo: Chris McGrath / Getty Images)

The Trumpf junta has already signaled the US military won’t be participating in NATO drills after 2025. This year CIA abruptly withdrew the name of Ralph Goff, an experienced senior officer with impeccable anti-Russian credentials, to lead the Directorate of Operations. The EU and NATO recognize the threat from Vladimir Putin (72) and with Canada, initiated the Rearm Europe program. Meanwhile in the US, AIPAC will ensure that Israel continues receiving US military aid at the expense of Ukraine and NATO.

Sources:

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/06/11/7516583/

https://www.bnd.bund.de/EN/Home/home_node.html

Hybrid Warfare: Ukrainian Civilians Targeted in Europe

Ukrainians in Europe are being attacked by pro-Kremlin assailants. In Berlin, a 51-year-old man was attacked by two men wielding a knife after he was heard speaking Ukrainian and asked about his nationality. When he replied that he was Ukrainian, one of the assailants stabbed him in the abdomen. Last year, a 15-year-old refugee was stabbed in the German city of Dortmund and the body of a 27-year-old Ukrainian woman was found in Gochsheim. A 46-year-old woman and her six-year-old daughter were found dead in their Belgium home this month. The paterfamilias is serving in the Ukrainian Army.

These crimes against soft Ukrainian targets fall under the rubric of asymmetric or hybrid’ warfare of attacking weak links in the enemy’s armor to undermine morale and waste precious resources protecting vulnerable targets. These defenseless Ukrainian civilians didn’t stand a chance against their attackers. The NATO sabotage alert level remain HIGH because of the Kremlin’s continuous nefarious activities in Europe to weaken the coalition by exploiting weaknesses in defenses.

Sources:

https://www.nato.int/docu/review/articles/2024/04/26/russias-hybrid-war-against-the-west/

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/06/14/7517150/

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/tragedy-in-belgium-wife-and-daughter-of-ukrainian-1749294338.html

Mexico: Drug Cartels Recruiting Former Colombian Soldiers

Colombian military veterans should not be underestimated by any organization.

Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers, prompting Mexican authorities to turn away Colombians trying to enter the country. Last week twelve Colombians in the western state of Michoacan were arrested in connection with a mine attack that killed eight Mexican soldiers. Close underworld ties have long existed between organized crime groups in Mexico and Colombia. For many years, Colombian drug traffickers produced cocaine and heroin and moved it themselves by boat or plane to the US. Later, as US authorities cracked down on trafficking in the Caribbean, Mexican cartels’ power grew as they moved Colombian drugs over land and via small plane to the US border and smuggled them across.

Decades of internal conflict in Colombia have produced tens of thousands of former soldiers, paramilitaries, and guerrillas with weapons training and combat experience. Many officers were trained in the US Army’s School of the Americas. Colombian military veterans have also joined Ukraine’s army for the money, adventure, and camaraderie. These veterans make for formidable adversaries for any military or law-enforcement agency to deal with.

Sidenote: Colombia is still dealing with internal strife. At least four people were killed as rebel groups detonated bombs near police stations in the city of Cali and the neighboring Cauca province. The attacks were blamed on the FARC-EMC, a group led by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who broke away from the group after it signed a peace deal with the government in 2016.

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexicos-security-chief-drug-cartels-recruiting-former-colombian-122709311

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jun/10/least-4-dead-wave-explosions-outside-police-stations-southwest/

NJ: Legendary Gang Member Returns to Pagans Motorcycle Club

Legendary Pagans exile Robert DeRonde (61) AKA ‘Hellboy’, once cast out by the club, had been welcomed back. Hellboy rejoins as the Pagans face threats on multiple fronts from rival outlaw motorcycle groups looking to grow in New Jersey, including the hated Hells Angels and the Warlocks.

“Hellboy is the symbol of Pagan Nation,” said Edwin Torres, a special agent with the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, referring to DeRonde by his nickname. “He was a huge part of the Pagan culture. He was the go-to guy, well-liked and respected by everyone.” DeRonde was repatched into the Pagans in late May after three years of inactivity. There’s also uncertainty within the group about what happens now that the former president, Keith “Conan” Richter, is out of prison. Richter took over the Pagans by force in 2018 and has rapidly expanded its ranks, taking the club from several hundred to more than 3,000 members by recruiting light-skinned Latino members from traditional street gangs, like the Latin Kings, though they still prohibit Black people from joining their ranks..

Robert DeRonde earned the nickname “Hellboy” because he tends to turn red when angry like the comic book superhero. DeRonde has, or at least seems to have, superhuman strength and a resistance to injury. A muscular 5-foot-11, he’s a scrappy fighter who doesn’t often lose. DeRonde was the unquestioned enforcer of the Pagans before his ouster. Pagans have attacked innocent motorists and would then intimidate them from testifying against them in court.

The term “outlaw motorcycle gang” (OMC) was coined by the journalist Hunter S. Thompson in 1966 and was subsequently adopted by federal and local law enforcement agencies in the US and elsewhere. The US FBI and Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have designated four MCs as “outlaw motorcycle gangs”: the Hells Angels, the Pagans, the Outlaws, and the Bandidos These “outlaw motorcycle gangs” operate illegal businesses like drug and weapons trafficking, extortion, or as you read here on Coriolanus, murder for hire, all under the guise of being a legitimate club. The members of these “OMCs” are dangerous mofongos and of course they should be avoided at all times and at all costs.

Source:

Link One

Ex-CIA Analyst Sentenced Three Years for Posting on Social Media Israeli Murder-Death-Kill Attack Plans Against Iran

Former CIA analyst Asif William Rahman (34) of Vienna was sentenced to 37 months in prison for unlawfully leaking classified information on social media platforms in October 2024. Rahman accessed and released Top Secret documents regarding Israel and its planned actions against Iran on social media platforms. Some of the documents referred to Israel’s nuclear capabilities, which have never been officially acknowledged. He then engaged in a deletion campaign of his work products on his Top Secret work station. Continuing through Nov 2024, Rahman repeated the process. Rahman, who worked abroad, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia and brought to the US territory of Guam to face charges. On 17 Jan 2025, Rahman pleaded guilty to two counts under the Espionage Act and has remained in custody since his arrest. The BOP has not yet released information as to which prison Asif William Rahman (USMS #46561-511) will be confined in.

Asif William Rahman leaked this information last year in a vain attempt to prevent the war that bloodthirsty Benjamin Netanyahu started anyway on 12 Jun 2025. Nota Bene: Another young man, a DIA employee, was recently arrested for attempting to sell classified information after growing disgusted and disgruntled with the Trumpf junta.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-cia-analyst-sentenced-over-three-years-prison-unlawfully-transmitting-top-secret

White Supremacist Terrorism

Apprehended Minnesota Political Assassin Had List of 70 Victims

Vance Luther Boelter (57) is a Christian evangelical zealot.

White supremacist Christian terrorist Vance Luther Boelter was arrested after a manhunt for assassinating a US lawmaker and her husband and brutally shooting another couple. He had a list of at least 70 Democrat lawmakers and other private citizens he was planning to murder.

Here is footage of the maniac, Vance Luther Boelter, in an African church celebrating God:

Footage of the Minnesota assassin Vance Luther Boelter, a life long registered republican and "Christian" nationalist incel that hated women. He's 100% MAGA.

Anonymous (@youranoncentral.bsky.social) 2025-06-15T08:02:45.517Z

During Boelter’s bloody rampage, this Christian lunatic also shot a beloved golden retriever, a defenseless rescue dog named Chester, who was later euthanized.

 

Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted this photo below on social media after news broke that two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses were shot and killed in Minnesota.

During “No Kings Day” activities in the US, several incidents occurred against anti-Trumpf citizens and there are simply too many to detail here. One example of a “useful idiot” answering the call to harm Democrats and liberals is this white supremacist terrorist below, who allegedly drove his SUV into a crowd of defenseless people in Culpepper, Virginia. At the tender age of 21, Joseph R. Checklick Jr. recklessly threw his life away:

Joseph R. Checklick Jr. (21)

Members of the dangerous MAGA cult of Christian white supremacists are acting more brazenly and boldly against liberals, atheists, Democrats, pro-Palestinian volunteers, antiwar Samaritans, and minorities, all inspired by their spiritual leader, Dotard Trumpf.

Dotard Trumpf attending an evangelical Christian brain-washing event on 29 Oct 2018. (Photo: NY Times)

Sources:

https://www.insidenova.com/culpeper/police-man-arrested-after-driving-into-crowd-of-no-kings-protesters-in-culpeper/article_21466e1d-7284-4754-8584-5fd9cdcb7bcd.html

Accomplice Arrested in California Fertility Clinic Bombing

Daniel Jongyon Park and the Palm Springs fertility clinic in California after the kamikaze attack.

Daniel Jongyon Park (32) was arrested for providing material support to the Palm Springs fertility clinic bomber. The suicide bomber, Guy Edward Bartkus (25), was motivated by pro-mortalism, anti-natalism, and anti-pro-life ideologies, which is the belief that individuals should not be born without their consent and that non-existence is best. Park, who shares Bartkus’ psychotic views, provided him with at least 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate. Both maniacs ran experiments with chemicals and used AI to assist with their attack planning. Bartkus liquidated himself in the kamikaze attack and Park fled to Europe, but was extradited to the US from Poland. If convicted, Park would face a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.

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

Mental illness is increasing in the US, as is membership in dangerous online cults, like the ‘Zizians.’ Meanwhile, phantom insurance’ companies are not treating the unwell and the Trumpf junta is slashing the budgets of HHS and the CDC. Trumpf also loosened firearm regulations, so Americans should expect to see an increase in violence from lunatics like Daniel Jongyon Park, Guy Edward Bartkus, or Vance Luther Boelter, either by firearms, explosives, stabbings, or vehicle ramming.

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/washington-state-man-arrested-federal-charges-alleging-he-provided-material-support-palm

USAFacts.org 

GNET

US: Painful Invasive Species of Ants Spreading

Asian needle ant.

The invasive Asian needle ant is a stinging, carnivorous pismire that has been slowly spreading across the US. Last year at least three cases of life-threatening anaphylactic reactions were reported in Georgia, making this little (and little-known) insect a growing problem. Asian needle ants will reach their yearly peak numbers in July and August. They are small and blend in so well that stings often occur when someone, perhaps while gardening or moving wood, unknowingly disturbs them. “Imagine somebody inserting a needle directly into your flesh,” said one researcher. These ants are now widespread on the East Coast. For some, the stings can be life-threatening. For others, it’s an unusual pain that can come and go for hours. Pet owners should be vigilant about where their dogs and cats venture to

Interactive map here:

Brachyponera chinensis roughly translates as “short, wicked ant from China,” though they’re actually native to China, Japan, and the Koreas. And by some older translations it could also be “short constricted ants from China.” These ants were first discovered in 1932 in Decatur, GA, but was only recognized as a serious pest in the past two decades as it began to spread significantly throughout the southeast.

The Asian needle ant is difficult to eradicate because it doesn’t lay pheromone trails that can be disrupted or easily used to get the ants to inadvertently take poison back to their nests.

The painful Asian needle ant has been detected in Florida where President Dotard Trumpf wastes a preponderance of his time golfing, all paid for the by the hardworking American taxpayer.

Perhaps these Asian needle ants would be kind enough to oblige us one day:

Sources:

USDA Info

Ant Map

Stinging Asian needle ants spreading across US and nearing Illinois

US: Two Sadists Indicted for Torturing and Killing Monkeys

Katrina D. Favret, of TN and Robert M. Craig, of NC, conspired with previously charged defendant Ronald P. Bedra, of Etna, OH, to create and distribute so-called “animal crush videos.” The videos alleged to have been created included depictions of monkeys being sodomized with a heated screwdriver and a monkey having its genitals cut with scissors. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera.

A year-long BBC investigation has uncovered a sadistic global monkey torture ring stretching from Indonesia to the US. These maniacs mutilate and kill baby long-tailed macaques on film:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/Iot1dIWVS5/hunting-the-monkey-torturers

Below, Mike Macartney, a key video distributor in the US known by his screen name, “The Torture King.”  “It went from baby bottle teasing to fingers being snipped off.” No one should be surprised at the Confederate and Dotard Trumpf flags adorning his Virginia home. This lunatic is facing five years in prison and appears to be still be at large.

“Torture King” Michael Macartney – pictured at his home in Virginia – is facing up to five years in prison on animal abuse charges (Photo: Joel Gunter / BBC)

Unwell people are not getting the treatment, medications, or therapy they need to function as normal members of society. Austerity cuts to the social safety net under the Trump junta and “phantom insurance” companies that won’t pay for treatments will only exacerbate the problem of spreading mental illness in the American population.  

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

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/grand-jury-indicts-two-individuals-involvement-online-groups-dedicated-monkey-torture-and

Canada: Samaritan Couple Rescue Beautiful Collie from Demise in the Nick of Time

Josee and Vic on their wedding day.

When Vic and Josee read in the news that a beautiful abandoned young collie was about to be euthanized, they immediately drove several hours south to Montreal from northern Quebec.

Arriving at the nick of time, the couple immediately rescued the poor creature whom they re-christened “Mike.” Here he is in Vic and Josee’s car for the first time.

Mike the collie on his way to his new home.

Josee, who is a naturo-therapist, herbalist, entrepreneur, and avid reader, and her husband Vic were already managing a robust menagerie of fauna and flora in their habitat. They quickly began training this highly intelligent and affectionate canine.

The two new best friends.

In his illustrious career, Vic was a fireman, English teacher, and former Cold Warrior who flew on intelligence missions against the Soviet Union during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Another avid reader, Vic also maintains his private pilot license to this day. This gentleman and scholar also sang bass-baritone with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) when it was led by Maestro Kent Nagano years ago. Incredibly, Vic was fortunate to have met and shaken hands with President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and is never without an anecdote or history lesson about the US Civil Rights movement or the Cold War.

“Thanks Josee and Vic! Arf!”

Mike has now acclimated to his wonderful new forever home. Our thanks to Samaritans Vic and Josee for quick thinking, speed of plan, and opening their wallets and hearts to Mike.  

“This is America”

Followers of the Watch: The vignettes below will inform you of the real state and nature of America.

Two Mass Shooting Survivors Speak

Ms Stephanie Horowitz survived two mass shootings, the 2018 massacre of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School by Nikolas Cruz and the recent Florida State University attack when Phoenix Ikner killed two students and wounded six.  

Jackie Matthews

Jackie Matthews survived the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 26 people in Newtown, CT, and she survived the 13 Feb 2023 attack at Michigan State University which killed three students.

“I am 21 years old, and this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through. The fact that this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible.”

In a now-deleted clip, Ms. Mathews detailed how she suffered a post-traumatic stress disorder fracture in her back because of what happened in 2012, something that still affects her to this day.

Only America can claim the ignimonious achievement of people surviving multiple mass shootings.

Mass Shooter Kills 22 Reportedly for Dotard Trumpf

Mass murderer Patrick Crusius was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing 22 people at a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas. His defense attorney Joe Spencer testified:

“While Patrick claimed in his manifesto that his views predated the then-president (Donald Trumpf) and that political figures were not to blame, he also explicitly stated the attack was a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas, echoing the language used by political figures. Indeed, Patrick believed he was acting at the direction of the president at the time, seeing it as his duty to stop the invasion because that’s what he believed [Trumpf] was telling him.”

Florida Killer Phoenix Ikner Trumpf Supporter

Nikolas Cruz, the 2018 Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School murderer is a Trumpf supporter as well. He wore his bright red MAGA hat to a funeral.

Nikolas Cruz mugshot.

Nikolas Cruz in his Trumpf MAGA hat practicing how to shoot and kill. (Montage: Public domain)

Lunatic Sets Fire to Pennsylvania Governor’s Mansion

Cody Balmer (38) is charged with attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism, and related offenses for allegedly setting fire to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D-PA) governor’s mansion on 13 Apr 2025. (Photo: Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office)

Cody Balmer allegedly set fire to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s mansion out of hatred for him. The damage was extensive and luckily no one was injured in the inferno. How this maniac was able to penetrate the defenses of the governor’s mansion is unclear. In 2024 Gov. Shapiro was on Kamala Harris’ short-list for VPOTUS candidate and he may run himself in 2028.

Inside the governor’s mansion after the fire. (Photo: Pennsylvania State Police)

Police State Under Trumpf Worsens

German teens Charlotte Pohl and Maria Lepere (Photo Credits: X/ @MarioNawfal)

Two teenage girls from Germany were detained, arrested, and deported at an airport in Hawaii after immigration officials said it was suspicious they had not booked a hotel room. But despite having ESTA travel authorization, immigration officials accused them of attempting to enter the US. to work illegally, and they were placed in handcuffs and taken to a nearby detention center they later learned was a deportation facility. Upon arrival, they were subjected to full-body scans, strip searches, and forced to wear green prison jumpsuits. They were then placed in a holding facility with serious criminals, including an alleged murderer who had been locked up for 18 years, and were forced to spend the night in a freezing cold double cell.

Migrant Children in Immigration Court Without Lawyers

(Imagery: ABC News)

“The reason we’re here is because the government of the United States wants you to leave the United States,” Judge Ubaid ul-Haq, presiding from a courtroom on Varick Street, told a group of about a dozen children on a recent morning on Webex. “It’s my job to figure out if you have to leave,” ul-Haq continued. “It’s also my job to figure out if you should stay.” The parties included a 7-year-old boy, wearing a shirt emblazoned with a pizza cartoon, who spun a toy windmill while the judge spoke. There was an 8-year-old girl and her 4-year-old sister, in a tie-dye shirt, who squeezed a pink plushy toy and stuffed it into her sleeve. None of the children were accompanied by parents or attorneys, only shelter workers who helped them log on to the hearing.

The Trumpf junta has been firing immigration judges and legal resources are limited to represent immigrants in court, let alone helpless children.

‘The cruelty is apparent

Canadian Border Agents Fail Family of Four Fleeing America

A family of four from El Salvador crossed the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls to Canada fleeing the ICE raids and sudden deportations sweeping the US. But the CBSA focused on small discrepancies in their paperwork and rejected them, even though they qualified for entry under exception and have a brother who is a Canadian citizen. When the four were disappointingly driven back to the US border, CBP detained them. They have been in custody two weeks now.

Aracely sits with her two daughters, aged four and 14. The three were detained with Aracely’s common-law husband in a holding cell for two weeks at the US port of entry in Niagara Falls, NY, after Canadian border guards turned them away. CBC News is not showing the family’s faces or revealing their full names for safety reasons. (Image: Ousama Farag / CBC)

Canada turns away most asylum seekers who attempt to enter from the US at land border crossings, but there are exceptions to this rule, which this family met. I hope those CBSA officers are happy with themselves knowing that these four vulnerable people, including two girls (4 and 14), will eventually be deported to rightwing-led, impoverished, and gang-infested El Salvador.

(Photo: Al Drago, NYT)

In 2022, 48,000 Americans were killed by gun violence. 2025 or 2026 could be the year the US reaches 50,000 deaths in one year. Now the state is inflicting violence on its people with mass deportations and flagrant violations of due process. Trumpf is inspiring political violence across the US, from mass shootings to arson to vandalizing Felon Musk’s hideous Tesla vehicles. There is a reason why America ranked 24th on the World Happiness Report (below Israel and Mexico) and Dotard Trumpf was recently ranked the worst president of all time. Followers of the Watch, you will see more violence, police brutality, and economic chaos over the next four years as Trumpf shrinks the social safety net, hate radio continues spewing xenophobic lies, and mental illness continues unchecked in the US.

Sources:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2025/03/19/world-happiness-report-2025/82551709007/

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/photos-arson-fire-damages-pennsylvania-governors-residence/4159709/

https://www.unilad.com/news/sandy-hook-michigan-shooting-survivor-604402-20230215

https://www.latestly.com/socially/world/vacation-gone-wrong-2-german-teens-strip-searched-jailed-and-deported-from-us-after-cbp-finds-incomplete-hawaii-travel-plans-suspicious-6797703.html

India: 26 Killed in Terror Attack During VPOTUS JD Vance Trip

At least 26 people have been killed and 36 wounded in Indian-controlled Kashmir in the north after gunmen opened fire at a beauty spot near the resort town of Pahalgam, nicknamed ‘Mini Switzerland.’ Authorities blamed it on the resistance fighting Indian rule which deploys 500,000 soldiers in Kashmir. The attack seemed to have been timed to coincide with JD Vance’s four-day tour of India and PM Nahendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia. Delhi has swiftly taken a series of retaliatory steps: closing the main border crossing, suspending a critical water-sharing treaty, and expelling diplomats.

The massive Indian security force presence in Jammu and Kashmir (500,000 personnel) use shotgun pellets to purposely blind Muslim protestors like Manzoor Ah-Dar below:

Manzoor Ah-Dar poses for a portrait in Rahmoo, Kashmir. Manzoor was injured in both eyes by metal pellets when Indian forces raided the village. (Bernat Armangue/AP)

PM Narendra Modi can blame Pakistan for supporting their fellow Muslims oppressed in Jammu and Kashmir, but poverty and Hindu-supremacist Delhi’s repression of the ‘Other’ is the root cause of unhappiness and strife in India.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwynx7kgyqvo

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9vyzzyjzlo

 https://www.independent.co.uk

Trumpf Strips Visa for Colombia President Gustavo Petro

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, claimed that the US has withdrawn his visa and that he can no longer enter the country. (Credit: Presidency of Colombia / Flickr)

Dotard Trumpf petulantly stripped Colombia President Gustavo Petro’s visa, preventing him from attending imminent meetings of the IMF and IBRD in the US. The major international snub comes after Trumpf threatened ‘decisive retaliatory measures’ over Colombia’s Jan 2025 refusal to let two US military flights full of deportees land. In a cabinet meeting, President Petro let slip that his nickname for Dotard Trumpf is ‘Donald Duck’ and he took this idiotic snub with aplomb.

Colombia’s Former Colonial Masters Shoot and Burn Trumpf in Effigy

(Public domain photo)

An effigy of Dotard Trumpf was marched through the streets before being shot and burned as part of Easter Sunday celebrations in Spain. Every Easter, locals in the town of Coripe, Seville, string up a Judas’ figure representing a public figure whose actions are deemed to be morally reprehensible’. Video shows the Trumpf doll, sporting a dark navy suit, red tie, and unmistakable shock of blonde hair, leading a town parade at gunpoint before being hung from a tree in the town square and shot at with rifles from close range. The burning of Judas’ effigies is a common ritual amongst Christian communities as part of traditional Easter celebrations.

Coriolanus regrets missing this worthy auto-da-fe.

Sources:

https://sg.news.yahoo.com/donald-trump-effigy-shot-burned-123840954.html

https://colombiaone.com/2025/04/22/colombia-petro-us-visa-trump-donald-duck/

Karma for Puppy-Killing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, infamously known for admitting in her autobiography that she killed her 14-month-old rambunctious puppy, fell victim to a thief while eating dinner at a downtown Washington, DC, restaurant Sunday night. Noem, who was asked about the theft at the White House Easter Egg Roll, acknowledged the incident and said the matter has not been resolved. The Secret Service, which provides security for Noem, reviewed security camera footage at the restaurant and saw an unknown white male wearing a medical mask steal her bag and leave the restaurant, a law enforcement source said. The thief got away with Noem’s driver’s license, medication, apartment keys, passport, DHS access badge, makeup bag, blank checks, and about $3,000 in cash.

Shooting a defenseless, harmless puppy is not only a disqualification from becoming Secretary of Homeland Security, but a disqualification from the human race. The US Senate confirmed her appointment as Secretary with a 59-34 vote. Astonishing.

Coriolanus was intensely curious regarding the contents of Secretary Noem’s stolen handbag. Why she was dining with her passport (official or diplomatic) and blank checks in Washington DC is mystery to your author. One question arose is what medications Secretary Noem is taking and for what condition. Her predilection to animal cruelty and mass deportations of vulnerable people provide a clue.

Having her makeup kit makes sense to maintain Noem’s disguise as a human being.

As Governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem was banned from indigenous lands by the local tribes. At the border in Derby Line, Vermont, Noem taunted Canadians with shouts of “51st state!” and she shamelessly flaunted herself and her jewelry in front of male convicts in a notorious El Salvador prison for a tawdry photo opportunity.

Secretary Noem in a pathetic photo-op in El Salvador on 26 Mar 2025 (Photo: Reuters)

The irony is rich. For a few hours on Sunday, the manifestly under-qualified Secretary Kristi Noem was “undocumented” like the people she has been persecuting. And this architect of fear for millions of vulnerable people was in a frenzied panic in a tony Washington DC bistro like her victims.

Karma, where would we be without you?

Sources:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s bag, including $3,000 in cash, is stolen from DC restaurant | CNN Politics

https://apnews.com/article/south-dakota-indian-reservation-bans-governor-noem-b55339eb624a119bc571c8b4dab848f4

Trumpf Junta Targets Anti-Christian Bias While Israel Persecutes Christians

In a statement marking Easter before the death of Pope Francis I, Marco Rubio called for “all nations to respect the right of Christians to declare Christ is King. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the king of kings and lord of all nations,” Rubio posted on ‘X’. Rubio’s implication is that Christian freedom of worship is under threat.

The Trumpf junta has ordered State Department employees to report on any instances of coworkers displaying “anti-Christian bias” as part of its effort to implement a sweeping new executive order on supporting employees of Christian faith working in the federal government. Marco Rubio, the most under-qualified person to ever lead the State Department, also asked staffers via official cable to report any perceived discriminatory actions taken against Christians or employees advocating on their behalf between Jan 2021 and Jan 2025.

Moreover, US Attorney-General Pam Bondi announced she is establishing a task force to combat anti-Christian bias in the US.

The Stench of Republican Hypocrisy is Stifling

White supremacist MAGA acolyte Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) from Georgia posted this vile message after Pope Francis I died.

US Attorney-General Pam Bondi did not condemn this anti-Christian message from MTG and worse, SECSTATE Marco Rubio conveniently ignores the fact that for decades Palestinian Christians have been attacked by both Israeli civilians and the IDF.

Theodosios (Atallah Hanna), the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Sebastia, delivers a speech during a demonstration in Beit Jala in the West Bank 17 May \2021 to express solidarity with Gaza and Sheikh Jarah. (Photo: Hazem Bader / AFP via Getty Images)

You can watch the videos here:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/20/palestinians-in-gaza-west-bank-mark-sorrowful-easter-amid-israeli-attacks

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-04-15/ty-article/israeli-police-violently-detain-several-holy-fire-worshipers/00000187-8563-dc6c-a5ff-ef7373080000

To Trumpf’s vicious sycophantic lapdogs in the junta, they are each awarded this:

Other Oddities From Israel

IDF destroying Indonesian hospital in Gaza (Image: Planet Labs)

ICC-indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: public domain)

The availability of high resolution satellite imagery of the Israeli Death Forces (IDF) will irritate Benjamin Netanyahu no end and make concealing their war crimes more difficult.

Swimmer Killed After Rare Shark Attack

A swimmer was killed following an extremely rare shark attack off the coast of Israel about 25 miles north of Tel Aviv. Sharks are known to gather there where warm water is discharged by a local power plant, and especially at this time of year, but they are usually harmless. There have been no recorded fatal shark attacks in waters off Israel since the country was founded in 1948. Below Israelis admire a shark in the same area in 2021.

(Photo: AFP)

Pre-attack video of the shark captured here:

If the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip can’t enjoy the Mediterranean Sea, this seems fitting that Likudniks shouldn’t enjoy their much cleaner beaches to the north.

Sources:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/top-health-officials-hold-urgent-meeting-as-1st-monkeypox-case-confirmed-in-israel/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-rubio-state-department-anti-christian-bias-biden/

https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/hkbugnh1xg

https://www.timesofisrael.com/man-dies-after-contracting-brain-eating-amoeba-in-israels-2nd-ever-recorded-case/

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247686/gazas-only-catholic-priest-calls-israel-gaza-violence-extremely-serious

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c793rygrpjqo

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2025/04/22/marjorie-taylor-greenes-viral-controversial-post-after-pope-francis-death-marjorie-taylor-greene/83207982007/

19 Richest American Households Made One Trillion Dollars Last Year

“The wealthiest have gotten richer, and control a record share of America’s wealth. New data suggest $1 trillion of wealth was created for the 19 richest American households alone in 2024. That is more than the value of Switzerland’s entire economy.”

GOP Tax Cuts Will Cull Thousands of Poor Americans

To pay for the oligarch’s unneeded tax cuts, congressional Republicans in both chambers passed a resolution to cut at least $880 billion from the budget through 2034. Because Medicaid accounts for approximately 93% of non-Medicare funding, the program is expected to absorb the overwhelming share of these reductions. The cuts to Medicaid would result in widespread coverage losses, which could lead to 15,400 deaths due to work reporting requirements or roughly 34,200 deaths from reduced federal funding each year. 

The oligarchs have been greedily amassing their pelf for centuries. Just imagine how much more fabulously wealthy the billionaires will be next year after Trumpf’s horrendous tax cuts take effect. And how many poor Americans will have died because of inadequate medical funding. The GOP and American billionaires are aiding and abetting what Friedrich Engels described as “social murder.”

Sources:

https://www.wsj.com/economy/1-trillion-richest-families-wealth-increase-bc13874a?mod=hp_lead_pos7

Rescue Pit Bull Finds Best Friend in Donkey

Secretary Noem, are you watching this?

Followers of the Watch, Coriolanus is doing his utmost to keep up with the sinister machinations of the Trumpf junta, including their blatant stock manipulations with tariff threats and massive cryptocurrency grifting, all while keeping an eye on global intelligence and national security issues.

Trumpf’s Reign of Terror Reaches New Horrific Lows

Followers of the Watch, there is much to cover and little time, so let’s get started right away. Simply put, within two short months Dotard Trumpf has turned America into a Rogue State and an International Pariah. So, which despicable act to begin with?

Trumpf Rejects Mexico’s Request for Water in Tijuana

The US has refused a request by Mexico for water, alleging shortfalls in sharing by its southern neighbor. This was the first time that the US had rejected a request by Mexico for special delivery of water, which would have gone to the border city of Tijuana.

“Mexico’s continued shortfalls in its water deliveries under the 1944 water-sharing treaty are decimating American agriculture – particularly farmers in the Rio Grande valley,” the State Department’s alleged.

The 1944 treaty, which governs water allocation from the Rio Grande and Colorado River, has come under growing strain in recent years due to the pressures of the climate crisis and the burgeoning populations and agriculture in parched areas.

Trumpf Expels South Africa’s Ambassador to US

South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool on left.

Describing him as a “race-baiting politician,” USSECSTATE Marco Rubio expelled South Africa’s ambassador to Washington. In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating the US and President Donald Trumpf, and said the ambassador was “no longer welcome in our great country.” The rare move by the US marks the latest development in rising tensions between the two countries. Pretoria may reciprocate. The manifestly underqualified Marco Rubio is America’s top diplomat.

DHS Revokes Legal Status of 532,000 Haitians and Latin Americans

The Department of Homeland Security said that it will revoke legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, setting them up for potential deportation in April. These refugees came to the US legally, playing by the rules, doing everything that was required of them by the Federal Government.

The order applies to about 532,000 people from the four countries who came to the US since Oct 2022. They arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the US. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they will lose their legal status on 24 Apr, or 30 days after the publication of the notice in the Federal Register.

This is the same Kristi Noem who proudly admitted in her autobiography to killing an undisciplined puppy. This psychopath is prohibited from entering indigenous reservations in her home state of South Dakota.

Trumpf Planning Another Travel Ban

Trumpf is considering a new travel ban that could affect citizens from up to 43 countries, meant to address “national security and public safety threats.” Citizens from the 11 countries in the “red” category would be entirely barred from entering the US. These countries include Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Countries in the “orange” category would affect immigrant, tourist and student visas, with some exception. The list consists of Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan.

ICE and DHS have been detaining pro-Palestinian college students on visas who demonstrated in 2024 or express anti-Israeli sentiments, in violation of the US Constitution guaranteeing free speech.

Trumpf needn’t be concerned about issuing a travel ban. An exodus of both people and capital from the US is taking place. Besides, refugees leaving these places to escape political violence can easily be killed in the firearm death epidemic plaguing the US, so why would they come to America?

Foreigners, Tourists Terrified of US Police State

Despite being lawful permanent residents of the US, legal immigrants with green cards are starting to panic about being kicked out of the country by the Trumpf administration. “If I were not a citizen, I would think long and hard before I traveled. And that includes green card holders,” said immigration attorney David Leopold. Germany issued a travel advisory to its citizens traveling to US to make sure their paperwork is in order. A handful of Germans have already been detained by ICE, in addition to some Canadians. International travel agents have been urging their clients to avoid the US. Canadians have begun their boycott of American products and travel to the US. Canadian tourist spending in the US totaled $20.5 billion in 2024; a 10% drop risks $2.1 billion and 140,000 jobs.

Grandparents and Orange County ex-residents Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez (Photo: Social media)

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez came to the US from Colombia without authorization some 35 years ago, raised three daughters and now have a new grandson. The couple was deported to Colombia earlier this week after living in California and paying taxes for 35 years, living the so-called “American dream.” This punishment is the equivalent of firing a cannonball at a housefly.

Trumpf Rescinds Security Clearances of Prominent Democrats

Trumpf speaking to reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, on 21 Mar. (Photo: Bryan Dozier / /Middle East Images /AFP / Getty)

Trumpf rescinded the security clearances of Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, several members of the Biden administration, and other prominent Democrats. Trumpf had already revoked Joe Biden’s security clearance. Previous victims of Godzilla’s rampage: Antony Blinken, Adam Kinzinger, LTC Alexander Vindman (Ret), NYAG Letitia James, NY DA Alvin Bragg, Gen Mark Milley, Jake Sullivan, Elizabeth Cheney, Fiona Hill, Lisa Monaco, former US Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen, and attorney Mark Zaid. Trumpf also revoked the USSS protective detail for Hunter and Ashley Biden, Joe’s surviving adult children.

Trumpf’s vindictiveness impairs these people to work again in the USG as contractors, employees, or political figures. Removing the USSS detail from Biden’s adult children may imperil them from lunatics because of all the hatred Republicans generated against the Bidens these past several years.

Trumpf, to please his white supremacist Republican followers and himself, is bleaching the US of people of color. At the same time, America’s Godzilla is recklessly damaging America’s economy and reputation, something that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to see. Trumpf is maliciously killing two birds with one stone.

Citations:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/20/tijuana-mexico-water-trump

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/california/2025/03/08/army-corps-knew-trumps-california-water-release-order-was-a-waste/82055516007/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmj8ky3rvno

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-humanitarian-parole-china-haiti-nicaragua-venezuela-c10f422939934cf8d1cf8a6f4dfc4610

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/22/us/green-card-visa-holders-deportation-fears-cec

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/03/19/Germany-foreign-ministry-travel/9601742398245/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-revokes-security-clearances-of-kamala-harris-hillary-clinton-and-other-prominent-dems/

https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-trump-secret-service-ashley-50eba3fcd1ef9d2580fb4bc464d229f6

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/22/a-pivot-moment-some-travel-agents-are-now-urging-their-clients-to-avoid-the-united-states/

Trumpf Debases US With $5m “Gold” Immigration Cards for Oligarchs

Arch-goniff and billionaire Howard Lutnick, Trumpf’s Commerce Secretary, announced that he secured $5 billion in a single day by selling 1,000 immigration gold cards, each valued at $5 million. Lutnick said that with a market of 37 million potential buyers, Trumpf is confident they can generate at least $5 trillion by selling one million of these exclusive cards.

Billionaire Howard Lutnick claimed that “real Americans” like his 94-year-old mother-in-law won’t complain if they miss a social security check one month because of clerical error.

Citations:

https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/commerce-secretary-howard-lutnick-says-us-sells-1000-gold-cards-in-a-day-raising-5-billion/3784494/

 corporate-prosecution-registry.com

Jessica Aber (43) Who Investigated Russian Criminals Found Dead in Virginia

Former US Attorney Jessica Aber (43) was found dead at her Virginia residence Saturday morning. Police responded to a call about an “unresponsive woman” and have launched an investigation. Aber, who resigned in January after serving since 2021, was hailed as an “irreplaceable” leader and prosecutor. The cause of death is yet to be determined by the chief medical examiner. Authorities have not revealed any signs of foul play but continue to examine the circumstances surrounding her sudden passing.

Citation:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-us-attorney-jessica-aber-found-dead-virginia/story?id=120064277

INTERPOL Solves Spanish Cold Case

INTERPOL informs:

“A woman who died in unexplained circumstances in Spain has been identified as 33-year-old Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, from Paraguay. This was the first successful trans-continental identification made as part of INTERPOL’s Identify Me program.

The international cold case campaign, coordinated by INTERPOL with six European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain), aims to seek the public’s help in identifying 46 women whose bodies were found in Europe over recent decades.

One of those cases, submitted by Spanish authorities, related to an unidentified female discovered in the province of Girona, Spain, on 6 Aug 2018. The woman was found hanging in a poultry shed attached to a farmhouse. She was not carrying any identity papers and no one in the area knew who she was, or how she got there. The victim had a tattoo on her left forearm of the word ‘success’ in Hebrew. Despite extensive investigations by local police, the woman was never identified.

A breakthrough came in March 2025 when Paraguayan authorities matched fingerprints uploaded by Spain to INTERPOL’s Black Notice against their own national databases, as part of the Identify Me initiative.

The first round of Identify Me, launched in 2023, also yielded noteworthy results, with the identification of Rita Roberts, a British woman who was found murdered in Antwerp in 1992. The family of Rita Roberts contacted the appeal hotline after they recognized their relative’s tattoo from news coverage of the campaign.

Identify Me is the first time INTERPOL has released public extracts from Black Notices, which are used to seek information internationally on unidentified bodies and to determine the circumstances surrounding a death. Black Notices can include information on the location where the body was found, biometric information (DNA, fingerprints, facial images), dental charts, physical descriptions of the body or clothing and any other details relevant to identifying the deceased.”

Now that Spanish and Paraguayan police have brought closure to Ms. Lima’s family, they now have a better chance of discovering whether she committed suicide or was murdered.

Citation:

https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2025/Spanish-cold-case-resolved-through-international-public-appeal

Russia Targets Odessa During Czech President’s Visit

Czech President Petr Pavel (L), Ukraine Deputy PM Okeksii Kuleba (R) (Photo: Social media)

Russia launched three waves of Shahed-type drones on Odessa during a visit to the city by Czech President Petr Pavel on 20 Mar. Three people were injured during the attack and civilian infrastructure was damaged. Last year Putin launched a missile strike on Odessa which landed danger-close to visiting Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“The entire civilized world should see Russia’s crimes against Ukraine,” Ukraine Deputy PM Okeksii Kuleba said.

A UN report recently condemned Russian’s actions against the children of Ukraine:

“Between 24 Feb 2022 and 31 Dec 2024, 669 children were killed and 1,833 injured, many as a result of the extensive use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Of these, 521 were killed and 1,529 injured in territory controlled by Ukraine, and 148 were killed and 304 injured in currently occupied territory. The actual numbers are likely much higher. As of Dec 2024, an estimated 737,000 children had been internally displaced by the hostilities. A further 1.7 million were refugees, many of them separated from a parent, usually their father.” 

An international arrest warrant remains active for Russian President Vladimir Putin (and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu), despite Trumpf’s sanctions against the ICC.

Citations:

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-hits-odesa-with-drones-during-visit-of-czech-president-petr-pavel/

 www.dailymail.co.uk

https://www.unognewsroom.org/story/en/2591/un-report-details-devastating-impact-of-hostilities-on-children-in-ukraine

67,042 Afrikaners Interested in Trumpf Re-Settlement Plan

Afrikaners outside US Mission in South Africa. (Photo: Social media)

The US Embassy in South Africa received a list of 67,042 Afrikaners interested in refugee status under Trump’s plan to relocate them in the US. The list was given to the embassy by the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US, which said it became a point of contact for white South Africans asking about the program announced by the Trumpf administration last month. The chamber said the list does not constitute official applications.

South Africa has the second highest rate of gun ownership in Africa, so these Afrikaners will fit in perfectly with America. Red States like Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, or Texas will be perfect for them.

Citations:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-refugee-afrikaner-south-africa-0fbca411470d3b439886cabc12c7600d

za.usembassy.gov

Senior FBI Agent Arrested for Disclosing Confidential Records

Senior FBI SA Jonathan Buma (Undated photo from public domain)

A senior FBI agent has been charged with unlawfully taking and disclosing classified FBI files. Johnathan Buma, who specialized in national security and terror cases, has been released on $100,000 bond, with orders to appear in court in Los Angeles. Buma was arrested as he boarded an international flight at JFK airport in NY. He allegedly printed of caches of FBI records from an internal agency network. Nearly 130 files might have been compromised. A Trumpf critic, Buma previously testified to Congress about the political investigations (witch hunts) against Hunter Biden, as well as Russian oligarchs (see bottom link).

Citations:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/longtime-fbi-agent-charged-disclosing-classified-records/

www.documentcloud.org

US Warzone: Three Dead, 15 Wounded in New Mexico Mass Shooting

Three suspects, including two 17-year-old boys, have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder stemming from a mass shooting that left three teenagers dead and 15 other people injured at an unsanctioned car show at a park in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

In an average year, 507 people die and 821 are wounded by guns in New Mexico, which has the 9th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. The attack sounded like a warzone firefight:

US Army medic readying life-saving plasma.

Citations:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-mexico-police-investigating-mass-shooting-las-cruces/story?id=120052341

Black Bear Gently Closes Door With Mouth

Apparently these two know each other pretty well. This took place on 7 Mar 2025 in Bergenfield, NJ.

“Age of Impunity”: Israel Bombards Lebanon for Second Day; 558 Killed Including 50 Children, 94 Women; 1,835 Injured

Israel bombarded 1,500 Hezbollah militant targets in Lebanon again on Tuesday, with the death toll from airstrikes since Monday mounting to 558, along with another 1,835 injured.50 children had been killed in the barrage, along with at least 94 women.

Israel said one of its strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Ibrahim Muhammad Qubaisi, identified as a senior Hezbollah military commander who oversaw Hezbollah’s missile systems.

The UN refugee agency said it was “outraged and deeply saddened” by other Israeli attacks that killed two of its staff members. Thousands of Lebanese have fled southern Lebanon in search of safety from the Israeli attacks, clogging roads north to Beirut. But Israel has also targeted sites in the capital, with one attack hitting a six-story building, killing six and injuring 15.

Vehicles wait in traffic in the town of Damour, south of the capital Beirut, as people flee southern Lebanon, 24 Sep 2024.

The Israeli military warned residents of the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon’s east to stay away from Hezbollah’s armament supply depots. The IDF has dropped leaflets in eastern Lebanon. Hezbollah urged Lebanese to discard those leaflets, warning against scanning barcodes that could compromise their personal data.

“The enemy is dropping leaflets with barcodes in the Bekaa region and may drop them elsewhere. Please do not open or circulate the barcode. You must destroy it immediately,” the statement said, warning the code could “take all your information.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a stark warning at the General Assembly on Tuesday that the world has entered an “age of impunity” as Israel’s onslaught in Gaza — and now, escalation against Lebanon — continues without consequence, despite the clear ability of world powers to stop the atrocities.

In his address at the opening of this year’s session of the United Nations General Assembly, Guterres said the widespread abuses of international humanitarian law that the world has witnessed over the past year are now threatening the basis of the UN charter and international order.

Immunity for such abuses is now the norm, he said, as world powers have refused to stop the “non-stop nightmare” in Gaza and Israel’s aggression that has put Lebanon “at the brink” of becoming “another Gaza.” He also raised atrocities being committed against Ukraine and the people of Sudan, where a famine and civil war rage on.

The US and some Arab countries support a ceasefire in the Mideast, but Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud government are opposed. Cease-fire talks have been stalemated for months. With fighting on two fronts, Netanyahu warned Israelis that they are headed into “complicated days.”

Meanwhile, the US Navy reported that a replenishment ship operating in the Middle East sustained damage in an incident which is under investigation. The damage to the USNS Big Horn comes after the oiler had supplied the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group. All crew members were reported safe and the vessel was being supported by private tugboats.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier shown here in the Arabian Sea (DOD: 1 Jun 2019). US military personnel in CENTCOM AOR are vulnerable to reprisal attacks by Lebanese Hezbollah allies, such as the Shia Houthis along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden or pro-Iranian Shia militias in Iraq.  

Israel’s recent massive pager and walkie-talkie attack, described as ‘a war crime’ by the UN head of human rights, followed by this onslaught in Lebanon, coincided with the opening of the UN General Assembly in NYC and Pres. Biden’s final address to the international body. This brazen offensive demonstrates Benjamin Netanyahu’s contempt for the UN and the sitting US president.  The Biden Administration has been working feverishly to reach a ceasefire to release the 100 Israeli hostages and Netanyahu seems to be the impediment. A ceasefire and hostage release would give Pres. Biden a small diplomatic victory before he retires, something which Netanyahu seems determined to deny him.

The Israeli attack also risks widening the conflict in the Middle East which benefits Moscow, Beijing, and Pyongyang. Any discord and instability in the Middle East distracts and diverts Washington’s resources and attention. The US supplies both Ukraine and Israel with arms and foreign aid, but is also the main military ally of Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. A Chinese aircraft carrier recently approached Japanese maritime waters and a Russian military aircraft violated Japanese airspace. Last week North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles and publicly displayed one of its uranium-enrichment facilities.

A wider war in the Middle East could also lead to a rise in oil prices and re-kindling inflation in the US. While sanctions have constrained Iranian oil output in recent years, Tehran remains an oil producer and asserts control over the passage of tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a trading route that facilitates the transport of about 15% of global oil supply.

“If Iran got involved in this war, then it would disrupt oil supply worldwide,” said a professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

As long as Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party remain in power, the chances for a lasting peace in the Middle East or a Two-State Solution are zero. And these ongoing hostilities delay Netanyahu’s bribery and corruption trial in Jerusalem. Already indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, Netanyahu also faces a potential probe regarding the 7 Oct 2023 surprise attack by Palestinian armed groups and whether he deliberately ignored any intelligence warnings.

Sources:

Israel bombards Lebanon for second day as death toll reaches 558 (voanews.com)

Hezbollah warns Lebanese over dropped Israeli leaflets — Naharnet

US Navy ship operating in Mideast damaged in incident, officials say (voanews.com)

Japan says Russian patrol aircraft violated its airspace | Fox News

Wider Middle East war could spike oil prices and rekindle US inflation, experts say – ABC News (go.com)

UN Chief: World Has Entered “Age of Impunity” as Israel’s Aggression Spreads | Truthout

Exploding pagers and radios: A terrifying violation of international law, say UN experts | OHCHR

Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Destruction of Property During 6 Jan Attack on Capitol

Justin LaGesse (red circle) and Theodore Middendorf (yellow circle) march through the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. Image: FBI

Justin LaGesse (37) of McLeansboro, IL, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of destruction of government property during the 6 Jan 2021 breach of the US Capitol.

Additionally charged in this matter as a co-defendant is Theodore Middendorf (36) also of McLeansboro. This matter is ongoing.

On 6 Jan 2021, the two miscreants arrived in Washington, D.C., carrying with them an American and Gadsden flag. At approximately 2:51 PM, LaGesse entered into the US Capitol by climbing through a broken window next to the Senate Wing Door. He then turned around and helped Middendorf through the window. After spending some time in the lobby, LaGesse and Middendorf continued to traverse through the Capitol before exiting the building. LaGesse partially pulled down his neck gaiter and began to harass several police officers who were protecting the Capitol. Among other things, LaGesse called the officers “f— traitors” and “f— communist scum.”

By approximately 4:09 PM, the two seditionists had moved to the north side of the Capitol where a large group of rioters were attempting to breach the building via the North Door. Police officers defended the door and blocked the rioters’ entry. As the officers held back the attackers, LaGesse and Middendorf approached the nearby exterior window of a room inside the Capitol and struck the glass window several times with the bases of their flagpoles. The Architect of the Capitol determined that the total cost of the damage to the window was $41,315.25.

In the 43 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,488 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including nearly 550 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

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

Justin LaGesse’s name is associated with the above right-wing website. He and Theodore Middendorf represent America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), white supremacist dead-enders desperately trying to clutch onto the last vestiges of white privilege in the US. Whatever sort of life Justin LaGesse had before 6 Jan 2021, he threw it away with his hatred and this federal felony conviction.

Sources:

District of Columbia | Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Felony Destruction of Property During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

Russia Increases Intelligence Footprint in Mexico

CIA Director William Burns said the US government is “sharply focused” on Russia’s expanding footprint in Mexico, which he said was partly the result of Russian spies being expelled from foreign capitals after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (Image: UK Daily Mail)

Russian intelligence services are building up their presence in Mexico for spy operations targeting the US. The Kremlin has added dozens of personnel to its embassy staff in Mexico City in the past few years, even though Moscow has only limited trade ties with the country. US officials say the trend is concerning and believe the extensive buildup is aimed at bolstering the Kremlin’s intelligence operations targeting the US, as well as its propaganda efforts aimed at undermining Washington and Ukraine.

In Marc 2022, USAF Gen. Glen Van Herck, head of US NORTHCOM, testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee that Russia’s GRU military intelligence service had a massive presence in Mexico.

“I would point out that the largest portion of GRU members in the world is in Mexico right now. Those are Russian intelligence personnel, and they keep an eye very closely on their opportunities to have influence on the US or gain access,” Van Herck said.

Even though Mexico has extensive trade ties with the US, it has traditionally tried to steer away from fully aligning itself with Washington’s foreign policy and has maintained friendly relations with Russia and Cuba.

John Sipher, who worked in the CIA’s clandestine service for 28 years, said Russia has always told Americans offering to spy for Moscow to head to Mexico.

Last month, an electrical engineer with dual US and Turkish citizenship was arrested and charged with mishandling classified documents while working for the US DoD.

FBI agents arrested Gokhan Gun and accused him of printing more than 250 documents while working at the Defense Department. Many of the documents are labeled “classified.” The defendant was about to go on a fishing trip to  Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In the 1970s, Christopher Boyce and his high school friend Andrew Daulton Lee were found guilty of providing US satellite secrets to the Soviets. Over two years, Lee traveled to Mexico City to deliver classified information to agents at the Soviet Embassy and collect money for him and Boyce. Their case became the subject of a book and a major Hollywood film, “The Falcon and the Snowman.”

US Marshals escort captured fugitive Christopher Boyce in manacles from Seattle in 1981. Note the cigarette in the deputy’s right hand. Bettmann Archive via Getty Images.

Harold “Jim” Nicholson, a high-ranking CIA officer convicted in 1997 of passing secrets to Moscow, was serving his sentence for espionage when he tried to use his son to collect his “pension” payments from Russian agents in Mexico. His son was eventually arrested and convicted in 2010, and his father was convicted for a second time.

Two years ago, a prominent Mexican scientist, Hector Cabrera Fuentes, pleaded guilty to being co-opted by Russian agents into surveilling a US government informant living in Miami. Fuentes was leading a double life with two families on two continents, and Russian spies used that to coerce Fuentes into cooperating.

Unlike the US, where Russian intelligence is under intense scrutiny from the FBI and consulates have been shuttered, Mexico offers a convenient, lower-risk setting for Moscow to oversee agents in the US and stage other operations.

The Russians would likely want to use Mexico’s proximity but relative safety beyond US law enforcement’s reach to support both American agents and Russian officers operating under “deep cover” in the US. An American source working for Russian intelligence could travel back and forth across the US-Mexico border and meet up with Russian handlers to get paid, debriefed, resupplied and receive training on communication methods or other tradecraft.

Russian intelligence could conceivably also take advantage of Mexico’s proximity to target Putin’s political enemies inside the US.

The Russians likely would have little interest in having operatives try to cross the southern border illegally with migrants. But Russian intelligence agencies would have the option to work with cross-border criminal networks if it suited a particular mission, and if they were ready to tolerate a much higher risk. Part of the mandate of the GRU is to prepare possible sabotage operations in the event of a war with the US, and Mexico would be a practical base for such contingency plans.

Russia can manipulate the information landscape in Mexico to undercut international support for Ukraine but also to sow social divisions. Russia has expanded its state-funded media outlet RT in Mexico and runs a large advertising campaign for the channel. In April, the Russian ambassador to Mexico posted a false report by Russian state media claiming that the US was recruiting members of drug cartels from Mexico and Colombia to send them to fight in Ukraine. The baseless account was picked up by some Mexican news organizations.

On 1 Oct, Mexico inaugurates its first ever female president in Mexico City and Vladimir Putin was invited. Ukraine requested Mexico, an International Criminal Court (ICC) signatory, to arrest him on an active international warrant when he arrives. The Mexican government responded that it had no intention of arresting him. The Kremlin later announced that a representative for Putin would attend President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum’s inauguration. In other news south of the US border, this week the US instituted sanctions against Mexican businesses for drug trafficking (please see next article).

Sources:

Back to the Cold War: Russia uses Mexico as a hub for spying on the U.S. (nbcnews.com)

Dual citizen of U.S., Turkey accused of printing classified documents – UPI.com

Mexico rejects Ukraine’s request to arrest Russia’s Putin during visit | Reuters

US Sanctions Mexican Businesses, Colombian Nationals for ‘Significant’ Drug Trafficking Network

Map courtesy of Stratfor and the BBC.

The US Treasury announced a series of new political sanctions on businesses in Mexico and citizens of Colombia allegedly tied to a “significant” flow of illicit drugs into the US and human trafficking: the leadership of Colombia’s Clan Del Golfo and businesses owned in Mexico by alleged fentanyl traffickers known as the Sinaloa Cartel.

Clan del Golfo, also known as Los Urabeños, is one of America’s largest drug trafficking organizations and “a key contributor” to human smuggling.

The Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl traffickers are described as “one of the most notorious and pervasive” drug-trafficking organizations in the world allegedly responsible for “a significant portion” of illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the US.

The US Treasury Dept coordinated with the DEA, the Colombian National Police, and Mexico’s Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera. Treasury has sanctioned more than 350 targets over the last two years for alleged involvement in drug trafficking activities at all supply chain stages — from major cartel leaders to “under-the-radar labs, transportation network, and chemical suppliers.”

Sources:

Counter Narcotics Designations; Issuance of New Russia-related Frequently Asked Questions | Office of Foreign Assets Control (treasury.gov)

Colombian nationals, Mexican businesses target of Treasury sanctions for ‘significant’ fentanyl trafficking – UPI.com

West India Faces Health Crisis: Over 6,000 Cases of Dengue and Chikungunya Reported

A new variant of Chikungunya, identified by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, is spreading rapidly with increased severity. Hospitals in Nagpur are filling up with patients suffering from both dengue and chikungunya, two mosquito-borne illnesses transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. Patients in this vicinity were already suffering from Zika virus, as reported here on Coriolanus (15 Sep).

Since Jan 2024, Nagpur has recorded 2,873 cases of dengue and 3,556 cases of chikungunya. While dengue cases have been rising steadily throughout the year, chikungunya cases began to spike in June, with 82 initial cases. Experts believe many more cases remain unreported, indicating the actual numbers could be higher.

Pune is located southeast of Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra. The city covers an area of about 7,290 sq km with a population of 3,124,458 people.

The disease is causing severe joint pain similar to arthritis, with some patients also experiencing heart issues. In certain cases, platelet counts have dropped dangerously low. Chikungunya has also led to encephalitis, a condition where the brain swells due to inflammation, making the illness even more dangerous.

This year’s chikungunya outbreak is far worse than previous years. Patients are suffering from prolonged joint pain that can last over a month, and the daytime-biting mosquitoes are causing widespread distress. Authorities are urging residents to take extra precautions against mosquito bites as efforts to control the outbreak continue.

This outbreak is a consequence of global climate change. As the planet warms and climate change lengthens the mosquito season, the world’s deadliest creature will expand its geographical range to new regions and re-emerge in areas where mosquito numbers had subsided for decades.

Droughts, heatwaves, floods, and rainfall are increasing in severity and regularity across the globe. These provide favourable conditions for mosquitoes to breed and could help spread their viruses to higher latitudes and altitudes. Climate change also increases mosquito-borne disease risk in less obvious ways, says Dr Katie Anders from the World Mosquito Program (WMP).

“When households store water in response to drought, this can increase local mosquito breeding sites and disease risk. Land use changes can also drive migration to cities, increasing the population at risk of explosive outbreaks of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.”

Each year mosquito-borne diseases kill more than one million people and infect up to 700 million.

Sources:

Nagpur Faces Health Crisis: Over 6,000 Cases of Dengue and Chikungunya Recorded (nagpurtrends.com)

Explainer: How climate change is amplifying mosquito-borne diseases | World Mosquito Program

Russia Surveys 42-Year-Sunken Nuclear Submarine K-27 in Kara Sea

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced that its diving specialists are inspecting the K-27 nuclear submarine, which sank in the Kara Sea over four decades ago. The submarine, found in Stepovoy Bay, is classified as a radiation-hazardous facility. The K-27, a notorious relic from the era of the Soviet Union, has long been a concern due to the radiation threat it poses to the surrounding environment. The divers will evaluate the condition of the K-27 as part of Russia’s broader initiative to monitor and mitigate potential threats from its aging fleet of nuclear-powered vessels.

Undated image from Reddit.

Known as the “Zolotaya Rybka” [Little Golden Fish] for its high costs and crew luxuries, the K-27 represented the pinnacle of Soviet naval technology. Its elite crew enjoyed rare perks for the time, such as citrus fruits like lemons and oranges, which were uncommon for most Soviet citizens.

On 24 May 1968, a nuclear reactor malfunctioned. By the time the crew managed to surface the submarine and return to their base at Gremikha on Russia’s Kola Peninsula, all 144 crew members had been exposed to radiation. Sadly, nine of them succumbed to radiation poisoning in the months that followed. The K-27 was permanently taken out of active service in June 1968 and eventually decommissioned in 1979. 

In 1982, the K-27 was towed to the Arctic Novaya Zemlya nuclear testing range and deliberately sunk in the Kara Sea at a depth of 108 feet. Soviet authorities filled the submarine with asphalt to seal its fuel-filled reactors and drilled a hole in its aft ballast tank to ensure it would remain submerged.

Vyacheslav Mazurenko, a 22-year-old warrant officer at the time, later recalled the chilling instant they realized the gravity of their predicament: “We had a radiation detector, but it was turned off. When our radiation supervisor switched it on, it went off the scale.” 

Source:

Russia explores the 42-year-sunken nuclear sub K-27 in the Kara Sea (bulgarianmilitary.com)

Donald Trump and JD Vance Face Criminal Charges over Springfield Pet-Eating Hoax

Photo: AFP

An Ohio law allowing citizens to file criminal charges is being used to target former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) over their vile comments about Haitians in Springfield.

The Haitian Bridge Alliance filed criminal charges against the two Republican candidates at Clark County Municipal Court on Tuesday. A copy of the six-page complaint is linked below.

“The criminal charges stem from the devastating harm of Trump’s and Vance’s baseless fearmongering that legal Haitian immigrants to the Ohio town are eating their neighbor’s pets,” Chandra Law Firm said.

Alliance’s cofounder Guerline Jozef sought the “immediate arrest” of Trump and Vance for disrupting public service, making false alarms, committing telecommunications harassment, committing aggravated menacing, and violating the prohibition against complicity.

“The Haitian community is suffering in fear because of Trump and Vance’s relentless, irresponsible, false alarms, and public services have been disrupted,” lead counsel Subodh Chandra said in a statement. “Trump and Vance must be held accountable to the rule of law. Anyone else who wreaked havoc the way they did would have been arrested by now.”

“There’s nothing special about Trump and Vance that entitles them to get away with what they’ve done and are doing,” the attorney added. “They think they’re above the law. They’re not.”

Sheriff Deborah K. Burchett is tasked with the responsibility of preserving the peace of the public, overseeing the enforcement of court orders, providing courthouse security, and jail operations within Clark County, Ohio, where the criminal complaint was filed. If an Ohio judge issues an arrest warrant based on the complaint, Sheriff Burchett or the Ohio State Highway Patrol would have the responsibility of arresting Donald J. Trump and JD Vance.

Source:

2024-09-22 Guerline Jozef affidavit re Trump, Vance, and Springfield FINAL (chandralaw.com)

Criminal charges filed against Trump and Vance for Springfield, Ohio conduct; arrests sought | Chandra Law Firm | 216-578-1700 | Cleveland, Ohio

Trump and Vance face criminal charges over Springfield hoax – Raw Story

Sheriff | Clark County, OH – Official Website (clarkcountyohio.gov)

Curious Old Grizzly Bear Makes Himself Home in Crawlspace Under California House

A California couple’s home has become a makeshift duplex after a new neighbor moved into their crawlspace: a grizzly bear.

Bob Nesler and Susan Nesler said the bear, which they named Junior, leaves late at night to forage for food and returns to their crawlspace in the early morning.

“That’s his den right now. We gotta get him out of there because, you know, I think we’d be held responsible if anybody got hurt, but he hasn’t bothered us in any way.”

he Neslers said they do not want to see Junior harmed.

“They’re not dangerous creatures at all, unless you’re a trash can,” Bob Nesler said.

They said Junior has thus far been an ideal neighbor — aside from one issue.

“He does leave piles of scat,” Bob Nesler told KNBC-TV. “That’s about my biggest complaint.”

Kevin Howells from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said officials are attempting to encourage Junior to leave by setting up a sprinkler.

“Easiest option here is to let it leave on its own, stress free and get that space boarded up,” Howells said.

Source:

Watch: Bear moves into California couple’s crawlspace (yahoo.com)

IDF Airstrikes Kill 14 in Gaza Strip as American Activist is Buried in Turkiye

Palestinians gather amid the rubble near a fuel tank damaged in IDF bombing in Gaza City on 14 Sep 2024.

Israeli airstrikes hit central and southern Gaza overnight into Saturday, killing at least 14 people as friends and family members of a Turkish-American activist killed by an Israeli soldier honored her in a funeral in Turkiye.

The airstrikes in Gaza City hit one home housing 11 people, including three women and four children, and another strike hit a tent in Khan Younis with displaced Palestinians. The attacks followed airstrikes earlier this week that hit a tent camp on Tuesday and a UN school sheltering displaced people on Wednesday.

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio slowed down. The WHO reported that about 559,000 people under the age of 10 — seven out of every eight children the campaign aimed to vaccinate — have recovered from their first dose. The second doses are expected to begin later this month.

Relatives, officials, and others look at the coffin of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi (26) during her funeral ceremony at a mosque in Aydin Province, Turkiye, on 14 Sep 2024. She was shot and killed by the IDF in the occupied West Bank.

The war has caused vast destruction and displaced roughly 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times, and plunged the territory into a severe humanitarian crisis. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, adding women and children make up just over half of the dead.

Source:

Israel strikes Gaza as American activist killed by Israeli fire is buried (voanews.com)

Russia’s Medvedev Threatens Nuclear Strike Would Turn Kiev into ‘Gray Spot’ on the Map

Former Russian President and current Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has hiked Moscow’s threat of the nuclear option. Vladimir Putin controls about 5,977 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, recently warned that Kiev could be turned into a “gray melted spot” if restrictions against Ukraine’s use of Western weapons were loosened.

Russian officials have threatened that a possible decision by the West to allow Kiev to use donated weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory would result in a major escalation of its war against Ukraine that could include the use of nuclear weapons.

Kiev has repeatedly said it needs to be able to conduct longer-range strikes into Russian territory to defend itself against invading Russian forces.

In an apparent reference to a recent US-UK summit, Medvedev wrote that “the Anglo-Saxon imbeciles” do not want to admit that there is an end to Russia’s “patience” and that experts who have suggested Russia could resort to using nuclear weapons against Ukraine would be proven correct if that patience is exhausted.

“What do Western leaders and their political establishments, playing at war, think our country’s reaction to probable missile strikes ‘deep into the territory [of Russia]’ would be?” wrote Medvedev, who has frequently used his position to voice threats against Kiev and the West since Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Medvedev said a nuclear conflict is a “very bad story with a very difficult outcome,” claiming that is why Russia has not decided to use “nonstrategic or strategic” nuclear weapons so far. However, he said, if it came to that there would be a “giant gray melted spot” on the site of Kiev, which he called the “mother city of Russia.”

Recent media reports claim Russia received Fath-360 missile systems from Iran. These missiles have an effective range of 19-75 miles and can carry a 330-lb warhead filled with high explosives.

Source:

Russia’s Medvedev Threatens Nuke Strike Would Turn Kyiv Into ‘Gray Spot’ On The Map (rferl.org)

Venezuela Arrests US and Spanish Citizens Over Alleged ‘Plot’

Three US citizens, two Spaniards and one Czech citizen were arrested in Venezuela for allegedly plotting to destabilize the country. Reportedly, hundreds of weapons had been seized and the detainees were plotting to assassinate Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other top officials. The Spaniards were detained in Puerto Ayacucho, south of the capital Caracas.

The arrests come two days after Washington sanctioned 16 Venezuelan officials who are closely aligned with President Maduro, following his disputed election victory in July.

The Venezuelan government alleged the detained Spaniards are linked to Madrid’s National Intelligence Centre (CNI). However, Spanish government sources denied the two belong to the intelligence organization.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello alleged “the CIA is leading this operation, and that does not surprise us but they, the National Intelligence Centre of Spain, have always maintained a low profile knowing that the CIA operates in this area. These two detainees even tell us about a group of mercenaries they are looking for to bring to Venezuela with very clear objectives to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, myself, and another group of comrades who are leading our party and our revolution.”

The US has rejected the accusations.

Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of July’s presidential election by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), which is closely aligned with the government. But the CNE has not published any detailed voting tallies supporting a Maduro victory. Data published by the opposition suggests its candidate, Edmundo González, won instead.

Sources:

Venezuela arrests US and Spanish citizens over ‘plot’ (bbc.com)

Former CIA Employee Sentenced Ten Years in Prison for Spying for China

A screenshot from a video by an FBI undercover agent taken of Alexander Yuk Ching Ma in Jan 2019 during a meeting. (Photo: AP)

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma (71) of Honolulu, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, was sentenced to ten years confinement and five years of supervised release for conspiring to gather and deliver national defense information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Ma was arrested in August 2020, after admitting to an undercover FBI agent that he had facilitated the provision of classified information to intelligence officers employed by the PRC’s Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB).

Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 until 1989. His brother, who is now deceased, also worked for the CIA from 1967 until 1983. As CIA employees, both men held Top Secret security clearances that granted them access to sensitive and classified information, and both signed nondisclosure agreements.

After Ma and his brother were recruited by the SSSB, they provided Chinese intelligence officers with a “large volume of classified and sensitive information.” They were paid $50,000 in cash; an hourlong video showed Ma counting the money. Two years later, Ma applied for a job as a contract linguist in the FBI’s Honolulu field office. By then, US intelligence knew he was collaborating with Chinese intelligence officers, and they hired him in 2004 so they could keep an eye on his espionage activities.

Over the next six years, Ma regularly copied, photographed, and stole classified documents. He often took them on trips to China, returning with thousands of dollars in cash and expensive gifts, including a new set of golf clubs.

At one point in 2006, his handlers at the Shanghai state security bureau asked Ma to get his brother to help identify four people in photographs, and the brother did identify two of them. The fate of those he identified are not known.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ma confessed that he knowingly and willfully conspired with SSSB intelligence officers to communicate and transmit information that he knew would be used to injure the US or to advantage the PRC. Further, Ma must cooperate with the US and undergo polygraph tests for the rest of his life, as well as submit to debriefings by the USIC. Prosecutors told the court that Ma has been cooperative and has taken part in multiple interview sessions with government investigators.

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma (USMS# 12272-122) is incarcerated at FDC Honolulu, an administrative security federal detention center in Hawaii.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Former CIA Officer Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Conspiracy to Commit Espionage | United States Department of Justice

Former CIA officer sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying for China | Espionage | The Guardian

‘Catastrophe’ as Central Europe Deals with Deadly Floods

Flooding overwhelmed Slobozia Conachi, Romania (Photo: BBC)

In Glucholazy, southern Poland, firefighters built sandbag barriers to protect residents near the river. (Photo: BBC)

The flooded village of Krosnowice, southern Poland. (Photo: BBC)

Emergency services are shoring up flood defenses in central and eastern Europe after torrential rainfall caused by Storm Boris swelled rivers and damaged thousands of homes. Four people were killed in eastern Romania. In the Czech Republic, 51,000 households in the country’s northern areas were evacuated. Flood barriers have gone up in the capital Prague. Poland evacuated people from Glucholazy, a town near the Czech border, after a river burst its banks.

Extreme precipitation is becoming more likely in Europe, as across much of the world, due to climate change. A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, which can lead to heavier rainfall.

“We are again facing the effects of climate change, which are increasingly present on the European continent, with dramatic consequences,” Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said.

These flood victims face another peril. Floods greatly increase the risk of diarrheal disease along with other waterborne, water-related, and communicable diseases. Diarrheal pathogens—cholera, E. coliShigella, rotavirus, norovirus, Cryptosporidium, and others—can spread through direct contact with floodwater itself or through compromised water sources.

Standing water left by flooding can become a breeding ground for mosquitos that carry pathogens. Communicable diseases can spread like wildfire through refugee and evacuation shelters.

Sources:

Central Europe floods: Rush to shore up flood defences amid deaths and evacuations (bbc.com)

After the floods: Diarrheal disease threats lurk behind natural disasters (defeatdd.org)

Zika Cases in Pune, India, Reach 100, Five Deaths Reported

Pune continues to grapple with an increasing number of Zika virus cases, as the total number of patients in the city has now reached 100. The most affected area in Pune is Dahanukar Colony, which has recorded 20 cases, followed by Erandwane with 16. The five Zika-related deaths involved elderly individuals with pre-existing health conditions.

The virus is transmitted by daytime flying Aedes, or “tiger mosquitos.” An invasive species, Aedes is now found on all continents except Antarctica.

Alarmingly, 45 of these patients are pregnant women. Zika can cause birth defects in newborn babies.

Dr. Rajesh Dighe, Assistant Health Officer at Pune Municipal Corporation, provided updates on the situation, noting that efforts to control the spread of the Zika virus are ongoing. This recent spike in Zika cases follows a series of warnings from health authorities, who had anticipated a possible outbreak. The city is now facing increased pressure to manage the outbreak, particularly as the number of pregnant women affected by the virus grows.

On top of this, medical staff in Pune hospitals are dealing with an acute blood shortage.

Sources:

Zika Cases in Pune Reach 100, Five Deaths Reported | The Bridge Chronicle

Blood Shortage Hits Pune Amid Rising Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya Cases | The Bridge Chronicle

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

Donald Trump Confuses Nicky Jam for a Woman Ahead of Latin Star’s Endorsement Speech in Las Vegas

Former president Donald Trump held a campaign rally at the World Market Center in downtown Las Vegas, where Nicky Jam, a 43-year-old male reggaetón veteran took the stage to show his support for the GOP candidate. But in an inter-galactically embarrassing faux pas, the ex-POTUS mistakenly referred to Nicky as a ‘she‘ when introducing him to the crowd.

“Do you know Nicky? She’s hot. Where’s Nicky. As the male singer approaches the stage, Trump then says, “Oh, look, I’m glad he came up.”

Nicky Jam, wearing a black sweatshirt and a red ‘Make America Great Again’ baseball cap, then took the stage to deliver a brief statement.

Artist Art Candee wrote, “Guess Donald Trump doesn’t know what a woman is…” and Team Kamala mocked the former president by posting a video of the flub on social media:

“Trump: Latin music superstar Nicky Jam. Do you know Nicky? She’s hot (Nicky Jam is a man),” the campaign wrote.

This is just one of a series of imbecilic comments and gaffes that Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance have made during the 2024 campaign. Political analysts, as well as his niece Mary Trump (a professional psychologist), have been raising alarms about the mental fitness of this elderly man who could be Commander-in-Chief of the world’s most powerful, and nuclear-armed, military.    

Source:

Donald Trump Confuses Nicky Jam for Woman at Las Vegas Rally (billboard.com)

Endangered Cotton-Top Tamarin Triplets Born at Disney World

Three infant cotton-top tamarins are perched atop the back of one of their parents Saturday shortly after their birth at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. They are the second set of the critically endangered tamarins to be born at the resort this year. (Photo courtesy Walt Disney World)

The second set of critically endangered cotton-top tamarin triplets to be born this year at Walt Disney World have arrived.

The three tiny primates were born at Animal Kingdom’s Discovery Island on Saturday and are bonding with their parents and siblings. An earlier batch of the small-but-powerful monkeys were born there in January.

Weighing only one pound in adulthood, the cotton-top tamarin is found in the rain forests of northwestern Colombia. They are known for their sophisticated social behaviors and have demonstrated evidence of simple grammatical capabilities.

Despite their small stature, their athletic capabilities are impressive — they can leap 15 feet from a stationary branch — while their appearance is highlighted by a wild mane of bright-white hair atop their heads.

The male and female parents of newborn tamarins share infant care equally, carrying their young on their backs until approximately 14 weeks of age.

An estimated 6,000 cotton-top tamarins remain in the wild, making them one of the rarest primates in the world. Disney World says it is working with organizations such as Proyecto Titi in Colombia to help protect the species through its Disney Conservation Fund.

Source:

New set of endangered cotton-top tamarin triplets born at Disney World – UPI.com

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Weakened After Main Ally Unexpectedly Pulls Support

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L), Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (C), and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh (R) (Undated photos: The Hill Times / Andrew Meade)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suffered an unexpected blow when the small party helping keep his minority Liberal government in power withdrew its automatic support, forcing him to attempt new alliances to govern. New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said he was “ripping up” a deal struck between the two men in 2022.

The move leaves Trudeau reliant on support from other opposition lawmakers to survive confidence votes in the lower chamber of parliament at a time when polls show he will lose badly if an election were held now. An election must be held by the end of October 2025 under Canadian law.

Under the 2022 deal, the NDP agreed to keep Trudeau in power until mid-2025 in return for more social spending. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre reiterated his call for an early election to break up what he called a Liberal-NDP coalition driving up prices for Canadians.

The House of Commons resumes work on 16 Sep, after which the Conservatives will have the ability to propose a vote of confidence. Trudeau’s Liberals could still survive if the NDP abstained on such a vote. The NDP stated they would decide on an issue-by-issue basis whether to support the Liberals on confidence votes, suggesting it may continue to prop up Trudeau if his fate hung in the balance.

A key moment for Trudeau’s government will be its budget update later this year, which, if voted down by legislators would trigger a new election. Trudeau (52) first took office in November 2015 but has over the last two years struggled to fend off attacks from the opposition center-right Conservatives, who blame him for high inflation and a housing crisis.

With the NDP’s support, his government has pushed through social programs designed to address the cost of living. But the NDP’s Singh had expressed growing frustration with Trudeau in recent months, especially over what he said was the Liberals’ failure to deal with high prices at grocery stores.

Nota Bene: Germany, another NATO country, will also hold federal elections in October 2025.

Source:

Canadian PM Trudeau weakened after main ally unexpectedly pulls support | Reuters

US Accuses Russia of Attempting to Influence 2024 Election Through Kremlin-Backed News Outlets

The Kremlin has been using media outlets and online platforms designed to trick Americans into unwittingly consuming Russian propaganda. RT, formerly Russia Today, is seen as a key part of the Kremlin’s propaganda efforts.

Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov (31) also known as Kostya, and Elena Afanasyeva (27) also known as Lena, were indicted with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The two employees of RT were charged in a $10 million scheme “to create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.”

The Justice Department announced seized 32 Internet domains. The tactics include using RT to advance anti-US messages and content and promote networks of fake websites and social media accounts that amplify the claims. Typically, these networks seize on polarizing political topics such as immigration and crime. Americans who view the content may have no idea that it either originated or was amplified by the Kremlin.

In conjunction with the domain seizures, the US Treasury Department announced the designation of ten individuals and two entities for sanctions, including Margarita Simonyan and Elizaveta Brodskaia from RT.

The State Department announced steps to impose visa restrictions on people who act on behalf of Kremlin-supported media organizations, use those organizations as cover for covert activities, and are complicit in engaging in covert influence. They are also offering a reward of up to $10 million relating to an organization known as RaHDit (Russian Angry Hackers Did It). The group engaged in election influence in other countries and is a threat to the 2024 US election, particularly through cyber-enabled influence operations.

If convicted, Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva face up to 25 years in prison. Both remain at large.

As noted in a previous Coriolanus post, FBI agents recently searched the Virginia home of Russian-American political commentator Dmitri Simes. His name was mentioned more than 100 times in a 2019 investigation by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller entitled Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election.

According to NBC News, GOP VPOTUS candidate JD Vance’s campaign talking points about Russia and Ukraine mirror those of RT, as seen in the indictment linked below.  

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

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Two RT Employees Indicted for Covertly Funding and Directing U.S. Company that Published Thousands of Videos in Furtherance of Russian Interests | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Disrupts Covert Russian Government-Sponsored Foreign Malign Influence Operation Targeting Audiences in the United States and Elsewhere | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

J.D. Vance talking points ‘mirror’ Russian propaganda in DOJ indictment: ex-FBI agent – Raw Story

North Korea Orders All Students Abroad to Return Home for Ideological Education

North Korean Supremo Kim Jong Un (C) meets with Korean students during a visit to Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Primorsky region, Russia on 17 Sep 2023.

Pyongyang has ordered all its students abroad to return home for ideological training – to reverse the outside influence the students have been exposed to while overseas, according to a North Korean escapee.

The number of North Korean students studying in China and Russia are probably several hundred, according to South Korean media outlet KBS. Many were there since before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Apparently,officials in Pyongyang are concerned that because the students have been out of the country for so long, they may have been influenced by the outside world and now accustomed to living in situations where their government is not in complete control of their lives.

It had been common practice for students to be ordered to periodically return in small numbers for loyalty classes, but these did not occur during the pandemic, so Pyongyang now wants to send them all for intensive ideological inspections en masse, according to South Korean media.

An analyst predicted that the student recall order could lead to more escape attempts. Recently, China arrested 15 North Koreans (13 women and two children) at the Laotian border after they trekked 1,500 miles to a river crossing, just minutes within freedom. Those unfortunate refugees will likely be repatriated – a fate that awaits nearly all North Korean escapees in Chinese police custody – and will likely be severely punished for fleeing.

Inexplicably, Kim Jong-Un’s official biography does not reflect his date and place of birth nor his elite private education in Switzerland.

Undated photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un taken when he was a child. (Yonhap News).

Sources:

North Korea orders all students abroad to return home for ideological education — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

New Official Biography of North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Hides His Date and Place of Birth — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/china-laos-north-escapee-defector-south-repatriation-arrest-08272024185901.html

American Warzone: Four Killed, Nine Wounded in Georgia School Shooting; 14-Year-Old Student Arrested

Parents arrive to pick up their children after the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, GA.  (Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images)

Two teachers and two students were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, GA, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Another nine victims were taken to hospitals with wounds. The 14-year-old suspect, a student at Apalachee High School, was captured alive.

In an average year in Georgia, 1,927 people die and 5,029 are wounded by firearms. The Peachtree State has the 8th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. Gun deaths and injuries cost Georgia $23.9 billion each year, of which $597.8 million is paid by taxpayers.

Americans can thank the Republican Party, the NRA, and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for this never-ending carnage that inflicts wartime-level casualties on its own people, including innocent defenseless children.

Sources:

4 dead in shooting at Georgia high school, 14-year-old suspect in custody: Officials – ABC News (go.com)

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

Taiwan Cracks Down on Chinese Corporate Espionage: 135 Investigators Raid 30 Locations

In a decisive move to protect its high-tech industry, Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has initiated a comprehensive investigation into alleged corporate espionage by mainland Chinese companies. Over 135 investigators conducted searches at 30 locations across Taiwan between 19 and 30 Aug, targeting eight Chinese companies suspected of corporate espionage and other illegal activities.

The companies include iCommsemi (Shenzhen), Shanghai New Vision Microelectronics Co., Ltd., Nanjing Aviacomm Semiconductor Co., Ltd., Emotibot (Shanghai), Tongfang Co., Ltd., Chengdu Analog Circuit Technology Inc. (Actt), NAURA Technology Group Co., Ltd., and Hestia Power (Shanghai). These firms, many of which receive state funding from China, are involved in key sectors such as microelectronics, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence — areas where Taiwan holds a competitive edge.

As Taiwan continues to navigate its complex relationship with Beijing, protecting its high-tech industry from corporate espionage will remain a critical priority, shaping the future of cross-strait relations and the global technology landscape.

Sources:

Taiwan Cracks Down on Chinese Corporate Espionage: 135 Investigators Raid 30 Locations (msn.com)

https://www.mjib.gov.tw/news/index/28

US Army Officer Dies in Poland; Cause Under Investigation

A change of command ceremony at Camp Kosciuszko in Poznan, Poland, 28 June 2024. (Devin Klecan / US Army)

A US Army officer died in Poland, the Defense Department announced Wednesday. LTC Joshua Camara (45) was stationed at Camp Kosciuszko in Poznan and assigned to the V Corps forward headquarters when he died on 3 Sep. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Local officials have ruled out murder and are investigating an “unintentional manslaughter,” adding that the results of an autopsy are expected early next week.

Polish news network TVP reported that the body of an American officer had been found inside an apartment in Poznan, not far from where the V Corps is based.

Camara, a public affairs officer, served in V Corps since June 2024 and was awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal among other awards.

West of Warsaw, Camp Kosciuszko is the first permanent US military base in Poland, which also hosts US Army Garrison Poland in Poznan.

Map: 2024 CIA World Factbook

Source:

US Army officer dies in Poland | Stars and Stripes

Russia: Two Alleged Pro-Ukraine Mercenaries Detained In Venezuela

Colombian veteran serving in Ukrainian military. (Undated image courtesy of the Yeshiva World).

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that authorities in Venezuela had arrested two Colombian citizens believed to have served as mercenaries with the Ukrainian armed forces. The two men were reportedly heading back to Colombia with a stopover in Caracas. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has actively sought to detain foreign mercenaries around the world. Alleged mercenaries have been detained in Cuba, India, Syria, and other countries. 

Colombia’s military has been fighting drug-trafficking cartels and rebel groups for decades, making its soldiers some of the world’s most experienced. These military veterans, in need of money, adventure, camaraderie, or a combination of all three, have been serving in Ukraine as well-paid mercenaries.

Corporals in the Colombian military receive a basic salary of approximately $400 a month, while experienced drill sergeants can earn up to $900. Colombia’s monthly minimum wage is currently $330.

In Ukraine any member of the armed forces, regardless of citizenship, is entitled to a monthly salary of up to $3,300, depending on their rank and type of service. They are also entitled to up to $28,660 if they are injured, depending on the severity of the wounds. If they are killed in action, their families are due $400,000 compensation.

In early 2022, Kiev reported that 20,000 people from 52 countries were in Ukraine, but won’t disclose military strength numbers or dispositions.

Colombian veterans in the Ukrainian armed forces pose near their Humvee on the front line near Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, 29 Jan 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

The mistake these two unfortunate Colombians made was flying home through Venezuela as Caracas is a staunch ally of the Kremlin.

Sources:

Russia Says Alleged Pro-Ukraine Mercenaries Detained In Venezuela (rferl.org)

Ukraine Is Hiring Professional Mercenaries From Colombia To Fight Russia – The Yeshiva World

Russia in the Western Hemisphere: Assessing Putin’s Malign Influence in Latin America and the Caribbean (csis.org)Russia to boost Venezuela ties amid US pressure (bbc.com)

British Cat Steals Neighbors’ Clothes for Her Owner

Taboo the cat (L) and a selection of her stolen goods (R). Photos: Sandra Danskin

Taboo’s pet parent, Sandra Danskin, said that the 12-year-old cat regularly nicks the laundry and gardening gear left out by the nearby residents of Otley in West Yorkshire, England.

Danskin has to post Taboo’s hauls on social media to reunite the numerous items the pet steals each week with their rightful owners. The feline has a fondness for nabbing gloves, shoes, and socks, specifically, but is open to pinching a variety of items.

“This morning, I had four pairs of socks and a pair of underpants. She loves bringing back items of clothing like that, but also, we’ve had mop heads and kitchen rolls,” Danskin said, adding that she usually finds the stolen goods on the driveway or inside the house by the cat flap when she returns home from her night shifts at work.

Taboo rarely gets caught, including by Danskin. The pet parent says she is unsure where Taboo gets all her steals from but suspects the cat grabs the items off laundry lines. She also knows the feline sneaks into houses when doors are left open because the one person who caught Taboo stealing found the cat taking a shirt from the clothing dryer in their kitchen. Another odd aspect of Taboo’s kleptomania includes the cat’s commitment to sets. Danskin said if Taboo finds a matching pair of socks, she will always bring both items home, carrying one sock at a time.

Taboo also likes to snag pieces of wet cardboard and once even brought back a carton of eggs, though all of the eggs broke by the time Taboo dragged the prize home. Danksin added that she always knows when Taboo brings a stolen gift home for her because the feline lets out a “high-pitched whining noise” whenever she has a stolen item to present.

Source:

Real-Deal Cat Burglar Is a Feline Who Loves Stealing the Neighbors’ Clothes for Her Owner (yahoo.com)