Israel Defense Forces killed at least ten people during an overnight strike in southern Lebanon, including a mother and her two children. This was the deadliest Israeli strike in southern Lebanon since October 2023. Hezbollah retaliated by firing 55 rockets into northern Israel, causing some fires but no casualties.
This was a calculated move by war crimes-indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to cause a counterattack from the Shia Crescent during critical negotiations with Hamas to reach a cease-fire and release the remaining Israeli hostages (which includes eight AMCITs).
Moreover, the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) gets underway shortly in Chicago. Any reprisal attack from the Shia Crescent during the convention would demonstrate to Democrats the dangers that Israelis must endure (ignoring the fact that the perils are caused by none other then the bellicose Likud Party).
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, D/CIA William Burns, and D/DIA Director Lt Gen Jeffrey A. Kruse, as well as the hardworking American taxpayer, must be wondering how and why Benjamin Netanyahu keeps insulting their intelligence with his lethal provocations and brutal policies.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza and over 500 Palestinians have been murdered in the West Bank since October 2023. The Likud Party should simply change its name to the Tsaba (War) Party.
Sources:
Israel kills 10 in southern Lebanon strike ahead of Antony Blinken’s visit – UPI.com
240520-panel-report-eng.pdf (icc-cpi.int)
GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump Unravelling and Getting Ridiculed
Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Pennsylvania which was reported to have empty seats and video shows supporters trickling out during one of his rambling speeches. The oldest man to ever run for President also shouted out “North Carolina!” forgetting that he was conducting his rally in Pennsylvania. And with less than 90 days before Election Day, the frustrated 45th President has been unable to stick Kamala Harris with a famous nickname, a shtick to attack enemies he may have learned years ago at the fabled Friar’s Club in NYC .
While Trump historically came up with effective epithets such as “crooked Hillary,” “sleepy Joe,” “Sloppy Steve” (Bannon), or “Lyin’ Ted” (Cruz), the ex-president has yet to come up with nicknames for Harris or Minnesota Governor Tim Walz that have stuck. Trump’s attempts at branding Kamala Harris with “Laffin’ Kamala,” “Lyin’ Kamala,” or “Crazy Kamala” have been ineffective on his Truth Social platform.
Responding to a Republican commentator who remarked Kamala Harris is “beautiful,” Donald Trump replied:
“I say that I am much better looking than her. I’m a better-looking person than Kamala.”
A Democratic strategist responded: “This guy has lost his f—— marbles” and Team Kamala weighed in: “Trump melts down over Kamala Harris being on the cover of TIME Magazine.”
Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party have effectively commandeered the media narrative since President Biden exited the race on 21 July. And after the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the two candidates should see a two to four-point boost in polls. Meanwhile, as Trump prepares for his televised debate with Kamala Harris on 10 Sep, he must also be distracted by his imminent sentencing date on 18 Sep for his 34-count felony conviction in NYS.
USAF Security Personnel Exchange Gunfire With Unknown Assailants
USAF security personnel exchanged gunfire with an unknown shooter in a passing vehicle who twice within two hours opened fire on an entrance to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, early Saturday morning. There were no casualties and the San Antonio Police are investigating.
The motive, number of assailants, or how many rounds were fired are still being determined. The entrance was closed for several hours and the base was not locked down. US and NATO bases in Europe have been on high alert after several attempts by Kremlin-linked saboteurs and infiltrators were thwarted.
In an average year, 4,122 people die and 7,726 are wounded by firearms in Texas. The Lone Star State has the 29th highest rate of gun violence in the US. Texas firearms licenses in 2021: 1,006,555. 45.7% of Texans say they live in homes with guns.
Sources:
Guards at San Antonio Air Force base exchange fire with unknown shooters – UPI.com
Gun-Violence-in-Texas-2024-05.pdf (everystat.org)
Lockouts at Canada’s Two Largest Railroads May Disrupt US Supply Chain
Canada’s two largest railroads are starting to shut down their shipping networks as a labor dispute with the Teamsters Union threatens to cause lockouts or strikes that would disrupt cross-border trade with the US. The union represents 10,000 workers at both railroads and they seek cite crew scheduling, rail safety, and worker fatigue has their main sticking points.
Both the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and Canadian National (CN) railroads, which haul millions of tons of freight across the border, have stopped taking certain shipments of hazardous materials and refrigerated products. They are threatening to lock out Teamsters Canada workers starting Thursday if deals are not reached. On Tuesday, CPKC will stop all shipments that start in Canada and all shipments originating in the US that are headed for Canada. CN barred container imports from US partner railroads.
The two railroads handle about 40,000 carloads of freight each day, worth about $1 billion. Shipments of fully built automobiles and auto parts, chemicals, forestry products and agricultural goods would be hit hard, especially with harvest season looming.
Analysts expect work stoppages to last only a few days, but if they continue, there could be significant supply chain disruptions. Both railroads have extensive networks in the US, and CPKC also serves Mexico. Those operations will keep running even if there is a work stoppage.
Sources:
Lockouts at Canada’s 2 largest railroads may disrupt US supply chain (voanews.com)
Nearly 68M People Suffering from Drought in Southern Africa
About 68 million people, 17% of the population in Southern Africa, are suffering the effects of an El Nino-induced drought that has wiped out crops across the region. The drought, which started in early 2024, has hit crop and livestock production, causing food shortages and damaging the wider economies.
This is southern Africa’s worst drought in years, owing to a combination of naturally occurring El Nino — when an abnormal warming of the waters in the eastern Pacific changes world weather patterns — and higher average temperatures produced by greenhouse gas emissions.
Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi have already declared the hunger crisis a state of disaster, while Lesotho and Namibia have called for humanitarian support. Heads of state from the 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) were meeting in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare to discuss regional issues including food security.
Sources:
Nearly 68M suffer from drought in Southern Africa, SADC says (voanews.com)
Kiev Opens Investigation into Alleged Beheading of Dead Soldier
Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska speaks at a Russian war crimes exhibition in London (Undated image: James Manning/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s Office is investigating an allegation that a Ukrainian soldier participating in the recent Russia incursion was beheaded. A video circulating on social media on 16 August showed a Russian soldier beside a pole with a severed head.
The Telegram channel DeepState identified the Russian soldier in the video as a member of the 155th Marine Brigade, which is deployed near the Kolotilovka checkpoint in the Belgorod region. Ukrainian forces were fighting in that area on 12 August.
Authorities in Kiev are also investigating a 18 June report that Russian troops beheaded a Ukrainian soldier in the eastern Donetsk region.
The desecration of soldiers’ bodies, including mutilation and beheadings, is a war crime.
Sources:
Kyiv Opens Investigation Into Alleged Beheading Of Dead Soldier (rferl.org)
Ukrainian Prosecutor Says Russian Troops Beheaded Ukrainian Soldier (rferl.org)
Melting Arctic Permafrost Could Release Mercury into Waters as Temperature Rise
Flowing across Alaska to the Bering Sea, the Yukon River erodes the permafrost along its banks and carries with it sediment downstream.
As our planet warms, permafrost which contains large amounts of accumulated mercury, is eroding faster and releasing this highly toxic metal into the environment. Though the mercury released from melting permafrost doesn’t pose a toxic threat today, its impact will grow over time. Mercury gradually accumulates in the food chain, beginning with plants, fish, and animals that humans eventually consume.
Natural atmospheric circulation causes pollutants to move towards higher latitudes. This results in mercury accumulating in the Arctic where it is absorbed by plants which then die and become part of the soil. This freezes in the permafrost – where the ground stays frozen all year round – and over thousands of years, mercury concentrations build up in the soil. In this form, mercury isn’t particularly dangerous. But this toxic metal is released when the soil thaws, and the Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average. This poses a major environmental and health threat to the five million people living in the Arctic and more than three million people who live in areas where the permafrost is expected to disappear completely by 2050.
Unless mankind does something soon, the earth as we know it today won’t be the same for future generations.
Sources:
Melting Arctic permafrost could release a ‘mercury bomb’ as temperatures rise | Euronews
Coriolanus 