Lebanese soldiers stand guard as rescuers search for survivors in the rubble at the site of an IDF attack on the al-Shiyah neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Tuesday(Photo: [Anwar Amro / AFP)
In AKZ-L, the Israeli Death Forces (IDF) killed three Lebanese soldiers in an air strike on an army base in southern Lebanon’s town of Sarafand. The latest killings bring the overall death toll in the Lebanese army to 41.
The IDF has not yet commented on its latest killing of Lebanese soldiers who have for months provided security for Lebanese civilians and engaged in search and rescue efforts amid the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
Lebanon’s government plans to file a formal complaint with the UNSC over “repeated attacks” by Israel on its army, and accused Israeli forces of repeated violations of international law. The IDF has also been targeting Lebanese medical personnel and infrastructure.
In AKZ-G, IDF airstrikes killed 12 Palestinians and ten are missing under rubble in Jabalia. The IDF killed one and wounded several Palestinians in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City. The victims (below) were photographed at al-Ahli Arab Hospital.
A Palestinian woman mourns after an Israeli attack on the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City at al-Ahli Arab Hospital (Photo: Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu)
Several young children were injured in this IDF attack (Photo: Dawoud Abo Alkas / Anadolu)
The IDF targeted members of the Gaza Civil Defense after they responded to the initial bombing (Photo: Dawoud Abo Alkas / Anadolu)
In AKZ-W, the IDF conducted ethnic cleansing raids at the following locations:
- The city of Hebron
- The city of Halhul, north of Hebron
- The Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron
- The cities of Ramallah and el-Bireh
- The towns of al-Mughayyir and Silwan, north of Ramallah
- The Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah
- The village of Osrin, south of Nablus.
The casualty list has not been tabulated at time of publication.
Coriolanus and media outlets have difficulty keeping up with Israeli atrocities. Remarkable how easily and callously IDF pilots and drone operators can launch their weapons without regard to collateral damage or nearby innocent parties.
When destroying medical personnel/infrastructure and housing, the IDF creates the “NHI” condition (“No Human Involved”). “NHI” allows wounds, disease, starvation, and exposure to freezing temperatures to attrit Arabs without killing them directly. This is why the IDF targets the medical personnel of Lebanon so they cannot treat wounded Shia Muslims resisting the Israeli offensive.
By year’s end the IDF will probably have killed a total 50,000 Muslims in the three Arab Killing Zones (AKZ), while maiming close to 150,000. Coriolanus monitors the Murder-Death-Kill rate as best as possible from open source media. In just over one year, the IDF already surpassed 38,239, the number of Muslims liquidated by Bosnian Serb war criminals from 1992-1995. See previous post for sources.
According to worlddata.info, Israel ingloriously shares the stage with Afghanistan, Belarus, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, and Syria as a Pariah State. Congratulations to the State of Israel for the wonderful accomplishment.
With the exception of the US, which country would welcome the utterly loathsome Likudnik Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu other than the Hague for war crimes prosecution?
Source:
(1) Update LIVE: Israel shells Gaza’s Kamal Adwan, kills three soldiers in Lebanon
List of the 13 current Pariah States
Ukrainian Killing Zone (UKZ): Russia Murders 21, Wounds +100 in Odessa and Sumy with Missile Strikes
Russian missile strikes on 18 Nov left at least 21 people dead and more than 100 injured in Ukraine, as strikes targeted the cities of Odesa and Sumy.
In Odesa, a midday strike left ten people dead and 39 injured, including a child, with four in critical condition. The strike damaged residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, with the city’s center among the hardest-hit areas.
Hours earlier, a late-night missile strike devastated a residential building in Sumy, a city 40 kms from the Russian border, leaving 11 dead, including two children, and 89 wounded.
The Russian attack damaged 90 apartments, 28 cars, two educational institutions, and 13 buildings.
Rescuers evacuated over 400 residents and continue to search for survivors. The attack also left Sumy’s administrative center without power.
The late-night attack on Sumy followed what Kyiv said was a “massive” attack on Ukraine’s power grid with 120 missiles and 90 drones that killed at least seven people. Moscow routinely denies targeting civilian infrastructure. Such strikes are widely considered a war crime.
Russian strikes have hammered Ukraine’s power infrastructure since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022, prompting repeated emergency power shutdowns and nationwide rolling blackouts.
The massive Russian attack also came as US President Joe Biden had reportedly authorized the use of US-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, after lobbying by Ukrainian officials.
The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to support Russia in the Kursk region where Ukraine mounted a military incursion over the summer.
In the overnight attack on Sumy, the Ukrainian Air Force said the Russian military used two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and a Kh-59 guided missile.
The US Embassy in Kiev closed on Wednesday after receiving “specific information of a potential significant air attack,” as the Kremlin warned it would retaliate after the Biden administration reportedly permitted Ukraine to strike deeper within Russia.
Ukraine and Russia will continue pounding each other with drones and missiles over the next two months until Donald Trump assumes the Presidency. Kiev must maximize what it can during this pre-Trump period because they should expect nothing from Washington DC afterwards.
Sources:
At Least 21 Dead in Russian Missile Strikes In Ukraine’s Odesa, Sumy
US closes Kyiv embassy after reciving information on ‘potential significant air attack’ – UPI.com
The Striking US Parallels Between 1968 and 2024
2024 Democratic Party Candidate VPOTUS Kamala Harris (L); 1968 Democratic Party Candidate VPOTUS Hubert Humphrey (R)
Many parallels exist between the 1968 and 2024 US presidential elections. In both instances, the Democrats were the incumbent party that had won the preceding election with landslide numbers. Both re-elections were theirs to lose.
1964
In the 1964 Presidential election, the Democratic Party ticket of Lyndon B. Johnson/Hubert Humphrey won 43,129,040 votes (61.1% of the popular vote) compared to the GOP ticket of Barry Goldwater/William Miller which took 27,175,754 votes (38.5% of the popular vote).
The LBJ administration would pass the Civil Rights Act (1964), the Voting Righting Act (1965), and other progressive legislation under the Great Society program to eradicate poverty and racial injustice in the US. But LBJ increased America’s involvement in Vietnam, propping up a brutal and unpopular regime in Saigon by deploying more American Soldiers to the jungles of SE Asia.
The Vietnam War would wreck LBJ’s legacy, including the Great Society program.
Anti-war protestors in 1968 (Image: thenation.com)
1968
Fierce opposition to the Vietnam War on the nation’s college campuses and within the Democratic Party led LBJ to not seek re-election in 1968. LBJ’s approval rating in April 1968 was under 40%.
At the 1968 DNC Convention in Chicago, anti-war protestors were excluded from having a voice and the “enemy” were “g—ks” and “Communist guerillas.” VPOTUS Hubert Humphrey became the POTUS candidate to carry on LBJ’s policies. Before that fateful 1968 convention, a candidate named Robert F. Kennedy ran for President but was tragically assassinated months prior. A woman’s right to an abortion was illegal, Moscow had invaded Czechoslovakia, and white supremacists strutted openly in the Deep South.
In 1968 members of the KKK, a domestic terrorist organization, proudly walked the streets in “Old Dixie”. You wonder what that little girl (C) is thinking and what has happened to her since. The two young men on the left may have served their country in Vietnam.
In the Nov 1968 election, the Humphrey/Muskie ticket won 31,271,839 votes (42.7%) to Nixon/Agnew’s 31,783,783 votes (43.4%). Segregationist George Wallace siphoned away 9,901,118 votes from both the Democrats and the GOP (13.5% of the popular vote and carrying five southern states). Richard M. Nixon narrowly won the White House.
Critically, the Humphrey/Muskie ticket received 11,857,201 less votes than from four short years ago. Millions of Democrats did not support the pro-war 1968 Humphrey/Muskie ticket or the Great Society program.
2020
In the 2020 election, the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket won 81,283,501 votes (51.3% of the popular vote) compared to 74,223,975 votes (48.6%) for the GOP Donald Trump/Mike Pence ticket. This was a sizeable victory for the Democrats. The post-COVID US economy grew and consumer prices began to drop. Russia would invade Ukraine in Feb 2022 and the Biden administration immediately began sending military and financial aid to Kiev. But Palestinian frustration at being unable to release thousands of prisoners being held in security detention by the Israelis led to a surprise attack to seize hostages in Oct 2023. Backed by US military and economic support, Israel conducted massive reprisals against the Palestinians at a 20:1 scale.
2024
Nationwide campus protests in 2024 against US support for Israel during its Nakba against Gaza looked eerily similar to college protests against US involvement in Vietnam in 1968. Americans disliked the unpopular leaders and policies of both 1968 Saigon and 2024 Jerusalem.
US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT):
“Continuing to provide Israel with the offensive weapons it uses on civilians is morally wrong.”
Anti-war protestors gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza at a rally in Cambridge, MA, on 14 Oct 2023. (Photo: AFP)
Pres. Joe Biden’s approval rating in June 2024 dropped to 43%. After a poor performance at one debate, Biden was persuaded to step aside for his much younger VPOTUS, Kamala Harris. The incumbent VPOTUS received 99% delegate votes at the DNC convention.
Like in 1968, in 2024 anti-war protestors were excluded from having a voice at the Chicago DNC Convention. The “enemy” in 2024 were not “g—ks” like in 1968 but “Islamic terrorists” in the Gaza Strip. Moreover, a man named Robert F. Kennedy (Jr) ran for POTUS as an independent (yes, the son of slain Bobby Kennedy), Moscow had invaded Ukraine in Feb 2022, a woman’s right to an abortion was illegal, and white supremacists parade down Main Street, USA.
In Nov 2024 Columbus, Ohio, neo-Nazis recently paraded down a street without fear. (Source: Social media)
In the recent 5 Nov 2024 election, Harris/Walz won 73,912,254 votes (48.3% of the popular vote) to Donald Trump/JD Vance’s 76,535,898 votes (50% of the popular vote).
The GOP won 2,311,923 more votes than in 2020. Green Party candidate Jill Stein insignificantly pickpocketed .5% of the popular vote, siphoning off nothing consequential like segregationist George Wallace in 1968.
Importantly, the Harris/Walz ticket received a whopping 7,371,247 less votes than in 2020, including Blue State strongholds. In 2024, Democrats simply stayed home (just like in 1968) or voted for Donald Trump.
Biden and LBJ, both former VPs, became one-term presidents (LBJ was a five-year POTUS because of the 1963 JFK assassination). Both passed the torch to their VPs. In 1968 and 2024 the incumbent Democratic candidates lost significant numbers of voters within a short span of four years, undoing their previous domestic achievements.
In 2024 the Biden administration through USSECSTATE Antony Blinken and D/CIA William J. Burns earnestly tried to achieve a ceasefire with the warring parties in the Middle East to release innocent Israeli and AMCIT hostages. The US ultimately failed because of Likudnik Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu who has turned Israel into a Pariah State. The USIC term for Netanyahu is PIFWC: Person Indicted For War Crimes.
Sources:
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/op-eds/bernie-sanders-no-more-arms-sales-to-netanyahu/
https://www.cnn.com/2015/01/12/opinion/zelizer-lbj-vietnam-disaster/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protests
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dnc-roll-call-of-states-2024/
LBJ’s Presidential Approval Ratings, 1963-1969
Biden approval polling tracker
NATO and EU Suspect Russia Sabotaged Two Baltic Undersea Cables
European governments and the US have accused Russia of intensifying “hybrid attacks” following reports that Baltic Sea fiber-optic communications cables were damaged by suspected sabotage, although they have not yet directly tied the incident to Moscow.
Moscow has long denied it is involved in sabotaging Western infrastructure to punish European countries for their assistance to Ukraine’s defense, but suspicions grew in Western capitals on 19 Nov that damage to two key Baltic Sea cables were likely the result of deliberate actions.
Ukraine’s allies pointed to past incidents of alleged sabotage by Moscow, especially following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has hit the 1,000-day mark amid devastating losses on both sides.
(Map courtesy: ontheworldmap.com)
Regional states are investigating the cutting of a cable connecting Finland to Germany and one linking Sweden and Lithuania following similar suspicious occurrences in the sea in recent years.
Swedish prosecutors and Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation separately said national authorities had launched investigations into the cut cables.
Moscow has said such allegations are being fabricated by the West to discredit Russia.
As reported here on Coriolanus, Moscow was likely to carry out sabotage operations and has been bolstering its secretive marine (GUGI) unit that deploys ships, submarines, and drones to survey the Baltic seabed.
NATO stepped up monitoring critical infrastructure in the Baltic following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the destruction of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline seven months later.
A ship lays the now-damaged telecommunications cable off the shore of Helsinki in Oct 2015. (Photo: AFP)
The West should expect increased sabotage and espionage from the Kremlin to maximize damage to NATO and the EU until Donald Trump assumes the presidency in January 2025. And even after then as Commander-in-Chief, Trump can order the USIC and DOD to ignore Russian espionage, leaving the onus of counterintelligence in the hands of NATO and EU partners.
Source:
Europeans Probe Baltic Cable Damage as Suspicions Turn Toward Russia
Canada Reportedly Foiled Iranian Plot to Assassinate Former Justice Minister
Liberal MP Irwin Cotler speaks in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, 15 Dec 2011. (Photo: Reuters)
Canadian authorities recently foiled an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister who has been a strong critic of Tehran.
The 84-year-old was justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2015 but has remained active with many associations that campaign for human rights around the world.
Cotler was informed on 26 Oct that he faced an imminent threat — within 48 hours — of assassination from Iranian agents.
Cotler had already been receiving police protection for more than a year after the 7 Oct 2023 attack in Israel by armed Palestinian groups seizing hostages in order to trade them for any number of the 2,000 Palestinians being held in indefinite security detention.
Cotler, who is Jewish and a strong backer of Israel, has advocated globally to have Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps listed as a terrorist entity.
His name reportedly also came up in an FBI probe of a 2022 Iranian murder-for-hire operation in New York that targeted American human-rights activist Masih Alinejad.
Ottawa, which severed diplomatic ties with Iran more than a decade ago, listed the Revolutionary Guard as a banned terrorist group in June.
It said at the time that Iranian authorities displayed a consistent “disregard for human rights both inside and outside of Iran, as well as a willingness to destabilize the international rules-based order.”
As a lawyer, Cotler also represented Iranian political prisoners and dissidents.
Cotler’s daughter pictured above, Michal Cotler-Wunsh, is an Israeli politician and diplomat who previously served as a member of Israel’s parliament. (Photo: Marc Israel Sellem / The Jerusalem Post)
As reportedly here on Coriolanus, the nexus of organized crime and the intelligence world is deeply enmeshed. The IRGC-QF most likely contracted out the killing to local criminals but were foiled by Canadian security services. Analyzing available public documents, the author is surprised that the IRGC considers Irwin Cotler an HVT (high value target) who is worth the risk and money to assassinate.
RCMP Close Protection Team in the Diamond Formation escorting Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. Note the tell-tale lapels pins on the dark-suited centurions. (Undated photo by Chris Wattie / Reuters)
Sources:
New York City Issues First Drought Warning in Two Decades
The sky is lit red, orange and blue behind One World Trade Center and the Manhattan Skyline just before sunrise in NYC. Mayor Eric Adams elevated the city’s drought watch to a warning. (Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo)
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has issued the city’s first drought warning in 22 years, as its reservoirs continue to drop below normal amid a near-record dry spell.
The warning was issued Monday as wildfires have threatened to spark across much of the Eastern US this fall, including in NYC, where a Brush Fire Task Force was launched as 271 brush fires ignited citywide in the last two weeks — a record over a 14-day period.
The fires are being exacerbated by dry weather. October and November saw the second-longest rainless streak in 155 years.
Officials said the city’s water reservoirs were at about 60% capacity, significantly lower than the 79% for this time of year.
“Over the last 10 weeks, we have had 8.23 inches less rain than in the average year,” Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala of the Department of Environmental Protection said. “So, this drought has come on fast, it has come on furious, and that’s why the last six weeks have been the driest on record.”
The warning follows a drought watch issued earlier this month. With the upgrade to the second of three levels of water conservation, city agencies were directed to immediately implement water-saving measures.
NYS Gov. Kathy Hochul also declared a drought watch because of “a historic shortage of rainfall” for the state, while elevating 15 counties in mid-Hudson and New York City to a drought warning. The governor has also declared a statewide burn ban.
The last time NYC was under a drought warning was in 2002.
As previously reported here, environmental degradation is affecting another megalopolis. The air pollution in Delhi, India, is now at ‘extreme’ and ‘toxic’ levels.
Air quality in India’s Delhi region reached “severe plus” with pollution at 1,500 on the Air Quality Index. (Photo by Rajat Gupta/EPA-EFE)
Source:
New York City issues first drought warning in two decades – UPI.com
Missouri: 90 E. coli Cases Tied to Rockwood Summit HS Events
More than 90 cases of E. coli have been linked to Rockwood Summit High School events in St Louis County, Missouri.
The St. Louis County Health Department said 94 cases have been identified. Some of those cases have been confirmed; others show compatible symptoms and links to confirmed cases.
Health authorities said the cases are allegedly connected to Andre’s Banquet and Catering which catered some events for Rockwood Summit High School.
The St. Louis County Health Department suggests that salad is the source of illness, but a specific ingredient has not been identified.
One lawsuit has been filed against the catering company on behalf of a cheerleader at Rockwood Summit High School.
The owner of Andre’s Banquets and Catering said the lawsuit has no merit. He said vendors spot-check produce loads daily, are USDA-inspected and follow strict food safety guidelines. He also claimed that the fact that three students who aren’t Rockwood Summit High School students were infected is proof his business is not the source of the outbreak.
State and local health department workers were at the catering business to take samples of food for testing. Health department officials will also use genetic testing on stool samples to get more certainty on the outbreak.
An E. coli outbreak in 18 states that involves organic carrots is not linked to this incident.
E. coli are germs called bacteria and are found in many places, including in the environment, foods, water, and the intestines of people and animals. Most E. coli are harmless and are part of a healthy intestinal tract. E. coli helps humans digest food, produce vitamins, and protect people from harmful germs.
But some E. coli can make people sick with diarrhea, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, sepsis, and other illnesses.
Sources:
https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/11/18/more-e-coli-cases-tied-rockwood-school-events/
https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/about/index.html
TSA Intercepts Loaded Firearm from Flight Crew Member at Reagan National Airport Security Checkpoint
A member of an airline flight crew was cited by police after Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport intercepted a firearm among a flight crew member’s carry-on items at one of the checkpoints on Friday, 15 Nov. The 9mm handgun was loaded with nine bullets, including one in the chamber. See photo above.
When TSA officers intercepted the firearm, they notified the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Police who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the gun and issued a citation to the woman. TSA also notified the airline of the serious violation.
Additionally, the woman faces a Federal civil penalty for bringing a loaded firearm to a TSA checkpoint. The Federal penalty for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.
To transport a firearm for a flight, it must be unloaded, packed in a locked hard-sided case and declared at the airline counter so it can be placed in the belly of the aircraft with the checked baggage.
In 2024, TSA confiscated 36 firearms at Ronald Reagan Airport (DCA).
The scale of firearms ownership and custodianship in the US is simply breath-taking. As if Americans don’t have enough to worry about getting shot on the streets, now they have to worry about “flying the unfriendly skies.” Recently, an unknown assailant fired shots at an airplane at Dallas Airport; no injuries were reported and the aircraft sustained slight damage. According to CDC data, 48,830 people were killed with a firearm in the US in 2021. No doubt next year a freshman GOP lawmaker will be caught with a firearm at a TSA or US Capitol Hill security checkpoint and be outraged at the indignation.
Source:
Egypt: Stray Dogs in Giza Become Tourist Draw After ‘Pyramid Puppy’ Sensation
A pack of about eight dogs has made its home among the ancient ruins of the Giza Pyramids. Look at the thick paws of this confident canine. (Photo AFP)
Beneath the blazing Egyptian sun, crowds at the Giza Pyramids gazed up at the ancient wonders, but some had their eyes peeled for a new attraction.
“There he is,” one Polish tourist told his wife as they spotted a scrappy dog perched on one of the stones.
They were talking about Apollo, a stray who became an overnight sensation last month after being filmed scaling the Great Pyramid of Khafre, one of the seven wonders of the world.
The viral footage, captured by American paragliding enthusiast Alex Lang and shared online by his friend Marshall Mosher, showed Apollo fearlessly climbing the 136-meter monument, barking at birds from the summit.
“He was acting like a king,” Lang said.
As news of Apollo’s daring climb spread worldwide, interest grew in the dogs who have long made their homes among the ancient stones.
A visitor from Argentina felt a special bond with the dogs saying it felt like connecting with the pharaohs while petting a member of Apollo’s pack.
Apollo’s newfound fame has even inspired local guides to include him and his pack in their stories for tourists.
“This is Anubis,” one tour guide told two American tourists, comparing Apollo, now known as the “pyramid puppy”, with the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, often depicted as a man with a jackal’s head.
“He and his pack are now part of our tour conversations,” said Sobhi Fakhry, another tour guide.
Businesses around the Giza plateau are also seeing a boost as tourists are eager to meet the so-called pyramid dogs.
One pyramid guard, who preferred to remain anonymous, also said that some celebrities had paid for permits to have their own dogs photographed with Apollo.
Apollo, a three-year-old Baladi dog, is part of a pack of about eight that has made their home among the ancient ruins. The dogs, a local breed, are known for their resilience, intelligence and ability to survive in Egypt’s harsh climate.
The American Cairo Animal Rescue Foundation monitors the pyramid dogs and described Apollo as the pack’s “alpha male”.
Apollo was born in a rocky crevice within the Khafre pyramid where his mother, Laika, found shelter. Sadly, some of Apollo’s siblings did not survive the site’s perilous heights. A sympathetic guard eventually relocated Laika to a safer spot where Apollo now stands out with his distinctive curled tail and confident nature.
The initial focus of Lang and Marshall was the daring canine climber, but their visit led to a deeper connection with Cairo’s stray dogs.
Intrigued by the challenges they face, Mosher decided to adopt a puppy from the pack: Anubi, who is Apollo’s daughter. Anubi will join Marshall in the US after she receives the dedicated care she needs in Egypt to grow up healthy.
At the pyramids, local animal care groups are now working with the government in order to set up food and water stations for the strays, as well as for other animals including camels and horses. A permanent veterinary center will be established at the pyramids with staff set to receive animal care training.
Source:
Stray Dogs In Giza Become Tourist Draw After ‘Pyramid Puppy’ Sensation | IBTimes
Coriolanus 