Israel: Soldiers Ordered to Shoot at Unarmed Palestinians at Gaza Food Sites

A major Haaretz investigation confirms Israeli soldiers in Gaza were ordered to shoot at unarmed Palestinians gathering near food distribution sites — even when they posed no threat. Soldiers described the areas as a “killing field,” noting: “There’s no enemy, no weapons. IDF officers say the killings aren’t isolated mistakes but part of a pattern dubbed “Operation Salted Fish” — the Israeli version of Red Light, Green Light. “We shoot, they run, we shoot again,” one soldier said. “This is our communication.”  At least 549 Palestinians have been killed and over 4,000 wounded near these aid centers since 27 May. Many were waiting for UN food trucks.  Testimonies reveal Israeli commanders instructed troops to open fire on civilians approaching aid sites before they opened or after they closed — using machine guns, mortars, and grenades. Soldiers described systematic live fire, including from tanks.

Another Palestinian parent mourning just another death. (Photo: WAFA News)

The ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of 57,012 Palestinians, with nearly 134,592 wounded, injured, or maimed since 7 Oct 2023,

Among the casualties are 6,454 deaths and 22,551 injuries reported since 18 March, when US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) capitulated on the Republican budget, releasing billions of dollars of American taxpayer funds to Israel which then resumed its military campaign after a short-lived ceasefire.

In the past 24 hours alone, 142 Palestinians were killed—including three whose bodies were retrieved from the rubble—and 487 others were injured, as the Israeli Death Forces (IDF) intensified its attacks across the besieged enclave.

Meanwhile, the G7 and NATO Summits recently concluded. None of the G-7 nations have recognized the State of Palestine and some leaders in Germany want to let ICC-indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu visit without arresting him.

If any of the G-7 or NATO allies are ever invaded by China, Russia, or other superpower, I hope their people will fight back just as hard as the Palestinians. The Ukrainians are fighting back hard against the Russians, but unlike the Palestinians, receive weapons and financial assistance from the West.

The IDF has created an army of amputees and orphans in Gaza.

The hardworking American taxpayer is tired of funding Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. The Democratic Party already lost 6,265,888 votes on 5 Nov 2024 and will lose more supporters in future national elections as they have become a platform for the Likud Party in the US. In razor-thin elections, every vote counts and the consciences of these antiwar Samaritans and progressives will be clear.

Sources:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/idf-gaza-aid-killings

https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-frank-walter-steinmeier-avoid-testing-international-law-benjamin-netanyahu-gaza/

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

Why Many Democrats and Donald Trump Are Attacking NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani

President Trump threatened NYC Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani with arrest, should he be elected and follow through with a campaign promise to “stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors.” Trump said the DOJ would react swiftly to any such obstruction to ICE’s operations. “Well then, we’ll have to arrest him. Look, we don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation,” Trump warned. The comments are Trump’s latest attack on Mamdani, who he called a “total nut job.” “A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally,” Trump smearing him without evidence. Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from New York if, should Mamdani be elected mayor, he didn’t “behave himself.” “If he does get in, I’m going to be president, and he’s going to have to do the right thing, or they’re not getting any money. He’s got to do the right thing or they’re not getting any money.”

The Desperate and Feckless Democrats

In 2024, disgraced ex-New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo had joined the odious Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal defense team at the International Criminal Court (ICC) where the Israeli PM has been indicted for crimes against humanity. AIPAC supported Andrew Cuomo for Mayor of NYC, a man who had resigned the governorship of New York State in utter ignominy over sexual misconduct and misrepresentations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and who had his Emmy Award revoked, because of name recognition. His father was a popular governor of the Empire State. But Andrew Cuomo lost the Democratic Party primary, clearing the way for Zohran Mamdani to face corruption-prone incumbent Eric Adams and GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa, a former McDonald’s night manager who formed the Guardian Angels vigilante group last century to patrol NYC’s subway system. After Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary, several business executives reportedly began meeting with Eric Adams as they considered backing him in the general election to be held on 4 Nov 2025.

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for NYC Mayor.

New York State Democrats, an extension of the Likud Party in the US, are also reeling from revelations of Chinese government influence in their operations. An aide to Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo has resigned over high-level ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  On 14 June 2025, Dr. Lining “Larry” stepped down as Andrew Cuomo’s Asian outreach director after investigations revealed his extensive business ties to Chinese state-owned enterprises with embedded CCP cells and his associations with Beijing-linked political operatives in New York.

Dr. Lining “Larry” denied any ties to the Chinese Communist Party. “I’ve never been an asset beholden to the Chinese government.” (Photo: Kings County Democratic County Committee)

  • As director of asset management of the state-owned Guangxi Beibu Gulf Investment, He pushed both California and Australia for deeper economic ties with China.
  • He served from 2013 through 2015 as the former board chairman of Guangxi Beitou Petrochemical Company, a joint venture with state-owned Chinese oil giant Sinopec, according to a bio on the website of a commodity trading firm where He was a managing partner. The company’s current corporate organization chart shows it has an official Chinese Communist Party cell embedded in its leadership.
  • A regulatory consulting firm called Penshare-Banyu Technology, based in Chongqing, listed He as a partner. After The Post reached out to He, Penshare-Banyu deleted his picture and profile from its webpage, though it remains visible on Google.
  • He owns import business InterStellar Enterprise, which ships plastic bottles into the US from a manufacturer based in Shenzhen. His wife, Jing Lei, formed a new company weeks after the couple moved to Brooklyn that import manifests show brought in roughly 8.5 tons of plastic bottles from China in May alone.

Link: https://www.global-influence-ops.com/aide-resigns-ccp-ties-ny-candidate-cuomo/

Zohran Mamdani Terrifies AIPAC and the Status Quo in NYC

AIPAC Democrats and the Republicans are terrified of Zohran Mamdani for manifest reasons. His socialist platform to help poor New Yorkers, one of the most expensive places in the world to live in, will be used as a cudgel against him, but this is a chimera. Wall Street executives, bankers, and the oligarchs can easily pay for the modest tax increases he would enact. Zohran Mamdani has been endorsed by anti-oligarch US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Link: https://www.zohranfornyc.com/

The Real Reasons Why AIPAC Democrats Won’t Endorse Him

The ‘Bully Pulpit’ can be used daily to identify international injustices and economic inequality.

As Mayor of the Big Apple Zohran Mamdani can have a press conference every day from City Hall where the word ‘Hamas’ isn’t used, but the word ‘Palestinian’ is used. That disrupts the AIPAC Islamophobic messaging which has invalidated Palestinians as a people in the West for decades. Mamdani can declare Gaza City a ‘Sister City’ to NYC. The NYC Mayor has a liaison team for the UN. Under Mamdani, the Israeli UN delegation would no longer receive the carte blanche treatment they have enjoyed for decades. If elected Mayor, Mamdani will have a say in the CUNY system, one of the largest public universities in the US. Pro-Palestinian academics can be appointed under his term. AIPAC groups recently demanded the resignation of CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez for calling out the Israeli genocide of Palestinians as “hate speech.”

Link: https://nypost.com/2023/06/06/jewish-group-demands-cuny-chancellor-felix-matos-rodriguez-resign-over-law-school-hate-speech/

Lucrative Contracts and Wasteful Programs

If elected Mayor, Zohran Mamdani selects the NYPD Commissioner. For decades the NYC taxpayer has been funding the NYPD to host liaison teams in over a dozen countries (and in the US) as part of its plan to combat ‘global jihad.” These US Embassies already have DOS RSOs, CIA and DIA officers, as well as DEA SAs and FBI Legal Attaches (SAs).

These NYPD detectives enjoy wonderful tours in these cities, but bring nothing to the table other than bonhomie and NYPD chackas, according to State Dept and USIC personnel.

This wasteful program would most likely be scrapped under Mamdani to save NYC taxpayers millions of dollars, but would anger the NYPD detectives looking forward to a pleasant tour in Tel Aviv, Canberra, or Madrid. (Full disclosure: Years ago Coriolanus knew a few NYPD Intelligence Division detectives– they were congenial family guys with funny stories.)

The NYPD recently signed a contract with an Israeli security firm. That contract, and other NYC contracts with Israeli firms, will most likely be scrutinized and scrapped.

Link: https://nypost.com/2025/06/14/us-news/nypd-hires-help-to-look-for-explosive-tradecraft-on-web/

Fruit of Islam acolytes do not drink, smoke, and practice karate.

Link: https://archive.ph/Ii9cs

NYC Marshals are appointed by the Mayor for five year terms. By law, no more than 83 City Marshals shall be appointed by a mayor. Marshals primarily enforce orders from Civil Court cases, including collecting on judgments, towing, seizing utility meters, and carrying out evictions. In 2023, Marshals collectively performed approximately 13,520 evictions. Marshals are regulated by DOI but, unlike the City Sheriff, they are not City employees. Marshals collect fees, which are set by statute, from the private litigants whose judgments they enforce, and they also retain five percent of any money they collect on judgments. Marshals must pay an annual assessment to the City consisting of $1,500 plus 4.5% of their gross income.

For decades and decades, political insiders have received these few lucrative positions which gives City Marshals peace officer status and a percentage of judgments they collect. When you look at the list of City Marshals, present or past, you will not see a Muslim or Arab name. Coriolanus has never seen such a name over the past several decades. Under Zohran Mamdani, this will most likely change.

Link: https://www.nyc.gov/site/doi/offices/marshals-list.page

Just a Few of Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic Party Enemies

Zohran Mamdani has rightfully gotten under the skin of Dummkopf Trumpf, AIPAC, and the sentinels of the status quo which led to the calamity Americans are in today. Watch and listen for comments from media Judas Goats Joe Rogan (AKA ‘Joe Rogaine’) or Bill Maher who will either mock or criticize Mamdani ad hominem or smear him as a “global jihadist.” Very few AIPAC-funded Democrats will defend Zohran Mamdani, but one or two may circle the wagons around him. Dishonorable Andrew Cuomo can act the part of spoiler to help prevent a Muslim from becoming NYC Mayor in November. Followers of the Watch can easily identify an AIPAC recipient by the manner in which they will smear Zohran Mamdani or not endorse him. Then you can corroborate your assessment at these links:

https://www.boughtbyzionism.org/

https://www.trackaipac.com/

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus?ind=Q05

Mr. Mamdani, who receives regular death threats from Islamophobes, now has 24/7 NYPD protection, like you see below:

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio insisted that the political environment has become so “violent” that he needs to be protected by publicly funded NYPD detectives even when outside the five boroughs. (Photo: Erik Thomas)

Mexico: Drug Cartel Hacked FBI Agent Smartphone 

Mexican drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera aka “el Chapo Guzman” is escorted by Mexican marines as he is presented to the press in 2014 in Mexico City.  In 2018, “El Chapo” was sentenced to life plus 30 years.

A hacker working on behalf of the Sinaloa drug cartel infiltrated cameras and phones to track an FBI official in Mexico investigating the drug lord El Chapo, then used data from that surveillance to kill and intimidate potential sources and witnesses the agent was meeting with. The hacker had observed people going in and out of the US Embassy in Mexico City and identified “people of interest” for the cartel, including the FBI Assistant Legal Attache (ALAT), and then was able to use the ALAT’s mobile phone number to obtain calls made and received, as well as geolocation data, associated with the ALAT’s phone.

According to the case agent, the cartel used that information to intimidate and, in some instances, kill potential sources or cooperating witnesses.

This is extraordinarily poor tradecraft on the part of the FBI agent in Mexico City, but can happen to the best of investigators. Coriolanus knew an FBI Special Agent and a US Postal Inspector who were both hacked years ago by different nefarious actors.  Until the insatiable American demand for drugs dries up, as well as the illegal supply of weapons to Mexico via the “Iron River,” the drug cartels will continue their lucrative and violent operations. As you read here, experienced Colombian military veterans have been recruited by the drug cartels, posing a serious threat to Mexican security services.   

Links:

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/joaquin-el-chapo-guzman-sinaloa-cartel-leader-sentenced-life-prison-plus-30-years

International Arms Dealer Guilty of Exporting Weapons to Russia

Sergei Zharnovnikov (46) of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit export violations. The defendant exported firearms and ammunition worth $1,582,836.52 from the US to Russia without the required licenses from the Department of Commerce. The defendant, together with others, entered into the conspiracy since at least March 2020, before Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022.  When sentenced, Zharnovnikov faces up to 20 years in prison.

Link:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/international-arms-dealer-pleads-guilty-conspiring-export-firearms-russia

Mystery Object Recorded in Sky Over Massachusetts

Colleen McCormack  of Pembroke, MA, was relaxing in her outdoor hot tub when she captured on video a mystery object floating in the sky.

Colleen McCormack said she was in the hot tub outside her Pembroke home about 9PM Wednesday when she spotted the object.

“I was chilling in my hot tub, I look up in the sky to see something tiny, floating. I’m like, ‘What is that?'” she told WHDH-TV.

McCormack got her phone out and recorded video of the unusual scene.

“It looked like it was on fire or something and it was just coming down really fast,” McCormack told WFXT-TV. “I have no idea what it could have been.”

The FAA said there were no reports of debris in the area. Officials declined to comment on the video.

“My heart was pounding because I just looked up,” McCormack said. “I’m like oh god what is about to happen right now?”

The witness said she expected to her a loud sound when the object hit the earth, but there was no noise after it disappeared from view.

“It was really quiet. You couldn’t like really hear anything. That’s why I was just like more confused. When stuff flies over all the time, you hear it,” she said.

The DoD and the FAA monitor unidentified aerial phenomenon and the National Archives recently released their records of UFO sightings.

Australia has reportedly been experiencing a plague of unidentified flying object sightings. Coriolanus cannot confirm the provenance of this video:

Links:

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/06/27/mystery-object-Pembroke-Massachusetts/4441751046912/

archives.gov

https://www.aaro.mil/

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA2475-1.html

US Marshals Rescue 60 Exploited Children in Florida

Billboards like this have been appearing in Florida for some time.

US Marshals in Florida, in conjunction with a vast array of partners, led a missing child operation that resulted in the recovery or safe location of 60 critically missing children from across Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties.

Operation DRAGON EYE, the product of a multidisciplinary task force of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as social service entities, the medical community, and non-governmental organizations planning and executing a two-week initiative geared to recover or safely locate the most critically missing youth, has been deemed the most successful missing child operation in USMS history. The USMS defines “critically missing” children as those at risk of crimes of violence or those with other elevated risk factors such as substance abuse, sexual exploitation, crime exposure, or domestic violence.

This operation had three primary objectives: recover critically missing youth, provide them with essential services including appropriate placement, and to deter bad actors exploiting missing child vulnerabilities.

Recovered children were provided with medical resources, nourishment, social services, and child advocates. Operation DRAGON EYE child welfare and social service partners said they are proud of this operation’s achievements.

INTERPOL recently led a worldwide operation against miscreants that distributed child sexploitation material and last May the FBI arrested several child abuse suspects in Florida.

Links: 

INTERPOL.int

https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/press-release/us-marshals-led-missing-child-operation-middle-florida-results-recovery-of-60

Ex-US Army NCO Pleads Guilty for Selling Secrets to China

Joseph Daniel Schmidt (Photo: US Army)

Former US Army NCO Joseph Daniel Schmidt (31) pleaded guilty to attempt to deliver national defense information and retention of national defense information. He faces up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced by USDJ John C. Coughenour on 9 Sep 2025. Schmidt was an active-duty soldier from Jan 2015 to Jan 2020. In his primary assignment in the 109th MI BN, Schmidt had access to SECRET and TOP SECRET information. After his separation from the military, Schmidt reached out to the Chinese Consulate in Turkiye and later, the Chinese security services via email offering national defense information (NDI).

In March 2020, Schmidt traveled to Hong Kong and continued his efforts to provide Chinese intelligence with classified information he obtained from his military service. He created multiple lengthy documents describing various “high level secrets” he was offering to the Chinese government. He retained a device that allows for access to secure military computer networks and offered the device to Chinese authorities to assist them in efforts to gain access to such networks.

Schmidt remained in China, primarily Hong Kong, until Oct 2023, when he flew to San Francisco and was then arrested by the FBI at the airport.

The Chinese MSS use the “thousand grains of sand” approach to collecting intelligence. The volume of small bits or large chunks of NDI the MSS receives results in a rich mosaic of information for analysts in Beijing. The MSS creates dossiers linking images, personnel, email addresses, phone numbers, weapons systems, schedules, test launches, etc. The amount of compensation Schmidt received is not reported, but whatever it is, this young man threw away his life with his awful decision and amateurish tradecraft. US Army Counterintelligence has a rich tradition dating back to the First World War. During the Second World War, CIC was invaluable in capturing Third Reich rocket scientists and art looted by stolen by the Nazis.  Their only black eye was joining the FBI’s COINTELPRO which monitored Vietnam antiwar protestors and draft evaders, which was exposed by a US Army Counterintelligence Agent who testified to the US Congress.

Link:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-jblm-soldier-pleads-guilty-attempting-share-military-secrets-china

Measles Spreading in Mexico Because of RFK Jr.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr secretly vaccinated his own children, according to hos first cousin, Caroline (the daughter of JFK).

Mexico has reported a surge in measles cases in the border state of Chihuahua following an outbreak of the highly contagious, vaccine-preventable disease in unvaccinated communities in Texas. Dr. Paul Offit, a Philadelphia pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, says RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine misinformation is to blame.

The measles outbreak, Mexico’s largest in decades, has spread beyond the Mennonite settlements, impacting neighboring Indigenous populations and raising concerns about international transmission, particularly given Chihuahua’s location on the US border. While officials acknowledge the progress made through collaboration with Mennonite leaders and report tens of thousands of new vaccinations, the infection rate continues to rise. There may be as many as 2,000 cases of measles in northern Mexico.

Not only is RFK Jr’s homicidal antivax misinformation campaign killing Americans, but its also harming religious or uneducated simpletons in Mexico. Worse, this mountebank and hypocrite made a tidy fortune for himself as an antivax campaigner.

Links:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/4/30/headlines/mexico_reports_surge_in_measles_cases_as_texas_outbreak_spills_across_border

https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON565

France: Lunatics Attacked 145 People With Syringes at Music Festival

French police arrested 12 suspects after 145 people reported being pricked with syringes during the country’s annual street music festival. Millions of people took to the streets across France on the evening of 21 Jun for the Fete de la Musique, with the authorities reporting “unprecedented crowds” in Paris.

Before the party, posts on social media had called for women to be targeted during the festivities. 145 victims across the country had reported being stabbed with needles, 13 in Paris. Some victims felt unwell after the stabbings.

Officials did not say if these were cases of so-called needle spiking with date-rape drugs such as Rohypnol or GHB, used by attackers to render victims confused or unconscious and vulnerable to sexual assault. Some victims were taken to hospital for toxicological tests.

Pricking innocent people with syringes is unspeakably horrible. Those needles could be rusty or contaminated with bacteria, in addition to rape drugs or any other toxins. This appears to be a misogynist and/or xenophobic attack against women and minorities.  If a Russian connection is detected, this would be part of the Kremlin’s “hybrid warfare” campaign to cause havoc in the West by sowing unrest and depleting its resources with inexpensive terrorist or sabotage attacks. Tourism generates revenue for Europe, even though some locals in Spain and Italy have begun protesting tourists because of the erosion of their quality-of-life. Attacks like this will discourage travel to France. Sidenote: The heat wave in Paris forced the temporary closure of the Eiffel Tower this week and Bastille Day (14 July) is fast approaching.

Links:

https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/police-arrest-12-as-wave-of-syringe-attacks-mar-france-street-music-festival

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

California: Mother Bear and Cub Raid Refrigerator in Upscale Tahoe Keys

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)