America’s Godzilla Continues Deadly Global Rampage

Followers of the Watch, Coriolanus is doing his best to keep up with the wake of destruction Donald Trumpf is leaving behind in his catastrophic warpath against the people of the United States and the world.

In no specific order of damage assessment, here we go. Against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), and most likely the advice of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Trumpf ordered the release of 2.2 billion gallons of water from the Lake Kaweah and Lake Success reservoirs north of Los Angeles. But these waters would not reach Los Angeles anyway and will be needed for farmers later this year. This was a terrible waste of water that will punish Blue State Californians this upcoming spring and summer, particularly if a blistering heatwave sets in or another drought arises.

A buoy sits on dry cracked earth on a dry inlet of Shasta Lake on 30 Aug 2014 in Lakehead, CA. (Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Trumpf Endangering Passenger Air Travel

The FAA banned its employees from attending advisory panels set up to explore how to make air travel safer. “It appears that safety is being forced to take a back seat due to fear of retribution, which means we all lose,” said an FAA official. Trumpf has separately come under criticism for forcing out key aviation safety officials in the days before the recent Ronald Reagan Airport crash, at the recommendation of tech billionaire oligarch Elon Musk. Trumpf recently remarked that a high-speed railway project isn’t necessary because, according to him, a plane ticket can be purchased for only $2.

Trumpf Stops All Global USAID Activities, Ordering Personnel Home

USAID activities. This organization was created by President John F. Kennedy.

This monumentally idiotic ukase forces thousands and thousands of USAID staff and their families to abandon their homes and projects and return to the US within 96 hours. Food and medicines intended for vulnerable people in Africa and Asia are going to be wasted or looted, like in war- and disease-riven Sudan, costing thousands of innocent lives. Gizmodo reports that USAID was investigating Felon Musk’s Starlink contracts in Ukraine, one of which costs at least $23 million.

The Worst Person in the World.

America’s Godzilla has already destroyed the Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) and intends on eliminating the Department of Education and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which fights for safe working conditions in America’s factories and farms.

Trumpf Spreads Autism Misinformation in RFK Jr. Senate Confirmation Push

The nephew of JFK pockets half a million dollars a year from ant-vax charity groups. His cousin Caroline said that RFK Jr secretly vaccinated his own children. (Image: NY Post)

Godzilla cited inaccurate figures of autism diagnoses as a reason why the US Senate should confirm Robert F Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Trumpf wrote on Truth Social:

“20 years ago, Autism in children was 1 in 10,000. NOW IT’S 1 in 34. WOW! Something’s really wrong.”

That social media post wasn’t the first time Trumpf has floated misinformation about autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a Dec 2024 interview with TIME magazine, Trumpf said he’d have a “big discussion” with Kennedy about potentially ending childhood vaccination programs, noting the “autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible.”

While Trumpf did not insinuate a tie between autism and vaccines in his Tuesday post, he has in the past. But wait, things get worse for Americans and national security. Godzilla evicted former four-star Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan from her home with only three hours notice this week. Trumpf had fired Admiral Fagan, the first woman to ever lead the Coast Guard, on the second day of his regime. Admiral Fagan barely had time to gather her personal belongings and was forced to spend the night with friends.

Trumpf demanded and received the names of 5,000 FBI personnel that investigated him and the white supremacist terrorists that attacked the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. Remarkably, America’s first line of defense surrendered the names to Trumpf. The Fourth Reich can rescind the TS-SCI security clearances of these personnel, rendering them incapable of employment in the US Intelligence Community (USIC) and thus their termination from the FBI. These agents and analysts also become vulnerable to retaliation from the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, the FSB, drug cartels, the mafia, or the Hell’s Angels.

Moreover, Putin’s protege ordered CIA to offer buyouts to its entire workforce, to align it with Trumpf’s priorities. CIA is also freezing the hiring of job applicants already given a conditional offer. Some of those frozen offers are likely to be rescinded if the applicants do not have the right background for the agency’s new goals, which include targeting drug cartels, the reckless and unnecessary trade war, and undermining China.

What would this man below say about these craven capitulations to the Kremlin and the state of US national security?

Here’s what a Quebec (Canadian) newspaper had to say about America’s Godzilla.

Sources:

https://www.axios.com/2025/02/04/trumps-autism-rfk-jr-confirmation

https://nypost.com/2022/02/02/robert-f-kennedy-jr-anti-vax-crusade-is-making-him-millions/

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/cia-offers-buyouts-entire-workforce-align-with-trump-priorities-wsj-reports-2025-02-05/

https://www.rawstory.com/faa-advisory-panels/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/live-blog/trump-canada-mexico-tariffs-live-updates-rcna190371

White Supremacist Leader Found Guilty of Conspiring to Destroy Regional Power Grid

Brandon Russell studied nuclear physics, was a Florida Army National Guardsman, and founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division. (Mugshot: Tampa Police Dept).

After a six-day trial, a federal jury found Brandon Russell (29) a resident of Orlando, FL, guilty of conspiracy to damage an energy facility. From Nov 2022 to 3 Feb 2023, Russell conspired to carry out attacks against critical infrastructure, specifically transformers located within electrical substations, in furtherance of Russell’s racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist beliefs. Russell posted links to open-source maps of infrastructure, which included the locations of electrical substations, and he described how a small number of attacks on substations could cause a “cascading failure.” Russell also discussed maximizing the impact of the planned attack by hitting multiple substations at one time.

Russell recruited a Maryland-based woman, Sarah Beth Clendaniel, to carry out the attacks in Baltimore and elsewhere. They planned to damage energy facilities involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity and to cause a significant interruption and impairment of the Baltimore regional power grid. The intended monetary loss associated with the planned attacks would have exceeded $75 million.

Russell faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to damage an energy facility. A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

Sarah-Beth-Clendaniel was sentenced to 18 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release.

Followers of the Watch may recall a previous post about these two dangerous miscreants, now rendered ineffective. The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) may want to throw away the key on these two lunatics or send them to El Salvador or Guantanamo Bay.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/maryland-woman-sentenced-18-years-federal-prison-conspiring-destroy-baltimore-region

Ukraine Update

SBU Detains Two Russian Saboteurs Preparing Terrorist Attack in Rivne

Ukrainian security services prevented a mass casualty attack in the center of Rivne, detaining two Russian saboteurs. The suspects were supposed to leave an improvised explosive device (IED) in a bag near the administrative building of a law enforcement agency. The attackers planned to detonate the explosives by calling a mobile phone connected to the IED.

The attack was to take place when there were many law enforcement officers near the police station and the miscreants themselves would still be near the explosive device.

“In this way, the ‘Ruscists’ planned to kill the maximum number of police officers and ordinary citizens and at the same time eliminate the perpetrators of the terrorist attack as ‘unnecessary’ witnesses.”

The SBU officers exposed the Russian agents in advance and thwarted the plot. Both suspects were detained red-handed when they were trying to plant explosives near the district police department. At the scene, a bag equipped with an IED and additional covert surveillance devices with remote access function for the Russian special services was seized from the detainees.

The saboteurs are two 19-year-olds who were looking for “quick” money on Telegram channels now face twelve years prison and financial confiscation.

These two imbeciles below were lucky as they would have been blown up in the attack by their nefarious handlers who were concealed at a safe, remote distance. As noted here on Coriolanus, Ukraine’s security services are constantly improving.

Laser Weapon Deployed Against Russian Target

The Tryzub (Trident) is based on the UK DragonFire system.

Ukraine is already using laser technologies to hit Russian targets, said Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces:

“Laser technologies are already hitting certain objects at a certain altitude.”

The commander first said in mid-Dec 2024 that Ukraine is among the few nations with laser weapon capabilities. According to Sukharevskyi, Ukraine’s laser system, called Tryzub, can down aircraft at altitudes exceeding two kms.

The Unmanned Systems Forces, established less than a year ago, already include combat and research units operating across air, land, and sea.

Russia recently attacked Ukraine with 102 drones; 59 were downed by air defense, and 37 went off radar.

The UK DragonFire Laser (Photo: UK MOD)

For Ukraine, this development is critically important, as it relies on the supply of anti-aircraft ammunition and missiles from its European partners. Another significant advantage is cost efficiency. Missiles cost tens of thousands of dollars, while a single laser shot costs several dollars.

Sources:

https://ssu.gov.ua/novyny/sbu-zatrymala-dvokh-ahentiv-rf-yaki-hotuvaly-terakt-bilia-raiupravlinnia-politsii-u-rivnomu

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-using-laser-weapons/

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/01/31/7496112/

Ocean Surface Warming Over 400% Faster Than in 1980s

Sea surface temperature anomalies for 27 January 2025. The deeper the warm colors, the more anomalously high the sea temperature is. (NOAA)

The unexpected jump in global temperatures since 2023 has helped fuel a relentless assault of associated disasters around the world, including the Los Angeles fires and the deadly Valencia floods in Spain, leaving researchers scrambling for explanations.

Data from the world’s oceans now reveal that an alarming acceleration in sea surface warming likely contributed. A new study from the University of Reading in the UK finds the tops of our oceans are warming more than four times faster than in the late 1980s.

The Earth’s diminishing reflectivity may be contributing to this. The ocean’s dark surface helps it absorb heat, whereas white clouds and aerosol particles in the atmosphere help bounce the sun’s radiation back into space. In 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a new rule to cut back on sulfur pollution from shipping fuel, but because the aerosol particles in emissions acted as a seed for clouds, the regulation had the unintended effect of dimming the marine layer of clouds that blanket the ocean.

Excess ocean warmth has had wide-ranging consequences. In April 2024, 77% of the world’s coral reefs became imperiled in the most extensive bleaching event on record, threatening the livelihoods of a billion people and a quarter of marine life. Changing ocean temperatures also shift weather patterns, potentially intensifying droughts, downpours, and storms alike.

There is still time to change the course of Earth’s energy imbalance (EEI) if we stop emitting fossil fuels (green line scenario). (Merchant et al., Environ. Res. Lett., 2025)

Our Future Unless We Do Something Now

The remains of beachside homes in California destroyed in the Palisades Fire, 16 Jan 2025. (Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images)

Aftermath of the floods in Valencia, Spain, 20 Oct 2024. (Photo: David Ramos /Staff / Getty Image News)

Police officers in an inflatable boat look for residents to evacuate in Guipry Messac, western France (Photo: AP)

Sources

https://www.reading.ac.uk/news/2025/Research-News/Ocean-surface-warming-four-times-faster-now-than-late-1980s

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-ocean-surface-is-warming-over-400-faster-than-in-the-1980s

https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/extended-reconstructed-sst

https://grist.org/oceans/why-earth-oceans-record-hot-streak/

NASA Images Reveal Mysterious Square Structure on Mars

The following images originate from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and its Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), with the original photo accessible via Arizona State University’s Mars Image Explorer.

According to several AI calculations, the base of this Square structure is estimated to measure 235 meters on each side (approximately 770 feet). Interestingly, the width of the Great Pyramid in Egypt is nearly identical, at about 230 meters.

One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in 2600 BC over a period of 26 years. (Photo: Diego Delso)

The photo below was taken by NASA’s Viking One orbiter and released on 25 July 1976.

This image captured the public’s attention because of a feature that looks very much like a human face. Further observations confirmed that this is in fact just a hill in Mars’ Cydonia region. The human brain is wired to identify faces, even when they aren’t there. (Source: NASA/JPL)

Coriolanus shall be perusing through books like these over the next few days.

Megalomaniac racist DOGE czar Felon Musk expressed a desire to see this mysterious Martian square up close. Let’s send him forthwith.

Sources:

https://science.nasa.gov/planetary-science/programs/mars-exploration/

https://global-data.mars.asu.edu/

https://www.caclubindia.com/trending/square-structure-mars/

INTERPOL: Nearly 20,000 Live Animals Seized in Largest-Ever Wildlife and Forestry Operation

Tiger cubs rescued in the Czech Republic. (Photo: INTERPOL)

138 countries and regions joined forces to target fauna and flora trafficking worldwide

From INTERPOL:

Nearly 20,000 live animals, all endangered or protected species, have been seized in a global operation against wildlife and forestry trafficking networks, jointly coordinated by INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

Operation Thunder 2024 brought together police, customs, border control, forestry and wildlife officials from 138 countries and regions, marking the widest participation since the first edition in 2017.

Authorities arrested 365 suspects and identified six transnational criminal networks suspected of trafficking animals and plants protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Such species are illegally trafficked to meet specific market demands, whether for food, perceived medicinal benefits, “luxury” and collector items or as pets and competition animals.

Significant seizures include:

Indonesia: 134 tons of timber headed to Asia via ocean freight.
Kenya: 41 tons of exotic timber headed to Asia via ocean freight.
Nigeria: 4,472 kg of pangolins scales
Türkiye: 6,500 live songbirds discovered during a vehicle inspection at the Syrian border.
India: 5,193 live red-eared ornamental slider turtles concealed in passenger suitcases arriving from Malaysia at Chennai Airport.
Peru: 3,700 protected plants intercepted en route from Ecuador.
Qatar: Eight rhino horns found in a suspect’s luggage while transiting from Mozambique to Thailand.
United States: One ton of sea cucumbers, considered a seafood delicacy, smuggled from Nicaragua.
Hong Kong, China: 973 kg of dried shark fins originating from Morocco seized at the airport.
Czech Republic: Eight tigers, aged between two months and two years, discovered in a suspected illegal breeding facility.
Indonesia: 846 pieces of reticulated python skin, from the world’s longest snake species, concealed on board a ship.
Australia and the United Kingdom reported seizures of bear bile, often used in traditional medicine.

More than 300 firearms, vehicles and poaching equipment.

Source:

https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2025/Nearly-20-000-live-animals-seized-365-suspects-arrested-in-largest-ever-wildlife-and-forestry-operation

US/Canada: Measles Cases in Texas, Manitoba

At least four cases of measles, including two involving school-aged children, have been reported in southeast Texas in less than two weeks, putting state health agencies on alert as other counties have also reported cases in Gaines, Harris, and Lubbock.

For some communities, this is the first case of measles in more than 20 years.

About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the US who get measles will be hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Manitoba provincial public health officials are warning citizens of possible exposure to measles. Officials say there have been five confirmed cases of measles in southern Manitoba, all connected to an outbreak in Ontario. All of the affected individuals are from the same household and had recently travelled to Ontario. They have all been asked to isolate at home.

81 cases of measles have been reported in Ontario in 2024 and 2025.

Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease. General symptoms may include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and a full-body rash. This disease can cause serious health consequences and even death, especially for young and unvaccinated children. Up to three of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles may die from respiratory and neurologic complications. Vaccinations and “herd immunity” are the key to stopping the spread of measles.

Anti-VAXXERs are a threat to community health. (File image/PNN)

Sources:

https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-health-alert-advisory-feb-5-2019

https://www.mrt.com/news/health_and_wellness/article/gaines-county-measles-cases-20146836.php

https://www.texastribune.org/2025/01/30/texas-measles-vaccinations-schools/

https://www.chvnradio.com/articles/5-cases-of-measles-confirmed-in-southern-manitoba-connected-to-outbreak-in-ontario

Grey Wolf‘s Silly Howl Spreads Joy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

Russian Arrested For Running Gay Travel Agency Found Dead in Cell

The late Andrei Kotov in court (Photo: SOTA)

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

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

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

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

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

You wonder what music Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to?

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

― Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Image credit: Inside The Magic)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

Florida’s Water Pollution

Retired US Army General: Elon Musk is National Security Risk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

American Police Brutality: NYS Prison Guards Beat Inmate to Death

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Compare America with Scandinavia.

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

Sources:

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

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

https://doccs.ny.gov/

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

Cat Simply in Love With Woman That Saved Him

Israel Destroys Syrian Naval Fleet

An IDF F-15 jet fighter takes off from the Negev desert (Photo: AFP)

Israel carried out attacks on Syria’s naval fleet, most likely destroying the majority of the ships.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says it has documented more than 310 strikes by the IDF since the fall of the Assad regime on Sunday. Israeli warplanes have also reportedly carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Syria, including on the capital, Damascus.

Destroyed Syrian ships in port. (Getty Images)

The BBC or the SOHR did not provide any Syrian military or civilian casualty numbers.

Benjamin Netanyahu finally appeared in court for the corruption trial that he has kept postponing and delaying because of his wartime duties as Prime Minister. But that did not stop him from unilaterally attacking Syrian targets or seizing the Golan Heights. Offensive operations against this new regime does not fall under Israel’s right to self-defense, even though the intentions were supposedly to destroy chemical weapons sites. The new Sunni masters of Syria are probably not pleased with this flagrant violation of their sovereignty. Abu Muhammad al-Jolani and his cadre are trying to create order and stability in the new Syria.

Jordan can serve as an interlocutor between Jerusalem and Damascus and perhaps the new Salafist regime won’t be hostile to their neighbor. Without dialogue though, covert or overt, both countries may be destined for resource and life-wasting eternal conflict.

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx808q7lrno

US Charges Two High-Ranking Syrian Officials with War Crimes

General Jamil Hassan (L), Abdul Salam Mahmoud ( R )

Former Syrian Air Force Intelligence officers Jamil Hassan (72) and Abdul Salam Mahmoud (65) were each charged in connection with a conspiracy to commit war crimes through the infliction of cruel and inhuman treatment on detainees under their control, including US citizens, in detention facilities at the Mezzeh Military Airport (Mezzeh Prison), near Damascus, Syria. Warrants for the defendants’ arrest have been issued and they remain at large.

Between January 2012 and July 2019, Hassan and Mahmoud conspired to identify, intimidate, threaten, punish, and kill people detained at Mezzeh Prison suspected of aiding or supporting opponents of the regime, such as those who protested, provided medical aid to opponents of the regime, or publicly criticized the regime. Detainees, including US citizens, were mercilessly beaten, electrocuted, and had their toenails removed. Detainees were also allegedly hung from the ceiling by their wrists and were burned with acid.

(Map courtesy of Alchetron)

Both military and political prisoners were held at Mezzeh prison. The prison was an infamous embodiment of Syrian government repression. Widespread human rights abuses and torture has been reported from the Mezzeh prison throughout its history but most notably during the rule of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000).

Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the US or the location of the defendants named in this indictment are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be provided anonymously.

These timely indictments are more about seeking justice for American citizens tortured by these two psychopaths than an exercise of US foreign policy. An indicted war criminal is an indicted war criminal regardless of nationality, whether it is Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Russian President Vladimir Putin, or this infamous American officer below from over half a century ago.

1969 US Army CID mugshot of 1LT William Calley courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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 | Criminal Charges Unsealed Against Two Former High-Ranking Syrian Government Intelligence Officials for War Crimes against Americans and Other Civilians | United States Department of Justice

Four Taiwan Soldiers Charged with Spying for China

Four Taiwanese soldiers, including three from a unit in charge of security for the president’s office, were charged with photographing and leaking confidential information to China.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949, but Beijing insists the island is part of its territory and has vowed to seize it one day.

There has been a series of spying cases in Taiwan, as China maintains military and political pressure on Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty.

In the latest case, the accused included three members of a military unit in charge of security for the Presidential Office.

Entrance to Presidential Palace in Taipei. (Photo: taipeitravelgeek.com)

A fourth person was a soldier in the defence ministry’s information and telecommunications command. They allegedly used their mobile phones to photograph military information, which was passed to “Chinese agents.”

The four received payments ranging from around NT$260,000 to NT$660,000 ($8,000-$20,000) “depending on the confidentiality level of the military information they provided.”

The incidents happened from 2022 to 2024.

Three of the soldiers were discharged before an investigation was launched in August this year following a tip-off to the defence ministry. The fourth was suspended in August.

All four have been detained and charged with corruption and violating national security law for “leaking and delivering confidential information or electromagnetic records for China”.

They face a maximum seven years in jail if convicted.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s infiltration campaign against us has never stopped,” the defence ministry said in a statement, describing the four accused as “treasonous and lawless.”

In Sep 2024, an ex-air force instructor was sentenced to 17 years in prison for “aiding the enemy” and delivering military secrets to China.

China’s massive intelligence apparatus poses a threat to the much smaller Taiwanese counterintelligence agencies. Beijing employs the ‘grains of sand’ principle of collection, where vast numbers of human and cyber networks vacuum up information ranging from personal data to intellectual property. The Ministry of State Security (MSS) has the time, patience, resources, and personnel to construct a mosaic from all of these thousands of particles of sand put together. Taiwanese and Western intelligence agencies do not have that luxury and must prioritize collection efforts to remain efficient with resources and personnel, a problem China doesn’t have.

Source:

Four Taiwan Soldiers Charged With Spying For China | Barron’s

Japan: 46 Students Stricken with Scombroid Fish Poisoning

Blue Marlin (Artwork: Les Hata © Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

46 children, students, and teachers who ate school lunches at three elementary and junior high schools in Hakuba Village in Nagano Prefecture, complained of symptoms such as fever and rash. The cause was later determined to be food poisoning by the growth of germs on a marlin thawing at room temperature for too long.

In order to prevent a recurrence, the prefecture suspended school lunch operations. The company says that it will review the cooking process and safety management and instruct people to thaw in the refrigerator or under running water instead of thawing at room temperature.

Scombroid poisoning, also called histamine poisoning, is a type of food intoxication caused by the consumption of scombroid and scombroid-like marine fish species that have begun to spoil with the growth of particular types of food bacteria. Fish most commonly involved are members of the Scombridae family (tuna and mackerel) and a few non-scombroid relatives (bluefish, dolphin or mahi-mahi, and amberjack).

Source:

Marlin, food poisoning thawed at room temperature for too long 46 students eat school lunch, Nagano|National news|Hokkoku Shimbun

Barbarism Continues in Haiti: Gang Slaughters 180 People, Mostly Elderly

The “Taliban Gang.” Sitting is the 20-year-old second-in-command, who swears that he does not practice kidnapping but “only” racketeering. Gang members will beg for one dollar, but wield weapons worth thousands. (Photo: © Corentin Fohlen / Divergence)

Approximately 180 people were killed recently in Haiti’s Cite Soleil area. The massacre was ordered by a gang leader who suspected his child had been made ill with witchcraft.

“A red line has been crossed,” the PM’s office said and would “mobilize all forces to track down and annihilate” those responsible, including Wharf Jeremie gang leader Monel “Mikano” Felix, whom it accused of planning the attack.

The victims were mostly elderly. The death toll could be higher and cited witnesses as saying that “mutilated bodies were burned in the streets, including several young individuals who were killed attempting to save residents.”

Felix had ordered the violence after his child became sick, and after seeking advice from a voodoo priest who accused elderly people in the area of harming the child through witchcraft.

Cite Soleil, a densely populated slum by the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, is among the poorest and most violent areas of Haiti. Tight gang control, including the restriction of mobile phone use, has limited residents’ ability to share information about the massacre.

(Map: PBS)

The government, riven with political infighting, has struggled to contain gangs’ growing power in and around the capital. The armed groups are accused of indiscriminate killings, gang rapes, ransom kidnappings, and fueling critical food shortages.

Haiti, the first “Black Republic,” both enriched her colonial masters, the French, and sent soldiers to help in the American Revolution. Now Haiti is a terrible combination of Gaza and Somalia. Not doubt that diarrheal illnesses, STDs, and TB are spreading throughout the slums.

In Oct 2024, the Gran Grif gang took responsibility for the killing of at least 115 people in Pont-Sonde, a town in Haiti’s breadbasket Artibonite region. They said it was retaliation for residents helping a self-defense group hinder their road toll operations.

Gran Grif gang-member (Undated photo: arise.tv)

A UN-backed security mission is partially deployed and remains deeply under-resourced. Haitian leaders have called for the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission to be converted into a UN peacekeeping force to ensure it is better supplied, but the plan stalled amid opposition from China and Russia in the Security Council.

A UN spokesperson said the weekend’s death count was at least 184, including 127 elderly people. The security situation continues to deteriorate and many countries have yet to deliver on pledges of support.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged countries to improve efforts to stop arms trafficking to Haiti. The UN estimates the gangs’ increasingly modern arsenals are largely trafficked from the US.

“These latest killings bring the death toll just this year in Haiti to a staggering 5,000 people,” he said.

Last month the FAA and the UN suspended all flights to Haiti after these runamoks fired upon at least three airplanes, wounding a flight attendant. Access to large caliber weapons abandoned or stolen from the defunct Haitian Army may be in the hands of some of these brigands.

Regrettably, Haiti is a low-priority for many countries, including the US. Hundreds of Haitians have drowned attempting to flee by water and those who make it to safety are not always given asylum or refuge. The neighboring Dominican Republic sealed off their borders and began deporting undocumented Haitians. Like the Mexican drug cartels, Haitian gangs receive their illegal weapons and ammunition from traffickers in the US. Haiti, a failed nation, is a disaster at America’s doorstep and a black eye for the “Monroe Doctrine.”

Firearms displayed at the Miami Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on 17 Aug 2022. Increasingly sophisticated weapons are being trafficked into Haiti mainly from Florida amid worsening lawlessness in the impoverished Caribbean nation, according to a 4 March 2023 UN report. (Photo: Lynne Sladky / AP)

Sources:

Haiti gang massacres around 180 people, targeting elderly | Reuters

UN report: Modern weapons being smuggled to Haiti from US | AP News

US prohibits airlines from flying to Haiti and UN suspends flights after planes were shot by gangs | AP News

Pakistan: Military Charges Former ISI Director Over ‘Political Activities’ in Unprecedented Move

Pakistan’s former spy chief was arrested Aug 2024 in court martial proceedings (Photo: Anushree Fadnavis / Reuters)

In an unprecedented move, Pakistan’s powerful army charged the former head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with “engaging in political activities. Lt Gen Faiz Hamid (Retd) is accused of creating agitation and unrest, leading up to multiple incidents, including but not limited to the events of 9 May 2023, aimed at fomenting instability at the behest of and in collusion with vested political interests.”

No former ISI director has ever faced a court martial in Pakistan’s history.

Days after Lt Gen Hamid’s arrest, three other retired army officers were also detained for “actions prejudicial to military discipline.” Those arrests are widely believed to have been connected to the proceedings against Hamid.

Hamid’s two-year tenure at the ISI was marked by allegations that he politically targeted Khan’s rivals, many of whom were jailed; cracked down on media, violated human rights, and suppressed protest movements across the country.

Hamid gained further international attention in August 2021 when he was photographed at a Kabul hotel shortly after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.

Gen. Hamid rushed to Kabul to broker a deal between Mullah Baradar and the Haqqani Network (HQN) when the Taliban seized control of the government. The ISI and the powerful HQN have a strong covert working relationship.

Pakistani PM Imran Khan was arrested for alleged corruption on 9 May 2023 which led to massive demonstrations targeting state buildings and military installations. Thousands of people were arrested, of whom about 100 faced military trials. Khan is also facing several cases related to 9 May.

Black smoke billows from a building in Peshawar set ablaze by supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan flowing his arrest. (Photo: AFP)

(Map: worldatlas.com / Data: CIA)

Pakistan has a population of 252,363,571 people comprised ethnically: Punjabi 44.7%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Baloch 3.6%, other 6.3%. Muslim (official) 96.5% (Sunni 85-90%, Shia 10-15%). Real GDP per capita is $5,600 (2023 est.).

While most countries have armies, Pakistan is an “army with a country” with approximately 630,000 active-duty personnel (550,000 Army; 30,000 Navy; 50,000 Air Force); approximately 150,000 Frontier Corps and Pakistan Rangers. Islamabad has a growing nuclear arsenal of 170 nuclear warheads.

Terrorist groups operating in Pakistan: Haqqani Network (HQN); Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami; Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Hizbul Mujahideen; Indian Mujahedeen; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K); Islamic State of ash-Sham – India; Islamic State of ash-Sham – Pakistan; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi; Lashkar-e Tayyiba; Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP); al-Qa’ida; al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)

The Pakistani military is the only homogenizing force in this cauldron of ethnic groups, languages, political parties, social movements, competing interests, drug trafficking/use, and extremist groups.

The popular former international cricket champion and imprisoned ex-PM Imran Khan with his loyal ex-ISI chief dared to defy the all-powerful Pakistani army now face “justice.”

“Every time our party announces a protest, I am charged with more fake cases while inside prison.

I have been informed that many of our people are still missing, and we have serious concerns about their lives and wellbeing. We demand that the government immediately publish data of arrested citizens and those brought to hospitals and morgues after being injured or martyred. Additionally, CCTV footage from the hospital and Safe City cameras must be preserved, so that the truth can be revealed to the nation.”

We have two demands:

1. A commission should be formed under the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to independently investigate the events of 9 May 2023 and 26 Nov 2024.

2. Unjustly imprisoned political detainees should be released.

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/10/pakistans-military-charges-former-spy-chief-over-political-activities

https://insaf.pk/news/former-prime-minister-imran-khans-message-december-6-2024

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/who-is-isi-chief-faiz-hameed-whose-visit-to-kabul-has-sparked-controversy-101630843177941.html

https://www.dawn.com/news/1752254

CIA

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2493059/the-mosaic-of-drug-trafficking-and-its-consequences

https://thebulletin.org/premium/2023-09/pakistan-nuclear-weapons-2023/

Donald Trump is Human Wrecking Ball

President-elect Donald Trump has picked the worst picks humanly possible to sit on his future cabinet. Their policies will weaken, sicken, pauperize, and demoralize Americans with destructive health, economic, de-regulatory strategies. A Russian TV host gleefully claimed that “Trump’s Cabinet picks will dismantle America.”

US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, 5 Dec 2017. (Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images)

But not only is Trump going to sabotage the US domestically on behalf of the Kremlin, he is going to demoralize US diplomats and damage our foreign policy.

Career diplomats at the US State Department work earnestly and diligently for decades to one day reach the pinnacle of being named Ambassador. President-elect Trump chose his daughter’s utterly sleazy, contemptible, convicted father-in-law to be the US Ambassador to France.

The former AUSA for New Jersey said of Charles Kushner: “This was one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted…and I was the US Attorney in New Jersey.”

This oligarchal miscreant previously served two years in prison before being released after pleading guilty in 2004 to charges of tax evasion, lying to the Federal Election Commission and retaliating against a federal witness. Trump pardoned Kushner during the last month of his presidency. If confirmed by the US Senate, Charles Kushner will be walking in the shoes of Benjamin Franklin, America’s first Ambassador to Paris.

Now the President-elect is nominating his son’s ex-fiancee Kim Guilfoyle to be US Ambassador to Greece, the world’s first democracy. This move is widely seen as an attempt to ensure Kim Guilfoyle (55) doesn’t spill the beans about the Trump Crime Family (TCF) after Donald Trump Jr. (46) dumped her for a younger woman, Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson (37).

To her credit, Kim Guilfoyle is an attorney and former prosecutor.

Below is what Kim Guilfoyle must have looked like when she learned that Don Trump Jr threw her overboard for a younger woman. She waited a long time to tie the knot with Don Jr. At least the TCF bought her silence with a well-paying, prestigious sinecure in Athens (for now).

America and the world can’t wait long enough until 21 Jan 2029, if we all survive this human wrecking ball and Putin’s plans for America.

Sources:

SEX GAL NOW HELPING FEDS – HOOKER TURNS ON KUSHNER

Resistance HQ Bulletin 23, 12/10/24 – by Ron Filipkowski

Russian TV host gleefully claims Trump’s Cabinet will ‘dismantle’ America, report says

Man Fleeing Ukraine War with Kitten Found Alive in Frigid Romania Mountains: “Peach Kept My Heart Warm”

Salvamont Maramures, a Romanian mountain rescue service, saved the two. Peach the cat peers from the jacket of its owner, Vladislav Duda (28). They were rescued from a deep mountain ravine in a state of severe hypothermia. (Photo: AP)

When the rescue team located and found the Ukrainian, they unzipped his jacket and discovered Peach snuggled up inside. Duda said: “I’m happy because my cat is alive. I got a chance from God for a new life. The happiest moment is because the cat is here with me.”

The auburn-colored kitten, a tomcat named “Peach” in Ukrainian, was experiencing the effects of malnutrition after they ran out of food four days earlier and melted snow helped to keep him alive.

“Peach kept my heart warm and he kept my faith alive,” the Ukrainian said.

“Peach” also means stove or oven.

During the complex ascent out of the ravine which took more than five hours, the Ukrainian would not let go of his kitten. He kept Peach clutched to his chest from the bottom to the top until he was put in the ambulance.

Duda requested the rescuers to ‘Please take care of the cat.'”

Peach at the Animal Med vet clinic after being rescued along with its owner after three days in a deep mountain ravine in Baia Mare, Romania. (Photo: 9 Dec 2024, AP)

Peach received veterinary treatment in Baia Mare and is expected to fully recover.

Source:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-kitten-fleeing-ukraine-war-found-alive-romania-mountains/

‘Are We Not Humans?’ Fury in Beirut as Massive Israeli Strike Kills 20

Before impact. Beirut’s Shayah neighborhood (Photo: Fadel Itani / UPI)

After impact. (Photo: Fadel Itani / UPI)

Chiyah neighborhood of Beirut (Photo: Fadel Itani / UPI)

A massive Israeli air strike on central Beirut has killed at least 20 people, Lebanese officials say, in the latest attack on the capital amid an escalation of Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah.

The strike happened without warning at about 04:00 (02:00 GMT) on Saturday, and was an attempt to assassinate a senior Hezbollah official, Israeli media reported. The attack was heard and felt across the city, and destroyed at least one eight-story residential building in the densely populated Basta district.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said a so-called bunker buster bomb was used, a type of weapon previously used by Israel to kill senior Hezbollah figures, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Emergency workers used heavy machinery to remove the rubble and retrieve bodies.

More than 60 people had been injured and the number of victims was expected to rise as DNA tests would be carried out on body parts that had been recovered.

“It was a very horrible explosion. All the windows and glasses were over me, my wife and my children. My home now is a battlefield,” said 55-year-old Ali Nassar, who lived in a nearby building.

“Even if one person is hiding here…Should you destroy buildings where people are sleeping inside? Is it necessary to kill all the people for one person? Are we not humans? That’s what I’m asking.”

According to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan, the attack was an attempt to kill Mohammed Haydar, a top Hezbollah official. Hezbollah MP Amin Sherri said none of the group’s leaders were in the building hit, and Haydar’s fate remained unclear.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not commented.

Also on Saturday, the IDF carried out further air strikes on the Dahieh, the area in southern Beirut where Hezbollah is based, saying they were buildings linked to the group.

Israeli attacks have also hit the south, where an Israeli ground invasion is advancing, and the east, where air strikes in the city of Baalbek killed at least 15 people, including four children.

Lebanese officials say a ‘bunker buster’ bomb was used in the devastating strike.

In AKZ-L (Lebanon), more than 3,670 people have been killed and at least 15,400 injured since Oct 2023, with more than one million forced from their homes. With the onset of winter, more innocent and homeless Arabs will die of exposure. The IDF has killed scores of Lebanese medics while destroying the country’s medical infrastructure. PIFWC Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party have certainly incubated the next two generations of anti-Israelis and antisemites. Netanyahu can’t wait until Donald Trump becomes POTUS next year. But having a Democratic president in the White House these past four years haven’t really stalled or delayed the Likud Party’s plans to ethnically cleanse Israel of Palestinians anyway.

The imminent and unholy Repub-Likud alliance in 2025 will also bode poorly again for Iranians and chances of a lasting peace in the Middle East.

Sources:

Israel hits Lebanon with widespread bombing and shelling, killing at least 47 – UPI.com

‘Are we not humans?’: Anger in Beirut as massive Israeli strike kills 20

Israel: Fanatical Settlers Attack IDF Major-General Avi Bluth in West Bank

This past weekend, lunatic Settlers in the West Bank attacked IDF Central Command Major-General Avi Bluth, ludicrously calling him a “traitor” and “Israel hater.”

Head of IDF Central Command Major-General Avi Bluth. He escaped unharmed and must have been shocked to face an intifada from the very citizens he has sworn to protect and defend.

Since Oct 2023, Israeli security forces and fanatical Settlers have killed at least 763 Palestinians in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) to facilitate the seizure of lands and homes by religious zealots. A few of these maniacs possibly like the Settler pictured below have been sanctioned by the Biden Administration.

Palestinian Alice Kisiya (R), whose family land was taken over by armed Israeli settlers, confronts a rabid Settler in the area of al-Makhrour in the occupied West Bank, near Beit Jala, on 22 Aug 2024. (Photo: AFP / Hazem Bader)

The above pictured Israelis celebrate the death of Palestinian resistance leader Yahya Sinwar at a southern kibbutz, 17 Oct 2024. Note the elation on the faces of the celebrants as if this was V-E Day 1945. They are unaware of twice-GOP Presidential candidate NYS Governor Thomas E. Dewey’s famous words, “You can’t shoot an idea with a gun,” as if the IDF killing of one man erases Palestinian nationalism. Urbane Israelis in Ramat Aviv or Haifa wonder how much taxes these kibbutzers pay or whether they ever served in the IDF like them or MG Avi Bluth. (Photo: AP)

Above, Israeli Police officers arrest an ultra-Orthodox Jew as they block a main road during a protest against IDF conscription in Jerusalem, 19 Oct 2017. Israeli police arrested 40 people in protests by a fringe group within Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. (Photo: Ariel Schalit / AP)

Israeli border police stand guard near Orthodox Jews in the Old City’s Christian quarter, after an incident in which Haredi Orthodox Jews spat at a Christian procession carrying a cross through Jerusalem’s Old City in 2023. Israeli police arrested five suspects. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Ultra-Orthodox Jews defied COVID regulations. Above, Israeli security forces arrest an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man as they close a synagogue in Jerusalem (Mar 2020). COVID infection rates in ultra-Orthodox communities were markedly higher than the rest of Israel. (Photo: Ahmad Gharabli / AFP / Getty Images)

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man (L) and a secular man (R) above argue during a protest against the strict religious codes favored by the ultra-Orthodox in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. (Photo: Reuters/Landov)

So, is it any wonder that an IDF Major-General may be attacked by his own people when you see the fanaticism emanating from the religious sectors of Israel? Many military veterans have favorite commanders or generals and Coriolanus is no exception. I can’t imagine being in a security detail or in the entourage of my favorite (unnamed) general under attack by maniacs. Luckily MG Avi Bluth and his staff escaped unharmed.

For years Israel has been undergoing a political civil war between secularists and fundamentalists, ultra-nationalists and peace activists, Sabras and newcomers, Ashkenazis and Sephardics, and Likudniks versus Laborites. So far, the religious right-wing and their coalition have been winning in the kaleidoscope of the Knesset, keeping Israeli Crime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in power (for now).

Besides facing an international arrest warrant for war crimes, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will be facing a criminal or Knesset inquiry into his handling of the 7 Oct 2023 surprise attack which killed more than 1,200 citizens and the capture of over 200 hostages.

Sources:

Israel: Some ultra-Orthodox Jews are ignoring the coronavirus rules | CNN

Israelis Clash Over Strict Religious Codes |

Israeli police arrest 5 Jews for allegedly spitting on Christian pilgrims amid spate of attacks – Jewish Telegraphic Agency

US issues new batch of sanctions targeting West Bank settlers amid rampant violence | The Times of Israel

Passengers Stop Man from Opening American Airlines Plane Cabin Door Mid-Flight

Passengers on American Airlines Flight 1219 stopped a Canadian man who allegedly tried to open the airplane’s cabin door mid-flight by restraining him with duct tape and flex cuffs.

The suspect reportedly told a flight attendant he needed to exit the plane and began acting erratically when he was denied.

The man tried to open an emergency door while the jetliner was airborne.

“He was sitting at the emergency exit and he cracked open the window that was protecting the handle,” reported a passenger. “He ripped down the handle where it exposed some of the emergency exit and all the wind came rushing down.”

“The guy was screaming ‘I want to get out,’” reported a witness.

The unhinged man allegedly assaulted a flight attendant, injuring her wrist and neck.

A passenger sprung into action by restraining the man and securing him with duct tape and flex cuffs provided by the crew. The suspect remained restrained on the floor for the rest of the flight.

After landing, law enforcement and FBI agents boarded the plane to detain the man for a medical evaluation. The flight attendant was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, while the suspect was taken off the plane in a wheelchair.

The FAA and FBI are working together to investigate the incident further. No charges have been filed.

“The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we thank our team members and customers for managing a difficult situation,” American Airlines said.

Luckily enough passengers had the wherewithal to overcome and restrain the unhinged man before a catastrophe occurred. Air travel remains one of the safest methods of travel, but occasional incidents like this challenge aviation security experts to come up with non-lethal solutions to neutralize unruly or dangerous passengers without harming innocent people or endangering the flight.

Source:

Passengers Stop Man from Opening Plane Door Mid-Flight By Duct Taping His Wrists And Ankles Together: Officials | IBTimes

Man subdued on an American Airlines flight after trying to open an emergency exit | CTV News

North Korean Defector: NK Soldiers Will Desert ASAP in Ukraine

North Korean supremo Kim Jong-un meets with his loyal and adoring troops in Mar 2024 (Photo: AP)

Entire units of North Korea’s troops fighting for Vladimir Putin will desert as soon as they get to the frontline, a defector has claimed.

Hyun-Seung Lee, spent 3 1/2 years with an artillery and reconnaissance battalion in the early 2000s. His time in the army included training for six months alongside the Storm Corps. Lee says the troops in Russia will be looking to escape the battle in Ukraine “from the beginning.”

Leaked footage shows the North Koreans (AKA “Norks”) training in Russia (Credit: Telegram)

He believes the troops are not ready for the frontline and will be used as “human shields” by Russian soldiers in “meat attacks.”

Kim Jong-un has sent his Storm Corps, the country’s equivalent of special forces, to fight for the Kremlin as his war continues to stall. The 10,000-strong force is set to be used on the battlefield in the coming days as the Russian tyrant looks to claw back Kursk.

Questions have been raised about how well the North Korean soldiers will fight having not seen combat since the Vietnam War and with the units armed, clothed, and led by the Russians.

In one clip the Norks appear to be practicing Russian (Credit: Telegram)

Lee said the young soldiers in North Korea will have been forced to go and they won’t be that committed to the fighting.

He said: “It will be individuals at first, but more like as time passes, I think there’ll be like a larger number of group defections, including officers.”

That’s because, Lee says, the Russians will likely treat them as “expendable” and even more poorly than their own troops.

He said: “Russian soldiers don’t respect them as their fellow warriors and the NORKs will die without any impact.”

North Korean soldiers could be thinking twice about defecting as it could see their families thrown in prison. Pyongyang has a guilty by association policy; if the North’s soldiers are seen defecting by colleagues their families could be put in jail.

Lee said: “They would be socially not respected, there’s criticism [they would face] from the community and organizations.”

High-ranking families would likely face a more severe punishment if authorities knew their relative had fled.

But Lee, whose family fled Pyongyang in 2014, said some families might not even know their brother, son or father are in Russia fighting as North Korea keeps all troop movements secret. The troops will be watched over by a Worker’s Party political officer who will administer two hours of ideological training a day.

Inside North Inside North Korea’s ‘Elite’ Storm Corp Special Forces

The Storm Corps is made of ten units, including a sniper’s unit, a light infantry unit, and a paratroopers unit, according to Lee Hyun Seung.

Lee emphasized they are not comparable to Western special forces. He said North Korea didn’t have the equipment to continually train troops for combat as ammunition and bombs would need replacing.

Instead, they trained “for show” so they could march in parades or for propaganda videos. Lee said those soldiers are drawn from North Korea’s working class and will be ambivalent about fighting for the regime.

The defector added: “They are just seeking food and then they’re seeking career advancement. I’m sure nowadays, these, you know, young soldiers they don’t have like a real loyalty to the regime. They just got order command from the Supreme Commander, and then they have no choice but to, you know, [go] to Russia.”

Ukrainian military intelligence had leaked to the press that a score of North Korean soldiers had already deserted but were soon recaptured by Russian security services. Another report suggested that up to 40 NK troops had been killed in recent fighting in Kursk. Coriolanus posted that the Ukrainian military targeted a Russian command and control center and possibly wounded a North Korean general and other HVTs. The Ukrainians will continue using their PSYOP program to induce defections and undermine the morale of the NORKs while targeting their HVTs. Kiev has less than two months to catastrophically damage the Russian and North Korean armies before Trump takes over the White House and kowtows to Vladimir Putin.

Source:

I was a North Korean soldier – Kim’s terrified troops will FLEE Putin’s army when they reach Ukraine frontline – The US Sun | The US Sun

Cluster of Ventura County, CA Farmworkers Diagnosed with Rare Leptospirosis

Ventura County lies west of Los Angeles, CA.

Ventura County public health officials said they’re investigating a rare and potentially severe disease diagnosed in several workers in county berry fields.

The illness, leptospirosis, is caused by bacteria found in contaminated water or soil. The disease can be spread by urine from animals including rodents and livestock.

In severe cases, the condition can cause kidney damage, liver failure, or meningitis and can be fatal.

Public health officials report the local cases appeared to have emerged between Sep 2024 and Nov 2024. They do not know the exact cause but said farmworkers harvesting or handling berries grown under hoops may be at higher risk of infection.

There are 18 cases, but the numbers are fluctuating. Some of the cases have been confirmed and others are presumed to be leptospirosis.

Farm worker. (Photo: VCStar)

Public health officials said leptospirosis is not considered a risk to the general public as the illness is not spread from person to person and it’s safe to eat berries.

Some patients reported severe symptoms like meningitis, an infection that can cause inflammation of membrane around the brain and spinal cord. Other cases involved mild symptoms like headache and fever.

Public health strongly advised agricultural workers and employers to take precautions to reduce the risk of leptospirosis:

Wear waterproof protective clothing and equipment while working outdoors including gloves, long-sleeved shirts, pants and boots or shoes.
Cover cuts and scratches with waterproof bandaging.
Wash hands, arms and exposed skin thoroughly with soap and water after working in the fields, especially before eating or drinking.
Employers should take measures to keep pest populations under control.

Officials inform that rodents are the most common source of the disease but livestock, dogs and cats can also be infected. People should keep pets away from ponds, lakes and other natural bodies of water and prompt veterinary care for animals that become sick.

The CDC reports that some infected people may have no symptoms. Leptospirosis sometimes occurs in two phases with initial symptoms that improve but are followed by more severe conditions like kidney/liver failure or meningitis.

An estimated one million severe cases of leptospirosis in humans occur every year, causing about 58,900 deaths. The disease is most common in tropical areas of the world but may occur anywhere. Outbreaks may arise after heavy rainfall.

Sources:

Cluster of Locally Acquired Leptospirosis Infections – Ventura County Public Health

Public health investigates cluster of leptospirosis infections

About Leptospirosis | Leptospirosis | CDC

Leptospirosis – Wikipedia

First Freight Train from China Arrives in Afghanistan as Beijing Increases Ties

A direct freight train link between Afghanistan and China was inaugurated this month. (File photo)

The first train carrying goods from China to Afghanistan arrived in Mazar-e Sharif on 23 Nov after crossing through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Kabul reported. The Taliban said 55 containers arrived in Afghanistan after a 22-day journey, marking the inauguration of the first direct train link between China and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The train is expected to take Afghan goods back to China for sale there. Since the Taliban returned to power in Aug 2021, no country, including China, has formally recognized the extremist group — which has been accused of massive rights violations — but Beijing has attempted to increase ties as part of its economic push in the region, including its Belt and Road initiative.

Central Asia Rail Routes Map courtesy of Ansher Global

China, the world’s factory, is also building a massive railway system on the Dark Continent which will connect east and west Africa, a concept the previous European colonial powers never conceived.

China has pledged $75 billion of funding to Africa and her projects have employed tens of thousands of Ethiopians and Djiboutians.

The West is involved in devastating and costly wars while Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative is quietly and peacefully securing China’s future economic hegemony. Beijing will soon have access to critical minerals in Afghanistan needed for the telecommunications and computer manufacturing industries.

Ukrainians are fighting for their very survival from the Kremlin onslaught while the US wastes precious economic and military resources funding Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians while the IDF devastates Lebanon with US-provided weapons. The US already wasted billions of dollars fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan while China invested her time and resources wisely to expand her influence globally while subtly beginning her conquest of space.

Sources:

Keynote Address by Helga Zepp-LaRouche to Conference: U.S.-China Cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative and Corresponding Ideas in Chinese and Western Philosophy 4/13-4/14/2017 NYC

Freight Train Arrives In Afghanistan From China As Beijing Looks To Increase Ties

Simultaneous Comeuppance for Two Right-Wing Doppelgangers

Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro (R) and his Floridian doppelganger ex-Congressman Matt Gaetz (L)

Last week Brazil’s federal police charged former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and 36 accomplices of being part of a criminal conspiracy designed to obliterate Brazil’s democratic system through a right-wing coup d’état attempt on 8 Jan 2023. Bolsonaro had proudly described himself as the “Trump of Brazil,” had accelerated the arboricide of the earth’s lings, the Amazon Rain Forest, for the sake of making money.

Among the accused are Bolsonaro’s former spy chief, as well as a cadre of senior defense, foreign affairs, and justice ministers. Also charged are a far-right congressman and blogger.

In a scene quite similar to the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021, Jair Bolsonaro supporters generate chaos in Brasilia, Brazil, by invading the Supreme Court, National Congress, and the Planalto Palace on Sunday, 8 Jan 2023. Mounted police and helicopters helped safeguard democracy. (Photo: Mateus Bonomi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Meanwhile to the north, Bolsonaro’s American junior doppelganger received a concomitant bit of comeuppance. Reactionary Trump acolyte Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) rashly resigned his congressional seat after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be his Attorney-General. His annual salary was approximately $174,000. Matt Gaetz, previously arrested on DUI charges in 2008 which his father allegedly influenced the case in his favor, was embroiled in a congressional Ethics Committee investigation and was confident his sins would remain secret from the American public. Joel Greenberg, an accomplice of Matt Gaetz, was already and convicted and sentenced to 11 years for sex trafficking of a minor and a litany of other crimes.

Official Press Release from Ethics Committee (18 June 2024):

“On April 9, 2021, the Committee announced it had initiated a review into allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct”.

For years, Republicans successfully prevented the release of the damaging investigation findings of Congressman Gaetz’s alleged peccadillos and acts of moral turpitude. When a reporter from CNN asked Gaetz about reports of a second sexual encounter with a 17-year-old girl, six minutes later Gaetz withdrew his nomination to be President-elect Donald Trump’s next attorney general.

Both right-wing disgraced doppelgangers Jair Bolsonaro and MAGA militant Matt Gaetz are considered innocent of all charges and accusations until both defendants are proven guilty in their respective courts of law.

“The moral arc of the university is long, but it bends towards justice.”

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/21/jair-bolsonaro-charged-coup-plot

The rise and fall of Matt Gaetz in eight wild days

Friend of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz sentenced to 11 years in prison in sex trafficking case

Cat Rescued After Five Days Stuck Up Tree

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Adams County Pet Rescue (@acprdogs)

Canada: Indian Home Minister Amit Shah Behind Anti-Sikh Campaign

(Undated photo of Amit Shah: PTI)

Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison told Parliament that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada. Morrison did not elaborate on how Canada knew of Shah’s alleged involvement.

PM Justin Trudeau said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023. Canadian authorities have repeatedly said they have shared evidence of that with Indian authorities.

Indian government officials have repeatedly denied Canada has provided evidence and have called the allegations absurd. India’s embassy in Ottawa didn’t immediately respond to messages for a request for comment on the allegation against Shah.

On 14 Oct, Canada expelled the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats, alleging they were persons of interest in multiple cases of coercion, intimidation and violence aimed at quieting a campaign for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan.

Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination on foreign soil. The FBI announced criminal charges in mid-October against an Indian government employee in connection with an alleged foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in NYC.

Vikash Yadav, who authorities say directed the NYC plot from India, faces murder-for-hire charges in a planned killing that prosecutors have previously said was meant to precede a string of other politically motivated murders in the US and Canada.

Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau’s national security adviser, said Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.

She said the information was then passed to the government in New Delhi, which allegedly works with a criminal network affiliated with Lawrence Bishnoi.

Bishnoi is currently in prison in India, but Drouin said his vast criminal network has been linked to homicides, assassination plots, coercion and other violent crimes in Canada.

Before the RCMP went public with allegations that Indian diplomats were persons of interest in criminal investigations, Drouin said there was an effort to work with the Indian government to ensure accountability, but it became evident the Indian government would not cooperate with Canada

The RCMP took the extraordinary step of talking publicly about ongoing investigations because of threats to public safety. The Indian government denies the allegations and has expelled six Canadian diplomats in return.

Hardeep Nijjar Singh (45) was fatally shot in his pickup truck after he left the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, BC. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland. Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Niijar’s murder and are awaiting trial.

Where Khalistan would be were it a country. Approximately 21,000,000 Sikhs live in India, the majority in Punjab State (16,000,000); 16,000 Sikhs reside in Pakistan; nearly 772,000 Sikhs call Canada their home.

There are probably less than 100 Sikhs remaining in Afghanistan. (Photo: Andrew Scheer)

The idea of creating an independent Sikh homeland (Khalistan) has existed for decades. When India became independent, Hindus had a homeland (India) and Muslims carved out a homeland (West and East Pakistan), but Sikhs were left out. The chances of achieving an independent Sikh state are as remote as an independent Kurdistan emerging in the Middle East. But brutal Indian repression of Sikhs will fill the ranks of their many pro-secession organizations.

India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1983.

At the height of Sikh extremism in the 1980s, on 31 Oct 1984 (today), Indira Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi by her two personal security guards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, both Sikhs, in retaliation for Operation Blue Star. And in June 1985, Canada suffered its worst terrorist incident when Sikh terrorists bombed Air India Flight 182 killing 268 Canadians, 27 Brits, and 22 Indians.

As previously posted here on Coriolanus, we see the murderous regime of Indian PM Nahendra Modi at work. He is following the playbook of any rightwing despot, like Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, North Korean supremo Kim Jong-Un, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping: eliminate enemies of the state. But as GOP Presidential candidate NYS Governor Thomas E. Dewey said in 1948: “You can’t shoot an idea with a gun.”

Baltej Singh Dhillon made history as the first turbaned Sikh officer in the RCMP. (Undated photo).

Sources:

Canada alleges Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered campaign targeting Sikh separatists – ABC News (go.com)

Statement by the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs on the RCMP’s findings regarding criminal activity in Canada with connections to agents of the Government of India – Canada.ca

China Declares Success: Youngest Astronauts Reach Space

Taikonauts (L-R) Wang Haoze, Song Lingdong and Cai Xuzhe before the launch (Photo: EFE)

A Chinese spacecraft with a three-person crew, including the country’s first female space engineer, has docked after a journey of more than six hours.

The crew will use the homegrown space station as a base for six months to conduct experiments and carry out spacewalks as Beijing gathers experience and intelligence for its eventual mission to put someone on the Moon by 2030.

Beijing declared the launch of Shenzhou-19 a “complete success” – it is one of 100 launches China has planned in a record year of space exploration as it tries to outdo its rival, the US.

The BBC was given rare access to the Jiuquan Satellite launch center in Gansu and we were just over a kilometer away when the spacecraft blasted off.

Flames shot out of the rocket launcher as it took to the skies, lighting up the Gobi Desert with a deafening roar.

Hundreds of people lined the streets, waving and cheering the names of the taikonauts, China’s word for astronauts, as they were sent off.

At the Tiangong space station, the Shenzhou-19 crew met with three other astronauts who are manning the Shenzhou-18 and will return to Earth on 4 Nov.

Just two years ago, President Xi Jinping declared that “to explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry and build China into a space power is our eternal dream.”

But some in Washington see the country’s ambition and fast-paced progress as a real threat.

Earlier this year, NASA chief Bill Nelson said the US and China were “in effect, in a race” to return to the Moon, where he fears Beijing wants to stake territorial claims.

D/NASA told Congress that he believed Beijing’s civilian space program is camouflaging a military program.

This Chinese space plane can reportedly travel at hypersonic speed.

While the US wasted trillions of dollars and American military lives in the beginning of the 21^st century waging two wars against Iraq and Afghanistan, China quietly and steadily used their immense resources wisely to begin their conquest of space. Meanwhile, NASA has contracted out a large portion of its space program to zillionarie megalomaniac Elon Musk, a man in secret contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. To read more of this South African’s nefarious activities, please see previous posts from Coriolanus.

Source:

China declares success as its youngest astronauts reach space (bbc.com)

Over Hatred, Three Youngsters Flush Their Lives Away; Two in US, One in UK

As China is sending their youth into the cosmos, the US and UK sent three youngsters into the dumpster.

First, the UK.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana (18) and his three child victims.

A teenager accused of killing three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for young children in the United Kingdom has been charged with possessing an al Qaeda training manual and ricin poison.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana (18) already faces three murder charges, ten counts of attempted murder and one count of knife possession. The new charges were filed under the UK’s Terrorism Act.

The poison and PDF study, “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The al Qaeda Training Manual,” were found during a search of Rudakubana’s home.

Tests later confirmed the substance found was ricin. The risk of exposure to the public was low said the UK Health Security Agency and there was no evidence that any victims, first responders, or members of the public were exposed to ricin.

Rudakubana allegedly committed the 29 July stabbing spree that killed three girls — Alice Dasilva Aguiar (9), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Bebe King (6) – and injured several others, in Southport, a town north of Liverpool. Merseyside Police did not declare the events a terror incident because no motive has been determined, authorities said during a news conference in Liverpool.

(Map: Courtesy of getthedata.com)

His victims: (L-R) Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar were killed during a Taylor Swift-themed dance event. The teen suspect faces numerous charges related to the slaying. (Photos: Merseyside Police)

Rudakubana‘s attacks sparked widespread protests and riots across the country amid inaccurate reports the suspect was an asylum seeker. A police van burns as an unruly crowd clashed with police 30 Jul 2024, in Southport, northwest England, near where three girls were stabbed to death in a dance class. (Richard McCarthy/PA via AP)

Rudakubana was born in England to Rwandan parents. Despite being a minor at the time of the stabbings, a judge lifted restrictions that prevented the reporting of his name.

Rudakubana, obviously in need of intensive psychiatric care, killed three innocent children who had just barely begun their lives. Too bad UK authorities weren’t able to intervene before his stabbing spree and indoctrination into al-Qaida. Now he has caused irreparable harm to three families forced to bury their daughters. His actions also led to riots, arson, and looting against innocent immigrants in the UK.

Now, the US.

Neptune Beach Florida Police arrested braces-wearing Caleb James Williams (18) who was wielding a machete with an 18-inch blade outside a polling station in Florida as part of a mob of teenagers accused of intimidating Democratic supporters. The US election is mere days away.

Williams was arrested on charges of aggravated assault for allegedly brandishing his weapon at two unidentified women, ages 71 and 54, and improper exhibition of a weapon.

We cannot see acme-prone 18-year-old Caleb James Williams braces as he is not smiling in his mugshot. (Neptune Beach Florida Police Dept)

While his high school classmates are enjoying Florida State University, Caleb will be enjoying Florida State Penitentiary in a few months.

In NYC, a 23-year-old woman was indicted on hate crime and assault charges for pepper spraying a 45-year-old Uber driver in an anti-Muslim attack in NYC. As the Uber driver approached a red light, he began praying in Arabic. Jennifer Guilbeault lunged forward toward the driver’s seat, holding a can of pepper spray. The idiot sprayed Shohel Mahmoud in the face, causing burning, redness and pain.

Jennifer Guilbeault pepper spraying Shohel Mahmoud (Image: Social media)

Thousands of young people drown every year trying get to the US, Australia, Canada, or the EU for a chance at a better life; some just want to live one more day. Those young migrants would have loved to have just one-tenth of the breaks privileged Caleb and Jennifer had growing up in the US.

In 2023, at least 8,565 people died on migration routes worldwide according to the IOM. Undated photo of unfortunate refugees courtesy of the Vatican News Service.

The charges against Caleb James Williams and Jennifer Guilbeault are merely allegations and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

All three of these youngsters (between 18 and 23) have flushed away their lives over hatred, stupidity, and/or mental illness. Muganwa Rudakubana will most likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. But Caleb James Williams and Jennifer Guilbeault will one day be released from prison, assuming the two will be convicted and imprisoned for their felonies. But police records, like the internet, are forever, GOP VPOTUS candidate JD Vance is finding out now. Who would ever hire, date, matriculate into higher education, or marry Jennifer and Caleb?

Sources:

UK teen charged in stabbing found with al Qaeda material, poison, police say | Fox News

Teen Accused in U.K. Taylor Swift Dance Class Stabbing Charged With Terror Offenses – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Florida Teen Wielded Machete Outside Polling Station (politicalwire.com)

https://manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-announces-hate-crimes-indictment-of-woman-for-pepper-spraying-uber-driver-on-the-upper-east-side/

America’s Defense Contractors Failing Basic Cybersecurity Which China is Exploiting

A new report from Merrill Research states that only four percent of defense contractors are fully prepared to meet the DoD minimum cybersecurity requirements known as the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). These requirements represent basic cyber hygiene, not cutting-edge tools — yet the vast majority of contractors fail to meet even these minimum standards.

The US faces an unprecedented and persistent cyber threat, particularly from China. Recently, hackers linked to Beijing breached several US internet service providers in an attack dubbed Salt Typhoon. This latest intrusion is part of a broader wave of sophisticated cyber campaigns orchestrated by China, including Volt Typhoon and Flax Typhoon, which have penetrated critical sectors ranging from energy to telecommunications.

D/FBI Christopher Wray bluntly stated, “China’s hacking program is larger than that of every other major nation, combined.”

The gap between what Americans believe about the security of our defense contractors and the grim reality exposed by the Merrill report should alarm everyone.

The CMMC is the digital equivalent of locking your doors at night. Multi-factor authentication and patch management are fundamental requirements, yet the Merrill report shows that only 21% of defense contractors use multi-factor authentication, which most civilians need to log into their social media accounts, and a dismal 15% have implemented patch management, which ensures that software vulnerabilities are regularly updated.

The disconnect between belief and reality is stark. While 75% of contractors believe they are compliant, their reported cybersecurity readiness tells a different story. The average Supplier Performance Risk System score across surveyed contractors is a staggering -12, far below the required 110 to meet CMMC standards. This isn’t just a compliance failure; it’s a national security crisis.

If these contractors — many of them responsible for safeguarding classified data and developing our military’s most advanced technology — are this unprepared, what does that say about the rest of the US critical infrastructure?

The defense industrial base is one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors in the US, alongside other essential industries like energy, healthcare, and financial services. These sectors are integral to the functioning of our nation.

The Salt Typhoon, Volt Typhoon, and Flax Typhoon attacks highlight just how deeply Chinese cyber operatives are infiltrating that critical infrastructure. According to the USIC, China’s ultimate goal is to disrupt America’s ability to respond to military crises, particularly in the event of a conflict over Taiwan. Chinese hackers could paralyze our power grids, disrupt water systems, or compromise defense communications.

Contractors that remain non-compliant could be shut out from future DoD contracts and subject to False Claims Act penalties if they had previously attested to being compliant. Now that the DOD has aligned contractor profit incentives with national security interests, there may be fewer breaches like Salt Typhoon.

The Chinese government has demonstrated its intent and capability to exploit any weaknesses in America’s critical infrastructure and contractors must recognize that cybersecurity is more than just a regulatory box to check.

As we read above, China is making tremendous strides into space thanks to Research and Development (R & D), but also thanks to espionage, hacking, and intellectual property theft.

Sources:

info.cybersheath.com/eBook-Third-Annual-Merrill-Research-Report-op-ed?utm_source=media_outlet_NextGov_FCW&utm_medium=article_op-ed&utm_campaign=merrill_research_report

America’s defense contractors are failing basic cybersecurity and China is exploiting it – Nextgov/FCW

Spain Battles Deadliest Flooding Disaster in Decades as Death Toll Rises

Spain deployed more than 1,000 troops to help with rescue efforts but many crews remain cut-off from towns by flooded roads and downed communication and power lines.

Spain is enduring its worst flooding disaster in decades with at least 95 people dead and dozens more missing after huge rains swept the eastern province of Valenica and beyond.

Torrential rain triggered flash floods which swept away bridges and buildings and forced people to climb onto roofs or cling to trees to survive.

President Pedro Sánchez has declared three days of national mourning as the wild conditions continue, restricting some rescue efforts.

The death toll is feared to climb as “many people are still missing.”

The churning floodwaters swept away hundreds of cars in Valencia. Guillermo Serrano Pérez (21) said the water had rushed down a highway “like a tsunami” forcing him and his parents to abandon their car and climb onto a bridge to survive. (Photo: AP)

In his national address, President Sanchez urged citizens to remain vigilant and pledged a full recovery, telling victims: “The whole of Spain weeps with you… we won’t abandon you”.

His government is yet to make an explicit link between the “unprecedented” extreme weather and climate change but scientists tell the BBC it is clear that global temperature rise made the downpours worse.

One of the first-hit towns near Valencia, Chiva, reported one year’s worth of rainfall in just a period of eight hours according to national weather agency Aemet.

As Spanish army and emergency crews rushed to carry out rescues on Wednesday morning- including winching people to safety from balconies and car rooftops- survivors in Valencia recounted the horror of the floods on Tuesday night.

Sudden surges turned streets and roads into rivers- catching many motorists unaware.

Source:

Scores dead after torrential rain in Spain’s Valencia region (bbc.com)

Oregon: First Case of Avian Flu Found in Pig

A severe form of bird flu has been detected for the first time in a pig on a small unidentified farm in Crook County in central Oregon.

The same strain – highly pathogenic avian influenza – has turned up in backyard and commercial flocks across the US. Hundreds of cows have also been infected, along with some people who worked around the infected animals.

Two of the latest cases of human infection were announced last week in Washington state. The CDC confirmed that two people working in a commercial egg farm in Franklin County in south-central Washington were infected.

But this is the first time the virus has crossed over to pigs. The National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the presence of the strain in one of five pigs on the farm. Results on the other four pigs are pending. The testing can take a little while because the CDC analyzes the DNA of the virus.

The farm also has backyard birds that became infected. State and national officials humanely euthanized all 70 of the birds and the five pigs to prevent further spread of the disease. None of the meat entered the food supply chain – it is not a commercial farm – and it was not intended for retail.

The discovery of the virus in pigs potentially could be a concern in Iowa, the top pork-producing state in the country. But Chris Rademache, a clinical professor in the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, was not worried by the Oregon case.

“This is a very unique case,” Rademache said.

Rademache said the situation in Oregon involved a backyard pig, not intended for consumption, which was in close contact with poultry and domestic waterfowl, which is “a very different situation” than a hog farming operation.

He said pork producers are aware of the need to separate poultry and hogs, and they “do a good job” of that. Additionally, Rademache said the state has a “robust” monitoring and testing program to catch any sort of outbreak.

“Pork continues to be safe to eat,” Rademache said.

Oregonians raise about 3,000 pigs every year and at least one just became infected with bird flu. (Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Agriculture)

The property was quarantined and state officials are conducting surveillance at the site. The agriculture department also has provided the owners with protective gear to avoid further infection, and officials are educating and monitoring the exposed individuals.

State officials didn’t say how many people might have been exposed. Many people develop mild respiratory symptoms, including a runny nose, sore throat and cough. People can also get conjunctivitis – or “pink eye.” Some people who’ve been infected have become severely ill and have required hospitalization.

The current strain of the virus that’s circulating in the US and worldwide is endemic in wild birds, causing outbreaks in poultry, wild mammals, including seals and sea lions, along with domestic animals and dairy cows. Avian flu has been confirmed in dairy cattle in 14 states, including California and Idaho. Oregon has not had any cases in dairy cattle. The number of cases of human infections is relatively low.

Food safety officials recommend properly cooking meat and eggs to kill the virus along with other harmful bugs like E. coli, which can be deadly. The CDC also recommends pasteurizing milk and dairy products to kill pathogens. Check the USDA website for food safety tips.

State officials expect the measures taken at the farm will end the outbreak, but they advised others to take precautions to prevent their animals from becoming infected.

Source:

First case of bird flu in pig discovered on small Oregon farm (yahoo.com)

Kazakh Experts Sound Alarm Over Mysterious Mass Deaths of Caspian Seals

The Caspian Sea, bordered by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan, is rich in oil and gas reserves.

The unexplained deaths of scores of Caspian seals in Kazakhstan’s Manghystau region is raising alarm bells among local authorities and scientists.

As of 29 Oct 289 seal carcasses had been found along the coastline over the previous five days, prompting urgent monitoring efforts by the Interregional Fishery Inspection of the Ural-Caspian Basin and experts from the Institute of Hydrobiology and Ecology.

Seal researcher Asel Baimuqanova said some of the dead seals showed signs of trauma. Although the exact cause of death remains unclear, Baimuqanova noted that several seals were pregnant, adding urgency to the investigation.

(Undated photo: RFE/RL)

Caspian seals are the only marine mammals in the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water. Once numbering over a million in the early 20th century, their population has now dwindled to an estimated 70,000 due to overhunting and pollution.

Since late September, dedicated scientific teams have conducted daily inspections along the Tupqaraghan Peninsula’s western coast to investigate the unexplained surge in mortality rates.

The discovery of the dead seals follows a similar event in April, when 27 seal carcasses were found in the area, which was attributed to storm-related beaching. Authorities suspect those seals may have died at sea before washing ashore.

Pollution from hydrocarbon extraction and declining water levels have been threatening both local species and the sea’s ecological future, according to experts.

Animal die-offs sometimes remain a mystery to researchers, whether it’s a flock of birds found dead or whales beaching themselves. Pesticides and poisons have been attributed to some bird die-offs and sonar interference may contribute to whale beachings. Necropsies will reveal whether poisons, pollution, or pathogens killed these poor creatures.

Source:

Kazakh Experts Sound Alarm Over Mysterious Mass Deaths Of Caspian Seals (rferl.org)

Beautiful Black Halloween Cat Has Most Unique Orange Eyes

Arab Killing Zones (AKZ): IDF Strikes Kill 115 in North Gaza, 60 in Lebanon

Palestinian first responders remove a body from the rubble of a five-story residential building hit by an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on 29 Oct 2024. (Photo: AFP)

Palestinian health officials said an Israeli airstrike Tuesday hit a five-story residential building in northern Gaza, killing at least 115 people.

The Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and to a great extent the West Bank, is an “AKZ” or “Arab Killing Zone” for the Likud Party and the IDF. The Israeli term is “Nakba,” which is Arabic for “catastrophe.” Over the past 24 hours, the IDF liquidated 175 victims in the AKZ without trial, judicial hearing, or concern for collateral damage and nearby innocent victims. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch use the term “XJK,” short for “Extra-Judicial Killings.” The Likud Party definition of “co-existence” with Arabs is child-like in simplicity: “We exist, you do not.”

In the northern sector of the IDF AKZ, at least 60 people were liquidated in IDF attacks on Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley. Two children were among those killed in strikes which targeted 12 areas in the Baalbek region. 58 Arabs were wounded and rescue efforts were under way. Baalbek governor Bachie Khodr called the attacks the “most violent” in the area since Israel began its “special military operation” against Hezbollah last month.

Map: BBC News.

Israel has carried out thousands of air strikes across the northern AKZ (Lebanon) over the past five weeks. Unverified video posted on social media showed damage to buildings and forests ablaze, as rescuers searched for the injured.

Hezbollah fighters resisted Israeli troops near Lebanon’s southern border and fired rockets at a naval base inside Israel near Haifa.

Cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah broke out after the armed Lebanese group started firing rockets in and around northern Israel in support of Palestinians on 8 Oct 2023, the day after its ally conducted a brazen raid to seize Israeli citizens in order to conduct a future prisoner swap. Over 2,000 Palestinians (may be more by other accounts) had been held in IDF security detention without hearing or trial according to Amnesty International.

Israel invaded the northern AKZ (Lebanon) in a dramatic escalation on 30 Sep to destroy Hezbollah weapons and infrastructure in “limited, localised, targeted raids.” But Israeli Likud PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s “special military operation” has internally displaced up to 1.3 million Lebanese people, killing 2,600 of them and wounding over 12,400 in the AKZ. Lebanon’s medical infrastructure is being destroyed by the IDF in what Beirut says is deliberate and a war crime under the Geneva Convention.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized legislation passed by the Israeli parliament banning the main UN aid agency for the Palestinians, UNRWA. The law is set to go into effect in 90 days, which Guterres said “could have devastating consequences” for Palestinian refugees.

The Likud Party and the IDF do not want witnesses to ethnic cleansing nor do they want Palestinians to receive any humanitarian or medical assistance. We are witnessing the Gaza Strip become the most inhospitable place in the universe for human beings.

In the north AKZ, the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah announced that Sheikh Naim Kassem is its new leader, following the killing of longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in a Sep 2024 Israeli airstrike in Beirut.

The group’s Shura Council elected Kassem, announcing that these Shia Muslims would continue Nasrallah’s policies of resistance to Israel and support for Sunni Palestinians. Kassem served as Hezbollah’s deputy leader for more than three decades.

Israel’s Nakba against Gaza, the southern and western portion of the AKZ, has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians (half of them women and children). Israel alleges the death toll includes thousands of terrorists. At this rate, by year’s end approximately 50,000 Palestinians would have been eradicated while 150,000 will have been maimed. The Israeli Nakba campaign has devastated much of the Gaza Strip, while the fighting and Israeli evacuation orders have displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million Arabs.

Rene Lichtman, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, said on 24 Jan 2024: “Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza. We’ve got to fight back.”

Holocaust survivor Rene Lichtman at a protest against Israel’s Nakba against Gaza. (WSWS© Photo: New York Post)

Monsieur Lichtman, these brave young Israeli teenagers below may have heard you.

Israeli conscientious objectors. Approximately 63 high school students signed a public letter declaring that they will refuse to be drafted into the IDF to participate in the Nakba. One brave young man has already been imprisoned for refusing induction into the IDF. (Image by AFSC.org)

Meanwhile, International Criminal Court (ICC) war crimes prosecutor Karim Khan KC is patiently awaiting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and DM Yoav Gallant at the Hague for creating the horrendous AKZ in the Middle East called the Gaza Strip. (Photo: BBC)

Sources:

Lebanon says 60 killed in Israel strikes on Bekaa Valley in east (bbc.com)

Israeli strike kills at least 60 in northern Gaza, health officials say (voanews.com)

Israeli Teens Tell Netanyahu They Won’t Serve IDF (forward.com)

ICC statement on arrest warrants of Israeli and Hamas leaders (bbc.com)

Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 115, most in apartment building in Beit Lahia in the north – UPI.com

Israel/OPT: Horrifying cases of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees amid spike in arbitrary arrests – Amnesty International (7) Middle East Live Updates: Israel’s Parliament Passes Bill That Threatens UNRWA’s Work – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Drones Attack ‘Spetsnaz University’ In Russia’s Chechnya

Fire atop the roof of a building on the campus of “Spetsnaz University” after drone attacks on 29 Oct. (Photo: RFE/RL)

For the first time since Moscow launched its full-scale of illegal invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022, the territory of Russia’s North Caucasus region of Chechnya has been targeted by drone attacks. Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov wrote on Telegram on 29 Oct that drones had attacked the building of the so-called “Spetsnaz (Special Forces) University” named after President Vladimir Putin in the Chechen city of Gudermes, some 500 km from Ukraine’s borders and west of the capital, Grozhny.

(Map: worldatlas.com)

According to Kadyrov, there were no casualties and a fire atop the roof was extinguished. Kiev did not comment. The Chechen warlord had said thousands of men went through special training in the facility before joining Russian troops in Ukraine.

Chechen personnel in Ukraine. Akhmat Special Forces have distinguishing trademark sideburns. Undated photo: east2westnews.com via www.ar15.com)

Russian air defenses were unable to neutralize this drone attack which made it completely through Chechen territory. This symbolic attack alerts the Chechens that the Ukrainians can reach out to them and that there is a price to pay for assisting Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin satrap Ramzan Kadyrov stands proudly in the center. (Undated photo: Yelena Afonina /TASS / Reuters)

Sources:

Drones Attack ‘Spetsnaz University’ In Russia’s Chechnya (rferl.org)

Ukrainian Imprisoned for Assassinating Ex-Commander of Russian Submarine

The late Stanislav Rzhitski fired drones at Ukrainian civilians. (RFE/RL file photo)

The Krasnodar regional court in Russia’s southwest has sentenced Serhiy Denysenko, a Ukrainian-Russian dual citizen, to 25 years in prison for killing the former commander of a Russian submarine implicated in the shelling of Ukrainian territories in 2022.

The court also ordered Denysenko to pay five million rubles ($51,350) to the father of Stanislav Rzhitsky as compensation in the shooting death.

The court pronounced the ruling on 29 Oct after finding Denysenko, who obtained Russian citizenship in March 2023, guilty of murder, illegal weapon possession, and high treason.

Denysenko was arrested on 11 July 2023, a day after Rzhitsky (42) was killed in the city of Krasnodar while jogging. The assailant fired several shots from a pistol with a silencer and struck Rzhitsky four times. Rzhitsky, who served at the time as a deputy head of the department for mobilization work in Krasnodar, died at the scene.

(Map: Britannica.com)

Russian prosecutors claimed that the Security Service of Ukraine was behind the attack. The chief of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, rejected the claim, saying the anti-war sentiments among Russian military may have triggered the assassination.

Rzhitsky used to command the Krasnodar submarine in the Russian Navy.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Krasnodar is a diesel-electric submarine built for the Black Sea Fleet and designed “to fight surface ships and submarines, lay mines, and conduct reconnaissance.”

The Krasnodar is equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, and Ukrainian authorities claimed that the vessel had participated in the shelling of the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsya in July 2022, firing its Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea.

(Graphics: iswnews.com)

In addition, a person with the same name as Stanislav Rzhitski is in the database of a Ukrainian website that collects information on war crimes allegedly conducted by the Russian military.

The website claims that Rzhitski was the commander of the Alrosa submarine and was directly involved in the military invasion of Ukraine. Unclear is when Rzhitsky left the submarine fleet for the post of deputy head of the department for mobilization work in Krasnodar.

Serhiy Denysenko, a karate black belt, will suffer a brutal sentence in a Russian prison or gulag. Sensei Serhiy has a slight glimmer of hope, though. Since he was not executed, he may be exchanged in a future prisoner swap between Kiev and Moscow.

Sources:

Ukrainian Jailed For Murdering Ex-Commander Of Russian Submarine (rferl.org)

Disgraced US Navy Reserve Officer Sentenced for Bribery Scheme Involving State Dept Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) Program

Heroic-looking Cmdr. Jeromy Pittmann, seen here as a lieutenant commander in Afghanistan in 2014. (Photo: Patrick Gordon / US Navy)

Disgraced US Navy Reserve Commander Jeromy Pittmann (53) of Pensacola, FL, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for his role in a years-long bribery scheme involving Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for Afghan nationals.

He accepted bribe payments from Afghan nationals in exchange for drafting, submitting, and verifying fraudulent letters of recommendation for Afghan nationals who applied for SIVs with the US Department of State.

Pittmann signed over 20 letters in which he fraudulently represented that he personally knew and had supervised the Afghan national visa applicants while they worked as translators in support of the US military and NATO. Pittman testified in those letters that the applicants’ lives were in jeopardy because the Taliban considered them to be traitors. He also wrote that he believed the applicants did not pose any threat to the national security of the US. In fact, Pittmann had no knowledge of the applicants whatsoever. In exchange for the fraudulent letters, Pittmann received several thousands of dollars in bribes.

To avoid detection, Pittmann received the bribe money through an intermediary and created false invoices purporting to show that Pittmann was receiving the money for legitimate work unrelated to his military service.

The SIV system has come under scrutiny after an Afghan man living in Oklahoma was charged earlier this month with allegedly plotting a terror attack on Election Day on behalf of the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi (27) worked for CIA as a security guard in Afghanistan before entering the US in 2021 on a SIV. Authorities assess that Tawhedi became radicalized after he arrived in the US.

Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi is seen making the “Tawhid” gesture in an undated photo. He is under arrest. (Photo: FBI)

This disgraced USNR field grade officer endangered US national security and threw his life and career away over sheer greed. As a US Navy Reserve Commander (O-5) on active-duty, Pittmann’s monthly base pay was between $6,725.70 to $11,426.70.

If any of Pittmann’s Afghan SIV applicants conduct an attack in the US, his sentence has the potential to be reviewed and increased. There is no public information available whether the US Navy is recalling him to active-duty for court-martial, reduction in grade and pay, or dishonorable discharge under the UCMJ.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-navy-reserve-officer-sentenced-bribery-scheme-involving-department-states-approval

US: Iowa Resident Dies of Rare Lassa Fever

The current risk of Lassa virus transmission in the US is “incredibly low,” Iowa’s medical director says. (Image: CS Goldsmith, P. Rollin, M. Bowen/CDC)

A resident of eastern Iowa who had recently traveled to West Africa died after catching Lassa fever. The virus, which is in the same viral hemorrhagic fever category as Ebola, is rarely seen in the US.

The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced the death Monday but did not release the person’s name and disclosed few details about them. Preliminary tests were presumptively positive for the virus and the CDC is working to confirm the diagnosis.

The department said the person was middle-aged and had traveled to West Africa, where it is believed they contracted the virus. The current risk of transmission in the US is “incredibly low,” according to Iowa State Medical Director Dr. Robert Kruse.

Each year, about 100,000 to 300,000 people become infected with Lassa fever in West Africa, where the disease is endemic, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy at the University of Minnesota. Since 1969, there have been only eight known cases in the US, all of them travel-related.

It’s even rarer for someone to die from Lassa fever. The disease has an overall fatality rate of just 1%, according to the World Health Organization. In severe cases, the patient may have bleeding; difficulty breathing; pain in the chest, back and abdomen; and vomiting. Someone with milder symptoms may develop a slight fever, feel tired or have a headache. Most people who are infected with Lassa virus have no symptoms at all.

Lassa fever can spread between humans but not through casual contact. Typically, the virus spreads only when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids.

Lassa fever most commonly spreads through the multimammate rat in West Africa. People can get sick after touching objects contaminated with rat feces or urine, or after eating food that’s been contaminated. Some people also get sick after eating the rats themselves, according to the CDC.

Natal multimammate rat. (Photo: http://www.iNaturalist.org)

Prompt treatment is considered key for Lassa fever. Ribavirin, a broad-spectrum antiviral that works well against RNA viruses and is also used to treat hepatitis C, is the primary treatment.

The Iowa Department of Health is investigating and monitoring the situation in conjunction with the CDC and local public health partners. The agencies are trying to determine who may have had close contact with the patient, who had been treated in isolation at the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center.

The CDC says the patient was not sick while traveling, so the risk to other airline passengers is extremely low.

Sources:

State and Hospital Officials Follow Federal Guidance After Lassa Fever Death | Health & Human Services (iowa.gov)

About Lassa Fever | Lassa Fever | CDC

Iowa resident dies of rare Lassa fever, officials say | CNN

Vladimir Putin Oversees Large-Scale Nuclear Response Drills as Tensions with NATO Run High

RS-24 Yars (MIRV-equipped, thermonuclear armed intercontinental ballistic missiles AKA SS-29s), Each missile is thought to be able to carry up to four warheads.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has overseen an extensive nuclear exercise simulating a retaliatory strike involving missile launches, putting Russia’s nuclear capabilities front and centre as tensions with the West over Ukraine continue to escalate.

Speaking via video with military leaders on Tuesday, Putin confirmed the drills are designed to simulate the actions of top officials in a nuclear response, involving launches of both ballistic and cruise missiles.

Defence Minister Andrei Belousov stated that the exercise aims to practice “strategic offensive forces launching a massive nuclear strike in response to a nuclear strike by the enemy”.

The drills included the test-firing of a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk launch site, intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from submarines in the Barents Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk, and long-range cruise missiles deployed by Tu-95 strategic bombers.

The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that all missiles successfully hit their targets.

Putin, who has frequently highlighted Russia’s nuclear capabilities to discourage Western support for Ukraine, described Russia’s nuclear arsenal as a “reliable guarantor” of sovereignty and security.

He reiterated Russia’s stance that nuclear weapons are a last resort, and announced ongoing modernization efforts for Russia’s nuclear forces to improve their precision, speed, and resistance to missile defenses.

In recent months, Putin has also issued a stern warning that if Western arms donors permit Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory with weapons they have supplied, they would be risking a direct war between his country and the NATO alliance.

He has also revised Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which now considers a conventional attack by a non-nuclear country allied with a nuclear power as grounds for a joint response, potentially including nuclear weapons.

These exercises follow other recent drills with Belarus, a Russian ally hosting some of Moscow’s tactical nuclear arms.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is saber-rattling ahead of the US presidential election. These drills are a message that the Kremlin is serious about Western assistance to Ukraine. Nuclear delivery systems do undergo routine readiness drills, but the timing of this is political. After many years, the US relocated nuclear delivery systems closer to Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Source:

Vladimir Putin oversees large-scale nuclear response drills as tensions with NATO run high | Euronews

Illinois Militant Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Law Enforcement During 6 Jan Attack on US Capitol

Joseph Bierbrodt

Joseph Bierbrodt (55) of Sheridan, IL pleaded guilty to obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, both felony offenses, for his atrocious conduct on 6 Jan 2021. The Honorable US District Judge Christopher R. Cooper will sentence Joseph Bierbrodt on 3 Feb 2025.

Bierbrodt and his brother, William Bierbrodt, attended the “Stop the Steal” rally on 6 Jan 2021, in Washington, DC and then made their way toward the US Capitol building. The two eventually arrived at the Northwest Terrace and approached the Parliamentarian Door, which was locked to prevent rioters from further accessing the building. William Bierbrodt then used his cane to smash the door window and reach his hand inside, unlocking the door.

William Bierbrodt used his cane to break into the Capitol. (Photo: Roberto Schmidt / AFP via Getty Images)

With the door now open, Joseph Bierbrodt and other rioters entered the Capitol. Immediately upon entering the Capitol, Joseph Bierbrodt grabbed a USCP officer by the upper torso and pushed him into a wall. He then spun the officer around and shoved the officer into the arms of another rioter. After the assault, Joseph Bierbrodt moved to a location in the Senate Wing, where he met a line of police officers restricting his access further into the building. Both brothers finally departed the US Capitol hours later.

Joseph Bierbrodt (L) and William Bierbrodt (R) at the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. Both brothers are military veterans. (Photo: FBI)

The FBI arrested both Joseph Bierbrodt and William Bierbrodt on 26 July 2023, in Sheridan, IL. William Bierbrodt is still on trial.

In the nearly four years since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 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.

These two whiteist neanderthals, US military veterans, heeded the idiotic call of Donald Trump that the US is being undermined by liberals and the minorities stole the 2020 election. After the cane-swinging imbecile is found guilty in court, both siblings would have thrown their lives away with these federal felony convictions over ignorance and hatred.

Source:

District of Columbia | Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

Joseph Bierbrodt Statement of Facts.pdf (justice.gov)

French Brand Tops Mercury Contamination in Europe’s Tuna

Mercury contamination has been found in cans of tuna tested across Europe, with some samples containing four times the permitted level, two NGOs warned. The highest level was found in cans sold by French brand Petit Navire.

Bluefin tuna fished off Calabria, Italy. (According to the NGOs, tuna remains the most consumed fish in Europe. Photo: Reuters / Tony Gentile)

Tests carried out by NGOs Bloom and Foodwatch showed all 148 cans tested positive for mercury contamination. The samples were bought in France, Germany, England, Spain and Italy.

Mercury is “one of the ten substances of greatest concern in the world, like asbestos or arsenic,” said the organisations. Its derivative, methylmercury, is classified as a “possible carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

More than half the tested cans contained mercury levels higher than those permitted for other fish species.

While mercury content in fish like pollack or cod must not exceed 0.3 mg/kg, the limit for tuna is set at 1 mg/kg.

The NGOs criticized this discrepancy and called for authorities to impose the lower 0.3 mg/kg limit on tuna – Europe’s most consumed fish.

“This metal is a powerful neurotoxicant and low doses consumed regularly are enough to cause serious disorders of the nervous system in children and attack the brain functioning of adults,” said the NGOs.

The highest concentration was found in French brand Petit Navire at 3.9 mg/kg. Spain’s Carrefour products followed with 2.5 mg/kg, while Italian brand As do Mar showed levels up to 1.5 mg/kg.

Bloom and Foodwatch demanded authorities stop the sale of tuna products exceeding 0.3 mg/kg of mercury. They also called for bans in nurseries, hospitals, maternity wards, retirement homes, and school canteens.

Source:

French brand tops mercury contamination in Europe’s tuna (rfi.fr)

https://www.iarc.who.int/

A Mutt Known as ‘Houdini’ for Ability to Elude Capture Finally Nabbed in New Orleans

(Photo: Brett Duke / The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Dubbed on social media as the “Houdini” of New Orleans’ Mid-City neighborhood, Scrim — a scruffy, mixed-breed dog that was on the lam for more than six months after escaping his yard — has finally been caught.

The 13-pound runaway was captured with the use of a tranquilizer dart. New Orleans news outlets report that he is missing a chunk out of his ear and has various abrasions. Also, X-rays revealed two projectiles — possibly small bullets or air rifle pellets — were lodged inside his little body.

Veterinarian Dr. Mary Miller told The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate she couldn’t be positive what type of weapon had been used, since she decided to leave the projectiles embedded in the dog’s flesh. “We’re probably not going to remove them,” Miller said, “because they’re not going to cause an issue.”

Despite his injuries, Miller said, Scrim’s condition “wasn’t awful.”

Michelle Cheramie, owner of the nonprofit Zeus Rescues in New Orleans, said she had rescued Scrim from a south Louisiana dog pound where he was in jeopardy of euthanasia. Scrim was eventually adopted by a family in Mid-City, but soon escaped.

He soon became the talk of the neighborhood, and a bit of a star on social media where people posted videos from cellphones and security cameras whenever he was spotted. He managed to elude traps and would-be captors with nets and tranquilizer guns.

Finally, Cheramie got a call that Scrim had been sighted. She grabbed her tranquilizer gun and a group of volunteers showed up at the scene.

“WE GOT HIM!!!!” Cheramie posted on social media.

Once he’s fully healthy, he will be adopted again. Tammy Murray, co-founder of the nonprofit New Orleans Animal Welfare Society, told the newspaper she plans to take him in.

Scrim being taken for walk at animal hospital in New Orleans, LA. (Photo: Brett Duke / The Times-Picayune / The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Source:

Dog dubbed ‘Houdini’ finally captured in New Orleans | AP News

Gaza De-Population Campaign Continues

Palestinians waiting for bread 28 Oct 2024. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the Gaza Strip is on the brink of a famine. (Photo: Mohammed Salem / Reuters)

96 Palestinians were killed and 277 wounded in the Gaza Strip over the last 48 hours. At least 43,020 people have been killed and 101,110 wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since 7 Oct 2023. At this rate of homicide, by year’s end the Likud Party and the IDF will have killed close to 50,000 Palestinians while maiming 150,000 in the Gaza Strip. The IDF detained approximately 100 Palestinians at Kamal Adwan Hospital. The people apprehended included fighters who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians, an army statement claimed. The IDF reported that weapons, funds and intelligence documents were found in the hospital and surrounding area. Israel’s forces “arrested and deported all the medical staff” at Kamal Adwan Hospital, except one unidentified individual.

IDF jets attacked the city of Tyre, Lebanon, killing at least seven people and wounding 17 others. Beirut accuses Jerusalem of intentionally trying to destroy its medical infrastructure. (Photo: Ahmad Kaddoura / Anadolu)

Hard working CIA Director William J. Burns was meeting in Qatar with his Israeli counterpart, David Barnea of the Mossad, to re-start negotiations for a cease-fire and a release of the hostages. Mr. Barnea, who studied in the US years ago, had urged Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate with Palestinian resistance leaders immediately in order to release the Israeli captives. At the time of the surprise attack on Israel (7 Oct 2023), at least 2,000 Palestinians were being held in security detention without hearing or trial. Other reports cited larger numbers of detentions and torture. In Nov 2023 the first prisoner swap between the Palestinian captors and the IDF concluded. Afterwards, Netanyahu opted for a permanent solution to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. USSECSTATE Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders at least 11 times for cease-fire negotiations, but this was all kabuki theater. According to some people close to Joe Biden, he felt betrayed by being pushed out in favor of VPOTUS Kamala Harris to take on GOP candidate Donald Trump. Then, Biden felt “humiliated” by Netanyahu who only played lip-service to him about a cease-fire before the all-important US presidential elections. Netanyahu, indicted as a war criminal by the Hague like his fellow war-monger Russian President Vladimir Putin, effectively tarnished Joe Biden’s legacy as he winds down his multi-decade career of American public service.

Sources:

(4) Updates LIVE: Israel’s three-week siege of northern Gaza kills at least 1,000 (aljazeera.com)

U.S. and Israeli Spy Chiefs Meet for Gaza Cease-Fire Talks: Live Updates – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Barnea takes over Mossad; Cohen: Mossad struck deep into Iran’s heart – Israel News – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

Israel/OPT: Horrifying cases of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees amid spike in arbitrary arrests – Amnesty International

Kim Jong-Un’s Close Aide in Russia Overseeing North Korean Troops

Kim Jong Un (C) inspecting a special operations training base of the Korean People’s Army while enjoying a smoke. General Kim Young Bok, Vice Chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff, is second from right. (Undated photo: Rodong Sinmun·News1)

General Kim Young Bok, a close aide to leader Kim Jong Un, has arrived in Russia to oversee North Korean troops there helping Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The North Korean troops are mobilizing near the front lines in Ukraine. An estimated 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were in Russia undergoing training.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to deny or confirm that North Korea had sent troops to help his army. The arrival of the North Koreans has raised fears in Ukraine, its Western allies and South Korea about what they see as a dangerous escalation of the Ukrainian war.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency that Russia was transporting North Korean soldiers to the front lines in trucks with civilian license plates. Russian police stopped a Kamaz truck with civilian license plates on the Kursk-Voronezh highway which was reportedly loaded with North Korean military personnel, but the driver did not have documented combat orders.

South Korean NIS (FKA KCIA) reported that North Korean soldiers will receive $2,000 per month in pay, but the Ukrainian government-run news platform United24 said that that most likely this money would “remain with the state.”

Separately, The New York Times reported that the first North Korean troops had made the nearly 6,500 km (4,038 mile) journey to the Kursk region, with thousands more arriving daily.

Citing troop movement data from a senior Ukrainian military officer, the newspaper said that as many as 5,000 North Korean soldiers were expected to have arrived this week.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) released a satellite image by Airbus Defense and Space showing Russia’s Khabarovsk military facility, where the NIS said North Korean personnel are gatherung. (Photo: AFP)

As expected, (and posted here on Coriolanus) Ukraine initiated a PSYOP program to induce these North Korean soldiers to surrender.

“We appeal to the soldiers of the Korean People’s Army who were sent to support the Putin regime. Don’t die senselessly on foreign soil. Do not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home.”

(Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate, or GUR, prepared this Korean-language message on its Telegram messaging channel).

“Surrender! Ukraine will provide you with shelter, food, and warmth,” it added, introducing its surrender hotline “I Want to Live.”

Ukraine promises food and shelter to North Korean soldiers if they surrender. The “I Want to Live” project released a video offering food and shelter to North Korean soldiers who surrender during the war in Ukraine. (RFA English)

There should be no surprises in this reporting that North Korean supremo Kim Jong-Un would send a trusted aide to overwatch the deployment of his cannon fodder and that Pyongyang would keep the soldier’s renumeration for fighting and dying against Ukraine. Kiev’s PSYOP program was to be expected as they have been inducing Russian soldiers to surrender since Putin’s brutal invasion began in Feb 2022. The next development to monitor is whether South Korea begins transferring potent mass casualty weapons and trainers to Ukraine in response.

Sources:

Kim Jong Un’s close aide in Russia overseeing North Korean troops: report – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Ukraine urges North Korean soldiers to surrender, offering food, shelter – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Russia pays North Korean soldiers about $2,000 a month: South’s spy agency – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

France: Why Are They Suddenly Deporting Kurdish Activists?

Demonstrators hold the Kurdistan flag during a rally in Paris in 2016 to protest against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after 11 HDP lawmakers were detained as part of a terror-related investigation. (Photo: Francois Mori / AP)

In March and April, France deported three Kurdish activists to Turkiye: Firaz Korkmaz (24), Mehmet Kopal (37), and Serhat Gultekin (28). All were suspected of having close ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been in conflict with the Turkish state for 40 years. France, along with its Western allies, considers the PKK a terrorist organisation. Approximately 150,000 Kurds reside in France.

The Kurdish Democratic Council of France (CDKF), an umbrella group of 27 Kurdish associations, has condemned the deportations and warned that more cases are under investigation.

In late April, eight Kurdish men were arrested, accused of extorting funds from the Kurdish community to support PKK activities, which is seen as financing terrorism.

French authorities also raided exiled Kurdish broadcasters Sterk TV and Medya Haber TV in Belgium at the request of the French judiciary. The CDKF says this level of action is unprecedented. Prior to April, no Kurdish activists had been handed over to Turkiye since 2019, when diplomatic relations between Paris and Ankara hit a low point.

The friction was partly due to France’s support for the Kurdish YPG, which was fighting the Islamic State in Syria, but is viewed by Turkiye as an extension of the PKK.

Since April, French authorities have revoked refugee status from 50 Kurdish militants and deported the three activists. The case of Serhat Gultekin has drawn particular concern.

A member of Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish HDP party, Gultekin had been reportedly tortured and persecuted in Turkiye before fleeing to France in 2017. He applied for political asylum and continued his activism in exile. In April 2023, Gultekin and ten others were found guilty of extortion and financing terrorism.

He was sentenced, but in a highly unusual move the anti-terrorist state prosecutor specifically warned of the dangers of sending him and the others back to Turkiye “in view of the danger they had faced” and “the risks that an expulsion would expose them to”.

The court agreed, but French authorities took a different view. On 12 April, the day before the judge was set to rule on Gultekin’s asylum claim, the Interior Ministry issued a deportation order.

“Plainclothes police officers put him in a truck, handcuffed him, tied him up and took him to the airport,” said Gultekin’s lawyer.

“In the truck, they told him: ‘Serhat, we’re going to send you to Turkiye. Whether you like it or not’.”

When Gultekin landed, members of Turkey’s MIT secret services were waiting. He is now serving a six year and three-month sentence in an Istanbul prison.

On 26 Sep, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal declared Gultekin’s deportation “illegal”, stating it violated Article III of the European Charter of Human Rights, which prohibits torture.

The CDKF is also fighting to prevent the deportation of Idris Kaplan, another activist sentenced in absentia to life in Turkiye as an alleged PKK leader.

“You can’t hand your allies over to their enemies in the name of security or diplomatic agreements. That’s a basic moral principle,” argued CDKF spokesperson Agit Polat in Le Monde, pointing to Kaplan’s role in fighting the Islamic State armed group alongside French special forces in Iraq.

On 8 Oct a court suspended Kaplan’s expulsion order.

So why have French authorities taken a tougher stance on Kurdish activists? One theory is that economic interests are now outweighing human rights concerns. Ratings agency Moody’s recently downgraded France’s outlook from “stable” to “negative,” opening the door to a potential credit rating cut citing concerns over the country’s finances. The downgrade reflects “increasing risk that France’s government will be unlikely to implement measures that would prevent sustained wider-than-expected budget deficits and a deterioration in debt affordability,” said Moody’s Ratings. Moody’s affirmed France’s credit rating at Aa2, saying this was supported by its “large, wealthy, and diversified economy.”

Kostas Pikramenos, co-author of a book on Turkey’s MIT intelligence service, says Kurdish activists may be used as bargaining chips in intelligence negotiations. The expulsion of the three Kurds is most likely part of a “seduction operation by France to sign commercial contracts” with Turkiye, Pikramenos told Marianne news magazine, pointing to a $40bn order of 200 Airbus aircraft by Turkish Airlines (THY) in late 2023.

(Image: Airbus.com)

The CDKF believes France may be paying Turkiye for its intelligence cooperation. Ankara reportedly shared information on planned ISIS-K attacks during the 2024 Olympics, according to an anonymous French intelligence source. French President Emmanuel Macron publicly warned that ISIS-K had attempted several attacks on French soil in recent months.

Meanwhile, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) emphasised that it “independently assesses” Interior Ministry requests to revoke refugee status. These decisions can be appealed in the National Asylum Court.

The CDKF has warned that five more Kurdish activists could face deportation in the coming months.

Sources:

What’s driving France’s sudden deportation of Kurdish activists? (rfi.fr)

Prosecutor seeks prison terms for alleged PKK members on trial in Paris

Turkey opens another ‘Kafkaesque’ trial against scholar exiled to France

Moody’s downgrades France to ‘negative’ credit outlook (rfi.fr)

Alaska and US Military History: The “Eskimo Scouts”

The USS Concord is a typical late 19^th-century US gunboat (Photo: Edward Hart circa 1890).

The US Navy recently apologized for the 1882 shelling and burning down of Angoon, a Tlingit village of 420 people in Alaska (highlighted in red).

Years after this atrocity at Angoon by the USN, Uncle Sam would ask the Eskimo population to help defend Alaska from Imperial Japan. The indigenous men proudly formed and served in the “Alaska Territorial Guard” AKA the “Eskimo Scouts.” Note the age range of those who served: 12-80.

Note the resemblance between the Inuits of North America (above) and the Buryats of Siberia (below) from across the Bering Strait.

The Free Buryatia organization announced that around 150 Buryat soldiers who were serving in the Russian Army in occupied territories of Ukraine have resigned their positions and asked to be returned home. (Source and Photo: 150 Buryat Soldiers in Russian Army Resign kyivpost.com)

Canada’s military similarly employs indigenous tribes in their northern provinces called “the Canadian Rangers.” Above former Tory Canadian PM Stephen Harper is on the rifle range for a photo-op with these tundra experts.

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/navy-1882-tlingit-village-alaska-bombing-apology-b7da179eb05bd30afa373f9fc093305e

US Army

Taiwan: 60 People Sickened from Suspected Food Poisoning

Taiwan has a population of 23,595,274 and GDP per capita is $47,800 (2019 est.) (Map and Data: CIA)

60 people have reported symptoms of food poisoning after buying boxed meals from an eatery in Kaohsiung. The health department said patients fell ill with symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea and fever after eating boxed meals purchased from a small storefront restaurant in the city’s Sanmin District the previous day.

46 patients sought medical attention, while 14 others were found via contact tracing. Seven of the 46 patients have been hospitalized, and one was treated in the emergency room.

29 students from Kaohsiung Medical University were among the customers who had bought lunch from the eatery and 20 of them had to seek medical attention.

Personnel from the Kaohsiung Department of Health collect food samples from a storefront restaurant in the city’s Sanmin District for testing in this undated photo. Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Department of Health.

City officials inspected the eatery and ordered its closure for seven days, citing several violations of food safety regulations. The violations included open trash bins, no records of fridge temperatures, and no records of employee health checks.

While no leftovers from the 410 boxed lunches sold were available for testing, health officials took samples of the food items in the eatery. Samples were also taken from the sick customers and the kitchen workers at the eatery and will be tested for pathogens.

The eatery will have to pass another inspection before it could be allowed to reopen. The source pathogen of the food poisoning is still being investigated.

Sources:

60 people fall ill from suspected food poisoning in Kaohsiung – Focus Taiwan

Florida Militant Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During 6 Jan 2021 Attack Against US Capitol

Jeremy Michael Miller (Photo: FBI)

Jeremy Michael Miller (45) of Florida was arrested and charged by the FBI for felony and misdemeanor offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.

Miller was identified in video footage on 6 Jan 2021 on the Lower West Plaza of the US Capitol grounds fighting with police along a line of metal bike rack barricades. Miller allegedly grabbed a bike rack and tried to pull it away from police. Police quickly reestablished their line and video footage show Miller allegedly linking arms with other rioters and using their backs to push into the barricades; however, the group was unable to break through the police line.

(Photo: FBI)

Rioters, including Miller, violently resisted police on the Upper West Terrace. The defendant allegedly pushed his body against a police riot shield, attempting to stop or push through a line of officers.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Video footage shows that this maniac then tried to pull a riot shield away from another police officer, grabbing with both hands in an attempt to wrest the shield away. After several failed attempts, Miller retreated back into the mob.

In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 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.

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

Jeremy Michael Miller represents one of America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), a white supremacist holding on to the last vestiges of white supremacy in the US. He heeded the idiotic call of Donald J. Trump that minorities stole the 2020 election and now will either plead guilty to a lesser count or be found guilty in a trial. Either way, this 45-year-old lunatic threw his life away over racism and ignorance.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/florida-man-arrested-assaulting-law-enforcement-and-other-charges-during-jan-6-capitol-4

Sneaky Alabama Bear Steals Trash Can from Garage

After Killing Palestinian Resistance Leader, IDF Continues Special Military Operation in Gaza

Palestinian children line up for food in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, 17 Oct 2024. A UN-backed assessment has found some 345,000 Gazans face “catastrophic” levels of hunger this winter.

Israel conducted raids on Gaza on Friday, pressing its yearlong war to crush the Palestinians after killing resistance leader Yahya Sinwar. Like Osama bin-Laden who should have faced justice in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) for the 9/11 attacks on the US, Sinwar too was killed without judicial process.

According to Gaza’s civil defense agency, rescuers recovered the bodies of three Palestinian children from the rubble of their home in the north of the territory after it was hit at dawn. The IDF is pressing its operation in Jabalia, where air and drone strikes killed at least 14 people on Thursday.

With the civilian toll in Gaza mounting, Israel has faced criticism over its conduct of the war, including from the US. Israel’s Nakba campaign and free the hostages seized by Palestinian fighters has killed 42,438 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, women, and children. Several more nations have cut diplomatic ties with Jerusalem and an American journalist suggested Israel be expelled from the UN because of its brutal pogrom against the Palestinians and for declaring UNGA Secretary-General António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres persona non grata.

These Israelis joyously celebrate the news of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar at a southern kibbutz, 17 Oct 2024. Note the elation on the faces of the celebrants, unaware of twice-GOP Presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey’s famous words, “You can’t shoot an idea with a gun,” as if the IDF killing of one man erases Palestinian nationalism. Urbane Israelis in Ramat Aviv or Haifa wonder how much taxes these kibbutzers pay or whether they ever served in the IDF like them (Photo: AP)

Sources:

Israel conducts raids on Gaza after killing Hamas chief Sinwar (voanews.com)

Moldovan Police Arrest ‘Provocateurs’ Trained in Russia, Balkans

Moldova has a population of 3,599,528 people comprised of these ethnic groups: Moldovan 75.1%, Romanian 7%, Ukrainian 6.6%, Gagauz 4.6%, Russian 4.1%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 0.8% (2014 est.), GDP per capita: $15,700 (2023 est.) Map and information: CIA.

Moldovan authorities exposed a network of more than 100 people trained in Russia and the Balkans to provoke post-election unrest. Four suspects were arrested and placed in pretrial custody for 30 days following extensive searches by police and Moldova’s Intelligence and Security Service (SIS).

Pro-Western President Maia Sandu is running for a second term on 20 Oct in an election that takes place simultaneously with a referendum to decide whether Moldovans want their impoverished country of 2.5 million people to pursue integration into the EU.

The pro-Kremlin network was financed by Russia-friendly fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, who is wanted in Moldova for his involvement in the theft of some $1 billion from the impoverished ex-Soviet republic’s banking system about a decade ago.

Authorities released hidden-camera videos purporting to depict training sessions in Russia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In one video, young people standing on a stage in what appears to be a training hall mock a protest and chant slogans such as “Our language is Russian,” “No dual citizenship,” and “We don’t want to be in Europe.” Another video purportedly shows a training camp said to be in the Balkans where young men are appear to be learning how to make explosives and pilot drones.

The investigators said the approximately 100 young people who took part in the alleged training were around 20 years old. They started traveling to Russia in June and some of them underwent additional training at camps in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina belonging to Russian mercenary groups Ferma and Wagner. Among the coordinators of the action is Konstantin Potyomkin, who has ties with the notorious Wagner group. SIS chief Alexandru Musteata said Moldovan authorities “have the situation under control,” and the degree of risk regarding possible destabilization is now “low.”

Under Sandu’s government, Moldova secured EU candidate status in 2022 and opened accession talks with the bloc earlier this year after siding with Ukraine following Russia’s unprovoked invasion, in a radical U-turn toward the West and away from Moscow’s decades-long influence.

The two polls are seen as crucial for the future of the former Soviet republic and come amid a hybrid campaign of disinformation employed by Russia to scare Moldovans away from the EU and keep them in Moscow’s orbit.

Moldovan and several Western governments have warned that Russia and Shor plan to organize mass unrest if the elections and the referendum will have results contrary to the Kremlin’s liking. Russia’s eventual goal is to bring in a pro-Moscow government in Chisinau, which seems to be thwarted for now.

Sources:

Moldovan Police Arrest ‘Provocateurs’ Trained In Russia, Balkans (rferl.org)

Russia Pressures Central Asian Prisoners to Fight in Ukraine as ‘Expendable Force’

The Sakharovo migration center in Moscow (Photo: AP)

A 24-year-old migrant worker from Kyrgyzstan, Eleman enlisted in the military at a Russian prison in 2023 with the promise of parole, big money, and Russian citizenship in return for six months of combat in Ukraine. In jail for drug trafficking, he was sent to the front line after just a few days of training.

Eleman was forced to remain on the battlefield even after his contract had ended despite being wounded. His father said:

“If you’re alive and can shoot, it’s enough for them to send you to the combat zone.”

Eleman was finally discharged from the military earlier this year after he sustained even more severe injuries that left him disabled. Eleman is one of thousands of inmates in Russia who were recruited to fight in Ukraine as Moscow struggles to replenish its depleting forces while trying to avoid another unpopular mobilization.

Russia’s Defense Ministry began enlisting inmates in early 2023, taking over from the notorious Wagner mercenary group that started the prisoner-recruitment scheme in July 2022 — five months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Wagner had enlisted nearly 50,000 prisoners — 20 percent of whom were killed in Ukraine — as of May 2023, according to the group’s founder, Evgeniy Prigozhin. Prigozhin fell out of favor with the Kremlin before dying in a suspicious plane crash in Aug 2023.

The Defense Ministry has expanded the practice of recruiting inmates to the extent that dozens of penal colonies in Russia were emptied and closed. Pretrial-detention facilities and immigration-detention centers — which hold hundreds of migrant workers mainly from Central Asian countries have become recruitment hubs. Russian officials have made prison conditions unbearably harsh and inhumane in an effort to pressure inmates into joining the military.

“They keep you in a cold cell, you sleep on the floor with just a pillow underneath you holding plastic bottles filled with hot water to keep warm,” is how one Kyrgyz inmate described his bleak life in a prison in central Russia.

The father of another Kyrgyz inmate incarcerated in the Sverdlovsk region said his son told him that prisoners “had to drink their own urine after being kept in isolation for days without food or water.”

Once recruited into the military, the convicts are treated as an expendable force, with little consideration for their lives and are often thrown onto the front line with just a few days of military training.

Kyrgyzstan says some 1,500 Kyrgyz nationals are serving time in Russian prisons, most of them accused of drug trafficking. The number of Tajik inmates and detainees in Russia was estimated at about 10,000 before the Ukraine invasion. The exact number of Central Asian prisoners in Russia is unknown. Nor is it clear how many Central Asian inmates were recruited to war from Russian prisons.

Kyrgyzstan has repatriated about 100 of its nationals from Russian prisons to serve the remainder of their sentences in Kyrgyzstan. About 500 other such requests by Bishkek have been rejected by Russian authorities.

This cynical Kremlin strategy provides the Russian military with cannon-fodder for the front line against Ukraine while simultaneously depopulating itself of minorities (non-Slavic Muslims). Over a century ago, rumors spread that an abnormally high amount of the Czar’s casualties in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) also came from minority groups, particularly at Port Arthur. But this is strictly anecdotal. And note North Korea sent troops to fight against Russia. ROK CIA (NIS) reported that 1,500 SOF personnel are being readied for combat in an unspecified location in Russia.

Source:

Russia Pressures Central Asian Prisoners To Fight In Ukraine As ‘Expendable Force’ (rferl.org)

US Treasury Sanctions Chinese Drone Makers

The Garpiya has been deployed by Russia in its brutal war against Ukraine, destroying critical infrastructure and causing mass casualties.

The US imposed sanctions on two Chinese companies and an affiliated Russian company involved in making and shipping drones that Russia has used in its full-scale war in Ukraine.

The two Chinese companies designated by the US Treasury Department are Xiamen Limbach Aircraft Engine Company, and the Redlepus Vector Industry Shenzhen.

Xiamen Limbach Aircraft Engine Company makes an engine that powers Russia’s Garpiya series long-range unmanned aerial vehicles. Redlepus Vector Industry Shenzhen is involved in shipping the attack drones.

A Russian national and company affiliated with the two Chinese companies were also designated in the sanctions: Artem Yamshchikov and TSK Vektor.

These are the first US sanctions imposed on Chinese entities that produce complete weapons systems in partnership with Russian firms. Previously imposed sanctions on Chinese entities have targeted those that provided components critical to Russia’s military-industrial base.

The drone was designed and developed by China-based experts and is produced at factories within China in collaboration with Russian defense firms before they are transferred to Russia for use against Ukraine, according to the department.

The sanctions freeze any assets held by the individuals and companies in US jurisdiction and bar US persons from conducting business with them.

Sources:

Treasury Targets Actors Involved in Drone Production for Russia’s War Against Ukraine | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Chinese Drone Companies Targeted By Latest U.S. Sanctions (rferl.org)

Justice Department Announces Charges Against Indian Government Employee in Connection with Foiled Plot to Assassinate US Citizen in NYC

Vikash Yadav from the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) allegedly orchestrated a failed bid to kill him. RAW is the Indian government’s equivalent of CIA. Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

The Justice Department filed charges against Vikash Yadav (39) in connection to a foiled assassination plot of a US citizen in NYC. Yadav’s alleged co-conspirator, Nikhil Gupta (53) was previously charged and extradited to the US; Yadav remains at large.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun (above) is a Sikh dissident in NYC. He is reportedly a citizen of Canada as well.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a vocal critic of the Indian government and leads a US-based organization that advocates for the secession of Punjab, a state in northern India that is home to a large population of Sikhs, an ethnoreligious minority group in India. The victim has publicly called for some or all of Punjab to secede from India and establish a Sikh sovereign state called Khalistan, and the Indian government has banned the victim and his separatist organization from India.

Vikash Yadav is a citizen and resident of India, and he directed the plot to assassinate the victim from India. His accomplice Gupta recruited a hit-man, who was in reality a confidential source (CS) of the DEA. Gupta specifically instructed his assassin not to commit the murder around the time of the Indian Prime Minister’s official state visit to the US on or about 20 Jun 2023. On or about 18 June 2023, approximately two days before the Indian PM Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US, masked gunmen murdered Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia, Canada. Nijjar was an associate of the victim, and, like the victim, was a leader of the Sikh separatist movement and an outspoken critic of the Indian government.

Yadav and Gupta of India have been charged with several felonies and face possibly up to 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

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

The Canadian government recently expelled several Indian diplomats in connection with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The Sikhs are an integral part of Canadian society and they were outraged by this brazen assassination. For several years, the right-wing government of Narendra Modi has been making life difficult for non-Hindus in India, as well as abroad. The US must tread carefully as India is seen as an ally against a growing Chinese military. Washington also doesn’t want Delhi to increase its support or trade with Russia.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Announces Charges Against Indian Government Employee in Connection with Foiled Plot to Assassinate U.S. Citizen in New York City | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

RAW officer Vikram Yadav ‘hired hit team’ to kill Pannun: Washington Post – Hindustan Times

Texas Fanatic Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement During 6 Jan Attack on US Capitol

This lunatic shouted “Fuck you” at police officers all day and impeded the progress of a medical team that was trying to aid a rioter that was shot. (Photo: FBI)

Dana Jean Bell (66) of Princeton, TX was sentenced to 17 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution by US District Judge Timothy J. Kelly for her atrocious and felonious conduct on 6 Jan 2021. Her actions led to the eventual suicide of a police officer.

When the Trump-supporting mob began assaulting officers with pepper spray and ripping at least one police riot shield out of an officer’s hands, Bell made her way to the front of the rabble. As the rioters inside the building forced the East Rotunda doors open, Bell reached out and grabbed the doors from the outside, disregarding that a USCP officer was pinned behind the doors.

After a rioter was shot in the Capitol, Bell refused orders to clear the way for a medical team, shouting “Don’t fuckin’ touch me!” She told multiple officers to “get a real job” and that “no one support y’all, nobody!” This included Officer Jeffrey Smith, who tragically took his own life following severe personal injuries sustained in the line of duty on 6 Jan. As she was forced down the hallway, Bell also shoved her elbow multiple times into one officer’s chest.

When Bell finally exited the Capitol, she also assaulted two journalists. The FBI arrested the maniac on 7 Dec 2023 in Texas.

(Photos: FBI)

Erin Smith, whose husband Jeff Smith suffered a traumatic brain injury and a fracture while repelling the rioters, spoke at the sentencing hearing.

“Because of Dana Bell, (my husband) didn’t get the chance to keep serving as a police officer,” Smith said. “At 35, instead of becoming a mother, I became a widow.”

The presiding judge, a Republican and Donald Trump appointee, sentenced this maniac too lightly despite all the evidence he was presented. Although this was Dana Bell’s first offense, the US Sentencing Guidelines probably allows for upward departure in cases like this where significant harm arose subsequent to the instant offense. Here, a man received TBI and then committed suicide.

In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 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.

Sources:

District of Columbia | Texas Woman Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/erin-smith-january-6-widow-jeff-smith-testifies-sentencing-dana-bell/

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Infections Increase in Florida After Hurricanes Helene, Milton

Flesh-eating bacteria cases (necrotizing fasciitis) have surged in the last few weeks since Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton swept through, according to data from the Florida Department of Health (FDOH). Vibrio vulnificus, a naturally occurring but potentially fatal bacterial infection, thrives in warm floodwaters when hurricanes and tropical storms push brackish water along the coast and into rivers and canals, filling them and low-lying areas with rainwater, pollutants, sewage, and debris.

In southwest Florida, four new cases in Lee County and one in Collier County have been reported — an “unusual increase” due to the recent hurricanes. In 2022, Lee and Collier counties also experienced a spike in cases due to the impacts of Hurricane Ian. There have been 37 cases and four deaths reported statewide since mid-Sep 2024, with 13 cases and one death in Pinellas County. The 2024 total of Vibrio vulnificus in Florida is 70 confirmed cases and 11 deaths. In 2023, there were 46 cases all year, and 11 deaths.

If Vibrio vulnificus bacteria infects a person, such as by floodwaters coming in contact with a cut or other open wound, it can cause the skin and soft tissue around the wound to quickly break down. Treatment may require limb amputation to stop the rapid flesh deterioration, and the infection can be fatal.

Nationwide, vibriosis from Vibrio vulnificus and other Vibrio bacteria causes an estimated 80,000 illnesses and 100 deaths every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). About 52,000 of these illnesses are believed to come from eating contaminated food, but the bacteria are also often found in flood waters, something Florida has seen a lot of lately.

Sources:

Vibrio vulnificus | Florida Department of Health (floridahealth.gov)

About Necrotizing Fasciitis | Group A Strep | CDC

Christopher Columbus Wasn’t a Christian from Italy, But Instead A Sephardic Jew From Spain, New Study Alleges

Posthumous painting completed circa 1519

In 1492, Christopher Columbus embarked on a voyage that would change the course of history. While his disputed discovery of the New World is well-known, the mysteries surrounding both his final resting place and his origins have puzzled historians for centuries.

After his death in 1506, Columbus’ remains were reburied several times across different countries over the course of hundreds of years, sparking debates over whether his declared final resting place at Seville Cathedral in Spain was actually legitimate.

Now, thanks to groundbreaking DNA research, the question of his burial site has reportedly been solved. Furthermore, surprising details about his origins have come to light, with scientists claiming that he was born in Spain, not Italy, and that he was of Sephardic Jewish descent.

An illustration of Christopher Columbus’ death on 20 May 1506.

At 54 years old, famous explorer Christopher Columbus passed away in Valladolid, Spain in 1506. In the 14 years leading up to his death, Columbus had suffered from bouts of gout and arthritis. His health continued to deteriorate, and he was often bedridden for months at a time.

Upon his death, Columbus was buried at the Chapel of Wonders at the Convent of St. Francis in Valladolid. Then, he was moved at the request of his son to the monastery of La Cartuja in Seville. Then, in 1536, both Columbus’ remains and those of his son were moved to a church in Colonial Santo Domingo, now the Dominican Republic. In his will, Columbus requested to be buried there.

However, when France took control of the island in 1793, Columbus’ remains were interred in Havana, Cuba. They remained there until Spain’s defeat in the Spanish-American War and the relinquishing of Cuba in 1898. From there, Columbus’ remains were moved to the Seville Cathedral.

Christopher Columbus’ tomb at the Seville Cathedral. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Evidently, the frequent shuffling of Christopher Columbus’ remains raised concerns among historians. An initial observation of the remains at Seville Cathedral revealed discrepancies with known information about Columbus’ age at death and general stature. Additionally, Dominican Republic authorities claimed that Columbus’ remains never left the island.

For years, people questioned whether Seville Cathedral really held the remains of Christopher Columbus, prompting Spanish scientists to tackle the mystery for themselves.

Beginning with the collection of DNA from the remains in the Seville Cathedral in 2003, scientists have just now received the answers they were looking for.

RTVE: Samples of Christopher Columbus’ bones that were tested by scientists.

In 2003, historians Marcial Castro and José Antonio Lorente opened the tomb of Columbus at Seville Cathedral and collected DNA evidence from bone fragments.

The DNA sample was then compared to the DNA of Columbus’ son Hernando, who is also buried at the cathedral. At the time, the results came back as a match, but there was still a large margin of error. Technology at the time simply could not confirm conclusively that the remains belonged to Christopher Columbus.

Then, in 2020, Spanish broadcaster RTVE began production of a documentary to not only discover the true location of Columbus’ burial site but also shed light on his mysterious origins. Led by Lorente, an expert forensic scientist, the documentary crew explored these historical mysteries.

The investigation involved comparing the 2003 DNA sample to remains from many of Columbus’ reported relatives. To increase the validity of the DNA testing, the research team had separate laboratories from Spain, the US, Mexico, and Italy test the items and come to their own conclusions.

“The process was carried out independently, with no communication between the clinics, ensuring the objectivity of the data,” Lorente told El País.

Ultimately, the labs confirmed that the remains at Seville Cathedral were indeed those of Christopher Columbus.

“Today it has been possible to verify it with new technologies, so that the previous partial theory that the remains of Seville belong to Christopher Columbus has been definitively confirmed,” Lorente told Reuters.

“The process was carried out independently, with no communication between the clinics, ensuring the objectivity of the data,” Lorente told El País.

Ultimately, the labs confirmed that the remains at Seville Cathedral were indeed those of Christopher Columbus.

Christopher Columbus Painting

The 1856 painting Inspiration of Christopher Columbus. (Wikimedia Commons)

As for Christopher Columbus’ true origins, the investigation revealed that Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe, likely Spain.

“We have DNA from Christopher Columbus, very partial, but sufficient. We have DNA from Hernando Colón, his son,” Lorente said in the documentary. “And both in the Y chromosome (male) and in the mitochondrial DNA (transmitted by the mother) of Hernando there are traits compatible with Jewish origin.”

However, some scientists have begun to cast doubt on these claims, with further debate likely to come when the new results are soon published in a peer-reviewed journal.

If the DNA testing confirms that Christopher Columbus was indeed a Sephardic Jew and not an Italian Catholic, what new name will the US-based Catholic Knights of Columbus choose?

Source:

Where Was Christopher Columbus Born? New Study Says Spain (allthatsinteresting.com)

Ohio Man Who Concealed Croatian War Crime Conviction Sentenced to Prison for Immigration Fraud

Jugoslav Vidic, pictured in this undated official photo, is what the USIC describes as a PIFWC (Person Indicted for War Crimes). (Image: 24 SATA News)

Jugoslav Vidic (56) of Parma Heights, OH, was sentenced to three years in prison for possessing a green card he illegally obtained by concealing that he had been charged with a war crime in Croatia in 1994 prior to immigrating to the US. A Croatian court convicted Vidic in absentia in 1998.

The depravity of the Republika Srpska Army (VRS) is captured perfectly here. For the amusement of his comrades, a Serb fighter points a firearm at the head of a laughing boy on the outskirts of Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, circa 1992-95. (Public domain imagery)

Authorities revealed that during an attack by ethnic Serb forces in Petrinja, Croatia, on 16 Sep 1991, Vidic, a soldier in the Serb Army of Krajina, cut off the arm of civilian Stjepan Komes, who died afterward. Vidic admitted that he knew about the Croatian charges when he immigrated to the US as a refugee in 1999 and when he applied to become a lawful permanent resident in 2000. He lied during his interview with US immigration officials and he received his green card in 2005.

As part of the plea agreement, Vidic agreed to the entry of a judicial order of removal from the US.

In this undated photo, a Yugoslavian man is pleading for his life from paramilitary fighters circa 1991-1995. The man’s whereabouts or fate are unknown.

Members of the American public who have information about human rights violators or immigration fraud are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or through the FBI online tip form, or HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or through the ICE online tip form. All are staffed around the clock, and tips may be provided anonymously. In Canada, you can provide anonymous and secure tips by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIP202 + your message to “CRIMES” (274637) or by Secure Web Tips.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Ohio Man Who Concealed Croatian War Crime Charge Sentenced to Prison for Immigration Fraud | United States Department of Justice

Bosnian War- A Brief Overview | Remembering Srebrenica

Iran’s Border Security Forces Allegedly Massacre ‘Dozens’ of Afghan Migrants

Map: Courtesy of BBC

Taliban authorities are looking into allegations that dozens of Afghan civilians were killed and injured by Iranian border forces while illegally trying to enter that country from Pakistan.

The Taliban probe was announced after an Iranian rights group, known as Halvash, initially reported the alleged Afghan casualties, saying they occurred Sunday in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan border province.

The organization quoted survivors as saying that about 300 Afghan migrants were attempting to enter Iran unlawfully when they were assaulted by Iranian border guards, resulting in deaths and injuries.

An Iranian envoy stated that responding “legally” to the “illegal entry of unauthorized nationals” was “the legitimate right of countries, and the border guards of any country are obliged to prevent the entry of illegal nationals.” He reiterated that Tehran is determined to return undocumented asylum-seekers and deal sternly with illegal border crossers.

Residents in the Pakistani border district of Washuk also reported the alleged Iranian assault on Afghan migrants, but they could not provide specific casualty details, citing the remoteness of the border area.

Iran and Pakistan together host millions of documented and undocumented Afghan refugees. Both countries have deported hundreds of thousands of undocumented individuals back to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power three years ago.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the deportations continue daily, and almost 100,000 Afghans returned home from Pakistan and Iran in Sep 2024 alone.

Saravan is a volatile area and the site of a slaughter of nine Pakistani migrants on 27 Jan 2024. Pakistan’s Sunni Balochs promote an anti-Punjabi agenda against Islamabad; Iran’s Sunni Balochs are clamoring for more rights (if not outright separation) from Shia-dominated Tehran. Afghan migrants, of various ethnicities, become caught up in reprisals and hostility at the borders. Afghan Hazaras are Shias and should be welcome in Iran, but the ethnicities of the Afghan victims are not known.

Sources:

Iran’s border security forces allegedly massacre ‘dozens’ of Afghan migrants (voanews.com)

2024 Saravan killings – Wikipedia

Police Brutality: Former Louisiana Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced for Civil Rights Violation for Using Excessive Force Against Detainee

Javarrea Pouncy (31), a former sergeant with the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office (DPSO), was sentenced to 37 months in prison for assaulting Jarius Brown while he was being booked. Pouncy admitted that in Sep 2019, he and another DPSO deputy conducted a strip search of Jarius Brown and the deputies repeatedly punched the victim in his head, face, and body, even though the detainee did not pose a threat to either officer. As a result of the assault, the detainee was hospitalized and sustained a broken eye socket and broken nose, among other injuries. The other deputy involved in the assault, DeMarkes Grant, previously pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice sentenced to ten months in prison.

Undated photo of Jarius Brown courtesy of AP. In 2019, Pouncy and Grant beat Brown so brutally in that they broke his nose and left eye socket.

Desoto Parish and Louisiana law-enforcement agencies have a terrible reputation for incidents of excessive force against civilians. The ACLU has opened up its 22^nd lawsuit in what they call the “Justice Lab” to fight police brutality through the legal system.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Former Louisiana Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced for Civil Rights Violation for Using Excessive Force Against Detainee | United States Department of Justice

Lawsuit: Deputies broke man’s nose, eye socket while booking him into jail | wwltv.com

Videos raise questions whether DeSoto Parish deputies used excessive force (ksla.com)

‘Justice Lab’ aims to expose, litigate claims of police bias | AP News Jarius Brown’s | Legal Battle | for Police Brutality Justice (whitcomblawpc.com)

Food Safety: Listeria Recall Grows to 5.4 Million Kgs of Meat and Poultry

Getty/Lorenz Huter/Allrecipes

A nationwide recall of meat and poultry products potentially contaminated with listeria has expanded to nearly 15.4 million kilograms (12 million pounds) and now includes ready-to-eat meals sent to US schools, restaurants, and major retailers.

The updated recall includes prepared salads, burritos and other foods sold at stores including Costco, Trader Joe’s, Target, Walmart, and Kroger. The meat used in those products was processed at a Durant, Oklahoma, manufacturing plant operated by BrucePac. The Woodburn, Oregon-based company sells precooked meat and poultry to industrial, foodservice, and retail companies across the US.

Routine testing found potentially dangerous listeria bacteria in samples of BrucePac chicken, said the USDA. No illnesses have been confirmed in connection with the recall and the CDC has not launched an outbreak investigation.

The recall, issued on 9 Oct, includes foods produced between 31 May and 8 Oct. The USDA has posted a 342-page list of hundreds of potentially affected foods, including chicken wraps sold at Trader Joe’s, chicken burritos sold at Costco and many types of salads sold at stores such as Target and Walmart. The foods were also sent to school districts and restaurants across the US.

The recalled foods can be identified by establishment numbers “51205 or P-51205” inside or under the USDA mark of inspection. Consumers can search on the USDA recall site to find potentially affected products. Such foods should be thrown away or returned to stores for refunds.

Eating foods contaminated with listeria can cause potentially serious illness. About 1,600 people are infected with listeria bacteria each year in the US, killing 260 victims.

Listeria infections typically cause fever, muscle aches and tiredness and may cause stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms can occur quickly or to up to 10 weeks after eating contaminated food. The infections are especially dangerous for older people, those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant.

The same type of bacteria is responsible for an outbreak tied to Boar’s Head deli meat that has killed at least ten people since May. That plant was reportedly shuttered.

Sources:

BrucePac Recalls Ready-To-Eat Meat and Poultry Products Due to Possible Listeria Contamination | Food Safety and Inspection Service (usda.gov)

Listeria recall grows to 5.4 million kilograms of meat and poultry (voanews.com)

China’s Technological Advances Include Sound and Neurological Weapons

India denied that its soldiers were “microwaved” by Chinese forces atop the Himalayans on Nov 2020, but a professor in Beijing said that’s exactly how Chinese troops won the skirmish. The Indian soldiers were reported to be dizzy, nauseous, and vomiting, unable to withstand the invisible pulse attack after 15 minutes.

China’s military is developing high-technology arms, including sound weapons that can incapacitate enemy forces by disrupting the neurological functions of human targets without causing visible injury.

Modern warfare is rapidly evolving beyond physical combat through these weapons capable of disrupting brain and body functions with sound. A review of Chinese military writings revealed the military has developed two types of sophisticated sound technologies: “neurotype” sound weapons that affect brain activity and “organotype” models that can damage internal organs through various frequencies.

“These weapons, which operate at frequencies undetectable by the human ear, have the capability to cause both neurological and physiological disruption, making them an essential tool in [China’s] arsenal for incapacitating adversaries without inflicting overt physical harm,” the report said.

The weapons offer strategic advantages in waging asymmetric warfare with minimal physical evidence.

Neurostrike employs advanced non-lethal directed energy and infrasound weapons to incapacitate individuals physically and cognitively. The sound weapons can disrupt internal brain frequencies and internal organs, resulting in cognitive dysfunction, disorientation, and physical harm.

The weapons can induce confusion, emotional distress and a loss of consciousness, according to two Chinese military researchers who wrote a 2024 report, and can directly impair cognitive abilities vital in warfare.

Sound weapons designed to affect organs affect human tissue using frequencies ranging from 3 hertz to 17 hertz, causing a range of physical effects from nausea and dizziness to, in extreme cases, organ damage. The Chinese navy apparently has a high-powered infrasound generator for use against military divers.

The report urges the US government to take steps to deal with the growing threat posed by infrasound and neurostrike weapons, arguing that the military should invest in counter-sound weapon technology that can detect, block, and neutralize infrasound waves. Sound and neurostrike weapons should also be included in international arms control negotiations.

Several years ago, USIC personnel were victimized by the mysterious “Havana Syndrome” which caused similar types of non-kinetic symptoms addressed here. Culpability seemed to have lied with the Russian GRU in those “health attacks.” Both Russia and China seem to have these technologies. The US military has non-lethal directed energy weapons in its arsenal as well. The Active Denial System (ADS) is a painful heat-generating weapon; the Long-Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is a powerful sonic cannon. Some police departments, like the NYPD, employ a smaller version of the LRAD for riot control.

The ADS is a painful heat-generating weapon. (Photo: USMC / Lance Cpl. Andrew M. Huff)

Sailor aims an LRAD at an incoming small craft during a naval exercise in Apr 2015. USN Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Huey D. Younger Jr./Released

Sources:

Inside the Ring: China cognitive warfare advances – Washington Times

NeuroStrike Capabilities and the Strategic Role of Infrasound Weapons — The CCP BioThreats Initiative

India denies report that China ‘microwaved’ its soldiers with pulse weapon in Himalayas | National Post

China uses ‘microwave’ weapons to topple Indian troops in border dispute: Professor | Toronto Sun

Canadian Child Dies from Rabies After Bat Found in Bedroom

Eight species of these nocturnal creatures live in Ontario: the hoary bat, the eastern red bat, the silver-haired bat, the big brown bat, the tricolored bat, the little brown myotis bat, the northern long-eared myotis, the eastern small-footed myotis (pictured above).

A child in the Canadian province of Ontario has died from rabies after being exposed to an unspecified bat in their bedroom. The victim was exposed to the virus in an area north of Sudbury. The parents did not see signs of a bite or scratches and did not get the child a rabies vaccine as a result.

This marks the first domestically-acquired case of human rabies in Ontario since 1967.

The child, whose age was not shared by officials, was taken to hospital after the incident in early September and later died.

Rabies is a rare but deadly viral disease that can be spread to humans from an infected animal – such as bats, coyotes, foxes, or raccoons – most commonly through its saliva.

The disease, which can cause severe damage to the brain and the spinal cord, nearly always causes death once symptoms have appeared, according to the World Health Organization. The percentage of bats with rabies in the southern Ontario region has increased from less than 10% to 16% in recent years.

According to Health Canada, cases of rabies among humans in the country are rare.

Since reporting began in 1924, there have been 28 cases of rabies across six provinces, all of which were fatal. Nearly all human cases of rabies in Canada are a result of exposure to bats, or due to exposure to rabies while in another country.

In the US, fewer than ten people die from rabies each year, according to the CDC, a dramatic decline from the 1960s driven largely by prevention efforts.

There were 25 cases of human rabies documented in the US from 2009 to 2018, seven of which were contracted outside of the country. Like Canada, humans in the US are more commonly exposed to rabies through rabid bats, which are found in all US states except Hawaii.

Sources:

Canadian child dies from rabies after bat found in bedroom (bbc.com)

Ontario Bat Guide – Learn About Local Species – Ontario Nature

Cat Leads People to Her Kittens the Night Before Hurricane Milton and ‘Thanks’ Them in Most Heartwarming Way

The night before Hurricane Milton made landfall, Nikki, the VP of A Better Life-Pet Rescue, received a call about a mother cat and her kittens desperately needing help.

The cat reportedly had been left behind for weeks after her family moved away, and she had recently given birth on the porch. With the hurricane barreling towards the area, Nikki and her team knew they had to act fast to save the feline family.

“When I arrived at the location, I got out of the truck and started walking towards the house. She came running from down the street to me, meowing,” Nikki said.

She led the rescuers to her kittens. Photo: Nikki at A Better Life-Pet Rescue

The family of eight taken to safety. Hurry! Hurricane Milton is fast approaching. Photo: Nikki at A Better Life-Pet Rescue

Photo: Nikki at A Better Life-Pet Rescue

The feline family of eight was rescued just in time. Through the long night of howling winds, torrential rain, and power outages, they lay safe and dry indoors with warm beds and full bellies.

“Those kittens would not have survived the hurricane. We sheltered over 30 animals in our home during the storm.”

The mother is so happy to be indoors and trusts everyone to help her kittens. Photo: Nikki at A Better Life-Pet Rescue

Thanks to Nikki at A Better Life-Pet Rescue, all’s well that ends well.

Source:

Cat Leads People to Her Kittens the Night Before Hurricane Milton and ‘Thanks’ Them in Most Heartwarming Way – Love Meow

Afghan National Arrested for Plotting Election Day Terrorist Attack in Name of ISIS

Image: FBI

The FBI arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi (27) of Oklahoma City, OK who allegedly planned to conduct a violent attack on US soil in the name of ISIS on Election Day. He and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents.

Tawhedi, who arrived in the US in Sep 2021, had taken steps in recent weeks to advance his attack plans, including by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family’s assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan.

On 7 Oct Tawhedi and his juvenile accomplice met with FBI assets and purchased, received, and took possession of two AK-47 assault rifles, ten magazines, and 500 rounds of ammunition. Upon receipt of the rifles and ammunition, Tawhedi and his accomplice were arrested.

Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, if convicted.

Tawhedi entered the US on a special immigrant visa in 2021 and has been on parole status pending the conclusion of his immigration proceedings. The program permits eligible Afghans who helped Americans, despite great personal risk to themselves and their loved ones, to apply for entry into America with their families. Eligible Afghans include interpreters for the US military as well as individuals integral to the US Embassy in Kabul. The program has existed since 2009 and the number of applicants skyrocketed after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in Aug 2021.

Shawn Van Diver, the president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations dedicated to helping Afghans trying to leave Afghanistan, said that though the charges are serious, “it’s critical that we do not assign blame to an entire community for the actions of one individual. Thousands of Afghans who resettled in the US are working to build new lives and contribute to our shared future. These are the same individuals who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in Afghanistan for over two decades, defending the values we hold dear.

This defendant was committed to his attack plan as evidenced by all of the preparations for sending his wife and child back to Afghanistan and liquidating his assets. Thanks to Muslim-American or Afghan-American FBI assets who duped Tawhedi, the plot was interrupted. Note this is an ISIS-inspired plot, not a Taliban plot.

A criminal complaint 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 | Afghan National Arrested for Plotting an Election Day Terrorist Attack in the Name of ISIS | United States Department of Justice
dl (justice.gov)
FBI arrests Afghan man who officials say planned Election Day attack in US | AP News

Minnesota Man Sentenced to Prison on Felony Charge for Actions During 6 Jan Attack on the US Capitol

Photos: FBI

Paul Orta Jr (34) of Blue Earth, MN was sentenced to six months in prison, 12 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and fines by the Honorable US District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich. Orta pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder on 14 May 2024

Orta traveled from Minnesota to Washington, DC to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on 6 Jan at the National Mall. A crowd of rioters, with Orta at the front, began to overwhelm officers at the Peace Memorial entrance and began to move onto Capitol grounds. United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers retreated from this area and attempted to set up a new police line, but some in the crowd, including Orta, pressed forward. As Orta advanced toward the retreating officers, he yelled, “We’re taking that s— today!” Minutes later, Orta forcefully moved at least two temporary bike racks that were being used by law enforcement to control the crowd and threw them over a concrete wall.

During the scrum, Orta lobbed a dark-colored object over the heads of rioters and towards a crowd of law enforcement officers. He then pushed a bike rack barricade against the police line and made physical contact with law enforcement officers. After the mob broke through the police line and advanced to the Lower and Upper West Terraces, Orta climbed on top of a concrete wall and raised a fist in the air.

The FBI arrested Orta on 14 Nov 2023 in Minnesota.

Note that Orta appears dressed for combat, not a rally, and was given a fairly light sentence. He represents America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), dead-enders clutching on to the last vestiges of white supremacy in the US. This young man threw whatever semblance of a life away by heeding the idiotic call of Donald J. Trump. The internet is forever and technically so is Orta’s federal conviction. Orta will face difficulties obtaining gainful employment after he is released from prison.

The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

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

Sources:
District of Columbia | Minnesota Man Sentenced to Prison on Felony Charge for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

Cholera Cases, Deaths Surge in Nigeria

Houses and other buildings are submerged following a dam collapse in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria, on 10 Sep 2024. Image: VOA

Cholera is surging in Nigeria with the number of cases and deaths increasing by more than 200% this year. The Nigerian Center for Disease Control recorded nearly 11,000 cases of cholera this year — a 220% increase compared with the same point in 2023. Fatalities over the same periods have increased from 106 to 359 — a rise of 239%.

Nigeria has a population of 236,747,130 people. GDP per capita: $5,700 (2023 est.) Data: CIA. Map: ontheworldmap.com

The state of Lagos accounted for 43% of the nation’s cases, while Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, and Borno also recorded significant numbers.

Last month, the worst flooding in 30 years ravaged conflict-ridden Borno state, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation there. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and moved to overcrowded camps. The flooding caused a massive prison break earlier this summer.

“We’re now facing a significant public health challenge that demands urgent attention and action,” Borno Health Commissioner Baba Mallam Gana said. “The floods have created ideal conditions for the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera by contaminating water sources and disrupting sanitation systems.”

Cholera is a bacterial disease, usually spread by contaminated food or water. It causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.

Nigeria’s Health Ministry is sending hundreds of thousands of doses of cholera vaccine to the affected areas. Borno alone received 300,000 doses, and state authorities say the vaccine has been distributed to camps for those displaced by the floods.

Nigeria has Africa’s highest malaria death rate which the floods will exacerbate.

Lagos residents use art to draw attention to the gaps in the prevention and treatment of malaria. According to UNICEF, over 1,000 children under the age of five catch malaria every day. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images.

Sources:

Cholera cases, deaths surge more than 200% in Nigeria (voanews.com)

CIA

Nigeria has Africa’s highest malaria death rate – progress is being made, but it’s not enough (theconversation.com)

Osama bin Laden’s Son Omar Ordered to Leave France

Born in Saudi Arabia, where he spent his early years, Omar bin Laden (43) has also lived in Sudan and Afghanistan. He left his father at the age of 19 and eventually settled in Normandy in northern France in 2016, taking up painting.

France’s new interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said on X that Omar bin Laden “posted comments on his social networks in 2023 that advocated terrorism. As a result, the prefect of Orne issued an order to leave French territory. The courts have confirmed the legality of this decision taken in the interests of national security,” he added.

The interior minister also said he had signed off on a ban preventing Omar bin Laden “to return to France for any reason whatsoever.”

He did not provide further details and it was not clear if Omar bin Laden had already left France.

Omar bin Laden’s marriage to British woman Jane Felix-Browne, a grandmother who had been divorced five times previously and over two decades his senior, had caused considerable media interest when it was confirmed in 2007. Omar bin Laden sought to live in the UK, but his bid was rejected by the British authorities.

The announcement of Omar bin Laden’s expulsion comes as the French interior minister held a meeting on Tuesday with the police chiefs of the 21 departments most affected by illegal immigration.

This comes at a time when the French government just survived a no-confidence vote. The motion was brought forward by the left-wing New Popular Front, who won the most seats in the snap legislative elections called by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier passed the first test of his new government on Tuesday, as a leftist no-confidence motion failed to garner enough votes to bring down his center-right administration.

President Emmanuel Macron tapped Barnier for the job of prime minister last month after a snap election led to a fractious hung parliament. Barnier’s government is weak, propped up by the far right and despised by leftist lawmakers who filed the no-confidence motion last Friday.

The no-confidence motion was always a longshot, as it needed the backing of the far-right National Rally (RN) party to get over the line – a move RN lawmakers had signaled they were unwilling to take.

RN’s Marine Le Pen said she wanted “to give a chance” to the prime minister. But she set out red lines, including that any tax increases be offset by increased spending power for the lower and middle classes.

Anti-immigration is becoming an issue in European politics and this announcement by the French Interior Minister may have been to appease the far-right which is part of the governing coalition. There is no information where Omar bin Laden will re-locate to or whether another EU country will accept him. There is no open source reporting that he has not been charged with any crimes.

Sources:

Osama bin Laden’s son Omar ordered to leave France (rfi.fr)

French government survives no-confidence vote as far right stays neutral (rfi.fr)

French Island Uncovers Waste Ring Exporting Toxic Vehicle (HAZMAT) Scrap to India

Most illegal vehicle waste ends up in countries in Africa and Asia, where the environmental impact is devastating. Photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

The illegal operation, which ran for several years, shipped approximately 200 containers of dangerous car waste annually from the French overseas department and generated profits of €3.5 million. Under environmental laws, vehicles must be depolluted before being exported.

Map: Courtesy of Business Insider

Those arrested include a prominent local entrepreneur in the vehicle destruction sector, his wife and seven others. The investigation revealed that the suspects had been hiding dangerous materials with other waste products whose international trade is permitted.

Illegal exports of waste, including electronics and vehicle parts, are not uncommon. Much of this waste ends up in countries in Africa and Asia, where the environmental impact is devastating.

Developing countries often receive vast shipments of waste – both legally and illegally – from wealthier nations. India is a frequent destination for such waste. French authorities are continuing their investigation into the Reunion-India trafficking network, with further arrests possible in the coming weeks.

The move comes as part of a wider crackdown on international waste trafficking.

In 2023, INTERPOL reported a 50% percent increase in such operations over the previous two years.

In 2017, 835 large ocean-going ships were sold to scrap yards, 543 of which were broken down on beaches of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The toxic materials stripped from these hulks have caused illnesses and deaths among the poor people doing this dangerous work, but authorities do not seem to be investigating the causes. And India already has a pollution problem, causing 2.3 million premature deaths in 2019, according to a Lancet study. Nearly 1.6 million deaths were due to air pollution alone, and more than 500,000 were caused by water pollution.

Sources:

French island uncovers waste ring exporting toxic vehicle scrap to India (rfi.fr)

Lancet study: Pollution killed 2.3 million Indians in 2019 (bbc.com)

Iran: An Earthquake or Secret Underground Nuclear Test?

The University of Tehran’s seismography center announced that a 4.4-magnitude earthquake had shaken the city of Aradan in Iran’s Semnan province, with tremors also felt in parts of eastern Tehran this past Saturday. The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred 12km below ground, were recorded as 35.42° north and 52.78° east.

Hours after the news broke, social media users began speculating that the Tehran regime had attempted to conduct its first underground nuclear test, presumably as a deterrent measure against Israeli attacks on its territory. Tehran had stopped disclosing its nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after then-President Donald Trump recklessly withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018.

These speculations came as Islamic Republic officials and Revolutionary Guard commanders repeatedly threatened that if economic, political, and military pressures on the country intensify, Tehran will alter its military defense doctrine — a change that would require amending the Iranian leader’s fatwa on the illegality of nuclear weapons. Iran is also a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The NorNews news website, which operates informally as the Islamic Republic’s National Security Council main information outlet, dismissed the nuclear speculation as “rumors” and once again stressed that nuclear testing contradicts Iran’s nuclear and defense doctrine.

In 2019, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies claimed that Iran had begun a program to build underground nuclear testing sites, known as the “Field Project”.

The foundation has been sanctioned by Iran’s Foreign Ministry for five years for “producing and disseminating lies, encouraging, consulting, lobbying, and negative propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic with the aim of playing an effective role in imposing and intensifying economic sanctions”.

According to its 2019 report, its researchers “identified the likely location (in an area southeast of Semnan) where underground non-nuclear explosives tests were conducted in 2003 as part of developing seismic methods of measuring the yield of an underground nuclear explosive.”

This raises the speculation that the earthquake reported in Semnan could be connected to Tehran’s first nuclear test. While Iran has previously acknowledged the existence of the “Imam Khomeini” space center and missile headquarters southeast of Semnan, the site is more than 100 kms from the earthquake’s epicenter. Conspiracy theorists claim Iran prefers use this as a testing site instead of conducting them at a well-known facility such as Natanz.

Iran is an earthquake-prone country, so tremors like these are not uncommon or strange. During the savage Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, Iranian generals wanted to desperately counter-attack Iraqi chemical weapons attacks with their own stockpiles, but the religious leaders of Iran issued a fatwa against the use of WMDs, arguing thy would despoil nature. The Iranian High Command bitterly acquiesced in the face of appalling battlefield casualties. The recent social media speculation seems to be emanating from war-hawks itching to incriminate Iran and inflame tensions in an already precarious time with Israel continuing its murderous rampage in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and against Shia Yemenis on the Arabian peninsula.

Sources:

M 4.4 – 50 km NW of Bardaskan, Iran (usgs.gov)

Iran: An earthquake — or a secret underground nuclear test? | Euronews

Project Midan (fdd.org)

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – Wikipedia

Ex-British MI6 Operative: Donald Trump Took British Naval Secrets to Mar-A-Lago

Boxes and boxes with classified information stored inside a bathroom at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April 2021. Photo: Department of Justice

Donald Trump took “British naval secrets” to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House, the former UK MI6 operative Christopher Steele writes in a new book.
“I was reliably informed by impeccable sources that among the classified documents which Trump, apparently unauthorizedly, took with him to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency were British naval secrets, some of the most sensitive ones in our governmental system,” Steele writes.

“It remains unclear to me, at least, why Trump would have wanted to retain such documents and what eventually happened to them.”

Steele does not say what the secrets concerned.

Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving power in 2021 was the subject of an FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago and 40 criminal charges brought by the special counsel Jack Smith. That case was thrown out in June by Aileen Cannon, a Florida judge appointed under Trump. Smith has appealed.

Trump was convicted on 34 criminal charges in New York, over hush-money payments to an adult film star. His attempts to overturn the 2020 election are the subject of four federal criminal charges and eight in Georgia.

Trump was previously reported to have discussed US nuclear submarines at Mar-a-Lago with an Australian billionaire who then shared the information. Reporting of that incident did not mention “British naval secrets”.

A Russian foreign ministry photo showing Donald Trump with Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak sharing a laugh during their meeting in the White House on 10 May 2017 (EPA)

Steele discusses the reported occasion in May 2017 when Trump shared “top secret intelligence”, allegedly about an Israeli asset working inside the terrorist group Isis, with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. Sources, Steele says, believe Russia told Iran, which tipped off ISIS, leading to the death of the asset.

Steele then cites his “impeccable source” saying Trump took documents concerning British naval secrets to Mar-a-Lago. He also says the British government knew of links between Trump and Moscow before his intervention, as the Australian government reported activities involving a Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, in 2016.

The two most dangerous internal national security threats to the United States of America are Donald J. Trump and disgraced retired US Army LG Michael Flynn.

The head table of a gala celebrating the tenth anniversary of Russia Today in Dec 2015 in Moscow. Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP and NBC News.

Sources:
Trump took ‘British naval secrets’ to Mar-a-Lago, says Christopher Steele | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Trump indictment unsealed: Read the copy (axios.com)

How Waffle House Helps Southerners and FEMA Judge Storm’s Severity

Image: FOX Weather

Golden hashbrowns, gravy-smothered biscuits and crispy waffles with a hearty helping of maple syrup are among the classic Southern comfort foods. But when hurricanes tear through Southeastern towns, the hot meals and bold yellow signs of the local Waffle House provide another kind of comfort.

If a Waffle House stays open in town, even in a limited capacity, neighbors are reassured that the coming storm is unlikely to cause devastation. A closed location of the dependable diner chain has come to indicate impending disaster. The metric is known as the Waffle House Index.

What might sound like silly logic has become one of the most reliable ways for Southerners — and even federal officials — to gauge a storm’s severity and identify communities most in need of immediate aid.

About two dozen Waffle House locations remained closed in the Carolinas and the chain’s home state of Georgia on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the states were among those battered by Hurricane Helene. Several other locations were open but serving a limited menu.

As Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida communities still recovering from Helene, many Waffle House locations along the Gulf Coast, including those in Tampa, Cape Coral, and St. Petersburg, have closed in preparation.

The South’s favorite disaster authority provides an informal measure of how significantly a storm will affect or has affected a community.

A map of the chain’s over 1,900 locations, concentrated in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, helps residents of storm-prone states assess whether they’re likely to lose power, experience severe flooding or endure other extreme conditions that might cause a resilient restaurant to close its doors. For some, it’s a telltale sign of whether they need to evacuate.

Waffle House is known not just for serving breakfast 24/7, 365 days a year, but also for its disaster preparedness. For decades, people across the South have noticed that the local Waffle House seemed to be the only business still open during a storm or the first to reopen after it passed.

The restaurant chain’s reputation for remaining open when people desperately needed a place to warm up, charge devices and grab a hot meal became a fairly reliable — albeit amusing — source to help track recovery efforts.

Waffle House’s social media shares color-coded maps of its restaurant locations in certain regions that will soon be hit or are recovering from storm damage. FEMA also offers some live tracking.

Waffle House has closed many Florida locations before Hurricane Milton has made landfall, indicating the damage will likely be severe.

The appropriately named Milton (Paradise Lost) was upgraded back to a Category 5 storm Tuesday as it churned toward Florida’s west coast. The “meteorological monster” could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation into projectiles.

Source:

Waffle House Index helps Southerners and FEMA judge a hurricane’s severity | AP News

Friendly Cat Joins Canine Airport Therapy Squad at Denver Intl Airport

Therapy cat Xeli always seems to know when she’s needed. So, when she starts tugging on her leash, her handlers follow the cat to an older couple hunched miserably over their chairs at one of Denver International Airport’s concourses. Their return flight was cancelled, and they’ve logged countless hours trying to get back home.

Volunteers Nathan and Laine ask the duo if they’d like to hold the cat. The travellers’ faces light up instantly and Xeli bounds onto their laps and curls into a ball. The couple start reminiscing about their own pet who resembled the tabby. By the time the trio leaves, the travelers are smiling. “Visiting with Xeli was the highlight of our day,” they say.

Photo Courtesy The Petco Foundation

These kinds of transformations are par for the course for members of the Canine Airport Therapy Squad (CATS). Despite the acronym, the team consists of 94 dogs and one cat—Xeli. The program, founded in 2015, offers stress relief to travelers overwhelmed by the airport’s hustle and bustle, missed or late flights, or the scrutiny at security. By the time voyagers reach the boarding areas, they’re ready for the soothing snuggles and distraction of the therapy teams.

Xeli has always done that. Her “sweet nature” was evident to Nathan and Laine from the moment they glimpsed the purring kitten at a Petsmart adoption event. After bringing her home, the couple quickly realized that Xeli could charm even their most feline-resistant friends. A friend told Laine, “I’m not really a cat person, but Xeli’s pretty cool.” That’s when the couple began to see Xeli’s potential as a therapy animal.

Not every cat is cut out for the role. A potential therapy cat must have a mellow disposition and enjoy interacting with people. Prospective animals have to be certified by a recognized national agency who puts them through a gauntlet of simulated real-life situations, including loud noises and nearby dogs. Cats who prove their mettle undergo a more specific evaluation at the airport, where they’re shepherded through security, taken up escalators, and ride the trains.

Some travelers don’t know what to make of the tabby and her handlers, dressed in matching blue plaid vests. “Some people give us weird looks,” says Laine. Others offer money. A few have even tried to adopt the cat.

Photo: Courtesy K99

“We own her,” the volunteers clarify. “We’re here so that people who might be a little anxious can have some kitty cuddles.”

Sources:

Cat Infiltrates Canine Airport Therapy Squad – Modern Cat