A satellite image shows what is believed to be a deployment site for a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile, including 5 nuclear warhead storage bunkers (right) and bermed launch positions (lower left), in Vologda, Russia, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on 27 Aug 2024. Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS.
Two US researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as “invincible.” Using commercial satellite imagery, the analysts identified a construction project abutting a nuclear warhead storage facility known by two names – Vologda-20 and Chebsara – as the new missile’s potential deployment site. The facility is 295 miles (475 km) north of Moscow.
Dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin brags the 9M370 Burevestnik has an almost unlimited range and can evade US missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik’s strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.
Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom said five staff members died during the testing of a rocket on 8 Aug. Putin presented their widows with top state awards, saying the weapon they were developing was without equal in the world, without naming the Burevestnik.
The nuclear-powered engine threatens to disgorge radiation along its flight path and its deployment risks an accident that could contaminate the surrounding region, a former US nuclear weapons scientist reported.
“The Skyfall is a uniquely stupid weapon system, a flying Chernobyl that poses more threat to Russia than it does to other countries,” reported Thomas Countryman, a former top State Department official with the Arms Control Association, referring to the 1986 nuclear plant disaster.
Burevestnik being launched (undated image).
Meanwhile, Kiev fended off a massive Russian drone attack while President Putin made an official visit to Mongolia without being detained for his ICC arrest warrant.
Source:
Spy’s Confession Sheds Light on Russian Espionage in Georgia
Vsevolod Osipov (recent image)
Last month, Vsevolod Osipov was unmasked as an informant for Russia’s security services. He had been sent to Tbilisi to monitor the many Russian dissidents who have flooded the Georgian capital recently. But, he says his new notoriety hasn’t much affected his life here, and done little to scare away patrons – primarily Russians themselves – at the busy wine bar in central Tbilisi where he works as a sommelier.
“An occasional customer who recognizes me from the news stories may come up and ask questions, but beyond that I don’t get much attention,” Osipov reflected.
The young spy’s confession, which was then re-reported in several other media, would seem to be big news in Georgia, where concern about the large influx of Russians is keen. But it’s barely made a ripple.
“I thought that the Georgian police would show up to question me, but nobody seemed to care, except maybe an occasional reporter,” Osipov said with a smile and a faint note of disappointment.
Osipov said he knows at least two more individuals who came clean via social media about traveling to Georgia to spy, and thinks he has spotted a few others. “You are not given identities of other agents, but if you look close enough you can guess who they are.”
“Before coming here in October, I had a pre-departure briefing in Moscow, where they told me to go cafés and restaurants in Tbilisi frequented by the Russians,” Osipov recalled. “I wasn’t supposed to ask any questions or go out of my way to meet people, just observe and keep my thoughts to myself. Then, once a week, I was supposed to report to my coordinator what the general scene was like and if I had picked up on anything important.”
Being a bit of an amateur himself – he was only recruited last year – Osipov was also identifiable to a keen eye. Well before he went public, one heavily inebriated young Russian came up to him in a bar and said in a drunken slur that he knows who he really is.
Osipov was a law student and an activist with the small Libertarian Party of Russia (LPR) when he got arrested last year for participating in a demonstration in Moscow in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Threatened with imprisonment, he was intimidated into serving as a mole in the LPR and another opposition group, adding that that is how many young people get caught in the FSB net.
After Osipov performed his first, trial assignment to his handlers’ satisfaction, he was awarded with a bigger assignment: go to Georgia. “They gave me 214,000 rubles [about $3,550] to spend for a month and a half. I was supposed to go back to Moscow in December as, I guess, they were still testing me.”
Osipov was tasked with spying on two people in particular: self-exiled chairman of the LPR, Yaroslav Konvey, and Anton Mikhalchuk, a manager with the opposition group Free Russia Foundation. Upon his arrival, Osipov says he went directly to the two and told them outright that he was recruited by the FSB. He says he was trying to warn the LPR leadership all along, but failed to arrange a tête-à-tête with them until he arrived in Georgia.
Osipov offered to send false info back to his superiors to throw the FSB off the track, but the two exiles appeared to be mistrustful and spread the word among their colleagues about an informant in their midst. Word soon reached Osipov’s girlfriend, who runs a tiny bar in Tbilisi. She asked Vsevolod directly if he was working for the FSB. “I said yes, as I realized that she must’ve heard about it from the people I trusted,” he admitted.
Osipov continued reporting back to Moscow and convinced his handlers to extend his stay in Georgia. “I loved the city and had a good life here, so I did my best to stay as long as I could and have the FSB pay for it.” Even his handlers appeared curious about vacation options in Georgia: on top of his main job, the intelligence officers asked him to collect information on nice bars and landmarks worth checking out.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the handlers did not need much convincing to extend Osipov’s stay further.
“With so many people coming, they needed more eyes on the ground,” Osipov said.
Infuriated by the war, Vsevolod stopped responding to his handlers in March. In June, he spoke to media outlet Meduza, which fact-checked his claims, found his handlers and published their identities, and also spoke to the activists that Osipov was supposed to follow. Meduza also published screenshots of Osipov’s chats with his FSB bosses.
The story raised questions among some Russians in Georgia. Some were surprised by Osipov’s choice to try to pull one over on Russia’s formidable security service, though others put it down to his young age. Osipov admitted that he is indeed worried about the potential of FSB revenge, especially given that his mother remains back in Moscow; but he’s not so concerned about himself.
“I don’t think I’m that important for them to come chasing me here,” he said. “And I can always move to the next place.”
Source:
Spy’s Confession Sheds Light on Russian Espionage in Georgia – The Moscow Times
Britain Suspends Some Arms Exports to Israel
Palestinians look at an unexploded Israeli shell that landed on the main road outside the town of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photo credit: Reuters.
Britain announced it was suspending the export of some military equipment to Israel as London increases its public criticism of an ally and its methods of war that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
Israel’s behavior has attracted increasing criticism, including from allies, such as the US, as the death toll has continuously climbed and much of Gaza has been razed.
Britain announced it was suspending, with immediate effect, some 30 of roughly 350 licenses for the export of military goods to Israel following an assessment the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer showed that there is “clear risk” that Israel could use them in violation of international law. Items affected include military aircraft, helicopter and drone components, as well as items for ground targeting. Trainer aircraft and naval equipment remain permissible for export.
A British policy paper noted that Israel has not fulfilled its duty as the occupying force of Gaza to ensure the enclave’s some two million people receive essential humanitarian supplies. The study indicates that while Israel does not accept it is the occupying power, it does accept the obligation to allow free passage of humanitarian relief by third parties, including the UN. Amnesty International — which is among critics who accuse Israel of potentially committing genocide in Gaza — turned its criticism towards Britain for not going further with its sanctions.
British government statistics show its military exports to Israel have been declining. London had some $55 million worth of licensed arms deals with Israel in 2022, compared to 23.8 million last year.
The US has also withheld some shipments of bombs to Israel, but still allows most of them to be exported.
The International Court of Justice has ordered the Middle Eastern country to take immediate steps to end atrocities in Gaza and the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu of war crimes. Inexplicably, an arrest warrant has yet to be issued for him, unlike Russian President Vladimir Putin who can be arrested by any country that is a signatory to the ICC.
More than 40,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have been killed during the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Lancet.
Source:
Britain suspends some arms exports to Israel – UPI.com
American Warzone: Five People Shot at New York’s West Indian American Day Parade
Police move revelers from the street after a shooting on Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, during the West Indian Day Parade, 2 Sep 2024.
Five people were shot Monday at New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade. This was the latest incident of violence to mar one of the world’s largest annual celebrations of Caribbean culture.
A gunman targeting a specific group of people opened fire along the parade route in Brooklyn around 2:35PM. The parade had kicked off hours earlier, with thousands of revelers dancing and marching down Eastern Parkway, a main Brooklyn thoroughfare. The parade was expected to continue into the night.
Two people were critically wounded and three were expected to survive their wounds. The gunman fled. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was marching in the parade at the time and completed the route. Police cordoned off an area adjacent to the parade route, where they placed crime scene markers. The parade continued flowing past as officers were seen bagging items.
In 2016, two people were killed and several others were wounded near the parade route. The year before, Carey Gabay, an aide to then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, was shot in the head during pre-parade festivities. He died nine days later.
In an average year, 44,341 people die and 96,935 are wounded by guns in the US, costing the country $557.2 billion each year.
Sources:
5 people shot at New York’s West Indian American Day Parade (voanews.com)
Gun-Violence-in-the-United-States-2024-05.pdf (everystat.org)
Nationalist Mob Chanting ‘Yankee Go Home’ Assaults Two US Marines in Izmir, Turkiye
Two off-duty US Marines are safe after they were assaulted in Turkiye on Monday. @genclikbirligi via X
Two US Marines were assaulted by a group of young nationalists in Turkiye with one attacker placing a bag over the head of one servicemember.
The dramatic incident in the western port city of Izmir was captured on video, showing the moment two Marines were surrounded by a group of 15 people in a commercial area who were chanting “Yankee go home.” The gang then restrained one Marine before one of them places a bag over his head. Moments later, another man can be seen charging the group. None of the service members are in uniform.
Other Marines intervened and no one was reported injured. The service members later returned to their ship, the USS Wasp. Local authorities later identified the group as members of the Turkish Youth Union, or TGB, which is affiliated with the Patriotic Party — a small, nationalist political party without parliament seats. 15 alleged attackers were detained by local security forces.
An account on X purporting to represent the TGB said on Monday: “WE PUT SACKS ON THE US SOLDIERS SERVING ON THE LARGEST ATTACK SHIP OF THE USA, USS WASP! US soldiers, who carry the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians on their hands, cannot dirty our country. Every time you step into these lands, we will welcome you as you deserve!”
The reason why these Turkish nationalists placed a sack over one of the Marines stems from the 2003 “hood event.” On 4 July 2003, a detachment of Turkish soldiers operating in Iraqi Kurdistan were captured by US forces, hooded, then led away for interrogation. Afterwards, US forces raided a Turkish Special Forces safehouse in Sulaymaniyah and seized 15 kgs (33 lb) of explosives in addition to sniper rifles, grenades, and maps of Kirkuk with circles drawn around positions near the local governor’s building. Ankara lodged a diplomatic protest with Washington and the Turkish soldiers were eventually released after spending 60 hours in US custody.
The sight of seeing Turkish military personnel arrested, humiliated, and hooded by their American ally infuriated the Turkish public and wounded their national pride. The Turkish people have never forgotten that insult from 21 years ago.
Sources:
Two U.S. Marines assaulted by nationalist mob in Turkey (nbcnews.com)
US detains Turkish troops in Iraq | News | Al Jazeera
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3067319.stm
Donald Trump’s Cognitive Decline Becoming More Apparent
Ex-President Donald J. Trump delivers a speech during the “Make America Great Again” rally held at the Mohegan Sun Arena. (Brandon Stivers / Shutterstock.com)
Political analysts and mental health experts are becoming more and more alarmed by the 45th President’s latest bizarre and incoherent speeches.
Written verbatim below is what Donald Trump said at a rally in Potterville, MI. This is painful to read and must have been torturous to hear:
“She destroyed the city of San Francisco, it’s — and I own a big building there — it’s no — I shouldn’t talk about this but that’s OK I don’t give a damn because this is what I’m doing. I should say it’s the finest city in the world — sell and get the hell out of there, right? But I can’t do that. I don’t care, you know? I lost billions of dollars, billions of dollars. You know, somebody said, ‘What do you think you lost?’ I said, ‘Probably two, three billion. That’s OK, I don’t care.’ They say, ‘You think you’d do it again?’ And that’s the least of it. Nobody. They always say, I don’t know if you know. Lincoln was horribly treated. Uh, Jefferson was pretty horribly. Andrew Jackson they say was the worst of all, that he was treated worse than any other president. I said, ‘Do that study again, because I think there’s nobody close to Trump.’ I even got shot! And who the hell knows where that came from, right?”
As Donald Trump’s mental faculties continue to decline, so are GOP campaign coffers. Republicans are “starting to panic” because of a large fundraising gap they see emerging with their Democratic rivals and time is running short to close any distance with the election a little more than two months away.
Adding to Donald Trump’s miseries, a former advisor recently issued a humiliating message on ‘X’:
“Former Trump staffer and friend Anthony Scaramucci says Melania “hates” Trump and wants Kamala Harris to win.”
Moreover, an “October Surprise” awaits the the oldest candidate to ever run for the White House. An unflattering film about a young Donald Trump called ‘The Apprentice’ opens on 11 Oct in US and Canadian theaters (one month before the election). “The Apprentice” chronicles Trump’s rise to power in NY real estate under the tutelage of notorious defense attorney Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong). Late in the movie, Trump is depicted raping his wife, Ivana Trump (played by Maria Bakalova ). In Ivana Trump’s 1990 divorce deposition, she stated that Trump raped her. Trump denied the allegation and Ivana Trump later said she didn’t mean it literally, but rather that she had felt violated.
Sources:
GOP ‘starting to panic’ as Democrats build massive fundraising lead: report – Raw Story
‘Genuinely chilling’: Analyst sounds alarm over Trump’s latest bizarre speeches – Raw Story
Trump film ‘The Apprentice’ finds distributor and will open before the election | AP News
New Zealand Spy Report Calls Out China for Interference
New Zealand’s spy service branded China a “complex intelligence concern,” warning the Pacific nation was vulnerable to foreign interference. In an annual threat report, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) reported that several countries were undertaking “malicious activity” on its shores, but called out China’s attempts as “complex and deceptive.”
In particular, Beijing was accused of using front organizations to connect with local groups to replace authentic and diverse community views with those approved by the ruling party. In one example, a Chinese-language community news outlet parroted Beijing’s talking points.
In March, Wellington publicly said a Chinese state-sponsored group was behind a 2021 malicious cyber attack that infiltrated sensitive government computer systems. China dismissed allegations of hacking and accused New Zealand critics of being puppets of Washington.
Sources:
New-Zealands-Security-Threat-Environment-2024.pdf (nzsis.govt.nz)
New Zealand Spy Report Calls Out China For Interference | IBTimes
True Story of Penguin’s Annual Return to See Man Who Saved it From Oil Spill
Years ago, João Pereira de Souza discovered a Megallanic penguin covered in oil from a recent spill on Proveta Beach in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil.
Taking the penguin home, João found the bird exhausted and depleted after swimming through the oil spill. He nursed the penguin back to health, with plenty of soapy scrubbing and fish treats, naming it ‘Dindim’ after the toddler-speak of his son trying to say the Portuguese word for penguin (pinguim).
After Dindim recovered, João released him on an island near Proveta Beach and went home. But Dindim had followed him back and remained on his lawn waiting to be let inside. Dindim finally left of his own accord in Feb 2012. But for eight consecutive years, the penguin would leave every February and faithfully return to João Pereira de Souza in June.
My Penguin Friend recounts this story and premiered this month to mostly positive reviews, including an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Source:
The Good News Network
Coriolanus 