Serial Killer At Large in Middle East

An international arrest warrant issued by the ICC remains active for Benjamin Netanyahu. The allegations: Responsible for using starvation as a method of warfare and of intentionally directing attacks against civilian populations; crimes against humanity including murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024.

This man is dangerous. Do not approach and call INTERPOL immediately at telephone number 33 4 7244 7000 if he is seen or located.

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

Netanyahu’s Thugs Bully Greta Thunberg

After Israeli police arrested antiwar Samaritan Greta Thunberg (bottom right of photo) for trying to feed the starving people in Gaza last week, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu had Greta Thunberg watch death films of the 7 Oct 2023 Palestinian raid into Israel which was conducted to capture hostages for a prisoner swap. After she politely declined and this brutal chapter was completed, Greta was deported. Then Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a surprise attack on Iran called Operation Rising Lion.

The Donald Trumpf junta was aware of the imminent attack and had ordered non-essential State Dept and DoD personnel home from several locations in the Middle East days before the attack. US negotiators were about to begin the sixth round of nuclear talks with their Iranian counterparts in Rome.  Recall that Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Israel is not. Iran’s nuclear program was being monitored by the IAEA under the JCPOA agreement, until Dotard Trumpf recklessly pulled out of it during his first Reign of Terror. Note the number of Iranians previously assassinated by the Israelis and the recent victims of Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloodlust:

US and UK forces are ready to assist the belligerent Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. The UK has sent Tornado fighter jets to the Middle East and the already US presence in the Middle East is on high alert.  The Iraqi government wants the remaining US military personnel out of the country because they did not like Israel using their airspace to attack Iran. Moreover, US personnel in Iraq are vulnerable to attack by pro-Iranian Shia militias who see the US as an ally of Israel, which it is thanks to AIPAC.

With nothing substantial or intelligent to convey at the G-7 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada and still stinging from his humiliating birthday parade where his own wife Melania (AKA Melanoma) nodded off, President Dotard Trumpf used the Israeli war as an excuse to depart after the first day of talks on Monday. Air Force One is a ‘flying White House’ with all of the telecommunications necessary to prosecute a war so there was no technical reason for him to go. But with sharp Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and Ukraine President Volodomir Zelensky scheduled to meet him Tuesday, Dotard Trumpf “chickened out,” living up to his new sobriquet ‘TACO Don’: Trumpf Always Chickens Out.

Ottawa allowed Trumpf to enter the country since as a convicted felon, he is prohibited by law from entry into Canada. While there, Trumpf unabashedly promoted Russian President Vladimir Putin (72), an ICC-indicted war criminal:

Netanyahu Plotted to Murder Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C), shakes hands with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Tehran, with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi (R). [Handout: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader]

Murder-Death-Kill Campaign Continues in Gaza

While the G-7 leaders enjoyed fine wine, food, and Canadian hospitality in Alberta, this is happening in the Gaza Strip. The abominable cruelty and misery inflicted on these poor people by the Israelis is unimaginable. Have they no pity? (Photo: Al Jazeera)

The IDF killed at least 65 Palestinians and wounded 315 others in the Gaza Strip this past weekend.  Since October 2023, the hardworking American taxpayer has helped to kill 55,362 Palestinians, with an additional 128,741 injured or maimed. The majority of the victims are women and children. After US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ensured US aid would flow uninterrupted to Israel by capitulating on the GOP budget, the IDF resumed ethnic cleansing on 18 March. Since then, the IDF murdered 5,071 Palestinians; 16,700 others were injured or maimed. In the West Bank, Israeli lunatics set fire to agricultural land in the town of Turmus Ayya northeast of Ramallah, destroying several olive groves.

So, while Americans and Canadians celebrated Father’s Day this past weekend, Palestinians mourned the deaths of their fathers, thanks to Western complicity. Adjusting for inflation, US aid to Israel from 1951 to 2022 totaled $317.9 billion, making it the largest recipient of American foreign aid since World War II. In March, USSECSTATE Marco Rubio expedited $4bn of American taxpayer money to Israel.  The Democratic Party, which has become an effective platform for AIPAC, will permanently lose seven to eight million antiwar Samaritans and progressives in future national elections against the GOP just as they did in 1968 and 2024. Their consciences will be clear.

Meanwhile Benjamin Netanyahu, a serial killer in the likes of John Wayne Gacy, Jack the Ripper, Son of Sam, the Zodiac Killer, or Charles Manson, remains at large in Israel, although the indicted war criminal makes occasional appearances at his criminal corruption trial in Tel Aviv. The Israeli National Police have not arrested and turned Netanyahu over to the Hague for prosecution.

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

Sources:

https://www.state.gov/military-assistance-to-israel/

https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-military-aid-does-the-us-give-to-israel/

https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/technology-science/artc-israel-ranks-10th-best-health-care-system-in-2024-review

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/israels-pension-system-ranked-third-best-in-world-646239

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg7gl4zegyo

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/19/world-court-finds-israel-responsible-apartheid

UK: Blaise Metreweli Appointed as First Woman to Lead MI6

Blaise Metreweli has spent her entire career in the intelligence community and is of Georgian ancestry. She will take over from Sir Richard Moore later this year. (Photo: UK Foreign Office / AP / BBC)

Blaise Metreweli (47) will be the first woman to lead the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). She is currently Director General “Q”, the head of the crucial technology and innovation division that keeps the identities of operatives secret. “Q” comes up with methods to counter adversaries like China that uses biometric surveillance. Metreweli joined MI6 in 1999 and worked continuously as an intelligence officer, including director-level roles at MI5, the domestic intelligence service.

Historic note: The first head of MI6 was Royal Navy Captain Mansfield Cumming. He always signed his letters “C” and the codename has stuck. Captain Cumming wrote in green ink, so to this day, the head of MI6 is the only person in Whitehall who will write in green.

As predicted, a woman will take charge of MI6 for the first time. MI6 appointed an experienced and well-regarded insider who is fairly youthful over the other two qualified female candidates. Ms. Metreweli will run rings around the rank amateurs leading the USIC: ODNI Tulsi Gabbard, D/CIA John Ratcliffe, and D/FBI Kashyap Pramod “Kash” Patel. Dotard Trumpf appointed the first female D/CIA during his first administration, Gina Haspel.

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxyx04dv1wo

DNI Tulsi Gabbard Illegally Interfering in Inspector-General (IG) Offices

Senior Democratic lawmakers accused DNI Tulsi Gabbard of violating the law with personnel moves that threaten the independent oversight of the 18 intelligence agencies she oversees. In this letter, they provide new details of a standoff between Gabbard and her congressionally mandated inspector general. At stake is the fate of an office established by Congress in 2010 to provide independent oversight over what are now 18 US civilian and military intelligence agencies. Dotard Trumpf has frequently shown hostility toward inspectors general ” he fired one of Johnson’s predecessors during his first term in 2019 ” and in Jan 2025 he fired most inspectors general at federal Cabinet agencies.

Islamophobic, homophobic Tulsi Gabbard is the most underqualified person to ever lead a US intelligence organization. This shrew was chosen to lead the USIC to gut it, not empower it to protect US interests. These moves to fire the IGs protect Felon Musk and other cronies from being scrutinized of the abominable and massive larcenies they are perpetrating on the American taxpayer. Moreover, without independent IGs, there are no watchdogs keeping the Trumpf-filled USIC from abusing its tremendous powers of surveillance, wire-tapping, and data collection.

Emptyhead Tulsi Gabbard admitted use of the Signal App chat was a mistake. Then she used ArtificiaI Intelligence (AI) to de-classify the JFK assassination files, which led to the disaster of people’s personal information– specifically their social security numbers– being made public. This became a bonanza for identity thieves. At least 200 Congressional staffers personal data was exposed, as well as others.

Sources:

https://democrats-intelligence.house.gov/

https://www.rawstory.com/tulsi-gabbard-ai/

Dotard Trumpf Pick to Lead FAA Lied About His Pilot License

Republic Airways President and CEO Bryan Bedford testifies in Washington, 11 Jun 2025. (Photo: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)

Bryan Bedford, the nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration, for years erroneously stated in his Republic Airways bio that he is a pilot with a “commercial” rating.

Bedford’s biography at Republic Airways, the regional airline where he has been CEO since 1999, said until Thursday that he “holds commercial, multi-engine and instrument ratings.” The word “commercial” has since been removed. The FAA registry that houses data on pilot’s licenses does not list any such commercial credentials for Bedford.

Similar language asserting commercial credentials for Bedford appeared in his Republic bio since at least 2010according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

The ‘President Plane Crash’ meme has proven to be generally true, as US aviation safety has declined since Dotard Trumpf’s inauguration.

A far better choice to head the FAA would be any number of retired USAF generals, rather than a political donor who for decades has been lying about his aviation credentials.

Sources:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/04/16/has-flying-in-america-become-more-dangerous/

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/15/trumps-faa-pick-has-claimed-commercial-pilot-license-he-doesnt-have-00406090

Germany Has Evidence of Russia’s Plans to Attack NATO

Bruno Kahl, President of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), stated that Russia is preparing to test the credibility of NATO’s Article V, adding that German intelligence has concrete evidence of the Kremlin’s preparations for potential aggression against the Alliance. The BND chief emphasized that Moscow no longer believes in the reliability of NATO’s collective defence system ” particularly Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty, which guarantees a joint response in the event of an attack on a member state.

 “We are very sure, and we have intelligence evidence to back this up, that [Russia’s full-scale invasion of] Ukraine is only one step on Russia’s path towards the West.”

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has issued similar warnings in the past, repeatedly stating that Germany must be “ready for war” by the end of this decade. Ukraine’s intelligence chief publicly echoed the same analysis.

Putin and his protege at the 2018 Helsinki Summit (Photo: Chris McGrath / Getty Images)

The Trumpf junta has already signaled the US military won’t be participating in NATO drills after 2025. This year CIA abruptly withdrew the name of Ralph Goff, an experienced senior officer with impeccable anti-Russian credentials, to lead the Directorate of Operations. The EU and NATO recognize the threat from Vladimir Putin (72) and with Canada, initiated the Rearm Europe program. Meanwhile in the US, AIPAC will ensure that Israel continues receiving US military aid at the expense of Ukraine and NATO.

Sources:

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/06/11/7516583/

https://www.bnd.bund.de/EN/Home/home_node.html

Hybrid Warfare: Ukrainian Civilians Targeted in Europe

Ukrainians in Europe are being attacked by pro-Kremlin assailants. In Berlin, a 51-year-old man was attacked by two men wielding a knife after he was heard speaking Ukrainian and asked about his nationality. When he replied that he was Ukrainian, one of the assailants stabbed him in the abdomen. Last year, a 15-year-old refugee was stabbed in the German city of Dortmund and the body of a 27-year-old Ukrainian woman was found in Gochsheim. A 46-year-old woman and her six-year-old daughter were found dead in their Belgium home this month. The paterfamilias is serving in the Ukrainian Army.

These crimes against soft Ukrainian targets fall under the rubric of asymmetric or hybrid’ warfare of attacking weak links in the enemy’s armor to undermine morale and waste precious resources protecting vulnerable targets. These defenseless Ukrainian civilians didn’t stand a chance against their attackers. The NATO sabotage alert level remain HIGH because of the Kremlin’s continuous nefarious activities in Europe to weaken the coalition by exploiting weaknesses in defenses.

Sources:

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

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/06/14/7517150/

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/tragedy-in-belgium-wife-and-daughter-of-ukrainian-1749294338.html

Mexico: Drug Cartels Recruiting Former Colombian Soldiers

Colombian military veterans should not be underestimated by any organization.

Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers, prompting Mexican authorities to turn away Colombians trying to enter the country. Last week twelve Colombians in the western state of Michoacan were arrested in connection with a mine attack that killed eight Mexican soldiers. Close underworld ties have long existed between organized crime groups in Mexico and Colombia. For many years, Colombian drug traffickers produced cocaine and heroin and moved it themselves by boat or plane to the US. Later, as US authorities cracked down on trafficking in the Caribbean, Mexican cartels’ power grew as they moved Colombian drugs over land and via small plane to the US border and smuggled them across.

Decades of internal conflict in Colombia have produced tens of thousands of former soldiers, paramilitaries, and guerrillas with weapons training and combat experience. Many officers were trained in the US Army’s School of the Americas. Colombian military veterans have also joined Ukraine’s army for the money, adventure, and camaraderie. These veterans make for formidable adversaries for any military or law-enforcement agency to deal with.

Sidenote: Colombia is still dealing with internal strife. At least four people were killed as rebel groups detonated bombs near police stations in the city of Cali and the neighboring Cauca province. The attacks were blamed on the FARC-EMC, a group led by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who broke away from the group after it signed a peace deal with the government in 2016.

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexicos-security-chief-drug-cartels-recruiting-former-colombian-122709311

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/jun/10/least-4-dead-wave-explosions-outside-police-stations-southwest/

NJ: Legendary Gang Member Returns to Pagans Motorcycle Club

Legendary Pagans exile Robert DeRonde (61) AKA ‘Hellboy’, once cast out by the club, had been welcomed back. Hellboy rejoins as the Pagans face threats on multiple fronts from rival outlaw motorcycle groups looking to grow in New Jersey, including the hated Hells Angels and the Warlocks.

“Hellboy is the symbol of Pagan Nation,” said Edwin Torres, a special agent with the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, referring to DeRonde by his nickname. “He was a huge part of the Pagan culture. He was the go-to guy, well-liked and respected by everyone.” DeRonde was repatched into the Pagans in late May after three years of inactivity. There’s also uncertainty within the group about what happens now that the former president, Keith “Conan” Richter, is out of prison. Richter took over the Pagans by force in 2018 and has rapidly expanded its ranks, taking the club from several hundred to more than 3,000 members by recruiting light-skinned Latino members from traditional street gangs, like the Latin Kings, though they still prohibit Black people from joining their ranks..

Robert DeRonde earned the nickname “Hellboy” because he tends to turn red when angry like the comic book superhero. DeRonde has, or at least seems to have, superhuman strength and a resistance to injury. A muscular 5-foot-11, he’s a scrappy fighter who doesn’t often lose. DeRonde was the unquestioned enforcer of the Pagans before his ouster. Pagans have attacked innocent motorists and would then intimidate them from testifying against them in court.

The term “outlaw motorcycle gang” (OMC) was coined by the journalist Hunter S. Thompson in 1966 and was subsequently adopted by federal and local law enforcement agencies in the US and elsewhere. The US FBI and Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have designated four MCs as “outlaw motorcycle gangs”: the Hells Angels, the Pagans, the Outlaws, and the Bandidos These “outlaw motorcycle gangs” operate illegal businesses like drug and weapons trafficking, extortion, or as you read here on Coriolanus, murder for hire, all under the guise of being a legitimate club. The members of these “OMCs” are dangerous mofongos and of course they should be avoided at all times and at all costs.

Source:

Link One

Ex-CIA Analyst Sentenced Three Years for Posting on Social Media Israeli Murder-Death-Kill Attack Plans Against Iran

Former CIA analyst Asif William Rahman (34) of Vienna was sentenced to 37 months in prison for unlawfully leaking classified information on social media platforms in October 2024. Rahman accessed and released Top Secret documents regarding Israel and its planned actions against Iran on social media platforms. Some of the documents referred to Israel’s nuclear capabilities, which have never been officially acknowledged. He then engaged in a deletion campaign of his work products on his Top Secret work station. Continuing through Nov 2024, Rahman repeated the process. Rahman, who worked abroad, was arrested by the FBI in Cambodia and brought to the US territory of Guam to face charges. On 17 Jan 2025, Rahman pleaded guilty to two counts under the Espionage Act and has remained in custody since his arrest. The BOP has not yet released information as to which prison Asif William Rahman (USMS #46561-511) will be confined in.

Asif William Rahman leaked this information last year in a vain attempt to prevent the war that bloodthirsty Benjamin Netanyahu started anyway on 12 Jun 2025. Nota Bene: Another young man, a DIA employee, was recently arrested for attempting to sell classified information after growing disgusted and disgruntled with the Trumpf junta.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-cia-analyst-sentenced-over-three-years-prison-unlawfully-transmitting-top-secret

White Supremacist Terrorism

Apprehended Minnesota Political Assassin Had List of 70 Victims

Vance Luther Boelter (57) is a Christian evangelical zealot.

White supremacist Christian terrorist Vance Luther Boelter was arrested after a manhunt for assassinating a US lawmaker and her husband and brutally shooting another couple. He had a list of at least 70 Democrat lawmakers and other private citizens he was planning to murder.

Here is footage of the maniac, Vance Luther Boelter, in an African church celebrating God:

Footage of the Minnesota assassin Vance Luther Boelter, a life long registered republican and "Christian" nationalist incel that hated women. He's 100% MAGA.

Anonymous (@youranoncentral.bsky.social) 2025-06-15T08:02:45.517Z

During Boelter’s bloody rampage, this Christian lunatic also shot a beloved golden retriever, a defenseless rescue dog named Chester, who was later euthanized.

 

Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene posted this photo below on social media after news broke that two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses were shot and killed in Minnesota.

During “No Kings Day” activities in the US, several incidents occurred against anti-Trumpf citizens and there are simply too many to detail here. One example of a “useful idiot” answering the call to harm Democrats and liberals is this white supremacist terrorist below, who allegedly drove his SUV into a crowd of defenseless people in Culpepper, Virginia. At the tender age of 21, Joseph R. Checklick Jr. recklessly threw his life away:

Joseph R. Checklick Jr. (21)

Members of the dangerous MAGA cult of Christian white supremacists are acting more brazenly and boldly against liberals, atheists, Democrats, pro-Palestinian volunteers, antiwar Samaritans, and minorities, all inspired by their spiritual leader, Dotard Trumpf.

Dotard Trumpf attending an evangelical Christian brain-washing event on 29 Oct 2018. (Photo: NY Times)

Sources:

https://www.insidenova.com/culpeper/police-man-arrested-after-driving-into-crowd-of-no-kings-protesters-in-culpeper/article_21466e1d-7284-4754-8584-5fd9cdcb7bcd.html

Accomplice Arrested in California Fertility Clinic Bombing

Daniel Jongyon Park and the Palm Springs fertility clinic in California after the kamikaze attack.

Daniel Jongyon Park (32) was arrested for providing material support to the Palm Springs fertility clinic bomber. The suicide bomber, Guy Edward Bartkus (25), was motivated by pro-mortalism, anti-natalism, and anti-pro-life ideologies, which is the belief that individuals should not be born without their consent and that non-existence is best. Park, who shares Bartkus’ psychotic views, provided him with at least 180 pounds of ammonium nitrate. Both maniacs ran experiments with chemicals and used AI to assist with their attack planning. Bartkus liquidated himself in the kamikaze attack and Park fled to Europe, but was extradited to the US from Poland. If convicted, Park would face a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison.

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

Mental illness is increasing in the US, as is membership in dangerous online cults, like the ‘Zizians.’ Meanwhile, phantom insurance’ companies are not treating the unwell and the Trumpf junta is slashing the budgets of HHS and the CDC. Trumpf also loosened firearm regulations, so Americans should expect to see an increase in violence from lunatics like Daniel Jongyon Park, Guy Edward Bartkus, or Vance Luther Boelter, either by firearms, explosives, stabbings, or vehicle ramming.

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/washington-state-man-arrested-federal-charges-alleging-he-provided-material-support-palm

USAFacts.org 

GNET

US: Painful Invasive Species of Ants Spreading

Asian needle ant.

The invasive Asian needle ant is a stinging, carnivorous pismire that has been slowly spreading across the US. Last year at least three cases of life-threatening anaphylactic reactions were reported in Georgia, making this little (and little-known) insect a growing problem. Asian needle ants will reach their yearly peak numbers in July and August. They are small and blend in so well that stings often occur when someone, perhaps while gardening or moving wood, unknowingly disturbs them. “Imagine somebody inserting a needle directly into your flesh,” said one researcher. These ants are now widespread on the East Coast. For some, the stings can be life-threatening. For others, it’s an unusual pain that can come and go for hours. Pet owners should be vigilant about where their dogs and cats venture to

Interactive map here:

Brachyponera chinensis roughly translates as “short, wicked ant from China,” though they’re actually native to China, Japan, and the Koreas. And by some older translations it could also be “short constricted ants from China.” These ants were first discovered in 1932 in Decatur, GA, but was only recognized as a serious pest in the past two decades as it began to spread significantly throughout the southeast.

The Asian needle ant is difficult to eradicate because it doesn’t lay pheromone trails that can be disrupted or easily used to get the ants to inadvertently take poison back to their nests.

The painful Asian needle ant has been detected in Florida where President Dotard Trumpf wastes a preponderance of his time golfing, all paid for the by the hardworking American taxpayer.

Perhaps these Asian needle ants would be kind enough to oblige us one day:

Sources:

USDA Info

Ant Map

Stinging Asian needle ants spreading across US and nearing Illinois

US: Two Sadists Indicted for Torturing and Killing Monkeys

Katrina D. Favret, of TN and Robert M. Craig, of NC, conspired with previously charged defendant Ronald P. Bedra, of Etna, OH, to create and distribute so-called “animal crush videos.” The videos alleged to have been created included depictions of monkeys being sodomized with a heated screwdriver and a monkey having its genitals cut with scissors. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera.

A year-long BBC investigation has uncovered a sadistic global monkey torture ring stretching from Indonesia to the US. These maniacs mutilate and kill baby long-tailed macaques on film:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/Iot1dIWVS5/hunting-the-monkey-torturers

Below, Mike Macartney, a key video distributor in the US known by his screen name, “The Torture King.”  “It went from baby bottle teasing to fingers being snipped off.” No one should be surprised at the Confederate and Dotard Trumpf flags adorning his Virginia home. This lunatic is facing five years in prison and appears to be still be at large.

“Torture King” Michael Macartney – pictured at his home in Virginia – is facing up to five years in prison on animal abuse charges (Photo: Joel Gunter / BBC)

Unwell people are not getting the treatment, medications, or therapy they need to function as normal members of society. Austerity cuts to the social safety net under the Trump junta and “phantom insurance” companies that won’t pay for treatments will only exacerbate the problem of spreading mental illness in the American population.  

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

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/grand-jury-indicts-two-individuals-involvement-online-groups-dedicated-monkey-torture-and

Canada: Samaritan Couple Rescue Beautiful Collie from Demise in the Nick of Time

Josee and Vic on their wedding day.

When Vic and Josee read in the news that a beautiful abandoned young collie was about to be euthanized, they immediately drove several hours south to Montreal from northern Quebec.

Arriving at the nick of time, the couple immediately rescued the poor creature whom they re-christened “Mike.” Here he is in Vic and Josee’s car for the first time.

Mike the collie on his way to his new home.

Josee, who is a naturo-therapist, herbalist, entrepreneur, and avid reader, and her husband Vic were already managing a robust menagerie of fauna and flora in their habitat. They quickly began training this highly intelligent and affectionate canine.

The two new best friends.

In his illustrious career, Vic was a fireman, English teacher, and former Cold Warrior who flew on intelligence missions against the Soviet Union during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Another avid reader, Vic also maintains his private pilot license to this day. This gentleman and scholar also sang bass-baritone with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) when it was led by Maestro Kent Nagano years ago. Incredibly, Vic was fortunate to have met and shaken hands with President John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and baseball legend Jackie Robinson, and is never without an anecdote or history lesson about the US Civil Rights movement or the Cold War.

“Thanks Josee and Vic! Arf!”

Mike has now acclimated to his wonderful new forever home. Our thanks to Samaritans Vic and Josee for quick thinking, speed of plan, and opening their wallets and hearts to Mike.  

Donald Trumpf Waved Off Israeli Strike on Iran to Placate Vladimir Putin

Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month but was waved off by Donald Trumpf in recent weeks in favor of negotiating a deal with Tehran to limit its nuclear program, according to press reports. Trumpf claims he made his decision after months of internal debate over whether to pursue diplomacy or support Israel in seeking to set back Iran’s ability to build a bomb, at a time when Iran has been weakened militarily and economically.

Has Donald Trumpf been in office long enough to “internally debating” this issue from his golf resorts?

The Reality

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet at the Kremlin in Moscow on 17 Jan 2025. (Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofyev / Pool via AFP)

While Benjamin Netanyahu can’t wait to get the US to help him destroy Iran’s infrastructure, Trumpf has another master in the Kremlin. Tehran and Moscow signed a twenty-year cooperation treaty and are economically enmeshed. Iran has been sending Shaheed drones to Russia for three years in its brutal war on Ukraine. As predicted, Donald Trumpf cannot please two masters at the same time, so Vladimir Putin trumps Benjamin Netanyahu on the issue of attacking Iran. For now, Netanyahu will just have to settle for the hardworking American taxpayer wasting billions on obliterating the Shia Houthis, as that won’t affect the Kremlin’s investments or interests in Iran.

Attacking Hodeidah is a deliberate act of cruelty by the Trumpf junta.

The Ras Isa fuel port on fire following US airstrikes (photo from social media via Al Mayadeen)

US forces bombed the Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeidah, targeting the facility with two attacks that killed dozens of civilian workers and paramedics. At least 80 people, including at least five paramedics, were killed, and 150 were wounded. The paramedics were hit by a second US attack on the facility that came after rescue workers had already arrived at the scene to help victims of the first strikes. Targeting medical personnel is a war crime according to the Geneva Convention.

Attacking the starving (Shia) Houthis also pleases (Sunni) Muhammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. But as you will see below, besides killing Houthis, Trumpf makes it up to ‘Bibi’ by doing something else nefarious for him.

An outstanding international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) remain active for Benjamin Netanyahu. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/18/more-than-30-killed-80-injured-in-us-air-strikes-on-yemen-report

www.reuters.com

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/17/russia-and-iran-presidents-sign-partnership-treaty-in-moscow

Columbia University Dean of SIPA Former IDF Intelligence Officer

Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo poses with Hillary Clinton during Clinton’s 2023 guest teaching stint at Columbia University. With thousands of Palestinians being butchered in Gaza in 2023, what did these two find so hilarious? (Photo: Public domain)

Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo, Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University, is a former IDF intelligence officer and an official at Israel’s UN Mission in NYC. Yarhi-Milo played a significant role in drumming up public hysteria about a supposed wave of intolerable anti-Semitism sweeping over the campus during Israel’s Nakba against the Palestinians in 2023 and 2024. Dr Yarhi-Milo laid the groundwork for the extensive nationwide crackdown on civil liberties and ICE detentions, including Mahmoud Khalil.

Pro-Israel billionaires and oligarchs have donated $100 million to Columbia University and they are getting their money’s worth.

Now we know why Dotard Trumpf mistakenly called called General H.R. McMaster– he meant to call Governor H.R. McMaster (see last post).

Yehuda Kaploun and his wife with ethnic cleanser Dotard Trumpf.

Sources:

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/04/19/uger-a19.html

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64906

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-to-begin-screening-aliens-social-media-activity-for-antisemitism

https://www.mintpressnews.com/

US National Security Council To Be Staffed By MAGA Cultists

The White House is starting to rebuild the NSC with aides that are staunchly aligned with Trumpf’s Make America Great Again agenda. Derek Harvey, a military intelligence analyst and retired US Army colonel, is expected to be named senior director for intelligence.

“Always, we’re letting go of people,” Trumpf told reporters about the firings of aides to National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in the wake of the Signal group chat controversy. “People that we don’t like, or people that we don’t think can do the job, or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.” 

The man selected to lead the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) is a former CIA officer associated with white supremacist paramilitary organizations. DNI nominated Joe Kent, a failed Republican politician who never won a race, to lead this important position.

White supremacist Joe Kent is vastly underqualified to lead the NCTC, a Senate-confirmed position. (Public domian image)

Followers of the Watch, Coriolanus is proud to have personally worked with a genuine analyst decades ago who would later go on to lead the NCTC, Ms. Christy Abizaid:

Former D/NCTC Christy Abizaid.

Purges continue in the US government and Coriolanus is doing his best to provide you the more interesting or impactful cases, like this vignette below, involving the manifestly underqualified USSECSTATE Marco Rubio.

6 Jan terrorist Peter Marocco, the Trumpf junta apparatchik in charge of dismantling USAID, left a meeting at the White House last week to return to his office at the State Department. But when he arrived, Marocco could not enter the building: security told him he was no longer an employee there. Word of Marocco’s firing quickly tore through the GOP and MAGA ecosystem, startling Trumpf’s loyalists who viewed the aide as part of an elite cohort of administration true believers. Loud voices on the right piled on Marco Rubella, accusing him of undermining their disruptive agenda. Rubella has also differed with Trumpf regarding Ukraine and Russia.

Just as the Third Reich cowardly eliminated their enemies, so does the Trumpf junta by not addressing the victims to their face. Employees are terminated by email or surprise, like Peter Marocco, who deserved his fate.

The NSC will undergo a dramatic Islamophobic and anti-NATO realignment, rife with faulty analysis and bellicose policy decisions– an AIPAC dream come true. When Democrats return to power, they should immediately rescind the over-abused POTUS Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF). The damage this right-wing NSC will cause will take years for Democrats to repair while Ukrainians suffer and the Palestinian population and their lands will be further reduced.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/national-security-council-rebuilding-aides-aligned-maga-agenda/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/little-marco-rubio-splits-with-trump-with-brutal-slapdown-over-ukraine/ar-AA1Dc5ws

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/18/marco-rubio-peter-marocco-usaid-firing-00297812

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/nctc-who-we-are

Ukraine-Russia Update

This Ukrainian POW amputee somehow survived Russian captivity for an unspecified amount of time. (Photo: Ukrainian government)

1) After ICC-indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin announced an ‘Easter ceasefire’ with Kiev, Russian forces carried out 387 attacks and 19 assaults. Ukrainian casualty counts are still being tabulated. 2) China is supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery, and Chinese representatives are involved in weapons production on Russian territory, Ukraine’s president President Volodomir Zelensky announced.  3) Fascist Viktor Orban of Hungary is urging countries against Ukraine’s ascension into the EU. The Putin acolyte vowed not to let Brussels “force” Budapest to accept Kiev’s EU membership, lying that Ukraine’s entry would harm Hungary’s economy. 4) A prisoner exchange with the Kremlin returned 277 Ukrainian POWs and 246 Russian EPWs. Most of the Ukrainians had been held in captivity for nearly three years. The Russian EPWs were most likely not undernourished like the Ukrainian POWs. 5) Christopher Smith is expected to become the US Ambassador to Ukraine. From 2022-23 he served as deputy chief of mission in Kiev. Bio: 2021-2025.state.gov

Trumpf’s Ukraine ceasefire is slipping away, a war he promised his supporters and the world that he would end within a day.

Russians Celebrate Trumpf Serving Russia’s Interests

Dotard Trumpf is a “Soviet leaders’ dream” according to a leading Russian scholar. Writing in a weekly Russian newspaper, the scholar praised the actions of Trumpf for “driving a wedge” between the US and “the European part of NATO.” Other Russian news outlets echoed these sentiments. Moskovsky Komsomolets described the actions of Trumpf as “destroying the world created by American liberals.” In another newspaper, Russian Duma Senator Alexei Pushkov wrote: “None of the steps Trumpf has taken threatens Russia’s interests directly.”

The Economist was much more charitable in their assessment of Trumpf:

“The American president increasingly looks like Russia’s willing dupe.”

An outstanding international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) remain active for Vladimir Putin. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Sources:

https://english.nv.ua/nation/zelenskyy-russia-launched-387-attacks-after-putin-declared-easter-ceasefire-50507790.html

https://archive.ph/vgTxZ#selection-1119.0-1123.68

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2043274/russia-donald-trump-ukraine

Ex-NYPD Sergeant Sentenced as Illegal Agent for China

Michael McMahon on his way to trial. (Photo: Public domain)

A former NYPD sergeant was sentenced to 1-1/2 years in prison for acting as an illegal Chinese agent. Michael McMahon (57) was hired as a private investigator to surveil a New Jersey resident as part of a global campaign by Chinese law enforcement to repatriate alleged criminals living abroad, known as Operation Fox Hunt. Two of McMahon’s co-defendants were similarly sentenced. McMahon said he thought he was working for a company seeking to recover embezzled funds, and would not have taken the job if he knew the Chinese government was behind it. “I was unwittingly used,” McMahon testified. 

China Monitors Its Citizens Worldwide

An NYPD officer with McMahon’s experience should have known better, as he’s not operating in a vacuum of knowledge about China and their oppressive system. Retired NYPD officers enjoy a healthy pension, pistol permits, and access to a tremendous network of gumshoes and security companies in the Big Apple, which McMahon flushed away.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/private-investigator-sentenced-prison-interstate-stalking-and-harassment-chinese-nationals

Powerful Explosion at Northrop Grumman’s Utah Rocket Facility

A powerful explosion destroyed part of Northrop Grumman’s solid rocket motor production facility in Promontory, UT.  Unbelievably, no serious injuries resulted from the blast which sent shockwaves through the surrounding area. The facility, known as “Rocket Ranch,” is a cornerstone of the US solid rocket motor (SRM) production capability and plays a central role in some of the nation’s most critical defense and space programs. An investigation and safety review are underway.

Sources:

https://www.ft.com/content/4a3cba7d-1377-479e-8a09-4ef1d0f989a3

https://www.rferl.org/a/wagner-veteran-timur-praliev-detained-us-mexico-border-russia/33271493.html

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69518211/3/united-states-v-praliev/

Canadian TV Show Mocks Trumpf Mercilessly

Trumpf has been in office three months and he has a 43% approval and 55% disapproval rating. Nearly 70% of CEOs disapprove of Trumpf’s tariffs, including oligarch Felon Musk. Trumpf was already named the worst president of all time (Joe Biden was ranked 14th greatest).

President Plane Crash’ Meme for Trumpf Mostly True

During the National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol, Trumpf mentioned the aviation disaster in which 67 people lost their lives after an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk US Army Helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport — and compared the odds of a helicopter and plane colliding to golf balls striking one another on a golf driving range:

“I guess the helicopter was high, and we will find out exactly what happened,” he said. “But the odds even if you had nothing, nobody, the odds of that happening are extremely small. You go to a driving range in golf and hit hundreds of balls, thousands of hours.”

He added, “I’ve never seen a ball hit another ball. … Balls going up all over the place, you never see them hit. It was amazing that could happen. There were a lot of mistakes made. It should’ve never happened.”

Besides this imbecilic comparison of an aviation tragedy to hitting golf balls, Trumpf and Felon Musk’s DOGE team began slashing the federal budget, including the FAA. Concern grew that American aviation would become unsafe. After another plane crash occurred shortly after the Washington calamity and the budget cuts, the internet meme “President Plane Crash” went viral. Remarkably, the pundits and aviation analysts were correct.

Just over 100 days in, 2025 is already the deadliest year for US aviation since 2001. Fear of flying has spiked with 29% Americans now thinking it is unsafe to travel by plane. Analysis reveals such concerns are not entirely unfounded. While the 21 accidents recorded up to 10 April are lower than the 24 recorded by this point last year ” the number of aviation fatalities in 2025 exceed that of the past 15 years combined. There have been 83 fatalities on civilian airliners in the US so far this year, making up 63% of the global total of 131. And this is not inclusive of helicopter crashes, so the overall aviation total is even higher. The rate of fatalities per month is, as such, ten times higher in 2025 relative to 2024.

Most Recent Airplane Crashes

Emergency crews respond after a plane crashed into the Platte River killing several people Friday, 18 Apr 2025, in Fremont, NE. (Photo: Nikos Frazier / Omaha World-Herald via AP)

The pilot of an airplane that crashed into a carport near Deer Valley Airport had only minor injuries. (Photo: 19 Apr, Phoenix Fire Authorities)

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2025/04/19/us-news/nebraska-plane-crash-leaves-3-dead/

https://nypost.com/2025/04/19/us-news/nebraska-plane-crash-leaves-3-dead/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/04/16/has-flying-in-america-become-more-dangerous/

Belize: US Hijacker Shot Dead Aboard Small Passenger Plane

A US man has been shot dead after hijacking a small passenger plane in the Caribbean nation of Belize. Fourteen passengers were on board the aircraft when Akinyela Sawa Taylor took control of the flight at knifepoint. Two passengers were injured, including one who was stabbed in the back.

Taylor ordered the pilot to take him out of the country, but was then shot in the chest by another passenger. The hijacker’s motives are unclear, but Taylor had previously been refused entry into Belize. How Taylor was able to get through its borders is unclear as is how another passenger was able to board the flight with a loaded firearm.

Akinyela Sawa Taylor is allegedly a US military veteran and he could have been suffering from PTSD and/or have been under the influence of drugs.

In another unrelated mystery that was recently solved in Belize, in Feb 2025 three American women were found dead in a beach resort in Belize. Officials first investigated the deaths as possible drug overdoses. Belize police identified the women as Kaoutar Naqqad (23), Imane Mallah (24), and Wafae El-Arar (26), who were staying at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort. Note: Carbon monoxide detectors are not legally required in homes and businesses in Belize, so many hotels and lodgings do not have carbon monoxide detectors. People have suffered adverse effects or died from exposure to carbon monoxide in Belize and indeed, forensic investigators determined in March that was the cause of their tragic and useless deaths.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/17/belize-hijacking-plane

https://apnews.com/article/belize-american-women-dead-overdose-92244764df6318c7cdeb0985a39725f5

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/cause-of-death-determined-for-3-young-u-s-women-found-dead-at-belize-resort/

Cats and Toddlers

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.


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 | 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

Saudi painter Omar bin Laden in Le Teilleul, western France, on 1 July 2022. © AFP – Jean-François Monier

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

IDF Investigating Soldiers for Throwing Bodies of Palestinians from West Bank Rooftop

The IDF said it was investigating soldiers after footage emerged that appeared to show troops throwing bodies from the roof of a building in the occupied West Bank in the aftermath of a “counter-terrorism” operation jointly conducted with the Israeli Security Agency. Photo by Alaa Badarneh/EPA-EFE.

The Israeli military launched a major investigation after a video shot in the north of the occupied West Bank appeared to show its troops tossing bodies from the roof of a building in contravention of international law.

Three Israeli troops on a rooftop are seen pushing a body over the building’s edge but the feet get caught in electrical or telephone cables leaving it hanging before one of the soldiers leans over the side and frees it, plunging the body head-first to the ground, evidenced on the graphic footage obtained by CNN.

Two soldiers lift another body by the hands and feet and swing it back and forth before launching it over the edge like luggage. A soldier then approaches a third body and kicks it off the top of the building, falling out of sight.

CNN said it was not able to confirm if the victims were still alive when they were thrown — but they do appear to be dead or unconscious.

“This is a serious incident that does not coincide with IDF values ​​and the expectations from IDF soldiers. The incident is under review,” the military said in a statement.

Filmed by residents of Qabatya, near Jenin, and witnessed by an AP reporter, the incident occurred amid an IDF operation which killed seven people. The identities and cause of death of the rooftop victims were not yet known.

Al-Arabi correspondent Ameed Shehadeh said he saw troops first attempt to retrieve the bodies on the roof by unsuccessfully trying to demolish the building with a bulldozer before heading to the rooftop and throwing them down.

Rule 113 of the Geneva Conventions titled “Treatment of the Dead,” requires state parties to conflicts, both international and civil, to treat the remains of deceased enemy combatants with respect and that failure to do so is a war crime.

Rule 114 requires parties to the conflict to return remains upon request to the other side or to their families, if asked to do so, along with their personal effects.

The latest incident came two weeks after the IDF mounted one of the largest “anti-terror” operations in 20 years targeting Jenin and the Palestinian refugee camp there. At least 36 Palestinians were killed and several were seriously injured. Among the Palestinian dead were children and elderly people.

As reported in open press and posted here on Coriolanus, IDF soldiers were captured on video raping a Palestinian man in prison this summer. Rather than being outraged at this indefensible transgression, Likud cabinet members were outraged that an IDF soldier leaked the video. And as you read on Coriolanus, several anonymous IDF soldiers with a conscience informed the Israeli press that Palestinians were being used as “human booby-trap detectors” to enter tunnels or suspicious-looking locations in Gaza in front of nervous IDF soldiers.

These alleged incidents of brutality are the results of years of de-humanizing Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims as inferior and sinister. Right-wing nationalists in Israel and the US conflate Palestinians or Arabs with Hamas or Al-Qaida. Palestinians or Iranians are a perennial bête noire that must be destroyed.

The US required roughly 100 years, say 1790 to 1890 (the Wounded Knee Massacre) to pacify and relocate the non-white indigenous peoples of North America, euphemistically under “Manifest Destiny.” To facilitate this deplorable end, subtle and not-so-subtle messaging that “Indians” were “savages” or “heathens” was rampant in written and spoken discourse.

Part of the “white man’s burden” was saving the white woman and civilization from the darker savages, like this clean-cut cowboy saving “Penelope” from a perennial bête noire, a “redskin.” (Public domain imagery)

The same applies to Israel which was born in 1948. Since then, Palestinians have been called so many horrendous non-human slurs in Israeli discourse, Wikipedia devotes an entire page to this hideous practice (linked below). For example, 86 of 522 Israeli children’s books depicted Palestinians as “inhuman, war lovers, devious monsters, bloodthirsty dogs, preying wolves, or vipers.”

Should anybody be therefore surprised when so-called inferior beings like the Palestinians are treated so inhumanely, alive or dead?

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, most of Gaza’s 40,000 dead are women and children.

Sources:

IDF investigating soldiers for throwing bodies of Palestinians from West Bank rooftop – UPI.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_stereotypes_of_Palestinians_in_Israeli_discourse

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/08/1153216

Four Russian Soldiers Charged with Torturing and Killing Pro-Kremlin American Volunteer

US citizen Russell Bentley joined pro-Kremlin forces and was allegedly tortured and killed by Russian soldiers in April. Undated image: WIKIMEDIA / CREATIVE COMMONS (C).

Russell Bentley, a Texas man who as the “Donbas Cowboy” gained notoriety for joining Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, was ironically tortured before being killed in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Russian authorities said.

They also said that his alleged abductors tried to cover up the death by detonating a car containing his body.

In a statement released on 20 Sep, the Investigative Committee said four members of the Russian armed forces — Vitaly Vansyatsky, Vladislav Agaltsev, Vladimir Bazhin, and Andrei Iordanov — had been charged in connection with Bentley’s death in April.

Bentley (64) was a fixture in the low-level Russian incursion in Ukraine dating back to 2014. Calling himself the “Donbas Cowboy”, Bentley became a popular figure on Russian propaganda networks for his criticism of the US government.

Bentley, whose military call sign was “Texas”, went missing in Donetsk in April.

Margarita Simonyan, Russia’s leading pro-Kremlin journalist and editor in chief of the state-controlled broadcaster RT, wrote on X at the time that Bentley died for “our people” in Donetsk.

The commander of the Russia-backed separatists’ Vostok Battalion, Aleksandr Khodakovsky, said on Telegram then that “those who killed Russell Bentley” will face “punishment.” But the message was removed from Telegram shortly after it was posted.

Bentley’s wife, Lyudmila, then claimed that Russian soldiers from a tank battalion abducted him.

According to the Investigative Committee, Vansyatsky, Agaltsev, and Iordanov tortured Bentley on 8 Apr and he died shortly afterward. Vansyatsky and Agaltsev are suspected of blowing up a car with Bentley’s body in it and ordering Bazhin to get rid of what was left of his remains.

The four men have been charged with abuse of power, torture that led to a death, desecration of a body, and conspiracy to hide a body.

The Investigative Committee did not specify why the four men tortured Bentley to death, but many of his friends in Donetsk have suggested that the Texan may have been mistaken for a spy.

Bentley fought for the Vostok battalion between 2014 and 2017 and obtained Russian citizenship in 2021.

Source:

Russian Soldiers Charged With Involvement In American’s Death (rferl.org)

Four Proud Boys Who Led Charge During 6 Jan Attack on US Capitol Sentenced

Since their founding during the 2016 presidential race, the Proud Boys have been ardent defenders of Donald J. Trump, well before the 6 Jan 2021, Capitol attack. Photo credit: Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

Four men from Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia were sentenced to various terms after they were convicted of multiple felony and misdemeanor charges related to attacking the Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. This group of violent Make America Great Again (MAGA) “Proud Boys” were the vanguard of the attack on the restricted Capitol grounds on 6 Jan 2021, injuring several USCP officers. Their attack paved the way for thousands of rioters to storm the Capitol grounds.

The Honorable US District Judge Jia M. Cobb sentenced the following miscreants: Stephen Chase Randolph (34) of Harrodsburg, KY; James Tate Grant (31) of Cary, NC; Jason Benjamin Blythe (28) of Fort Worth, TX; and Paul Russell Johnson (38) of Lanexa, VA.

Stephen Chase Randolph leading the attack. Randolph received eight years in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

James Tate Grant assaulting a police officer. He received 36 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution. Image: DOJ

Jason Benjamin Blythe received 30 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Paul Russell Johnson was sentenced to five years of probation, conditions of which include, intermittent confinement on the weekends for the first year, followed by two years of home confinement and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine as well as $2,000 in restitution. 

A fifth defendant, Ryan Samsel (40) of Bristol, PA, will be sentenced on 4 Feb 2025.

All five white supremacists were convicted of civil disorder and some were convicted of assault with a deadly or dangerous weapon and inflicting bodily injury.  

In the 44 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,504 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 560 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.

Source:

District of Columbia | Four Men Sentenced for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

Satellite Photos Show Expansion of Suspected North Korean Uranium Enrichment Site

Satellite photos taken by Planet Labs of the Kangson complex show construction work expanding facilities on the southwestern side of the main building in Feb 2024. (Planet Labs)

A suspected North Korean uranium enrichment facility that may have been toured by leader Kim Jong Un recently has grown significantly since construction was first spotted there in Feb 2024.

The Kangson facility, just outside of the capital Pyongyang, is being monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for possible production of enriched uranium, which can be used for nuclear power generation – but is also a vital ingredient for an atomic bomb.

North Korea is extremely secretive about its nuclear program, and has not allowed IAEA inspectors back into the country after expelling them in 2009. In Feb 2024, the IAEA said that construction began on a new annex along the side of the main building of the Kangson complex.

That is corroborated by a satellite photo of the complex taken in February by Planet Labs, an US-based private satellite imagery company, which shows the expansion work is visible.

North Korean state media reported on Kim’s visit to an unnamed “production base of weapons-grade nuclear materials” last week, saying that he expressed “great satisfaction” with the improved nuclear capabilities, which would help North Korea’s “revolutionary cause.”

Experts disagree which site the North Korean supremo visited. Regardless of which facility Kim toured, the photos of the visit do not reveal anything that changes North Korea’s military threat and is a reminder of just how menacing Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal is. Kim Jong-Un had stressed that ramping up production of nuclear materials was a priority, even though his people continue to suffer from food insecurity.

According to the World Food Program (WFP), 10.7 million North Koreans are undernourished and 18% of children are stunted (impaired growth and development due to chronic malnutrition). With a population of 25.9 million, that means approximately 40% are suffering from malnourishment under Kim Jong-Un’s regime.

Sources:

Satellite photos show expansion of suspected North Korean uranium enrichment site — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Application of Safeguards in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (iaea.org)

DPR Korea | World Food Program (wfp.org)

Ukraine Offers to Help Flood-Affected European Countries

Ukraine, fighting for its survival against Russia, has offered to send its emergency service units to neighboring Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to help overcome the ongoing floods.

Several European countries are dealing with severe floods caused by the heaviest rainfall in years. The floods had claimed at least seven lives, as thousands of houses were damaged across Europe, with tens of thousands of people forced to evacuate from the disaster areas.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he was moved by Ukraine’s offer of help and Czech Republic Foreign affairs minister Jan Lipavský confirmed the offer in a statement on X (Twitter).

Ukraine has also suffered from a major humanitarian disaster caused by flooding after the Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine’s south 6 July 2023, which President Zelensky called one of Russia’s “most serious crimes against the environment and people.”

In the Ukrainian-controlled part of the area flooded after the dam’s destruction, emergency service rescuers and volunteers evacuated thousands of locals, even under heavy shelling from Russian forces.

Since the start of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine has sent its emergency service workers on a mission abroad at least once: to help Turkey after a deadly earthquake hit it on 6 Feb 2023, claiming over 50,000 lives across Turkey and Syria.

Source:

Ukraine offers neighbor countries help with deadly floods (kyivindependent.com)

Recent Analysis of 2019 Wuhan Market Animals May Help Find COVID-19 Origin

The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market sits closed in Wuhan in central China’s Hubei province, 21 Jan 2020. Some scientists believe infected animals were first brought to the Wuhan market in late November 2019, which then triggered the pandemic. 

Scientists searching for the origins of COVID-19 have zeroed in on a short list of animals that possibly helped spread it to people, an effort they hope could allow them to trace the outbreak back to its source.

Researchers analyzed genetic material gathered from the Chinese market where the first outbreak was detected and found that the most likely animals were raccoon dogs, civet cats, and bamboo rats. The scientists suspect infected animals were first brought to the Wuhan market in late November 2019, which then triggered the pandemic.

Scientists say they found which sub-populations of animals might have transmitted the coronavirus to humans. That may help researchers pinpoint where the virus commonly circulates in animals, known as its natural reservoir.

While the research bolsters the case that COVID-19 emerged from animals, it does not resolve the polarized and political debate over whether the virus instead emerged from a research lab in China.

An expert group led by the World Health Organization concluded in 2021 that the virus probably spread to humans from animals and that a lab leak was “extremely unlikely.” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus later said it was premature to rule out a lab leak.

An AP investigation in April found the search for the COVID origins in China has gone dark after political infighting and missed opportunities by local and global health officials to narrow the possibilities.

Scientists say they may never know for sure where exactly the virus came from.

In the new study, published Thursday in the journal Cell, scientists from Europe, the US, and Australia analyzed data previously released by experts at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It included 800 samples of genetic material Chinese workers collected on 1 Jan 2020, from the Huanan seafood market, the day after Wuhan municipal authorities first raised the alarm about an unknown respiratory virus.

Chinese scientists published the genetic sequences they found last year, but did not identify any of the animals possibly infected with the coronavirus. In the new analysis, researchers used a technique that can identify specific organisms from any mixture of genetic material collected in the environment.

One researcher said the new study, while significant, left some critical issues unanswered.

“There is no question COVID was circulating at that market, which was full of animals. The question that still remains is how it got there in the first place.”

Source:

New analysis of 2019 Wuhan market animals may help find COVID-19 origin (voanews.com)

Israel Detects First Case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF)

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) was discovered for the first time in Israel in grazing beef cattle in the Golan Heights, the eastern Jezreel Valley, and southern Carmel, as well as in ticks collected from the said animals. CCHF is a zoonotic disease, transmittable from animals to humans. The health ministry emphasizes that it is not possible to contract the disease by eating meat or drinking milk. Workers near grazing cattle must take extra precautions to prevent infection.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a viral disease that affects cattle, sheep, and humans. Most of the time, the disease appears without symptoms in animals but can cause severe morbidity in humans. 30% to 40% of people diagnosed with CCHF die from the disease. The virus is transmitted through the bite of a tick that feeds on the blood of infected cattle and sheep or through contact with their body fluids. This is the first time that the virus has been diagnosed in Israel, despite the fact that the virus is prevalent in the countries of the Middle East, Africa, West Asia, and Southeast Europe.

There is no vaccine available for either people or animals. General supportive care with treatment of symptoms is the main approach to managing CCHF in people. The antiviral drug ribavirin has been used to treat CCHF infection with apparent benefit. Both oral and intravenous formulations seem to be effective.

Sources:

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (who.int)

אבחון ראשון בישראל של נגיף בבקר במרעה ובקרציות בקר, הגורם למחלת קדחת דימומית קרימיאן-קונגו משרד החקלאות וביטחון המזון (www.gov.il)

Unknown Mozart String Trio Discovered in German Library

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 Jan 1756 – 5 Dec 1791). Mozart composed over 800 pieces and enjoyed billiards, dancing, and kept pets, including a canary, a starling, a dog, and a horse for recreational riding. Mozart had an ear for languages, as well as music. His cause of death is still not known, although records indicate he was suffering from “severe military fever.”

A previously unknown piece of music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was probably in his early teens has been uncovered at a library in Germany. The piece dates to the mid- to late-1760s and consists of seven miniature movements for a string trio lasting around 12 minutes.

Born in 1756, Mozart was a child prodigy and began composing at a very early age under his father’s guidance. Researchers discovered the work at the city’s music library while compiling the latest edition of the so-called Koechel catalogue, the definitive archive of Mozart’s musical works.

The newly discovered manuscript was not penned by Mozart himself but is believed to be a copy made around 1780. The piece was performed by a string trio at the unveiling of the new Koechel catalogue in the Austrian city of Salzburg and will its German premiere at the Leipzig Opera on Saturday.

The piece is referred to as “Ganz kleine Nachtmusik” in the new Koechel catalogue, according to the Leipzig libraries. The manuscript consists of dark brown ink on medium-white handmade paper and the parts are individually bound and was probably written before Mozart’s first trip to Italy.

Earlier this year, musical scholars wrote about a previously unknown system of dynamics, or code, in Ludwig van Beethoven’s original manuscripts.

Who knows what other centuries-old manuscripts or secrets of the Masters researchers will discover hidden in libraries and archives?

Source:

Unknown Mozart string trio discovered in Germany – Raw Story

A Secret Code May Have Been Hiding in Classical Music for 200 Years (msn.com)

A Lost Cat’s Mysterious Two-Month, 900-Mile Journey Home to California

Rayne Beau (pronounced Rainbow) in Roseville, CA in Aug 2024, before being returned to his owners. (Alexandra Betts via AP)

Benny and Susanne Anguiano and their two cats arrived at Yellowstone’s Fishing Bridge RV Park on 4 Jun for the cats’ first trip to the forest. But soon after they arrived, Rayne Beau was startled and ran into the nearby trees.

The couple looked for him for four days, even laying out his favorite treats and toys. When they finally had to drive back to Salinas, CA, on 8 Jun, Susanne Anguiano said she was crushed but never lost hope she would find him.

In Aug, the Anguianos received amazing news when a microchip company messaged them that their cat was at the SPCA in Roseville, CA, nearly 900 miles from Yellowstone. He was only about 200 miles away from his home in Salinas.

A woman who first saw Rayne Beau wandering the streets of the northern California city fed him and gave him water until she trapped him on 3 Aug and took him to the local SPCA. The next day, the Anguianos drove to Roseville and picked up their cat, who had lost six pounds.

The couple still doesn’t know how their cat got to Roseville but believes he was trying to get home. They have reached out to the media hoping to fill in the blanks.

Benny Anguiano said that besides microchipping their cats, they now have also fitted two of them with air tags and Rayne Beau with a GPS global tracker.

The cats love traveling in the camper and looking out the big windows to see deer, squirrels, and other animals. But the family is not ready to get on the road with their pets again any time soon.

This photograph provided by Susanne Anguiano shows her cats Rayne Beau and Starr Jasmyn snuggling in Salinas, CA, 10 Sep 2024. (Susanne Anguiano via AP)

Source:

Rayne Beau, lost cat, makes mysterious 2-month, 900-mile journey home to California – Washington Times