Trumpf’s Reign of Terror Reaches New Horrific Lows

Followers of the Watch, there is much to cover and little time, so let’s get started right away. Simply put, within two short months Dotard Trumpf has turned America into a Rogue State and an International Pariah. So, which despicable act to begin with?

Trumpf Rejects Mexico’s Request for Water in Tijuana

The US has refused a request by Mexico for water, alleging shortfalls in sharing by its southern neighbor. This was the first time that the US had rejected a request by Mexico for special delivery of water, which would have gone to the border city of Tijuana.

“Mexico’s continued shortfalls in its water deliveries under the 1944 water-sharing treaty are decimating American agriculture – particularly farmers in the Rio Grande valley,” the State Department’s alleged.

The 1944 treaty, which governs water allocation from the Rio Grande and Colorado River, has come under growing strain in recent years due to the pressures of the climate crisis and the burgeoning populations and agriculture in parched areas.

Trumpf Expels South Africa’s Ambassador to US

South African Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool on left.

Describing him as a “race-baiting politician,” USSECSTATE Marco Rubio expelled South Africa’s ambassador to Washington. In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating the US and President Donald Trumpf, and said the ambassador was “no longer welcome in our great country.” The rare move by the US marks the latest development in rising tensions between the two countries. Pretoria may reciprocate. The manifestly underqualified Marco Rubio is America’s top diplomat.

DHS Revokes Legal Status of 532,000 Haitians and Latin Americans

The Department of Homeland Security said that it will revoke legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, setting them up for potential deportation in April. These refugees came to the US legally, playing by the rules, doing everything that was required of them by the Federal Government.

The order applies to about 532,000 people from the four countries who came to the US since Oct 2022. They arrived with financial sponsors and were given two-year permits to live and work in the US. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said they will lose their legal status on 24 Apr, or 30 days after the publication of the notice in the Federal Register.

This is the same Kristi Noem who proudly admitted in her autobiography to killing an undisciplined puppy. This psychopath is prohibited from entering indigenous reservations in her home state of South Dakota.

Trumpf Planning Another Travel Ban

Trumpf is considering a new travel ban that could affect citizens from up to 43 countries, meant to address “national security and public safety threats.” Citizens from the 11 countries in the “red” category would be entirely barred from entering the US. These countries include Afghanistan, Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Countries in the “orange” category would affect immigrant, tourist and student visas, with some exception. The list consists of Belarus, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Turkmenistan.

ICE and DHS have been detaining pro-Palestinian college students on visas who demonstrated in 2024 or express anti-Israeli sentiments, in violation of the US Constitution guaranteeing free speech.

Trumpf needn’t be concerned about issuing a travel ban. An exodus of both people and capital from the US is taking place. Besides, refugees leaving these places to escape political violence can easily be killed in the firearm death epidemic plaguing the US, so why would they come to America?

Foreigners, Tourists Terrified of US Police State

Despite being lawful permanent residents of the US, legal immigrants with green cards are starting to panic about being kicked out of the country by the Trumpf administration. “If I were not a citizen, I would think long and hard before I traveled. And that includes green card holders,” said immigration attorney David Leopold. Germany issued a travel advisory to its citizens traveling to US to make sure their paperwork is in order. A handful of Germans have already been detained by ICE, in addition to some Canadians. International travel agents have been urging their clients to avoid the US. Canadians have begun their boycott of American products and travel to the US. Canadian tourist spending in the US totaled $20.5 billion in 2024; a 10% drop risks $2.1 billion and 140,000 jobs.

Grandparents and Orange County ex-residents Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez (Photo: Social media)

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez came to the US from Colombia without authorization some 35 years ago, raised three daughters and now have a new grandson. The couple was deported to Colombia earlier this week after living in California and paying taxes for 35 years, living the so-called “American dream.” This punishment is the equivalent of firing a cannonball at a housefly.

Trumpf Rescinds Security Clearances of Prominent Democrats

Trumpf speaking to reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, on 21 Mar. (Photo: Bryan Dozier / /Middle East Images /AFP / Getty)

Trumpf rescinded the security clearances of Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, several members of the Biden administration, and other prominent Democrats. Trumpf had already revoked Joe Biden’s security clearance. Previous victims of Godzilla’s rampage: Antony Blinken, Adam Kinzinger, LTC Alexander Vindman (Ret), NYAG Letitia James, NY DA Alvin Bragg, Gen Mark Milley, Jake Sullivan, Elizabeth Cheney, Fiona Hill, Lisa Monaco, former US Ambassador to the Czech Republic Norman Eisen, and attorney Mark Zaid. Trumpf also revoked the USSS protective detail for Hunter and Ashley Biden, Joe’s surviving adult children.

Trumpf’s vindictiveness impairs these people to work again in the USG as contractors, employees, or political figures. Removing the USSS detail from Biden’s adult children may imperil them from lunatics because of all the hatred Republicans generated against the Bidens these past several years.

Trumpf, to please his white supremacist Republican followers and himself, is bleaching the US of people of color. At the same time, America’s Godzilla is recklessly damaging America’s economy and reputation, something that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to see. Trumpf is maliciously killing two birds with one stone.

Citations:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/20/tijuana-mexico-water-trump

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/california/2025/03/08/army-corps-knew-trumps-california-water-release-order-was-a-waste/82055516007/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmj8ky3rvno

https://apnews.com/article/immigration-humanitarian-parole-china-haiti-nicaragua-venezuela-c10f422939934cf8d1cf8a6f4dfc4610

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/22/us/green-card-visa-holders-deportation-fears-cec

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2025/03/19/Germany-foreign-ministry-travel/9601742398245/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-revokes-security-clearances-of-kamala-harris-hillary-clinton-and-other-prominent-dems/

https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-trump-secret-service-ashley-50eba3fcd1ef9d2580fb4bc464d229f6

https://www.salon.com/2025/03/22/a-pivot-moment-some-travel-agents-are-now-urging-their-clients-to-avoid-the-united-states/

Trumpf Debases US With $5m “Gold” Immigration Cards for Oligarchs

Arch-goniff and billionaire Howard Lutnick, Trumpf’s Commerce Secretary, announced that he secured $5 billion in a single day by selling 1,000 immigration gold cards, each valued at $5 million. Lutnick said that with a market of 37 million potential buyers, Trumpf is confident they can generate at least $5 trillion by selling one million of these exclusive cards.

Billionaire Howard Lutnick claimed that “real Americans” like his 94-year-old mother-in-law won’t complain if they miss a social security check one month because of clerical error.

Citations:

https://www.financialexpress.com/world-news/commerce-secretary-howard-lutnick-says-us-sells-1000-gold-cards-in-a-day-raising-5-billion/3784494/

 corporate-prosecution-registry.com

Jessica Aber (43) Who Investigated Russian Criminals Found Dead in Virginia

Former US Attorney Jessica Aber (43) was found dead at her Virginia residence Saturday morning. Police responded to a call about an “unresponsive woman” and have launched an investigation. Aber, who resigned in January after serving since 2021, was hailed as an “irreplaceable” leader and prosecutor. The cause of death is yet to be determined by the chief medical examiner. Authorities have not revealed any signs of foul play but continue to examine the circumstances surrounding her sudden passing.

Citation:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/former-us-attorney-jessica-aber-found-dead-virginia/story?id=120064277

INTERPOL Solves Spanish Cold Case

INTERPOL informs:

“A woman who died in unexplained circumstances in Spain has been identified as 33-year-old Ainoha Izaga Ibieta Lima, from Paraguay. This was the first successful trans-continental identification made as part of INTERPOL’s Identify Me program.

The international cold case campaign, coordinated by INTERPOL with six European countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain), aims to seek the public’s help in identifying 46 women whose bodies were found in Europe over recent decades.

One of those cases, submitted by Spanish authorities, related to an unidentified female discovered in the province of Girona, Spain, on 6 Aug 2018. The woman was found hanging in a poultry shed attached to a farmhouse. She was not carrying any identity papers and no one in the area knew who she was, or how she got there. The victim had a tattoo on her left forearm of the word ‘success’ in Hebrew. Despite extensive investigations by local police, the woman was never identified.

A breakthrough came in March 2025 when Paraguayan authorities matched fingerprints uploaded by Spain to INTERPOL’s Black Notice against their own national databases, as part of the Identify Me initiative.

The first round of Identify Me, launched in 2023, also yielded noteworthy results, with the identification of Rita Roberts, a British woman who was found murdered in Antwerp in 1992. The family of Rita Roberts contacted the appeal hotline after they recognized their relative’s tattoo from news coverage of the campaign.

Identify Me is the first time INTERPOL has released public extracts from Black Notices, which are used to seek information internationally on unidentified bodies and to determine the circumstances surrounding a death. Black Notices can include information on the location where the body was found, biometric information (DNA, fingerprints, facial images), dental charts, physical descriptions of the body or clothing and any other details relevant to identifying the deceased.”

Now that Spanish and Paraguayan police have brought closure to Ms. Lima’s family, they now have a better chance of discovering whether she committed suicide or was murdered.

Citation:

https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2025/Spanish-cold-case-resolved-through-international-public-appeal

Russia Targets Odessa During Czech President’s Visit

Czech President Petr Pavel (L), Ukraine Deputy PM Okeksii Kuleba (R) (Photo: Social media)

Russia launched three waves of Shahed-type drones on Odessa during a visit to the city by Czech President Petr Pavel on 20 Mar. Three people were injured during the attack and civilian infrastructure was damaged. Last year Putin launched a missile strike on Odessa which landed danger-close to visiting Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“The entire civilized world should see Russia’s crimes against Ukraine,” Ukraine Deputy PM Okeksii Kuleba said.

A UN report recently condemned Russian’s actions against the children of Ukraine:

“Between 24 Feb 2022 and 31 Dec 2024, 669 children were killed and 1,833 injured, many as a result of the extensive use of explosive weapons in populated areas. Of these, 521 were killed and 1,529 injured in territory controlled by Ukraine, and 148 were killed and 304 injured in currently occupied territory. The actual numbers are likely much higher. As of Dec 2024, an estimated 737,000 children had been internally displaced by the hostilities. A further 1.7 million were refugees, many of them separated from a parent, usually their father.” 

An international arrest warrant remains active for Russian President Vladimir Putin (and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu), despite Trumpf’s sanctions against the ICC.

Citations:

https://kyivindependent.com/russia-hits-odesa-with-drones-during-visit-of-czech-president-petr-pavel/

 www.dailymail.co.uk

https://www.unognewsroom.org/story/en/2591/un-report-details-devastating-impact-of-hostilities-on-children-in-ukraine

67,042 Afrikaners Interested in Trumpf Re-Settlement Plan

Afrikaners outside US Mission in South Africa. (Photo: Social media)

The US Embassy in South Africa received a list of 67,042 Afrikaners interested in refugee status under Trump’s plan to relocate them in the US. The list was given to the embassy by the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US, which said it became a point of contact for white South Africans asking about the program announced by the Trumpf administration last month. The chamber said the list does not constitute official applications.

South Africa has the second highest rate of gun ownership in Africa, so these Afrikaners will fit in perfectly with America. Red States like Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, or Texas will be perfect for them.

Citations:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-refugee-afrikaner-south-africa-0fbca411470d3b439886cabc12c7600d

za.usembassy.gov

Senior FBI Agent Arrested for Disclosing Confidential Records

Senior FBI SA Jonathan Buma (Undated photo from public domain)

A senior FBI agent has been charged with unlawfully taking and disclosing classified FBI files. Johnathan Buma, who specialized in national security and terror cases, has been released on $100,000 bond, with orders to appear in court in Los Angeles. Buma was arrested as he boarded an international flight at JFK airport in NY. He allegedly printed of caches of FBI records from an internal agency network. Nearly 130 files might have been compromised. A Trumpf critic, Buma previously testified to Congress about the political investigations (witch hunts) against Hunter Biden, as well as Russian oligarchs (see bottom link).

Citations:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/longtime-fbi-agent-charged-disclosing-classified-records/

www.documentcloud.org

US Warzone: Three Dead, 15 Wounded in New Mexico Mass Shooting

Three suspects, including two 17-year-old boys, have been arrested and charged with multiple counts of murder stemming from a mass shooting that left three teenagers dead and 15 other people injured at an unsanctioned car show at a park in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

In an average year, 507 people die and 821 are wounded by guns in New Mexico, which has the 9th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. The attack sounded like a warzone firefight:

US Army medic readying life-saving plasma.

Citations:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-mexico-police-investigating-mass-shooting-las-cruces/story?id=120052341

Black Bear Gently Closes Door With Mouth

Apparently these two know each other pretty well. This took place on 7 Mar 2025 in Bergenfield, NJ.

America’s Godzilla Continues Deadly Global Rampage

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

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

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

Trumpf Endangering Passenger Air Travel

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

Trumpf Stops All Global USAID Activities, Ordering Personnel Home

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

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

The Worst Person in the World.

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

Trumpf Spreads Autism Misinformation in RFK Jr. Senate Confirmation Push

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

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

Trumpf wrote on Truth Social:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source:

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

Ukraine Update

SBU Detains Two Russian Saboteurs Preparing Terrorist Attack in Rivne

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

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

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

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

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

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

Laser Weapon Deployed Against Russian Target

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

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

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

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

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

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

The UK DragonFire Laser (Photo: UK MOD)

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

Sources:

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

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

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

Ocean Surface Warming Over 400% Faster Than in 1980s

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our Future Unless We Do Something Now

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

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

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

NASA Images Reveal Mysterious Square Structure on Mars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

From INTERPOL:

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

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

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

Significant seizures include:

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

More than 300 firearms, vehicles and poaching equipment.

Source:

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

US/Canada: Measles Cases in Texas, Manitoba

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

Grey Wolfs Silly Howl Spreads Joy

Sanctioned Russian Firms Sold $2BN Air Defense System to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia agreed to pay sanctioned Russian arms companies more than two billion euros for the Palantir air defense system, according to leaked documents. Trade data shows that some equipment was delivered in 2023, the year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Details about arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other countries are included in leaked emails and internal documents from Roselectronics, which were analyzed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).  

The Pantsir is a self-propelled air defense missile and gun system which can shoot down missiles, airplanes, helicopters, aerial bombs, and drones, like the recent Azerbaijani Airlines flight.

The documents show that Saudi Arabia ordered 39 trucks capable of shooting down aircraft, as well as ten vehicles housing “command posts” to direct the operations of combat vehicles. Also included in the purchase were hundreds of missiles, as well as additional vehicles.

A sanctioned Rostec subsidiary called United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation, was appointed to oversee the supply of the radio communications systems that were also purchased under the contract.

Efforts were made to conceal the identities of the clients.

For example, in the de-coded documents, foreign customer “012” stands for Algeria. In 2022, Russia was going to supply Algeria with its Acacia-E automatic aerospace defense system.

Foreign customer “364” of the Post-3M radio reconnaissance station in 2021 was Iran. Foreign customer “818″ of the Polyana-D4M1 command and control system is Egypt. Project 82P is Saudi Arabia.  The “82” is a part of the country code for Saudi Arabia (682), and the letter “P” refers to the product name — Pantsir.

And these Russian arms sales provide geo-political influence at the UN.

Saudi Arabia voted for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine while promising to provide Ukraine with $400 million in humanitarian aid. However, Riyadh abstained from voting on more than half of the UN resolutions regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Other countries doing arms deals with the Kremlin either voted in Russia’s favor or abstained: Algeria, Egypt, India, Uganda, Belarus, China, Uganda, Ethiopia.   

President Trump’s first phone calls included one to bully the Danish PM over selling Greenland to the US. His other call was to Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS), the notorious murderer of Saudi dissident/journalist Jamal Khashoggi and financial backer of Jared Kushner, his son-in-law. Whatever matters these two malefactors discussed, it wasn’t in the best interest of international peace, justice, or the masses.  

Sources:

Sanctioned Russian Firms Sold $2B Air Defense System to Saudi Arabia, Leaked Documents Show | OCCRP

European arms imports nearly double, US and French exports rise, and Russian exports fall sharply | SIPRI

A Peek at the Poland-Belarus Border

Per CIA, Belarus has a population of 9.5 million people and GDP per capita is $27,700. Poland, an EU and NATO member has a population of over 39 million people and GDP per capita is $44,400.

For almost four years, Poland has been on a permanent state of high alert because of Belarus, which stands accused of luring asylum seekers from far-away destitute nations and pushing them en masse towards the border with the purpose of sowing chaos and polarising Polish society. During its six-month presidency of the EU Council, Poland presented a program under the slogan “Security, Europe!” that broke down the concept of security into seven different dimensions, one of them was migration.

And thanks to Belarusian Supremo Aleksandr Lukashenko, here’s what the Polish-Belarusian border looks like:

(Copyright Euronews)

The Polish-Belarusian border is equipped with thermos-vision cameras and sensor cables. (Copyright Euronews)

This road connecting the two countries is firmly blocked. (Copyright Euronews)

Poland argues its actions, such as turning away migrants, are necessary to defend the EU’s external borders. (Copyright Euronews)

Warsaw has urged the EU to think of migration as a security issue. (Copyright Euronews)

A Polish-German border crossing.

And the man responsible for this, Aleksandr Lukashenko, is set to win a seventh term in an election the opposition calls another “farce”. Amnesty International described the Belarus elections as being held in a “climate of total fear and repression.”

Just one of the thousands of Lukashenko’s political victims:

Imprisoned Belarusian human rights activist and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski sits in a defendant’s cage during a court session in Minsk on 5 Jan 2023. (Photo: Vitaly Pivovarchyk / BelTA Pool Photo via AP)

Here is a Lukashenko protestor from 2020. (Photo: Tut.by via AP)

Recent protests against Lukashenko resulted in a brutal crackdown with more than 65,000 arrests and thousands beaten, bringing condemnation and sanctions from the West. His iron-fisted rule since 1994 — Lukashenko took office two years after the demise of the Soviet Union — earned him the nickname of “Europe’s Last Dictator,” relying on subsidies and political support from close ally Russia. The Belarussian dictator never bothered to change the name of the KGB like Russia and Ukraine did after the fall of the USSR.

(Image: Nataliia Shulga / Al Jazeera)

The 71-year-old Lukashenko, who only knows about life from the former Soviet Union, is afraid of his own people as well as losing power. And people in his proximity are afraid. A former minister said that officials sit with their heads down during meetings with him, avoiding eye contact with him out fear.

Sources:

At the Poland-Belarus border, security and migration merge into one | Euronews

Belarus strongman set to win a 7th term in an election the opposition calls a farce – ABC News

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/01/belarus-authorities-hold-presidential-election-in-climate-of-total-fear-and-repression/

“Jacuzzi of Death” for Sealife in Gulf of Mexico

Imagery courtesy of The Sun UK

The “Jacuzzi of Death” is filled with tragic creatures that have been killed in its toxic waters. This horrifying spot in the Gulf of Mexico is known to kill everything that goes inside it.

The dead zone is a 100-foot-wide “bottomless” pocket filled with toxic substances.

This concoction of methane, excessively salty water, and hydrogen sulphide means nearly everything that crosses its path is killed.

The murderous underwater lake sits nearly 3,000 feet below the Gulf of Mexico.

Its briny waters are so dense the death trap has been dragged to the bottom of the gulf and cannot mix with the rest of the ocean.

The “Jacuzzi of Death” is 3,000 ft below the Gulf’s surface.

A crab in the toxic zone.

Nearly all creatures that unknowingly enter the area die.

This death pool is four times saltier than the ocean waters around it, which ensures these bodies never mix.

Images reveal how these toxic waters slowly disintegrate the unfortunate crabs and fish that end up in the death zone.

This dangerous spot was found by scientists ten years ago when they realized creatures would enter never to be seen again. The death zone was dubbed a “jacuzzi” as the temperature of this pool is warmer than the waters around it. Mussels are the only living creature that can survive in these toxic waters. Colonies of bacteria have also been able to survive in this underwater spot.

The unfortunate crab being pickled.

The “Dead Zone” in the Gulf of Mexico has been growing for decades. Pollution, sewage treatment plants, fertilizer chemicals from farm land, beef production, oil toxins, and other sources along the Mississippi River wash into the Gulf of Mexico, causing algae blooms that deplete oxygen from the water, endangering marine life.

Analysis and imagery: NOAA

Oil Toxins Pervasive in Gulf of Mexico

Some analysts assess that we are the last generation to enjoy genuine, safe ocean seafood. Unless marine pollution is stopped, the analysts are correct. President Trump ordered the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America, but the AP style guide continues referring to it by its original name, as will Coriolanus.  

Sources:

Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone

https://www.usf.edu/marine-science/news/2020/oil-toxins-pervasive-in-gulf-of-mexico.aspx

Inside the ‘Jacuzzi of Death’ where anything that DARES enter will be killed & left to disintegrate in toxic waters | The US Sun

Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ larger than average, scientists find | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Thieves Use Explosives to Steal Gold Artifacts from Dutch Museum

The Helmet of Cotofenesti, pictured in the Romanian Museum of Antiquities, is strikingly decorated with mythological beasts and a pair of eyes. (Getty Images).

Four ancient gold artifacts were stolen from a Dutch museum in an overnight raid in the early hours of Saturday morning. Thieves used explosives to blast their way into the Drents Museum in Assen, which was hosting an exhibition of priceless Romanian jewellery made from gold and silver. They stole three Dacian spiral bracelets and the exhibit’s central piece – the strikingly decorated Helmet of Cotofenesti, which was crafted almost 2,500 years ago.

All four stolen items are of huge cultural significance to Romania, with the Helmet of Cotofenesti considered a national treasure.

Romania’s ministry of culture has promised to take all possible steps to recover the stolen items, which had been loaned to the Dutch museum from Bucharest.

Police are also investigating a burning vehicle which was found on a nearby road, which they suspect may be linked to the burglary.

No arrests have been made, but authorities suspect multiple individuals were involved. Police have called global policing agency INTERPOL to help with the investigation. Please see next story.

This was a professional operation. These artifacts are valueless to the thieves, so they are either working for an unscrupulous oligarch or they intend to sell them back to Bucharest for millions of dollars. The stolen items could have easily been taken out of the country by boat or ship.   

Source:

Thieves use explosives to steal gold ‘masterpieces’ from Dutch museum

INTERPOL Publishes First Ever Silver Notice Targeting Criminal Assets

Not all Notices are available to the general public, like war criminal Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu or Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Red Notices issued on behalf of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague.

From INTERPOL:

“INTERPOL has published its first-ever Silver Notice to help trace and recover criminal assets, combat transnational organized crime and enhance international police cooperation.

The Notice, requested by Italy, seeks information on the assets belonging to a senior member of the mafia.

The Silver Notice is the newest addition to the Organization’s suite of color-coded Notices and Diffusions, which enable countries to share alerts and requests for information worldwide. It is being launched as part of a pilot phase involving 52 countries and territories, which will run at least until November 2025.

Through Silver Notices and Diffusions, member countries can request information on assets linked to a person’s criminal activities such as fraud, corruption, drug trafficking, environmental crime, and other serious offenses. It will facilitate locating, identifying, and obtaining information about laundered assets including properties, vehicles, financial accounts and businesses. Countries may subsequently use such information as a basis for bilateral engagement, including bilateral requests for seizure, confiscation or recovery of assets, subject to national laws.

Countries and territories participating in the pilot phase:

Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Burundi, China, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Gabon, Georgia, Gibraltar (UK), Guinea, Hungary, India, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea (Rep. of), Kuwait, Latvia, Malawi, Malta, Moldova, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe.”

Source:

INTERPOL publishes first Silver Notice targeting criminal assets

Vietnam: 30 Children Poisoned with Pink Colored Rodenticide

Several students of Phu Lam Primary School in northern Vietnam picked up some bottles of pink water solution in a ball bag next to the school gate, then shared and drank it together, poisoning themselves.  

The patients were hospitalized, suffering with symptoms of fatigue, nausea, vomiting yellow fluid, dull abdominal pain around the navel, and some seizures. Doctors determined that the children were poisoned with fluoroacetate rodenticide, based on the results of toxicity tests and clinical diagnosis. The children are being closely monitored and treated while police in Tuyen Quang province investigate the case

Images provided by the family. Photo: BVCC

Last year, twenty Lai Chau children were hospitalized on suspicion of accidentally ingesting rat poison like the one pictured below.

A nefarious actor deliberately left that ball bag with the pink juice near the school. As previously posted on Coriolanus, there is a pattern of food poisoning incidents in Vietnam.

Sources:

Nearly 30 students were poisoned with rodenticides – VnExpress Health Newspaper

20 Lai Chau children hospitalized on suspicion of eating the wrong rat poison – VnExpress Health Newspaper

US/Canada Auto Recall: 80,000 Kia Vehicles for Improper Air Bag Deployment, Improper Wiring

2024 Kia Sorento

Automaker Kia America is recalling more than 80,000 vehicles due to floor wiring beneath the front passenger seat that can become damaged and prevent airbags and seat belts from deploying properly.

Damaged wiring can also cause an unintended side curtain air bag deployment, according to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recall covers 80,255 2023-2025 Niro EV, Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), and Hybrid vehicles.

To remedy the situation, dealers will inspect, replace and reroute the floor wiring assembly, as necessary, for free. In addition, dealers will install wiring covers. Owners will be notified by letters mailed in Mar 2025.

The recall follows one in November, when Hyundai and Kia recalled over 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a transistor in a charging control unit that could be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery. That in turn could cause loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.

Sources:

Kia recalls more than 80,000 U.S. autos due to improper air bag deployment and improper wiring | AP News

RCLRPT-25V024-8197.PDF

Hyundai, Kia recall EVs to fix problem that can cause power loss | AP News

Transport Canada Recall – 2025011 – KIA – Canada.ca

Maine Coon Cat Becomes Accidental Frequent Flyer After Being Left on Plane by Mistake

Margo Neas holds her cat Mittens at her home in Melbourne, Australia, 22 Jan 2025. (Photo: Rod McGuirk / AP)

A Maine coon cat named Mittens became an accidental jetsetter this month when her cage was overlooked in a plane cargo hold and she made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia.

Mittens (8) was booked for one-way travel with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand to their new home in Melbourne, Australia on 13 Jan. But owner Margo Neas said Wednesday that as she waited for Mittens to be unloaded from the plane’s freight area, three hours passed with no sign of the cat.

It was then that ground staff told Neas the plane had returned to New Zealand — with Mittens still on board. The return trip involves about 7.5 hours in the air.

Mittens, not usually an affectionate pet, is “the cuddliest she’s ever been,” said Neas.

Source:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/22/travel/mittens-cat-australia-new-zealand-intl-hnk/index.html

America’s Spartacus and Brutus

Abolitionist and American martyr John Brown. To his right, former US Senator, US Secretary of War, then Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis.

After Abolitionist John Brown’s heroic seizure of the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA on 3 Jul 1859 to amass weapons for his emancipation campaign, disappointingly no slaves joined his Spartacus-like tiny army of 21 volunteers (including his own sons).

John Brown’s tiny force was defeated by Colonel Robert E Lee leading a company of US Marines. One of his sons was killed.

This was an era when Abolitionists were reviled and demonized as Southerners were terrified of a slave revolt like the one which occurred in Haiti decades ago. Using the Slave Patrols, the antebellum South was a police state.   

Wounded and captured, John Brown was quickly tried for his heresies in arguably a “kangaroo court.” But prosecutors were unsure how to charge John Brown and the grand jury indicted him on “treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia” and inciting people “to rebellion and insurrection,” which includes “riot, robbery, murder, and arson.”  

Virginia Governor Henry Wise, while abhorring his views, pronounced John Brown “the gamest man I ever saw.”

Hiram Griswold, defense counsel for John Brown, argued that “no man is guilty of treason unless he be a citizen of the state against which the treason so alleged has been committed”–and that Brown, a citizen of New York, could not therefore commit treason against Virginia. As for the charge of inciting a slave revolt, his lawyer insisted “there is a manifest distinction” between trying to free slaves, which Brown admittedly did, and inciting them “to rebellion and insurrection,” which includes “riot, robbery, murder, and arson.” Brown’s goal was to liberate slaves, not kill slaveowners or inflict mayhem.

Defense counsel conceded that citizens were shot during the Harper’s Ferry incident. But to call these shootings “murders” as the state sought to do, was to confuse common criminal conduct with the unfortunate but sometime necessary consequences of a military battle. The deaths, Griswold contended, were not “murders” within the meaning of Virginia law, but rather battlefield casualties.

The gallant courtroom defense of John Brown failed and he was found guilty after 45 minutes of jury deliberation.

John Brown was publicly executed on 2 Dec 1859, five months from his raid on Harper’s Ferry.

Execution of John Brown. Shakespearean actor John Wilkes Booth was a spectator. (Source: David Hunter Strother)

Fast Forward Six Years to the “Battle of Philippi” Ending the American Civil War

Confederate Army commander Robert E. Lee (or Cassius) surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on 9 Apr 1865. President Jefferson Davis attempted to head west to continue the war with die-hard guerilla forces unwilling to concede, but the turncoat and his small party were captured by Union forces one month later.

In between the Confederate Army surrender and the capture of America’s Brutus, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. Jefferson Davis was imprisoned in Fort Monroe, VA, and confined to a casemate, forced to wear fetters on his ankles, required to have guards constantly in his room, forbidden contact with his family, and given only a Bible and his prayerbook to read. Public outcry against these harsh conditions led to an easing of his discomforts.

Sketch of Jefferson Davis in Fort Monroe casemate by Alfred Waud (1865).

In late summer 1865, Attorney General James Speed determined that it was best to try Davis for treason in a civil criminal trial. In June 1866, the House of Representatives passed a resolution by a vote of 105 to 19 to put Davis on trial for treason. Union prosecutors worried a jury might sympathize with Davis and acquit him in an act of jury nullification that would be interpreted as validating the constitutionality of secession. Ultimately, after two years of imprisonment, Jefferson Davis was released unscathed in Richmond on 13 May 1867. His bail of $100,000 (~$1.79 million in 2023) was posted by the oligarchs of his day: Horace Greeley, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and Gerrit Smith.

The Different Treatment Between the American Spartacus and Brutus

John Brown introduced the terrifying concept of racial equality to Southern slave-owners that threatened their prosperity, the status quo, and the myth of white supremacy. Bewildered prosecutors against America’s Spartacus cobbled together their charges against him and railroaded John Brown to his execution, all within five months. The incredibly dangerous meme of racial equality had to be quickly and decisively crushed.

But for America’s Brutus whose secession attempt cost hundreds of thousands of American lives and millions of dollars in damage, post-Civil War prosecutors were unable to convict Jefferson Davis of one, single charge. After two years Jefferson Davis was released unscathed from prison on 13 May 1867. The all-important meme of white supremacy was not quickly and decisively crushed.

While the “Battle of Philippi” defeated Brutus and Cassius and dissolved the geographic Mason-Dixon Line, the meta-physical apartheid of America and the meme of white supremacy remains to this day. Witness the several failed Congressional and criminal attempts to convict Donald Trumpf, the ultimate avatar of whiteism, just like Jefferson Davis, whose princely bond of $100,000 was paid by oligarchs 160 years ago. There should be no mystery that Trumpf wants to rename US military bases with the names of defeated Confederate generals.

Endnotes:

Only two Confederates would hang for war crimes after the US Civil War: Henry Wirz and Samuel “Champ” Ferguson. White supremacist Jefferson Davis would move to Canada and return to the US, outliving President Abraham Lincoln by 24 years and John Brown by 30 years. He died in Mississippi at the ripe old age of 81 on 6 Dec 1889. The Lost Cause of the Confederacy movement considered him to be a hero. In the late 19th and the 20th centuries, his legacy as Confederate leader was celebrated in the South. Some historians claim that John Wilkes Booth may be considered a Brutus or a Judas Iscariot for stalking and eventually assassinating President Abraham Lincoln.

Ralph Waldo Emerson would call John Brown’s 1859 courtroom oration, along with the Gettysburg Address, one of the two greatest American speeches:

“The New Testament teaches me that all things whatsoever I would that men should do to me, I should do even so to them….I have endeavored to act on that instruction. I am yet too young to understand that God is any respecter of persons. I believe that to have interfered, as I have done…in behalf of His despised poor, is no wrong, but right. Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood farther with the blood of my children and the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I say let it be done.”

Sources:

The Trial of John Brown: An Account

https://www.folger.edu/blogs/shakespeare-and-beyond/murder-most-foul-how-shakespeare-connects-abraham-lincoln-and-john-wilkes-booth/

Jefferson Davis – Wikipedia

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Brown-American-abolitionist

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/only-two-confederates-were-executed-for-war-crimes-during-the-civil-war/

John Brown (abolitionist) – Wikipedia

Chrystia Freeland to Run for Leader of Canada’s Liberal Party

Chrystia Freeland (Photo: Reuters)

Former Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland intends to run to lead the country’s governing Liberal Party saying “I’m running to fight for Canada.”

Freeland recently fell out with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over the direction of the country’s financial policies. Her resignation from her post in December was a blow to Trudeau’s already-shaky hold on the Canadian government, helping to usher in his own resignation after nine years as prime minister.

Freeland had long been one of Trudeau’s closest allies in his Liberal Party. She held the key role of Canada’s finance minister starting in 2020 – the first woman to hold the position – and helped to lead the country through the pandemic and its aftermath. The two disagreed on how to address US President-elect Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs, among other financial policies as Canada faced a C$60b deficit ($42bn; £33bn).

Following his win in November, Trump, who takes office on Monday, suggested that he would impose potential 25% tariffs on Canadian goods. In a public resignation letter, Freeland criticized Trudeau’s leadership, denounced his use of “costly political gimmicks” and said Canada must push “back against ‘America First’ economic nationalism”.

Ms. Freeland is of Ukrainian descent and a Rhodes Scholar. She has a strong reputation for competence and has experience dealing with Donald Trumpf. Canada must hold general elections in October 2025, but could come as soon as spring.

The threat of a Trumpf presidency caused Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to launch the Council on Canada-US Relations, comprised of leaders in business, innovation, and policy, in order to use their sectoral expertise in dealing with the US. Canadians along the political spectrum are uniting against Trumpf’s blasphemies.

Conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford wears a “Canada is not for sale” hat on his way into Wednesday’s First Minister’s meeting in Ottawa.  (Photo by Bryan Passifiume / Toronto Sun / Postmedia Network)

America’s neighbor to the south is also ridiculing Donald Trumpf as well.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm277d030evo

https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2025/01/16/prime-ministers-council-canada-us

US: State of Georgia Confirms Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza; All Poultry Activities Suspended

From the Georgia Department of Agriculture:

The Georgia Department of Agriculture and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed a positive case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a commercial poultry operation located in Elbert County, GA. This is the first confirmed HPAI case in a commercial poultry operation in Georgia, and the fifth detection in the state of Georgia. As a result of this detection, effective immediately, all in-state poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets, and sales are suspended until further notice.

All commercial poultry operations within a ten kilometer (6.2 mile) radius have been placed under quarantine and will undergo surveillance testing for a period of at least two weeks.

Avian flu will have a serious impact on the poultry industry with ramifications across a broad spectrum of the US. For example, pets can be affected by avian flu tainted food. While dogs are less vulnerable to avian flu, cats are not.

This beautiful cat died in Dec 2024 after eating from a contaminated batch of Northwest Naturals pet food. (Photo:
Jamila Acfalle)

One of the last official acts of the Biden Administration was to fund Moderna to discover a vaccine for the Avian flu. This will be President Trumpf’s first major health crisis.

President Trumpf’s medical care plan for all Americans.

Source:

https://agr.georgia.gov/pr/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-confirmed-commercial-poultry-flock-georgia-all-poultry

INTERPOL, Germany, and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Unite to Tackle Environmental Crime

Environmental crime is one of the most profitable forms of criminal operations worldwide, with estimates putting it as the third most profitable criminal activity behind drug trafficking and counterfeit crimes.

From INTERPOL:

The Federal Environment Ministry of Germany, INTERPOL and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are joining forces to combat the devastating impact of environmental crime.

With a EUR Five million investment from the German government’s International Climate Initiative (IKI), the three-year project aims to identify and prevent transnational crimes impacting the climate, biodiversity and the environment across five key areas: fisheries crime, forestry crime, illegal mining, pollution crime, and wildlife crime.

Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke:

“Transboundary organized environmental crime exacerbates the triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution. So it is important to me to ensure that protecting the environment goes hand in hand with combating environmental crime.

“Criminal organizations are causing massive damage to the natural foundations of our lives. For example, they kill and trade in critically endangered species, clear forests that provide key carbon reservoirs and habitats, and poison landscapes with illegally dumped waste, making them uninhabitable. By cooperating with INTERPOL and WWF, we will join forces and make a valuable contribution in the fight against transboundary environmental crime.”

INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza:

“Environmental crimes threaten our planet, our daily lives and the future of generations to come. From illegal logging to hazardous waste dumping, there are no borders to environmental crimes, which are uniquely destructive, with long term consequences that extend far beyond the immediate damage. This joint project with Germany and WWF will help provide real support in developing capabilities, intelligence and ultimately, operational outcomes.”

EUR five million is a drop in the bucket when dealing with international organized crime, but the investment is taken in good spirit. One of the issues INTERPOL can address is the “Sand mafia,” one of the largest crime syndicates in the world who are accused of plundering the earth. Stealing sand from beaches or from off-shore with dredgers, these criminals increase beach erosion worldwide. The stolen sand is used for lucrative building construction.

Sources:

https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2025/Tackling-Environmental-Crime-Germany-INTERPOL-and-WWF-unite-efforts

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sand-mafias-are-plundering-the-earth/

US/Canada: Rate of Dementia Cases Increasing Every Year

More than 25 different diseases and conditions can cause dementia; Alzheimer’s disease being the most common cause.

From Nature:

The number of US adults who will develop dementia each year was projected to increase from approximately 514,000 in 2020 to approximately one million in 2060. The relative growth in new dementia cases was especially pronounced for Black adults.

US Analysis:

“Using data from a community-based, prospective cohort study (n=15,043; 26.9% Black race, 55.1% women and 30.8% with at least one apolipoprotein E4 (APOE ?4) allele), we estimated the lifetime risk of dementia (from age 55 years to 95 years), with mortality treated as a competing event. We applied lifetime risk estimates to US Census projections to evaluate the annual number of incident dementia cases from 2020 to 2060. The lifetime risk of dementia after age 55 years was 42% (95% confidence interval: 41–43). Rates were substantially higher in women, Black adults and APOE 4 carriers, with lifetime risks ranging from approximately 45% to 60% in these populations. The number of US adults who will develop dementia each year was projected to increase from approximately 514,000 in 2020 to approximately one million in 2060. The relative growth in new dementia cases was especially pronounced for Black adults. These results highlight the urgent need for policies that enhance healthy aging, with a focus on health equity.”

Canada Analysis:

As of 1 Jan 2025, an estimated 771,939 people are living with dementia.
Every day, more than 414 people develop dementia, which is more than 17 every hour.

By 2030, researchers project that nearly one million people will be living with dementia. And they forecast that more than 1.7 million people in Canada will have dementia by 2050.

Genetics, alcohol/drug use, the environment, poverty, and malnutrition are probably all contributing factors. Canada, with a growing elderly population, will probably weather this future storm better than the US with her superior social safety nets. For Americans, these numbers may grow because of the incoming Trumpf Administration which will extract more wealth out of the system, cutting back on Medicare, food assistance, and medical research.

Sources:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03340-9

https://alzheimer.ca/en/about-dementia/what-dementia/dementia-numbers-canada

64 Years Ago, Americans Celebrated President John F. Kennedy with Stellar Pre-Inaugural Gala in Washington, DC

Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack was a political tour-de-force which helped JFK win the White House in 1960. They organized a pre-inaugural gala/fundraiser on 19 Jan 1961. Frank Sinatra and Peter Lawford convinced several Broadway producers to shut down for one night so actors such as Anthony Quinn, Ethel Merman, and Laurence Olivier could attend.

The National Guard Armory in DC hosted two inaugural events: the Pre-Inaugural Gala (19 Jan 1961) and the Post-Inaugural Ball (20 Jan 1961).

President-elect John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrive at the pre-inaugural ball.

Frank Sinatra escorts Jacqueline Kennedy up the stairs during the pre-inaugural gala at the National Guard Armory in Washington, DC on 19 Jan 1961 (Photo: GAB Archive / Redferns)

The Chairman of the Board lighting up the incoming Commander-in-Chief.

Gene Kelly performing at the JFK gala, 19 Jan 1961.

Fellow Rat Packer Peter Lawford was the tightest with Frank Sinatra at that moment in history.

Regrettably, Rat Packer Sammy Davis Jr was excluded from the 19 Jan gala because of his recent mixed-race marriage to May Britt and Southern Democrats needed to be appeased. Crushed, Sammy Davis Jr would switch his support to the GOP and in 1972 he became the first man of color to stay overnight at the White House (in the Lincoln Bedroom).

Tickets sold for $100 each and 72 ringside boxes for small groups were sold at $10,000 apiece.

‘Twas the beginning of a short-lived Camelot.

This comic book was distributed to people overseas through US Embassies to introduce them to America’s new First Family.

JFK donated his entire congressional and presidential salaries to charity.

Sources:

https://www.thirteen.org/blog-post/the-lost-inaugural-gala-for-jfk-never-before-seen-performances/

https://pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/1961-inaugural-gala/

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jfk-presidential-salary/

Abandoned Golden Retriever Puppy Cried So Kitten Came Over to Comfort It

Nakba Update: IDF Upholds Ceasefire with Lebanon but Still Strangling Palestinians in Gaza

After decimating Lebanon’s infrastructure and killing enough Known or Suspected Terrorists (KSTs), as well as innocent bystanders and medical personnel (3,580 killed, over 15,000 wounded), the Israeli Death Forces (IDF) accepted a ceasefire. So they continued their Nakba in Gaza.  At least four people in the al-Tabin school shelter for displaced people in Gaza City were killed. And the IDF continues blockading humanitarian relief into Gaza.

Opposition leader Yair Golan questioned why Benjamin Netanyahu has not struck a deal to stop the bloodbath in Gaza.

“The most important test is to end the war in Gaza,” said Golan, who heads the opposition coalition the Democrats.

“If it is possible to reach an agreement with Hezbollah, why can’t we reach an agreement with Hamas and free the hostages? The fighting continues only because Netanyahu is politically dependent on a fanatical and messianic group that wants to win the war,” Golan concluded.

Women and children queue for bread at a bakery in Khan Younis. “NHI” is when people die of starvation, disease, exposure, or untreated wounds. Winter is fast approaching.  (25 Nov 2024 Photo: UNRWA)

The Gaza Health Ministry said 44,056 people have been killed and 104,268 wounded since 7 Oct 2023.  The real toll is probably higher because thousands of bodies are buried under rubble or in areas that medics cannot access.

The Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count and more than half of the fatalities are women and children. The IDF reported it has killed over 17,000 militants without providing evidence or proving their guilt in a court of law. That means 27,056 Palestinian deaths were innocent non-combatants. The Likud government will no doubt encourage an exodus of Palestinians from Gaza in the near future.

In the occupied West Bank, at least 760 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,769 injured by the IDF and lunatic Settlers. This is pure homicide and simply ethnic cleansing. Those maniacs recently attacked IDF Major General Avi Bluth (see previous post).

The incredibly unpopular Netanyahu faces a bribery and corruption trial which has dogged him for years, but the proceedings have been held in abeyance because of the war. The longer the conflict goes, the better it is for the “Crime Minister” and the 100 or so hostages be damned. Possibly a third of them are dead, some killed accidentally killed by the IDF.

This clever protestor above holds her version of the iconic poster below.

The Chief of Staff to Benjamin Netanyahu is being investigated over allegations of altering documents relating to the 7 Oct 2023 surprise attack to portray the Prime Minister in a more favorable light. The Israeli police Lahav 433 major crimes unit questioned Tzachi Braverman for over five hours. Inevitably the loathsome Netanyahu will have to face a 9/11 Commission-style inquiry into his handling of 7 Oct 2023.  Israel, now described as a Pariah State, is defending itself of genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague. Netanyahu and ex-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague and international arrest warrants have been issued for them.    

In a statement that should not surprise anyone, French President Emmanuel Macron breathtakingly said that Paris would not honor the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu in a dazzling display of duplicitous dissembling. As previously posted, French diplomacy is chaotic. And do diplomats at the Quai d’Orsay wonder why France lost complete influence over Lebanon in a span of ten years? The leader of La Francophonie, consisting of Arab, Muslim, and African populations, just shot himself in the foot with both barrels. Curiously, no journalist asked President Macron if France, an EU and NATO member, as well as signatory to the Rome Statutes, would honor the similar ICC arrest warrant for indicted war criminal Russian President Vladimir Putin? And of all places, INTERPOL is based in Lyon, France.

An INTERPOL Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant, but an alert to governments that the individual is wanted for alleged crimes. While many Red Notices are publicly visible at www.interpol.int, many are not, as in the case of PIFWCs Netanyahu and Doav Gallant.   

To help Netanyahu control the narrative and crush any dissenting voices in Israel, the Likud cabinet has approved a proposal to cut all government links with Haaretz – a move that could cripple the 105-year-old newspaper financially and force it to shut down. The al-Jazeera News Bureau in Israel was previously banned.

The “Crime Minister” is counting the days until President-elect Donald Trump takes over. Once Trump is in, Netanyahu can proceed full steam ahead with ethnic cleansing Palestinians in the West Bank under the contented eye of US Ambassador Mike Huckabee who refers to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria. Moreover, knowing that he’ll be supported by the full might of USCENTCOM, Netanyahu can resume focusing his ire on Iran. Of course, the American taxpayer will continue funding this warmonger.

Sources:

Netanyahu aide investigated by police over 7 October timeline

Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in raid on occupied West Bank town | Occupied West Bank News | Al Jazeera

Netanyahu aide investigated by police over 7 October timeline

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/3c87/live/88e7f150-a35e-11ef-bc62-3d90412554cd.jpg.webp

Death toll in Gaza from Israel-Hamas war passes 44,000, Palestinian officials say | AP News

Russia-Ukraine Update

Kremlin Expels UK Diplomat; Ex-British Soldier POW; Russian Senior General Replaced; Confirmation of North Korean Casualties

Through South Korean intelligence channels, the US confirmed that 500 North Koreans had been killed in a Ukrainian attack with British Storm Shadow missiles last week. A high-ranking North Korean commander may have also been liquidated. Kiev struck “firstest with the mostest” and the North Koreans troops learned they were now in a real war– not in showcase parades– and they can be killed unexpectedly. This won’t demoralize Pyongyang, but will erode any fighting spirit in the young North Korean conscripts. Vladimir Putin warned South Korea they would be making a “big mistake” if Seoul provides Ukraine with its high-tech mass casualty producing weapons. South Korea is a top-ten weapons manufacturer in the world. But the South Korean military establishment is not easily intimidated having spent decades dealing with North Korea, as well as deploying their soldiers to foreign combat zones, like Vietnam or Iraq.

South Korean commandos about to demonstrate extraordinary martial arts feats during a rehearsal for welcoming ceremony of the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) at the Ministry of National Defense in South Korea, 29 Oct 2013. (Xinhua/Park Jin-hee)

Second Secretary Edward Pryor Wilkes (Undated photo / FSB)

Authorities in Moscow have ordered a British diplomat accused of espionage to leave the country. Edward Pryor Wilkes was allegedly sent to Moscow to replace one of six British diplomats accused of spying in August, according to the FSB.

The FSB claimed Wilkes “deliberately provided false information when obtaining a permit to enter our country, thus violating Russian law.” It also alleged that his activities showed “signs of intelligence and subversive work” threatening national security.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry revoked the diplomat’s accreditation and ordered him to leave the country within two weeks. State media reported that Britain’s ambassador to Moscow was summoned over the allegations.

The British Foreign Office said the expulsion order was “not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff. We will respond in due course.”

The agency accused the directorate of being transformed into “an intelligence service tasked with inflicting strategic defeat on Russia” following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

James Scott Rhys Anderson (22), former UK Army Signalman

A Russian court ordered the arrest of James Scott Rhys Anderson, a British national, on charges of mercenary activity and participation in Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Anderson, as part of Ukraine’s International Legion, illegally crossed into Russian territory and took part in hostilities within the Kursk region, according to the Kursk Regional Court’s media service. He was captured by Russian forces in an unspecified manner.

A hearing was held behind closed doors because of the sensitive nature of the allegations, which include crimes considered particularly severe.

Lieutenant General Alexander Sanchik. (Undated photo: Gavriil Grigorov / POOL / TASS)

Russia’s military has replaced the commander of one of its six operational groups fighting in Ukraine.

Lieutenant General Alexander Sanchik was reportedly appointed acting commander of Russia’s “South” group of forces. Sanchik succeeds Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, who was removed as part of a “planned rotation,” according to the Defense Ministry.

Pro-war military bloggers reported over the weekend that Anashkin was removed after misleading his superiors about settlements he allegedly claimed were captured near the Ukrainian town of Siversk. Some bloggers claimed the alleged misinformation led to “unjustified losses” on the front lines.

The “South” group has been active in recent weeks near the towns of Kurakhove, Chasiv Yar and Siversk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. It consists of units drawn from Russia’s Southern Military District.

Sanchik previously attended a 15 May meeting with President Vladimir Putin as acting commander of the Eastern Military District.

A career officer, Sanchik served as deputy commander of the Eastern Military District in 2023 and commanded the district’s 35th Combined Arms Army in 2020. Putin promoted Sanchik to Colonel-General in February 2022, shortly before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In retaliation for expelling the Second Secretary, Whitehall will select a suitable Russian diplomat to be dubiously named Persona Non Grata. As for the young British mercenary, he will no doubt be part of any future prisoner swap Kiev and Moscow conclude. The Zelensky government must demonstrate its loyalty to the International Legion by making James Anderson’s release a priority. Seoul must deliver any powerful weapons to Kiev before the Trump administration can interfere next year. Lastly, if Russian bloggers are correct that Colonel-General Gennady Anashkin caused useless Russian casualties in this horrible war of attrition, his fate is in the hands of a cold-blooded KGB veteran.

Sources:

Russia Expels British Diplomat Over Alleged Espionage Activities

Russia Opens Criminal Case Against Brit Accused Of Terrorism, Mercenary Activities

US official confirms North Korean casualties in Russia’s Kursk – Radio Free Asia

Russian Military Replaces Senior Commander in Eastern Ukraine – RBC – The Moscow Times

CDC Confirms H5N1 Bird Flu Infection in Child in California

Photo by Jonathan Cooper on Pexels.com

This is the first reported avian influenza H5 virus infection in a child in the US. Consistent with previously identified human cases in the US, the child reportedly experienced mild symptoms and received flu antivirals. The child, in Alameda County CA, is recovering and an investigation into the child’s possible H5N1 exposure source is ongoing.

California public health authorities also detected avian flu in raw milk from a produced in Fresno County. No illnesses have been reported and pasteurized milk is safe to drink.

Human infections with bird flu viruses are rare, and no person-to-person spread has been detected in California or the US. Including this most recent case, 55 human cases of H5 bird flu have now been reported in the US during 2024, with 29 in California.

CDC’s risk assessment for the general public is low. However, people with exposure to infected or potentially infected animals, such as birds, dairy cattle, or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at higher risk of infection.

Americans could be in trouble over the next four years as President-elect Donald Trump’s selections to head the US health agencies have no experience in dealing with public health emergencies and have been pilloried as quacks. If anti-vaccination Robert F. Kennedy Jr is confirmed by the US Senate to become Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), expect American preventable mortality rates to increase.

Sources:

State Reports Single, Possible Case of Bird Flu Virus in Child with Mild Symptoms

CDC confirms H5N1 Bird Flu Infection in a Child in California | CDC Newsroom

California Acts to Protect Public Health: CDPH Warns Against Drinking Single Lot of Raw Milk Following Bird Flu Detection; Secures Voluntary Recall

Bird flu is getting worse. Disease experts worry Trump and RFK Jr. will mangle response like COVID | Salon.com

INTERPOL: Operation Serengeti Nets 1,006 Cyber-Crime Suspects in Africa

Authorities across 19 African countries have arrested 1,006 suspects and dismantled 134,089 malicious infrastructures and networks thanks to a joint operation by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL against cybercrime.

Operation Serengeti targeted criminals behind ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), digital extortion, and online scams.

More than 35,000 victims were identified with cases linked to nearly USD 193 million in financial losses worldwide.

Cyber-crime suspects detained in Angola. (Photo: INTERPOL)

In Kenya, officers cracked a case of online credit card fraud linked to losses of USD 8.6 million. The funds, stolen through fraudulent scripts run after altering the banking system’s security protocol, were promptly redistributed by the group via SWIFT to companies in the UAE, Nigeria, and China. Nearly two dozen arrests have been made so far.

Eight people, including five Chinese nationals, were arrested in Senegal for a USD 6 million online Ponzi scheme affecting 1,811 victims. A search of their apartment uncovered over 900 SIM cards, USD 11,000 in cash, phones, laptops, and copies of victims’ ID cards.

Nigerian authorities arrested a man accused of running online investment scams. He made over USD 300,000 by luring victims through messaging platforms with false promises of cryptocurrency returns.

In Cameroon, authorities arrested a group suspected of trafficking victims from seven different countries to run a multi-level marketing scam. After paying a “membership fee”, victims were promised employment opportunities or training but once in Cameroon, they were held captive and obliged to lure others into the scheme to gain their freedom. Initial estimates show that the group had already pocketed at least USD 150,000 in fees.

Angolan investigators dismantled an international criminal group running a virtual casino in Luanda. The group, which primarily targeted Brazilian and Nigerian gamblers, defrauded hundreds through its online platform, offering a percentage of winnings to members who recruited new subscribers. Some 150 arrests were made, with officers seizing 200 computers and more than 100 mobile phones.

Operation Serengeti was carried out with funding of the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the German Federal Foreign Office and the Council of Europe.

Participating countries:

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Operational partners:

Cybercrime Atlas, Fortinet, Group-IB, Kaspersky, Team Cymru, Trend Micro, Uppsala Security

Source:

Major cybercrime operation nets 1,006 suspects

Democrats Ignored Gaza and Brought Down Their Party

By Peter Beinart for The New York Times.

Illustrations and captions added by Coriolanus. We are grateful to him and trust he will appreciate the accents to his finely crafted editorial.

During the presidential campaign, journalists trying to assess the electoral impact of Israel’s war in Gaza often focused on Arab and Muslim voters, particularly in Michigan. That’s understandable. In the heavily Arab-American city of Dearborn, MI, which supported Joe Biden in 2020, results show that Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris by about six percentage points.

But viewing Gaza’s political repercussions merely through the lens of identity misses something fundamental. Over the past year, Israel’s slaughter and starvation of Palestinians — funded by US taxpayers and live-streamed on social media — has triggered one of the greatest surges in progressive activism in a generation. Many Americans roused to action by their government’s complicity in Gaza’s destruction have no personal connection to Palestine or Israel. Like many Americans who protested South African apartheid or the Vietnam War, their motive is not ethnic or religious. It is moral.

Both the 1968 and 2024 Democratic candidates were loyal VPOTUS to their one term predecessors and wanted to continue their policies. And Just like in 1968, nationwide anti-war protests gripped the US in 2024. The 1968 protestors were not pro-South Vietnamese, just as the 2024 protestors were not pro-Hamas. They were both simply anti-war.

The outrage has been particularly intense among Black Americans and the young. This spring, encampments expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people rose on more than 100 college campuses. In February, the Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the nation’s most prominent Black congregations, called the war in Gaza a “mass genocide” and demanded that the Biden-Harris administration stop funding it. In June, the NAACP urged an end to weapons shipments as well. A June CBS News poll found that while most voters over the age of 65 supported arms sales to Israel, voters under the age of 30 opposed them by a ratio of more than three to one. And while only 56 percent of white voters favored cutting off weapons, among Black voters the figure was 75 percent.

Those pre-election polling numbers may explain some of what we saw Tuesday night. Kamala Harris is far more youthful than Joe Biden. Yet, early exit polls — from CNNThe Washington PostFox News and The Associated Press — suggest she suffered a sharp decline among voters under the age of 29 compared with Mr. Biden’s result in 2020. Ms. Harris is Black, yet according to CNN and The Washington Post, she did slightly worse than Mr. Biden among Black voters. One exit poll, from Fox News and The Associated Press, suggests she did significantly worse.

Surely, many young and Black voters were dissatisfied with the economy. Some may have been attracted to Mr. Trump’s message on immigration. Others may have been reluctant to vote for a woman.

But these broader dynamics do not fully explain Ms. Harris’s underperformance, because she appears to have lost far less ground among voters who are older and white. Her share of white voters equaled Mr. Biden’s. Among voters over age 65, she actually gained ground.

Which brings us back to Ms. Harris’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Despite overwhelming evidence that the Democratic Party’s most devoted constituents wanted to end sales of weapons to Israel, the Biden administration kept sending them, even after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel expanded the war into Lebanon. And not only did Ms. Harris not break with Mr. Biden’s policy, she went out of her way to make voters who care about Palestinian rights feel unwelcome. When antiwar activists interrupted a speech of hers in August, Ms. Harris snapped, “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that.” At the Democratic National Convention, her campaign rebuffed a plea from activists to let a Palestinian-American speak from the main stage. And just days before the election, the Harris surrogate Bill Clinton told a Michigan crowd that Hamas had forced Israel to kill Palestinian civilians by using them as human shields.

All this provided Mr. Trump an opportunity. According to The Times, his campaign found that undecided voters in swing states were about six times as likely as other swing-state voters to be motivated by the war in Gaza. Mr. Trump wooed them. He pledged to help “the Middle East return to real peace” and lambasted former Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican with whom Ms. Harris had chosen to campaign, as a “radical war hawk.” Like Richard Nixon, who in 1968 appealed to antiwar voters by promising “an honorable end to the war in Vietnam,” Mr. Trump portrayed himself — however insincerely — as the candidate of peace.

The US has spent a record $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since the war in Gaza began in Oct 2023. This is only a partial amount of the US financial support provided during this war. The Gaza Health Ministry said the IDF killed 44,056 people and wounded 104,268 since 7 Oct 2023. The IDF claims 17,000 of these deaths were militants.

For months now, commentators close to the Palestinian rights movement have feared exactly this scenario. In August, the Palestinian American analyst Yousef Munayyer warned that “unless Harris takes some steps to break from Biden’s Israel policy, the same issue that helped tank an already vulnerable Joe Biden with his base could put major obstacles in her path to victory.”

But people who are passionate about Palestinian rights rarely occupy influential positions in Democratic campaigns. For decades, the party’s politicians and operatives have treated the struggle for Palestinian freedom as a taboo. They’ve grown so accustomed to sequestering it from their stated commitment to human rights that, even amid what prominent scholars call a genocide, Ms. Harris thought it wiser to campaign with Ms. Cheney than, say, Representative Rashida Tlaib. Despite overwhelming evidence, her campaign could not see that among progressive voters, the Palestine exception no longer applies.

There is only one path forward. Although it will require a fierce intraparty brawl, Democrats — who claim to respect human equality and international law — must begin to align their policies on Israel and Palestine with these broader principles. In this new era, in which supporting Palestinian freedom has become central to what it means to be progressive, the Palestinian exception is not just immoral. It’s politically disastrous.

For a long time, Palestinians in Gaza and beyond have been paying for that exception with their lives. Now Americans are paying, too. It may cost us our freedom.

Palestinian children queue up for food in Gaza. 90% do not receive enough food daily. (Data and Photo: World Food Program)

2024 Election

Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) is a contributing Opinion writer at The Times. He’s also a professor at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York, an editor at large of Jewish Currents and writes The Beinart Notebook, a weekly newsletter. His book “Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza” is forthcoming.

Sources:

Opinion | Democrats Ignored Gaza and Brought Down Their Party – The New York Times

United States Spending on Israel’s Military Operations and Related U.S. Operations in the Region, October 7, 2023-September 30, 2024 | Costs of War

Japan: Police Finally Identify School Shoe Thief

Police set up security cameras at a Japanese school after students’ shoes started disappearing and the culprit was ultimately identified as a furry footwear fan — a weasel (itachi イタチ) .

The Gosho Kodomo-en kindergarten in Koga, Fukuoka Prefecture, contacted police for help after 15 shoes vanished from the school in early Nov 2024, and three more were taken the following day.

Police set up three security cameras in the school to catch the culprit in the act.

A single shoe vanished during the night of 11 Nov and police reviewed the captured footage to identify the perpetrator.

The video shows a weasel appearing from behind a wall and raiding the cubbyholes where the children store their indoor shoes. The animal spread shoes across the floor and made off with one item of footwear.

Animal experts said the weasel had likely given birth recently and was using the shoes to line its nest. The school said the cubbyholes are now being covered with netting at night to keep furry thieves at bay.

Japanese weasels were introduced to Sakhalin Island (and other areas of Japan) to help control rodents. Above, an itachi (イタチ) caught a frog for dinner.

Source:

Watch: Serial shoe thief at kindergarten identified as a weasel – UPI.com

‘Human Animals’: Dehumanizing Israeli Language Used to Justify Gaza Onslaught (AKA Nakba 2023-24)

A young Palestinian injured in an IDF air strike is transferred to a Kuwait Hospital on 9 Jan 2024 in Rafah, Gaza [Ahmad Hasaballah / Getty Images]

International lawyer Lara Elborno says statements publicly made by Israeli officials about Palestinians in Gaza are “essential in establishing the element of genocidal intent” in the case before the International Court of Justice.

“When we hear these Israeli leaders refer to Palestinians as human animals, that there are no uninvolved civilians, that the children of Gaza brought this upon themselves, we can understand that this is a technique being used to justify the industrial-scale slaughter of Palestinians,” Elborno told Al Jazeera.

International attorney Ms. Lara Elborno (R) talking with Mr. George Galloway (L). Undated photo.

The Palestinian-American lawyer said regardless of what Israeli officials say, “we already know that this is a genocide”.

“We have seen it play out every single day for the last year,” she said, adding that Palestinians “have been undergoing this process of dehumanization for the last 76 years.”

Meanwhile, the IDF continues pounding Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, killing 77 Palestinians. And Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid pushed for strikes on Iran’s energy facilities. He said the US does not want oil and natural gas prices to rise before the presidential election, so Washington is against an attack on Iran’s oil facilities. Completely insouciant and ignoring the fact that Pres. Biden and the US taxpayer sends billions of dollars to Israel every year, Lapid said:

“But that doesn’t change the fact that Israel has its own interests and perspectives. Immediate retaliation against Iran’s economic infrastructure is crucial after two separate Iranian [counter] attacks.”

Democrats are beginning to vocalize their suspicions that the right-wing Likud regime of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu prefers a right-wing Republican Donald Trump presidency this November.

A wounded Palestinian child receives treatment at Al-Avde Hospital in Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza [Moiz Salhi/Anadolu]

Sources:

Live: Israel pounds Gaza, Lebanon as Hamas vows ‘war of attrition’ | Israel attacks Lebanon News | Al Jazeera


Israeli defence minister orders ‘complete siege’ on Gaza | Hamas | Al Jazeera


A quick guide to South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera


Yair Lapid: ‘Israel should bomb Iran’s oil facilities’ (ynetnews.com)


Lara Elborno | Palestinian-American international lawyer (prc.org.uk)

Once Russia’s Best-Known Activist, Ildar Dadin Killed Fighting for Ukraine

The late Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin. Ildar Dadin was a “peaceful opposition activist” and used the call sign “Gandhi.” Dadin attended rallies in support of the LGBT community (and he was not LGBT himself) Photo: RFE/RL


Once one of Russia’s most prominent rights activists and a vocal Kremlin critic, Ildar Dadin has been killed in action with Ukrainian forces during a battle in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

The news of Dadin’s death was confirmed by the Freedom of Russia Legion.

Initially, Dadin was reported to be fighting with the Siberian Battalion, which consists of anti-Putin Russians. Dadin transferred to the Free Russia Legion in Dec 2022.

Dadin rose to prominence in Russia as the first person convicted under a law that penalized repeated violations of rally regulations. In March 2016, he was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on this charge, and the law became widely known as the “Dadin law.”

A year later, Dadin spoke out about the torture he endured while imprisoned in Russia’s northwestern Karelia region. His conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in Feb 2017, and he was subsequently granted 2.2 million rubles ($23,113) in compensation for illegal prosecution.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in late Feb 2022, Dadin fled Russia for Poland in March of that year, aiming to join Ukraine’s defense. He spent nearly a year in Poland preparing the necessary documents to enlist in a Ukrainian volunteer battalion made up of Russian opposition fighters.

In June 2023, Dadin joined the Siberian Battalion which he viewed as one of the few viable ways for him to fight against Putin on Ukraine’s side.

Source:

Once Russia’s Best-Known Activist, Ildar Dadin Killed Fighting For Ukraine (rferl.org)

American Warzone: MAGA Militant Pleads No Contest in Shooting of Native American Activist in New Mexico

Trump supporter Ryan David Martinez firing weapon after his red MAGA hat fell off. He drove 100 miles to this event on Thursday 28 Sep 2023. The man scrambling at lower left was luckily not hit with any rounds. (Photo: Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal via AP)

Ryan David Martinez pleaded no contest Monday to reduced charges of aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of a Native American activist during demonstrations about abandoned plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador.

Ryan David Martinez scuttled his scheduled trial for attempted murder and concluded a plea arrangement. He accepted a combined 9 1/2-year sentence but ultimately would serve four years in prison with two years’ parole if he complies with terms including restitution. He was would have faced 15 years in prison if convicted.

Mariel Nanasi, a lawyer representing Johns, called the shooting “a racially motivated hate crime by a MAGA-proud gun-toting crazed man who came to a peaceful prayer ceremony with a fully loaded live gun.”

Martinez was at the protest wearing a red cap with the Donald Trump slogan “Make America Great Again.”

Native American climate activist and artist Jacob Johns (R) drums with members of the Santa Clara Pueblo tribe of New Mexico in Santa Fe, 11 Jul 2024. He survived the 26 Sep 2023 assassination attempt. “The lifelong scars and injuries, loss of an internal organ, mental anguish and trauma will be with me forever — and in a couple of years Martinez will live free,” Johns said.

In an average year, 507 people die and 821 are wounded by guns in New Mexico. New Mexico has the 9th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. The Cactus State has the 5th-highest societal cost of gun violence in the US at $3,133 per resident each year. Gun deaths and injuries cost New Mexico $6.6 billion each year, of which $141.8 million is paid by taxpayers.

Sources:

Defendant pleads no contest in shooting of Native activist at protest of Spanish conquistador statue | AP News

Gun-Violence-in-New-Mexico-2024-05.pdf (everystat.org)

Father and Son MAGA Militants Found Guilty of Charges for Actions on 6 Jan 2021

You can see the stolen riot shield on the right.

Toney Sheldon Bray (46) and his son Ethan Bray (25), both of Blue Springs, MS, were found guilty of felony and misdemeanor charges for their riotous conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Judge Contreras will sentence the two men on 7 Feb 2025.

The father and son team dressed in military-style gear, including tactical helmets, vests, and goggles, and were part of the initial breach of police barricades on 6 Jan 2021. Specifically, Ethan and Tony Bray pushed and climbed over the police barriers. The Brays were among the first to confront law enforcement and wore gas masks. The rioters engaged in a concerted push against police, and were rebuffed when police used OC spray to repel them. Toney Bray stole a captured US Capitol Police riot shield. The FBI arrested the two men on 8 June 2023.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

This father and his son threw their lives away in the misguided belief of white supremacy, as well as their idiotic belief in Donald Trump. 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.

The Patriot Mail Project considers these 6 Jan insurrectionists as “political prisoners” and fundraises on their behalf. You wonder if Toney Bray will be smirking in prison. The FBI is aware of their activities.

Source:

District of Columbia | Mississippi Father and Son Convicted of Felony and Misdemeanor Charges for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

INTERPOL Asks Public to Help Crack Missing Women Cases

INTERPOL has launched a campaign to identify a number of dead women. These victims are “sisters, mothers, aunties. Just because they don’t have names, don’t assume they’re not people,” said a relative.

INTERPOL is trying to solve 46 cold cases aimed at finding the names of unidentified murdered women. Most of the victims are thought to have been aged between 15 and 30.

“We want to identify the deceased women, bring answers to families, and deliver justice to the victims,” said Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General of INTERPOL.

“Whether it is a memory, a tip, or a shared story, the smallest detail could help uncover the truth.”

This phase of the Operation Identify Me campaign includes cases in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain.

Details of each one have been published on Interpol’s website, along with photographs of possible identifying items and facial reconstructions. Most of the victims are thought to have been aged between 15 and 30.

INTERPOL released sketches of women they are hoping to identify as part of the campaign.

Rita Roberts was successfully identified thanks to the campaign last year.

Sources:

INTERPOL | The International Criminal Police Organization

Interpol asks public to help crack new missing women cases (bbc.com)

Thailand: Streptococcus Suis Warning After 12 Raw Pork Deaths

Photo courtesy of © Bangkok Post PCL. All rights reserved.

Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) has alerted the public to be wary of uncooked pork following 12 deaths linked to Streptococcus suis in four provinces in the lower northeastern region.


The DDC reported that 149 cases of hearing loss were caused by the bacterium in four surveillance areas (Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Surin, and Chaiyaphum) this year.


89 people were afflicted in Nakhon Ratchaisima, including six deaths, followed by Chaiyaphum with 31 cases and four fatalities, Surin with 16 cases and one death, and Buri Ram with 13 cases and one death. The majority of the reported cases involved elderly individuals aged 65 and older.

Map courtesy of https://ontheworldmap.com

Streptococcus suis is a peanut-shaped bacterium that is normally found in the upper respiratory tract, particularly the tonsils and nasal cavity, and the alimentary and genital tracts of swine. Humans can contract the bacterium through the consumption or exposure to raw pork, pigs’ blood and internal organs. It can also enter through an open wound, scratch, or eye conjunctiva.


Normally, infection by the bacteria manifests as a fever with hearing loss following 14 days later. Patients suffer a high fever, severe headache, dizziness, vomiting and neck stiffness, and permanent hearing loss.


The DDC recommends people only buy pork from a reliable source and consume meat, internal organs and blood that has been cooked at 60–70 degrees Celsius for more than 10 minutes, using separate utensils for cooked and raw pork, and not to use bare hands when handling meats.
 
Source:


Bangkok Post – Warning after raw pork deaths in NE Thailand

New Planetary Defense Mission Heads to Double Asteroid System

The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft is seen here in this artist’s impression. The Hera spacecraft is roughly 1.6 meters across, with solar arrays that stretch 11.5 meters once they’re fully deployed. Hitching a ride are two CubeSats, small spacecraft used due to their size and low-cost. (ESA-Science Office)

The European Space Agency’s Hera mission is a two-year-long voyage beyond the orbit of Mars. This follows up on NASA’s successful Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which impacted the asteroid Dimorphos in Sep 2022.

The goal of that mission was to demonstrate the ability to change the orbit of an asteroid. Dimorphos is the smaller of a two-asteroid system, or binary, with Didymos being the largest. 

Before the DART mission, Dimorphos orbited Didymos once every 11 hours and 55 minutes. After the impact, that orbit was shortened by 33 minutes, and a plume of debris spread more than 10,000 km into space, lasting for months. 

The NASA spacecraft slammed into Dimorphos two years ago:

NASA’s DART spacecraft slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos — 11.3 million kms away from Earth — to alter its orbit and test whether objects that threaten Earth can be redirected.

Illustration courtesy of earth.com.

The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 60 million years ago left behind a crater so massive that it measures over 115 miles in width.

Sources:

New planetary defence mission blasts off to double asteroid system | CBC News

How the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs formed such a unique crater – Earth.com

Tiny Kittens Saved from Hurricane Helene Follow Everyone Around, Thinking They are Part Dog

A tuxedo and a tabby ended up at the Humane Society in Tampa, FL desperately needing a foster home. Weighing around 12 ounces, they were starved of both food and love.


Allison, a foster volunteer, offered to help and gave the pair a cozy place to settle in. They were believed to have been “found as orphans and brought in by Good Samaritans as a result of the storm (Helene).”


“The first day, they were really struggling from feeling so hungry. Since then, they have been very brave and friendly.” Our gratitude to Allison for her TLC and the photos.

Hadley (L) and Ernie (R). Note Ernie has six-toes, the type of cat favored by Ernest Hemingway.

The gentle dogs don’t mind the kittens nursing on them despite not having any milk to offer. They happily watch over them, letting them pounce on their tails and wrestle with their floppy ears.

With all of the terrible storms wracking the American south, including the imminent landfall of Milton, there will be more orphaned or separated cats and dogs needing TLC and forever homes.

Source:

Tiny Kittens Saved from the Storm Follow Everyone Around, Thinking They are Part Dog – Love Meow