Before impact. Beirut’s Shayah neighborhood (Photo: Fadel Itani / UPI)
After impact. (Photo: Fadel Itani / UPI)
Chiyah neighborhood of Beirut (Photo: Fadel Itani / UPI)
A massive Israeli air strike on central Beirut has killed at least 20 people, Lebanese officials say, in the latest attack on the capital amid an escalation of Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah.
The strike happened without warning at about 04:00 (02:00 GMT) on Saturday, and was an attempt to assassinate a senior Hezbollah official, Israeli media reported. The attack was heard and felt across the city, and destroyed at least one eight-story residential building in the densely populated Basta district.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said a so-called bunker buster bomb was used, a type of weapon previously used by Israel to kill senior Hezbollah figures, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Emergency workers used heavy machinery to remove the rubble and retrieve bodies.
More than 60 people had been injured and the number of victims was expected to rise as DNA tests would be carried out on body parts that had been recovered.
“It was a very horrible explosion. All the windows and glasses were over me, my wife and my children. My home now is a battlefield,” said 55-year-old Ali Nassar, who lived in a nearby building.
“Even if one person is hiding here…Should you destroy buildings where people are sleeping inside? Is it necessary to kill all the people for one person? Are we not humans? That’s what I’m asking.”
According to the Israeli public broadcaster Kan, the attack was an attempt to kill Mohammed Haydar, a top Hezbollah official. Hezbollah MP Amin Sherri said none of the group’s leaders were in the building hit, and Haydar’s fate remained unclear.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has not commented.
Also on Saturday, the IDF carried out further air strikes on the Dahieh, the area in southern Beirut where Hezbollah is based, saying they were buildings linked to the group.
Israeli attacks have also hit the south, where an Israeli ground invasion is advancing, and the east, where air strikes in the city of Baalbek killed at least 15 people, including four children.
Lebanese officials say a ‘bunker buster’ bomb was used in the devastating strike.
In AKZ-L (Lebanon), more than 3,670 people have been killed and at least 15,400 injured since Oct 2023, with more than one million forced from their homes. With the onset of winter, more innocent and homeless Arabs will die of exposure. The IDF has killed scores of Lebanese medics while destroying the country’s medical infrastructure. PIFWC Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud Party have certainly incubated the next two generations of anti-Israelis and antisemites. Netanyahu can’t wait until Donald Trump becomes POTUS next year. But having a Democratic president in the White House these past four years haven’t really stalled or delayed the Likud Party’s plans to ethnically cleanse Israel of Palestinians anyway.
The imminent and unholy Repub-Likud alliance in 2025 will also bode poorly again for Iranians and chances of a lasting peace in the Middle East.
Sources:
Israel hits Lebanon with widespread bombing and shelling, killing at least 47 – UPI.com
‘Are we not humans?’: Anger in Beirut as massive Israeli strike kills 20
Israel: Fanatical Settlers Attack IDF Major-General Avi Bluth in West Bank
This past weekend, lunatic Settlers in the West Bank attacked IDF Central Command Major-General Avi Bluth, ludicrously calling him a “traitor” and “Israel hater.”
Head of IDF Central Command Major-General Avi Bluth. He escaped unharmed and must have been shocked to face an intifada from the very citizens he has sworn to protect and defend.
Since Oct 2023, Israeli security forces and fanatical Settlers have killed at least 763 Palestinians in Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) to facilitate the seizure of lands and homes by religious zealots. A few of these maniacs possibly like the Settler pictured below have been sanctioned by the Biden Administration.
Palestinian Alice Kisiya (R), whose family land was taken over by armed Israeli settlers, confronts a rabid Settler in the area of al-Makhrour in the occupied West Bank, near Beit Jala, on 22 Aug 2024. (Photo: AFP / Hazem Bader)
The above pictured Israelis celebrate the death of Palestinian resistance leader Yahya Sinwar at a southern kibbutz, 17 Oct 2024. Note the elation on the faces of the celebrants as if this was V-E Day 1945. They are unaware of twice-GOP Presidential candidate NYS Governor Thomas E. Dewey’s famous words, “You can’t shoot an idea with a gun,” as if the IDF killing of one man erases Palestinian nationalism. Urbane Israelis in Ramat Aviv or Haifa wonder how much taxes these kibbutzers pay or whether they ever served in the IDF like them or MG Avi Bluth. (Photo: AP)
Above, Israeli Police officers arrest an ultra-Orthodox Jew as they block a main road during a protest against IDF conscription in Jerusalem, 19 Oct 2017. Israeli police arrested 40 people in protests by a fringe group within Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. (Photo: Ariel Schalit / AP)
Israeli border police stand guard near Orthodox Jews in the Old City’s Christian quarter, after an incident in which Haredi Orthodox Jews spat at a Christian procession carrying a cross through Jerusalem’s Old City in 2023. Israeli police arrested five suspects. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Ultra-Orthodox Jews defied COVID regulations. Above, Israeli security forces arrest an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man as they close a synagogue in Jerusalem (Mar 2020). COVID infection rates in ultra-Orthodox communities were markedly higher than the rest of Israel. (Photo: Ahmad Gharabli / AFP / Getty Images)
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man (L) and a secular man (R) above argue during a protest against the strict religious codes favored by the ultra-Orthodox in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. (Photo: Reuters/Landov)
So, is it any wonder that an IDF Major-General may be attacked by his own people when you see the fanaticism emanating from the religious sectors of Israel? Many military veterans have favorite commanders or generals and Coriolanus is no exception. I can’t imagine being in a security detail or in the entourage of my favorite (unnamed) general under attack by maniacs. Luckily MG Avi Bluth and his staff escaped unharmed.
For years Israel has been undergoing a political civil war between secularists and fundamentalists, ultra-nationalists and peace activists, Sabras and newcomers, Ashkenazis and Sephardics, and Likudniks versus Laborites. So far, the religious right-wing and their coalition have been winning in the kaleidoscope of the Knesset, keeping Israeli Crime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in power (for now).
Besides facing an international arrest warrant for war crimes, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu will be facing a criminal or Knesset inquiry into his handling of the 7 Oct 2023 surprise attack which killed more than 1,200 citizens and the capture of over 200 hostages.
Sources:
Israel: Some ultra-Orthodox Jews are ignoring the coronavirus rules | CNN
Israelis Clash Over Strict Religious Codes |
Passengers Stop Man from Opening American Airlines Plane Cabin Door Mid-Flight
Passengers on American Airlines Flight 1219 stopped a Canadian man who allegedly tried to open the airplane’s cabin door mid-flight by restraining him with duct tape and flex cuffs.
The suspect reportedly told a flight attendant he needed to exit the plane and began acting erratically when he was denied.
The man tried to open an emergency door while the jetliner was airborne.
“He was sitting at the emergency exit and he cracked open the window that was protecting the handle,” reported a passenger. “He ripped down the handle where it exposed some of the emergency exit and all the wind came rushing down.”
“The guy was screaming ‘I want to get out,’” reported a witness.
The unhinged man allegedly assaulted a flight attendant, injuring her wrist and neck.
A passenger sprung into action by restraining the man and securing him with duct tape and flex cuffs provided by the crew. The suspect remained restrained on the floor for the rest of the flight.
After landing, law enforcement and FBI agents boarded the plane to detain the man for a medical evaluation. The flight attendant was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, while the suspect was taken off the plane in a wheelchair.
The FAA and FBI are working together to investigate the incident further. No charges have been filed.
“The safety and security of our customers and team members is our top priority and we thank our team members and customers for managing a difficult situation,” American Airlines said.
Luckily enough passengers had the wherewithal to overcome and restrain the unhinged man before a catastrophe occurred. Air travel remains one of the safest methods of travel, but occasional incidents like this challenge aviation security experts to come up with non-lethal solutions to neutralize unruly or dangerous passengers without harming innocent people or endangering the flight.
Source:
Man subdued on an American Airlines flight after trying to open an emergency exit | CTV News
North Korean Defector: NK Soldiers Will Desert ASAP in Ukraine
North Korean supremo Kim Jong-un meets with his loyal and adoring troops in Mar 2024 (Photo: AP)
Entire units of North Korea’s troops fighting for Vladimir Putin will desert as soon as they get to the frontline, a defector has claimed.
Hyun-Seung Lee, spent 3 1/2 years with an artillery and reconnaissance battalion in the early 2000s. His time in the army included training for six months alongside the Storm Corps. Lee says the troops in Russia will be looking to escape the battle in Ukraine “from the beginning.”
Leaked footage shows the North Koreans (AKA “Norks”) training in Russia (Credit: Telegram)
He believes the troops are not ready for the frontline and will be used as “human shields” by Russian soldiers in “meat attacks.”
Kim Jong-un has sent his Storm Corps, the country’s equivalent of special forces, to fight for the Kremlin as his war continues to stall. The 10,000-strong force is set to be used on the battlefield in the coming days as the Russian tyrant looks to claw back Kursk.
Questions have been raised about how well the North Korean soldiers will fight having not seen combat since the Vietnam War and with the units armed, clothed, and led by the Russians.
In one clip the Norks appear to be practicing Russian (Credit: Telegram)
Lee said the young soldiers in North Korea will have been forced to go and they won’t be that committed to the fighting.
He said: “It will be individuals at first, but more like as time passes, I think there’ll be like a larger number of group defections, including officers.”
That’s because, Lee says, the Russians will likely treat them as “expendable” and even more poorly than their own troops.
He said: “Russian soldiers don’t respect them as their fellow warriors and the NORKs will die without any impact.”
North Korean soldiers could be thinking twice about defecting as it could see their families thrown in prison. Pyongyang has a guilty by association policy; if the North’s soldiers are seen defecting by colleagues their families could be put in jail.
Lee said: “They would be socially not respected, there’s criticism [they would face] from the community and organizations.”
High-ranking families would likely face a more severe punishment if authorities knew their relative had fled.
But Lee, whose family fled Pyongyang in 2014, said some families might not even know their brother, son or father are in Russia fighting as North Korea keeps all troop movements secret. The troops will be watched over by a Worker’s Party political officer who will administer two hours of ideological training a day.
Inside North Inside North Korea’s ‘Elite’ Storm Corp Special Forces
The Storm Corps is made of ten units, including a sniper’s unit, a light infantry unit, and a paratroopers unit, according to Lee Hyun Seung.
Lee emphasized they are not comparable to Western special forces. He said North Korea didn’t have the equipment to continually train troops for combat as ammunition and bombs would need replacing.
Instead, they trained “for show” so they could march in parades or for propaganda videos. Lee said those soldiers are drawn from North Korea’s working class and will be ambivalent about fighting for the regime.
The defector added: “They are just seeking food and then they’re seeking career advancement. I’m sure nowadays, these, you know, young soldiers they don’t have like a real loyalty to the regime. They just got order command from the Supreme Commander, and then they have no choice but to, you know, [go] to Russia.”
Ukrainian military intelligence had leaked to the press that a score of North Korean soldiers had already deserted but were soon recaptured by Russian security services. Another report suggested that up to 40 NK troops had been killed in recent fighting in Kursk. Coriolanus posted that the Ukrainian military targeted a Russian command and control center and possibly wounded a North Korean general and other HVTs. The Ukrainians will continue using their PSYOP program to induce defections and undermine the morale of the NORKs while targeting their HVTs. Kiev has less than two months to catastrophically damage the Russian and North Korean armies before Trump takes over the White House and kowtows to Vladimir Putin.
Source:
Cluster of Ventura County, CA Farmworkers Diagnosed with Rare Leptospirosis
Ventura County lies west of Los Angeles, CA.
Ventura County public health officials said they’re investigating a rare and potentially severe disease diagnosed in several workers in county berry fields.
The illness, leptospirosis, is caused by bacteria found in contaminated water or soil. The disease can be spread by urine from animals including rodents and livestock.
In severe cases, the condition can cause kidney damage, liver failure, or meningitis and can be fatal.
Public health officials report the local cases appeared to have emerged between Sep 2024 and Nov 2024. They do not know the exact cause but said farmworkers harvesting or handling berries grown under hoops may be at higher risk of infection.
There are 18 cases, but the numbers are fluctuating. Some of the cases have been confirmed and others are presumed to be leptospirosis.
Farm worker. (Photo: VCStar)
Public health officials said leptospirosis is not considered a risk to the general public as the illness is not spread from person to person and it’s safe to eat berries.
Some patients reported severe symptoms like meningitis, an infection that can cause inflammation of membrane around the brain and spinal cord. Other cases involved mild symptoms like headache and fever.
Public health strongly advised agricultural workers and employers to take precautions to reduce the risk of leptospirosis:
- Wear waterproof protective clothing and equipment while working outdoors including gloves, long-sleeved shirts, pants and boots or shoes.
- Cover cuts and scratches with waterproof bandaging.
- Wash hands, arms and exposed skin thoroughly with soap and water after working in the fields, especially before eating or drinking.
- Employers should take measures to keep pest populations under control.
Officials inform that rodents are the most common source of the disease but livestock, dogs and cats can also be infected. People should keep pets away from ponds, lakes and other natural bodies of water and prompt veterinary care for animals that become sick.
The CDC reports that some infected people may have no symptoms. Leptospirosis sometimes occurs in two phases with initial symptoms that improve but are followed by more severe conditions like kidney/liver failure or meningitis.
An estimated one million severe cases of leptospirosis in humans occur every year, causing about 58,900 deaths. The disease is most common in tropical areas of the world but may occur anywhere. Outbreaks may arise after heavy rainfall.
Sources:
Cluster of Locally Acquired Leptospirosis Infections – Ventura County Public Health
Public health investigates cluster of leptospirosis infections
About Leptospirosis | Leptospirosis | CDC
First Freight Train from China Arrives in Afghanistan as Beijing Increases Ties
A direct freight train link between Afghanistan and China was inaugurated this month. (File photo)
The first train carrying goods from China to Afghanistan arrived in Mazar-e Sharif on 23 Nov after crossing through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Kabul reported. The Taliban said 55 containers arrived in Afghanistan after a 22-day journey, marking the inauguration of the first direct train link between China and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The train is expected to take Afghan goods back to China for sale there. Since the Taliban returned to power in Aug 2021, no country, including China, has formally recognized the extremist group — which has been accused of massive rights violations — but Beijing has attempted to increase ties as part of its economic push in the region, including its Belt and Road initiative.
Central Asia Rail Routes Map courtesy of Ansher Global
China, the world’s factory, is also building a massive railway system on the Dark Continent which will connect east and west Africa, a concept the previous European colonial powers never conceived.
China has pledged $75 billion of funding to Africa and her projects have employed tens of thousands of Ethiopians and Djiboutians.
The West is involved in devastating and costly wars while Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative is quietly and peacefully securing China’s future economic hegemony. Beijing will soon have access to critical minerals in Afghanistan needed for the telecommunications and computer manufacturing industries.
Ukrainians are fighting for their very survival from the Kremlin onslaught while the US wastes precious economic and military resources funding Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians while the IDF devastates Lebanon with US-provided weapons. The US already wasted billions of dollars fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan while China invested her time and resources wisely to expand her influence globally while subtly beginning her conquest of space.
Sources:
Freight Train Arrives In Afghanistan From China As Beijing Looks To Increase Ties
Simultaneous Comeuppance for Two Right-Wing Doppelgangers
Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro (R) and his Floridian doppelganger ex-Congressman Matt Gaetz (L)
Last week Brazil’s federal police charged former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and 36 accomplices of being part of a criminal conspiracy designed to obliterate Brazil’s democratic system through a right-wing coup d’état attempt on 8 Jan 2023. Bolsonaro had proudly described himself as the “Trump of Brazil,” had accelerated the arboricide of the earth’s lings, the Amazon Rain Forest, for the sake of making money.
Among the accused are Bolsonaro’s former spy chief, as well as a cadre of senior defense, foreign affairs, and justice ministers. Also charged are a far-right congressman and blogger.
In a scene quite similar to the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021, Jair Bolsonaro supporters generate chaos in Brasilia, Brazil, by invading the Supreme Court, National Congress, and the Planalto Palace on Sunday, 8 Jan 2023. Mounted police and helicopters helped safeguard democracy. (Photo: Mateus Bonomi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Meanwhile to the north, Bolsonaro’s American junior doppelganger received a concomitant bit of comeuppance. Reactionary Trump acolyte Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) rashly resigned his congressional seat after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him to be his Attorney-General. His annual salary was approximately $174,000. Matt Gaetz, previously arrested on DUI charges in 2008 which his father allegedly influenced the case in his favor, was embroiled in a congressional Ethics Committee investigation and was confident his sins would remain secret from the American public. Joel Greenberg, an accomplice of Matt Gaetz, was already and convicted and sentenced to 11 years for sex trafficking of a minor and a litany of other crimes.
Official Press Release from Ethics Committee (18 June 2024):
“On April 9, 2021, the Committee announced it had initiated a review into allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct”.
For years, Republicans successfully prevented the release of the damaging investigation findings of Congressman Gaetz’s alleged peccadillos and acts of moral turpitude. When a reporter from CNN asked Gaetz about reports of a second sexual encounter with a 17-year-old girl, six minutes later Gaetz withdrew his nomination to be President-elect Donald Trump’s next attorney general.
Both right-wing disgraced doppelgangers Jair Bolsonaro and MAGA militant Matt Gaetz are considered innocent of all charges and accusations until both defendants are proven guilty in their respective courts of law.
“The moral arc of the university is long, but it bends towards justice.”
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/21/jair-bolsonaro-charged-coup-plot
The rise and fall of Matt Gaetz in eight wild days
Friend of Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz sentenced to 11 years in prison in sex trafficking case
Cat Rescued After Five Days Stuck Up Tree
Coriolanus 