Staggering Toll of US Failure in Afghanistan on Taxpayers is Laid Bare by Government Auditor

Map: USCENTCOM

Excerpt:

“The US failure in Afghanistan was caused by a system that rewarded generals, diplomats, contractors, and policymakers who reported successes on the ground, rather than the grim reality of a bloody insurgency.

The result, said one US military adviser, was that the system “became a self-licking ice cream” as more money was committed to justify the billions already spent.”

Soldiers bear the remains of US Army SPC Michael A. Dahl, Jr., of Moreno Valley, CA from a transport plane at Dover Air Base, DE, 19 Oct 2009. (Photo: Cliff Owen / AP)

The SIGAR report which will be released imminently will reveal that experts and government officials now believe decisions made as early as 2002 meant the war was doomed to failure.

The analysis will highlight how American ignorance of Afghan culture, the impact of local corruption, and weak cooperation among US agencies have all contributed to a war effort that has returned the country to the Taliban, at the cost of more than 2,400 American lives and two trillion dollars.

The 1971 Pentagon Papers (linked below) regarding US involvement in Vietnam is quite similar in analysis. US leadership realized the Vietnam War was unwinnable, no matter the number of Soldiers sent or bombs dropped, as the French realized in 1954.

US servicemembers coming home from Vietnam in 1965. (Photo: Harry Groom / Newsweek)

The beneficiaries of all these wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan were the military-industrial complex and reconstruction contractors which made Mammon-like fortunes, as well as generals getting opportunities to add stars, medals, and ribbons to their uniforms.

Below is the commander of an army that hasn’t been to war in centuries.

Head of Switzerland’s army: Corps Commander Thomas Süssli — © DDPS/DDPS

Sources:

https://www.sigar.mil/

https://www.archives.gov/research/pentagon-papers

Apple Computers Facing “Blood Minerals” Lawsuit in Africa So CEO Tim Cook Personally Donates One Million Dollars to Trump Inaugural Fund

The DRC has a population of 115,403,027; 75% of them live under the poverty line.

Global tech companies have been exploiting miners in Africa for decades. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), various armed groups – including both Congolese army and rival armed rebel groups, among them the M23 – occupy mines and trading routes, forcing miners to work for free. These resources have been called “conflict” or “blood minerals.”

Minerals from these mines, including tungsten, tin and tantalum (often referred to as the 3Ts), have been illegally smuggled through Rwanda for several years, and eventually exported to tech companies such as Apple, Tesla, and Samsung.

Slave labor miners being exploited by armed gangs in the DRC. (Photo: Mark Craemer)

The DRC filed criminal charges against Apple Computers over the use of conflict minerals. A criminal complaint was filed in Dec 2024 against Apple’s subsidiaries in France and Belgium, where the Congolese government alleges Apple uses conflict minerals laundered through international supply chains – which the American tech giant denies.

So, what does Apple CEO Tim Cook do? He “personally” makes a one million dollar donation to Trump’s inaugural committee. Cook recently visited Mar-a-Lago in Florida for a meeting with Trump. Tesla CEO Elon Musk was also spotted at the dinner table with Trump and Cook. Both Tesla and Apple require those “blood minerals” from Africa. There is no coincidence that Trump has designs on Greenland with its vast treasure of minerals and resources under the tundra ready for excavation.

Two oligarchs sharing a laugh. According to Forbes, Tim Cook is worth $2.3B; $1M seems cheap for him. Photo: Reuters

Apple CEO Tim Cook has joined a chorus of Big Tech executives making sizeable donations to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump, as did Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Trump has also met with Jeff Bezos and many other high-profile executives in the Big Tech industry.

Meta, Amazon, and Uber have donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. OpenAI’s Sam Altman also made a $1 million donation. Outside of Silicon Valley, companies including Ford, Toyota, GM, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Coinbase, and more have donated millions to the Trump inauguration fund.

The era of oligarchal kakistocracy is settling in comfortably before the peaceful transition of power takes place on 20 Jan 2025. Expect the Trump administration to pay back all of these donors in the transactional manner he is known for. Worse, the wealth disparity between America’s oligarchs and the hoi polloi will be the greatest after the next four torturous years.

Sources:

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250103-drc-case-against-apple-brings-new-hope-in-conflict-minerals-crisis

https://www.globalwitness.org/en/reports/tackling-conflict-minerals/

Apple CEO Tim Cook donates $1M to Trump’s inauguration fund – 9to5Mac

The Dutch Set Up “Government-in-Exile” When Third Reich Invaded 10 May 1940. Too Bad US Won’t Do Same With Trump-Putin-Musk Cabal

The Netherlands hadn’t seen war in 125 years when the Third Reich brutally invaded and occupied the country on 10 May 1940. Queen Wilhelmina fled to the UK and established a “Government-in-Exile” until normalcy could be restored to her beleaguered nation.

Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Prime Minister of the exiled Dutch government about to speak on the BBC, 23 Sep 1941.

If a Vladimir Putin puppet made it back to the White House a second time, the Quisling known as Donald Trump, then the US truly lost the Cold War. And the American people are not used to losing wars.

A hand-colored woodcut illustration of British soldiers after setting fire to the White House during the War of 1812, the last time America lost a war on its homeland until Nov 2024. (Image: AP)

For half of America the next four years will feel like an occupation force under the Trump administration. Vulnerable darker-skinned migrants will be herded up for deportation and a brain drain will emaciate the resistance. After 20 Jan 2025, there may also be a mass exodus of national security veterans and Assistant US Attorneys (AUSAs) who opposed Trump, like Jack Smith, as well as progressive media luminaries.

Former D/CIA Michael Hayden led the charge of 130 former Republican national security officials denouncing Donald Trump in 2020.

Too bad the US can’t set up a government-in-exile in Canada or the UK like the Dutch did in 1940, so our allies could continue dealing with trustworthy counterparts. Until these Quislings are defeated in the ballot box (mid-terms for Congress in 2026 and 2028 for President), Americans may feel like the Dutch or French did from 1940 to 1945 and our allies will be circumspect in sharing their intelligence with us.

Texas Encourages Monitoring and Reporting of Animals Affected by New World Screwworm

From the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife (TPWD):

TPWD is asking hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts in South Texas to be on the lookout for animals affected by the New World screwworm (NWS) after a recent detection in Mexico.

This detection, found in a cow at an inspection checkpoint in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas near the Guatemalan border, follows the progressive northward movement of the NWS through South and Central America.

New World screwworm favorability analysis. (image: casasglobal.org)

As a protective measure, animal health officials are asking those along the southern border of Texas to monitor wildlife, livestock and pets for clinical signs of NWS and immediately report possible cases.

New World screwworms are larvae or worms of the NWS fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax), which cause a painful condition known as NWS myiasis. NWS flies lay eggs in open wounds or living tissue holes such as nostrils, eyes, or mouth. These eggs hatch into dangerous parasitic larvae, and the worms burrow or curl into the flesh with sharp mouth hooks. Wounds can become enlarged, and an infestation can often cause serious and fatal damage or death to the infected animal.

Screwworms infestations have been confirmed in Florida. (Image: USDA APHIS)

NWS primarily infests livestock, but it can also affect humans and wildlife, including deer (deer) and birds.

The parasite was last eradicated from the US in 1966, with costly efforts by federal and state animal health officials, livestock producers, and veterinarians. Eradication efforts have continued in Central America, but the pest is considered widespread in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and countries in South America.

NWS infestations begin when a female NWS fly is attracted to the smell of a natural wound or opening on a live, warm-blooded animal, where she lays her eggs. These openings can include wounds as small as a tick bite, nasal or eye openings, a newborn’s belly button, or genitals.

A female NWS fly can lay up to 300 eggs at a time and can lay up to 3,000 eggs during her lifetime. The eggs hatch into larvae (worms) that burrow into an opening to feed. After feeding, the larvae fall to the ground, burrow into the ground, and emerge as adult NWS flies. Adult NWS flies can fly long distances, and the movement of infested cattle or wildlife can increase the rate of spread.

Sources:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/newsmedia/releases/?req=20241230a

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/cattle/ticks/screwworm

Montenegro Cracks Down On Firearms After New Year’s Massacre

The Montenegrin government has announced a raft of new gun-control measures, following a mass shooting that killed 12 people, including two children.

Relatives mourn during a commemoration service for victims of New Year’s Day mass shooting in Cetinje, Montenegro. (Photo: 4 Jan 2025, Reuters)

The proposed law will mandate the reverification of existing weapons licenses and impose severe penalties for those who fail to surrender illegal weapons within a two-month period. Hunting clubs would be verified and the authorities would establish an anonymous tip line where citizens can report illegal weapons possession for a reward.

Montenegro has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in Europe. In the country of just over 620,000 people, there are about 245,000 firearms in use. Other estimates suggest the figure is lower. According to 2022 police data provided to RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, there are over 100,000 legally owned weapons in Montenegro, while illegal firearms are estimated to number between 40,000 and 80,000.

With one police officer per 141 inhabitants, Montenegro remarkably has the second highest number of police officers per capita in Europe (after Monaco) yet has a large organized crime presence.

Despite the large constabulary, Cetinje (the site of the massacre) had only a minimal police presence despite being home to 120 known organized crime members and having experienced a similar massacre in August 2022. Then, an attacker killed ten people and wounded six before being killed by a passerby.

Restricting firearms will not be an easy task for Podgorica with its long tradition of gun ownership. Moreover, Montenegro is ranked fifth in Europe for organized criminality by the Global Organized Crime Index.

Source:

https://www.rferl.org/a/montenegro-new-gun-control-measures-cetinje-shooting-response/33263200.html

Pennsylvania US Army Veteran Charged With Attempting to Join Lebanese Hezbollah

Undated photo of Jack Danaher Molloy courtesy of the FBI.

Jack Danaher Molloy (24) has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of attempting to support the foreign terrorist organization (FTO) Lebanese Hezbollah and making false statements to an agency of the US. As alleged, Molloy —a dual citizen of the US and Ireland, who previously served on active-duty status in the US Army—traveled to Lebanon in Aug 2024 and attempted to join Hezbollah, an organization formed in the wake of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and has conducted numerous terrorist attacks against Israeli and Western targets. While in Lebanon, Molloy was told by multiple individuals that the time was not right, and that he needed to take other steps before he could join LH. Molloy then traveled from Lebanon to Syria in Oct 2024 in an effort to fight for Hezbollah in Syria. When that failed, he returned home. Met by FBI agents at the airport, Molloy lied to them about his attempts to join an FTO (18 USC 1001 violations).

The maximum sentence for the material support offense is a term of imprisonment of 20 years, a fine of $250,000, or both. Each of the false statement charges carries a maximum sentence of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Jack Molloy is missing some marbles if he thought he could walk into a Lebanese Hezbollah (LH) recruitment office in the middle of a war with Israel and just sign up. After LH dismissed this “mejnun,” they probably tipped off Lebanese Army G-2 who then tipped off the LEGATT, RSO, or CIA CoS in Beirut. His Irish passport probably saved him from an “OBE” award (one behind the ear) from suspicious actors in Lebanon or Syria. FBI intervention most likely prevented an attack against Jewish or Israeli targets in the US.

Instead of getting desperately needed psychiatric care, Molloy will languish in a BOP facility for 28 to 36 years. He will probably be close to 60 when he is finally released and will not have contributed towards his social security retirement during his lengthy incarceration. He would be better off making his way to Ireland after his release, as their social safety net is superior to America’s.

An indictment and a criminal complaint are accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/upper-st-clair-man-who-traveled-lebanon-and-syria-goal-joining-hizballah-indicted

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/media/1379546/dl?inline

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/media/1382696/dl?inline

Russia-Appointed Officials in Crimea Declare Emergency as Oil Spill Reaches Sevastopol

(Map courtesy of Global News)

More than 86,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil have been removed along the region’s shoreline since the original spill. Up to 200,000 tons in total may have been contaminated with mazut, a heavy, low-quality oil product.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the oil spill an “ecological disaster.”

Rescuers and volunteers work to clean up tons of fuel oil that spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers more than two weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. (Photo: Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

Water pollution, the war, and fishing have been killing dolphins in the Black Sea for some time now and this spill won’t help these poor sea mammals that some ethicists correctly assert should be treated with the same rights as human beings.

Sources:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/image/ap-russia-oil-spill-88871-jpg/

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20221222-how-the-war-in-ukraine-is-killing-marine-mammals

https://inf.news/en/animal/6848e299d25bc0eedde64f94646465aa.html

Rescue Dog’s Heartwarming Response to Deaf Cat

Israel on Warpath: 22 Killed in Gaza, 37 in Beirut; Two Lebanese Hezbollah Commanders Dead

Palestinians inspect a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza city after it was hit by an Israeli strike. Reuters

An Israeli air strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza city’s Al Zeitoun neighbourhood has killed at least 22 people as strikes across the enclave intensified.

Israel’s strikes on Gaza have killed at least 119 people in the past 72 hours, the enclave’s Health Ministry said on Saturday, excluding the latest toll from the attack on the school.

A separate strike hit Al Falah school in the same area, injuring a number of people. The Israeli military claimed it was targeting Hamas operatives in the school. The Israeli military often accuses Hamas militants of hiding in schools where thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought shelter. The group has repeatedly denied this claim.

The death toll in the enclave since 7 Oct 2023 has risen to 41,391, while 95,760 have been wounded. Over the past three days, 209 people were injured.

Beirut after IDF airstrike. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack showed Israel “gives no weight to any humanitarian, legal, or moral considerations”.

The latest Israeli attack killed senior Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Aqil along with at least 37 people on Friday. The strike, which destroyed a residential building in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, also wounded 68 people.

Calls for blood donations for the victims were multiplying on social media. People searching for their loved ones also took to social media to ask for help, sharing pictures of their missing relatives, including children. Lebanon’s medical infrastructure, already under strain from the massive pager and walkie-talkie sabotage attack, was taxed again. UN human rights chief Volker Turk denounced the rigged device attacks carried out in Lebanon, saying they constitute a breach of international human rights law and could amount to a war crime.

Volker Turk advised the UN Security Council that using devices disguised as “apparently harmless portable objects” is an act of violence aimed at spreading “terror among civilians”. The human rights chief called for an independent, thorough, and transparent investigation, and for those who ordered and carried out the attacks to be held to account.

Lebanese Hezbollah counterattacked with rocket launches into Israel; four casualties were reported.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is making conditions for a ceasefire or eventual peace in the Middle East impossible. IDF attacks are not only enraging the Arab population, but adding to deep-seeded resentments with every loss or maiming of a family member. The Lebanese people (and the Iraqis) already rank as the world’s angriest population for manifold reasons; the next generation of anti-Israeli enemies has been spawned. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has been attempting in good faith some sort of cease-fire or deal to release the remaining hostages being held by armed Palestinian groups. At one point, Washington must restrain the bellicose Likud Party or the US will be needlessly sucked into a war of Netanyahu’s making.

Sources:

Israel rules out political solution as strike on Beirut kills Hezbollah commanders | The National (thenationalnews.com)

Booby-trapped device attacks in Lebanon breach international law, says UN rights chief | The National (thenationalnews.com)

Israeli strike on Gaza school-turned-shelter kills at least 22 people | The National (thenationalnews.com)

Lebanese, Iraqis among world’s angriest populations: report (newarab.com)

Ohio “Man of God” Sentenced for Organizing and Rallying 6 Jan Attackers

(Images: US Dept of Justice)

Pastor William Dunfee (59) of Frazeysburg, OH, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and $2,000 in restitution for one felony offense of civil disorder and a misdemeanor offense of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds on 6 Jan 2021. He rallied seditionists to storm the US Capitol to disrupt the peaceful transition of Presidential power.

As the seditionists attacked and threatened the lives of members of Congress after a Donald Trump speech urging them to “fight like hell”, Dunfee used a bullhorn to egg them on, falsely proclaiming the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

A pastor of the New Beginnings Ministry Warsaw in Ohio, Dunfee pushed a metal barricade against officers with the US Capitol Police who were attempting to hold the line and then entered the Capitol building without authorization.

During sentencing the Honorable Judge Reggie Walton asked Dunfee, “What kind of man of God would do that, Sir?”

In the 44 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,504 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 560 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

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

Source:

District of Columbia | Ohio Man Sentenced to Prison on Felony and Misdemeanor Charges for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

American Warzone: Four KIA, 20 WIA in Late Night Shooting in Alabama

US Army medics treating wounded soldiers in Vietnam on 2 Apr 1967. In the US, 44,341 people die by firearms in an average year, a rate of 13.3 deaths per 100,000 people. Americans suffer from wartime casualty amounts every year without going to war. Image: http://www.flickr.com

Four people were killed and more than 20 wounded following a shooting in a nightlife area in Birmingham, AL. Just after 11 PM, “multiple shooters fired multiple shots on a group of people” in the Five Points South area.

Two men and a woman were found dead at the scene; a fourth victim died at a hospital. Other victims were transported to hospitals in private vehicles. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital was treating 11 victims and their conditions have not been released.

The victims were all located on the sidewalk or the streets and detectives are trying to determine if the shooters walked up to the victims or drove by a vehicle.

The Five Points South area of Birmingham has numerous entertainment venues, restaurants, and bars and is often crowded on Saturday nights. Police said there were no immediate arrests.

In an average year, 1,175 people die by guns in Alabama. With a rate of 23.9 deaths per 100,000 people, the Cotton State has the fourth-highest rate of gun deaths in the US.

Alabama Firearms Licenses in 2021: 194,920

An estimated 55.5% of adults in Alabama have guns at home.

Sources:

At least four killed, multiple injured in late night shooting in Alabama (archive.md)

EveryStat – EveryStat.org

10. Alabama – Gun map: Ownership by state – statistics and rates (cbsnews.com)

Ukraine Destroys 71 of 80 Russian Drones Overnight

A Ukrainian police officer stands next to a destroyed car following a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv late on 21 Sep. At least 12 people were injured. Photo: AFP

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that air-defense systems shot down 71 of 80 Russian attack drones launched overnight. It said six more drones were neutralized by electronic warfare. The air force also said Russia had launched two guided missiles from occupied parts of Ukraine’s Luhansk region. It did not say what happened to the missiles. Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said air-defense units had destroyed 15 drones that Ukraine launched overnight. Late on 21 Sep, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said explosions rang out in Kharkiv — Ukraine’s second-largest city — with a guided bomb hitting a residential high-rise, injuring at least 12.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to kick off his US visit on 22 Sep with a stop at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, a Pennsylvania factory producing key munitions for his country’s fight against Russia. Scranton is Pres. Biden’s birthplace. This ammunition plant manufactures 155 mm artillery shells used in howitzer systems that can strike targets from up to 32 kms away. The US has so far provided Kiev with more than three million of the shells and Ukraine fires up to 8,000 of them daily.

An employee handles 155 mm shells at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant on 16 Apr. Photo: Charly Triballeau / AFP.

Pres. Zelensky addresses the UN General Assembly in NY on 24 Sep and will meet separately at the White House with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on 26 Sep. Pres. Zelensky will reportedly meet with GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump as well at an undisclosed time.

Sources:

Ukraine Says It Destroyed 71 Of 80 Drones Fired By Russia Overnight (rferl.org)

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy To Begin U.S. Trip With Visit To Pennsylvania Munitions Factory (rferl.org)

Possible Widespread Labor Action by Longshoreman’s Union at East Coast Ports on 1 Oct

ILA’s Dennis A. Daggett says union will be on the “right side of history” if it must strike on 1 Oct 2024. “Corporate greed must end,” he emphasized.

A major strike is on the horizon for thousands of maritime workers, posing a threat to East Coast ports responsible for offloading billions of dollars of goods.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), the largest union of maritime workers in North America, has vocalized plans to go on strike at all of its Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports 1 Oct if a new contract agreement can’t be reached with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). The union is arguing for better wages and continued protections against automation and new technology in its terminals.

“A sleeping giant is ready to roar on Tuesday, 1 Oct 2024, if a new Master Contract Agreement is not in place,” ILA President Harold J. Daggett said in a statement Monday. “My members have been preparing for over a year for that possibility of a strike.”

According to a statement from USMX, negotiations with the ILA began in the last week of May. Now, the union’s current six-year contract is less than two weeks away from expiring.

The Port Authority of NY and NJ is “closely monitoring developments and remain hopeful. For the over 600,000 regional jobs our port supports and the $240 billion in goods moved through here each year, we urge both sides to find common ground and keep the cargo flowing for the good of the national economy,” said a spokesperson for the Port Authority.

The ILA has argued that the USMX is denying workers fair contracts with adequate wage raises and proper benefits.

“USMX claims to offer industry-leading wages, however, their interpretation of ‘leading wages’ is polar opposite to ours,” a statement from the ILA on Monday said.

“Our members are struggling to pay their mortgages and rent, car payments, groceries, utility bills, taxes, and in some cases, their children’s education. USMX’s corporate greed has made them delusional — profits over people. They have taken advantage of a low entry-wage and a tiered progression system for thirty years,” the statement continued.

The union said its rank-and-file members will no longer accept contracts that include small wage increases of a dollar or less. It argued further that for more than three decades, ILA workers only saw annual wage increases of 2.02% per year on average — with some years having wage raise percentages of zero, according to the ILA statement.

The ILA is the largest union of maritime workers in North America, representing upwards of 85,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada, and the Bahamas. The longshoremen of the ILA kept cargo moving non-stop during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sources:

ILA Union

Layout 1 (usmx.com)

Major maritime strike could threaten ports across the East Coast (nbcnews.com)

Possible widespread strike on East Coast ports poses a serious risk – Internewscast Journal

Taiwan: Pesticide Found in Food Poisoning Victims

Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that eight people who fell ill due to suspected food poisoning had terbufos, a hazardous chemical compound found in some pesticides, in their systems.

Terbufos, which can potentially kill humans, is used on various crops, including bananas, beans, citrus, coffee, groundnuts, sorghum, and maize as soil cover to combat wireworms, mossy beetles, beet flies, and the black bean louse.

Four of the eight sampled patients were all found to have reduced acetylcholinesterase, reflecting organophosphorus poisoning. The suspected food poisoning happened last week when an 83-year-old woman died after eating millet dumplings she prepared. Several relatives and friends who came to mourn her death ate the leftover dumplings and exhibited symptoms such as vomiting and convulsions.

A sample of the millet dumplings known as “Abai,” a traditional cuisine of some of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples at the center of the food poisoning incident. CNA photo 18 Sep 2024.

Even at low levels of exposure, terbufos can lead to serious negative health effects, including neurological harm. Terbufos is used in 19 American states.

Sources:

Terbufos found in suspected food poisoning victims’ systems: CDC – Focus Taiwan

Terbufos in the United States: Harmful Health Effects and Widespread Use – Earthjustice

North Koreans Are Getting Sick of Propaganda Song “Friendly Father”

North Korean military choir members sing on the eve of the 70th anniversary of North Korea’s founding day in Pyongyang, DPRK, 8 Sep 2018.

North Koreans are growing weary of being bombarded by “Friendly Father,” an upbeat propaganda song praising leader Kim Jong Un that has been blanketing the country for months now.

People are forced to sing it before every public event and a loudspeaker car drives through cities blaring it.

“He is holding his 10 million children in his arms and taking care of us with all his heart,” go the lyrics.

“The love you give me is like the sea. The trust you give me is like the sky,” says verse two. “You are always by our side, and make all our wishes come true.”

“Every factory, company, school, work unit, and neighborhood-watch unit in the province has both children and adults sing this song whenever the opportunity arises,” according to an anonymous informant.

North Korean students sing in music class at the Pyongyang Orphans’ Secondary School in Pyongyang, DPRK, 1 Sep 2016. (Jon Chol Jin/AP)

The government created a high-quality music video for the song depicting people from all walks of life enthusiastically singing along to it.

Friendly Father was inspired by an earlier propaganda song called “Friendly Name” that sung the praises of Kim’s father and predecessor Kim Jong Il. The melody is different but many of the lyrics in “Friendly Father” are callbacks to the earlier song, which most North Koreans know by heart.

The order to promote the song comes from the Central Party of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party.

It’s gotten to the point where people actively avoid places where the song is played publicly if they can help it. For example, in the city of Hyesan, on the border with China, there is a park where retired people gather to spend their free time by talking, singing, dancing, playing games, or exercising.

But when the park turned off their music and began playing “Friendly Father” over the park’s public address system, the senior citizens went home. The park, which used to teem with old folks from sunrise to sunset, is now empty almost every day.

Another problem with the song stems from Korea’s Confucian culture. Often complete strangers are expected to grant older people a certain amount of respect simply because they are older, with the promise that they will receive the same respect from the young when they reach the same age.

However, “people in their 70s and 80s are being forced to call Kim Jong Un, who is only in his 40s and is about the same age as their sons, their ‘friendly father.’”

North Koreans sing at a picnic gathering at a park in Pyongyang, 18 Apr 2012, a national holiday celebrating the birthday period of the late leader Kim Il Sung. (Vincent Yu/AP)

People scoff at the notion that Kim Jong Un could be their “friendly father,” because they do not trust his leadership abilities, the second resident said.

“They have no hope in their leader, but they are forced to familiarize their eyes, ears, and mouths with the image of him as their friendly father through the song.” Propaganda efforts are getting bigger and louder as people’s dissatisfaction with society and food insecurity increases.

Source:

North Koreans are getting sick of propaganda song “Friendly Father” — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Iceland Locals Save Baby Puffins by Tossing Them Out to Sea

Imagery and Story: Kyana Sue Powers, Megan Cook, Andy Witchge

People in Iceland patrol the streets at nights with flashlights and boxes. They are rescuing baby puffins, also known as pufflings. If found, they would be rounded up and gently tossed off the cliffside in the morning. At six weeks old — when their fluffy down matures and their beaks are still black — a puffling is ready to fly the nest. Once they head out to sea, they will spend three to four years of their life flying abroad, before returning to the cliff sides to start a family of their own.

However, each year (in late August or September) pufflings come crashing down on streets and residential homes, as their internal compass ushers them to the moon… and the “moon” turns out to be the electronic lights of the city. In the same way that baby sea turtles can be disoriented — and misdirected — by city lights in coastal towns, pufflings will often fall for the allure of artificial lights.

Thankfully, the residents of Vestmannaeyjar know to keep an eye out for wandering pufflings, and they take the volunteer position seriously. Residents can find between four to ten pufflings in a single night during puffling season. Before they release pufflings, locals are encouraged to record the weight of each puffling on an official “Puffin Patrol” website.

Image via Andy Witchge / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

The baby puffins are gently picked up and placed in a box and brought to the south side of Iceland where they are released. Typically, instinct takes over and the pufflings are able to fly toward the ocean without issue.

Volunteer work is critical to keeping puffin populations up. Globally the Atlantic puffin is considered vulnerable, but in Europe, it’s on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. And in Iceland, specifically, they are critically endangered.

This is due in part to declining fish populations, rising sea temperatures, and oil spills.

For puffin patrollers, caring for the wayward baby birds is akin to helping little, lost friends. In fact, the scientific name for the Atlantic puffin subspecies, Fratercula arctica, literally translates to “little brother of the North.”

Sources:

Inspired by Iceland

Beautiful Puffin and Shore View

Why Icelanders are tossing baby puffins off of cliffs (goodgoodgood.co)

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Weakened After Main Ally Unexpectedly Pulls Support

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L), Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (C), and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh (R) (Undated photos: The Hill Times / Andrew Meade)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suffered an unexpected blow when the small party helping keep his minority Liberal government in power withdrew its automatic support, forcing him to attempt new alliances to govern. New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh said he was “ripping up” a deal struck between the two men in 2022.

The move leaves Trudeau reliant on support from other opposition lawmakers to survive confidence votes in the lower chamber of parliament at a time when polls show he will lose badly if an election were held now. An election must be held by the end of October 2025 under Canadian law.

Under the 2022 deal, the NDP agreed to keep Trudeau in power until mid-2025 in return for more social spending. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre reiterated his call for an early election to break up what he called a Liberal-NDP coalition driving up prices for Canadians.

The House of Commons resumes work on 16 Sep, after which the Conservatives will have the ability to propose a vote of confidence. Trudeau’s Liberals could still survive if the NDP abstained on such a vote. The NDP stated they would decide on an issue-by-issue basis whether to support the Liberals on confidence votes, suggesting it may continue to prop up Trudeau if his fate hung in the balance.

A key moment for Trudeau’s government will be its budget update later this year, which, if voted down by legislators would trigger a new election. Trudeau (52) first took office in November 2015 but has over the last two years struggled to fend off attacks from the opposition center-right Conservatives, who blame him for high inflation and a housing crisis.

With the NDP’s support, his government has pushed through social programs designed to address the cost of living. But the NDP’s Singh had expressed growing frustration with Trudeau in recent months, especially over what he said was the Liberals’ failure to deal with high prices at grocery stores.

Nota Bene: Germany, another NATO country, will also hold federal elections in October 2025.

Source:

Canadian PM Trudeau weakened after main ally unexpectedly pulls support | Reuters

US Accuses Russia of Attempting to Influence 2024 Election Through Kremlin-Backed News Outlets

The Kremlin has been using media outlets and online platforms designed to trick Americans into unwittingly consuming Russian propaganda. RT, formerly Russia Today, is seen as a key part of the Kremlin’s propaganda efforts.

Russian nationals Kostiantyn Kalashnikov (31) also known as Kostya, and Elena Afanasyeva (27) also known as Lena, were indicted with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The two employees of RT were charged in a $10 million scheme “to create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.”

The Justice Department announced seized 32 Internet domains. The tactics include using RT to advance anti-US messages and content and promote networks of fake websites and social media accounts that amplify the claims. Typically, these networks seize on polarizing political topics such as immigration and crime. Americans who view the content may have no idea that it either originated or was amplified by the Kremlin.

In conjunction with the domain seizures, the US Treasury Department announced the designation of ten individuals and two entities for sanctions, including Margarita Simonyan and Elizaveta Brodskaia from RT.

The State Department announced steps to impose visa restrictions on people who act on behalf of Kremlin-supported media organizations, use those organizations as cover for covert activities, and are complicit in engaging in covert influence. They are also offering a reward of up to $10 million relating to an organization known as RaHDit (Russian Angry Hackers Did It). The group engaged in election influence in other countries and is a threat to the 2024 US election, particularly through cyber-enabled influence operations.

If convicted, Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva face up to 25 years in prison. Both remain at large.

As noted in a previous Coriolanus post, FBI agents recently searched the Virginia home of Russian-American political commentator Dmitri Simes. His name was mentioned more than 100 times in a 2019 investigation by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller entitled Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election.

According to NBC News, GOP VPOTUS candidate JD Vance’s campaign talking points about Russia and Ukraine mirror those of RT, as seen in the indictment linked below.

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

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Two RT Employees Indicted for Covertly Funding and Directing U.S. Company that Published Thousands of Videos in Furtherance of Russian Interests | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Disrupts Covert Russian Government-Sponsored Foreign Malign Influence Operation Targeting Audiences in the United States and Elsewhere | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

J.D. Vance talking points ‘mirror’ Russian propaganda in DOJ indictment: ex-FBI agent – Raw Story

North Korea Orders All Students Abroad to Return Home for Ideological Education

North Korean Supremo Kim Jong Un (C) meets with Korean students during a visit to Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Primorsky region, Russia on 17 Sep 2023.

Pyongyang has ordered all its students abroad to return home for ideological training – to reverse the outside influence the students have been exposed to while overseas, according to a North Korean escapee.

The number of North Korean students studying in China and Russia are probably several hundred, according to South Korean media outlet KBS. Many were there since before the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

Apparently,officials in Pyongyang are concerned that because the students have been out of the country for so long, they may have been influenced by the outside world and now accustomed to living in situations where their government is not in complete control of their lives.

It had been common practice for students to be ordered to periodically return in small numbers for loyalty classes, but these did not occur during the pandemic, so Pyongyang now wants to send them all for intensive ideological inspections en masse, according to South Korean media.

An analyst predicted that the student recall order could lead to more escape attempts. Recently, China arrested 15 North Koreans (13 women and two children) at the Laotian border after they trekked 1,500 miles to a river crossing, just minutes within freedom. Those unfortunate refugees will likely be repatriated – a fate that awaits nearly all North Korean escapees in Chinese police custody – and will likely be severely punished for fleeing.

Inexplicably, Kim Jong-Un’s official biography does not reflect his date and place of birth nor his elite private education in Switzerland.

Undated photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un taken when he was a child. (Yonhap News).

Sources:

North Korea orders all students abroad to return home for ideological education — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

New Official Biography of North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Hides His Date and Place of Birth — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/china-laos-north-escapee-defector-south-repatriation-arrest-08272024185901.html

American Warzone: Four Killed, Nine Wounded in Georgia School Shooting; 14-Year-Old Student Arrested

Parents arrive to pick up their children after the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, GA. (Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images)

Two teachers and two students were killed in a shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, GA, on Wednesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Another nine victims were taken to hospitals with wounds. The 14-year-old suspect, a student at Apalachee High School, was captured alive.

In an average year in Georgia, 1,927 people die and 5,029 are wounded by firearms. The Peachtree State has the 8th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. Gun deaths and injuries cost Georgia $23.9 billion each year, of which $597.8 million is paid by taxpayers.

Americans can thank the Republican Party, the NRA, and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for this never-ending carnage that inflicts wartime-level casualties on its own people, including innocent defenseless children.

Sources:

4 dead in shooting at Georgia high school, 14-year-old suspect in custody: Officials – ABC News (go.com)

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

Untangling the Gun Lobby’s Web of Self-Defense and Human Rights

Taiwan Cracks Down on Chinese Corporate Espionage: 135 Investigators Raid 30 Locations

In a decisive move to protect its high-tech industry, Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has initiated a comprehensive investigation into alleged corporate espionage by mainland Chinese companies. Over 135 investigators conducted searches at 30 locations across Taiwan between 19 and 30 Aug, targeting eight Chinese companies suspected of corporate espionage and other illegal activities.

The companies include iCommsemi (Shenzhen), Shanghai New Vision Microelectronics Co., Ltd., Nanjing Aviacomm Semiconductor Co., Ltd., Emotibot (Shanghai), Tongfang Co., Ltd., Chengdu Analog Circuit Technology Inc. (Actt), NAURA Technology Group Co., Ltd., and Hestia Power (Shanghai). These firms, many of which receive state funding from China, are involved in key sectors such as microelectronics, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence — areas where Taiwan holds a competitive edge.

As Taiwan continues to navigate its complex relationship with Beijing, protecting its high-tech industry from corporate espionage will remain a critical priority, shaping the future of cross-strait relations and the global technology landscape.

Sources:

Taiwan Cracks Down on Chinese Corporate Espionage: 135 Investigators Raid 30 Locations (msn.com)

https://www.mjib.gov.tw/news/index/28

US Army Officer Dies in Poland; Cause Under Investigation

A change of command ceremony at Camp Kosciuszko in Poznan, Poland, 28 June 2024. (Devin Klecan / US Army)

A US Army officer died in Poland, the Defense Department announced Wednesday. LTC Joshua Camara (45) was stationed at Camp Kosciuszko in Poznan and assigned to the V Corps forward headquarters when he died on 3 Sep. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Local officials have ruled out murder and are investigating an “unintentional manslaughter,” adding that the results of an autopsy are expected early next week.

Polish news network TVP reported that the body of an American officer had been found inside an apartment in Poznan, not far from where the V Corps is based.

Camara, a public affairs officer, served in V Corps since June 2024 and was awarded the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal among other awards.

West of Warsaw, Camp Kosciuszko is the first permanent US military base in Poland, which also hosts US Army Garrison Poland in Poznan.

Map: 2024 CIA World Factbook

Source:

US Army officer dies in Poland | Stars and Stripes

Russia: Two Alleged Pro-Ukraine Mercenaries Detained In Venezuela

Colombian veteran serving in Ukrainian military. (Undated image courtesy of the Yeshiva World).

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) reported that authorities in Venezuela had arrested two Colombian citizens believed to have served as mercenaries with the Ukrainian armed forces. The two men were reportedly heading back to Colombia with a stopover in Caracas. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has actively sought to detain foreign mercenaries around the world. Alleged mercenaries have been detained in Cuba, India, Syria, and other countries.

Colombia’s military has been fighting drug-trafficking cartels and rebel groups for decades, making its soldiers some of the world’s most experienced. These military veterans, in need of money, adventure, camaraderie, or a combination of all three, have been serving in Ukraine as well-paid mercenaries.

Corporals in the Colombian military receive a basic salary of approximately $400 a month, while experienced drill sergeants can earn up to $900. Colombia’s monthly minimum wage is currently $330.

In Ukraine any member of the armed forces, regardless of citizenship, is entitled to a monthly salary of up to $3,300, depending on their rank and type of service. They are also entitled to up to $28,660 if they are injured, depending on the severity of the wounds. If they are killed in action, their families are due $400,000 compensation.

In early 2022, Kiev reported that 20,000 people from 52 countries were in Ukraine, but won’t disclose military strength numbers or dispositions.

Colombian veterans in the Ukrainian armed forces pose near their Humvee on the front line near Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, 29 Jan 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

The mistake these two unfortunate Colombians made was flying home through Venezuela as Caracas is a staunch ally of the Kremlin.

Sources:

Russia Says Alleged Pro-Ukraine Mercenaries Detained In Venezuela (rferl.org)

Ukraine Is Hiring Professional Mercenaries From Colombia To Fight Russia – The Yeshiva World

Russia in the Western Hemisphere: Assessing Putin’s Malign Influence in Latin America and the Caribbean (csis.org)Russia to boost Venezuela ties amid US pressure (bbc.com)

British Cat Steals Neighbors’ Clothes for Her Owner

Taboo the cat (L) and a selection of her stolen goods (R). Photos: Sandra Danskin

Taboo’s pet parent, Sandra Danskin, said that the 12-year-old cat regularly nicks the laundry and gardening gear left out by the nearby residents of Otley in West Yorkshire, England.

Danskin has to post Taboo’s hauls on social media to reunite the numerous items the pet steals each week with their rightful owners. The feline has a fondness for nabbing gloves, shoes, and socks, specifically, but is open to pinching a variety of items.

“This morning, I had four pairs of socks and a pair of underpants. She loves bringing back items of clothing like that, but also, we’ve had mop heads and kitchen rolls,” Danskin said, adding that she usually finds the stolen goods on the driveway or inside the house by the cat flap when she returns home from her night shifts at work.

Taboo rarely gets caught, including by Danskin. The pet parent says she is unsure where Taboo gets all her steals from but suspects the cat grabs the items off laundry lines. She also knows the feline sneaks into houses when doors are left open because the one person who caught Taboo stealing found the cat taking a shirt from the clothing dryer in their kitchen. Another odd aspect of Taboo’s kleptomania includes the cat’s commitment to sets. Danskin said if Taboo finds a matching pair of socks, she will always bring both items home, carrying one sock at a time.

Taboo also likes to snag pieces of wet cardboard and once even brought back a carton of eggs, though all of the eggs broke by the time Taboo dragged the prize home. Danksin added that she always knows when Taboo brings a stolen gift home for her because the feline lets out a “high-pitched whining noise” whenever she has a stolen item to present.

Source:

Real-Deal Cat Burglar Is a Feline Who Loves Stealing the Neighbors’ Clothes for Her Owner (yahoo.com)

USAF Veteran Who Fled Child Pornography Charges Now Flies Drones for Russia

USAF veteran Wilmer Puello-Mota at Hanscom Air Force Base, MA, in 2018. (Photo: Todd Maki / USAF / AP file)

A former New England USAF airman who fled the US to avoid prison for child pornography charges has resurfaced in Moscow’s propaganda videos, describing his service in the Russian military as a drone operator in eastern Ukraine. He insisted he is not a traitor. Wilmer Puello-Mota (28) served in the USAF security forces and he deployed to Afghanistan in 2015 to protect pilots and aircraft.

“I’m Will. I’m from Massachusetts,” Wilmer Puello-Mota, who is also a former City Council member in Holyoke, MA, said in the five-minute video released by Russia’s Defense Ministry. “My call sign is ‘Boston.'”

Puello-Mota was supposed to appear in a Rhode Island courtroom on 9 Jan 2024 and plead guilty to possessing sexually explicit images of a child and other charges that could have sent him to prison for at least five years. He instead fled to Russia via Istanbul. Puello-Mota wanted a career in politics and thought being charged with possessing child pornography had ruined his life, his attorney stated.

Puello-Mota served on the Holyoke City Council from 2021 to 2023 and was aligned with conservative council members who supported former President Donald Trump. Halfway through his term, the city tried to kick Puello-Mota off the council after it learned that he had been arrested in May 2020 when police found nude photos and videos on his phone of a 17-year-old girl. He was also charged with obstruction of the judicial system, forgery and counterfeiting.

Sources:

U.S. veteran wanted for child porn charges serving in Russian forces – The Washington Post

CIA Chief in Bosnia to Emphasize US Support Amid Pro-Kremlin Rhetoric of Republika Srpska President

CIA Chief William Burns (second from left) in Sarajevo on 20 August.

CIA Director William Burns was in Sarajevo on 20 August to discuss the “worrying secessionist rhetoric and actions” of the pro-Russian president and government of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serb entity, Milorad Dodik.

Burns, who arrived from Israel, held meetings at the Bosnian presidency with senior intelligence and government leaders. Dodik has raised concerns among Bosnia’s Western allies because of his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dodik reaffirmed in February after personally meeting with Putin that the Republika Srpska would not join Western sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Turmoil in the Balkans would play into the Kremlin’s hands as it could distract the US and Europe from Russia’s war in Ukraine. A visit from D/CIA shows the commitment of the US that Bosnia is a priority of its US foreign policy. The last D/CIA to visit Bosnia-Herzegovina was John Brennan in 2016.

Sources:

CIA Chief In Bosnia To Emphasize U.S. Support And ‘Worrying’ Rhetoric Of Republika Srpska President (rferl.org)

Uyghurs Sentenced to Cumulative 4.4 million Years in Prison

Police guard detainees as they appear to recite words or sing at the Tekes County Detention Center in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region in this image released on 24 May 2022.

All told, Uyghurs imprisoned by China in the far-western region of Xinjiang have been sentenced to a cumulative 4.4 million years, a Yale University’s Genocide Studies Program reports. China’s repression could lead to a ‘total ethnic incapacitation for the Uyghur people’ and the true tally of incarcerations are probably far higher.

In 2017, the Chinese government cracked down on thousands of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities and herded them into re-education camps and prisons.

The 25-page report, “Uyghur Race as the Enemy: China’s Legalized Authoritarian Oppression & Mass Imprisonment,” frames the massive incarceration not only as a crime against humanity and genocide, but also as a form of “dangerous lawfare” designed to erode the Uyghurs’ future prospects for dignity, prosperity and freedom. The study drew on information from the Xinjiang Victims Database, which has data on nearly 62,700 Uyghurs detained in Xinjiang, based on leaked Chinese police documents and other records.

Researchers found 13,114 cases that included a prison sentence, with an average term of 8.8 years, and multiplied the figure by 500,000, which they called a “conservative” figure based on the 540,000 individuals prosecuted by court from 2017 to 2021, to get 4.4 million years.

This massive sinicization program is meant to homogenize the non-Chinese ethnic population. Beijing has also forced cultural assimilation in Tibetan areas of China. Compare the staggering incarceration rates of Uyghurs below.

Sources:

uyghur_report_final_copy.pdf (yale.edu)

Uyghurs sentenced to cumulative 4.4 million years in prison: study — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

UN human rights chief issues damning report on Chinese abuses in Xinjiang

American Gun Carnage: Virginia Man in Critical Condition After Being Shot by Two-Year-Old

According to the Chesterfield County Police Department, the unidentified man was about to leave the house and had “placed his handgun on a nearby chair.”

The toddler retrieved it and “accidentally discharged the firearm, shooting the victim,” police said.

The victim was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition and no one else in the house was wounded. Reportedly, the victim is the boyfriend of the child’s mother and police are investigating the incident. The cost of an air ambulance flight within the US can range from $12,000 to $55,000.

In an average year in Virginia, 1,160 people die and 1,624 are wounded by guns. Virginia has the 33rd-highest rate of gun violence in the US.

Virginia Federal firearms licenses in 2021: 423,707

Approximately 44.6% of adults in Virginia have guns at home.

Averaging almost 50,000 deaths from firearms annually, the US the only high-income country to report such a high death toll from gun violence. Until America can shed its dangerous love of firearms, this type of carnage will continue.

Sources:

Man in critical condition after being shot by 2-year-old – ABC News (go.com)

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

3. Virginia – Gun map: Ownership by state – statistics and rates (cbsnews.com)

https://airambulance.com/blogs/post/how-much-does-air-ambulance-cost/

https://www.statista.com/topics/10904/gun-violence-in-the-united-states/#topicOverview

https://www.thetrace.org/2023/12/data-gun-violence-deaths-america/

‘Islamic State Supporter’ in Las Vegas Indicted on Terrorism Charges

A Las Vegas resident who wrote in chatroom that he would be “starting lone wolf operations in Las Vegas against enemies of Allah” was indicted by a Clark County grand jury on eight counts of four different terrorism- and explosives-related charges.

Joshua Robles, a juvenile at the time of his November 2023 arrest, had in-depth knowledge of the Islamic State (IS) group, sought to communicate with members of the group, and had components of explosives in his bedroom.

The Metropolitan Police Department arrest report read that Robles “intended to carry out acts of violence against the perceived enemies of ISIS and their religious doctrine, and the violent acts would take place in the Las Vegas area.” A search of his home uncovered components to construct an explosive device.

This young man doesn’t have to join IS to cause casualties; as noted above, Americans suffer from appalling firearms violence daily.

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

Source:

‘Islamic State supporter’ in Las Vegas indicted on terrorism charges | Stars and Stripes

Historic Milestone for Polish Space Science with Launch of Eagle Eye Satellite

Polish space science and technology reached a historical moment with the successful launch of the EagleEye satellite into Earth’s orbit. Facilitated by SpaceX, the mission took place from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The satellite will deliver high-resolution images of the Earth, providing data for research and monitoring purposes. The mission is expected to last at least one year and will orbit the Earth at a low altitude, gradually descending from an initial height of approximately 500 km to around 350 km. EagleEye was designed entirely in Poland from the ground up and manufactured locally except for microprocessors.

Sources:

Polish EagleEye Satellite: A Landmark Project for the Space Sector – Creotech

Historic milestone for Polish space science as they successfully launch Eagleeye satellite | Euronews

‘Behind Closed Doors’: Ex-Trump Aide Spills Secrets to DNC

Former Trump White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham speaks on stage in front of an apparent text message with Republican presidential candidate, former US President Donald Trump during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on 20 August 2024 in Chicago. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A former White House press secretary for Donald Trump delivered a stinging rebuke of her former boss at the Democratic National Convention. Stephanie Grisham told Democrats she wasn’t just a Trump supporter, she was a “true believer” and one of his closest advisers, spending Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving with the Trump family at Mar-a-Lago.

“Behind closed doors, Trump mocks his supporters,” she said. “He calls them basement-dwellers.”

During a pandemic-era hospital visit, as people died in the intensive care unit, Grisham said Trump was “mad that the cameras weren’t watching him.”

“He has no empathy,” said Grisham. “No morals. And no fidelity to the truth. He used to tell me, ‘It doesn’t matter what you say, Stephanie. Say it enough, and people will believe you.'”

Grisham said she resigned the same day she asked former first lady Melania Trump whether it was OK to tweet that “peaceful protest are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness & violence.”

Mrs. Trump replied: “No,” according to a screenshot of the conversation displayed at the convention.

“I couldn’t be part of the insanity any longer,” she said, noting she was “skewered” for not holding White House briefings. “Unlike my boss, I never wanted to stand at that podium and lie.” She earned applause as she noted she’s once again behind a podium — “advocating for a Democrat.”

You can only imagine how former President Trump must have reacted to this.

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Source:

‘Behind closed doors’: Ex-Trump aide spills former boss’ secrets to packed DNC – Raw Story

Kenya ‘Psychopath’ Serial Killer Suspect Escapes from Custody

Kenyan police launched a major manhunt for a serial killer who escaped from a Nairobi police cell, along with a dozen other detainees. He had confessed to murdering and dismembering 42 women. Collins Jumaisi (33) was described by police as a “vampire, a psychopath.” He was arrested last month after the horrific discovery of mutilated bodies in a slum garbage dump in Nairobi.

The dumped bodies threw a fresh spotlight on Kenya’s police force as they were found just 100 yards from a police station. And this is the second time in barely six months that a suspect in a high-profile case has escaped from custody.

Kenya’s police watchdog, the Independent Police Oversight Authority, was looking into whether there was any police involvement or a “failure to act to prevent” the killings. Kenyan police are often accused by rights groups of carrying out unlawful killings or running hit squads, but few have faced justice.

There are approximately 101,000 personnel in the Kenyan Police Service. This summer Kenya deployed 600 experienced police officers to restore law and order amid worsening civil strife and gang violence in Haiti under a UNSC-approved mission.

Source:

Kenya ‘Psychopath’ Serial Killer Suspect Escapes From Custody | IBTimes

https://www.kenyapolice.go.ke/

Will Donald Trump Dump JD Vance for Another VPOTUS Running Mate?

You wonder what the evangelists, the American Christian Taliban, and the uber- machismo Proud Boys think of this photograph, taken during JD Vance’s scholarship years at Yale Law School (circa 2012). No wonder the Democratic VPOTUS candidate calls the GOP “weird.”

Speculation has been growing in certain quarters that 2024 GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump might replace JD Vance with a more effective candidate in an effort to resuscitate his flatlining election campaign. House Republicans opined that JD Vance was the “worst choice” for VPOTUS and decorated retired four-star US Army General Barry R. McCaffrey denounced the junior Senator from Ohio on ‘X’:

“JD Vance is a shameful person unsuitable for public office. His comments are those of a stooge for Russian aggression”.

Replacing JD Vance is mere speculation and not yet at the RUMINT level. The 45^th POTUS might use the pretext of the JD Vance dossier dump as an excuse to replace his hillbilly VPOTUS on the ticket. Casting aspersions, the ex-President accused the Iranians of leaking this massive treasure trove, the same bogeymen whom he insinuated attempted to assassinate him on 13 July in Butler, PA. In reality, a disaffected young white male from the Keystone State attempted to murder the 45^th POTUS with the GOP and NRA weapon of choice, an AR-15-style assault rifle.

Before the RNC convention, Donald Trump reportedly considered the successful billionaire Governor of North Dakota, Mr. Douglas James Burgum, as his running mate . #45 was apparently talked out of this by his sons Uday and Qusay (perfect sobriquets for Don Jr. and Eric that Americans graced the two siblings with years ago). They convinced the paterfamilias to choose cross-dressing JD Vance, a parent who admitted to yelling at his seven-year-old son to “shut the hell up about Pokemon!” The presentable Governor Burgum would have been a much more formidable and stable opponent for Team Kamala than eyeliner-wearing JD Vance.

With approximately 90 days before the imminent electoral Battle of Philippi, the twice-divorced, twice-impeached, criminally convicted ex-POTUS must make a decision soon. Campaign finance laws and individual state requirements for changing a candidate’s name on the ballot after the formal nomination process may prove difficult. And the Trump Campaign might have to undergo another internal vetting process for the right VEEP candidate. Business Insider examined this specific situation and their analysis is linked below.

Napoleon taught: “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

This axiom applies not just to warfare, but politics, bridge, judo, chess, or any competitive endeavor. Perhaps Team Kamala team should just stay mum and let the glorious GOP Titanic, with all who sails upon her, speed into the massive iceberg dead ahead of them this November.

Sources:

Did Trump Make the Wrong Call Picking JD Vance? – Business Insider

The inside story of how Trump chose JD Vance as his running mate (nbcnews.com)

House Republicans Slam Trump’s ‘Worst Choice’ for VP Pick JD Vance – GV Wire

Could Trump Replace JD Vance? Experts Explain How It Would Work – Business Insider

Barry R McCaffrey on X: “@MalcolmNance @JDVance1 JD Vance is a shameful person unsuitable for public office. His comments are those of a stooge for Russian aggression.” / X

JD Vance recalls telling his 7-year-old son to ‘shut the hell up’ during call with Trump | The Independent

FBI Seeking Information Regarding Missing Afghan-American Business Contractor

The map highlights areas of HQN Area of Operations. An estimated 10,000 experienced guerillas constitute this dangerous organization. Map: US Director of National Intelligence.

The FBI is seeking help in locating Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan-American business contractor who disappeared two years ago in Afghanistan. He worked for Asia Consultancy Group, a Kabul-based telecommunications company. Habibi was taken from his vehicle near his home in Kabul City along with his driver on 10 Aug 2022. The FBI assesses that Habibi was taken by Taliban military or security forces. Other employees of Asia Consultancy Group were similarly taken, but have since been freed. A Taliban spokesman said the Kabul government has only imprisoned two AMCITs and neither of them are Mahmood Shah Habibi.

A potential suspect in his disappearance might be the Haqqani Network (HQN). The HQN is a formidable Pashtun network based in eastern Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The HQN participated with the Taliban in an insurgency after the US invasion of late 2001/early 2002. In 2012, the US Government designated the Haqqani Network (HQN) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). HQN has a history of abducting Westerners, conducting spectacular attacks, and maintains a close relationship with Pakistani intelligence (the ISI).

The nebulous abductors, whoever they may be, might be seeking a prisoner swap for any Afghans still held at Guantanamo Bay or other US facilities.

Sources:

FBI seeks information in disappearance of Afghan American business contractor – UPI.com

Report: U.S. Contractor Kidnapped in Afghanistan by Haqqani Network (thedailybeast.com)

White House Blames Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as Obstacle to Ceasefire Deal and ‘Jeopardizing’ Hostage Lives

A top White House official blamed Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other far-right Israeli politicians for obstructing a deal that would bring about a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of hostage

President Joe Biden and other US and global officials have criticized Netanyahu’s far-right allies in the past, including after 7 Oct 2023, but National Security Council spokesman John Kirby accused Smotrich of endangering hostages’ lives:

“Mr. Smotrich claimed that the hostage deals are a surrender to Hamas or that hostages should not be exchanged for prisoners. Mr. Smotrich essentially suggests that the war ought to go on indefinitely without pause and with the lives of the hostages of no real concern at all. His arguments are dead wrong. They’re misleading the Israeli public.”

As the White House is working diligently on making a deal to save the lives of the hostages, the US military is helping to protect Israel from an Iranian reprisal attack after the 31 July assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Mr. Kirby added:

“[The President] has directed that we do everything possible to defend Israel, and that’s what we’re doing.”

In related news, Team Kamala has named Ilan Goldenberg, an Israeli-born former peace negotiator, as its liaison to the Jewish community. Goldenberg, who has served as VPOTUS Harris’ adviser on Middle East issues, has criticized both Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian leadership. He formed close ties with the organized Jewish community during the failed 2013-2014 Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, when he was a lead on the Obama administration’s negotiating team.

There is no word as to whom the Harris Campaign will name as their outreach liaison to the Arab-American community.

Sources:

White House names Bezalel Smotrich as obstacle to ceasefire deal, says he is ‘jeopardizing’ hostage lives – Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)

Harris campaign taps Israeli-born former peace negotiator Ilan Goldenberg as liaison to Jewish community – Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)

The American Warzone Continues: Two Dead, 37 Wounded in Chicago Over Weekend

At least two people were killed and 37 were wounded in weekend shootings across Chicago. The ages of the victims ranged from 13 to 54. To date, Chicago has recorded 353 homicides and the vast majority of the victims are young, black, and male. More Americans were wounded in Chicago this weekend than in the 16 July drone attack on al-Asad AB in Iraq which caused seven non-fatal injuries to US servicemembers and contractors.

Data analysis from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) informs that historically, 50% of firearms recovered in Chicago originated outside Illinois. Strict firearms laws in Chicago or Illinois doesn’t equate to prudent gun control measures in neighboring communities: State lines simply don’t stop firearms.

Sources:

2 dead, 37 wounded in Chicago weekend shootings, police say – CBS Chicago (cbsnews.com)

Firearms Trace Data: Illinois – 2020 | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (atf.gov)

Tracking Chicago homicides in 2024: Number of victims, location (chicagotribune.com)

The Danger of Lithium-Ion Batteries

From the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) website:

“While [lithium-ion] batteries provide an effective and efficient source of power, the likelihood of them overheating, catching on fire, and even leading to explosions increases when they are damaged or improperly used, charged, or stored.”

Watch what happens when this poor dog chews on one.

Both dogs and a cat survived the ensuing house fire unharmed.

Sources:

Video shows dog chewing on a lithium-ion battery and sparking house fire in Oklahoma | AP News

Lithium-Ion Battery Safety (nfpa.org)

Russian Military Continues Probing Around Alaska

On 24 July, NORAD detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian TU-95 and two Chinese H-6 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). NORAD fighter jets from the US and Canada conducted the intercept. This was the first time that NORAD intercepted Chinese aircraft in the ADIZ. This joint Russian-Chinese mission indicates an increased level of military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing. See photo of interception at the bottom of this post.

Recently, the US Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Alex Haley (WMEC-39) detected and shadowed a Russian Federation Vishnya-class naval vessel south of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The encounter comes as US defense officials and analysts are warning of increasing incursions of Russian and Chinese military forces into that region – in the air and on the sea – and the growing interest of both in the Arctic and in the High North.

Sources:

US patrol shadows Russian naval vessel near Alaska amid growing concerns of adversarial encounters in High North (janes.com)

NORAD detects, tracks and intercepts Russian and PRC aircraft operating in the Alaska ADIZ > North American Aerospace Defense Command > Press Releases

Bulgarian National Extradited for Illegally Exporting US Microelectronics to Russia

Bulgarian national Milan Dimitrov (50) was extradited from Greece for allegedly violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA). With Ilias Sabirov (52) of Russia and Dimitar Dimitrov (74) of Bulgaria, they schemed to procure sensitive radiation-hardened integrated circuits from the US and illegally export those components to Russia through Bulgaria. Ilias Sabirov and Dimitar Dimitrov remain at large.

Milan Dimitrov is charged with two counts of IEEPA violations, one count of money laundering, and one count of making false statements to the Department of Commerce in violation of ECRA. Each count in the indictment carries up to 20 years in federal prison.

Last year, Bulgarian police arrested twelve suspects for allegedly exporting military goods to Russia in violation of EU sanctions. The smuggling ring attempted to deliver $4.24 million worth of optical sights, ballistic meters, and aviation radios to Russian special forces operating in Ukraine. Those arrested included Russian and Belarussian nationals.

Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004, participated in ISAF (Afghanistan), and joined the EU in 2007, so their law-enforcement and intelligence services are strongly collaborating with their new allies in the West.

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

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Bulgarian National Extradited for Scheme to Illegally Export U.S.-Origin Sensitive Microelectronics to Russia | United States Department of Justice

Bulgaria arrests 12 people for alleged planning to export over $4M military goods to Russia

US and Canadian fighters intercepting one of the two Russian TU-95 bombers on 24 July 2024. NORAD reports there was no danger to either the US or Canada.