politics

Netanyahu’s “Special Military Operation” Now Targets UN Personnel and Lebanese Ambulances; More Nations Break Off Diplomatic Ties with Israel

This young unnamed Palestinian girl was rescued from under rubble in Gaza. Image: Copyright Reuters.

Nicaragua has ended diplomatic relations with Israel, accusing the Likud government of being “fascist” and “genocidal” because of its attacks on Palestinian territory.

Nicaragua joins several countries to cut ties or take diplomatic action against Israel since it launched its war on Gaza in Oct 2023.

Bahrain – Withdrew its ambassador in November, saying the move “confirmed Bahrain’s historic position in support of the Palestinian cause”.

Belize – Cut diplomatic ties in November while reiterating its call for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.

Bolivia – Cut diplomatic ties in November, citing “crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people”.

Brazil – President Lula permanently withdrew his country’s ambassador in May after months of tensions over the war.

Chad – Announced in November it was withdrawing its charge d’affaires for “consultations”, with the decision taken in “indignation” at the conflict.

Chile – Withdrew its ambassador in November after accusing Israel of “unacceptable” human rights violations.

Colombia – President Gustavo Petro cut diplomatic ties in May, calling the Netanyahu administration “genocidal”.

Honduras – Withdrew its ambassador for “consultations” in November in light of the “serious humanitarian situation” unfolding in Gaza.

Jordan – Announced it was recalling its ambassador in November, accusing Israel of creating an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe”.

South Africa – Announced in November it was withdrawing three diplomats from Israel for “consultation” in response to the conflict.

Turkey – Recalled its ambassador in November “in view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza”.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza since Oct 2023 is now 42,175; 98,336 wounded. The IDF recently attacked UN Peacekeepers (UNIFIL), wounding several soldiers and damaging their compound. The international community roundly condemned the IDF attacks. Two Lebanese Army soldiers were killed in a separate attack. At least three Canadian citizens have been killed in Lebanon since the IDF onslaught began.   

The Israeli army issued the following warning to ambulances in southern Lebanon, stressing that they were targeted under the pretext of transporting Hezbollah elements:

“We caution against the continued transport of Hezbollah elements in ambulances.”

“We call on Lebanese medical teams to avoid engaging with Hezbollah elements and not cooperating with them.”

“Every action would be taken against any Hezbollah armed vehicle.”

In a provocative move to escalate tensions and incite fury within the Shia Crescent, Israel’s Channel 14 broadcast an incendiary piece insinuating that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani from Iraq was on an Israeli assassination hit list. Channel 14 had shown al-Sistani’s picture with red crosshairs over his head this alongside photos of Israel’s top adversaries, including Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Al-Sistani, a 94-year-old Iranian-born Iraqi scholar, is considered one of the highest spiritual authorities by Shia Muslims. Washington expressed solidarity with al-Sistani amid growing outrage in the Middle East over the Israeli broadcast.

The US Ambassador to Iraq posted this on social media:

“Grand Ayatollah Sistani is a renowned and respected religious leader in the international community. He is a critical and influential voice in promoting a more peaceful region.”

Pope Francis (R) meets with Iraq’s Shia leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, in Najaf, Iraq, on 6 Mar 2021.  In 2014, he issued a religious decree, urging Iraqis to mobilize and defend their country from ISIL (ISIS). [Vatican Media via AP]

Attacking medical personnel or ambulances is a war crime and crime against humanity under the Geneva Conventions. The IDF has already struck several hospitals in Lebanon. Channel 14’s deliberate broadcast was meant to incite Iranian and Shiite fury against Israel, much like Fox News did in the US to build anger at the Islamic world in order to gather public consensus for invading Afghanistan and Iraq. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, already indicted for war crimes by the ICC, is doing everything he can to stall his own nettlesome bribery and corruption trial proceedings in Jerusalem by widening this Middle Eastern war. Democratic circles suspect that Netanyahu favors Donald Trump as President, so all of these moves are deliberately done to damage the Biden Administration and thereby harm Kamala Harris’ chances at the polls this November. And negotiations to release the 100 or so remaining Israeli and American hostages were swept under the carpet by the loathsome Likud regime.  

From the Jerusalem Post: “What does a guy have to do to get arrested around here?”

Sources:

US slams ‘suggestion of targeting’ Muslim scholar al-Sistani by Israeli TV | Religion News | Al Jazeera

UNIFIL statement (11 October 2024) | UNIFIL (unmissions.org)

Protection of medical personnel in armed conflicts—case study: Afghanistan – PMC (nih.gov)

Trial of Benjamin Netanyahu – Wikipedia

Another Canadian reportedly dead in Lebanon amid escalating Israel-Hezbollah conflict | National News | thecanadianpressnews.ca

Israeli military announces the start of targeting ambulances in Lebanon

US Army PFC Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Attempting to Assist ISIS to Conduct Deadly Ambush on US Soldiers

Cole Bridges (AKA Cole Gonzales, 22) of Stow, OH was sentenced to 168 months in prison followed by ten years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to help the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) to attack and kill US soldiers in the Middle East.

Bridges, a cavalry scout in the Third Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, GA, began researching and consuming online propaganda promoting jihadists and their violent ideology. Bridges also expressed his support for ISIS and jihad on social media. In or about October 2020, Bridges began communicating with an FBI online covert employee (the OCE), who was posing as an ISIS supporter in contact with ISIS fighters in the Middle East. During these communications, Bridges expressed his frustration with the US military and his desire to aid ISIS. Bridges then provided training and guidance to purported ISIS fighters who were planning attacks, including advice about potential targets in NYC. Bridges also provided the OCE with portions of a US Army training manual and guidance about military combat tactics, for use by ISIS.

Bridges supplied the OCE with instructions for the purported ISIS fighters on how to attack US forces in the Middle East, like diagramming specific military maneuvers intended to help ISIS fighters maximize the lethality of attacks on US troops. Bridges further provided advice about the best way to fortify an ISIS encampment to repel an attack by US Army Special Forces, including by wiring certain buildings with explosives to kill the US soldiers. Bridges provided the OCE with a video of himself in his US Army body armor standing in front of a flag often used by ISIS fighters and making a gesture symbolic of support for ISIS. Bridges sent another video narrating a propaganda speech in support of the anticipated ambush by ISIS on US soldiers.

Bridges used a voice manipulator for this video. Image: US Army Counterintelligence Command.

This dangerous young ex-soldier seems to have an identity crisis and now he has thrown his life away.  If the BOP has the resources, Bridges AKA Gonzales AKA whatever Arabic nom de guerre he chose, will probably require psychological counseling. Unclear is whether Bridge’s chain-of-command was aware of his mental instability and radicalization.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | U.S. Army Soldier Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison For Attempting to Assist ISIS to Conduct Deadly Ambush on U.S. Troops | United States Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs | U.S. Army Soldier Pleads Guilty to Terrorism Charges for Attempting to Help ISIS Conduct Deadly Ambush on U.S. Troops | United States Department of Justice

Vietnam: Five Students Hospitalized with Suspected Food Poisoning in Ho Chi Minh City

Five high school students in Ho Chi Minh City receive medical care for suspected food poisoning following their lunch on October 10, 2024. Photo: Supplied

A suspected food poisoning incident at a Ho Chi Minh City high school led to the hospitalization of five students who suffered abdominal pain and vomited following their lunch.

An emergency team took these five students, including one 11th grader and four 12th graders, to the hospital where they received fluids and pain-relief medicines.

Their condition eventually stabilized and their vomiting and abdominal pain dissipated.

The hospital conducted tests as directed by the city’s Center for Disease Control and continued to closely monitor the five students, all of whom were diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis.

They were discharged from the hospital to continue recovery at home.

A rash of food poisoning incidents should have law-enforcement and health authorities in Vietnam concerned. As previously posted here on Coriolanus, this is probably the fourth reported such incident in the past few months where students have been sickened with food poisoning.  

Source:

5 students hospitalized with suspected food poisoning in Ho Chi Minh City | Tuoi Tre News

Hundreds Stranded After Angry Protesters Force Martinique Airport Closure

Protesters set fire to a road sign outside the Fort-de-France airport on Martinique, 11 Oct 2024 Screenshot from AP video 4525195

Hundreds of passengers have been stranded in the French Caribbean island of Martinique after its airport was briefly forced to close because protesters overran the tarmac and tried to break in.

Martinique has a land area of 436 sq mi and a population of nearly 350,000. Map: Brittanica.com

The overnight shutdown delayed flights and officials at the airport urged stranded passengers to contact their airlines for information after the facility resumed operations by mid-morning.

French authorities had regained control of the airport, which demonstrators targeted in the latest protest against the rising cost of living. Reinforcements were being sent to the island.

Martinique has been gripped by bouts of protests over the high cost of living that have turned violent, with at least one person killed as demonstrators set fire to a police station, cars and road barricades and clashed with police officers.

On Thursday night, protesters overran the tarmac on the airport in the island’s capital, Fort-de-France, and tried to force their way into the main entrance, where hundreds of passengers had taken shelter.

Police securing the entrance were seen fending off assaults from the demonstrators and firing what appears to be tear gas in their direction. The airport later said on Facebook that flights had been suspended.

Three planes carrying some 1,000 passengers had to be diverted to the nearby island of Guadeloupe on Thursday. Another 500 passengers who were supposed to board those flights were stuck at the Fort-de-France airport.

The latest round of protests prompted the government to announce another curfew as it stressed that demonstrations on public roads were prohibited. This is the latest in a string of demonstrations that began in early September, prompting France to send special anti-riot police to the island.

French riot police apprehend a protester in Paris, France, 23 Mar 2023. The Republican Security Corps (CRS) have a terrible reputation for brutality and were once banned from Martinique. (Reuters Photo)

Martinique is a victim of European colonialism. The island suffers from high unemployment, rising costs of imported food, and an ecological disaster. Five decades of pesticide use to protect the vital banana crop have sickened people and ruined the soil. Chlordecone is a carcinogenic pesticide and used on Martinique until 2003. Until all the soil is decontaminated, residents were warned to refrain from eating self-produced fruits or vegetables. The last thing the people of Martinique need are bone-breaking riot police from their colonial masters.

Sources:

Hundreds stranded after anti-inequality protesters force Martinique airport closure | Euronews

Intractable Social-Economic Problems of Martinique (openedition.org)

20 Pakistani Coal Miners Shot Dead in Attack

Map: Wikimedia.org

Twenty coal miners were shot dead in an overnight attack on their lodgings by a group of heavily armed men in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province.

No group has claimed the attack, but separatist militants in Balochistan regularly target natural resource extraction projects dotted across the mineral-rich province, which is the poorest in Pakistan.

Up to 40 attackers fired at miners for half an hour starting around 12:30 AM with rocket launchers and hand grenades. A senior government official in the district confirmed the death toll and said seven more people had been wounded and machinery had been burned.

Laborers gather to protest against the killings of coal miners in an overnight attack in Duki district of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province (Photo: AFP)

On Friday, the workers’ coffins were laid out in a public square where hundreds of protesting union and labor group members demanded better protection amid a rise in violence.

There were conflicting reports about where the victims hailed from.

Militants have in the past targeted energy projects in Balochistan with foreign financing — most notably from China — accusing outsiders of exploiting the resource-rich region.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed a Sunday night bombing on a vehicle convoy in southern Karachi that killed two Chinese coal plant workers.

Beijing is a crucial ally for cash-strapped Pakistan but Chinese-funded infrastructure projects have sparked resentment and its nationals are routinely targeted by militant groups. Ethnic Baloch militants also regularly target migrant labourers from elsewhere in Pakistan, particularly Punjabis hailing from the east. Punjabis are Pakistan’s largest ethnic group and dominate the nation’s military forces, which have been battling the insurgency in Balochistan for decades.

In August, the BLA carried out coordinated attacks across Balochistan that killed dozens of mostly Punjabis. Friday’s attack comes just days before Pakistan is due to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit — a regional bloc established by China and Russia.

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has an anti-Punjabi and anti-China agenda and is reported to be covertly supported by India and Afghanistan. Jundallah is a Baloch Salafi Sunni group operating in the Balochistan portion of Iran, regarded as the most underdeveloped, desolate, and poorest region of the country. Jundallah has an anti-Shia agenda which has conducted high-profile attacks in Iran.

Balochi men attired in traditional dresses perform during a ceremony organised to mark the Baloch Culture Day at the University of Balochistan (Photo: PPI)

Sources:

20 Pakistan Coal Miners Shot Dead In Attack | IBTimes

2 Chinese workers killed in blast near Pakistan’s Karachi airport, several injured | Pakistan News – The Indian Express

Baloch people in Iran – Wikipedia

Report: Iran Has Hit List of Former Trump Aides; US Scrambling to Protect Them

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the UN in 2022 holding up a photo of General Qassem Soleimani who was killed in a Trump-ordered assassination. This reckless killing crossed a line with Tehran and in mafia terms, created a personal vendetta. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

US officials are coming to a troubling realization about Iran’s repeated threats to kill Donald Trump and some of his former top generals and national security strategists: Tehran isn’t bluffing — and it isn’t giving up anytime soon.

Iran has been openly threatening Trump and those who oversaw his national security strategy since Jan 2020, when Trump ordered a drone strike killing Qassem Soleimani, then Iran’s most powerful military general. A senior analyst described the strike as an exceptional breach of sovereignty in the eyes of Iran.

Tehran has put out videos depicting the future deaths of Trump and others who helped orchestrate the Soleimani attack, pushed for their arrest and extradition and issued menacing statements promising revenge.

USIC officials briefed the Trump campaign last month about assassination threats against the former president, with the Trump campaign saying they were warned the threat has “heightened in the past few months.” The briefing followed a pair of assassination efforts on Trump this summer. No evidence has been presented to link those to Tehran.

And, while the government has gone to unprecedented lengths to protect many of these officials, some who experience similar threats receive no government protection. After firing anti-Iran polemicist John Bolton, President Donald Trump quickly removed his USSS detail.

The assassination of a low-profile official could thrust the two nations into a crisis. Some US officials are now spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on security for themselves and their families. As previously posted here on Coriolanus, elements in Iran have sought contracts with transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) like the Hells Angels or drug-cartels to eliminate enemies of the state.

General Qasem Soleimani was a popular figure in Iran and an effective combat leader against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. When the US invaded Afghanistan in Oct 2001 after the 11 Sep 2001 attacks, General Soleimani’s Quds Force collaborated with the US and led the 2001 uprising in Herat against the Taliban. His coalition included ethnic Hazaras, the Northern Alliance, and Quds Force that liberated the city before US forces arrived. During the wasteful US occupation of Iraq, the IRGC-QF-armed Shia militias caused large amounts of US military casualties. General Soleimani was assassinated on 3 Jan 2020 by a drone strike outside Baghdad Int’l Airport (BIAP). John Bolton and other homicidal Republican war-hawks may have a “fatwa for life” issued against them.

Government leaders and advisors act with impunity in making life-taking decisions knowing they will receive USSS, FSB, RCMP, Shin Bet, MSS, Scotland Yard etc etc protection. But imagine how much more circumspect these leaders and advisors would be when deciding to kill a so-called “enemy of the state” if they weren’t afforded taxpayer-funded bodyguards, like John Bolton discovered? Perhaps they will be less inclined to take someone’s life.

Contrast US leaders and their self-created dilemma today with the former President of Mexico pictured below.  Andrés Manuel López Obrador dismissed his security detail, drawn from the Mexican Army, as soon as he became president. For five years no one tried to assassinate him– including the drug cartels, ISIS, a lone actor, the FSB, disgruntled military officers, or even a lunatic.

Meanwhile, the US Congress is allocating close to $150 million per year of taxpayer funds to protect these individuals from Iranian reprisals, a burden the Mexican taxpayer doesn’t have to shoulder.

Mexico’s then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador meeting constituents on 13 Apr 2023.

Sources:

https://www.newsweek.com/mexicos-obrador-says-he-doesnt-need-bodyguards-people-will-protect-him-1007985

Iran has a hit list of former Trump aides. The U.S. is scrambling to protect them. – POLITICO

:https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-cancelled-john-bolton-security-iran-election-2024-1967277

Witnesses Can “Bear-ly” Believe the Surprise Visitor at Connecticut Governor’s Estate

This 5 Oct 2024 photo shows a black bear climbing the gate of the Governor’s Residence, in Hartford, CT. (Courtesy of Joanna Kornafel via AP)

Witnesses could “bear-ly” believe the surprise visitor that appeared at the Connecticut governor’s estate.

A black bear scaled the fence Saturday as human passers-by did a double-take.

“It was definitely like: ‘Is this real?’” Joanna M. Kornafel recalled Friday.

She and her family were traveling in their car near the governor’s residence in Hartford when traffic slowed, and the reason soon became clear: The bear was crossing the street.

Then, as Kornafel’s husband drove and she grabbed her phone to take photos, the animal strode up the driveway to the 19th-century estate and scrambled up the tall metal gate. She photographed the bear standing on its hind legs on the gate, with its front paws on an adjacent pillar and its snout nosing about a globe-shaped light.

The family was struck by how quickly and nimbly the bear climbed up.

“We were all in awe of the bear. And excited,” said Kornafel, explaining that her 4-year-old son had been talking about it all week.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) office said no one was home at the time, and the bear evidently just wandered off.

Bears have been spotted throughout Connecticut in recent years. Nearly all of the state’s 169 cities and towns reported sightings last year.

Source:

Witnesses can bear-ly believe the surprise visitor at Connecticut governor’s estate | AP News

Benjamin Netanyahu Continues “Special Military Operation”: IDF Pounds Beirut and Gaza; Scores Killed, +100 Wounded

“Pure self-defense, Goliath!” Illustration: Harm Bengen 15 May 2018

At least 22 people were killed and 117 others injured in Israeli strikes on Beirut. Two residential buildings were struck, one completely collapsed.

“There should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists on 9 Oct.

The US warned Israel on 9 Oct against launching a military action in Lebanon like the one it has conducted in Gaza and the need for a diplomatic arrangement for the return of both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the border. But those words didn’t deter the IDF.

An IDF strike hit UNIFIL HQ in southern Lebanon, prompting Italy to summon the Israeli ambassador. An Israeli tank fired on an observation tower and wounded two peacekeepers. The nationality of the injured peacekeepers was not released. UNIFIL said in a statement that Israeli forces also fired on a nearby bunker where peacekeepers were sheltering, damaging vehicles and a communication system.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told a press conference that “hostile acts committed and repeated by Israeli forces against the base…could constitute war crimes.” Crosetto added that Italy has asked for an official explanation “because it was not a mistake.”

The French Foreign Ministry said that while no French solider was injured in the incident, it also demanded an explanation.

Palestinians react outside the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital after the IDF attacked a school housing displaced people in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on 10 Oct. (Photo: AFP)

An IDF strike on a school in the Gaza Strip killed at least 27 people. Israel’s bombardment of central and northern Gaza in recent days has killed dozens of people and trapped thousands in their homes. The director of the only major hospital in the northern Gaza Strip now offering specialized care for children has described a “catastrophic situation” as Israeli forces launched new ground assaults and airstrikes in the north and center of the territory.

An injured woman is carried in Jabaliya after Israel issued an evacuation order. (Photo: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images)

History is going to judge Benjamin Netanyahu as the worst Prime Minister of Israel. Called the “Crime Minister” by his critics at home, Netanyahu has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. He acts and behaves as if an international arrest warrant will never be issued for him. The ICC indicted Russian President Vladimir and an active warrant was issued for him. What is delaying the issuance of Netanyahu’s arrest warrant? And how does Netanyahu keep flouting Israel’s number one financial and military supporter, the US, as well as the UN and the international community?

Sources:

Israeli Strikes On Beirut, Gaza School Kill Dozens As Israel Steps Up Campaign Against ‘Terrorists’ (rferl.org)

UNIFIL statement (10 October) | UNIFIL (unmissions.org)

‘Catastrophic situation’ at children’s hospital as Israel renews Gaza attacks | Gaza | The Guardian

Ukrainian Journalist Viktoria Roshchyna Dies in Russian Captivity

Victoria Roshchyna, a freelance journalist who had previously worked with RFE/RL and other prominent Ukrainian media outlets, had been missing since early Aug 2023. (Undated photo: RFE/RL)

Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who had gone missing in Russian-occupied territories, has been confirmed dead while in Russian captivity, Ukrainian authorities reported .

Roshchyna, a freelance journalist who had previously worked with RFE/RL and other prominent Ukrainian media outlets, had been missing since early Aug 2023.

She had traveled from Ukraine to Poland on 27 July 2023 before heading toward the Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, according to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn. Her last known communication was on 3 Aug 2023.

Ukrainian Military Intelligence (GUR) confirmed that Roshchyna had been slated for a prisoner exchange and are now trying to determine what transpired.

Roshchyna’s case highlights the dangers faced by journalists reporting in war zones. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), more than 100 Ukrainian and foreign journalists have been directly impacted by the Feb 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Several Ukrainian journalists remain detained or missing in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories, with Roshchyna’s death underscoring the ongoing risks faced by members of the press in conflict zones.

Source:

Ukrainian Journalist Viktoria Roshchyna Dies In Russian Captivity (rferl.org)

Three MAGA Militants Convicted of Attacking US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021

US President Donald Trumps supporter’s gather outside the US Capitol building on 6 Jan 2021. (Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Michael St. Pierre (46) of Swansea, MA, was found guilty on 9 Oct 2024 of felony and misdemeanor offenses for his deplorable actions on 6 Jan 2021. During the attack on USCP officers, St. Pierre incited the mob through his megaphone: “Come on everybody, let’s go everybody, we got to get everybody tight. We got to get tight! Let’s go guys! We are going to storm this bitch!” 

St. Pierre (below) threw a metal flagpole top at a glass window while officers were directly behind it.

The FBI arrested this lunatic on 27 Jul 2023, in Fall River, MA.

The Honorable US District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb will sentence St. Pierre on 14 Mar 2025.

Jerry Daniel Braun (70) of South El Monte, CA pleaded guilty to six felonies for his incredibly violent conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol. This elderly maniac travelled from California to Wash DC heeding then-Pres. Donald’s Trump’s words that the 2020 election was stolen. At the melee, Braun picked up an eight-foot-long wooden 2×4 beam and assaulted several victims with it, yelling:

“F— you, traitor!” and “F— traitor. Traitor!” “We pay your f— pay!”

The FBI arrested this maniac on 12 Apr 2022 in California.

The Honorable US District Judge Timothy J. Kelly will sentence Braun on 27 Jan 2025.

Lewis Wayne Snoots (59) of Louisa, VA, pictured above, pleaded guilty to a single felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers for his egregious conduct on 6 Jan 2021.

Snoots, wearing a gas mask at times, participated in some of the most violent actions on 6 Jan. He also hindered a USCP officer from defending himself, causing that officer to sustain significant injuries, including pain from repeated taser shocks, leaving him with burn marks and a loss of consciousness. Following the attack, the officer experienced ongoing physical and cognitive challenges, including neck pain, memory difficulties, and PTSD. You can see the expression on the officer’s face in the above imagery.

The FBI arrested Snoots on 5 Sep 2023. 

The Honorable US District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich will sentence this imbecile on 17 Jan 2025.

These three men threw their lives away by listening to the idiotic message of Donald J. Trump. Braun is 70 years old and in his golden years– not a good time to get jammed up by the Feds.

In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

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

Sources:

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

District of Columbia | California Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Law Enforcement with a Weapon and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

District of Columbia | Virginia Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

Two Dead, Dozens Sickened Following Chemical Leak at Texas Plant

The Texas city of Deer Park was under a shelter-in-place order following a chemical leak at a PEMEX plant. Image courtesy of Harris County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Two people are dead and more than two dozen others received medical treatment following a chemical leak at a PEMEX facility in the Houston suburb of Deer Park. Shelter-in-place orders had forced thousands to stay indoors.

PEMEX, a Mexican state-owned petroleum company, said in a statement that the gas leak was reported at one of its Deer Park refinery processing units, located at 5900 Highway 225, at about 4:40 PM local time.

The City of Deer Park announced the updated death toll in a statement late Thursday, adding that 35 employees were triaged at the scene. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez had earlier said one person was dead and five were injured, including one person who was airlifted from the scene by a Life Flight helicopter.

Authorities identified the agent as hydrogen sulfide, a flammable, highly toxic gas.

Texas State Highway 225 was closed in both directions near Beltway 8 because of the emergency.

PEMEX said emergency protocols were activated following the leak and notifications were sent out to local authorities.

Source:

Two dead, dozens attended to following chemical leak at Texas plant – UPI.com

Children Joining World of Espionage and Sabotage Against Russia

Civilians, most of the time adults, have historically participated in sabotage behind enemy lines. (Image courtesy: forces.net)

The Russian Duma recently introduced new, longer prison terms of up to six years for those using the internet to lure children into “criminal and antisocial activity.”

The reason for the new legislation is the war in Ukraine, as was made clear by the head of the Duma committee on security, Vasily Piskarev: “There have been cases of children, even elementary school students, being involved in sabotage. And very often communication with the child is carried out via the internet,” he said. 

Russian children have routinely been caught attempting acts of sabotage since the all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In the first nine months of this year, the Russian financial intelligence agency Rosfinmonitoring added 93 minors to the list of terrorists and extremists — an all-time record. 

One of the youngest was 14-year-old Yegor Lauskis, who was convicted to two years in a penal colony for setting fire to a rail relay box last year. The damage amounted to less than $10.  

According to the Russian investigation, the teenager, who along with his friend was recruited by the Ukrainians via Telegram, threw a bottle of inflammable liquid at the rail box, videotaped the act, and sent the video to their Ukrainian handlers.

In Sep 2023, the FSB arrested two 16-year-olds for setting fire to a helicopter at a military airbase in Omsk, Western Siberia. They admitted they had been offered $20,000 by an unknown man who contacted them on Telegram and provided instructions. Two weeks previously, two other boys, 13 and 14, set fire to another helicopter at a helipad in Siberia. The fire not only destroyed the aircraft but also seriously burned their faces and hands. They were caught and taken to hospital.

The FSB responded with more repression, treating children much as they do hardened criminals: the names of the minors were put next to real terrorists on the Rosfinmonitoring, alongside extremists accused of a mass shooting at a concert venue in Moscow in March that left 145 people dead. 

Using children in warfare is not a new phenomenon. Warlords in Africa have employed child soldiers for decades. As posted here on Coriolanus, Belarus and Russia are indoctrinating young Ukrainian orphans to become loyal Russian soldiers. Using children for sabotage or vandalism is therefore a logical, if not moral, extension, especially if those Russian youngsters are disaffected by the invasion of Ukraine and wish to act out against the Kremlin.

(Image courtesy of sutori.com.)

Source:

 Gloves Come Off as Children Join Europe’s Spy Wars – CEPA

Air France Says Jet Flew Over Iraq During Iranian Counterattack on Israel

(Image courtesy travelercar.com)

Air France is investigating how a jet on a Paris-Dubai flight went over Iraq as Iranian missiles taking part in a counterattack on Israel went through the same airspace.

Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Israeli territory on 1 Oct in response to Israel attacking Lebanon on 27 Sep. The missiles had to cross Iraq to reach Israel.

(Image courtesy of flightsfrom.com)

Air France flight AF662 crossed Iraqi territory at the start of the counterattack, just before Air France ordered its planes to stop flying over Iraq and local authorities closed Iraqi airspace.

The pilots saw the missiles in the night sky from their cockpit and Iraqi air traffic controllers wished them “good luck.”

“On 1 Oct, information identified an upcoming ballistic missile attack on Israel by Iran. Consequently, and without waiting for instructions from the Iraqi authorities, Air France decided to suspend flights over the country’s airspace by its aircraft as of 1700 GMT,” Air France said in a statement.

Flight AF662 “was flying over the south of Iraq when the Iranian counterattack began, at around 1645 GMT. It left the country’s airspace shortly before 1700 GMT. Iraqi airspace was not officially closed by the local authorities until 1756 GMT.”

The statement said Air France flights “already avoided Israeli, Lebanese, and Iranian airspace” due to the international tensions and that “overflight of Iraqi airspace was limited to a specific corridor used by all airlines”.

A company spokesperson said that “an internal investigation has been opened into this incident.”

The airline did not comment on whether the pilots had seen the missiles. Ballistic missiles fly at an altitude generally higher to that of commercial airliners.

This was a potential catastrophe that luckily didn’t occur. Several years ago, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over the Ukrainian-Russian warzone on 17 July 2014. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed.

Graphic courtesy of the UK Daily Mail. A Dutch court found three men guilty of shooting down MH17; two Russians and one Ukrainian.

Sources:

Air France Says Jet Flew Over Iraq During Iran Attack On Israel | IBTimes

MH17: Three guilty as court finds Russia-controlled group downed airliner (bbc.com)

Leishmaniasis Cases Growing in Mexico (Sand Flies)

Sand flies carry the protozoan parasites that spread leishmaniasis. It was thought to be a disease of tropical climates, but leishmaniasis-causing parasites have now been found living and circulating in the US. Photo: Science Photo Library via Science Source

According to local media, most of the affected people were mainly workers and engineers who worked on the construction of the Mayan Train in Quintana Roo State, Mexico.

Cancun and Cozumel are in northern Quintana Roo State. Map courtesy: Britannica.com



According to the federal health ministry in 2023, 1136 cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis were registered, double the number five years ago of 592.

Jungle deforestation, tourist activities, and population movement, is exposing more humans to the fly. Official epidemiology data reveal that throughout 2023 in Quintana Roo, there were 799 cases of leishmaniasis, in 2022 500, and in 2021 there were only 15.

Leishmaniasis is a disease that the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies within the group of “neglected tropical diseases,” that is, those abandoned by the health agenda and generally unfunded for research. The origins of “gum disease” date back to pre-Hispanic times and it is not exclusive to humans, since it also occurs in dogs, cats, armadillos, or rodents.

The fly that transmits leishmaniasis does not sting, unlike the mosquito, but rather bites, and when it does, it deposits the parasites, which are called leishmania, on the skin.

Health authorities have urged the population that carries out activities in jungle areas to apply insect repellent at least every two hours, protect themselves with clothing that covers extremities and the head, as well as to be aware of the signs of an insect bite.

Sources:

Leishmaniasis, la enfermedad que se fortaleció con el Tren Maya – Corriente Alterna (unam.mx)

About Leishmaniasis | Leishmaniasis | CDC

Washington State Woman Calls 911 After Being Hounded by Up to 100 Raccoons

Sheriff’s deputies in Washington’s Kitsap County frequently get calls about animals — loose livestock, problem dogs. But the 911 call they received recently from a woman being hounded by dozens of raccoons swarming her home near Poulsbo stood out.

The woman reported having had to flee her property after 50 to 100 raccoons descended upon it and were acting aggressively. She told deputies she started feeding a family of raccoons decades ago and it was fine until about six weeks earlier, when the number showing up went from a handful to around 100.

“She said those raccoons were becoming increasingly more aggressive, demanding food, that they would hound her day and night — scratching at the outside of her home, at the door. If she pulled up her car, they would surround the car, scratch at the car, surround her if she went from her front door to her car or went outside at all,” a deputy said. “They saw this as a food source now, so they kept coming back to it and they kept expecting food.”

It was not clear what caused their numbers to balloon suddenly. Both the sheriff’s office and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife determined no laws were broken.

“This is a nuisance problem kind of her own making that she has to deal with,” authorities said. Video from the sheriff’s office shows raccoons milling around trees, and deputies who responded to the call observed 50 to 100 of them.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said under state law it is illegal to feed large carnivores, such as bears or cougars. While municipalities or counties may have local statutes forbidding the feeding of other wildlife, it is currently not against state law to do so.

Regardless, the agency discourages people from feeding wildlife. Raccoons, for example, can carry diseases, and food can also attract predators such as coyotes and bears.

An agency wildlife conflict specialist has met with the woman, who has stopped feeding the critters.

“The raccoons appear to have started dispersing now that they are no longer being fed, and we are glad for a positive outcome to this case,” said a county official.

Poulsbo is about a 90-minute car and ferry ride northwest of Seattle.

Source:

Washington state woman calls 911 after being hounded by up to 100 raccoons | AP News

ICC Can Try Cases Of Alleged Executions Of Ukrainian POWs

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks at the roundtable in The Hague on 8 Oct. This is the same lawyer who prosecuted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes. (Photo: RFE/RL)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is entitled to try cases of the alleged execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs).

According to the latest data published by the Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s Office, investigators have so far obtained information on the execution of 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian military.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine presented a report in March about the execution of at least 32 Ukrainian POWs in 12 separate cases between Dec 2023 and Feb 2024.

In Mar 2023, the ICC’s pretrial chamber issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, charging them with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia — a war crime under international legislation.

Meanwhile, Former US Marine Trevor Reed has been sentenced in absentia by a Russian court to 14 1/2 years in prison, on charges he joined the Ukrainian Army as a mercenary.

Trevor Reed vaulted into the news in 2020 when he was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on an assault charge he denied. (AFP File photo)

The Russian Investigative Committee said on October 9 that Reed enlisted with Ukrainian forces in May 2023 and participated in combat operations in the Donetsk region.

Reed’s participation in the war became public in Jul 2023 when he was injured by a mine explosion while fighting for Ukraine. He had been transferred to Germany for medical care.

In April 2022, Reed, who by then had served nearly three years in a Russian prison, was exchanged for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been serving a 20-year sentence in the US for drug trafficking.

Reed’s conviction in absentia comes days after two other Americans were convicted and sentenced by Russian courts.

Stephen Hubbard (72) was sentenced by the Moscow City Court on 7 Oct to six years and 10 months in prison on charges of being a mercenary and fighting against Russia in Ukraine.

Robert Gilman (30), another former US Marine, was sentenced to seven years and one month in prison for assaulting a prison official and a state investigator.

Both cases follow a pattern of high-profile arrests and detentions of Americans in Russia, which are part of Moscow’s broader strategy to exert pressure on Washington and use these AMCITs for future prisoner swaps.

Sources:

https://www.rferl.org/a/icc-war-crimes-russia-ukraine-executions/33152240.html

https://www.rferl.org/a/trevor-reed-marine-ukraine-trial-ansentia-russia-sentence/33152282.html

US Issues Solar Storm Watch After Large Outburst From Sun

An image released by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a solar flare, the bright flash in the center of the image, on 3 Oct Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA, via AP

Periodically, the sun spews out gigantic eruptions of particles into the solar system. Sometimes, when the solar eruptions are aimed right at Earth, the particles may create brilliant auroras in night skies in many parts of the planet. Then there are other occasions when the battering can damage satellites, mangle GPS signals and knock out power grids.

On Wednesday, a federal center issued a space weather severe storm watch after sun-watching spacecraft observed a large solar flare emanating from a sunspot in the sun’s northern hemisphere, accompanied by an explosion of particles known as a coronal mass ejection.

The charged particles from the latest event — protons, electrons and helium nuclei — are speeding at more than 2.5 million miles per hour and are expected to start slamming into the Earth’s magnetic field on Thursday morning Eastern time.

But the geomagnetic storm could last about 36 hours. If the storm reaches the severe level, the auroras in the Northern Hemisphere could stretch down into the middle of the US, potentially as far south as Alabama.

On top of the terrestrial super-storms wracking the American south, now comes an extra-terrestrial storm that may hamper the communications network during recovery operations.

Sources:

The New York Times and NASA

Israeli Forces Demolish Homes in the Occupied West Bank

Israeli forces demolished two homes under construction in a town west of Salfit, in the central occupied West Bank.

Local sources told the Wafa news agency that military bulldozers demolished the two houses in az-Zawiya, which belonged to local Palestinians.

The agency also reported Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at Palestinian civilians at the Hamra military checkpoint, in the northern Jordan Valley, while a mosque in Khirbet Tana was attacked by settlers.

Settlers entered and vandalized the mosque and smashed solar panels that generated electricity for it.

The cartoonist, Amos Biderman, explained in an interview with The Times of Israel that he meant to suggest that Mr. Netanyahu’s “arrogance” and policies on settlement construction in the West Bank had provoked “a disaster in Israel-US relations on the scale of 9/11.”

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/10/10/live-israel-kills-medics-in-lebanon-as-siege-on-north-gaza-enters-6th-day

https://yalibnan.com 10/31/2014

Ohio MAGA Militant Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges for Attacking US Capitol on 6 Jan

Dustin Martin (30) of Grove City, OH, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds before US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan. Judge AliKhan will sentence Martin on 7 Feb 2025.


The FBI arrested Martin on 21 June 2023, in Ohio.

His accomplice, Cody Lee Tippet, was previously sentenced to 30 days in prison for his seditious role on 6 Jan 2021.

These two young men threw their lives away with these federal felony convictions over a misguided belief of white supremacy and the hateful lies of Donald J. Trump.

n the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

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

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/ohio-man-pleads-guilty-felony-and-misdemeanor-charges-actions-during-jan-6-capitol

Ukrainian Missile Attack Kills Six North Korean Officers Near Donetsk

You wonder if any of the six North Korean officers were any of these lickspittles surrounding Kim Jong-Un. Photo: Reuters

Six North Korean military officers were among about 20 military personnel killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on Russian-occupied territory near the city of Donetsk. Three North Korean servicemen were also wounded.

The DPRK officers were reportedly visiting the front lines as part of an ‘exchange of experience’ program.

That’s some experience they received!

The attack came after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia.

Ukrainian intelligence officials said last year that North Korean military personnel, including engineers, were operating in Russian-occupied territory. Russia was planning to mobilize North Korean laborers for various construction projects in occupied Ukrainian territory.

And speaking of experience, for which battles, campaigns, or wars did these above North Korean generals earn all of these impressive-looking awards? North Korea hasn’t been at war since 1953.

America’s part-time Soldiers (Army National Guardsmen, Army and USMC Reservists) have more combat experience than these bloated uniformed popinjays.

Nota Bene: During the Vietnam War, South Korean soldiers fought Viet Cong guerrillas and the NVA; the ROK also deployed forces to Iraq in the early 2000s.

Source:

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/ukraine-russia-missile-attack-10062024234530.html

Japanese Encephalitis Cases Reported in Taiwan, Nepal

The mosquito species _Culex tritaeniorhynchus_ and other related _Culex_ species are efficient vectors of the JE virus and breed in wet areas such as rice paddies. Vector control is difficult because potential breeding sites are extensive.

In Nepal, 63 people have been infected with the mosquito-borne zoonotic viral disease since June 2024. As of 22 Sep 2024, 17 people, including children, have died from JE infections this year.

This JE outbreak has been detected in 29 Nepal districts, including those in the Kathmandu Valley, which is located at 5,000 feet, where virus-carrying mosquitoes are found.

Nepal’s health department estimates that about 12 million people, out of a total population of 31 million, are at risk of JE in 2024. Additionally, many of the one million visitors to Nepal this year may need protection from JE.

Taiwan health authorities announced the 3rd Japanese encephalitis case this year.

Health officials say the man started showing symptoms on 24 Sep 2024 and was hospitalized 1 Oct 2024.

Officials suspect a pigsty within two kms of his workplace as the origin of the mosquitos.

Authorities have taken measures to eradicate the contagious disease-carrying mosquitoes, which breed in places like rice paddies and ponds. Pigs play an essential role in the life cycle and serve as an amplifier host without suffering from the disease. They maintain prolonged high-level viremia, which allows mosquitoes to get infected easily.

The only measures to prevent JE infection are vaccination and avoidance of mosquito bites.

While there are very few local JEV cases in the US, the CDC cautions the millions of Californians who travel west to Asia and Pacific Ocean countries to protect themselves from infection.

In the US, Valneva SE’s IXIARO (JESPECT) vaccine has been approved by the US FDA and CDC for many years. This safe and effective vaccine is authorized for most children and adults traveling to Japanese encephalitis endemic areas.

As of 5 Oct 2024, IXIARO is available at travel vaccine clinics and pharmacies in the US.

Source:

https://www.precisionvaccinations.com/nepals-japanese-encephalitis-outbreak-claims-17-lives-2024-10-05

Trump and Putin Have Had ‘As Many as Seven’ Private Phone Calls Since Trump Left the White House

What are these two chatterboxes always talking about? Saving the planet? (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have apparently communicated several times since Trump left office in 2021, according to Bob Woodward.

CNN obtained an advance copy of Woodward’s revealing new book War, which went behind the scenes of President Joe Biden’s administration and touched on Trump’s time in office as both navigated recent foreign conflicts with world leaders. Among the revelations was Trump’s seemingly special treatment of Putin, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Woodward wrote that a former Trump aide recounted being told to leave a room so Trump “could have what he said was a private phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.” Woodward adds: “According to Trump’s aide, there have been multiple phone calls between Trump and Putin, maybe as many as seven in the period since Trump left the White House in 2021.”

In 2020, Woodward writes, Trump had “secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use.”

“Please don’t tell anybody you sent these to me,” Putin said to Trump, according to Woodward.

“I don’t care,” Trump replied. “Fine.”

“No, no,” Putin said. “I don’t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me. They don’t care about me.”



Putin understands English (and speaks German), but rarely speaks it publicly. You can hear him in the YouTube link below. Trump and Putin do not need an interpreter. The two greatest threats to American national security are Donald J. Trump and his former national security advisor, disgraced US Army Gen. Michael Flynn.

Sources:

https://www.mediaite.com/

Kitten Comes Up to Man in His Front Yard, Brushing Against His Legs, Next He’s on His Shoulder, Ready to Stay

Roman and Janna had never had a cat, but a kitten inexplicably appeared in their yard, seemingly delivered by the mysterious workings of the “cat distribution system.”

Elvis the kitten. Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli

The kitten approached Roman in his front yard, brushing against his legs. Next, he got on Roman’s shoulder and decided to stay. They named the kitten Elvis.

Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli

With the help of the online community, Janna gave Elvis a warm bath, kitten food, and a flea comb to help clean him up. Elvis was so calm, soaking up every ounce of love and attention.

Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli

Elvis likes to “help” when Janna does chores. Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli

Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli

Janna never imagined how this small, furry creature could become the missing piece she never knew she was searching for. “I had been struggling with anxiety… but since Elvis entered our lives, it has all gone away. I didn’t know I needed him till he came.”

More on Elvis on TikTok @jannaclavelli.

Source:

https://www.lovemeow.com/kitten-man-yard-shoulder-stay-2669360756.html

Afghan National Arrested for Plotting Election Day Terrorist Attack in Name of ISIS

Image: FBI

The FBI arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi (27) of Oklahoma City, OK who allegedly planned to conduct a violent attack on US soil in the name of ISIS on Election Day. He and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents.


Tawhedi, who arrived in the US in Sep 2021, had taken steps in recent weeks to advance his attack plans, including by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family’s assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan.


On 7 Oct Tawhedi and his juvenile accomplice met with FBI assets and purchased, received, and took possession of two AK-47 assault rifles, ten magazines, and 500 rounds of ammunition. Upon receipt of the rifles and ammunition, Tawhedi and his accomplice were arrested.


Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, if convicted.


Tawhedi entered the US on a special immigrant visa in 2021 and has been on parole status pending the conclusion of his immigration proceedings. The program permits eligible Afghans who helped Americans, despite great personal risk to themselves and their loved ones, to apply for entry into America with their families. Eligible Afghans include interpreters for the US military as well as individuals integral to the US Embassy in Kabul. The program has existed since 2009 and the number of applicants skyrocketed after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in Aug 2021.


Shawn Van Diver, the president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations dedicated to helping Afghans trying to leave Afghanistan, said that though the charges are serious, “it’s critical that we do not assign blame to an entire community for the actions of one individual. Thousands of Afghans who resettled in the US are working to build new lives and contribute to our shared future. These are the same individuals who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in Afghanistan for over two decades, defending the values we hold dear.


This defendant was committed to his attack plan as evidenced by all of the preparations for sending his wife and child back to Afghanistan and liquidating his assets. Thanks to Muslim-American or Afghan-American FBI assets who duped Tawhedi, the plot was interrupted. Note this is an ISIS-inspired plot, not a Taliban plot.
 

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

Sources:


Office of Public Affairs | Afghan National Arrested for Plotting an Election Day Terrorist Attack in the Name of ISIS | United States Department of Justice
dl (justice.gov)
FBI arrests Afghan man who officials say planned Election Day attack in US | AP News
 
 

Minnesota Man Sentenced to Prison on Felony Charge for Actions During 6 Jan Attack on the US Capitol

Photos: FBI


Paul Orta Jr (34) of Blue Earth, MN was sentenced to six months in prison, 12 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and fines by the Honorable US District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich. Orta pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder on 14 May 2024

Orta traveled from Minnesota to Washington, DC to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on 6 Jan at the National Mall. A crowd of rioters, with Orta at the front, began to overwhelm officers at the Peace Memorial entrance and began to move onto Capitol grounds. United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers retreated from this area and attempted to set up a new police line, but some in the crowd, including Orta, pressed forward. As Orta advanced toward the retreating officers, he yelled, “We’re taking that s— today!” Minutes later, Orta forcefully moved at least two temporary bike racks that were being used by law enforcement to control the crowd and threw them over a concrete wall.


During the scrum, Orta lobbed a dark-colored object over the heads of rioters and towards a crowd of law enforcement officers. He then pushed a bike rack barricade against the police line and made physical contact with law enforcement officers. After the mob broke through the police line and advanced to the Lower and Upper West Terraces, Orta climbed on top of a concrete wall and raised a fist in the air.


The FBI arrested Orta on 14 Nov 2023 in Minnesota.


Note that Orta appears dressed for combat, not a rally, and was given a fairly light sentence. He represents America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), dead-enders clutching on to the last vestiges of white supremacy in the US. This young man threw whatever semblance of a life away by heeding the idiotic call of Donald J. Trump. The internet is forever and technically so is Orta’s federal conviction. Orta will face difficulties obtaining gainful employment after he is released from prison.


In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
 
Sources:
District of Columbia | Minnesota Man Sentenced to Prison on Felony Charge for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

Cholera Cases, Deaths Surge in Nigeria

Houses and other buildings are submerged following a dam collapse in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria, on 10 Sep 2024. Image: VOA

Cholera is surging in Nigeria with the number of cases and deaths increasing by more than 200% this year. The Nigerian Center for Disease Control recorded nearly 11,000 cases of cholera this year — a 220% increase compared with the same point in 2023. Fatalities over the same periods have increased from 106 to 359 — a rise of 239%.

Nigeria has a population of 236,747,130 people. GDP per capita: $5,700 (2023 est.) Data: CIA. Map: ontheworldmap.com

The state of Lagos accounted for 43% of the nation’s cases, while Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, and Borno also recorded significant numbers.

Last month, the worst flooding in 30 years ravaged conflict-ridden Borno state, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation there. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and moved to overcrowded camps. The flooding caused a massive prison break earlier this summer.

“We’re now facing a significant public health challenge that demands urgent attention and action,” Borno Health Commissioner Baba Mallam Gana said. “The floods have created ideal conditions for the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera by contaminating water sources and disrupting sanitation systems.”

Cholera is a bacterial disease, usually spread by contaminated food or water. It causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.

Nigeria’s Health Ministry is sending hundreds of thousands of doses of cholera vaccine to the affected areas. Borno alone received 300,000 doses, and state authorities say the vaccine has been distributed to camps for those displaced by the floods.

Nigeria has Africa’s highest malaria death rate which the floods will exacerbate.

Lagos residents use art to draw attention to the gaps in the prevention and treatment of malaria. According to UNICEF, over 1,000 children under the age of five catch malaria every day. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images.

Sources:

Cholera cases, deaths surge more than 200% in Nigeria (voanews.com)

CIA

Nigeria has Africa’s highest malaria death rate – progress is being made, but it’s not enough (theconversation.com)

Osama bin Laden’s Son Omar Ordered to Leave France

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

Born in Saudi Arabia, where he spent his early years, Omar bin Laden (43) has also lived in Sudan and Afghanistan. He left his father at the age of 19 and eventually settled in Normandy in northern France in 2016, taking up painting.

France’s new interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said on X that Omar bin Laden “posted comments on his social networks in 2023 that advocated terrorism. As a result, the prefect of Orne issued an order to leave French territory. The courts have confirmed the legality of this decision taken in the interests of national security,” he added.

The interior minister also said he had signed off on a ban preventing Omar bin Laden “to return to France for any reason whatsoever.”

He did not provide further details and it was not clear if Omar bin Laden had already left France.

Omar bin Laden’s marriage to British woman Jane Felix-Browne, a grandmother who had been divorced five times previously and over two decades his senior, had caused considerable media interest when it was confirmed in 2007. Omar bin Laden sought to live in the UK, but his bid was rejected by the British authorities.

The announcement of Omar bin Laden’s expulsion comes as the French interior minister held a meeting on Tuesday with the police chiefs of the 21 departments most affected by illegal immigration.

This comes at a time when the French government just survived a no-confidence vote. The motion was brought forward by the left-wing New Popular Front, who won the most seats in the snap legislative elections called by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier passed the first test of his new government on Tuesday, as a leftist no-confidence motion failed to garner enough votes to bring down his center-right administration.

President Emmanuel Macron tapped Barnier for the job of prime minister last month after a snap election led to a fractious hung parliament. Barnier’s government is weak, propped up by the far right and despised by leftist lawmakers who filed the no-confidence motion last Friday.

The no-confidence motion was always a longshot, as it needed the backing of the far-right National Rally (RN) party to get over the line – a move RN lawmakers had signaled they were unwilling to take.

 RN’s Marine Le Pen said she wanted “to give a chance” to the prime minister. But she set out red lines, including that any tax increases be offset by increased spending power for the lower and middle classes.

Anti-immigration is becoming an issue in European politics and this announcement by the French Interior Minister may have been to appease the far-right which is part of the governing coalition. There is no information where Omar bin Laden will re-locate to or whether another EU country will accept him. There is no open source reporting that he has not been charged with any crimes.

Sources:

Osama bin Laden’s son Omar ordered to leave France (rfi.fr)

French government survives no-confidence vote as far right stays neutral (rfi.fr)

French Island Uncovers Waste Ring Exporting Toxic Vehicle (HAZMAT) Scrap to India

Most illegal vehicle waste ends up in countries in Africa and Asia, where the environmental impact is devastating.  Photo: AP / Mark Lennihan

The illegal operation, which ran for several years, shipped approximately 200 containers of dangerous car waste annually from the French overseas department and generated profits of €3.5 million. Under environmental laws, vehicles must be depolluted before being exported. 

Map: Courtesy of Business Insider

Those arrested include a prominent local entrepreneur in the vehicle destruction sector, his wife and seven others. The investigation revealed that the suspects had been hiding dangerous materials with other waste products whose international trade is permitted. 

Illegal exports of waste, including electronics and vehicle parts, are not uncommon. Much of this waste ends up in countries in Africa and Asia, where the environmental impact is devastating.  

Developing countries often receive vast shipments of waste – both legally and illegally – from wealthier nations. India is a frequent destination for such waste. French authorities are continuing their investigation into the Reunion-India trafficking network, with further arrests possible in the coming weeks. 

The move comes as part of a wider crackdown on international waste trafficking.  

In 2023, INTERPOL reported a 50% percent increase in such operations over the previous two years. 

In 2017, 835 large ocean-going ships were sold to scrap yards, 543 of which were broken down on beaches of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The toxic materials stripped from these hulks have caused illnesses and deaths among the poor people doing this dangerous work, but authorities do not seem to be investigating the causes. And India already has a pollution problem, causing 2.3 million premature deaths in 2019, according to a Lancet study. Nearly 1.6 million deaths were due to air pollution alone, and more than 500,000 were caused by water pollution.

Sources:

French island uncovers waste ring exporting toxic vehicle scrap to India (rfi.fr)

Lancet study: Pollution killed 2.3 million Indians in 2019 (bbc.com)
 

Iran: An Earthquake or Secret Underground Nuclear Test?

The University of Tehran’s seismography center announced that a 4.4-magnitude earthquake had shaken the city of Aradan in Iran’s Semnan province, with tremors also felt in parts of eastern Tehran this past Saturday. The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred 12km below ground, were recorded as 35.42° north and 52.78° east.

Hours after the news broke, social media users began speculating that the Tehran regime had attempted to conduct its first underground nuclear test, presumably as a deterrent measure against Israeli attacks on its territory. Tehran had stopped disclosing its nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after then-President Donald Trump recklessly withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018.

These speculations came as Islamic Republic officials and Revolutionary Guard commanders repeatedly threatened that if economic, political, and military pressures on the country intensify, Tehran will alter its military defense doctrine — a change that would require amending the Iranian leader’s fatwa on the illegality of nuclear weapons. Iran is also a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The NorNews news website, which operates informally as the Islamic Republic’s National Security Council main information outlet, dismissed the nuclear speculation as “rumors” and once again stressed that nuclear testing contradicts Iran’s nuclear and defense doctrine.

In 2019, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies claimed that Iran had begun a program to build underground nuclear testing sites, known as the “Field Project”.

The foundation has been sanctioned by Iran’s Foreign Ministry for five years for “producing and disseminating lies, encouraging, consulting, lobbying, and negative propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic with the aim of playing an effective role in imposing and intensifying economic sanctions”.

According to its 2019 report, its researchers “identified the likely location (in an area southeast of Semnan) where underground non-nuclear explosives tests were conducted in 2003 as part of developing seismic methods of measuring the yield of an underground nuclear explosive.”

This raises the speculation that the earthquake reported in Semnan could be connected to Tehran’s first nuclear test. While Iran has previously acknowledged the existence of the “Imam Khomeini” space center and missile headquarters southeast of Semnan, the site is more than 100 kms from the earthquake’s epicenter. Conspiracy theorists claim Iran prefers use this as a testing site instead of conducting them at a well-known facility such as Natanz.

Iran is an earthquake-prone country, so tremors like these are not uncommon or strange. During the savage Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, Iranian generals wanted to desperately counter-attack Iraqi chemical weapons attacks with their own stockpiles, but the religious leaders of Iran issued a fatwa against the use of WMDs, arguing thy would despoil nature. The Iranian High Command bitterly acquiesced in the face of appalling battlefield casualties. The recent social media speculation seems to be emanating from war-hawks itching to incriminate Iran and inflame tensions in an already precarious time with Israel continuing its murderous rampage in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and against Shia Yemenis on the Arabian peninsula.  

Sources:

M 4.4 – 50 km NW of Bardaskan, Iran (usgs.gov)

Iran: An earthquake — or a secret underground nuclear test? | Euronews

Project Midan (fdd.org)

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – Wikipedia

Ex-British MI6 Operative: Donald Trump Took British Naval Secrets to Mar-A-Lago

Boxes and boxes with classified information stored inside a bathroom at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April 2021. Photo: Department of Justice

Donald Trump took “British naval secrets” to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House, the former UK MI6 operative Christopher Steele writes in a new book.
“I was reliably informed by impeccable sources that among the classified documents which Trump, apparently unauthorizedly, took with him to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency were British naval secrets, some of the most sensitive ones in our governmental system,” Steele writes.


“It remains unclear to me, at least, why Trump would have wanted to retain such documents and what eventually happened to them.”

Steele does not say what the secrets concerned.

Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving power in 2021 was the subject of an FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago and 40 criminal charges brought by the special counsel Jack Smith. That case was thrown out in June by Aileen Cannon, a Florida judge appointed under Trump. Smith has appealed.

Trump was convicted on 34 criminal charges in New York, over hush-money payments to an adult film star. His attempts to overturn the 2020 election are the subject of four federal criminal charges and eight in Georgia.

Trump was previously reported to have discussed US nuclear submarines at Mar-a-Lago with an Australian billionaire who then shared the information. Reporting of that incident did not mention “British naval secrets”.

A Russian foreign ministry photo showing Donald Trump with Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak sharing a laugh during their meeting in the White House on 10 May 2017 (EPA)

Steele discusses the reported occasion in May 2017 when Trump shared “top secret intelligence”, allegedly about an Israeli asset working inside the terrorist group Isis, with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. Sources, Steele says, believe Russia told Iran, which tipped off ISIS, leading to the death of the asset.

Steele then cites his “impeccable source” saying Trump took documents concerning British naval secrets to Mar-a-Lago. He also says the British government knew of links between Trump and Moscow before his intervention, as the Australian government reported activities involving a Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, in 2016.

The two most dangerous internal national security threats to the United States of America are Donald J. Trump and disgraced retired US Army LG Michael Flynn.

The head table of a gala celebrating the tenth anniversary of Russia Today in Dec 2015 in Moscow. Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP and NBC News.

Sources:
Trump took ‘British naval secrets’ to Mar-a-Lago, says Christopher Steele | Donald Trump | The Guardian
Trump indictment unsealed: Read the copy (axios.com)

How Waffle House Helps Southerners and FEMA Judge Storm’s Severity

Image: FOX Weather

Golden hashbrowns, gravy-smothered biscuits and crispy waffles with a hearty helping of maple syrup are among the classic Southern comfort foods. But when hurricanes tear through Southeastern towns, the hot meals and bold yellow signs of the local Waffle House provide another kind of comfort.

If a Waffle House stays open in town, even in a limited capacity, neighbors are reassured that the coming storm is unlikely to cause devastation. A closed location of the dependable diner chain has come to indicate impending disaster. The metric is known as the Waffle House Index.

What might sound like silly logic has become one of the most reliable ways for Southerners — and even federal officials — to gauge a storm’s severity and identify communities most in need of immediate aid.

About two dozen Waffle House locations remained closed in the Carolinas and the chain’s home state of Georgia on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the states were among those battered by Hurricane Helene. Several other locations were open but serving a limited menu.

As Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida communities still recovering from Helene, many Waffle House locations along the Gulf Coast, including those in Tampa, Cape Coral, and St. Petersburg, have closed in preparation.

The South’s favorite disaster authority provides an informal measure of how significantly a storm will affect or has affected a community.

A map of the chain’s over 1,900 locations, concentrated in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, helps residents of storm-prone states assess whether they’re likely to lose power, experience severe flooding or endure other extreme conditions that might cause a resilient restaurant to close its doors. For some, it’s a telltale sign of whether they need to evacuate.

Waffle House is known not just for serving breakfast 24/7, 365 days a year, but also for its disaster preparedness. For decades, people across the South have noticed that the local Waffle House seemed to be the only business still open during a storm or the first to reopen after it passed.

The restaurant chain’s reputation for remaining open when people desperately needed a place to warm up, charge devices and grab a hot meal became a fairly reliable — albeit amusing — source to help track recovery efforts.

Waffle House’s social media shares color-coded maps of its restaurant locations in certain regions that will soon be hit or are recovering from storm damage. FEMA also offers some live tracking.

Waffle House has closed many Florida locations before Hurricane Milton has made landfall, indicating the damage will likely be severe.

The appropriately named Milton (Paradise Lost) was upgraded back to a Category 5 storm Tuesday as it churned toward Florida’s west coast. The “meteorological monster” could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation into projectiles.

Source:

Waffle House Index helps Southerners and FEMA judge a hurricane’s severity | AP News

Friendly Cat Joins Canine Airport Therapy Squad at Denver Intl Airport

Therapy cat Xeli always seems to know when she’s needed. So, when she starts tugging on her leash, her handlers follow the cat to an older couple hunched miserably over their chairs at one of Denver International Airport’s concourses. Their return flight was cancelled, and they’ve logged countless hours trying to get back home.  


Volunteers Nathan and Laine ask the duo if they’d like to hold the cat. The travellers’ faces light up instantly and Xeli bounds onto their laps and curls into a ball. The couple start reminiscing about their own pet who resembled the tabby. By the time the trio leaves, the travelers are smiling.  “Visiting with Xeli was the highlight of our day,” they say.

Photo Courtesy The Petco Foundation

These kinds of transformations are par for the course for members of the Canine Airport Therapy Squad (CATS). Despite the acronym, the team consists of 94 dogs and one cat—Xeli. The program, founded in 2015, offers stress relief to travelers overwhelmed by the airport’s hustle and bustle, missed or late flights, or the scrutiny at security. By the time voyagers reach the boarding areas, they’re ready for the soothing snuggles and distraction of the therapy teams.

Xeli has always done that. Her “sweet nature” was evident to Nathan and Laine from the moment they glimpsed the purring kitten at a Petsmart adoption event. After bringing her home, the couple quickly realized that Xeli could charm even their most feline-resistant friends. A friend told Laine, “I’m not really a cat person, but Xeli’s pretty cool.” That’s when the couple began to see Xeli’s potential as a therapy animal.  

Not every cat is cut out for the role. A potential therapy cat must have a mellow disposition and enjoy interacting with people. Prospective animals have to be certified by a recognized national agency who puts them through a gauntlet of simulated real-life situations, including loud noises and nearby dogs. Cats who prove their mettle undergo a more specific evaluation at the airport, where they’re shepherded through security, taken up escalators, and ride the trains.

Some travelers don’t know what to make of the tabby and her handlers, dressed in matching blue plaid vests. “Some people give us weird looks,” says Laine. Others offer money. A few have even tried to adopt the cat.   

Photo: Courtesy K99

“We own her,” the volunteers clarify. “We’re here so that people who might be a little anxious can have some kitty cuddles.” 

Sources:

Cat Infiltrates Canine Airport Therapy Squad – Modern Cat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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


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


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


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


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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

You can see the stolen riot shield on the right.

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

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

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

This father and his son threw their lives away in the misguided belief of white supremacy, as well as their idiotic belief in Donald Trump. In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

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

Source:

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

INTERPOL Asks Public to Help Crack Missing Women Cases

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

INTERPOL | The International Criminal Police Organization

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

Thailand: Streptococcus Suis Warning After 12 Raw Pork Deaths

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

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


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


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

Map courtesy of https://ontheworldmap.com

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


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


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


Bangkok Post – Warning after raw pork deaths in NE Thailand

New Planetary Defense Mission Heads to Double Asteroid System

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

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

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

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

The NASA spacecraft slammed into Dimorphos two years ago:

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

Illustration courtesy of earth.com.

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

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

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

Source:

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

Global Outrage at Israel: Photo Essay

IDF Kills 24, Wounds 93 Palestinians in Gaza

Gaza’s Government Media Office accused Israeli forces of committing “two brutal massacres” overnight by bombing a mosque and a school-turned-shelter and killing at least 24 Palestinians. Some 93 others were wounded in the attacks in central Gaza.

The targeted buildings were identified as the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibn Rushd School. Both were housing hundreds of displaced people.

The bombings followed 27 Israeli attacks on 27 homes and displacement centres across the Gaza Strip in the past 48 hours.

Almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war. Half of the dead are women and children. Almost 90% of Gaza’s residents are now displaced, amid widespread destruction.

This weekend tens of thousands of people all over the world protested against the Likud-run government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a man indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague for war crimes. Time and space permits only a sampling of the outrage. The Israeli government and its supporters will disparage these thousands and thousands of demonstrators as “Hamas lovers,” “antisemites,” “useful idiots of Iran,” “terrorism supporters,” et cetera et cetera, but rational people know the reality, despite the unfounded accusations, aspersions, rhetoric, and hate speech emanating from Jerusalem and the repetitive, nauseating, droning talking points we’re forced to hear or read in the West.

Police put out a fire after a self-proclaimed journalist self immolated during a pro-Palestinian rally outside the White House in Washington on 5 Oct [Seth Herald / Reuters]

Protesters march during a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday 6 Oct. (Photo: AAP)

Berlin, Germany [Christian Mang/ Reuters]

Madrid, Spain [Ana Beltran / Reuters]

Copenhagen, Denmark [Ritzau Scanpix / Thomas Traasdahl via Reuters]

Jakarta, Indonesia [Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/ Reuters]

Copyright Michel Euler/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.

A protester waves a flag reading ‘Death to NATO fascists!’ during a pro-Palestinian gathering in Belgrade, 5 Oct 2024 Darko Vojinovic/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.

President Biden has only a few months left in the White House while his legacy is being effectively corroded by war-monger Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, despite President Biden’s brilliant handling of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Biden Administration deployed a stellar cast in Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director William Burns to negotiate for a ceasefire and release the hostages, but they were thwarted by Netanyahu. Many Democrats openly suspect that Netanyahu is interfering with the US election by refusing to “seal a deal” or reach a ceasefire to make President Biden look ineffective and thereby help Donald Trump against Kamala Harris this November. Many Arab-Americans have already decided to support Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, which could siphon off Democratic votes in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Sources:


(1) Update Live: Israel bombs Beirut, kills 21 Palestinians in attack on Gaza mosque (aljazeera.com)


Thousands join pro-Palestine rallies across Europe as anniversary of Gaza war nears | Euronews

President Biden ‘doesn’t know’ if Netanyahu is trying to influence US election | Euronews

Israeli Settlers Seizing Occupied West Bank Land Under Cover of War; 623 Palestinians Killed Over Past Two Years

Palestinian Alice Kisiya (R), whose family land was taken over by armed Israeli settlers, confronts a settler in the area of al-Makhrour in the occupied West Bank, near Beit Jala, on 22 Aug 2024 (AFP/Hazem Bader)

Over the past year, while much of the world’s attention has been focused on the war on Gaza, several residents of Umm Safa – a picturesque village just 12km north of Ramallah – have been driven from their homes by armed settlers, often aided by the Israeli army.

Settler violence is not a new phenomenon in the occupied West Bank, where large swathes of territory are under Israeli civil and military control. But since the war on Gaza erupted, land seizures and violent attacks aimed at forcing Palestinians to abandon their homes have spiked. The attacks have coincided with sweeping movement restrictions that have seen Palestinians denied access to cities, towns, and villages.

Omar Hamed (17, L) and Jihad Abu Alia (25, R) were killed by Israeli settlers. (Source: BBC News)

In recent months, the settlers – emboldened by the election of far-right leaders of the settlement movement – began levelling the al-Shami and Ras mountains near Umm Safa, with the aim of turning the area into a settlement outpost.

Residents said that when they approached Israeli authorities for help, they were rebuffed and told to return with documents proving their legal ownership of the lands.

After an extensive search, they presented documents dating back hundreds of years to the Ottoman era, showing that they were, in fact, the legal owners.

Hussein Khasib lives in constant fear, knowing he and his family could be next.

“We went to the Israeli civil administration, hoping it would prevent the settlers from seizing our lands. In the end, they [the Israeli officials] told us that the lands were state property and we couldn’t use them,” Khasib reported.

‘The terrorism carried out by settler militias is why many Bedouin communities left,’ said Hassan Malihat, Director of the al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights 

You can easily see the difference from this dated map comparing the West Bank population in 1967 to 2017. The situation for Palestinians have since worsened.

In 1995, the Oslo Agreement divided the West Bank into three zones known as Areas A, B, and C. 

Area C, which comprises around 60 percent of the West Bank, was meant to be “gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction”. But after a failed peace process in which Israel refused to end its occupation and withdraw militarily, the area remains under full Israeli military and civil control.

Khasib said that the lands currently being levelled were just 15m away from his home. Since the settlers started their construction works, he and his brothers received notices ordering them to demolish their homes.

“Every day, we live in hell,” a distraught Khasib said.

“We don’t sleep at night because they aren’t content with just bulldozing [the land] but also attacking our homes. They want us to leave so they can take over the entire mountain.”

According to the village council in Umm Safa, Israeli settlers have sought to connect the settlements of Halamish (Neve Tzuf) and Ateret, which were established after hundreds of Palestinians were evicted from their ancestral lands. Around 600 dunams (60 hectares) of village land were also confiscated in the 1990s to build the main road leading to the settlements.

There are only 720 Palestinians left in Umm Safa, many of whom lack the land to build new homes. Meanwhile, Israel has closed the village’s eastern and western entrances, severely restricting civilian and commercial movement. The situation in Umm Safa is not new and is part of a broader push by settlers and the Israeli government to take advantage of the war in Gaza to increase pressure on Palestinian communities to flee.

Earlier this year, Israeli authorities approved the seizure of 12.7 sq km of land in the Jordan Valley, indicating it was the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo Accords.

Israeli settlers gather in the West Bank village of Umm Safa on 26 Sep 2024, as construction begins to level Palestinian land (Fayha Shalash / MEE)

As reported here on Coriolanus, the Biden Administration sanctioned a handful of these extremist terrorist Settlers, but clearly this minor gesture has been ineffective.
 
Sources:


Israeli settlers are seizing occupied West Bank land under the cover of war | Middle East Eye
Deadly West Bank settler attacks on Palestinians follow Israeli boy’s killing (bbc.com)

Israel Expands Bombardment of Lebanon; Thousands Flee Widening War

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched what the IDF called a “limited ground operation” into southern Lebanon. Russian President Vladimir Putin called his invasion of Ukraine a “special military operation.”

88 Countries of La Francophonie called for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon.  

People inspect the rubble of buildings levelled by Israeli strikes, which killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, on 29 Sep 2024 (AFP). Who is going to pay to reconstruct Lebanon and its infrastructure after this carnage?

Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both alleged Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.

Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.

At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group away from shared borders so displaced Israelis can return to their homes.

The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a brief war in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in the ground clashes that Israel says have killed 440 Hezbollah fighters.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that “we are trying to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon.” The minister did not name the countries putting forward initiatives, saying they include regional states and some outside the Middle East.

At least six people in Lebanon were killed in more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday. Nearly 375,000 people have fled from Lebanon into Syria in less than two weeks.

People carry luggage as they cross into Syria by foot through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa Border Crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 5 Oct 2024. Hundreds continued to cross the border on foot.

“We were on the road for two days,” said Issa Hilal, one of many Syrian refugees in Lebanon who are now heading back. “The roads were very crowded … it was very difficult. We almost died getting here.”

Other displaced families now shelter alongside Beirut’s famous seaside Corniche, their wind-flapped tents just steps from luxury homes. “We don’t care if we die, but we don’t want to die at the hands of Netanyahu,” said Om Ali Mcheik.

Three hospitals in south Lebanon were forced to close after Israeli bombings struck two and the other ran out of supplies, displacing a number of doctors from the area and creating concerns around the state of the Lebanese health sector.

Marjayoun governmental hospital and the Salah Ghandour hospital in Bint Jbeil, large healthcare centres along the eastern and western sections of the Lebanese borders, announced their closure after their premises were struck, killing seven and wounding 14 healthcare workers.

“The main hospital of the entrance was targeted as paramedics were approaching. Seven were killed, five were wounded. We considered this a message, so we decided to close,” said Dr Mones Kalakish, the director of Marjayoun governmental hospital. He added that because of the frequent targeting of paramedics in south Lebanon, wounded people had not been able to reach the hospital for the past three days.

“There was no warning to the hospital before they struck. The warning didn’t come over the telephone, it came via bombing,” Kalakish said.

Mays al-Jabal governmental hospital, 700 meters from the Israel-Lebanon border, said hospital staff could no longer perform their role due to a cutoff of supplies.

“Medical supplies, diesel, electricity, none of it was available. Unifil was bringing us water, and now they are unable to move. How can a hospital operate without water?” said Dr Halim Saad, the director of Mays al-Jabal hospital’s medical services.

More than 50 healthcare workers have been killed since 23 Sep, when Israel started an intense aerial campaign in south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley. Paramedics all over the country have been killed and injured by Israeli airstrikes, including in a medical centre in central Beirut, where nine were killed in a strike on Thursday.

97 paramedics had been killed since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel started last year – a number which has grown over the past two days.

The displacement of medical workers due to Israeli bombing has created problems across the country at a time when the number of people wounded by Israeli strikes regularly exceeds 100 a day. The health system in Lebanon, and particularly in the south, is fragile after five years of economic crisis and almost a year of war.

At Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, the largest public hospital in Lebanon, officials said Israeli bombing of nearby Dahiyeh, a southern suburb, had displaced some of its staff, leaving some unable to come to work. The hospital has opened a dorm on its campus to accommodate some of its more vital staff and tried to find housing in safe areas for others.

There is a concern among hospital staff that work conditions in the Beirut hospital could become dangerous, as news of hospitals and paramedics being bombed spreads.

“A person who does not have big responsibilities, they might think to leave. I can’t blame them, they have their own security, own family, own life,” Dr Jihad Saade, the chief executive of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, said. Until now, the hospital has been operating normally.

Displacement of medical staff has primarily affected south Lebanon, where Israeli bombing is more frequent. It is unclear how many people still remain in the south, after Israel ordered people in about 70 villages to evacuate.

More than 2,000 people have been killed and more than 9,535 wounded since fighting started in Lebanon, most of them since 23 Sep.

Sources:

Israel expands its bombardment in Lebanon; thousands flee widening war (voanews.com)

Beirut’s Dahiyeh left deserted and destroyed after brutal Israeli bombardment | Middle East Eye

Three hospitals in Lebanon forced to close amid Israeli bombing | Lebanon | The Guardian

Macron says 88 French-speaking countries have called for ceasefire in Lebanon | Euronews

Kiev: Russia Has Executed 93 Ukrainian POWs Since Start of Invasion

A Russia-backed rebel sniper wears a mask in Debaltseve, Ukraine. Photo: Vadim Ghirda / AP

Ukraine has documented evidence related to the execution of 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

80 percent of the executions occurred this year.

On 1 Oct, the Prosecutor-General’s Office announced it had opened an investigation into what it described as the “largest mass execution” of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian troops since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in Feb 2022.

According to an official statement published on the office’s Telegram channel, Russian forces recently killed 16 Ukrainian “prisoners of war” near the villages of Mykolayivka and Sukhiy Yar in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region.

Videos circulated on various Telegram channels appear to show Ukrainian soldiers, freshly captured by Russian troops, emerging from a forested area.

After the prisoners were lined up, Russian soldiers appear to open fire. The videos then appear to show Russian soldiers approaching those who were only wounded and shooting them again at close range with machine guns.

Under international humanitarian law, executing soldiers who have surrendered is considered a war crime.


Kiev alerted the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross over the deaths, citing violations of the Geneva Conventions, which govern the treatment of prisoners of war.


In March, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine published a report that recorded the execution of at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war in 12 separate cases from Dec 2023 to Feb 2024.
 
 
Sources:


Kyiv Says Russia Has Executed 93 Ukrainian POWs Since Start Of War (rferl.org)

Ukraine-OHCHR-40th-periodic-report.pdf
 

Vietnam-era Veterans Exposed to Nerve Agents and Hallucinogens in Secret Military Tests Seek Years of Back Benefits

Test subjects in an undated photo enter a chamber where they were exposed to chemical agents as part of military experiments at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. (US Army photo)

Vietnam-era veterans exposed to nerve agents and hallucinogenic drugs in a classified military research program more than 50 years ago are appealing for retroactive disability benefits after a federal court ruling found their constitutional rights were violated.

Now in their 70s and early 80s, the veterans were sworn to silence and restricted from reporting the debilitating health effects from the program, which included paralysis, cancer, depression, and psychosis. They were also restricted from obtaining disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“I never knew what I was given in those tests,” said Frank Rochelle (76) of North Carolina, a former Army corporal whose service from 1968-1970 included a tour in Vietnam. “When I went to file a VA claim, I was told that the tests I took part in had never happened. The records were sealed. I had no way to prove my case.”

But a 2023 court ruling is enabling Rochelle and other service members for the first time to obtain VA disability compensation retroactive to their date of discharge. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 veterans who participated as human test subjects in classified studies that the US Army Chemical Corps conducted at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland are believed to be alive today.

The facility was established in 1948 primarily as a center for researching chemical warfare agents, but military equipment, protective clothing and pharmaceuticals also were tested at the facility. The Vietnam-era veterans were considered volunteers in classified studies that began in 1956. They signed consent agreements prior to participating in experiments but said later they were not informed of the risks.

About 7,000 military personnel participated in the tests until the Army disbanded the program in 1975, according to the DoD. Edgewood Arsenal now functions as the Army’s center for research, tests and development in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense.

The court found the secrecy agreements that the participants signed, which carried the threat of criminal penalty if violated, effectively denied them due process and disability compensation to which they were entitled.

“This decision importantly opens a pathway for all veterans who are under a secrecy agreement to pursue their claims, whether they are Edgewood Arsenal vets or not,” he said.

Rochelle’s case is pending a higher review in the U.S. Veterans Court of Appeals, which has already ordered retroactive compensation this year in three other cases involving Edgewood veterans.

Jones said though the VA states it now has a process in place for Edgewood Arsenal veterans to file to receive benefits, the agency continues to delay decisions and deny their claims.

The VA does not have figures on how many Vietnam-era veterans have submitted claims for retroactive payments related to illnesses and injuries from serving as test subjects at the Edgewood Arsenal.

In 2023, Army veteran Bob Taylor of Idaho was the first veteran to receive disability compensation retroactive to his military discharge for illnesses and injuries that he suffered after participating in the classified research project.

Taylor’s attorneys first argued in US Court of Appeals for Veterans that he was entitled to compensation back to his discharge date of 1971. Taylor, who served from 1969-1971, has been diagnosed with multiple cancers, depression, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

He and other Edgewood veterans said they thought they had volunteered to test military equipment in the 1960s and 1970s but were directed instead to military research labs for human trials using chemical substances they received in gas chambers, by injection and other means.

Taylor was exposed to at least three highly poisonous chemical agents during the Edgewood experiments. Some of the agents were known only by numbered references with the prefix “EA” for Edgewood Arsenal.

They were EA-3580, a form of sarin gas; EA-3547, a derivative of tear gas, and scopolamine, a highly toxic chemical test as a “truth serum” but that can cause psychosis.

The service-connected illnesses and injuries of Taylor and other veterans from the experiments were not recognized by the VA until the secrecy agreements were partially lifted by the DoD in 2006.

“We were lied to about our reasons for going to Edgewood. We thought that the Army was testing equipment to better the forces,” said Rochelle, whose medical problems from his experiences at Edgewood made him “unemployable,” according to VA records. “This has been ignored for 30 to 50 years.”

Source:

Vietnam-era veterans exposed to nerve agents and hallucinogens in secret military tests seek years of back benefits | Stars and Stripes

Gang Kills 70 People in Haiti’s Pont Sondé

Google Maps.

An attack by the notorious Gran Grif gang in the town of Pont Sondé, Haiti, left at least 70 people dead on Thursday, after gunmen armed with automatic rifles opened fire. Among the victims were ten women and three infants.

“As the attacks unfolded, gang members reportedly set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles, forcing a number of residents to flee,” said a UN official.

The attack comes in the wider context of indiscriminate gang violence across Haiti, leading to an alarming escalation of human rights violations and large-scale internal displacement.

Over 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, making Haiti the country with the largest number of displacements globally due to crime-related violence. Mass displacement has led to widespread insecurity in the nation, with almost half of Haiti’s 11.9 million civilians in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The gang violence against the Haitian population has spread from the capital, Port-au-Prince, to isolated rural areas. The pervasive assaults include sexual violence, kidnapping, looting, roadblocks to intimidate and rob civilians and forced recruitment by armed gangs.

Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier (C) is a powerful criminal leader who leads an alliance of gangs in Port-au-Prince. A former police officer, he is openly defiant and does not wear a mask like thousands of gang members in Haiti.

Despite the growing urgency of the crisis, funding for Haiti’s humanitarian response remains critically low and the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan asking for $674 million is currently only 39 per cent funded.

Kenyan police officer who is part of a UN-backed multinational force takes a selfie after landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 16 July 2024. Another 200 police officers from Kenya arrived for a UN-backed mission led by the East African country to battle violent gangs that have taken over parts of the Caribbean country. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Sources:

Gang attack in Haiti’s Pont Sondé leaves 70 dead | UN News

Haiti: Horrifying gang attacks leave at least 70 dead | OHCHR

Donald Trump Says He’d Change Name of Fort Liberty, NC Back to Fort Bragg if Elected

Fort Liberty, NC sign greets visitors to the base. This is the home of the 82nd Airborne Division (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Former President Donald Trump said he would change the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg if he’s elected. Trump made the remarks on Friday night during a town hall in Fayetteville, NC, which is near the military installation.

“I walked in — the first question that I asked — should we change the name from Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg? First question,” he said as the crowd cheered. “Right, so here’s what we do — we get elected, I’m doing it. I’m doing it.”

The renaming of Fort Bragg was part of a controversial three-year process to strip the names of Confederate leaders who took up arms against the US in the Civil War from Army installations. It was part of an effort initiated by top Pentagon officials in 2020.

Congress mandated the Naming Commission in a 2021 annual Pentagon policy bill, giving it the task of identifying items in the Defense Department inventory associated with the Confederacy. Among the items that the commission studied were the names of nine Army installations honoring Confederate generals, including Fort Bragg.

Then-President Trump vetoed the bill, disapproving of the effort to remove Confederate names from the military. Congress overrode the veto, making the changes law. Fort Bragg was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023. Changing the name of Fort Liberty would require congressional approval.

Instead of providing his supporters with a plan or policy on how to deal with global climate change and the hurricanes that have damaged the Carolinas, the ex-President is concerned about changing the name of a US Army base back to honor a traitorous Confederate Army General. You wonder if this brontosaurus knows the Civil War ended in 1865, the racist, slave-owning Confederacy lost, and that Americans have more pressing needs like universal health insurance, flood re-insurance programs, or logical gun control measures?

Cartoon courtesy of theweek.com.

Previous reporting:

Source:

Trump says he’d change name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg if elected | Stars and Stripes

This is not a mirage.

Sendai Daikannon (仙台大観音)  is the eighth-tallest statue in the world at 100m (330 ft). She is the tallest statue of a goddess in Japan.

This incredible statue in Sendai, Japan, represents a bodhisattva, a person who is on the path towards bodhi (‘awakening’) or Buddhahood. At the time of its completion in 1991, it was the tallest statue in the world.

With all of the war criminals running amok creating death, destruction, and misery, some world leaders could use a bit of enlightenment or a “bodhi”.

Sendai, Japan.

Sources:

Daikanmiji Temple, Sendai Daikannon | Daikanmitsuji-Sendai-Daikannon | Sendai-DaikannonSendai Daikannon – Wikipedia

Nuclear Security Chief in Ukraine’s Russian-Occupied Zaporizhzhya Killed in Car Bombing

Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) posted a video of the explosion.

Ukrainian Military Intelligence (GUR) assassinated the head of security at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine with a car bomb on 4 Oct. Andrei Korotky died after a homemade explosive device planted under his car detonated. Korotky was also the former head of the Moscow-installed local council of deputies in the city of Enerhodar, where the blast occurred. Ukrainian intelligence accused him of war crimes and organizing pro-Russian events during the occupation, basically a “quisling.” Russia’s Investigative Committee has opened a probe into the deadly bombing.

As posted previously on Coriolanus, high-value Russian targets have been killed by IEDs hidden in their cars, most likely by Ukrainian espionage and sabotage agents.

Source:

Nuclear Security Chief in Ukraine’s Russian-Occupied Zaporizhzhya Killed In Car Bombing (rferl.org)

Two Seditionists Sentenced for 6 Jan 2021 Attack on US Capitol

Allan Jennings used medical scissors to shatter glass on a Capitol door. (Photo: FBI)

Allan Jennings (57) of Hillsboro, TN, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,825 in restitution and fines by the Honorable US District Judge Reggie B. Walton. Jennings previously pleaded guilty to a felony offense of civil disorder and a misdemeanor offense of destruction of government property during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

The “Stop the Steal” mob’s initial attack against law enforcement officers caused the police to withdraw. Jennings was among the first few rioters to pursue retreating police officers into the Tunnel. The police had closed the doors to keep the mob from further advance. Jennings then deployed a pair of medical scissors and shattered the door’s glass, costing $825 to repair. Jennings made his way toward the front of the advancing mob, where he put his hands on a police officer’s shield, before returning to the middle of the mob and escaping. The FBI arrested Jennings on 12 Sep 2023 in Tennessee.

Chemical irritant didn’t dissuade James Weeks from continuing his rampage outside the Tunnel. (Photo: FBI)

James Weeks (55) of Sodus, NY, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,774.00 in restitution and a $5,000 fine by the Honorable US District Judge Beryl A. Howell. Weeks previously pleaded guilty to a single felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers.

On 6 Jan, Weeks and the “Stop the Steal” mob entered the Tunnel and violently fought the police. Weeks attempted to grab a police officer, yelling “Shove it up your a—! You fat f—! I’m gonna shove that up your a—!” and “We’re gonna f— you up!” The defendant then struck an MPD officer using his hands and body. Shortly after, another rioter sprayed chemical irritant in the Tunnel, causing Weeks to exit.

Outside Weeks cheered on rioters who were vandalizing the US Capitol building. He then approached a window, waved a black can of OC spray through one of the broken panes of glass, then broke the window with a wooden stick.

The FBI arrested James Weeks on 1 Feb 2024, in Albany, NY.

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.

These two middle-aged lunatics represent America’s Fedayeen Saddam, dead-enders that think their white privilege is coming to an end and that minorities and Democrats unfairly stole the 2020 Presidential election. They heeded Donald Trump’s idiotic call to arms and are now paying the price.

Sources:

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

District of Columbia | New York Man Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

Bird Flu Outbreak Kills Dozens of Tigers in Vietnam Zoos

Forty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in south Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus. Photograph: Pardofelis / Alamy

Forty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in south Vietnam due to the H5N1 type A bird flu virus. The deaths occurred this summer at the private My Quynh safari park in Long An province and the Vuon Xoai zoo in Dong Nai, near Ho Chi Minh City.

No zoo staff members in close contact with the animals had experienced respiratory symptoms.

A total of 385 tigers live in captivity in Vietnam. About 310 are kept at 16 privately owned farms and zoos, while the rest are in state-owned facilities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that since 2022, there have been increasing reports of deadly outbreaks among mammals caused by influenza viruses, including H5N1. These infections can range from mild to severe in humans, and in some cases can even be fatal. Vietnam notified the WHO about a human fatality from the virus in March.

In 2004, dozens of tigers died from bird flu or were culled at the world’s largest breeding farm in Thailand.

Tigers are on the brink of extinction. Global populations have plummeted alarmingly by 96%, for all six-remaining subspecies. Three are now extinct. A combination of poaching, illegal captivity, and habitat destruction have contributed to their dwindling numbers, and it shows no signs of slowing down. WHO, the government of Vietnam, NGOS, and all of us, must do more to save these magnificent felines.  

Sources:

Bird flu outbreak kills dozens of tigers in Vietnam zoos | Bird flu | The Guardian

WWF – Endangered Species Conservation | World Wildlife Fund

Adopt A Tiger from £3 a month | Hand-knitted Tiger toy included | David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

Former UK PM Boris Johnson: “Netanyahu Bugged My Bathroom”

The pair met in 2017 when Boris Johnson was Britain’s foreign secretary. | Pool photo by Darren Staples/WPA/Getty Images

Boris Johnson claimed he found a listening device in his personal bathroom at the British Foreign Office after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu used it.

The former prime minister alleged that his security team found bugging devices in the toilets after Netanyahu had used the facilities. The pair met in 2017 when Johnson was Britain’s foreign secretary.

The claim comes in Johnson’s memoir “Unleashed” which is released on 10 Oct. Extracts were shared with the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“Thither Bibi repaired for a while, and it may or may not be a coincidence but I am told that later, when they were doing a regular sweep for bugs, they found a listening device in the thunderbox,” Johnson writes as he recalls a meeting.

The Telegraph pressed the ex-PM on whether he could disclose more details about what happened, although Johnson told them: “I think everything you need to know about that episode is in the book.”

POLITICO reported in 2019 that the US government believed Israel was responsible for planting cellphone surveillance devices near the White House and other sensitive locations around Washington, D.C. The devices were designed to fool cellphones into giving them their locations and identity information.

Johnson’s memoir has raised eyebrows in London even before its release.

The ex-prime minister, who was ousted from office by his own party in 2022, has disclosed details about Queen Elizabeth II’s health in her final year and accused French President Emmanuel Macron of trying to give the UK a “punishment beating” for leaving the EU.

Years ago, Lebanese Army G-2 found and dismantled an Israeli spying device disguised as a rock in southern Lebanon which took and transmitted photographs.

CIA considers Israel its No. 1 counterintelligence threat in the agency’s Near East Division, the group that oversees spying across the Middle East, according to current and former officials. Counterintelligence is the art of protecting national secrets from spies. This means the CIA believes that US national secrets are safer from other Middle Eastern governments than from Israel.

Sources:

Netanyahu bugged my bathroom, Boris Johnson suggests – POLITICO

Lebanese Army dismantles more Israeli spying devices – Ya LibnanIs Israel the CIA’s top counterintelligence threat in the Near East? | The Times of Israel

Greenpeace Warns of Flooding Risks at France’s Biggest Nuclear Plant

Gravelines nuclear power station on the English Channel coast is already the most powerful in Western Europe. © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0

With six 900MW reactors, the Gravelines nuclear power plant on the English Channel coast is already the most powerful in Western Europe. EDF’s proposal to build two additional new generation pressurised water reactors (EPR2) of 1600 MW each is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s nuclear revival programme.

The new reactors are currently the subject of public debate. If they pass safety criteria laid down by France’s nuclear safety authority (ASN), construction would begin in 2031 and they could be on stream by 2040. While they would be built on a 11-metre-high platform, Greenpeace claims there is a significant safety risk.

“The entire power plant site could find itself – during high tides and when there is a 100-year surge – below sea level” by 2100, it warned in a report published Thursday. EDF refutes their calculations.

“The height of the platform chosen for the EPR2 reactors at Gravelines provides protection against “extreme” flooding, taking into account the effects of IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] scenarios, which are among the most penalising with regard to sea-level rise”, EDF replied.

Greenpeace argues that EDF’s calculations are outdated and do not fully account for the realities of global warming. The NGO based its projection on the IPCC’s most pessimistic scenario, which assumes that no action will be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2100.

Nuclear power accounts for most of France’s electricity, and the Nuclear Energy Society (Sfen) defends it as a low-carbon energy source.

While Greenpeace’s report centers on Gravelines, climate change threatens other nuclear plants, with risks tied to rising temperatures and extreme weather events like storms. Also, potential conflicts could arise over access to river water needed to cool reactors. Russia is occupying the Ukrainian nuclear plant at Zaporizhzhya.

The French nuclear industry has an atrocious reputation. Leaked documents reveal that their companies maintain discreet links to Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear power corporation, despite Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. French commercial uranium mining despoiled water and vegetation in Pan-Sahel Africa, creating “grievance guerillas” amongst the Tuaregs and other angry disenfranchised locals, some who join “Al Qaida in the Maghreb” (AQIM). One company (Orano) left 20 million tons of radioactive waste in Niger. Strong desert winds carry its radon and radioactive dust which is inhaled by the surrounding population. The soil and underground water have also been contaminated. The 100,000 people living in the area have no alternative but to keep on drinking that water.

Sources:

Greenpeace warns of flooding risks at France’s biggest nuclear plant (rfi.fr)

French electricity company discovers deep crack in nuclear plant cooling system

Why the nuclear option is still an explosive subject at climate talks

French nuclear industry maintains links with Russian giant Rosatom (lemonde.fr)

French uranium mine leaves 20 million tons of radioactive waste in Niger (rfi.fr)

Ireland: Beef to China and South Korea Stopped After Atypical BSE Case

This poor cow is suffering from BSE. (Undated public domain image)

Ireland temporarily halted shipments of beef products to China and South Korea after an atypical case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was discovered in a cow. After a fallen animal was tested in mid-September, authorities in China and South Korea were informed and exports of beef halted, in line with the agreements in place with both countries. The animal did not enter the food or feed chain and there were no public health risks associated with this occurrence.

Atypical BSE is a rare spontaneous event which may occur in any bovine population and not related to feed contamination. Coincidentally at the same time, a delegation of veterinary officials from the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was travelling to China, and used that opportunity to reassure authorities there of Ireland’s control measures for BSE.

Atypical BSE occurs sporadically in all cattle populations at a very low rate and is not considered a public health risk, unlike classical BSE, or mad-cow disease, which arises from contaminated animal feed.

This is the third time that Irish beef exports to China have been stopped due to a case of atypical BSE.

Most recently, exports of beef products to China were halted between Nov 2023 and Jan 2024 for this reason. Prior to that, exports to China were also halted for a particularly extended period of time, from May 2020 to Jan 2023, almost three years.

In 2019 – the only full year in which Ireland had uninterrupted access to the Chines market for frozen boneless beef – Irish processors sent around €40 million worth of exports to the Asian country.

Market access for Irish beef to South Korea was secured in May 2024.

Source:

Beef to China and Korea stopped after atypical BSE case (agriland.ie)

Five Chinese Nationals Charged with Covering Up Midnight Visit to Michigan Military Site

The FBI has charged five Chinese nationals who studied at the University of Michigan with espionage related charges. The five individuals are accused of taking photos of military equipment at Camp Grayling, MI in Aug 2023. While the students were taking photos, the Michigan Army National Guard was hosting training for the Taiwanese military.

The FBI noted that there have been other instances of college students from China taking photos of vital defense sites in the US. The FBI said all five men graduated last spring from the University of Michigan. They were part of a joint program between the university and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, China. The five remain at large.  


In 2020, two Chinese nationals who were pursuing master’s degrees at the University of Michigan were sentenced to prison for illegally photographing sites at a naval air station in Key West, FL.


China and Russia remain serious foreign intelligence threats to the US, and as noted above, Israel poses the greatest counterintelligence threat to the USIC. The five students here are part of the “thousand grains of sand” strategy, where every little bit of data is obtained for thousands of analysts in China to create an intelligence mosaic. Chinese intelligence, the MSS, has the manpower and budget for this type of collection.  

Aerial view of Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center in Grayling, MI, 19 July 2014. (AP Photo/John L. Russell)


Sources:


FBI Charges Chinese Nationals with Spying at Camp Grayling | Congressman John Moolenaar (house.gov)

5 Chinese nationals charged with covering up midnight visit to Michigan military site | AP News

Kitten Turns Corner Just 24 Hours After Moving from Shelter into Comfy Home

Watch this orphan kitten evolve from frightened, scrawny rescue animal to “I’m-the-queen-of-the-castle,” thanks to Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, CA. All photos of Apple taken by Frankie.

Nervous, Apple had flea dirt on her which was gently brushed off.

After being cleaned up, Apple wrapped up in a blanket and finally purred.

After eating and resting peacefully, Apple woke up refreshed with renewed energy.

Now when Apple gets tired from eating, playing, and romping, she purrs herself to sleep.

And all this took place in 24 hours.

Source:

Kitten Turns a Corner Just 24 Hours After Moving from Shelter into Comfy Home – Love Meow

Know Any Global Climate Change Deniers? Show them this. Swarms of Yellowjackets Plague North Carolina Residents After Hurricane Helene

Heavy rains from Hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, NC, on 28 Sep. Photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits / Getty Images

  • Flooding in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene has led to swarms of yellow jackets.
  • Heavy rain and standing water likely destroyed the insects’ nests underground and in trees.
  • State health officials said they have bought Benadryl and EpiPens to help people who get stung, especially those with allergies.
  • One million people without power in the Carolinas; over 200 killed in US by Hurricane Helene; hundreds still missing or unaccounted for.
  • 1,000 active-duty troops ordered to assist with recovery efforts.
  • Flooding increased the risk of water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases dramatically.

Most people aren’t allergic to wasp or bee stings but may still develop pain, itching or swelling at the site. Benadryl, either in topical or oral form, can help reduce those symptoms. Epinephrine injections, or EpiPens, are reserved for people with severe allergic reactions — such as trouble breathing or swallowing — which can sometimes be life-threatening. 

Hayes said people who are allergic to bees are usually allergic to yellow jackets, as well, though the scale of the reaction might differ.

Sources:

Yellow jackets swarm after North Carolina floods, prompting need for Benadryl and EpiPens (nbcnews.com)

October 2, 2024: In wake of Hurricane Helene, desperation grows to find missing people | CNN

Mexican Military Kills Six Migrants Near Guatemalan Border

Soldiers stand guard outside a hospital where injured migrants were taken after Mexican soldiers shot a group of 33 migrants in Tapachula, Mexico. 2 Oct 2024. Photo: Jose Torres/Reuters

One day after Mexico’s first female president was inaugurated, soldiers opened fire at a pickup truck carrying migrants, killing six people from Egypt, El Salvador, and Peru, in an incident that President Claudia Sheinbaum described as “regrettable.”


The tragic event occurred on Tuesday evening when soldiers spotted a vehicle carrying 33 migrants “going at high speed,” according to the Mexican Defense Ministry (AKA SEDENA). The vehicle reportedly tried to evade a military patrol in Chiapas, a Mexican state bordering Guatemala.

“Behind the pick-up truck there were two vehicles like those used by criminal groups in the region,” the ministry said, adding that two soldiers reported hearing explosions leading them to open fire.

Four of the migrants died on the scene and two more in a nearby hospital. The attack also left 12 wounded.

Sheinbaum called for the incident “to be investigated and punished” and the soldiers involved in the attack were turned over to the Attorney General’s Office.

Violence has been on the rise in Chiapas as cartels fight for control of lucrative routes for smuggling migrants and drugs. The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel have been engaged in a turf war in the area, with hundreds forced to flee their homes last January.

President Claudia Sheinbaum announces salary increases for military personnel, focusing on lower enlisted soldiers and junior officers.

These poor migrants were escaping terrible, violent conditions in search of a better life, only to be needlessly killed. There is no information indicating where the sounds of the explosions originated and if the human traffickers opened fire on the Mexican soldiers. Authorities haven’t disclosed whether the refugees or the smugglers were armed. Through no fault of her own, President Sheinbaum is off to an inauspicious start to her five-year term. Nevertheless, she is going to change politics in Mexico for a long time to come.

Source:

Six migrants killed in Mexico after military fires at vehicle | CNN

FBI: Seven 6 Jan 2021 Seditionists Processed: Four Arrested; Two Sentenced; One Convicted

The FBI and the Justice Department has been extremely busy over the past 24 hours dealing with 6 Jan 2021 white-supremacist insurrectionists.

First, the FBI made four arrests.

Photo: FBI

Andre Maurice Bonneau (64) of Lewiston, Maine, pictured above, was arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges. Bonneau allegedly disregarded police orders to “get back” and grabbed a bicycle rack in an apparent attempt to breach the police line. Bonneau struggled with officers over the bike rack as he attempted to lift and remove the barricade from the police line. In response to his actions, officers defended themselves by using their riot batons against him and deploying a chemical irritant in Bonneau’s direction. The officers successfully repelled Bonneau’s advance and he retreated.

Christopher Jordan (circled in green) lunging toward a police officer; Earl Jordan (circled in yellow) being moved by other officers. Photo: FBI

Brothers Christopher Jordan (48) of St. George, UT and Earl Jordan (50) of Dickens, IA, were arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges.

Earl and Christopher were seen allegedly engaging with and confronting law enforcement officers during the melee. Earl Jordan allegedly threw his elbow at a police officer, knocking him off balance. Christopher Jordan allegedly lunged toward another officer. Despite verbal commands from police to “get back,” the brothers continued their aggressive behavior. Earl Jordan was allegedly swiped at an officer’s face before grabbing the officer by the throat in another encounter. Simultaneously, Christopher Jordan engaged another police officer, pushing and attempting to wrest control of the officer’s baton.

Despite repeated efforts by the officers to break free from the crowd and establish a police line the Jordan brothers persisted, blocking law enforcement. The brothers then disappeared into the crowd, allowing the officers to regroup behind their line.

Later that day, both brothers confronted police again. Earl Jordan picked up a piece of metal fencing and hurled it as officers struggled to prevent rioters from breaching the building. The Jordan brothers remained on Capitol grounds until the evening hours of January 6th, when law enforcement successfully cleared the area.

James Roe Cleary identified himself to the FBI as being seen in images taken from the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol. (Photo: US DoJ)

James Roe Cleary (56) of Waterford, CT, was arrested for felony civil disorder, assault, and trespassing during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Cleary was involved in the most intense fighting between rioters and police in the Tunnel, the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on 6 Jan.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants above are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Two miscreants below were sentenced for their participation in the 6 Jan 2021 attack on American democracy.

Michael Oliveras outside the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. (Photo: US DoJ)

First, Michael Oliveras (51) of Lindenwold, NJ was sentenced to five years in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution by the Honorable US District Judge Beryl A. Howell.


A federal jury convicted Oliveras of three felonies in Nov 2023. Oliveras traveled to Washington, DC prepared for “war on January 6” because he wanted to stop the certification of the Presidential election. At the Capitol, he swarmed and helped attack a unit of police officers on the West front, engaged in a brawl with officers on the West Terrace, and entered the US Capitol twice—and attempted to enter a third time—during the riot, all while repeatedly calling for the execution of “traitors,” i.e., lawmakers, and encouraging rioters to drag members of Congress out “by their hair.” Oliveras documented many of his actions on videos he took himself.


Oliveras violently engaged and re-engaged with police officers during the fracas and was undeterred even after being sprayed with chemical irritant. After law-enforcement finally secured the US Capitol, Oliveras returned to NJ and posted on social media about his attack on the Capitol:


“Did we want to get our bare hands on the flesh of those who have committed treason? Yes. Would I, as one of those red-blooded Americans, if the opportunity presented itself, grasped and removed one of those traitors? Yes.”


On 8 Jan 2021, Oliveras posted again: “Patriots. Are any of you discouraged? What you saw in the Senate was precisely what we want. Insurrection acts in motion.”
 
           
The FBI arrested Oliveras on 9 Dec 2021, in NJ. After his arrest, Oliveras repeatedly joined YouTube airings and exclaimed that he was not sorry for his actions and he would “do it again.”

Jeremy Daniel Groseclose on 6 Jan 2021. (Image: FBI)      

Second, Jeremy Groseclose (41) of Elliston, Virginia, was sentenced to 40 months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $5,000 by the Honorable US District Judge Christopher R. Cooper.

Groseclose was found guilty on 21 Nov 2023 of felony civil disorder and felony obstruction of an official proceeding, in addition to the misdemeanor offenses following a bench trial.

Groseclose was among a mob of rioters illegally on the Capitol grounds. During his time inside the Capitol building, Groseclose wore a gas mask and interfered with US Capitol Police (USCP) officers as they attempted to prevent the mob from progressing farther into the Capitol. As USCP tried to close a security door located on the east side of the Crypt, Groseclose and others prevented the door from closing by placing chairs, trash cans, and other objects under the door. Groseclose and others also used their hands to lift the door as it was closing. Ultimately, Groseclose and the mob prevented the door from closing and moved toward the retreating USCP officers.

Security footage captured Groseclose taking pictures and recording videos of the chaos inside the Capitol building. In particular, at about 2:39 PM, Groseclose documented a physical struggle between law enforcement officers and a member of the mob. Later, Groseclose captured an image of a dark red substance – believed to be blood — on the floor of the Capitol Building just outside of the Rotunda. The images and videos that Groseclose appeared to capture were not found on his phone, and in the days following the attack, Groseclose sent messages to others discussing the deletion of evidence.

The FBI arrested Groseclose on 25 Feb 2021 in Elliston.

Lastly, one lunatic was just convicted.

Jay Matthew Kenyon (47) of Harrisonburg, VA, was found guilty of felony civil disorder and four misdemeanor offenses. The Honorable US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson will sentence him on 10 Jan 2025. After breaching the US Capitol, USCP was able to escort Kenyon from the building. But the defendant returned and resisted law-enforcement efforts to eject him. USCP then finally removed him one hour after he trespassed.

A US Capitol Police Officer identified Kenyon with brandishing a knife during the ordeal.  The complaint read: “Officer _ recalled the individual swinging the knife and perceived that the individual was trying to attack officers. Officer _ disarmed the individual.”

According to online court records, Kenyon has faced additional charges for assault and battery of a family member, contempt of court and additional traffic violations dating back to 2011.

The FBI arrested Kenyon on 28 Feb 2023, in Harrisonburg, VA.

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.

These dangerous fanatics represent America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), white supremacist dead-enders who are trying to cling on to the last vestiges of white privilege in the US. In addition to Fox News and social platforms that disseminate hate speech, hundreds of American AM radio stations broadcast radically right Republican talking points which these miscreants listen to and believe. According to the 2021 Congressional articles of impeachment, then-President Donald Trump incited his supporters to attack the US Capitol, made easier for him by this ugly cesspool of hate speech dominating the internet and airwaves.

Sources:

District of Columbia | Maine Man Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

District of Columbia | Brothers from Iowa and Utah Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

District of Columbia | Connecticut Man Arrested for Felony Civil Disorder and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

District of Columbia | New Jersey Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

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

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

Harrisonburg ‘Patriot’ who brandished knife on Jan. 6 convicted (augustafreepress.com)

Virginia Judiciary Online Case Information System (state.va.us)

Why do right-wing voices dominate the AM dial? Decades of change cemented shift. • Kansas Reflector

Trump impeached for ‘inciting’ US Capitol riot in historic second charge (bbc.com)

Israel Continues Bombing Beirut; Biden Says Hitting Iran’s Oil Sector Under Discussion

Smoke rises following an explosion over Beirut’s southern suburbs after an air strike late on 3 Oct. (Reuters)

Multiple explosions from Israeli air strikes rocked the suburbs of Beirut late on October 3 as the United States said it is discussing strikes on Iran’s oil facilities as retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack on Israel earlier this week.

Giant balls of flames could be seen shooting into the night sky around the Lebanese capital hours after the Israeli Army had sent evacuation orders to residents in several areas of the city.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported “more than 10 consecutive strikes,” which it called “one of the strongest raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut since the start of the Israeli war on Lebanon.”

Earlier on 3 Oct, an IDF strike on an apartment building in downtown Beirut near the Lebanese parliament killed nine people. More than 1,100 people have been killed since Israel launched its aerial bombardment on 23 Sep. About 1.2 million people have been displaced, a fifth of the population, in the biggest displacement in the country’s history. In Beirut, schools, universities, mosques, and even soccer stadiums have been converted to shelters for refugees. Even then, thousands have nowhere to go and are sleeping on beaches, in parks and squares, or in their cars.

Displaced children sleep on the sidewalk in downtown Beirut. Photo: Patrick Baz / AFP

The Lebanese military is unable to defend its sovereign airspace, territory, or population. Lebanese Hezbollah will fire rockets into northern Israel and avoid head-to-head confrontations with the modern, US-funded IDF, employing guerilla tactics in this modern-day David versus Goliath clash.

US President Joe Biden, when asked by reporters in Washington on 3 Oct whether the White House supports strikes on Iran’s oil facilities, said: “We’re discussing that. There is nothing going to happen today.” Biden also said he would not support an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran’s military has warned it would launch broader strikes if Israel responds to its 1 Oct missile counterattack on Israel.

Nothing would please Israeli Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more than US military intervention against Iran. American military casualties would be the “icing on the cake,” feeding his Islamophobic rhetoric and further cementing the ionic bonds between the US and Israeli right-wing, even though war against Iran is not in the best interest of the hard-working American taxpayer or military servicemember.

For years Israeli PM Netanyahu has been vilifying Iran and assassinating their nuclear scientists while maintaining his own atomic arsenal. Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) Treaty; Israel is not. Then-POTUS Barack Obama wasn’t so easily fooled. Illustration source: Cleveland.com

And besides immense loss of civilian life, a protracted conflict keeps Netanyahu’s bribery and corruption trial in abeyance, threatens oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, and endangers US military personnel in CENTCOM AOR. After Pres. Biden extricated the US from the “forever wars,” he is letting the US get sucked into Netanyahu’s “forever wars.” Benjamin Netanyahu is no closer to getting the remaining hostages freed and will go down in history as Israel’s worst prime minister. Moreover, he is tarnishing Joe Biden’s legacy as his presidency winds down. Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate may siphon off disenfranchised Muslim and Arab Democratic voters in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin this November. While Dr. Stein has no chance of ever winning the White House, she could play the part of spoiler for Kamala Harris.

Sources:

Massive Explosions Rock Beirut; Biden Says Hitting Iran’s Oil Sector Under Discussion (rferl.org)

Sleeping On Beaches, In Cars: Lebanon’s Displaced Have Nowhere To Go Amid Israeli Bombing (rferl.org)

Jill Stein surges ahead of Kamala Harris among Muslim-American voters in key swing states – Middle East Monitor

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein attracting Muslim voters (usatoday.com)

Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists – Wikipedia

Pakistan: Chikungunya Cases on Rise in Karachi

Pakistan is seeing an increase in the chikungunya virus as patients seek relief for bone and joint pain at physiotherapy clinics. The virus is spread by two types of mosquitos: Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti, which mainly bite during the day. The virus may circulate within a number of animals, including birds and rodents. The risk of death is around 1 in 1,000. The very young, old, and those with other health problems are at risk of more severe disease.

Local hospitals, including the Police Hospital, report dozens of new cases every month, as patients seek treatment for symptoms such as muscle pain, fatigue, and inflammation.

Last month, Karachi saw a surge in chikungunya cases over the past five months, with 140 individuals confirmed to have contracted the disease from May to September.

During this period, 211 suspected cases of chikungunya was reported, with 189 individuals screened for the disease. Out of those screened, 140 tested positive.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) issued an advisory on controlling and preventing the spread of chikungunya, a disease similar to dengue fever. The Ministry of Health directed relevant authorities to take immediate measures to combat the outbreak.

As noted previously on Coriolanus, the mosquito is man’s acme predator and global climate change is helping spread them with longer summers and warmer temperatures.

Sources:

Chikungunya cases on rise in Karachi (arynews.tv)

Chikungunya – Wikipedia

Justice Department Disrupts Russian Intelligence Hacking Group

The Justice Department disrupted a hacking group tied to Russian intelligence. The group tried to break into the computer systems of former US military and intelligence staff as well as NGOs, US companies, and others.

A US court unsealed documents authorizing Microsoft and the Department of Justice to seize more than 100 website domain names associated with the hacking group, known as the Callisto Group of Star Blizzard.

The group targeted individuals with e-mails that appeared to come from a trusted source, a tactic known as spear phishing. Once links inside these e-mails were opened, the hackers would attempt to access the victims’ internal systems as a way of stealing information and disrupting their activities.

Star Blizzard’s actions were persistent and sophisticated, according to Microsoft, and the group often did detailed research on its targets before launching an attack. Star Blizzard also went after civil society groups, US companies, American military contractors, and the Department of Energy, which oversees many nuclear programs, the company said.

Authorities haven’t provided details about Star Blizzard’s effectiveness but said they expect Russia to keep deploying hacking and cyberattacks against Washington and its allies, and the US pledged to continue its vigilance.

US authorities charged two Russian men last year in connection with Star Blizzard’s past actions and remain at large.

Along with American targets, Star Blizzard went after people and groups throughout Europe and in other NATO countries, particularly supporters of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

Source:

Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Disrupts Russian Intelligence Spear-Phishing Efforts | United States Department of Justice

Pyongyang Dismantles Key Railway Bridge Severing Inter-Korea Relations

Tourists visit the Dorasan station in the Civilian Control area near the demilitarized zone in Paju, South Korea, on 13 Sep 2017. North Korea has been taking actions to sever connections with South Korea, including dismantling a key railway bridge along the line. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo

Recent satellite imagery revealed that North Korea has been dismantling a key railway bridge and planting landmines along the Gyeongui Line, as Pyongyang continues to sever relations with Seoul.

The images show most of the iron bridge, heading toward Panmun Station near the Kaesong Industrial Complex, has been reduced to only pillars. In February, the bridge appeared in satellite imagery fully intact. Moreover, landmines have been buried along Gyeongui Line.

Once considered a symbol of inter-Korea cooperation, the Kaesong Industrial Complex has been shuttered since 2016 as relations between Seoul and Pyongyang frayed.

Relations between the two countries have only worsened since the 2019 Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump failed to produce tangible outcomes.

Early this year, Kim announced that unification was no longer a goal and that South Korea was now the “principal enemy.”

North Korean supremo Kim Jong Un said this week that cutting ties with Seoul allows North Korea to “strike and destroy the South,” threatening the use of nuclear weapons against South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae visit the Ministry of National Defense on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army in Pyongyang, DPRK 9 Feb 2024, Korean Central News Agency via Reuters.

The people of South Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan are watching in horror as they see the next generation of lunatics becoming groomed to ascend the nuclear throne of the Hermit Kingdom.  

Sources:

Pyongyang dismantles key railway bridge as it severs inter-Korea relations – UPI.com

N Korean leader shuns talks with South, threatens ‘annihilation’ — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Kim Jong Un threatens nuke strikes on South Korea if sovereignty ‘infringed’ | NK News

Republican Yells at Native American Candidate: ‘Go Back to Where You Came From!’

Dan Foreman, a retired USAF Colonel and former police officer, has previously landed in the news for unruly behavior. In a viral video in 2017 taken from police body camera footage at the Latah County Fair, he shouted at a constituent, calling him a “son of a b—-” and telling him to “go to hell.” (image via Idaho Republican Party).

Far-right Idaho state Sen. Dan Foreman got into a heated argument with a Native American candidate during a forum this week that culminated with him shouting at her to “go back to where you came from!”


Trish Carter-Goodheart, a member of the Nez Perce tribe and candidate for House Seat A, said in a statement that the incident occurred at a “meet the candidates” gathering Tuesday in the northern Idaho town of Kendrick, where voters posed questions to Senate and House candidates in the area. The dispute began when Foreman categorically proclaimed discrimination did not exist in Idaho, reported Boise State Public Radio on Thursday.


Carter-Goodheart took issue with this, pointing out that there is an extensive and painful history of white supremacist organizations in northern Idaho. The state GOP has on multiple occasions had to fight off takeovers by those white supremacist groups.


“[J]ust because someone hasn’t personally experienced discrimination, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Racism and discrimination are real issues here in Idaho, as anyone familiar with our state’s history knows,” she explained in a statement issued after the forum. “I highlighted our weak hate crime laws and mentioned the presence of the Aryan Nations in northern Idaho as undeniable evidence of this reality.”


According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 25 active hate, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist groups in Idaho.


In response to Carter-Goodheart’s words at the forum, Foreman “stood up and angrily interjected, using an expletive to criticize what he cast as the liberal bent of the response.”

He then told her she should “go back to where you came from,” Carter-Goodheart said, before storming away. Carter-Goodheart’s Republican candidate, incumbent Rep. Lori McCann, was among the attendees who corroborated the incident.

Trish Carter-Goodheart (above) and the Nez Pierce indigenous peoples, including Chief Joseph and his ancestors, were in North America long before the Foreman family. Maybe the Foreman family should go back to where they came from.

Dan Foreman retired from the USAF after 30 years as a Colonel. US military personnel had to salute this so-called “officer.” He then served as a police officer in the Moscow (Idaho) PD, making you wonder what kind of policeman this Republican was. Worse, this man has seven children and 20 grandchildren. What kind of values has he inculcated his family with? Oof!

Sources:

Republican yells at Native American candidate to ‘go back to where you came from’: report – Raw Story

Idaho | Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org)

Feline Hiding on the Stairs of Subway Station Turns Into Total Lap Cat Within Days

Photo: PuppyKittyNYCity

A feline found hiding on the stairs of a NYC subway station turned into a total lap cat in just a few days. Meagan, president of PuppyKittyNYCity (an animal rescue), was on her way to work when she received an urgent message about a cat found in a subway station.


The cat crouched down on the stairs, frozen in fear. Though terrified, there wasn’t a mean bone in his body, and he even allowed his finder to pet him. As soon as Meagan received the location, she sprang into action.


Her shelter was already full, but “there are some situations you can’t say no to. There is no way we could let this baby stay in the subway station all day long,” Meagan shared.

Photo: PuppyKittyNYCity

The cat had likely been abandoned as no one came to claim him. Somehow, he ended up in the subway station. Overwhelmed by the noise of the city, he pressed himself against the stairs, trying to hide.


Despite needing to report to work that morning, Meagan rerouted and headed to the scene while one of their volunteers stayed with the cat to keep him safe.

Photo: PuppyKittyNYCity

Estimated to be one year old, Subway is still a kitten at heart. As much as he loves to play, he craves human affection even more. “He’s literally perfect and so friendly. He’d be a great first cat or an amazing addition to any home.”

Subway has regained his confidence and no longer cowers. He saunters up to his people for pets and attention, his purr engine rumbling loudly.

Photo: PuppyKittyNYCity

He’s incredibly gentle and sweet with every loving stroke he receives from his people. The cherry on top is that Subway also adores the company of other cats and has a heart of gold.

Source:

Cat Hiding on the Stairs of Subway Station Turns into a Total Lap Cat within Days – Love Meow

Ukraine Withdraws from Vuhledar as Russia Attacks Strategic Grain-Exporting Port on Danube River

The Ukrainian military has confirmed that it is pulling out of the strategic city of Vuhledar as Moscow continues its grinding offensive. Vuhledar, a deserted former mining town with a prewar population of some 14,000, has been at the center of ferocious battles since the start of Russia’s unprovoked invasion in Feb 2022. Russian Telegram channels posted videos of troops waving the Russian flag over shattered buildings.

Russian forces used repeated attacks on the flanks of Vuhledar to exhaust the Ukrainian defenses, threatening to surround the hilltop city. Although razed, this location is strategically important for Russia to protect its supply routes. Vuhledar could also act as a springboard toward Pokrovsk, a communications hub some 80 km to the north that Moscow has been eying for months.

Moscow’s troops, overwhelmingly superior in numbers and equipment, have been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine despite huge losses, as Ukraine has been desperately appealing to its Western allies to provide it with more advanced weapons and give it permission to strike military objectives deeper inside Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s critically important Danube port of Izmayil was again targeted by waves of Russian drone strikes that raised the alarm in neighboring NATO member Romania. Izmayil, on the border with Romania, is Kiev’s only gateway to exporting its grain and other produce.  Two people, including a Turkish citizen, were wounded in the attack.

Vladimir Putin is waging war against grain and global food security to disrupt the Western and Ukrainian economies. As previously reported on Coriolanus, the Kremlin recently ordered jets to attack a cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea to Egypt.

Sources:

Ukraine Withdraws From Vuhledar As Russia Resumes Strikes On Danube Port (rferl.org)

Azerbaijani Opposition Figure Brutally Murdered in France

Vidadi Isgandarli (undated web screenshot).

Vidadi Isgandarli, an Azerbaijani opposition figure in exile well-known for his fierce criticism of the government, has died in France after being brutally beaten and stabbed in an attack at his apartment that his family says was politically motivated.

The deadly attack on Isgandarli follows a similar pattern of violence against Azerbaijani opposition figures in exile; in 2021, another politician in exile, Mohammad Mirzali, survived being stabbed.

“My brother had no idea who the attackers were or what motivated the assault…. They did not speak, and they wore masks, making it impossible to identify them,” said Oktay Isgandarl.

“I have no doubt this is a politically motivated assassination. My brother survived a previous attack by approximately 15 assailants in 2022 here in France.”

Oktay Isgandarli said he received a desperate video call from his brother early on 29 Sep as he clutched a pillow to his abdomen to try and staunch the bleeding after being attacked by three masked men who had broken into his apartment in Mulhouse in eastern France.

Vidadi Isgandarli was stabbed at least 21 times in the abdomen as well as blows to the body and head.

Medics managed to resuscitate him, but he never regained consciousness and succumbed to his injuries on 1 Oct.

Vidadi Isgandarli was known as a vocal critic of the Azerbaijani government and President Ilham Aliyev, who has maintained a tight grip on power since 2003. Azerbaijani Supremo Ilham Aliyev gestures as he addresses the nation in Baku, Azerbaijan, 20 Oct 2020. Israel supplied Azerbaijan with nearly 70% of its arsenal between 2016 and 2020 — giving Azerbaijan an edge against Armenia and boosting Israel’s large defense industry. Aliev has also been deepening ties with Vladimir Putin. (AP Photo)

In 2010, Vidadi Isgandarli participated in parliamentary elections, which he denounced as fraudulent after opposition candidates failed to get elected. He then helped organize protests against the official election results.

Arrested in 2011 and charged with various offenses, including assault and interference with election officials, Vidadi denied the allegations, claiming they were politically motivated.

He was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison but was released early in Dec 2012 in a presidential amnesty. Fearing further persecution, Vidadi, his brother, and their families emigrated to France in 2015.

With Azerbaijan set to host the climate conference COP29 in November, right groups have said it is imperative that the event is used also to shine a spotlight on the country and the deteriorating human rights situation there.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups had documented the “widespread abuse” by the Azerbaijani authorities of the criminal justice system to crack down on human rights including the right to freedom of expression, often “detaining and falsely charging their critics with economic crimes.”

Editorial cartoon on the 2015 Baku European Games from Meydan TV (Image: Meydan TV)

These cowardly murderers took advantage of world attention being focused on the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and Russia’s campaign against Ukraine to eliminate this political opponent of the Aliev regime which has been in power for 21 years. The Amnesty International report contains several instances of political opponents being bullied or imprisoned on fabricated charges. The Aliev regime has the wealth and security apparatus, the DTX, to maintain power and target opponents at home and abroad. The petroleum industry in Azerbaijan produces about 873,260 barrels (138,837 m3) of oil per day and 29 billion cubic meters of gas per year as of 2013.[1] Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry. This attack is reminiscent of the brutal 2018 murder and butchery of political dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, which was directly linked to Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

Sources:

Azerbaijani Opposition Figure Dies After Brutal Attack In France (rferl.org)

Human rights in Azerbaijan Amnesty International

Israeli weapons quietly helped Azerbaijan retake Nagorno-Karabakh — sources, data | The Times of Israel

CIA Makes It Easier for Potential Informants to Share Tips

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) wants to make it easier — and safer — for people in Iran, China, and North Korea to share information with America’s premier spy agency.

CIA posted online instructions in Korean, Mandarin, and Farsi detailing steps that potential informants can take to contact US intelligence officials without putting themselves in danger.

The instructions include ways to reach the CIA on its public website or on the darknet, a part of the internet that can only be accessed using special tools designed to hide the user’s identity. The CIA posted similar instructions in Russian two years ago following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“People are trying to reach out to us from around the world and we are offering them instructions for how to do that safely,” the agency said in a statement. “Our efforts on this front have been successful in Russia, and we want to make sure individuals in other authoritarian regimes know that we’re open for business.”

The tips, presented in text-only videos and infographics, include using a virtual private network, or VPN, to circumvent internet restrictions and surveillance, and the use of a device that can’t easily be traced back to the user. The CIA also urged any potential informants to use private web browsers and to delete their internet history to cover their tracks.

The messages in the three languages were posted on Telegram, YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Several of those platforms are blocked in China, Iran, and Russia but can still be accessed using a VPN.

Authoritarian leaders around the world have used the internet as a tool of mass surveillance and as a way to deliver propaganda and disinformation while blocking sites and views deemed unfavorable to the government.

China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran all block access to American platforms like Facebook, for example, and use web access to control which sources of information users can access.

VPNs and other tools offer ways around this censorship and surveillance, but that ability has made them a target. In its instructions to potential sources, the CIA warned its audience to be selective, as their well-being could depend on choosing the right program.

“Use a VPN provider not headquartered in Russia, Iran, or China, or any other country that is considered unfriendly to the US,” CIA wrote in its instructions for Mandarin users.

This system apparently worked with informants operating in Russia. For the technologically savvy who are confident of remaining undetected, this method may provide the USIC with useful information from Iran, China, and North Korea. Of course, the information would be evaluated for quality and access. For years Wikileaks has used a system to allow people to anonymously download information without detection.   

Sources:

CIA

CIA makes it easier for potential informants to share tips (voanews.com)

Denmark: Three Arrested Following Explosions Near Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen

Security personnel inspect the site of two explosions near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Wednesday. Police are conducting initial investigations at the scene of two blasts for a possible connection to the Israeli embassy located in the area, Copenhagen police said on social media platform. No injuries were reported in the incident, the police added. Photo by Emil Helms/EPA-EFE.

Police in Denmark arrested three people Wednesday following a pair of explosions overnight near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, probably two hand grenades. There were no injuries or damage to the Israeli facility.

The first suspect was arrested within the Danish capital before two others were taken into police custody on a train at Copenhagen Central Station. The three suspects are Swedish males between the ages of 15 and 20 years old. The pair of explosions occurred at around 3:20 AM at the intersection of Strandagervej and Lundevangsvej near the Israeli embassy in Hellerup, north of Copenhagen. Police said they had launched an investigation to see if the explosions were in relation to the Israeli embassy.

Israel’s offensive against the Palestinians and Lebanon with the increasing death toll has resulted in growing criticism and anger directed toward the Middle Eastern country. Last month, German police shot and killed an armed man near Munich’s Israeli embassy after he opened fire on security forces. In June, a man with a crossbow attacked police outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.

Meanwhile, Israel continues pounding Lebanon. At least six people have been killed and eight wounded in Israeli air strikes targeting central Beirut overnight. A further 46 people were killed and 85 injured in IDF attacks across Lebanon in the previous 24 hours. More than 1,900 people have been killed and about 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks.

Destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli air raid on the Bir el-Abed neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on 1 Oct 2024 [Anwar Amro/AFP]

As written here on Coriolanus, Israel and the West will be dealing with asymmetric reprisals, ranging from rank amateurish like this hand grenade episode to highly professional attacks, because of the Likud government’s brutal campaign against the Palestinians and its offensive against Lebanon. Innocent Jews and Israelis, who may be Labor Party members or peace activists like the young woman on the left seated next to Greta Thunberg below, are vulnerable worldwide thanks to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The right-wing in Israel and the West will denounce attacks like this hand grenade folly with the standard lines that it’s “antisemitism,” when it’s really an anti-Likud gesture and an expression of anger and frustration that people of a darker color and a different religion should be killed so easily in the name of “self-defense.”  

Sources:

3 arrested following explosions near Israel’s embassy in Copenhagen – UPI.com

At least 8 killed, 9 wounded in Tel Aviv mass shooting at rail station – UPI.com

Live: Israel hits Beirut, killing 6, Hezbollah fights Israeli army in south | Israel attacks Lebanon News | Al Jazeera

Israel Bars UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from Country

Israel Wednesday banned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because in Israel’s opinion he was not sufficiently unequivocal about condemning Iran’s missile attack on Israel. After Iran’s attack Tuesday Guterres condemned the escalation of violence in the Middle East and called for it to stop. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Israel Wednesday banned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country, citing his comments immediately following Iran’s attack on Tel Aviv..

“I decided today to declare UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres an undesirable personality in Israel and to ban his entry into Israel,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X. “Anyone who is unable to unequivocally condemn Iran’s criminal attack on Israel, as almost all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israel’s soil.”

Tuesday Guterres said in a statement after Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel, “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a cease-fire.”

Guterres added, “An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.”

Katz alleged that Guterres “has not yet denounced the massacre and sexual crimes committed by the murderers of Hamas on 7 Oct, and has not led to decisions to declare them a terrorist organization.”

In Oct 2023 in remarks at the UN Security Council, Guterres said, “I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 Oct acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.”

“Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets,” he said at the time.

In his Oct 2023 remarks, Guterres cited Israeli occupation in the West Bank:

“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” he said. “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”

In remarks before the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Guterres said the “deadly cycle of tit-for-tat violence must stop.”

“The events of the past week, the past month and indeed nearly the past year make it clear: It is high time for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, with the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the effective delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and irreversible progress to a two-state solution,” Guterres said. “It is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, real action towards full implementation of Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701, paving the way for diplomatic efforts for sustainable peace.”

“It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff. Each escalation has served as a pretext for the next.”

Guterres told Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the entire UN system in Lebanon is mobilized to assist all those in need in the country as Israel continued it military attacks on Hezbollah.

As it attacked Hezbollah, Israel has also killed civilians with its attacks and has forced dislocation of civilian residents in the country. Guterres said the UN will continue efforts to de-escalate the situation.

Katz said in his statement Wednesday that the global terrorism of Iran will be remembered as a “forever blot in the history of the UN.”

Guterres maintains that the UN must demand that all parties uphold and respect obligations under international law, including how warfare and occupation are conducted.

Katz’ X statement Wednesday said, “Israel will continue to protect its citizens and maintain its position and national honor with or without Antonio Guterres.”

Israel and the UN have clashed over the role of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian humanitarian relief. Israel accused several of the agency’s staff of being involved in the 7 Oct 2023 attack on Israel.

That surprise attack killed hundreds of Israelis, including civilians as well as military personnel, when armed Palestinians gunmen crossed into Israel from Gaza. These gunmen kidnapped hostages in order to conduct a prisoner swap with Israel as over 7,000 Palestinians have been held in military detention without trial or hearing. Israel massively attacked Gaza in response to the 7 Oct attacks.

Guterres has not yet publicly responded to being banned from Israel nor should he dignify this childish edict.

The Israeli government has a long, rich tradition of ignoring UNSC Resolutions. Former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon is depicted above bullying UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. This cartoonist caricaturized Ariel Sharon as a pig with hooves and a tail. Note the bottom of Ariel Sharon’s hoof is (regrettably) an American flag. Since 2023, over 300 aid workers have been killed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

This diplomatic blunder by Israel should not surprise anyone. Bullies and authoritarian regimes exercise censorship tactics to prevent a counter-narrative inimical to their position. Mr. Guterres will probably not personally respond to this idiotic measure taken by the Israeli Foreign Minister. A member of the Likud Cabinet had previously called for another “nakba” against the Palestinians and another lunatic minister advocated the use of a nuclear device against the Gazans. The Likud government was more upset of a leaked video showing IDF soldiers gang-raping a Palestinian man, not at the unforgivable crime of rape perpetrated by those Israeli miscreants. That grim episode was posted here on Coriolanus. Both the Israeli Prime and Defense Ministers have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague for war crimes.

Sources:

Israel bars U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from country over response to Iran attack – UPI.com

Aid Worker Security Database | Aid Worker Security Database

68 Dangerous California White Supremacists from “SFV Peckerwoods” Gang Indicted

The letters SFV for the Peckerwoods gang signify “San Fernando Valley” and the acronym of “Searching for Victims.” 

A massive law enforcement sweep targeting the SFV Peckerwoods, what federal prosecutors call a San Fernando Valley based white supremacist street gang has led to the arrests of 42 members of the racist criminal organization. 

A total of 68 alleged members of the SFV Peckerwoods were named in a 76-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday that details a litany of crimes related to what prosecutors call a “years-long pattern of racketeering activity that included trafficking of drugs — including fentanyl — illegal firearms possession, and COVID-19 benefits and loan fraud.” 

A massive cache of guns and drugs was seized by the Joint Terrorist Task Force in sweeps targeting the SFV Peckerwoods, a violent white supremacist street gang. Photo: Department of Justice

Of those caught up in a series of federal and local law enforcement sweeps, twelve alleged Peckerwood members were hit with federal racketeering charges, while another 56 defendants were charged with conspiring to distribute drugs. Another 13 defendants were already behind bars. 

The Peckerwoods use Nazi tattoos, graffiti, and iconography to indicate their violent white supremacy extremist ideology. Among the monikers its members use include nicknames like “Bezerker,” “Rascal,” “Monster,” and “Meat,” while inked with “tattoos and iconography” that “include swastikas, the symbol “88”, used by violent white supremacy extremists as code for “Heil Hitler”, and images of Nazi aircraft.”

The gang has a large number of females, who call themselves “Featherwoods,” including “SFV Mama,” whose real name is Claire Patricia Haviland, who was among those arrested Wednesday. 

During the investigation, law enforcement seized large quantities of illegal firearms, and dozens of pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin, according to the indictment. The AUSA aid “the Peckerwoods’ violent white-supremacist ideology and wide-ranging criminal activity pose a grave menace to our community. By allegedly engaging in everything from drug-trafficking to firearms offenses to identity theft to COVID fraud, and through their alliance with a neo-Nazi prison gang, the Peckerwoods are a destructive force. In prosecuting the members of the Peckerwoods criminal organization, our office is carrying out its mission to protect the public from the most dangerous threats.”

When these dangerous maniacs are convicted, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will no doubt incarcerate them at separate maximum security facilities throughout the US to prevent them from re-organizing behind prison walls. But these miscreants will join the Aryan Brotherhood, Proud Boys, or other neo-Nazi white supremacist gangs in federal prison.

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 | Sixty-Eight Defendants Charged in Indictment of Dozens of Members and Associates of California White Supremacist Gang | United States Department of Justice

Dozens of Suspected White Supremacists Based in L.A. Busted in Federal Racketeering Case – LAmag

Canada: Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Geckos Kills One, Infects 25

Orange phase crested gecko (Public domain imagery).

A salmonella outbreak linked to reptiles has left one person dead and three others hospitalized in Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said at least 25 people have been infected across seven provinces in this outbreak, which is the second one linked to geckos in 2024.

Cases have been reported in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Many of the individuals who became sick reported having direct or indirect contact with geckos, or the environments where these pets are kept, before their illnesses occurred,” the PHAC announced.

“Some people who became sick did not touch or handle the geckos themselves, but lived in the same house where they were kept.”

The illnesses occurred between Aug 2020 and Sep 2024. Most of the people infected were females (64 per cent) and in the age range 1 to 103.An investigation into the outbreak is ongoing and PHAC said that the number of cases is likely higher than what has been reported so far.

Salmonella is a bacterial infection commonly transmitted through contaminated food and water and it poses a significant health threat, especially to children and older adults, as it can lead to severe gastrointestinal symptoms, dehydration, and, in extreme cases, death.

People can also get sick with salmonella infection by directly touching reptiles or their environments, as well as through indirect contact by touching contaminated surfaces where these animals are kept.

To prevent infection, the agency has the following advice among other recommendations in its public health notice:

  • always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after touching a reptile or rodent, and anything they eat, or after being in the area where they live, play or touch
  • if visiting an exhibit or event with reptiles, wash your hands when you leave animal areas, even if you do not touch the animals directly
  • clean any surfaces or objects your reptile or rodent touches with soapy water followed by a household sanitizer
  • never kiss a pet reptile
  • always supervise children when they touch or play with reptiles
  • keep reptiles and rodents and all their food, containers, enclosures, and any objects that have been in their enclosures, such as plants or enrichment items, away from the kitchen and other places where food is made or eaten
  • clean or bathe reptiles in a dedicated plastic bin, not in the kitchen or bathroom sink

Symptoms of salmonella infection typically start between six and 72 hours after exposure and can last anywhere from four to seven days. They may include fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, or abdominal cramps.

If you suspect you have salmonella, PHAC recommends seeing a health-care provider. Most people recover on their own after a few days without any medical treatment.

At least 36 people got sick with salmonella infection between March 2020 and March 2024 in a separate outbreak linked to geckos. The salmonella strain of that outbreak was traced back to a gecko habitat at a home of a person who was infected.

Sources:

Public Health Notice: Outbreak of Salmonella Muenchen infections linked to geckos – Canada.ca

Salmonella outbreak linked to geckos kills 1, infects 25 in Canada – National | Globalnews.ca

‘Make Them Riot’: Politico Pulls Six Key Details from Jack Smith’s Massive Trump Filing

“We will never concede,” President Trump told his supporters at a rally in front of the White House. Credit: Pete Marovich for The New York Times

Special counsel Jack Smith’s massive new filing with new evidence against former President Donald Trump contains at least six telling revelations.

Politico legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney shared his immediate takeaways on the 165-page document Smith filed in a Washington DC federal court.

In the filing, Smith asserts his case against the former president within the context of the Supreme Court ruling that Trump enjoyed partial presidential immunity in the lead-up to the US Capitol riots on 6 Jan 2021.

Smith argues Trump can still be tried on election interference charges as he acted as a private citizen seeking personal gain and not a US official seeking to protect the integrity of national elections.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to those charges and contended Wednesday, as he has in the past, that Smith is mounting a political witch hunt.

1) A Trump campaign employee sought to foment chaos at the TCF Center in Detroit where ballots were being processed.

“When a colleague at the TFC Center told [redacted] ‘We think [a batch of votes heavily in Biden’s favor is right, [redacted] responded, “find a reason it isn’t,” “give me options to file litigation,” and “even if itbis [sic],” the filing reads.

“When the colleague suggested that there was about to be unrest reminiscent of the Brooks Brothers Riot, a violent effort to stop the vote count in Florida after the 2000 presidential election, [redacted] responded, ‘Make them riot’ and ‘Do it!!!'”

2) Trump sidelined his campaign legal team on 13 Nov and put Rudy Giuliani in charge because he was willing to lie about the election results.

“As the defendant placed alternating phone calls to [redacted] and [redacted] throughout 13 Nov [redacted] informed [redacted] , another private Campaign advisor, of the change,” the filing states, “writing, “Close hold don’t tell anyone Trump just fired [redacted] and put [redacted] in charge.”

3) Vice President Mike Pence told Trump he saw no evidence of fraud over the course of many conversations detailed in his book and cited by prosecutors.

“In the post-election time period, Pence, the defendant’s own running mate, who he had directed to assess fraud allegations told the defendant that he had seen no evidence of outcome-determinative fraud in the election.”

“The defendant disregarded [redacted] and Pence in the same way that he disregarded dozens of court decisions that unanimously rejected his and his allies’ legal claims, and that he disregarded officials in the targeted states including those in his own party–who stated publicly that he had lost and that his specific fraud allegations were false.”

4) Trump repeatedly promised to provide election fraud evidence to Govs. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) and Brian Kemp (R-GA) but never did.

“The defendant was on notice that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud in Arizona within a week of the election.”

“The defendant also raised claims of election fraud, and [redacted] asked the defendant to send him supporting evidence. Although the defendant said he would, stating ‘we’re packaging it up,’ he never did.”

5) Mark Meadows and a White House attorney exchanged messages on 3 Dec 2020 confirming that dead voters statistics were false.

“During the hearing, Chief of Staff [redacted] and [redacted] exchanged text messages on their personal phones confirming that a Campaign attorney, [redacted] had verified that [redacted] claim of more than 10,000 dead voters was false and that the actual number was around 12 and could not be outcome-determinative.”

6) A US senator helped facilitate a 8 Dec call between Trump and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.

“US Senator [redacted] told [redacted] that the defendant had heard that [redacted] was ‘whipping,’ or lobbying, other state attorneys general against filing amicus briefs in support of Texas.”

“[Redacted] asked [redacted] if he would speak with the defendant about it, and [redacted] agreed.”

Trump supporters heeded his call and stormed the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. Many of them have now been convicted and incarcerated. VPOTUS Mike Pence did not abandon his duty as Trump wanted; instead, he stayed to certify the election. Photo: Roberto Schmidt AFP via Getty Images

Special Counsel Jack Smith is competent and experienced, having convicted war criminals at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague. Nevertheless, the American electorate should not rely on Mr. Smith, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, NYSAG Letitia James, or any part of the US legal system to stop Donald Trump and Project 2025. The Democratic strategy should be to register voters as many voters as possible and overwhelm Republican ballots so that even GOP voter suppression tactics will be ineffective.

Sources:

‘Make them riot’: Politico pulls 6 key details from Jack Smith’s massive Trump filing – Raw Story

United States v Donald J. Trump Superseding Indictment (justice.gov)

India’s Rhino Stronghold Sees 86% Drop in Poaching and Five-Fold Increase in Population

Greater one-horned rhino – CC 4.0. Nejib Ahmed

Since 2016, poaching of one-horned rhinoceroses in India’s Assam state has fallen 86% after the government took decisive steps to protect them

By expanding protected areas and bolstering ranger patrols, 3,000 rhinos grace the Assam savannah.

“Rhinos are synonymous with the identity of Assam. They are our pride and the crown jewel of our biodiversity. Ever since we assumed office, we have taken various initiatives to protect the prized species, expand its habitat and ensure its safety,” Assam state’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X.

In India, the Chief Minister, often abbreviated CM, is the equivalent on an American governor, and the state of Assam which Sarma governs is India’s rhino stronghold, with 88% of all the rhinos in the country located in Kaziranga, Manas, and Orang national parks, and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.

The remaining 12% is spread widely across the country. CM Sarma’s tenure which began in 2021 oversaw the addition of nearly 50,000 acres of habitat in Orang National Park, and another 50,000 to two other protected areas.

Last year, GNN reported that for the first time since 1977, zero rhinos were poached in India.

Sarma ordered the rhinos to be treated like “presidents”, with sophisticated police commando teams patrolling the parks with night vision equipment and drones during moonlit nights.

Since then, the population of Assam’s rhinos has grown by 105 to 3,000; up from a low of 600 during the 1960s. The government released these figures on World Rhino Day (22 Sep) to show that “if the will to protect these animals is there, the most poached megafauna species on Earth can thrive.”

Source:

India’s Rhino Stronghold Sees 86% Drop in Poaching and Five-Fold Increase in Rhinos (goodnewsnetwork.org)

Israel Invades Lebanon

IDF tanks and armored personnel carriers (APC) in northern Israel, 30 Sep 2024.

Israel invaded Lebanon early Tuesday to drive Hezbollah forces away from the Israeli border. The ground operation follows hours of artillery fire across the border and airstrikes in southern Beirut. Over the past 24 hours, Lebanon’s health ministry said nearly 100 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley, and Beirut.

As predicted by Coriolanus, in support of Lebanon’s Shias, Houthis began targeting Western ships with maritime drones in the Red Sea which sees $1 trillion worth of cargo passing through it every year.

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli air strike on a southern suburb of Beirut [Fadel Itani / AFP] 800 people have been killed and approximately 2,000 have been injured since Israel began its offensive against Lebanon with the booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies attack last month (which the OHCHR deemed a “war crime.”)

Filippo Grandi posts on ‘X’:

“The number of people who have crossed into Syria from Lebanon fleeing Israeli airstrikes — Lebanese and Syrian nationals — has reached 100,000. The outflow continues. UNHCR is present at four crossing points alongside local authorities and @SYRedCrescent to support new arrivals”.

Back in Israel, an unpopular prime minister received an earful from his constituents.

A group of protesters held a demonstration outside the private residence of Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, calling on the Israeli prime minister to reach a deal with the Palestinian leadership in Gaza to repatriate the 95 or so hostages. Police were unable to control the crowd, which made it through barriers to Netanyahu’s home.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), seven thousand Palestinians were being held in security detention by the IDF without hearing or trial in 2023. With no way to extricate them, armed Palestinian groups captured a total of 251 Israelis during its surprise attack at the Nova music festival near the Israel-Gaza border on 7 Oct 2023. The first prisoner swap freed 180 of those 7,000 Palestinians and 69 Israelis in Nov 2023.  

Nota Bene: The International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague indicted Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with PM Benjamin Netanyahu, for war crimes. Inexplicably, their international arrest warrants have inexplicably not yet been issued. You may read the specific charges here: Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine | International Criminal Court (icc-cpi.int)

Sources:

Israel launches limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon – UPI.com

Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC: Applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine | International Criminal Court (icc-cpi.int)

Israel Gaza war: ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leaders (bbc.com)

Why Does Israel Have So Many Palestinians in Detention and Available to Swap? | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)

A drone boat loaded with explosives has struck a ship in the Red Sea in a suspected Houthi attack – ABC News (go.com)

Exploding pagers and radios: A terrifying violation of international law, say UN experts | OHCHR

Anti-Semitic Lunatic Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Attempting to Murder Two Jewish Men Leaving Los Angeles Synagogues

Jaime Tran (30) was sentenced to 35 years in prison for shooting and wounding two Jewish men last year as they left religious services in the Pico-Robertson area of Los Angeles. He had pleaded guilty on 3 Jun to two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill and two counts of using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Tran had a history of personally threatening Jews. He described himself as a “ticking time bomb” and maintained social media accounts with the handle “k1llalljews.”

As a result of previous mental health holds, Tran was prohibited from purchasing firearms. In Jan 2023, Tran asked someone in Arizona to buy two firearms for him. That person has since pleaded guilty to firearms violations.

In early Feb 2023, Tran sent an online message stating: “it’s time to kill all Jews.” On the morning of 15 Feb 2023, shot a Jewish victim wearing a yarmulke as he was leaving religious services at a synagogue. Tran shot him at close range centimeters from his spine, intending to kill him. Tran then fled the scene in his car. The next morning Tran shot a second Jewish victim, also wearing a yarmulke and leaving a synagogue after attending religious services. Tran shot the victim at close range, intending to kill him, as the victim crossed the street. Tran again fled the scene.

Both victims survived the attacks. Law enforcement arrested Tran on 17 Feb 2023, after a witness reported seeing someone shooting a firearm behind a motel. When he was arrested, Tran told law enforcement that he was “practicing” with his assault weapon. The AUSA stated that if the defendant wasn’t caught the night of his second shooting, Tran’s campaign of terror would likely have continued.

This miscreant needs intensive psychiatric care. For the next 35 years Tran will not be contributing towards social security and will therefore be destitute when he finally departs federal prison at the tender age of 65.  

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Former California Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Attempting to Murder Two Jewish Men Leaving Los Angeles Synagogues Last Year | United States Department of Justice

Central District of California | Ex-Riverside Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to Hate and Gun Crimes for Shooting Two Jewish Men Leaving L.A. Synagogues Last Year | United States Department of Justice

US Ports Shut Down as Dockworkers Strike

Talks have been stalled for months and the current contract between parties expired on Monday. Getty Images

Tens of thousands of dockworkers have gone on strike indefinitely at ports across much of the US, threatening significant trade and economic disruption ahead of the presidential election and the busy holiday shopping season. Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) walked out on Tuesday at 14 major ports along the east and gulf coasts, halting container traffic from Maine to Texas. The action marks the first such shutdown in almost 50 years.

Time-sensitive imports, such as food, are likely to be among the goods first impacted.

The ports involved handle about 14% of agricultural exports shipped by sea and more than half of imports, including a significant share of trade in bananas and chocolate. Other sectors exposed to disruption include tin, tobacco and nicotine, Oxford Economics said. Clothing and footwear firms, and European carmakers, which route many of their shipments through the Port of Baltimore, will also take a hit.

Imports in the US surged over the summer, as many businesses took steps to rush shipments ahead of the strike. The stand-off injects uncertainty into the US economy at a delicate time.

The economy has been slower and the unemployment rate is ticking higher as the US election approaches in six weeks. President Joe Biden has the power to suspend the strike for 80 days for further negotiations, but the White House has said he is not planning to act.

This is a challenge for the incredibly competent Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to help mediate during this critical run-up period before the November election. Pres. Biden’s international legacy has already been tarnished thanks to bellicose Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu; POTUS gave his farewell address at the UN General Assembly with the world at war. One columnist used the term “purgatory” to describe the state of the world after Biden’s speech. Now, this domestic economic challenge can further damage Joe Biden’s legacy and potentially harm Kamala’s chances in November.

Source:

US ports strike: Trade warning as dockworkers walk out (bbc.com)

American Warzone: Suspect in Fatal Los Angeles Bus Hijacking Charged with Murder

A man suspected of fatally shooting a bus passenger and hijacking the vehicle in Los Angeles before leading police on a pursuit for more than an hour has been charged with multiple counts, including murder and kidnapping.

One victim died of gunshot wounds at a local hospital. A SWAT team rescued the bus driver and a passenger. Lamont Campbell (51) was immediately arrested and charged with 12 felony counts,including murder, attempted murder, carjacking, kidnapping, assault, and robbery. Campbell faces more than 90 years to life in prison if convicted as charged. He is set to be arraigned on October 1, according to the DA’s Office.

The charges stem from the six victims who were on the bus when it was carjacked: The driver, the gunshot victim, identified asAnthony Rivera (48), a woman who was robbed, and three other passengers. The suspect’s motive remains unclear and he has a history of being in and out of California prisons.

The bus hijacking is one of the latest examples of ordinary Americans being terrorized by gun violence in places they once believed were safe, from schools to supermarkets to public transit.

In an average year, 3,299 people die by guns in California. With a rate of 8.2 deaths per 100,000 people, the Golden State has the 45th-highest rate of gun deaths in the US. Nationally, 44,341 people die by guns in an average year, a rate of 13.3 deaths per 100,000 people.

Sources:

LA bus hijack: 1 dead and suspect in custody, Los Angeles police say | CNN

EveryStat – EveryStat.org

Accused LA bus hijacker previously spent time in prison – NBC Los Angeles

Former Iranian President Says Mossad Infiltrated Iranian Intelligence Unit Charged with Spying on Israel

Iran’s former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, alleged that Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency managed to infiltrate the top echelons of Iran’s intelligence service.

Mr. Ahmadinejad says an intelligence group tasked primarily with spying on Israel was all-but taken over by Mossad, which managed to recruit the head of the Iranian group — as well as most of his lieutenants — as a double agent. The goal of the Mossad operation, according to Mr. Ahmadinejad, was to steal information about Iran’s nuclear program.

Mr. Ahmadinejad — who was barred from running in this year’s special presidential election following the death of President Raisi in a helicopter crash — made the claims during a recent interview with CNN Türk. 

Mr. Ahmadinejad said “the highest person in charge of the counter-Israel unit at the Iranian Intelligence Ministry was an Israeli agent.” The former president claims that Mossad infiltrated the intelligence services in order to conduct “complex operations,” including stealing “crucial nuclear documents.”

He says that nearly two dozen Iranians were a part of the Mossad operation, according to a report in Turkiyetoday, which reports that Mr. Ahmadinejad made the comments shortly after his plan to run again for the top office was rejected.

This would not be the first time Israel has operated within Iran’s borders to obtain classified information about the country’s nuclear development program. In 2018, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that his country had obtained a trove of files related to Iran’s quest for a nuclear weapon. He later delivered a presentation of those documents from a stage at Tel Aviv.

In a daring operation six years ago, Mossad agents infiltrated a warehouse at Tehran in the middle of the night and stole more than 100,000 documents detailing Iran’s development of nuclear weapons, according to the New York Times. Over the course of just six hours, more than two dozen agents cut through safes inside the warehouse to access the documents, which were later verified as authentic by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

Mr. Netanyahu conducted a private briefing for President Trump after the documents were in his possession, which then motivated the American president to recklessly pull out of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

Coriolanus cannot confirm these allegations, but both the MOIS (AKA VAJA) and Mossad are familiar with each other’s practices. For years the Mossad and CIA trained the Shah’s notorious SAVAK, the predecessor to the MOIS. Many of those SAVAK officers remained in place out of pragmatism. History is full of examples of highly-placed spies, moles, informants, and traitors operating in elite or tightly-guarded environments. One of the IRA’s most prolific assassins was in reality a British military spy. Freddie Scappaticci, codenamed STAKEKNIFE, was linked to 14 murders and 15 abductions; he worked in a ruthless IRA unit known as the “Nutting Squad.” The “Cambridge Five” were well-placed Kremlin spies operating in the halls of British power and espionage during the Cold War, like Kim Philby below.

MI6-KGB double agent Kim Philby bragged about how he smuggled top-secret documents out of the Secret Intelligence Service HQ and betrayed British and American CIA spies during Philby’s hour-long espionage masterclass to East German Stasi spies in 1981.

Sources:

Former Iranian President Says Mossad Infiltrated Iranian Intelligence Unit Charged With Israel Spying | The New York Sun (nysun.com)

Stakeknife spy report a damning indictment of the state, says solicitor for victims’ families – BBC News

Cambridge Five – Wikipedia

Ministry of Intelligence (Iran) – Wikipedia

‍Kim Philby: Who Is the Real MI6-KGB Spy Behind ‘A Spy Among Friends’? (spyscape.com)

Mosquito-Borne Illnesses Increasing Worldwide

Photo: iStock, AbelBrata.

Mosquitos are man’s acme predators, not sharks in the oceans, grizzly bears in North America, or dangerous hippos in African rivers. Mosquitoes are the most dangerous creatures on Earth regarding the number of human deaths they cause yearly. And because of global climate change, mosquitos have more opportunities to prey on mankind because of longer summers and increased latitudinal migration into new territories.  

In Bangladesh, in 24 hours eight people died of dengue fever and 1,221 were hospitalized, bringing the 2024 death toll to 158 people. Five deaths were reported from Dhaka South City Corporation, one from Dhaka North City Corporation and one each from Barishal and Khulna divisions.

Of them, 206 dengue patients were admitted in the hospital under Dhaka North City Corporation while 228 were hospitalized in Dhaka South City Corporation. Some 830 patients are receiving treatment in different hospitals across the country.

A total of 29,786 dengue cases have been reported since 1 Jan 2024.

Last year, Bangladesh recorded 321,179 cases of dengue fever. 1,705 people died, making it the deadliest year on record. As reported previously on Coriolanus, Trinidad and Tobago is experiencing a dengue fever outbreak.

In New Hampshire, two patients are being treated for Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). Their cases reportedly bring to four the number of encephalitis cases in the Granite State so far this year. The last cases diagnosed in the state date back to 2014.

To avoid mosquito bites, people should use mosquito nets and insect repellent. Wearing long sleeve shirts and clothing to cover the legs will help, as well as staying indoors from dusk to dawn. Stagnant water should be removed from residential areas as these are breeding grounds for mosquitos.

Sources:

Health Officials: Two New Hampshire Residents Treated for Eastern Equine Encephalitis – The Pulse of NH

New Age | Eight die of dengue in Bangladesh in 24 hours (newagebd.net)

Where Do Mosquitoes Go During Daytime? » ScienceABC

South Korea Unveils Missile That Can Destroy North Korea’s Bunkers

The Hyunmoo-5 surface-to-surface missile on parade the 76th anniversary of Korea Armed Forces Day, in Seongnam, South Korea, 1 Oct 2024. Dubbed the ‘monster missile,’ the Hyunmoo-5 is reported to have capacity comparable to that of a nuclear weapon. The missile can carry a warhead weighing up to nine tons and is capable of striking deeply buried command centers.

South Korea unveiled its latest domestically produced ballistic missile, the Hyunmoo-5, on Tuesday as President Yoon Suk Yeol warned North Korea that it would face the end of its regime if it attempted to use nuclear weapons.

Incorporating an advanced cold-launch system, compressed gas is used to propel the missile from its launcher before ignition, minimizing damage to the launcher and increasing operational stability.

Media have drawn parallels between the Hyunmoo-5 and China’s Dongfeng-31 intercontinental ballistic missile, with the former estimated to have a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles), capable of targeting critical infrastructure in North Korea and beyond. 

The new missile is a centerpiece of the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan, designed to respond to damage caused by a North Korean nuclear weapon by targeting its leadership and military headquarters in a retaliatory strike.

“Our military will immediately retaliate against North Korea’s provocations based on its robust combat capabilities and solid readiness posture,” Yoon said at a ceremony to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the founding of South Korea’s armed forces, where the new missile was showcased for the first time. 

“If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face the resolute and overwhelming response of our military and the South Korea-US alliance. That day will be the end of the North Korean regime,” Yoon added. 

Denouncing North Korea for threatening the South with its nuclear weapons and missiles, as well as other provocations, Yoon urged the North to abandon “delusions” that nuclear weapons could guarantee its security

“False peace, based on the enemy’s goodwill, is nothing but a mirage. History has proven that the only way to safeguard peace is by strengthening our power so the enemy cannot dare challenge us,” he added, vowing to build a strong military and strengthen security based on the strong alliance with the US, as well as trilateral cooperation involving Japan.

The South Korean military would reportedly aim to use dozens of Hyunmoo-5s to destroy the North Korean military command’s underground bunkers and devastate Pyongyang in the event of war.

In Japan, Shigeru Ishiba was sworn in as Prime Minister and his platform is one of increased security cooperation with South Korea, Taiwan, and the US, because of the growing nuclear menace of North Korea and China’s increasing military power. The only person in the Universe NOT afflicted with “Kim Jong-Un fatigue” is Russian President Vladimir Putin who receives military aid from him.

Source:

South Korea unveils missile that can hit the North’s bunkers — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Barn Cat Gets Upgraded to House Cat

Hitchcock is a lucky cat. Undated photo: Jennifer Whipple

Jennifer Whipple wrote on Cat Stories:

“I first saw him on one of my trips to the barn where I board my donkey; a tiny black kitten with his left ear still healing from a TNR tip. The other barn cats bullied him, and he seemed starved for attention, so I wound up bringing him home. He was more than happy to turn in his barn cat card and has taken to indoor-only life like a duck to water! There was never a sweeter, funnier, snugglier cat. I guess some cats just aren’t cut out to be barn cats. Hitchcock is definitely one of these!”

Source:

Tiny Cat Stories – Spring/Summer 2024 – Modern Cat