Israeli Defense Forces Have Their Own Dr. Josef Mengele: A Physician Compares Killing Palestinians in Gaza to Exterminating Cockroaches

Israeli army doctor Sabo Amos, pictured at what he says is an Israeli army outpost in Lebanon in February 2025 (X)

An Israeli doctor serving as an army reservist gleefully compared killing Palestinians in Gaza to “eliminating cockroaches.” Writing on X, surgeon Sabo Amos, said he had volunteered to take part in “eliminations” after his battalion had killed “dozens of terrorists” the previous day. “After all, we’re talking about eliminating cockroaches and other loathsome insects,” Amos wrote in the now deleted post. This loathsome man considers murdering Palestinians as a “public health matter.” Dr. Amos also posted an image which he said showed IDF soldiers participating in an afternoon Jewish prayer service in a mosque in northern Gaza. Why would Dr. Sabo Amos delete his own post? This diabolical man is another Dr. Josef Mengele.

Future Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele, here in Frankfurt circa 1935, trained with Germany’s top eugenicists. He also didn’t consider his enemies human beings. (The Archives of the Max Planck Society, Berlin-Dahlem PHOTOS: Holocaust Encyclopedia)

In the past 24 hours of this post, the IDF murdered more than 50 Palestinians in Gaza, bringing the total to 53,272 dead and 120,673 wounded or maimed since 7 Oct 2023. The UN reports that two million Gazans are on the brink of starvation; 300 of their staff have been killed during the Nakba

One of the “cockroaches” that Dr. Sabo Amos is “eliminating.”

The leaders of the UK, France, and Canada condemned Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to take control of the entire Gaza Strip, accusing him of “egregious actions.” UK PM Keir Starmer, France President Emmanuel Macron, and Canada PM Mark Carney also warned of joint action if Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu did not halt the vicious military offensive in Gaza. As of March 2025, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 147 of the 193 member states of the UN.

One immediate thing these three global leaders can do is recognize the State of Palestine, like 75% of the world already has. How much longer could this Pariah state and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) continue to influence the remaining 46 countries of the UN?

Don’t believe Coriolanus?

Some Followers of the Watch are medical professionals and Coriolanus entreats all of you to circulate the name and face of the barbaric and smiling Dr. Sabo Amosa modern day Dr. Josef Mengele — so that he is permanently disinvited from medical conventions or conferences in your country.

As you previously read on Coriolanus, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently heard testimony from member states that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

One of Dr. Sabo Amos’ “loathsome insects.”

An international arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity issued by the ICC remains active for Benjamin Netanyahu. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of a law.

Sources:

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israeli-doctor-compared-killing-palestinians-gaza-eliminating-cockroaches

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-israel-starmer-france-canada-palestine-b2754209.html

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

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

France to Build Supermax Prison Near Devil’s Island

France plans to build a brand new high-security prison in the Amazon rainforest near the site of the notorious Devil’s Island penal colony in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, French Guiana. Bordering Suriname, the new Bastille will cost French taxpayers a total 400 million euros ($451 million) and will also house a court. This jungle dungeon would incarcerate drug kingpins and radical Islamists, including 60 maximum-security prisoners. How much de-forestation to build this 500-inmate gulag in not clear.

Man’s inhumanity to man is on full display again. As the Trumpf junta is exporting undesirables to faraway and brutal destinations, now France President Emmanuel Macron will be returning to this archaic, cruel, and expensive punishment. How will families in France be able afford to visit their transatlantic imprisoned relations? Decades ago, Josef Stalin callously said: “No person, no problem.”

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/19/europe/france-prison-french-guyana-scli-intl

Americans Race for Europe to Flee Trumpf Junta

More Americans are exploring emigration to escape the draconian Trumpf regime, but those looking to Europe are seeing their options narrow by the day. Restrictions on skilled worker visas, tougher rules on citizenship-by-ancestry programs, and pressure on the once widespread Golden Visa program are all eroding the legal avenues Americans, and other migrants, can take to live in Europe. Popular nations such as Italy, which once offered flexible rights to those who could show ties to the country, are making the move more difficult.

One American said: “We want to exit. I’m at my maximum capacity of witnessing this.”

And who can blame these Americans? The Trumpf junta’s increased the powers of the police state and loosened more firearms regulations, while catastrophically mismanaging the economy. America’s cherished AAA credit rating was downgraded for the first time in a century, people’s retirement accounts are being eroded, and cuts to Medicaid and Medicare will kill thousands of people in the future. Weather and disease-related casualties will increase after Trumpf cut the budgets for NHS, CDC, NWS, NOAA, USPS, and NFS. The FDA will limit access to Covid-19 vaccines going forward to people 65 years of age and older and others who are at high risk.

And as you previously read here, aviation safety has indeed decreased under the Trumpf Reign of Terror, thanks to cuts at the FAA. The FAA is investigating another near-miss at LaGuardia Airport in NYC in early May. Dotard Trumpf certainly earned the distasteful but amusing sobriquet “President Plane Crash.”

Academics, scientists, physicians, researchers, intelligence professionals will have less problems finding ways to the EU or Canada as some governments have already expressed interest in accepting them, resulting in a brain drain for the US. Jan to Apr 2024 saw a 16% increase in the number of Americans hired by European companies.

In the span of a few months, Dotard Trumpf has turned America into a Pariah AND Rogue state like Israel and Russia, and soon to be a Failed State.

Sources:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-19/americans-escaping-trump-race-to-secure-european-citizenship

Archived link: https://archive.is/Lyl0B

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/strengthening-and-unleashing-americas-law-enforcement-to-pursue-criminals-and-protect-innocent-citizens/

Elon Musk To Fleece American Taxpayer Again While Enriching Himself

The worst person in the world will be enriching himself again at the detriment of the American taxpayer and the US national security establishment when Felon Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink companies receive the lion’s share of contracts for the multi-billion dollar Golden Dome missile defense system. This is Dotard Trumpf’s vison of President Ronald Reagan’s SDI or Star Wars defense project from the 1980s. To this end and sell the idea to the American citizen, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) posted this infographic below promoting the need for the Golden Dome aerospace defense system.

The graphic displays the primary ICBM threats to the US: China with 400, rising to 700 by 2035 and Russia with 350, rising to 400 by 2035. North Korea possesses ten ICBMs, but will have 50 by 2035 while Iran has none today but could have up to 60 ICBMs in ten years. See article below on China’s growth.

Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and India are not.

The Golden Dome missile shield is set to receive $24.7 billion to kick off the initiative to tie together existing programs with newly developed technology. NORAD advises that Canada’s participation in the missile defense system is limited to research involving the detection of incoming threats. Elon Musk’s SpaceX company appears to be the front-runner to win a major contract in building the multi-billion dollar Golden Dome system.

Sidenote on Felon Musk’s Super AI Computer Colossus in Memphis, TN

Followers of the Watch are already aware that the world’s wealthiest man selected Memphis to host his super AI computer Colossus to take advantage of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) immense power grid.

An aerial image of xAI’s data center in southwest Memphis. Local residents are protesting against the facility’s use of gas-powered turbines. (Photo: Steve Jones Flight by Southwings for the Southern Environmental Law Center)

Felon Musk’s xAI facility is choking the residents of Shelby County with toxic air pollution and they are angry. The cancer risk from industrial sources in southwest Memphis is 4.1 times higher than the EPA’s acceptable risk, according to a ProPublica analysis.

Shelby County has an F in air quality for ozone levels from the American Lung Association and the highest rates of children hospitalized for asthma in Tennessee.”

What does the world’s richest man, a white racist from South Africa, care about the health and welfare of poor black people in Shelby County, Tennessee?

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_the_Treaty_on_the_Non-Proliferation_of_Nuclear_Weapons

https://www.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-brought-world-biggest-123050175.html

Mexico Update

A Mexican security consultant who worked for the US State Department was ambushed at a restaurant in Guadalajara, Mexico. The former minister of security for Hidalgo state was also killed and another instructor was wounded. 

Mexico has a high homicide rate, mostly related to the drug cartels. In 2020, 35,644 murders took place and 70% of the recovered weapons originated in the US. 

Federal magistrates and judges in New Mexico are dismissing national security charges against immigrants who crossed through Trumpf’s newly designated military zone, finding little evidence that the immigrants knew about the zones. Federal prosecutors had charged 400 immigrants with misdemeanor trespassing. Misdemeanor illegal entry into the US charges remained.

In NYC, a Mexican Navy training ship crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge, killing two sailors and injuring 19 others on board as the tops of its masts were sheared off. The Cuauhtemoc, used for sail training and international goodwill tours, lost power just before crashing into the bridge at about 8PM.

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/mexican-security-consultant-worked-us-state-department-killed-121915953

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2025-05-16/judges-dismiss-national-security-charges-against-immigrants-who-enter-new-militarized-zone-at-border

https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/nation/2025/05/17/mexican-navy-sailing-ship-hits-brooklyn-bridge/83704506007/

The Rise of Chinese Hegemony

A significant portion of the West spent the first quarter of the 21st century fighting wars of imperialism in Iraq and Afghanistan, costing trillions of dollars and thousands and thousands of lives. Russia invaded Ukraine and now Israel has invaded the Gaza Strip. These brutal wars serve only to benefit the leadership of these regimes, and not the common man. During all of these imperial adventures, China has been slowly and steadily marching towards global hegemony. China became the “factory of the world” and the second largest economy in the world, behind the US. China participates in UN peacekeeping missions and offers free medical care to poor patients via its military hospital ship. International polling indicates China is now more popular than the US. Followers of the Watch will recall that Beijing has a hypersonic space plane and they pose a direct threat to US space dominance. While the West wasted trillions of dollars on military misadventures, China stole or developed technologies over the past several decades to catch up and surpass her rivals.

Coriolanus is neither an alarmist nor a xenophobe. In fact, your humble author once lived in a metropolitan Chinatown and enjoys Szechuan cuisine. He has friends who are both Mandarin and Cantonese speakers. Your author is merely a cultural historian showing why China will one day establish its Celestial Mandate over the world.

Drone Mothership Coming to a War Near You

Jiu Tian can release vast swarms of drones to overwhelm enemy defenses. (Photo:: X /CG Meifang Zhang)

The Jiu Tian is an unmanned “drone mother ship” and is expected to take off for its first mission as part of a drive to boost the Chinese air force’s combat capabilities. Jiu Tian means “nine heavens”  and can carry six tons of ammunition and small-sized drones. The UAV has a maximum range of 4,350 miles and altitude of 50,000 feet. Swarms of drones, including kamikaze UAVs, can be released from both sides of the aircraft’s belly. The Jiu Tian is reportedly able to fly above many medium-range defense systems currently deployed around the world.

Watch below how this “drone mother ship” operates:

China’s J10 Fighters Shoot Down Six Russian and French-Made Indian Jets in Recent Mini-War

Pakistan flew China’s J-10 in recent aerial dogfights with India. (Image: X Screengrab)

Since the mid-20th century, China has been arming, investing in, and helping to construct Pakistan, which is a crucial nation in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and a non-NATO ally of the US. Pakistan is China’s only overland access to the Arabian Sea that opens onto the Indian Ocean and the Middle East’s vital petroleum shipping lanes.

Pakistan claimed the six downed Indian aircraft with PL-15 missiles included three Rafales armed with European-built air-to-air Meteor missiles, a French Mirage 2000 jet, one Russian-supplied SU-30MKI and one Russian MiG-29, plus a “loitering” Israeli-supplied Heron surveillance drone and dozens of “killer drones” built by Israel.

This aviation loss was costly for India and their war planners must re-assess if the jet fighters they purchased from France and Russia are capable of beating the Chinese-made J10s. For Pakistan this was a boost to their morale and a lesson that their much larger foe is beatable. China is the biggest winner of this mini-war as international demand for the J10 fighter and the PL-15 missile will increase. Beijing also sees the fruits of their efforts to become a global superpower.

China Builds First Thorium-Fueled Nuclear Reactor

China just pulled off a feat no nation has managed before: it kept a nuclear reactor running while swapping out its radioactive fuel. That reactor, quietly humming away in the Gobi Desert, isn’t powered by uranium. It runs on thorium — a silvery metal that offers safer, cleaner, and more abundant nuclear energy with far less waste and no bomb-making potential. The two-megawatt research reactor is cooled and fueled by molten salt. There is little to no chance of a Chernobyl-like disaster with this process.

The US Invented It, But China Made It Work

This marks the first time anyone has successfully reloaded fuel in an operational thorium molten salt reactor (MSR) without shutting it down. And it puts China ahead in a race that, until recently, most countries didn’t even know had restarted. The concept of molten salt thorium reactors (MSRs) was pioneered by the US during the 1960s at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Despite their potential, the US abandoned the research in favor of uranium-based designs better suited for nuclear submarines and weapons development.

The Takeaways

  • Increased Safety: Thorium reactors operate at atmospheric pressure and use molten salts, which are far less likely to cause meltdowns compared to pressurized water reactors.
  • Reduced Nuclear Waste: They generate significantly less long-lived radioactive waste, and the waste produced is dangerous for hundreds of years — not thousands.
  • Proliferation Resistance: Thorium cycles make it harder to produce weapons-grade materials.
  • Fuel Abundance: Thorium is about four times more abundant than uranium in Earth’s crust.

China’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Capabilities

Chinese tech pioneer DeepSeek is disrupting global AI markets with open-source models priced 7 percent below Western counterparts, showcasing China’s ascent through cost-innovation synergies.

Here is a link if you wish to test China’s AI and compare it with Western AI platforms: https://www.deepseek.com/en

Deepseek is a glimpse of China’s commercially-available AI systems. No doubt Beijing has superior AI computers behind the Bamboo Curtain.

Potential for Chinese Digital Mischief in London

(Photo: Getty Images)

The former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, has warned Parliament that Chinese-made microchips in UK infrastructure could be exploited to cause blackouts and ‘immobilize London.’

Chinese-made cellular IoT modules (CIMs) are embedded in a wide range of everyday objects and infrastructure. These devices are reportedly also present in critical infrastructure including traffic light systems and electric cars. CIMs are also in systems including routers and financial terminals.  These devices could potentially be accessed by their manufacturers at any time and a simultaneous kill-switch operation would paralyze a city.

The US FCC banned several Chinese-made telecommunications devices and video surveillance equipment from sales in America because of the threat to national security.

Chinese Maritime Mischief

Coast Guard patrol boat intercepts Chinese man on styrofoam float off Erdan Island on Tuesday. (CGA photo)

That includes at least one case posted to Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, in which a man speaking with a strong mainland Chinese accent is seen planting a Chinese flag on what he says is a Taiwanese beach. Scenes in the background appear to show a stretch of coastline south of the capital Taipei. The man has not been found or publicly identified, and Taiwanese authorities are seeking to ascertain whether he received help from anyone on the island.

Another case involved a father and son who were apprehended shortly after reaching land, along with a man who came ashore at a fishing port in a popular tourist area north of Taipei.

The small size of the boats, some just inflatables for having fun at the beach, makes it difficult for Taiwan’s radar to pick them up. Taiwanese authorities assess that one of these landings was to coincide with the one year anniversary of President Lai Ching-te’s administration.

According to the Global Firepower Index, China is ranked third out of 145 countries, behind the US and Russia. Although China has a while to go to catch up with the US and Russia, as you could see they are making great strides. China has 1,416,096,094 people, ten times the population of Russia. Moreover, Beijing is both patient and economical, not wasting resources like the US or Russia. While Beijing is making money manufacturing weapons for Russia, the Chinese military is also observing which tactics, techniques, and procedures are working in the war against Ukraine, all without suffering any casualties. In the meantime, China will proceed calmly along towards fulfilling her Celestial Mandate.

Sources:

https://futurism.com/china-thorium-nuclear-power

https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/china-just-powered-up-the-worlds-first-thorium-reactor-and-reloaded-it-mid-run/

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/05/20/forget-chinas-navy-chinese-small-boats-landings-taiwan-are-new-source-of-concern.html

https://thediplomat.com/2025/02/the-rise-of-deepseek-chinas-answer-to-silicon-valleys-ai-dominance/

https://www.gbnews.com/lifestyle/cars/china-turn-off-britains-traffic-lights-cars-mi6

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-bans-authorizations-devices-pose-national-security-threat

https://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.php?country_id=china

Mysterious White Streak Flew Over US Skies During Surprise Aurora Storm

Mike Lewinski photographed the white streak above Crestone, Colorado.

A moderate (G2 class) geomagnetic storm arrived early 16 May after Earth caught the glancing blow of a coronal mass ejection (CME). But that wasn’t the cause of this atmospheric phenomenon, which to some observers may have looked similar to the aurora borealis (AKA the “Northern Lights.”)

FTA:

The culprit? A recent rocket launch. Roughly an hour earlier, Chinese company Landscape had launched its ZhuQue-2E methane-fueled rocket from Site 96 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC), in China. It carried six satellites into orbit, including a radar spacecraft and space science payload. The streak was likely from a de-orbit or circularization burn, possibly related to satellite deployment.

Astronomer Jonathan McDowell confirmed that the white streak of light was the result of the ZhuQue-2E upper stage passing over the US Four Corners area. The white streak was caused by the fuel dump from the upper stage at about 155 miles (250 kilometers) altitude.

ZhuQue-2E rocket launch (Photo courtesy of http://www.nasaspaceflight.com)

Source:

https://www.space.com/stargazing/mysterious-white-streak-spotted-over-us-skies-during-surprise-aurora-storm-what-was-it-photos

White Lioness Safe from Poachers

American Police State Terrorizing Citizens, Foreigners, Dissidents

For those Followers of the Watch residing outside the US, you would be wise to refrain from visiting the once “Land of the free, home of the brave.”

Watch the US police state in action as ICE detains Rumeysa Ozturk (30), a Turkish PhD student at Tufts University:

The ICE agents are using a standard FLETC academy arrest technique where one agent distracts the individual with a “PSST!” or “Pardon me” while another agent gets behind the poor girl.

Protesting the Israeli genocide in Gaza or Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine sent these poor young women to the American gulag. Ms. Petrova also faces other dangers should she be deported to Russia and the tender mercies of Vladimir Putin’s police state.

American citizens have been brutalized by the police for years. The advent of social media exposed the long-standing and pervasive practice which led to the Black Lives Matter movement and the meme ACAB (“All cops are bastards”). Watch three Arizona police officers pummel and tase Tyron McAlpin, a defenseless, deaf black man suffering from cerebral palsy for no reason.

Warning: Followers of the Watch may find this video disturbing.

The white officers received minimal disciplinary action from the Phoenix Police Department. Below is the how the Phoenix Police Department presents itself on its website, reminiscent of a Potemkin Village:

https://www.phoenix.gov/administration/departments/police.html

The reality is that unlike the police departments found all over the world, America inherited the brutal, racist legacy of the antebellum Slave Patrol, which has continued into the 21st century.

White Americans are not immune to police brutality. Grandfather Michael Burch (69) slowly suffocated to death in a rural Colorado jail after a Huerfano County deputy broke his ribs in an altercation and then allowed him to languish in a cell for one week without medical care.

Michael Burch with one of his daughters holding a grandchild. 
(Undated family photo / AP)

Michael Burch’s 2023 death was ruled a homicide. But prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges against the deputy who used a Taser on Burch and wrestled with him in a Huerfano County jail cell. An autopsy found six of Burch’s right ribs had broken and his right lung collapsed. He wasn’t taken to a hospital but instead was transferred to another cell where he was found dead seven days later. The lawsuit alleges Burch suffered excruciating pain and that he constructed a “death bed” for himself as his broken ribs caused him to slowly asphyxiate.

Warning: Followers of the Watch may find this video disturbing.

Here is another reason why American policing requires a complete overhaul.

North Bergen Police Chief Robert Farley.

A police chief in Hudson County, New Jersey, is being accused of assaulting and harassing his officers in a lengthy list of complaints that includes defecating on floors, exposing himself, attempting to drug coworkers, and sticking a hypodermic needle into an officer’s penis. Chief Robert Farley, who was appointed chief of the North Bergen Police Department in February 2024, is also accused of retaliating against an officer who attempted to report him to the New Jersey Attorney General. Five police officers in North Bergen said they plan to sue over Farley’s alleged behavior, which also includes claims of retaliation, discrimination, sexual misconduct, and harassment.

Ilya Kukhar (26) was arrested for impersonating an immigration agent, after allegedly stalking a Ukrainian market with fake “ICE” decals on his car in Fife, Washington. Kukhar, who is “not employed by any federal law enforcement agency,” has been charged with one count of Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree. He is currently not in police custody and his initial arraignment is scheduled for 11 Apr.

Countries had previously issued travel advisories to their citizens because of US firearm violence and measles. Now nations are advising their citizens to take precautions when visiting America because of ICE. The Trumpf junta is crushing dissent and causing a brain drain from the US, as well as an economic boycott. Canadians didn’t require such an advisory as thousands and thousands of them have voluntarily cancelled their travel plans to the US. Many began selling their vacation homes in Florida and other areas. Trumpf has turned America’s already over-policed country into the Fourth Reich.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/27/russian-scientist-harvard-medical-school-ice-detention

https://newjersey.news12.com/lawsuit-claims-north-bergen-police-chief-defecated-on-floors-tried-to-drug-coworkers

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/27/us/colorado-jail-death-lawsuit-hnk/index.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/3-phoenix-officers-disciplined-violent-arrest-of-deaf-man-with-disabilities-tyron-mcalpin/

Israeli Settlers Attempt to Torture and Lynch Oscar-Winning Filmmaker

Hamdan Ballal receives treatment at a hospital in Hebron, in a photo shared on Instagram by Basel Adra. 
(Courtesy Nassr Nawaja)


The Palestinian co-director of Oscar-winning film “No Other Land” Hamdan Ballal was beaten up by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, taken away by IDF soldiers and detained overnight. Following his release from detention, Ballal had been “arbitrarily” held in police detention in Kiryat Arba’a and was beaten in custody by IDF soldiers. Following his release, he was moved to a hospital in Hebron, where he was treated for his injuries.

Despite suffering from dehydration and bruising, Ballal left the hospital returned home to his family in Susya in the occupied West Bank.  

These heinous attacks by the Settlers and the IDF should come as no surprise to the Followers of the Watch. Israel is an ethnic-cleansing police state, supported 100% by the US. Besides the ICC issuing an international arrest warrant for war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague condemned the State of Israel for committing genocide in Gaza and enforcing apartheid on Palestinians, all paid for by the hardworking American taxpayer. Accounting for inflation, US aid to Israel from 1951 to 2022 totaled $317.9 billion, making it the largest recipient of American foreign aid since World War II.

Israeli Settlers attacked IDF General Avi Bluth’s entourage in Nov 2024. The Rule of Law only exists for Israeli Jews in the apartheid state, as IDF and police officers are complicit in these crimes.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/24/middleeast/ballal-oscar-palestinian-beaten-israeli-settlers-intl-latam/index.html

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

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

https://www.icj-cij.org/case/192

https://www.icj-cij.org/case/186

Taliban Frees Fourth American Citizen Since Jan 2025

US citizen Faye Hall speaking on the phone after being released by the Taliban on 29 Mar 2025. (Photo: © Diplomatic source in Kabul, AFP)

US national Faye Hall was released by the Taliban after having been detained in Afghanistan in Feb 2025. Hall is the fourth American released from Afghanistan since Jan 2025. Hall, two Britons, and their Afghan translator were detained earlier this year. Hall may have been detained for using a drone without authorization. In Jan 2025 Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were freed in exchange for an Afghan fighter, Khan Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism in the US. George Glezmann was freed after more than two years of detention in a deal brokered by Qatar. The US had lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister, who also heads the powerful Haqqani Network (HQN) blamed for attacks against Afghanistan’s former Western-backed government.

Sources:

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250329-us-woman-released-by-taliban-in-afghanistan

Ukraine Update

Five Children Returned From Russian Occupied Areas

Ukrainian children return home after being abducted by Russian authorities. (Photo: Ombudsman of Ukraine)

Five children have been reunited with their families and returned from Russian occupied Ukrainian territories thanks to Qatari mediation, the head of the Ukrainian President’s office said. The children, aged between 11 and 16 years old, were returned from Russian-occupied Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, under the Bring Kids Back UA initiative in coordination with the Ukrainian Ombudsman’s office.

The initial charges levied against Russian President Vladimir Putin by the ICC was for abducting Ukrainian children, a war crime.

First-Ever Military Mosque Opens in Ukraine

Director of Military Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov (L) and who appears to be Minister of Defense Rustem Enverovych Umyerov (R) (Photo: Government of Ukraine)

“On the initiative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, in whose ranks many Muslim soldiers are fighting, the first military mosque As-Salam has appeared in our country,” said a spokesperson.

The solemn opening, as tradition dictates, began with the reading of the Quran, a holy book for Muslims, and a collective prayer. The event was attended by Muslim Defense Intelligence of Ukraine fighters, as well as the head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov.

Budanov thanked the soldiers who profess Islam for their courage in battles with the Russian occupiers and presented the mosque with collections of prayers and commemorations of Allah for a Muslim warrior, arranged by the Military Chaplaincy Service of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.

Intelligence Director Budanov is a sharp leader who knows that Muslims are fighting and dying for Ukraine. If these Muslims are in the intelligence services, many of them are undertaking risky espionage missions behind enemy lines or recruiting fellow Muslims to turn against Putin. Giving the Ukrainian Muslims a mosque is a gesture demonstrating that they aren’t second class citizens in a Christian-majority nation. Moreover, Ukraine Minister of Defense Rustem Enverovych Umyerov is a Crimean Tatar and therefore a Sunni Muslim who probably endorsed this idea.

Three Chechen soldiers fighting for Ukraine (Undated photo: Sky News)

Remarkable, while Trumpf and Netanyahu are making life absolutely miserable for Muslims, Ukraine President Volodomir Zelensky, who is Jewish, is doing the exact opposite.

New Powerful Re-Usable Ukrainian Drone Has 1,200 Mile Range

The Aeroprakt A-22 is a $90,000 sport plane (Photo: Leighnor Aircraft)

Ukraine’s latest unmanned aerial vehicle can fly 1,200 miles, drop a 550-pound bomb and return to base, making it potentially the most powerful reusable drone in the Russia-Ukraine war. In making its longest-range drones reusable, the drone branch could multiply the number and pace of deep strikes it conducts against targets inside Russia, which have lately included bomber bases and oil facilities. The strikes have raised the cost of Russian bomber sorties targeting Ukrainian cities, and depressed oil production in a country that utterly relies on energy exports for state revenue.

One of Vladimir Putin’s Limousines Explodes Near FSB HQ

A luxury limousine reportedly from Russian President Vladimir Putin's official fleet exploded in Moscow close to the FSB headquarters. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, and it is unclear whether anyone was inside the vehicle at the time or if Putin was the intended target.

Olga Nesterova (@onestpress.bsky.social) 2025-03-29T22:32:29.302Z

Coriolanus is monitoring this incident and information is limited. Vladimir Putin is deeply paranoid about his personal security and employs layered security, so this is a curious affair. Below, loyal FSB officers ensure Putin’s Honor Guard are carrying unloaded weapons. In 1981, the late Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat was killed by his own soldiers while reviewing a parade.

Two Storks Finally Reunite After Winter Migration and War

One of the more unlikely celebrities in Ukraine is a stork named Hrytsko who returned to his home nest on 22 March in the village of Lelyaki, Poltava Oblast, to await the arrival of his girlfriend, Odarka. Ten minutes after his arrival, he started to clean up the place. Shortly after Hrystko arrived, he visited one of his neighbors, a beekeeper, to see how things were going.

Hrytsko has been nesting in Lelyaki since 2019. Villagers there are fond of him, coming to visit and feeding him from time to time. In Ukraine, a stork is considered to be a symbol of prosperity, family, happiness, well-being, and of the country itself. A livestream set up by a researcher in 2023 had made the couple a viral sensation in Ukraine.

Hrytsko spent 22 and 23 Mar alone in the nest but with hundreds of people watching him. One user even wrote that watching how Hrytsko is part of her “morning routine.”

For most of 24 Mar, Hrytsko was still solo, bracing himself against the wind and occasionally flying off to run errands. Finally, to the great relief of Ukrainians, Odarka finally showed up unharmed in the evening, re-uniting the happy couple.

Sources:

www.bringkidsback.org.ua

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2025/01/31/ukraines-new-drone-bomber-flies-1200-miles-with-a-550-pound-bomb-and-returns-to-base/

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/49845

https://kyivindependent.com/a-lonely-ukrainian-stork-is-waiting-for-his-girlfriend-and-1000s-of-people-are-watching-live/

Utah is First State in America to Ban Fluoride in Public Water

Idiotic Governor Spencer Cox happily signing this lunacy into law which will ruin the teeth of young Utahans. (Photo: Getty Images)

Madman RFK Jr during a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing in Jan 2025, where many of the questions focused on his controversial views on vaccines and Covid. (Photo: Allison Bailey /NurPhoto /Rex / Shutterstock)

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gmggp2y99o

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/03/health/rfk-jr-fluoride-science/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/29/top-us-vaccine-official-resigns-over-rfk-jrs-misinformation-and-lies-dr-peter-marks

Lead Poisoning Pervasive in Milwaukee, WI Schools

Nigerian infant suffering from the effects of lead poisoning. (Undated photo: BBC)

The Milwaukee Department of Health informs:

“At least one student has tested positive for lead poisoning after exposure at Golda Meir School Lower Campus. Lead hazards were widespread in the building, found on the ground in the boy’s bathroom, cafeteria, a hallway, the teacher’s lounge, kitchen areas and multiple rooms. Three other students at Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies, Maryland Avenue Montessori and Albert E. Kagel Dual Language School may have been lead-poisoned due to lead hazards from chipping lead-based paint and lead dust. Trowbridge Street School of Great Lakes Studies became the first MPS building to close due to its high lead levels, followed by Starms Early Childhood Center, Fernwood Montessori, and Lafollette School.”

The WHO reports that exposure to lead can affect multiple body systems. Lead exposure was attributed to more than 1.5 million deaths globally in 2021, primarily due to cardiovascular effects. The harmful impacts on health from lead exposure are entirely preventable. There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.

The people of Flint, Michigan underwent a public health crisis from 2014 to 2019 when their drinking water was found to contain lead and possibly Legionella bacteria. In April 2014, during a financial crisis, state-appointed emergency manager Darnell Earley changed Flint’s water source from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (sourced from Lake Huron and the Detroit River) to the Flint River. Residents complained about the taste, smell, and appearance of the water. Officials failed to apply corrosion inhibitors to the water, which resulted in lead from aging pipes leaching into the water supply, exposing around 100,000 residents to elevated lead levels. (Source: Wikipedia)

.

The people of Milwaukee should not expect sympathy or help from the callous Trumpf junta which lives to serve the interests of the oligarchs and not the masses. Some Followers of the Watch may recall that in the famous 1970s TV comedy show “Happy Days” the teenagers attended the fictional Jefferson High School in Milwaukee. But students in that city are not enjoying any happy days right now in this environmental calamity.

Sources:

https://city.milwaukee.gov/Health/Services-and-Programs/HomeEnvironmentalHealth/Ongoing-Lead-Hazard-Investigations-With-MPS

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

Brazil Supreme Court: Jair Bolsonaro to Stand Trial Over Alleged Coup Attempt

Two criminal oligarchs. One may face justice, the other may not. (Undated photo from social media)

Brazil’s Supreme Court has accepted charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro over an alleged attempted coup to stay in office after his 2022 election defeat. The 8 Jan 2023 coup attempt in Brasilia was similar to the Trumpf-led 6 Jan 2021 insurrectionist attack on the US Capitol.

The five justices voted unanimously in favor of putting Bolsonaro and seven other accomplices on trial on five counts, including involvement in an armed criminal organization and attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law.

The populist Bolsonaro, who swept to power after a shock win at the 2018 election, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and says he’s being politically persecuted. Under Brazilian law, a coup conviction alone carries a sentence of up to 12 years. When combined with the other charges, it could potentially see enemy of the environment and the masses Jair Bolsonaro spend decades behind bars. Gut arbet.

Brazil, which is also standing up to Israel’s murderous campaign against the Palestinians, has demonstrated more respect for the Rule of Law than the US. Former President Joe Biden, VPOTUS Kamala Harris, and USAG Merrick Garland must be sitting around bewildered at this concept, when their administration had four years to deal with Trumpf one way or another.

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

Source:

https://www.euronews.com/2025/03/26/brazils-supreme-court-says-jair-bolsonaro-should-stand-trial-over-alleged-coup-attempt

China Unveils Powerful Diamond-Bladed Undersea Cable Cutter

Concept art of a severed undersea iInternet cable. (Image: X Screengrab)

China has developed a compact deep-sea device capable of cutting armored undersea cables at depths of 4,000 meters — twice the operational depth of existing subsea communication infrastructure. The tool, featuring a 150-mm diamond-coated grinding wheel spinning at 1,600 rpm, was designed for integration with China’s advanced submersibles. The development has raised concerns over the security of global undersea infrastructure, as such cables carry 95% of global data transmission and support critical military and civilian operations.

As you have read here on Coriolanus, Beijing has reportedly already cut cables to Taiwan and is constructing large ‘D-Day’ type amphibious landing craft for a potential invasion of the island republic.

There is no mystery that Beijing wishes to assimilate Taiwan one day. But China is keeping a wary eye on North Korea, who has been getting too cozy to Beijing’s dismay. The Kremlin as been increasing the number, power, and accuracy of North Korea’s WMDs. So, at one point, the Chinese CCP is going to tire of the lunatic Kim Jong-un dynasty at their border with an ever-increasing nuclear stockpile. China is much more interwoven into the capitalist global economy than unstable Russia and North Korea. Coriolanus would be surprised if Beijing did NOT have a contingency plan to one day overwhelm North Korea and defang the nefarious Kim Jong-un once and for all. The “Inchon-style” amphibious landing craft would come in handy for a three-pronged attack from north, east and west.

Sources:

https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/china-deep-sea-cable-cutter-threat-global-security-new-weapon-13874403.html

https://www.yahoo.com/news/five-signs-china-preparing-invade-200000510.html

Cat Keeps Jumping Onto Couple’s Boat For Playdates

US National Security in Utter Shambles Under Trumpf

The Dotard-in-Chief (Photo: Reuters)

After US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) approved the appalling Trumpf junta federal budget to further enrich the oligarchs and secure the flow of uninterrupted military aid to Israel earlier this month, Benjamin Netanyahu re-started his genocidal campaign against the Palestinians in Gaza. Simultaneously that very weekend, Trumpf ordered the bombing of Shia Houthis in Yemen as a favor to both Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. Both of them loathe the Shias and Iranians, as you read about here on Coriolanus.

Remarkably, USSECDEF Pete Hegseth, a known alcoholic, during that same weekend erroneously texted the classified US attack plans on the starving Houthis to a journalist working for the Atlantic magazine.

Pete Hegseth vociferously complained about Hillary Clinton’s emails. (Photo: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)

The tremendously under-qualified Pete Hegseth, a former Fox TV host who threw an axe at a musician during one of his shows, used a commercial cell phone application called Signal to relay Top Secret information to several Trump junta leaders, but also included the journalist who was not cleared to receive this information. The text message included the name of an undercover CIA intelligence officer, amongst other things. War plans and names of intelligence officers are never meant to be disclosed outside secure facilities or communication networks or to uncleared civilians. This means that Russian, Chinese, and Israeli intelligence potentially intercepted Hegseth’s message and all the little details in it.

The NSA issued an operational security special bulletin to the USIC in Feb 2025 warning of the vulnerabilities in using the encrypted messaging application Signal.

From professional experience, your author can testify that careers in the USIC have been destroyed over much less violations. And in any other country, this egregious conduct would lead to an immediate court-martial. Only under the Trumpf junta can a dipsomaniac, misogynist, racist USSECDEF with access to nuclear weapons be allowed to thrive. Congress acted immediately by summoning the ODNI and D/CIA, two satraps appointed to the crown jewels of the USIC because of their cultish loyalty to Trumpf, and not their competence or experience. Listen to how much the D/CIA knows below:

Warner, with Gabbard and Ratcliffe sitting in front of him: "If this was the case of a military officer or an intelligence officer and they had this kind of behavior, they would be fired."

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-03-25T14:18:47.048Z

Using Signal is also extraordinary given that a constant refrain of President Trumpf’s 2015 presidential election campaign was the need to “lock up” Hillary Clinton for using a private server for her emails.

DOGE Cuts Could Send Former USIC Personnel to Adversarial Powers

FTA:

“For Russia, China and other adversaries, the upheaval in Washington as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency guts government agencies presents an unprecedented opportunity to recruit informants, national security and intelligence experts say.

Every former federal worker with knowledge of or access to sensitive information or systems could be a target. When thousands of them leave their jobs at the same time, that creates a lot of targets, as well as a counterespionage challenge for the US.

“This information is highly valuable, and it shouldn’t be surprising that Russia and China and other organizations — criminal syndicates for instance — would be aggressively recruiting government employees,” said Theresa Payton, a former White House chief information officer under President George W. Bush, who now runs her own cybersecurity firm.”

Every year 100,000 federal employees retire or leave government work. This year will be higher because of DOGE. Only a tiny fraction of the many millions of Americans who have worked for the federal government have ever been accused of espionage. It takes only one or two misguided or disgruntled workers to cause a national security crisis. Former FBI agent Robert Hanssen and former CIA officer Aldrich Ames, who both spied for Russia, show just how damaging a single informant can be.”

This is a numbers game. By probability and statistics, US counterintelligence agencies can expect to see more cases of espionage or former USIC personnel working for foreign companies that may be shells for Beijing, Jerusalem, or Moscow.

Trumpf Junta Continues Useless Threats Against Greenland

Republican JD Vance and Democrat Usha Vance at their wedding.

The Trumpf junta is sending Second Lady Usha Vance to Greenland later this week. She will be joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and national security adviser Mike Waltz. Vance, who is taking one of her two sons, will visit historical sites, learn about Greenlandic heritage and attend a national dogsled race. The officials will embark on the trip as Trumpf sharpens his proposal to take over Greenland, a mineral-rich island that houses a US military base.

Sending dark-skinned Usha Vance is a shameful and cynical attempt to soften the image of white supremacist America to native Inuits in Greenland.  Does anybody think they’ll be fooled up there?

Trumpf Junta to Eliminate FEMA

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told a Cabinet meeting that the department would move to “eliminate” the government’s disaster relief agency, days after Trumpf signed an executive order directing state and local governments to “play a more active and significant role” in responding to catastrophes.

From 2015 to Aug 2024, red states Florida, Louisiana, and Texas have benefited the most from the Individuals and Households Program (IHP). Florida residents have received $2.5 billion, Louisiana residents have gotten $2.4 billion, and Texas residents have received $2.3 billion. Republicans who voted for Trumpf shot themselves in the foot.

Besides helping Republicans recover from flooding, hurricanes, and tornados, which there will be more of because of global climate change, FEMA has a national civil defense (CD) role in the event of a debilitating attack on the US by terrorists or adversarial powers.

Trumpf Junta Sloppily Releases De-Classified JFK Assassination Files   

Joseph diGenova was victimized by the release.

“It’s absolutely outrageous. It’s sloppy, unprofessional,” said former Trumpf campaign lawyer Joseph diGenova (80) whose private information was included in the massive release. Trumpf staffers recklessly released the documents online without redacting personal information. “It not only means identity theft, but I’ve had threats against me,” said diGenova, a fixture in Republican and Washington legal circles who has fiercely defended Trump and has pounced on his critics on cable news. “In the past, I’ve had to report real threats against me to the FBI. There are dangerous nuts out there.”

Released JFK files: www.archives.gov

The irony is rich when a Trumpf acolyte is screwed over by Trumpf acolytes. This is the type of idiotic sloppiness that Americans and the world must get accustomed to. The guardians and custodians of US secrets are unprofessional, incompetent clowns and US national security is in utter disarray. No wonder the new Canadian PM Mark Carney immediately flew to London and Paris for security talks, by-passing the Rogue State led by buffoons, criminals, goniffs, and a premier Russian asset despoiling his southern border.  

Citations:

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

Hegseth’s Own Words Come Back to Haunt Him After Texting War Plans | The New Republic

Trump officials leak plans for US airstrikes in Signal SNAFU • The Register

Espionage concerns rise as Trump and Musk cut thousands of federal jobs | AP News

www.britannica.com

A French university is offering ‘scientific asylum’ for US talent. The brain drain has started | Alexander Hurst | The Guardian

www.cbsnews.com

DHS Sec. Kristi Noem says administration will move to ‘eliminate’ FEMA, a long-time Trump target | Semafor

Residents of These 3 Red States Receive Most FEMA Funds as Trump Mulls Cuts – Newsweek

civil-defense-from-the-cold-war-to-contemporary-threats.pdf

More than 400 Social Security numbers, other private information revealed in JFK files

Signal >> Home

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nsa-signal-app-vulnerabilities-before-houthi-strike-chat/

Anonymous Warns Donald Trumpf and Felon Musk

Anonymous is a global collective of unpaid volunteers operating secretly in cyberspace using their formidable IT and computer skills to disrupt unjust or nefarious actors throughout the world. The private communications and computer systems used by Felon Musk or Donald Trumpf are vulnerable to their penetrations. Anonymous has warned them to temper their fascistic and greedy goals or face the consequences. But Followers of the Watch need not be concerned by the activities of Anonymous as they only target those that deserve to be targeted.

Turkish President Arrests Opposition Leader

Followers of the Watch: The UK FCO issued a travel advisory to avoid travelling to Turkiye until the unrest ends.

The popular Ekrem İmamoğlu won Istanbul’s mayoralty three times.

The arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the leading political rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on corruption charges — after being accused of both corruption and terrorism — marks yet another sign that Turkiye is becoming the next Iran: A state where elections are tightly controlled, rigged in advance and reduced to a democratic façade without free and fair campaign conditions. Tens of thousands of people across Turkiye have been protesting the arrest. Demonstrators have been fired upon with tear gas and rubber bullets in what has become the worst unrest in the country for more than a decade.

A protester waves Turkey’s national flag in front of riot police at a demonstration in support of mayor Ekrem Imamoglu outside Istanbul’s city hall on Saturday. (Photo: Kemal Aslan / AFP / Getty Images)

For over a decade Erdogan has systematically weaponized the criminal justice system, installing loyalist judges and prosecutors while co-opting opposition figures through bribery, blackmail, and intimidation. His goal is to ensure that any candidate who makes it onto the ballot is already set up for failure. Erdogan overuses the broad-brush term of “teror” for his political enemies, whether they are Gulenists or ethnic Kurds in the opposition parties.

Although Imamoglu was removed from office by the Interior Ministry, legal experts suggest that the ongoing terrorism case could be used as further justification for appointing a trustee to govern Istanbul and to neutralize a key rival ahead of the 2028 presidential election. The legal proceedings are part of a broader government strategy to undermine opposition-controlled municipalities and weaken political dissent.

University students protest after Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested. The poster reads in Turkish: “We bow neither to power nor to lawlessness”. (Photo: AP Photo)

In terms of military power, Turkiye is ranked 9 out of 145 countries by the Global Firepower Index (GFI). They maintain the second largest army in NATO and the US maintains 50 B-61 Cold War-era nuclear gravity bombs in Incirlik AFB. Ankara signaled Turkiye’s readiness to provide peacekeepers to Ukraine.

During Coriolanus’ military career, he had the distinct honor of working closely with the Turkish Special Forces in the Middle East and he befriended a few of the Generals. Their professionalism, competence, and experience were first-rate.

Turkiye’s first female air force pilot was the adopted daughter of Kemal Pasha Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkiye.

Mustapha Pasha Kemal Ataturk founded the CHP Party and would disapprove of a candidate from his party being so shabbily mistreated and manhandled.

Citations:

https://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.php?country_id=turkey

https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/19/politics/us-nuclear-weapons-turkey-attempted-coup/index.html

Ousted Istanbul mayor accused of terrorist links due to electoral alliance with Kurds – Nordic Monitor

Turkey travel advice – GOV.UK

Turkey protests: Why thousands are protesting Imamoglu’s arrest

China to Execute Former Defense Engineer for Selling J-35A Stealth Fighter Secrets

In a case that has sent shockwaves through China’s national security circles, a former assistant defense engineer, identified as Liu, has been sentenced to death for leaking classified intelligence on China’s J-35A fifth-generation stealth fighter to foreign intelligence agencies.

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) confirmed the espionage case in a rare and forceful statement, exposing the extent of China’s internal security vulnerabilities and the potential damage to its military advancements.

Liu was a former assistant engineer at a leading defense research institute specializing in military aviation technology. MSS sources revealed that Liu became disgruntled after being passed over for promotion, prompting him to illegally copy, store, and ultimately sell classified defense-related documents. Following his resignation, Liu briefly worked for an investment firm, but mounting financial losses from risky stock speculation and unauthorized credit withdrawals drove him to seek alternative means of income—ultimately leading him to trade state secrets for money.

Over a six-month period, Liu traveled to multiple countries, allegedly leaking highly sensitive Chinese defense intelligence to foreign operatives using sophisticated tradecraft. However, his handlers—foreign intelligence agents— reportedly cut ties with him after acquiring crucial data at a low cost, a move that left Liu vulnerable and exposed.

Rather than abandoning his operations, Liu refined his espionage methods and attempted to re-establish contact with foreign intelligence agencies. His actions raised red flags within China’s national security apparatus, triggering intensive surveillance that led to his eventual arrest in a covert counterintelligence operation.

Chinese security services use facial recognition devices built into their sunglasses.

According to MSS, Liu was convicted of espionage and the illegal transfer of state secrets. The court handed down the ultimate penalty—execution, along with lifelong deprivation of political rights, underscoring the gravity of the offense.

Beijing has made it clear that national security remains an uncompromising priority, warning that espionage and unauthorized intelligence leaks will face the harshest possible legal repercussions. Liu’s espionage case serves as a stark reminder of the high-stakes nature of military intelligence leaks. His swift trial and execution highlight China’s zero-tolerance approach to national security threats, particularly as Beijing works to protect its most sensitive military projects from foreign intelligence infiltration.

The irony is rich, since China stole the technology for their stealth fighter from the US and now a foreign adversary stole that technology. The MSS did not disclose who the foreign power is and the suspects in this case could be anybody, including the US, the UK, France, Germany, Taiwan, Australia, Japan, Israel, Russia, North Korea, or South Korea.

China is assessed to execute more prisoners each year than the rest of the world combined.

Pictured: Archive image shows Chinese police presenting a group of convicts for sentencing, many of whom went on to be executed. (Photo: AFP / Getty Images)

Chinese police lead a condemned man into a mobile execution van. (File image from AFP)

China’s Penal Code of 1997 has 46 crimes punishable by death, including 24 violent crimes and 22 non-violent crimes. Beijing does not recognize dual citizenship and recently executed four Canadians, prompting Ottawa to issue a travel advisory to her citizens.

Executing spies may serve as an example to terrorize one’s population, but is poor tradecraft. Beijing is better off not to execute the convicted spy as “Liu” may have more secrets to reveal in exchange for better living conditions in his prison. If the MSS think someone is a foreign spy, “Liu” might be able to confirm or deny their suspicion. Lastly, should a Chinese operative be caught by the same foreign adversary which handled “Liu,” Beijing could swap their prisoners, like Russia, Ukraine, and the Western powers have practiced for years. Once a spy has been killed, he is of no value to any intelligence service.

Citation:

China Executes Former Defense Engineer for Leaking J-35A Stealth Fighter Secrets

Sweden: Convicted Spy Must Taxes from His Russian Salary

Iranian-born Peyman Kia (Photo: Government of Sweden)

Peyman Kia -currently serving life in prison for espionage – must now cough up tax on the hefty sum he received from Russia’s notorious military intelligence service, the GRU. In 2014 and 2015, Peyman Kia (44), worked for Sweden’s domestic intelligence agency, as well as for the country’s armed forces. Swedish prosecutors allege that he sold the Russians sensitive information from the Swedish security and intelligence service, known by its acronym Säpo. Peyman Kia was arrested in Sep 2021 and his younger brother Payam in Nov 2021. Payam was convicted as well and received a ten-year sentence for lesser role in the espionage.

After the conviction, the Swedish Tax Authority went after Peyman Kia’s Russian salary. After a back-and-forth legal battle, the Swedish Administrative Court of Appeal recently overturned a previous ruling and decided that the 1.2 million kronor (paid in US dollars) Kia pocketed from the Russians isn’t just ‘dirty money’ – it’s taxable dirty money. In other words, when it comes to the Swedish Tax Authority, there’s simply no messing around. They want their cut.

The tragedy here lies in the fact that the two Iranian-born siblings became naturalized citizens in Sweden, a nation that ranks fifth on the Global Happiness Index; Iran is ranked a dismal 98. Stockholm has a bargaining chip with the Kremlin should a Swedish spy be detained in Russia. Moreover, Peyman Kia is available for further de-briefings from the Säpo.

Citations:

Sweden forces Russian spy to pay tax on salary « Euro Weekly News

Swedish brothers handed lengthy sentences in Russia spying case

https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/happiness/

Kenya: Death Rises from Mosquito-Borne Kal-Azar Disease

Two young girls and a boy with scars on their faces, caused by Leishmaniasis (Photo: M. Saeedi / WHO)

The death toll from the Kala-azar disease that has ravaged Wajir since Sep 2024 has hit 20, with demands for its declaration as a pandemic.

The main Level IV hospital in Wajir is overrun with Leishmaniasis every day, forcing patients to be treated outside, under the shade of trees. Most of the regions affected by Kal-Azar are in Eldas and Wajir West where the local government began a fumigation campaign targeting over 10,000 households.

According to CIA, Kenya has a population of 58,246,378 and GDP per capita is $5,700.

The local health authorities are stretched thin and test kits for Leishmaniasis must be outsourced from the Netherlands. Most of the deaths are recorded in children under five who have low immunity.

Female phlebotomine sandfy.

The WHO informs:

There are three main forms of leishmaniases: visceral (the most serious form because it is almost always fatal without treatment), cutaneous (the most common, usually causing skin ulcers), and mucocutaneous (affecting mouth, nose and throat).

Leishmaniasis is caused by protozoan parasites which are transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies.

The disease affects some of the world’s poorest people and is associated with malnutrition, population displacement, poor housing, a weak immune system and lack of financial resources.

An estimated 700,000 to one million new cases occur annually.

Only a small fraction of those infected by parasites causing leishmaniasis will eventually develop the disease.

Donald Trumpf and Felon Musk’s brutal dismantling of USAID has harmed Kenyans. USAID’s abrupt departure has plunged hundreds of thousands of Kenyans into a state of uncertainty and fear. For many, USAID’s projects were lifelines, offering essential support in healthcare, education and economic development. Programs that were instrumental in maintaining the well-being of countless Kenyans—ranging from maternal health to HIV/AIDS treatment— are now gone, leaving a significant void in the healthcare landscape. While this outbreak began before the Trumpf junta took power, USAID is not in Kenya or other parts of Africa to mitigate disasters.

2023 CODEL to Kenya. (Photo: Social media)

Members of the US Congress frequent Kenya and other exotic locations on what are called fact-finding “CODELs,” flying around the world on their DC Air National Guard passenger plane. Coriolanus flew on one these comfortable airplanes years ago and the food was delicious. These delegations enjoy American tax-payer funded safaris as they “monitor” US projects in Kenya or other parts of the world. Coincidentally, many CODELs to the southern hemisphere occur during America’s winter months. The Karma would be priceless should a Republican congressman be stricken with an exotic disease in Africa while enjoying his arduous fact-finding trip to the Serengeti.

Citations:

Death toll from the Kal-azar disease in Wajir hits 20 » Capital News

Leishmaniasis

https://adamsmith.house.gov/news/floor-speech/rep-smith-leads-delegation-africa

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2025-02-06-usaid-exit-spells-doom-for-kenyan-jobs-and-funding

Great Dane Tries to Win Over Tiny Kitten

Germany: Thousands Protest Rightwing AfD Congress

Police officers clash with protesters during a demonstration near the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party congress in Riesa, Germany, on 11 Jan 2025. Note that polizei officers can be identified with their numbers if they are abusive. Anyone arrested in Germany must be seen by a judge within 24 hours or they must be released. (Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen / Reuters)

Thousands of protesters shouting “No to Nazis” gathered in the German town of Riesa, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party held a key convention approving co-leader Alice Weidel as candidate for chancellor in next month’s snap election.

The meeting, which brought 600-odd delegates together on Saturday, eventually got under way two hours behind schedule after police cleared thousands of protesters mounting blockades in the AfD stronghold town, located in the eastern state of Saxony.

Saxon left-wing politician Nam Duy Nguyen was beaten by a police officer during the protests and was temporarily unconscious. A companion of the state parliament member was also hit in the face and injured. The police seemed to efficiently clear the path of protestors for the AfD.

Neo-Nazi Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD party, gestures after she was elected as top candidate for chancellor in the upcoming general elections at the party congress in Riesa, Germany, on 11 Jan 2025. Ms.Weidel apparently has an unpleasant voice, reminding listeners of nails scratching against a blackboard. (Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen / Reuters)

Alice Weidel’s grandfather, Hans Weidel, was a prominent Nazi judge. Appointed directly by Adolf Hitler, he was responsible for sentencing opponents of the Third Reich.

So much for the American taxpayer-funded De-Nazification and Marshall Programs following the Second World War.

Sources:

https://www.politico.eu/article/hidden-nazi-heritage-germany-far-right-leader-afd-alice-weidel-hans-weidel-warsaw/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/11/german-protesters-attempt-to-block-far-right-afd-congress

France Hands Over Last Army Base in Chad Ahead of 31 Jan Deadline

French soldiers in the Sahel. The last of them left the Abéché military base in Chad on 11 Jan 2025 as part of a withdrawal agreement.

In late Nov 2024, Chad abruptly ended military cooperation with its former colonial ruler, and French troops began leaving the country in late Dec 2024. Chad was the last Sahel country hosting French soldiers with approximately 1,000 personnel. French soldiers and fighter aircraft have been stationed in Chad almost continuously since the country’s independence in 1960, helping to train the Chadian military.

Per CIA, the Chad population is approximately 19,000,000 and GDP per capita is $1,800.

Anti-French sentiments have swept Chad, with thousands of people protesting for French military departure after Boko Haram insurgents killed 40 Chadian soldiers in the Lake Chad region in Oct 2024. The Chadian government accused France of failing to provide support or intelligence, leading to demands for French troops to withdraw and the termination of the defense pact.

Chadians waving Russian flags. (Photo: Denis Sassou Gueipeur / AFP)

Chad is rich in natural resources: petroleum, uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad), gold, limestone, sand and gravel, and salt. The Russian Wagner Group has been increasing its presence in other Sahel countries protecting mining operations that funnel resources back to Moscow to finance Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the Central African Republic (CAR), where Wagner is ubiquitous, mercenaries have killed or driven out artisanal miners and taken over processing operations across the northern and eastern regions. In Sudan, Wagner has smuggled millions of dollars in gold from the country.

Undated photo of Wagner mercenaries, a new “Afrika Korps” for the Kremlin. Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses Wagnerites of committing war crimes in Africa and the US designated them a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).


The French geo-political and military footprint in Africa continues to shrink while the Kremlin (and Beijing) increase their influence operations on the Dark Continent.

Sources:

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250111-france-hands-over-second-army-base-in-chad-ahead-of-31-january-deadline

https://www.dw.com/en/why-chad-ended-its-military-deal-with-france/a-71173204

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx6462wl07o

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/12/mali-atrocities-army-and-wagner-group

https://adf-magazine.com/2023/03/wagner-group-targets-chad-for-sahel-expansion/

https://ascir.org/2021/11/18/why-china-is-building-africas-railways/

North Korea Intensifies Surveillance of Chinese Phone Users Along Border

North Korea has intensified its crackdown on Chinese mobile phones along its 840-mile border with China as part of efforts to tighten internal controls by limiting communication with the outside world. The border has been previously described as “porous” and there are 25 official border crossings between North Korea and China.

Authorities recently caught a Musan resident attempting to make a call to China. “The state security department’s radar bureau detected and arrested them within one minute of placing the call. They remain in state security detention,” a source reported.

Along the border, Ministry of State Security radar units use specialized equipment to track specific frequencies and signals, enabling real-time detection of calls to China. When agents detect Chinese telecommunications frequencies in residential areas, they immediately raid the suspected location.

The bridge over Tumen River in Yanbian, Jilin Province, connects China to North Korea. (Photo: IC)

In Yanbian, China, an ethnically Korean region on the border with North Korea, many people have relatives on the other side of the river. But these relationships are frequently kept secret. Ethnic North Koreans on the Chinese side of the border have difficulties finding spouses.

A view from the Chinese side of the bridge. A portrait of Kim Il-sung hangs on the North Korean side. (Photo taken in 2014: IC)

The Friendship Bridge over the Tumen River is for railway use only and connects North Korea to Russia. They share a ten-mile terrestrial border and a 12-mile maritime border.

Kim Jong-un wants to limit outside information from entering North Korea, a practice that has gone on for decades. There is nothing to suggest that this is affecting smuggling across the border. Moreover, there is no information that North Koreans calling migrants and relatives in the Russia Far East Oblast have been geo-located and arrested like the poor victims cited in the article. So this crackdown may also be tied with Pyongyang’s recent tilt towards Moscow, away from Beijing.

The North Korean supremo enjoying a cigarette with light refreshment while his people starve and his soldiers get slaughtered in Russia. (Photo: Reuters)

Sources:

https://www.dailynk.com/english/n-korea-intensifies-surveillance-of-chinese-phone-users-along-border/

https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/887269.shtml

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/north-korean-migrants-vladivostok-12172018161113.html

Flight Crew ‘Astonished’ to See Glowing Objects ‘Zig-Zagging’ at 45,000 Feet Over the Bahamas

(Photo: NBC News Miami)

A Florida-bound flight crew witnessed strange orbs glowing and darting around in the night sky while flying over the Bahamas at high altitude.

“All of a sudden I heard traffic control say, we have a foreign object, can you please identify,” Flight Attendant Cassandra Martin recounted.

The flight attendant with Surjet, a private carrier, claimed that she and two pilots saw objects that left them awestruck and searching for answers as they returned to Fort Lauderdale in an empty plane. Good thing her Smartphone was handy.

(Photo: NBC News Miami)

“It started as white and then it just got green and almost like an electric some type of energy around it.”

Cassandra Martin described the objects as changing in color and exhibiting “daunting” flying capabilities while returning on a flight from the Bahamas. (Photo: NBC News Miami)

One explanation rendered for the Bahamian incident is a phenomenon called “ball lightning.” Below are some photographs for comparison.

Former NASA astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao nearly collided with a pair of metallic orbs while flying his Grumman AA5BTiger in Texas last summer. He said the orbs showed “no visible means of propulsion” when they whizzed by within 20 feet of his plane.

Astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao gives a thumb up shortly after landing aboard the Soyuz-TMA-5 spacecraft in Kazakhstan in April 2005. (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)

“They came right at me,” said Dr. Leroy Chiao, who was the commander of Expedition 10. He said the spheres were “perfectly smooth” and emphasized he witnessed the orbs on a sunny, cloudless day with good visibility.

The DOD investigates sightings and imagery of unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) and you can read about their findings here: https://www.aaro.mil/

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2025/01/04/us-news/ex-nasa-astronaut-dr-leroy-chiao-says-metallic-orbs-he-saw-had-no-visible-means-of-propulsion/

https://nypost.com/2025/01/11/us-news/florida-flight-crew-astonished-to-see-glowing-objects-zig-zagging-at-45k-feet-over-the-bahamas/

China Suddenly Building Fleet of Special Barges Suitable for Taiwan Landings

Artist’s impression of the special barge being used as a pier to land tanks and troops across an otherwise unsuitable beach. The tanks are transported by civilian roll-on roll-off (RORO) ferries. (Image: navalnews.com)

From navalnews.com:

“China is building at least five new special purpose barges which appear tailor made for amphibious assault. The barges may provide the PRC (People’s Republic of China) with a unique way to offload large numbers of tanks directly onto Taiwanese roads.

A number of special and unusual barges, at least three but likely five or more, have been observed in Guangzhou Shipyard in southern China. These have unusually long road bridges extending from their bows. This configuration makes them particularly relevant to any future landing of PRC forces on Taiwanese islands.

Each barge has a very long road span which is extended out from the front. At over 120 meters (393 ft) this can be used to reach a coastal road or hard surface beyond a beach. The barges are reminiscent of the Mulberry Harbors built for the allied invasion of Normandy during World War Two.”

The Global Firepower Index (GFI) ranks China’s military third out of 145 countries; Taiwan is ranked 22nd. Besides an outright D-Day style invasion of Taiwan, Beijing can blockade the island republic with its much larger navy, cut its underseas cables with anchors as the Russians have been doing in the Baltic Sea, and quarantine Taipei into eventual submission.

As previously reported here on Coriolanus, half of the US Navy’s amphibious ships are in dire condition. The USN 7th Fleet is headquartered at Yokosuka, Japan.

“Zero Day” is an upcoming Taiwanese TV series about a fictional invasion of their island which may be a way to psychologically ready their population for the realities of a potential war with Beijing. In 2022, there were at least ten Taiwanese soldiers serving in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. Said one of the soldiers: ‘There’s a big chance that this will happen to Taiwan.’

Sources:

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/01/china-suddenly-building-fleet-of-special-barges-suitable-for-taiwan-landings/

https://www.globalfirepower.com/

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/4563961

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_Day_(Taiwanese_TV_series)

Farmer Uncovers Large Rare Ancient Hunt Mosaic in Turkiye

This mosaic spans 84 square meters (Image Copyright Elazığ Museum)

A farmer planting an orchard in eastern Türkiye has uncovered a rare, largely intact mosaic dating back to the late Roman period, offering a glimpse into ancient hunting practices.

The mosaic includes dramatic depictions of animals such as a rare Anatolian leopard, may be the largest of its kind ever discovered in the country.

A team of conservators has been working to protect the mosaic. (Photo: Elazığ Museum)

The mosaic “is the first of its kind to have survived to the present day as a whole and in its portrayal of animals, all of which were once found here. There may be larger mosaics elsewhere in Türkiye, but those consist of geometric patterns or mythological subjects.”

One researcher speculated that the mosaic may have been part of a Roman official’s residence: “an expression of power.”

The mosaic survived empire changes and wars over the mileenia.

Turkiye is choc-a-bloc with antiquities and historical relics. Below is the fabled city of Cappadocia:

Underground city in Cappadocia, Turkiye.

Hotel carved from stone in Cappadocia, Turkiye.

Source:

https://www.euronews.com/culture/2025/01/07/turkish-farmer-uncovers-rare-ancient-hunt-mosaic-likely-the-largest-of-its-kind-in-turkiye

Food Poisoning Cluster on Cathay Pacific Flights Inbound From Nepal to Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Center of Health Protection (CHP) announced a food poisoning cluster of passenger groups on Cathay Pacific flight CX640 from Nepal to Hong Kong. This is the second cluster discovered in two days with the same airline flying from the same region. The cause of the food poisoning cluster is still under investigation.

The first cluster involves 16 individuals from an inbound flight from Kathmandu to Hong Kong. The second cluster on flight CX640 involves 20 individuals from distinct family groups.

All involved passengers reported symptoms like vomiting, nausea, and fever shortly after their arrival in Hong Kong.

Per CIA, Nepal has a population of 31,122,387 and per capita GDP is $4,000.

After monsoon season in 2023, Nepal recorded several cases of water- and food-borne illnesses, including a massive cholera outbreak.

Sources:

http://www.travelradar.aero

https://kathmandupost.com/health/2023/07/26/food-poisoning-water-and-vector-borne-diseases-on-the-rise

Gorilla Infant Rescued From Airplane Cargo Hold Recovers at Istanbul Zoo

Zeytin, a 5-month-old male gorilla infant who was rescued at Istanbul Airport, drinks milk in a specially created section of a zoo, in Istanbul, Turkiye, 12 Jan 2025. (Photo: Khalil Hamra / AP)

The 5-month-old endangered gorilla was discovered in a box on a Turkish Airlines flight from Nigeria to Thailand and named Zeytin, which means olive.

Shy, Zeytin plays in a specially created section of a zoo, in Istanbul, Turkey, 12 Jan 2025. (Photo: Khalil Hamra / AP)

As a major international hub, Turkish customs officers have intercepted other illegally traded wildlife, including Nile crocodiles and monitor lizards. Wildlife officials are considering returning the endangered primate back to his original habitat.

Poor Zeytin was separated from his mother and should be fostered within a troop of gorillas so he could be properly socialized. (Photo: Khalil Hamra / AP)

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gorilla-airplane-cargo-istanbul-zoo-turkish-airlines/

https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=gorilla&searchType=species

Israel Destroys Syrian Naval Fleet

An IDF F-15 jet fighter takes off from the Negev desert (Photo: AFP)

Israel carried out attacks on Syria’s naval fleet, most likely destroying the majority of the ships.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says it has documented more than 310 strikes by the IDF since the fall of the Assad regime on Sunday. Israeli warplanes have also reportedly carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Syria, including on the capital, Damascus.

Destroyed Syrian ships in port. (Getty Images)

The BBC or the SOHR did not provide any Syrian military or civilian casualty numbers.

Benjamin Netanyahu finally appeared in court for the corruption trial that he has kept postponing and delaying because of his wartime duties as Prime Minister. But that did not stop him from unilaterally attacking Syrian targets or seizing the Golan Heights. Offensive operations against this new regime does not fall under Israel’s right to self-defense, even though the intentions were supposedly to destroy chemical weapons sites. The new Sunni masters of Syria are probably not pleased with this flagrant violation of their sovereignty. Abu Muhammad al-Jolani and his cadre are trying to create order and stability in the new Syria.

Jordan can serve as an interlocutor between Jerusalem and Damascus and perhaps the new Salafist regime won’t be hostile to their neighbor. Without dialogue though, covert or overt, both countries may be destined for resource and life-wasting eternal conflict.

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx808q7lrno

US Charges Two High-Ranking Syrian Officials with War Crimes

General Jamil Hassan (L), Abdul Salam Mahmoud ( R )

Former Syrian Air Force Intelligence officers Jamil Hassan (72) and Abdul Salam Mahmoud (65) were each charged in connection with a conspiracy to commit war crimes through the infliction of cruel and inhuman treatment on detainees under their control, including US citizens, in detention facilities at the Mezzeh Military Airport (Mezzeh Prison), near Damascus, Syria. Warrants for the defendants’ arrest have been issued and they remain at large.

Between January 2012 and July 2019, Hassan and Mahmoud conspired to identify, intimidate, threaten, punish, and kill people detained at Mezzeh Prison suspected of aiding or supporting opponents of the regime, such as those who protested, provided medical aid to opponents of the regime, or publicly criticized the regime. Detainees, including US citizens, were mercilessly beaten, electrocuted, and had their toenails removed. Detainees were also allegedly hung from the ceiling by their wrists and were burned with acid.

(Map courtesy of Alchetron)

Both military and political prisoners were held at Mezzeh prison. The prison was an infamous embodiment of Syrian government repression. Widespread human rights abuses and torture has been reported from the Mezzeh prison throughout its history but most notably during the rule of Hafez al-Assad (1970–2000).

Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the US or the location of the defendants named in this indictment are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov. Tips may be provided anonymously.

These timely indictments are more about seeking justice for American citizens tortured by these two psychopaths than an exercise of US foreign policy. An indicted war criminal is an indicted war criminal regardless of nationality, whether it is Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Russian President Vladimir Putin, or this infamous American officer below from over half a century ago.

1969 US Army CID mugshot of 1LT William Calley courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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 | Criminal Charges Unsealed Against Two Former High-Ranking Syrian Government Intelligence Officials for War Crimes against Americans and Other Civilians | United States Department of Justice

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Four Taiwan Soldiers Charged with Spying for China

Four Taiwanese soldiers, including three from a unit in charge of security for the president’s office, were charged with photographing and leaking confidential information to China.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949, but Beijing insists the island is part of its territory and has vowed to seize it one day.

There has been a series of spying cases in Taiwan, as China maintains military and political pressure on Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty.

In the latest case, the accused included three members of a military unit in charge of security for the Presidential Office.

Entrance to Presidential Palace in Taipei. (Photo: taipeitravelgeek.com)

A fourth person was a soldier in the defence ministry’s information and telecommunications command. They allegedly used their mobile phones to photograph military information, which was passed to “Chinese agents.”

The four received payments ranging from around NT$260,000 to NT$660,000 ($8,000-$20,000) “depending on the confidentiality level of the military information they provided.”

The incidents happened from 2022 to 2024.

Three of the soldiers were discharged before an investigation was launched in August this year following a tip-off to the defence ministry. The fourth was suspended in August.

All four have been detained and charged with corruption and violating national security law for “leaking and delivering confidential information or electromagnetic records for China”.

They face a maximum seven years in jail if convicted.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s infiltration campaign against us has never stopped,” the defence ministry said in a statement, describing the four accused as “treasonous and lawless.”

In Sep 2024, an ex-air force instructor was sentenced to 17 years in prison for “aiding the enemy” and delivering military secrets to China.

China’s massive intelligence apparatus poses a threat to the much smaller Taiwanese counterintelligence agencies. Beijing employs the ‘grains of sand’ principle of collection, where vast numbers of human and cyber networks vacuum up information ranging from personal data to intellectual property. The Ministry of State Security (MSS) has the time, patience, resources, and personnel to construct a mosaic from all of these thousands of particles of sand put together. Taiwanese and Western intelligence agencies do not have that luxury and must prioritize collection efforts to remain efficient with resources and personnel, a problem China doesn’t have.

Source:

Four Taiwan Soldiers Charged With Spying For China | Barron’s

Japan: 46 Students Stricken with Scombroid Fish Poisoning

Blue Marlin (Artwork: Les Hata © Secretariat of the Pacific Community)

46 children, students, and teachers who ate school lunches at three elementary and junior high schools in Hakuba Village in Nagano Prefecture, complained of symptoms such as fever and rash. The cause was later determined to be food poisoning by the growth of germs on a marlin thawing at room temperature for too long.

In order to prevent a recurrence, the prefecture suspended school lunch operations. The company says that it will review the cooking process and safety management and instruct people to thaw in the refrigerator or under running water instead of thawing at room temperature.

Scombroid poisoning, also called histamine poisoning, is a type of food intoxication caused by the consumption of scombroid and scombroid-like marine fish species that have begun to spoil with the growth of particular types of food bacteria. Fish most commonly involved are members of the Scombridae family (tuna and mackerel) and a few non-scombroid relatives (bluefish, dolphin or mahi-mahi, and amberjack).

Source:

Marlin, food poisoning thawed at room temperature for too long 46 students eat school lunch, Nagano|National news|Hokkoku Shimbun

Barbarism Continues in Haiti: Gang Slaughters 180 People, Mostly Elderly

The “Taliban Gang.” Sitting is the 20-year-old second-in-command, who swears that he does not practice kidnapping but “only” racketeering. Gang members will beg for one dollar, but wield weapons worth thousands. (Photo: © Corentin Fohlen / Divergence)

Approximately 180 people were killed recently in Haiti’s Cite Soleil area. The massacre was ordered by a gang leader who suspected his child had been made ill with witchcraft.

“A red line has been crossed,” the PM’s office said and would “mobilize all forces to track down and annihilate” those responsible, including Wharf Jeremie gang leader Monel “Mikano” Felix, whom it accused of planning the attack.

The victims were mostly elderly. The death toll could be higher and cited witnesses as saying that “mutilated bodies were burned in the streets, including several young individuals who were killed attempting to save residents.”

Felix had ordered the violence after his child became sick, and after seeking advice from a voodoo priest who accused elderly people in the area of harming the child through witchcraft.

Cite Soleil, a densely populated slum by the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, is among the poorest and most violent areas of Haiti. Tight gang control, including the restriction of mobile phone use, has limited residents’ ability to share information about the massacre.

(Map: PBS)

The government, riven with political infighting, has struggled to contain gangs’ growing power in and around the capital. The armed groups are accused of indiscriminate killings, gang rapes, ransom kidnappings, and fueling critical food shortages.

Haiti, the first “Black Republic,” both enriched her colonial masters, the French, and sent soldiers to help in the American Revolution. Now Haiti is a terrible combination of Gaza and Somalia. Not doubt that diarrheal illnesses, STDs, and TB are spreading throughout the slums.   

In Oct 2024, the Gran Grif gang took responsibility for the killing of at least 115 people in Pont-Sonde, a town in Haiti’s breadbasket Artibonite region. They said it was retaliation for residents helping a self-defense group hinder their road toll operations.

Gran Grif gang-member (Undated photo: arise.tv)

A UN-backed security mission is partially deployed and remains deeply under-resourced. Haitian leaders have called for the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission to be converted into a UN peacekeeping force to ensure it is better supplied, but the plan stalled amid opposition from China and Russia in the Security Council.

A UN spokesperson said the weekend’s death count was at least 184, including 127 elderly people. The security situation continues to deteriorate and many countries have yet to deliver on pledges of support.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged countries to improve efforts to stop arms trafficking to Haiti. The UN estimates the gangs’ increasingly modern arsenals are largely trafficked from the US.

“These latest killings bring the death toll just this year in Haiti to a staggering 5,000 people,” he said.

Last month the FAA and the UN suspended all flights to Haiti after these runamoks fired upon at least three airplanes, wounding a flight attendant. Access to large caliber weapons abandoned or stolen from the defunct Haitian Army may be in the hands of some of these brigands.

Regrettably, Haiti is a low-priority for many countries, including the US. Hundreds of Haitians have drowned attempting to flee by water and those who make it to safety are not always given asylum or refuge. The neighboring Dominican Republic sealed off their borders and began deporting undocumented Haitians. Like the Mexican drug cartels, Haitian gangs receive their illegal weapons and ammunition from traffickers in the US. Haiti, a failed nation, is a disaster at America’s doorstep and a black eye for the “Monroe Doctrine.”  

Firearms displayed at the Miami Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on 17 Aug 2022. Increasingly sophisticated weapons are being trafficked into Haiti mainly from Florida amid worsening lawlessness in the impoverished Caribbean nation, according to a 4 March 2023 UN report. (Photo: Lynne Sladky / AP)

Sources:

Haiti gang massacres around 180 people, targeting elderly | Reuters

UN report: Modern weapons being smuggled to Haiti from US | AP News

US prohibits airlines from flying to Haiti and UN suspends flights after planes were shot by gangs | AP News

Pakistan: Military Charges Former ISI Director Over ‘Political Activities’ in Unprecedented Move

Pakistan’s former spy chief was arrested Aug 2024 in court martial proceedings (Photo: Anushree Fadnavis / Reuters)

In an unprecedented move, Pakistan’s powerful army charged the former head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with “engaging in political activities. Lt Gen Faiz Hamid (Retd) is accused of creating agitation and unrest, leading up to multiple incidents, including but not limited to the events of 9 May 2023, aimed at fomenting instability at the behest of and in collusion with vested political interests.”

No former ISI director has ever faced a court martial in Pakistan’s history.

Days after Lt Gen Hamid’s arrest, three other retired army officers were also detained for “actions prejudicial to military discipline.” Those arrests are widely believed to have been connected to the proceedings against Hamid.

Hamid’s two-year tenure at the ISI was marked by allegations that he politically targeted Khan’s rivals, many of whom were jailed; cracked down on media, violated human rights, and suppressed protest movements across the country.

Hamid gained further international attention in August 2021 when he was photographed at a Kabul hotel shortly after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan.

Gen. Hamid rushed to Kabul to broker a deal between Mullah Baradar and the Haqqani Network (HQN) when the Taliban seized control of the government. The ISI and the powerful HQN have a strong covert working relationship.

Pakistani PM Imran Khan was arrested for alleged corruption on 9 May 2023 which led to massive demonstrations targeting state buildings and military installations. Thousands of people were arrested, of whom about 100 faced military trials. Khan is also facing several cases related to 9 May.

Black smoke billows from a building in Peshawar set ablaze by supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan flowing his arrest. (Photo: AFP)

(Map: worldatlas.com / Data: CIA)

Pakistan has a population of 252,363,571 people comprised ethnically: Punjabi 44.7%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Baloch 3.6%, other 6.3%. Muslim (official) 96.5% (Sunni 85-90%, Shia 10-15%). Real GDP per capita is $5,600 (2023 est.).

While most countries have armies, Pakistan is an “army with a country” with approximately 630,000 active-duty personnel (550,000 Army; 30,000 Navy; 50,000 Air Force); approximately 150,000 Frontier Corps and Pakistan Rangers. Islamabad has a growing nuclear arsenal of 170 nuclear warheads.

Terrorist groups operating in Pakistan: Haqqani Network (HQN); Harakat ul-Jihad-i-Islami; Harakat ul-Mujahidin; Hizbul Mujahideen; Indian Mujahedeen; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K); Islamic State of ash-Sham – India; Islamic State of ash-Sham – Pakistan; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Lashkar i Jhangvi; Lashkar-e Tayyiba; Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP); al-Qa’ida; al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS)

The Pakistani military is the only homogenizing force in this cauldron of ethnic groups, languages, political parties, social movements, competing interests, drug trafficking/use, and extremist groups.

The popular former international cricket champion and imprisoned ex-PM Imran Khan with his loyal ex-ISI chief dared to defy the all-powerful Pakistani army now face “justice.”

“Every time our party announces a protest, I am charged with more fake cases while inside prison.

I have been informed that many of our people are still missing, and we have serious concerns about their lives and wellbeing. We demand that the government immediately publish data of arrested citizens and those brought to hospitals and morgues after being injured or martyred. Additionally, CCTV footage from the hospital and Safe City cameras must be preserved, so that the truth can be revealed to the nation.”

We have two demands:

1. A commission should be formed under the senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to independently investigate the events of 9 May 2023 and 26 Nov 2024.

2. Unjustly imprisoned political detainees should be released.

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/10/pakistans-military-charges-former-spy-chief-over-political-activities

https://insaf.pk/news/former-prime-minister-imran-khans-message-december-6-2024

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/who-is-isi-chief-faiz-hameed-whose-visit-to-kabul-has-sparked-controversy-101630843177941.html

https://www.dawn.com/news/1752254

CIA

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2493059/the-mosaic-of-drug-trafficking-and-its-consequences

https://thebulletin.org/premium/2023-09/pakistan-nuclear-weapons-2023/

Donald Trump is Human Wrecking Ball

President-elect Donald Trump has picked the worst picks humanly possible to sit on his future cabinet. Their policies will weaken, sicken, pauperize, and demoralize Americans with destructive health, economic, de-regulatory strategies. A Russian TV host gleefully claimed that “Trump’s Cabinet picks will dismantle America.”

US President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, DC, 5 Dec 2017. (Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images)

But not only is Trump going to sabotage the US domestically on behalf of the Kremlin, he is going to demoralize US diplomats and damage our foreign policy.  

Career diplomats at the US State Department work earnestly and diligently for decades to one day reach the pinnacle of being named Ambassador. President-elect Trump chose his daughter’s utterly sleazy, contemptible, convicted father-in-law to be the US Ambassador to France.

The former AUSA for New Jersey said of Charles Kushner: “This was one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted…and I was the US Attorney in New Jersey.”

This oligarchal miscreant previously served two years in prison before being released after pleading guilty in 2004 to charges of tax evasion, lying to the Federal Election Commission and retaliating against a federal witness. Trump pardoned Kushner during the last month of his presidency. If confirmed by the US Senate, Charles Kushner will be walking in the shoes of Benjamin Franklin, America’s first Ambassador to Paris.

Now the President-elect is nominating his son’s ex-fiancee Kim Guilfoyle to be US Ambassador to Greece, the world’s first democracy. This move is widely seen as an attempt to ensure Kim Guilfoyle (55) doesn’t spill the beans about the Trump Crime Family (TCF) after Donald Trump Jr. (46) dumped her for a younger woman, Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson (37).  

To her credit, Kim Guilfoyle is an attorney and former prosecutor.

Below is what Kim Guilfoyle must have looked like when she learned that Don Trump Jr threw her overboard for a younger woman. She waited a long time to tie the knot with Don Jr. At least the TCF bought her silence with a well-paying, prestigious sinecure in Athens (for now).

America and the world can’t wait long enough until 21 Jan 2029, if we all survive this human wrecking ball and Putin’s plans for America.

Sources:

SEX GAL NOW HELPING FEDS – HOOKER TURNS ON KUSHNER

Resistance HQ Bulletin 23, 12/10/24 – by Ron Filipkowski

Russian TV host gleefully claims Trump’s Cabinet will ‘dismantle’ America, report says

Man Fleeing Ukraine War with Kitten Found Alive in Frigid Romania Mountains: “Peach Kept My Heart Warm”

Salvamont Maramures, a Romanian mountain rescue service, saved the two. Peach the cat peers from the jacket of its owner, Vladislav Duda (28). They were rescued from a deep mountain ravine in a state of severe hypothermia. (Photo: AP)

When the rescue team located and found the Ukrainian, they unzipped his jacket and discovered Peach snuggled up inside. Duda said: “I’m happy because my cat is alive. I got a chance from God for a new life. The happiest moment is because the cat is here with me.”

The auburn-colored kitten, a tomcat named “Peach” in Ukrainian, was experiencing the effects of malnutrition after they ran out of food four days earlier and melted snow helped to keep him alive.

“Peach kept my heart warm and he kept my faith alive,” the Ukrainian said.

“Peach” also means stove or oven.

During the complex ascent out of the ravine which took more than five hours, the Ukrainian would not let go of his kitten. He kept Peach clutched to his chest from the bottom to the top until he was put in the ambulance.

Duda requested the rescuers to ‘Please take care of the cat.'”

Peach at the Animal Med vet clinic after being rescued along with its owner after three days in a deep mountain ravine in Baia Mare, Romania. (Photo: 9 Dec 2024, AP)

Peach received veterinary treatment in Baia Mare and is expected to fully recover.

Source:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-kitten-fleeing-ukraine-war-found-alive-romania-mountains/

International Arrest Warrants Finally Issued for Benjamin Netanyahu

The Israeli government did its utmost to fight the indictment and issuance of the arrest warrant but failed to stop justice at the Hague. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the following statement:


“The Chamber issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr. Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest.”

“The arrest warrants are classified as ‘secret’, in order to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations.”

Any nation that is a signatory to the ICC has an obligation to execute these arrest warrants.

The US, India, Indonesia, and China are not state parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which founded the ICC in 2002. The US has observer status at the ICC where Special Counsel Jack Smith completed an assignment prosecuting PIFWCs (Persons Indicted For War Crimes) before investigating Donald Trump.


An arrest warrant was also issued for Palestinian resistance leader Mohammed Deif who the IDF killed without trial and Yoav Gallant, the ex-Defense Minister. The Israeli PIFWCs can therefore safely travel to those four countries without fear of being detained.


This was a long time coming and a national black eye for Israel. Moreover, at the nearby International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague, several countries have charged the State of Israel with committing genocide. See official charging document at link below. But none of these actions dissuaded Netanyahu from continuing his Murder-Death-Kill campaign against Arabs. At time of publication, the IDF killed 133 victims in AKZ-L, AKZ-G, and AKZ-S.

Palestinian residents and civil defence teams launch a search and rescue operation following an Israeli attack on the Remal Clinic on al-Wehda Street in Gaza City (Photo: Dawoud Abo Alkas / Anadolu Agency)

The Israeli Death Forces pounded northern Gaza, killing 88 Palestinians in two waves of attacks on Beit Lahiya and the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City (AKZ-G). The IDF also killed nine in Tyre (AKZ-L) and 36 in Palmyra (AKZ-S).

The Likud Party and the IDF have killed at least 43,985 Palestinians and wounded 104,092 since 7 Oct 2023. An estimated 1,139 Israelis were killed during the attack to seize hostages for a prisoner swap; more than 200 were taken alive.

In AKZ-W, the IDF continued ethnic cleansing operations, arresting four Palestinians arrested near West Bank’s Hebron, Nablus. Israeli forces stormed the nearby village of Qabalan and tore down a barracks.

In Lebanon (AKZ-L), at least 3,558 people have been killed and 15,123 wounded in IDF since Oct 2023. UNICEF stated that increased Israeli violence is the ‘horrific new normal’ for children in Lebanon.

The Likud Party and the IDF are robbing the happiness, health, and future of Arab children within arm’s length of their US-provided weapons.

Members of a family rest in a tent after fleeing their home in Lebanon. (Photo: UNICEF/Fouad Choufany)

Meanwhile the US Senate voted overwhelmingly against three resolutions sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would have blocked the sale of certain US weapons to Israel. Even this token measure failed.

And, of course, the US cast the single veto against a Gaza ceasefire resolution at the UN Security Council supported by 14 of the 15 UNSC members. US representative Ambassador Robert Wood said that the US could not support an unconditional ceasefire unless it was tied to releasing the Israeli hostages being held in Gaza by resistance fighters. This statement mirrors Likud Party policies.

Tor Wennesland, the out-going Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the Secretary-General stated bluntly without naming the US: ‘We are at the point where diplomacy has failed.’

To no one’s surprise, US President Joe Biden called the ICC war crimes arrest warrant for Netanyahu “outrageous” and vetoed a ceasefire initiative at the UNSC. Biden and the Democrats will be out of office in two months, just like in 1968 when Hubert Humphrey and his coterie were ingloriously kicked out over the Democrat’s failed policies on Vietnam. “Crime Minister” Benjamin Netanyahu will maintain his firm grip on power while receiving enormous amounts of lethal aid from the hard-working American taxpayer. The IDF will continues its vindictive Nakba across several Arab Killing Zones (AKZ). Over 50,000 Arabs will be killed by 1 Jan 2025. While the Cold Warrior got it right dealing with the Kremlin these past three years, Joe Biden just didn’t get it at all dealing with Israel. We trust President Biden enjoys his retirement next year.   

Sources:

LIVE: Israel kills dozens in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria; US defends UNSC veto | Israel-Palestine conflict News | Al Jazeera

United States vetoes Gaza ceasefire resolution at Security Council | UN News

https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-state-palestine-icc-pre-trial-chamber-i-rejects-state-israels-challenges

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

Bolivia files a declaration of intervention in the proceedings under Article 63 of the Statute

Dozens of Palestinian detainees abused, Israeli rights groups say – Ya Libnan

The Ukrainian military destroyed a location where North Korean generals could have been present alongside senior Russian military leaders.

According to Ukrainian outlet Defense Express, the use of multiple Storm Shadow missiles indicates the likely presence of high-ranking military personnel in the area or High-Value Targets (HVTs).

Debris analysis confirmed the use of UK-provided Storm Shadow missiles rather than French SCALPs.

(Credit: Will Stewart)

Defence Express highlighted the use of these cruise missiles on similar high-value military targets in the past, including a reserve command post of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The attack underscores the strategic importance of targeting such facilities, noting the implications of Ukraine’s authorization to use Storm Shadow missiles within Russian territory.

Hours later, the Defense Secretary announced the Armed Forces will be hit by £500 million worth of cuts, The Telegraph reports.

The announcement came after the US gave Kiev permission to use ATACMS long-range missiles against Russian targets. Britain initially allowed Storm Shadows to target Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine, but it now appears Kiev has permission to use them against targets inside Russia.

The £800,000 missiles are highly effective, designed to evade air defenses and hit targets with GPS-guided precision at speeds of up to 600mph. With a range of 180 miles, these weapons can strike deep into Russian territory.

As pointed out in a previous post, the Ukrainians must “strike firstest with the mostest” against North Korean military interlopers sent to help Russia. Eliminating the North Korean High Command in Russian territory will de-moralize the troops and ruin their command and control. Kiev and NATO have two months to maximize their offensive before the next US presidential administration takes over and cuts military, intelligence, and economic aid to Ukraine.

Source:

Fiery moment ‘British Storm Shadow missiles explode inside Russia targeting underground control room’ | The US Sun

Danish Military Keeps Watch on Chinese Ship Suspected of Baltic Undersea Cable Sabotage

(Photo of the Yi Peng 3 by Mikkel Berg Pedersen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images)

The Danish Defense Command is monitoring the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3, which is anchored off the coast of Denmark and suspected of being involved in recent damage to fiber-optic communications cables in the Baltic Sea.

Suspicions have been growing in Western capitals that damage to two key Baltic Sea cables was likely the result of deliberate actions.

The Chinese ship, reportedly captained by a Russian naval officer, was sailing from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. The Yi Peng 3 is suspected of having traveled over the area in the Baltic Sea where the cables connecting Sweden and Lithuania are located.


European governments and Washington have not tied Moscow directly to the damage, but they have accused Russia of orchestrating “hybrid attacks” on Western infrastructure to punish European countries for their assistance and support for Ukraine’s military as it tries to repel invading Russian forces.

Some analysts say the ship may have damaged the cables when dragging its anchor. Ukraine’s allies pointed to past incidents of alleged sabotage by Moscow, especially following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which recently hit the 1,000-day mark amid devastating losses on both sides.

Authorities in states bordering the Baltic Sea are investigating the cutting of the cables — the second connects Finland to Germany — following similar suspicious occurrences in the sea in recent years. Denmark and Germany are already NATO allies and share critical intelligence with Washington.

A year ago, Finland said it couldn’t exclude that a “state actor” was responsible for damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea. The pipeline was damaged by an anchor dropped from the deck of the Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear. The ship was not detained and sailed away. Neutral Finland joined NATO on 4 Apr 2023 out of concern of Russian aggression, as did Sweden on 7 Mar 2024.

Moscow has said such allegations are being fabricated by the West to discredit Russia. Chinese officials have not commented on the situation surrounding the Yi Peng 3.

This is a troubling sign that China seems to be working with Russia to conduct sabotage against NATO and the EU. Beijing and Moscow have been increasing their military cooperation. Chinese and Russian jets were intercepted near the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) this past 24 July 2024.

(24 Jul 2024 Photo: NORAD)

Any future Chinese military invasion against the island republic would involve severing such communications cables to isolate Taiwan. Taipei would then be forced to communicate in a less secure digital environment vulnerable to MSS interception and hacking. Two Taiwanese undersea cables were sabotaged in 2023.

(Illustration: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

The Chinese and Russians don’t have to rely on frog-men or spy subs to sabotage these cables. The Russians have a special naval sabotage unit called the GUGI. But why deploy them when Russia and China have access to hundreds of commercial ships?

Once vulnerable telecommunication or energy cables/pipes are located, the Russians or the Chinese can sever or break them cheaply with tremendous anchors like above from ships like the Yi Peng 3. The ship captain can claim ignorance if he is boarded by NATO naval personnel.

This recent maritime sabotage incident in the Baltic Sea may be a Chinese rehearsal on behalf of the Kremlin. Sabotage against gas/power lines during winter would bring hardship to energy-dependent European countries while punishing them for supporting Ukraine.


Sources:

https://www.rferl.org/a/danish-defense-chinese-ship-yi-peng-baltic-sea-cable-damage/33209361.html

https://www.norad.mil/Newsroom/Press-Releases/Article/3849184/norad-detects-tracks-and-intercepts-russian-and-prc-aircraft-operating-in-the-a/

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_213448.htm

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_223446.htm

The Future Will Look Like the Past: Texas Offers Trump 1,402 Acres for Mass Deportation Camps

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham is offering the incoming Trump administration 1,402 acres the state purchased along the Texas-Mexico border to be used in a mass deportation operation. The Extermination Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau reportedly covered 500 acres and it was the largest camp in the Third Reich.

In a letter to President-elect Donald Trump, Buckingham said she’s offering the land “to be used to construct deportation facilities.”

So, Madame Commissioner, here is what America will look like thanks to Donald Trump and people just like you.


Jews in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland, in Jan 1945. (Photo: EPA)


Bosnian Muslims in Serbian concentration camp circa 1995. (Photo: ICTY)

DHS camp for Hispanic migrants of separated children during Trump’s first reign of terror.


Palestinian children crammed in Israeli prison cell circa 2016. (Photo: AP)


Sub-Saharan migrants in detention center in Zawiyah, Libya, in Jun 2017. (Photo: Taha Jawashi / AFP/ Getty Images)



Loyal Japanese-Americans dining in their mess facility in an internment camp (photo circa 1942).

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham is a true humanitarian, isn’t she?

Source:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-land-commissioner-offers-acres-trump-deportation/story?id=116048937

Nationwide Food Recall: Wolverine Packing Co. Recalls 167,000 Pounds of Ground Beef Products Due to Possible E. Coli

Wolverine Packing Co. in Detroit, MI is recalling approximately 167,277 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the USDA Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The fresh products have a “use by” date of 11/14/2024 and the frozen products are labeled with production date 10/22/24.

Please check these links: View full product listView labels.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 2574B” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to restaurant locations nationwide. 

The problem was discovered when FSIS was notified by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture of a group of 15 patients who had reported that they consumed ground beef prior to their illness.

Anyone concerned about an illness should contact a healthcare provider. E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2–8 days (3–4 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. It is marked by easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.

FSIS is concerned that some product may be in restaurant refrigerators or freezers. Restaurants are urged not to serve these products. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

Consumers and members of the media with questions about the recall can contact Don Tanner, company representative at (248) 762-1533.

Consumers with food safety questions can call the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-MPHotline (888-674-6854) or send a question via email to MPHotline@usda.gov.

For consumers that need to report a problem with a meat, poultry, or egg product, the online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at https://foodcomplaint.fsis.usda.gov/eCCF/.

Sources:

Wolverine Packing Co. Recalls Ground Beef Products Due to Possible E. Coli O157:H7 Contamination | Food Safety and Inspection Service

Wolverine Packing Co. | Your Complete Protein Solution

French Defense Minister Calls on Arab Gulf States to Aid Lebanese Forces

Lebanese children wave French flags as they stand in front of a Lebanon’s national flag, at a ceremony to open a French-built bridge by the coastal town of Naameh, south of Beirut, on 18 Sep 2006. (Photo: Petros Karadjias / AP)

“I have reiterated to each counterpart that we need them to support the Lebanese armed forces,” French DM Sébastien Lecornu said after visits to Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Lecornu’s appeal came following talks with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed of the UAE in Abu Dhabi.

“To secure the border between Israel and Lebanon, and to reinforce Lebanon’s sovereignty, the armed forces must be properly armed,” he added.

Israel expanded the focus of its lethal operations from Gaza to Lebanon in Sep 2024, making southern Lebanon inhospitable to Shias while devastating the country’s medical infrastructure. More than 3,510 people in Lebanon have been killed, with most fatalities recorded since late September.

Last month, a conference in Paris raised $200 million to support the Lebanese armed forces, on top of $800 million in humanitarian aid for the country.

The Lebanese military, which plays a crucial role in maintaining stability in the deeply divided country, struggles to meet the basic needs of its 80,000 soldiers. The Lebanese Army previously received financial assistance from Qatar and the US to pay salaries.

Lebanese Army Soldiers at double time. The IDF has killed at least 41 of them over the past few weeks. (Undated photo: Getty Images).

Next month French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Saudi Arabia. His visit is expected to focus on defense contracts and investment in new technologies. Perhaps he can persuade Crown Prince Muhammad Bin-Salman (MBS) to withdraw the hideous blockade on Shia Yemenis which has caused them a man-made famine. The Sunni Saudi alliance with Sunni Yemenis is what drove the Shia Houthis right into the Shia Crescent led by Tehran. This is why the Houthis fire drones at Western or Israeli shipping in the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden: Gratitude and loyalty to their Shia benefactors in Lebanon and Iran.

There was a time when France was seen as Lebanon’s big brother and protector. An estimated 23,000 French citizens live in Lebanon and more than 300,000 Lebanese reside in France.

But now Paris has become a schnorrer asking other countries to step in.

Quite simply, France has lost its political clout in Lebanon: “In 10 years French influence has collapsed,” said a political scientist. Another French diplomat noted the dramatic drop in the use of French.  

“Years ago, if you went to bars where middle-class youth gathered, you’d hear Arabic or French. If you go there now, you’ll hear Arabic and English – people under the age of 30 don’t speak French.”

Cuts in the French diplomatic corps did not help. A former senior French official describing Paris’ diplomacy as “disoriented.” Moreover, France miscalculated by supporting Sunni rebels against Syrian President Bashir al-Assad. Germany paid the price of absorbing thousands of Syrian refugees. Berlin then put a stop to France’s policy of using EU funds to favor its foreign policy, notably in Lebanon.

France “no longer has a say” in Beirut: the foreign powers that matter are Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the US.

David Schenker, once in charge of Near East affairs at the US State Department, told the Lebanese on a visit to Beirut: “‘Don’t forget! It’s the Americans and the Saudis who sign the cheques.'”

Sources:

France’s defence minister calls on Gulf states to aid Lebanese forces

Macron promises €100m for Lebanon at aid conference in Paris

From protector to onlooker: how France lost its influence in Lebanon

Laos: Methanol-Tainted Alcohol Kills Several Tourists; Dozen Stricken

Laos has a population of nearly eight million people. Real GDP per capita is $8,400 (2023 est.)

Several Western tourists died after drinking tainted alcohol in the tourist town of Vang Vieng in Laos. So far, two Danish, one unidentified American, and a British citizen have been reported dead and at least ten have been stricken. The numbers could be more.

The late lawyer Simone White (28) from the UK was travelling South East Asia. (Image: Facebook)

The parents of two 19-year-olds from Melbourne are at their bedsides in separate Thai hospitals — one in Bangkok and the other in Udon Than.

Bianca Jones (L, 19) and Holly Bowles (R, 19) below were staying at a backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng, a popular party town north of Vientiane. Their parents from Melbourne are at their bedsides in separate Thai hospitals — one in Bangkok and the other in Udon Than. Sadly, a late report indicated that Ms. Holly Bowles (R) succumbed to the poison.

(Undated images: Social media)

Vang Vieng is a popular destination for backpackers travelling in Laos. (Photo: Basile Morin via Wikimedia Commons)

Duong Duc Toan, the manager of Nana Backpack hostel displays a bottle of vodka, in the bar of the hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, Tuesday, 19 Nov 2024. (Photo: AP / Anupam Nath)

Methanol is a clear liquid chemical that is often illegally added to alcoholic beverages as a cheaper alternative to ethanol. Consuming even a small amount can be fatal.

Westerners seeking inexpensive vacations in exotic locations should take heed of this cautionary tale. Drink cocktails from a Western-owned hotel or stick to bottled or canned beer that should be opened in one’s presence (like bottled water).

Sources:


https://apnews.com/article/australian-laos-thailand-alcohol-poisoning-a5a4035fff9ac6e0960c0ffa4a2ef576

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/11/22/laos-methanol-poisoning/5591732171277/


https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/fifth-person-died-methanol-laos/

CIA

Canada Fears Trump’s Mass Deportations Will Push Migrants North

RCMP officers confront migrants arriving at the Roxham Road border crossing in Quebec from New York State in 2023. (Photo: Nasuna Stuart-Ulin for The New York Times)

Story written by Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Hamed Aleaziz and extracted from the New York Times.

Canadian authorities fear that Mr. Trump’s promised mass deportations will push migrants north, while Republicans have raised alarms over a recent spike in undocumented migrants crossing from Canada to the US.

Canadian officials are planning to add patrols, buy new vehicles and set up emergency reception facilities at the border between New York State and the province of Quebec in preparation for a surge of undocumented migrants following Donald Trump’s promised mass deportation program.

The new border czar, Tom Homan, who is a native of a NY town near the US-Canadian border, called the northern border a “huge national security issue.”

Mr. Homan said “special interest aliens” — a term used for migrants with possible criminal links, including to terrorism — might use the northern border because there are “a lot less, fewer officers here.”

Concerns over the northern border highlight a key shift in Canada’s view of migration between the first and second Trump administrations. During the first, PM Justin Trudeau made clear that asylum seekers were welcome in Canada just as Mr. Trump was tightening asylum rules and introducing policies like family separation at the US southern border.

Today, the mood in Canada is very different. Many Canadians believe the arrival of more legal migrants since the end of the COVID pandemic has strained resources such as affordable housing and access to medical care. Many blamed Mr. Trudeau’s government, which is now taking steps to significantly limit legal immigration.

The Canadian authorities also intend to wield a key agreement between the two countries to send back people crossing into Canada to seek asylum. The agreement designates Canada and the US as “safe third countries” in which to make asylum claims, so when asylum seekers travel from one country to the other, they can be sent back, with few exceptions.

Provincial leaders in Quebec are also anxious about the need to harden its border with New York and have already raised complaints about the growing number of legal immigrants and refugees who have settled there in recent years.

From Oct 2023 to Sep 2024, more than 19,300 undocumented migrants were apprehended by US authorities at the border between Quebec and Vermont, NYS, and New Hampshire, a 300-percent jump from the 6,925 apprehended during the same period the previous year. The figure for Oct 2020 to Sep 2021 was just 365 people.

More than 12,000 of the 19,300 people detained were Indian nationals, underscoring a booming migrant smuggling route from India to the US via Canada.

Some of this smuggling is encouraged online. Videos circulate on TikTok from “travel agencies’’ marketing smooth transport to the US in exchange for thousands of dollars.

One TikTok ad shows a group of men with US flag emojis hiding their faces advertising a “100% safe route.” The provider says it can take travelers from Brampton, a city outside Toronto with a large South Asian population, to New York, by taxi.

Six Indian nationals, aged 19-21 years, were arrested by the US border authorities after they were apprehended on a sinking boat during a failed attempt to be smuggled into America from Canada.  They were charged with “Improper Entry by Alien.” (Undated photo: Reuters)

Despite the immigration agreement between the US and Canada, the process to turn back people claiming asylum can take weeks at a time as migrants try to find a lawyer and gather evidence to try to make a case to avoid being sent back to Canada.

With minimal resources at the northern border, few people were being sent back to Canada earlier this year. Instead, migrants were being released from custody with notices to appear in US immigration courts, which face an enormous backlog.

But starting this summer, US officials deployed more federal officials to the northern border to help process people and transferred more people into detention.

They also made a key change to make the process to return migrants to Canada easier: Starting in Aug 2024, migrants who had been detained had only four hours to find a lawyer and collect evidence for their case. Before, migrants were given at least a day to do both.

Since then, the numbers of crossings have dropped dramatically — from roughly 3,600 crossings in June to around 1,800 in September — while the number of migrants returned to Canada has increased. More than 400 people were returned to Canada between Aug and Oct 2024.

Migrants who had crossed the border from Canada, many of them from India, talking to taxi drivers in Plattsburgh, NY, who were offering rides to NYC. (Credit: Anna Watts for The New York Times)

Elise Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman from upstate NY who has been chosen by Mr. Trump to serve as UN Ambassador, called the increase in arrivals an “invasion” in a social media post.

Still, Canadian officials say they are fortifying the border and will deport migrants who attempt to enter Canada to escape Mr. Trump’s crackdown.

Xenophobia is tragically affecting both sides of the world’s largest undefended border, whose G-7 economies grew thanks to the blood, sweat, and tears of millions of immigrants toiling in the farms, factories, mines, fisheries, and slaughterhouses for two hundred years in the US and Canada. Every year thousands of migrants sacrifice their life savings or indeed their very lives trying to make their way to places such as the US, Canada, the EU, or Australia just to merely survive.

 

At least 8,565 people died on migration routes worldwide in 2023 according to the International Office of Migration (IOM). Undated photo above of migrants courtesy of the Vatican News Service.

Sources:

Canada Prepares for Immigration Surge After Trump Vows Mass Deportation – The New York Times

Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement – Canada.ca

Mysterious Chemical By-Product in US Tap Water Finally Identified

Scientists discover formula and structure of chlorine-related molecule and urge tests for possible toxicity.

A mysterious byproduct of a chemical used to disinfect the tap water of about one-third of Americans has finally been identified, and the international research team behind the discovery is advocating rapid assessment of its potential toxicity.

The research, reported in the journal Science, does not claim the byproduct is unsafe to drink or that the finding represents any kind of emergency. All water, including bottled water, contains contaminants.

But the discovery of a new and previously unknown chemical, called chloronitramide anion, could have implications for municipal water systems that use a class of chlorine-based disinfectants called chloramines. For decades these disinfectants, derived from the mixture of chlorine and ammonia, have been added to many municipal water supplies to kill bacteria and prevent waterborne illnesses.

“We need to investigate it. We don’t know the toxicity,” said environmental engineer Julian Fairey, an associate professor at the University of Arkansas and lead author of the paper. “This work was 40 years in the making in terms of trying to identify the compound, and now that we have identified it, we can delve into how toxic is this thing.”

Cigarettes like the ones advertised above were once touted as a cure for asthma, wheezing, or coughing. Medical quackery like the above example has killed countless victims over the centuries.

Now the US is on the verge of official government medical quackery with the potential Trump nominations of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead HHS and Dr. Mehmet Oz to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Therefore, the FDA, USDA, HHS, EPA, CDC, have two months to solve this issue before it’s swept under the carpet in 2025. Anti-Vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr can use a case like this to ban fluoride from American drinking water or come up with other wacky solutions.

Blue States will have to step up their Air Quality Index (AQI), food, health, workplace, and environmental inspections over the next four years to protect their citizens. Red State governors and their constituencies don’t seem to mind if they are killed by firearms violence, sickened by spoiled food, work in dangerous work sites, breathe polluted air, or drink unsafe water.

Sources:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk6749

https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2024/11/21/tap-water-byproduct-chloronitramide-anion/

Minnesota Authorities Restore EagleCam to Delight of Viewers Worldwide

Watch eagle emerge from snow-covered nest after storm.

Gaza De-Population Campaign Continues

Palestinians waiting for bread 28 Oct 2024. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said the Gaza Strip is on the brink of a famine. (Photo: Mohammed Salem / Reuters)

96 Palestinians were killed and 277 wounded in the Gaza Strip over the last 48 hours. At least 43,020 people have been killed and 101,110 wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since 7 Oct 2023. At this rate of homicide, by year’s end the Likud Party and the IDF will have killed close to 50,000 Palestinians while maiming 150,000 in the Gaza Strip. The IDF detained approximately 100 Palestinians at Kamal Adwan Hospital. The people apprehended included fighters who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians, an army statement claimed. The IDF reported that weapons, funds and intelligence documents were found in the hospital and surrounding area. Israel’s forces “arrested and deported all the medical staff” at Kamal Adwan Hospital, except one unidentified individual.

IDF jets attacked the city of Tyre, Lebanon, killing at least seven people and wounding 17 others. Beirut accuses Jerusalem of intentionally trying to destroy its medical infrastructure. (Photo: Ahmad Kaddoura / Anadolu)

Hard working CIA Director William J. Burns was meeting in Qatar with his Israeli counterpart, David Barnea of the Mossad, to re-start negotiations for a cease-fire and a release of the hostages.  Mr. Barnea, who studied in the US years ago, had urged Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to negotiate with Palestinian resistance leaders immediately in order to release the Israeli captives. At the time of the surprise attack on Israel (7 Oct 2023), at least 2,000 Palestinians were being held in security detention without hearing or trial. Other reports cited larger numbers of detentions and torture. In Nov 2023 the first prisoner swap between the Palestinian captors and the IDF concluded. Afterwards, Netanyahu opted for a permanent solution to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. USSECSTATE Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders at least 11 times for cease-fire negotiations, but this was all kabuki theater. According to some people close to Joe Biden, he felt betrayed by being pushed out in favor of VPOTUS Kamala Harris to take on GOP candidate Donald Trump. Then, Biden felt “humiliated” by Netanyahu who only played lip-service to him about a cease-fire before the all-important US presidential elections. Netanyahu, indicted as a war criminal by the Hague like his fellow war-monger Russian President Vladimir Putin, effectively tarnished Joe Biden’s legacy as he winds down his multi-decade career of American public service.  

Sources:

(4) Updates LIVE: Israel’s three-week siege of northern Gaza kills at least 1,000 (aljazeera.com)

U.S. and Israeli Spy Chiefs Meet for Gaza Cease-Fire Talks: Live Updates – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Barnea takes over Mossad; Cohen: Mossad struck deep into Iran’s heart – Israel News – The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

Israel/OPT: Horrifying cases of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees amid spike in arbitrary arrests   – Amnesty International

Kim Jong-Un’s Close Aide in Russia Overseeing North Korean Troops

Kim Jong Un (C) inspecting a special operations training base of the Korean People’s Army while enjoying a smoke. General Kim Young Bok, Vice Chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff, is second from right. (Undated photo: Rodong Sinmun·News1)

General Kim Young Bok, a close aide to leader Kim Jong Un, has arrived in Russia to oversee North Korean troops there helping Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The North Korean troops are mobilizing near the front lines in Ukraine. An estimated 12,000 North Korean troops, including 500 officers and three generals, were in Russia undergoing training.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declined to deny or confirm that North Korea had sent troops to help his army. The arrival of the North Koreans has raised fears in Ukraine, its Western allies and South Korea about what they see as a dangerous escalation of the Ukrainian war.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency that Russia was transporting North Korean soldiers to the front lines in trucks with civilian license plates. Russian police stopped a Kamaz truck with civilian license plates on the Kursk-Voronezh highway which was reportedly loaded with North Korean military personnel, but the driver did not have documented combat orders.

South Korean NIS (FKA KCIA) reported that North Korean soldiers will receive $2,000 per month in pay, but the Ukrainian government-run news platform United24 said that that most likely this money would “remain with the state.”

Separately, The New York Times reported that the first North Korean troops had made the nearly 6,500 km (4,038 mile) journey to the Kursk region, with thousands more arriving daily.

Citing troop movement data from a senior Ukrainian military officer, the newspaper said that as many as 5,000 North Korean soldiers were expected to have arrived this week.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) released a satellite image by Airbus Defense and Space showing Russia’s Khabarovsk military facility, where the NIS said North Korean personnel are gatherung. (Photo: AFP)

As expected, (and posted here on Coriolanus) Ukraine initiated a PSYOP program to induce these North Korean soldiers to surrender.

“We appeal to the soldiers of the Korean People’s Army who were sent to support the Putin regime. Don’t die senselessly on foreign soil. Do not repeat the fate of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers who will never return home.

(Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate, or GUR, prepared this Korean-language message on its Telegram messaging channel).

“Surrender! Ukraine will provide you with shelter, food, and warmth,” it added, introducing its surrender hotline “I Want to Live.”

Ukraine promises food and shelter to North Korean soldiers if they surrender. The “I Want to Live” project released a video offering food and shelter to North Korean soldiers who surrender during the war in Ukraine. (RFA English)

There should be no surprises in this reporting that North Korean supremo Kim Jong-Un would send a trusted aide to overwatch the deployment of his cannon fodder and that Pyongyang would keep the soldier’s renumeration for fighting and dying against Ukraine. Kiev’s PSYOP program was to be expected as they have been inducing Russian soldiers to surrender since Putin’s brutal invasion began in Feb 2022. The next development to monitor is whether South Korea begins transferring potent mass casualty weapons and trainers to Ukraine in response.

Sources:

Kim Jong Un’s close aide in Russia overseeing North Korean troops: report – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Ukraine urges North Korean soldiers to surrender, offering food, shelter – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Russia pays North Korean soldiers about $2,000 a month: South’s spy agency – Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

France: Why Are They Suddenly Deporting Kurdish Activists?

Demonstrators hold the Kurdistan flag during a rally in Paris in 2016 to protest against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after 11 HDP lawmakers were detained as part of a terror-related investigation. (Photo: Francois Mori / AP)

In March and April, France deported three Kurdish activists to Turkiye: Firaz Korkmaz (24), Mehmet Kopal (37), and Serhat Gultekin (28). All were suspected of having close ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been in conflict with the Turkish state for 40 years. France, along with its Western allies, considers the PKK a terrorist organisation. Approximately 150,000 Kurds reside in France.

The Kurdish Democratic Council of France (CDKF), an umbrella group of 27 Kurdish associations, has condemned the deportations and warned that more cases are under investigation.

In late April, eight Kurdish men were arrested, accused of extorting funds from the Kurdish community to support PKK activities, which is seen as financing terrorism.

French authorities also raided exiled Kurdish broadcasters Sterk TV and Medya Haber TV in Belgium at the request of the French judiciary. The CDKF says this level of action is unprecedented. Prior to April, no Kurdish activists had been handed over to Turkiye since 2019, when diplomatic relations between Paris and Ankara hit a low point.

The friction was partly due to France’s support for the Kurdish YPG, which was fighting the Islamic State in Syria, but is viewed by Turkiye as an extension of the PKK.

Since April, French authorities have revoked refugee status from 50 Kurdish militants and deported the three activists. The case of Serhat Gultekin has drawn particular concern.

A member of Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish HDP party, Gultekin had been reportedly tortured and persecuted in Turkiye before fleeing to France in 2017. He applied for political asylum and continued his activism in exile. In April 2023, Gultekin and ten others were found guilty of extortion and financing terrorism.

He was sentenced, but in a highly unusual move the anti-terrorist state prosecutor specifically warned of the dangers of sending him and the others back to Turkiye “in view of the danger they had faced” and “the risks that an expulsion would expose them to”.

The court agreed, but French authorities took a different view. On 12 April, the day before the judge was set to rule on Gultekin’s asylum claim, the Interior Ministry issued a deportation order.

“Plainclothes police officers put him in a truck, handcuffed him, tied him up and took him to the airport,” said Gultekin’s lawyer.

“In the truck, they told him: ‘Serhat, we’re going to send you to Turkiye. Whether you like it or not’.”

When Gultekin landed, members of Turkey’s MIT secret services were waiting. He is now serving a six year and three-month sentence in an Istanbul prison.

On 26 Sep, the Paris Administrative Court of Appeal declared Gultekin’s deportation “illegal”, stating it violated Article III of the European Charter of Human Rights, which prohibits torture.

The CDKF is also fighting to prevent the deportation of Idris Kaplan, another activist sentenced in absentia to life in Turkiye as an alleged PKK leader.

“You can’t hand your allies over to their enemies in the name of security or diplomatic agreements. That’s a basic moral principle,” argued CDKF spokesperson Agit Polat in Le Monde, pointing to Kaplan’s role in fighting the Islamic State armed group alongside French special forces in Iraq.

On 8 Oct a court suspended Kaplan’s expulsion order.

So why have French authorities taken a tougher stance on Kurdish activists? One theory is that economic interests are now outweighing human rights concerns. Ratings agency Moody’s recently downgraded France’s outlook from “stable” to “negative,” opening the door to a potential credit rating cut citing concerns over the country’s finances. The downgrade reflects “increasing risk that France’s government will be unlikely to implement measures that would prevent sustained wider-than-expected budget deficits and a deterioration in debt affordability,” said Moody’s Ratings. Moody’s affirmed France’s credit rating at Aa2, saying this was supported by its “large, wealthy, and diversified economy.”

Kostas Pikramenos, co-author of a book on Turkey’s MIT intelligence service, says Kurdish activists may be used as bargaining chips in intelligence negotiations. The expulsion of the three Kurds is most likely part of a “seduction operation by France to sign commercial contracts” with Turkiye, Pikramenos told Marianne news magazine, pointing to a $40bn order of 200 Airbus aircraft by Turkish Airlines (THY) in late 2023.

(Image: Airbus.com)

The CDKF believes France may be paying Turkiye for its intelligence cooperation. Ankara reportedly shared information on planned ISIS-K attacks during the 2024 Olympics, according to an anonymous French intelligence source. French President Emmanuel Macron publicly warned that ISIS-K had attempted several attacks on French soil in recent months.

Meanwhile, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) emphasised that it “independently assesses” Interior Ministry requests to revoke refugee status. These decisions can be appealed in the National Asylum Court.

The CDKF has warned that five more Kurdish activists could face deportation in the coming months.

Sources:

What’s driving France’s sudden deportation of Kurdish activists? (rfi.fr)

Prosecutor seeks prison terms for alleged PKK members on trial in Paris

Turkey opens another ‘Kafkaesque’ trial against scholar exiled to France

Moody’s downgrades France to ‘negative’ credit outlook (rfi.fr)

Alaska and US Military History: The “Eskimo Scouts”

The USS Concord is a typical late 19th-century US gunboat (Photo: Edward Hart circa 1890).

The US Navy recently apologized for the 1882 shelling and burning down of Angoon, a Tlingit village of 420 people in Alaska (highlighted in red).

Years after this atrocity at Angoon by the USN, Uncle Sam would ask the Eskimo population to help defend Alaska from Imperial Japan. The indigenous men proudly formed and served in the “Alaska Territorial Guard” AKA the “Eskimo Scouts.” Note the age range of those who served: 12-80.


Note the resemblance between the Inuits of North America (above) and the Buryats of Siberia (below) from across the Bering Strait.

The Free Buryatia organization announced that around 150 Buryat soldiers who were serving in the Russian Army in occupied territories of Ukraine have resigned their positions and asked to be returned home. (Source and Photo: 150 Buryat Soldiers in Russian Army Resign kyivpost.com)

Canada’s military similarly employs indigenous tribes in their northern provinces called “the Canadian Rangers.” Above former Tory Canadian PM Stephen Harper is on the rifle range for a photo-op with these tundra experts.



Sources:



https://apnews.com/article/navy-1882-tlingit-village-alaska-bombing-apology-b7da179eb05bd30afa373f9fc093305e

US Army

Taiwan: 60 People Sickened from Suspected Food Poisoning

Taiwan has a population of 23,595,274 and GDP per capita is $47,800 (2019 est.) (Map and Data: CIA)

60 people have reported symptoms of food poisoning after buying boxed meals from an eatery in Kaohsiung. The health department said patients fell ill with symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea and fever after eating boxed meals purchased from a small storefront restaurant in the city’s Sanmin District the previous day.

46 patients sought medical attention, while 14 others were found via contact tracing. Seven of the 46 patients have been hospitalized, and one was treated in the emergency room.

29 students from Kaohsiung Medical University were among the customers who had bought lunch from the eatery and 20 of them had to seek medical attention.

Personnel from the Kaohsiung Department of Health collect food samples from a storefront restaurant in the city’s Sanmin District for testing in this undated photo. Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Department of Health.

City officials inspected the eatery and ordered its closure for seven days, citing several violations of food safety regulations. The violations included open trash bins, no records of fridge temperatures, and no records of employee health checks.

While no leftovers from the 410 boxed lunches sold were available for testing, health officials took samples of the food items in the eatery. Samples were also taken from the sick customers and the kitchen workers at the eatery and will be tested for pathogens.

The eatery will have to pass another inspection before it could be allowed to reopen. The source pathogen of the food poisoning is still being investigated.

Sources:

60 people fall ill from suspected food poisoning in Kaohsiung – Focus Taiwan

Florida Militant Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Charges During 6 Jan 2021 Attack Against US Capitol

Jeremy Michael Miller (Photo: FBI)

Jeremy Michael Miller (45) of Florida was arrested and charged by the FBI for felony and misdemeanor offenses of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder.

Miller was identified in video footage on 6 Jan 2021 on the Lower West Plaza of the US Capitol grounds fighting with police along a line of metal bike rack barricades. Miller allegedly grabbed a bike rack and tried to pull it away from police. Police quickly reestablished their line and video footage show Miller allegedly linking arms with other rioters and using their backs to push into the barricades; however, the group was unable to break through the police line.

(Photo: FBI)

Rioters, including Miller, violently resisted police on the Upper West Terrace. The defendant allegedly pushed his body against a police riot shield, attempting to stop or push through a line of officers.

(Photo: Getty Images)


Video footage shows that this maniac then tried to pull a riot shield away from another police officer, grabbing with both hands in an attempt to wrest the shield away. After several failed attempts, Miller retreated back into the mob.

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.

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

Jeremy Michael Miller represents one of America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), a white supremacist holding on to the last vestiges of white supremacy in the US. He heeded the idiotic call of Donald J. Trump that minorities stole the 2020 election and now will either plead guilty to a lesser count or be found guilty in a trial. Either way, this 45-year-old lunatic threw his life away over racism and ignorance.

Source:


https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/florida-man-arrested-assaulting-law-enforcement-and-other-charges-during-jan-6-capitol-4

Sneaky Alabama Bear Steals Trash Can from Garage

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 satellitesmangle 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

Unpopularity of Putin’s War on Ukraine Growing in Russia

A child protester outside the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow on 22 Sep with a sign reading: “Return my dad. I’ve been waiting two years.” (Image: RFE/RL Current Time)

A group of wives, mothers, and children of mobilized Russian soldiers deployed in their country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine protested outside the Defense Ministry in Moscow, with an unspecified number of detentions reported. The protest in the Russian capital on 21 Sep coincided with the date two years ago when Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on a partial mobilization. The group reportedly was demanding a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, as well as a demobilization. At one point, the protesters, numbering about two dozen, were confronted by a group hurling abuse and trying to disperse them. There is no information available yet as to what punishments these loved ones of mobilized Russian soldiers will receive.

More evidence of the growing unpopularity of the Russian invasion comes from lowered interest in a pro-war singer’s concerts. At least two cities in Russia canceled Shaman’s performances of his “Victory” tour due to low ticket sales.

Pro-Kremlin Singer Yaroslav Dronov (AKA Shaman). Photo: Pelagia Tikhonova / Moskva News Agency

Last month Shaman kicked off his 100-city tour in Red Square with plans to perform in Ukrainian cities occupied since Russia’s invasion. The singer said he aims to “program” his audience to think about Russia’s victory over Ukraine, more than two and a half years into the war.

However, his scheduled performances in Nizhny Tagil on 24 Sep and Magnitogorsk on 3 Oct were cancelled. The independent investigative outlet Agentstvo reported that only half of the tickets had been sold for the Nizhny Tagil show, and there was “not much hype” surrounding the Magnitogorsk event.

Earlier this month, authorities in the Stavropol region canceled another of Shaman’s shows and required him to refund 15 million rubles to the regional government.

Agentstvo also noted that Shaman’s concerts in the cities of Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, and Tver are at risk of being canceled due to poor ticket sales. TV ratings for Shaman’s performances have reportedly been lower than other popular programs.

As casualties mount on the frontline and successful Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s infrastructure increase like the spectacular strike shown below, more people will grow disillusioned and discontent with Vladimir Putin. Unfortunately, the Russian masses will be basically powerless to overthrow the regime because of the dense internal security apparatus the Kremlin controls.

2,000 tons of ammo, including North Korean-made rounds, were destroyed in this recent attack that registered as small earthquakes and also drew the attention of NASA’s fire-spotting satellites. There was no information as to Russian casualties caused by Ukraine’s new jet-powered Palianytsia cruise missile.

Sources:

Mothers, Wives, Children Of Russian Soldiers Protest, Demand Demobilization (rferl.org)

Russian Cities Cancel Pro-War Singer Shaman’s Shows Amid Low Ticket Sales – Agentstvo – The Moscow Times

Ukrainian Drones Just Blew Up 2,000 Tons Of Ammo in Southern Russia (forbes.com)

France Deploys Notorious Anti-Riot Police Unit to Martinique

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

France deployed a contingent of special anti-riot police that’s been banned for 65 years to the French Caribbean island of Martinique, where protesters have gathered despite the government barring demonstrations in parts of the island. The local government issued a curfew after violent protests broke out last week over the high cost of living. Six police officers and one civilian were wounded. Police launched tear gas and several stores were looted.

But the curfew was met by defiance by many on the island, with massive peaceful protests breaking out Saturday night. Videos from local media show crowds of thousands peacefully walking along highways overnight banging on drums and waving flags.

As protests continued without violence, a contingency of French anti-riot police arrived on the island and checked into a hotel in Fort-de-France. The size of the force was not disclosed.

French riot police in action in 2018. Photo: Stephane Mahe/Reuters

The elite riot police, known as the Companies for Republican Security, were banned in the French territory following bloody riots in Dec 1959 for allegedly using disproportionate force against protesters, ending in the deaths of a number of young demonstrators. The force is rarely deployed in French territories in the Caribbean but was called on during riots and strikes in Guadeloupe in 2009.

Martinique’s leaders requested the forces amid the recent protests. Beatrice Bellay, a representative of the socialist party blasted the move, saying: “Martinique is not in a civil war, it is a social war. This measure … only serves to aggravate tensions and distract attention from the legitimate demands of the people of Martinique.”

A man holds a flare during an anti-government protest in Fort-De-France, Martinique in 2021. 5,000 to 15,000 residents of Martinique demonstrated in protest on 27 March 2021, denouncing the possible statute of limitations on a complaint filed by civil parties for the use of chlordecone in causing life endangering illnesses. Photo: Reuters

Martinique is burdened with a chronic high rate of unemployment, as well as rising costs of imported food and other basic necessities. Banana is the foremost plantation crop grown in Martinique and the widespread use of carcinogenic chlordecone for five decades to control banana pests gave rise to an ecological disaster and an angry population. Although this practice had stopped in 2003, the recalcitrant dangerous pesticide remained largely in the soil.

Until all soil has all been successfully de-contaminated, use of the land for any new agricultural activities is unsafe; people have been warned to refrain from eating self-produced vegetables. The challenge to create meaningful employment in Martinique under these social-economic and environmental constraints is thus formidable.

Sources:

Long-forbidden French anti-riot force sent to Martinique as thousands defy bans on protests (voanews.com)

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

Former CIA Officer Sentenced to 30 Years for Sexually Assaulting Scores of Women

Undated photo of Brian Jeffrey Raymond courtesy of the FBI.

Brian Jeffrey Raymond (48) of La Mesa, CA, a former CIA officer who drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Raymond was also ordered to serve a lifetime of supervised release and to pay $260,000 in restitution to the victims. After his release from prison at the age of 78, Raymond will be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).

This miscreant drugged more than two dozen women and performed nonconsensual sexual acts or made sexual contact with at least ten women. Raymond also photographed and recorded videos of victims without their consent while they were drugged or otherwise incapacitated. He had previously worked for the CIA for over 20 years.

Raymond would lure women he met on dating apps back to his government-leased apartment, later drugging and assaulting them.

The assaults date back to 2006 and took place in multiple countries, including Mexico and Peru. An investigation of Raymond began in May 2020 when police in Mexico City responded to a naked woman screaming for help on the balcony of Raymond’s residence. She said that Raymond had raped her and accused him of drugging her when the two had drinks at his apartment. Police then searched Raymond’s devices as apart of the investigation. They discovered several explicit videos and images showing Raymond sexually assaulting numerous women.

Several of the women spoke in court about the trauma caused by Raymond’s actions. Many did not realize they had been assaulted until they were approached by police and shown images or videos taken by Raymond.

“My body looks like a corpse on his bed,” said one woman of the photos. “Now I have these nightmares of seeing myself dead.”

Another woman testified in court: “Was I raped? Was I sexually assaulted. I will never know, and that haunts me too.”

Raymond’s sentencing comes as the CIA faces intense scrutiny over its handling of sexual misconduct cases. A 648-page internal watchdog report revealed that the agency routinely failed to address such incidents. More than two dozen women reported that they had experienced sexually assault or unwanted contact, later facing retaliation after they reported it to the CIA.

CIA personnel undergo extensive background investigations and must undergo routine polygraph examinations during their careers. How this sexual predator operated in the USIC for 14 years without getting caught is remarkable. Moreover, Raymond presents a dilemma for CIA. Foreign intelligence agencies may start putting clues together and uncover CIA sources in countries Raymond operated in.

From a counterintelligence perspective, Raymond holds a treasure trove of US secrets in his head. His incarceration in the BOP must take that into account. Lastly, Brian Jeffrey Raymond cost the American taxpayer a small fortune with all the expensive training he received and living overseas in government-paid housing and expense accounts.

Sources:

Former CIA officer sentenced to 30 years for sexually assaulting scores of women | CIA | The Guardian

As the CIA promises to stop sexual misconduct in its ranks, new cases of workplace assault emerge | PBS News

Whooping Cough (Pertussis) Spreading in US and Canada

Undated image courtesy of USATODAY.

The CDC reports that whooping cough (pertussis) is spreading in the US. In 2020, the US had about 6,000 cases of pertussis, roughly 2,000 cases in 2021, 3,000 cases in 2022 and about 5,000 last year. Now the US has seen 14,569 cases this year, compared with 2,844 at the same time last year, according to the CDC’s Nationally Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

In Canada, more than 12,000 cases of whooping cough, or the 100-day cough, have been reported to date in 2024, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). That’s far higher than the roughly 500 to 4,500 nationwide infections typically reported each year. 

Whooping cough starts with symptoms that look a lot like a regular cold: a runny nose, sneezing, a low-grade fever and a tickly cough. A week or two later, the infection moves into a new stage, leading to a violent full-body cough.

These coughing fits can be so severe that they cause patients to vomit or break ribs, and they’re often accompanied by a whooping sound as the person tries to catch their breath. Antibiotics can treat the infection, but only if it’s caught within the first few weeks, before the arrival of the exhausting, painful cough. Then, the only treatment is comfort care with plenty of rest and fluids while the infection runs its course.

Unvaccinated babies and adults are those at highest risk of severe infection and, rarely, death. But doctors have increasingly been seeing vaccinated people with infections, too.

Pertussis vaccination rates are high in the US – around 90% – and did not dip during the pandemic as they did in some other countries. Despite that, the upward trend in infections has continued.

The increase in cases is not fully understood. There’s evidence that it may be due to changes in the bacteria that causes the infection or changes in the vaccines.

Gavin and Tara Hills with their seven children were anti-vaxxers. (Social media).

The above family of anti-vaxxers from Ontario, Canada, changed their minds about vaccinations too late. Gavin Hills, his wife Tara, and their seven children are now in quarantine at their Kanata, Ont. home while the children are being treated for whooping cough.

The children, who are aged 10 months to 10 years, are “doing okay.” The irony of the timing is not lost on them, says Gavin Hills. While it’s frustrating to be quarantined, what’s more frustrating is knowing that the whole thing could have been avoided, Hills says. For six years, he and his wife were on the fence about vaccine safety, so they chose to hold off on vaccinating until they understood the issue better. But by then, it was too late and they caught pertussis.

Ottawa Public Health is treating them with antibiotics for the potentially serious illness and they should recover soon.

Sources:

About Whooping Cough Outbreaks | Whooping Cough | CDC

Whooping cough cases are soaring. Can infecting people help test a better vaccine? | CNN

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/whooping-cough-spike-1.7308407

Germany: Social Democrats Narrowly Defeat Far-Right in Brandenburg Elections

Map: Courtesy of freeworldmaps.net

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) party narrowly won an election in the eastern German state of Brandenburg. Three weeks after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made gains in two other east German states, the SPD came out on top. 

According to final results, the SPD won 30.9% of the votes while the AfD came a close second with 29.2%. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a new leftist movement, came in third with 13.5% while the centre-right Christian Democrats took 12.1%. 

The SPD’s victory brought a reprieve to Scholz, whose three-party governing coalition has fared poorly in elections so far this year. Social Democrats have governed Brandenburg since 1990, and a loss there would have been a major setback for Scholz, who has his constituency in the state capital of Potsdam. 

Any political defeat of the right-wing in any country is a victory, no matter how big or small. Germany holds federal elections October 2025.

This is the enemy.

Source:

Social Democrats narrowly beat out far-right in Brandenburg elections | Euronews

Chinese Aircraft Carrier Comes Closer Than Ever to Japan

In 2012, Liaoning (16; Chinese: 辽宁舰; pinyinLiáoníng Jiàn) was the first aircraft carrier commissioned in China’s navy after extensive refurbishing. Total airpower: 40 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. (Image source: http://www.armyrecognition.com).

On 18 Sep, a Chinese aircraft carrier sailed closer to Japan than ever before, prompting Tokyo to express serious concerns to Beijing about China’s increasing military activity in the region.

The Chinese carrier Liaoning, accompanied by two destroyers, entered Japan’s “contiguous zone” – a section of sea beyond territorial waters where Japan still exercises some control. According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, the fleet passed between Japan’s Yonaguni and Iriomote Islands, east of Taiwan.

Chinese warships also sailed near the disputed Senkaku Islands, which are controlled by Japan but claimed by China, where they are known as the Diaoyu Islands.

Hiroshi Moriya, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, condemned the incident, calling it “absolutely unacceptable” for national and regional security. He emphasized that China has been ramping up military activity around Japan in recent years. The Japanese government conveyed its concerns to China through diplomatic channels.

Tensions between the two nations have escalated following other recent incidents. Last month, Japan reported that a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft entered its airspace, followed by a Chinese survey ship breaching Japanese territorial waters near Kagoshima Prefecture.

In response, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, Lin Jian, defended the activity of Chinese warships, stating it was following both Chinese domestic laws and international regulations.

Japan has strengthened its defenses in the southwestern region, including remote islands, viewing them as critical to its overall defense strategy. China now has two more aircraft carriers, including one entirely designed and built domestically.

China is increasingly flexing its growing military power. This summer, two Chinese aircraft accompanied Russian bombers near Alaska for the first time and a military hospital ship has been treating patients for free along Africa’s coast (see previous posting on Coriolanus). This naval incident occurred during the annual UN General Assembly in NYC, so Beijing may also be testing its diplomatic prowess. According to the Global Firepower Index (GFI), China is ranked third out of 145 militaries surveyed; Japan is ranked seventh; Taiwan is ranked 24th.

Sources:

Chinese aircraft carrier comes closer than ever to Japan (bignewsnetwork.com)

Global Firepower – 2024 World Military Strength Rankings

US, Canada Consumer Safety Alert: LUCID Platform Beds Sold by Walmart, Target, Amazon Recalled

Photo of the recalled Lucid Upholstered Square Tufted Platform Bed (Charcoal)

Nearly 137,000 beds sold by major retailers Walmart, Target, and Amazon have been recalled because the frames could collapse or break, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). 890 were sold in Canada. So far, there have been 245 reports of the beds breaking or collapsing, which caused at least 18 injuries including contusions.

The beds were manufactured in Malaysia and sold online through Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Belk, Brookside, eBay, Home Depot, JCPenney, Lowes, Macy’s, Menards, Overstock, QVC, Sears, Target, Malouf VIP, Wayfair, and Walmart.

Customers should immediately stop using the recalled beds and contact Lucid for a free replacement bed frame.

Consumer Contact: Lucid toll-free at 888-910-0235 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday, or on Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, by email at recall@lucidmattress.com.

Sources:

CVB Recalls LUCID Platform Beds with Upholstered Square Tufted Headboards Due to Fall and Injury Hazards | CPSC.gov

Upholstered Platform Bed (lucidmattress.com)

Nearly 137,000 beds sold by Target, Walmart recalled for collapsing (scrippsnews.com)

SAS Flight Diverted After Mouse Scurries Out of Passenger’s In-Flight Meal

Economy class cabin of an SAS A350 (Photo: SAS)

A Scandinavian Airlines flight traveling from Norway to Spain was forced to make an emergency landing in Copenhagen, Denmark after a mouse scurried out of a passenger’s in-flight meal. A passenger said the situation was surprisingly calm. Passengers were later flown to the Spanish city of Malaga on a different plane without further incidents.

The emergency landing was part of SAS company procedures as the mouse posed a safety risk on board. Rodents can chew through electrical wiring, making them strictly forbidden on most airlines.

Source:

Flight diverted after mouse scurries out of passenger’s in-flight meal (scrippsnews.com)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

(Images: US Dept of Justice)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alabama Firearms Licenses in 2021: 194,920

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

Sources:

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

EveryStat – EveryStat.org

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

Ukraine Destroys 71 of 80 Russian Drones Overnight

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

ILA Union

Layout 1 (usmx.com)

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

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

Taiwan: Pesticide Found in Food Poisoning Victims

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source:

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

Iceland Locals Save Baby Puffins by Tossing Them Out to Sea

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

Inspired by Iceland

Beautiful Puffin and Shore View

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