86 Palestinians Killed in the Living Hell of Gaza as Israel Prepares to Invade

Note one of the mourners is missing an eye. (Photo: Palestinian Health Authority)

At least 91 Palestinians were killed and 284 others were wounded over the past 24 hours as the IDF prepares for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian death toll since Oct 2023 is now 54,381; 124,381 people are injured or maimed. The majority of the victims are women and children. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the IDF operation will lead to a complete takeover of the territory: “We are finally going to conquer the Gaza Strip.”

In March 2025, the American taxpayer expedited delivery of four billion dollars in military assistance to Israel.

The remains of the Indonesia Hospital in northern Gaza. (Photo: UN OCHA)

Displaced Palestinians trying to survive the IDF onslaught. (Photo: Public domain)

31 starving Palestinians were killed at this food distribution center. (Photo: Public domain)

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/01/middleeast/palestinians-killed-gaza-aid-center-intl-hnk

We Are Going to Build a Jewish State in the West Bank”

With those statements, Katz had a clear message for French President Emmanuel Macron “and his friends”: “They will recognize a Palestinian state on paper, and we will build the Jewish Israeli state on the ground here,” the defense minister said during his visit. “The paper will disappear into the trash of history and Israel will flourish and flourish.”

Earlier, Macron called the recognition of the Palestinian state “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity.” He also urged a tougher line from European countries against Israel if it does not respond to the disastrous humanitarian situation caused by the war in the Gaza Strip in the coming hours and days.

Rampaging Israeli settlers protected by the IDF attacking Palestinian vehicles driving at a section of Nablus-Jenin road in the north of the occupied West Bank.

In 2025, the death toll of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli forces and maniacal Settlers in the West Bank has reached 99, with 60% of these fatalities occurring in just four areas, including Jenin and the Nur Shams refugee camps. The Israeli cabinet just approved establishing 22 new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which marks the largest expansion of settlements in decades.

Source: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/ocha-humanitarian-situation-update-276-west-bank/

IDF Soldier Use of Human Shields Widespread

The boy shook constantly, he said, and both repeated “Rafah, Rafah” — Gaza’s southernmost city, where more than one million Palestinians had fled from fighting elsewhere at that point in the war. It seemed they were begging to be freed, the sergeant said.

Several Palestinians and soldiers told the AP that Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants. The dangerous practice has become ubiquitous during 19 months of war, like you can see below.

Palestinian Hazar Estity kisses her 21-month-old son, Nizar, who is being held by his grandmother, Nazek, on April 29, 2025, at an apartment in the West Bank town of Zababdeh. Estity says she was used as a human shield by Israeli soldiers. (Photo: AP / Nasser Nasser)

Some IDF soldiers and veterans with a sense of decency joined Breaking the Silence. You can read their testimony about IDF brutality here: https://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/

In 2024, PM Benjamin Netanyahu, an MIT graduate, skillfully used the hostage situation to continue military operations to depopulate the Palestinian population in Gaza and the West Bank, keep his corruption trial in abeyance, and tilt the US 2024 election towards Dotard Trumpf by alienating the antiwar segment of the Democratic Party (approximately 6,265,888 voters the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket had in 2020). An international arrest warrant for war crimes 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.

Ensuring American support for Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel is the notorious American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Their Islamophobic messaging and funding of pro-Israeli candidates in US elections ensures the uninterrupted flow of military and economic aid to Israel. AIPAC’s effective messaging of demonizing Arabs and Islamophobia explains why many American voters are indifferent to the plight of the Palestinian people. AIPAC talking points that “they” should have voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, “they” had previous chances at statehood and didn’t take it, or “they” are all terrorists, or pro-peace activists are all “Hamas lovers,” are all overused palaver. Blah-blah-blah. Thanks to AIPAC, the American taxpayer is complicit in ethnic cleansing and war crimes against the Palestinian people.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/31/middleeast/israel-gaza-strip-occupation-resources-dg

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-army-human-shields-80f358dd2c87a1123f26ffada159701c

https://www.demorgen.be/snelnieuws/live-midden-oosten-israel-opent-vuur-op-menigte-bij-hulpdistributiepunt-zeker-30-mensen-gedood~ba7f8873/

https://www.trackaipac.com/

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus?ind=Q05

https://www.state.gov/military-assistance-to-israel/

US Intelligence Community Update

Director of National Intelligence

Director of National Security Tulsi Gabbard wants to turn President Dotard Trumpf’s daily intel briefings into Fox News-type broadcasts because he “doesn’t read.” The most under-qualified person to ever the any US intelligence agency is hoping to add animations and more dynamic multimedia elements to Trumpf’s President’s Daily Briefs, or PDBs, to fit his viewing habits and hold his attention, five people with knowledge of the discussions told NBC News. Gabbard also reportedly consulted with current and former intelligence officials on bringing in a Fox News producer and host to reshape the PDBs “which are usually text and image-based for national security reasons” to deliver the intel in broadcast form. The process could involve granting the Fox News team security clearance to access classified information.

Source: https://archive.ph/4h2N9

More Stalinist Purges

Tulsi Gabbard fired two senior analysts from the prestigious National Intelligence Council (NIC) who disagreed with Dotard Trumpf about Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro and his alleged connection with a street gang called Tren de Aragua (TDA).

Half of the National Security Council’s (NSC) 350 members were abruptly removed and many were given two hours to clean out their desks. This was supposedly done as a cost-cutting measure, but the reality is the Trumpf junta is ensuring only loyal followers of the MAGA cult remain in positions of power in the US national security architecture.

Sources:

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/06/trump-venezuela-gangs-tda-intel-memo

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/national-security-council-cuts_n_6830f4cee4b0ca4a5f5699b9

FBI Arrests DIA Employee for Attempting to Sell Secrets

The FBI arrested Nathan Vilas Laatsch (28), a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) employee for attempting to transmit classified information to a friendly foreign government. Laatsch, who held a TS/SCI clearance, said that he had “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation” that he wanted to send. He said his reasoning for the decision was because he did not align with the current Trumpf junta’s policies. The FBI was subsequently tipped off and made contact with Laatsch under the guise of the aforementioned foreign government. Laatsch would end up transcribing and smuggling out classified products on two occasions to who he thought was an official of the friendly foreign government, and was arrested after the second exchange.

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

This is terrible. Nathan Vilas Laatsch worked ten years at Publix before finally getting his break with a position at DIA, only to be disgusted by the Trumpf junta, motivating him to sell secrets. This young man threw his life away. Decades ago DIA was a fine place to work, but who knows how toxic the environment is now under the white supremacist Trumpf junta?

Source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-government-employee-arrested-attempting-provide-classified-information-foreign-government

CIA Update

Civilian Sleuth Exposes CIA Tradecraft

404 Media reported that Ciro Santilli, an amateur security researcher, discovered that the CIA had been using several Star Wars sites in the early 2000s to communicate with informants in other countries (Image: Cirosantilli2/Wikimedia Commons)

Ciro Santilli, an amateur security researcher, discovered that CIA had been using several Star Wars sites in the early 2000s to communicate with informants in other countries. One such site is StarWarsWeb.net. Santilli dug through hundreds of domain names and analyzed each of the sites’ HTML and even used bots to bypass the Wayback Machine, a massive archive of the internet, to see what the website might have looked like at its launch.

The unassuming site, which is decked out in pictures of R2D2 and C-3P0, a stock image of a boy dressed as a Jedi, also includes ads for the latest Star Wars video games and Lego sets. (Image: cirosantilli.com)

In order to chat with their CIA handler, informants would simply have to enter a password into the search bar, and a pop-up window would appear. The sites were forced to shut down after the Iranian government doubled down on its efforts to find informants who may be speaking with American intelligence agencies in 2018.

“The CIA really failed with this,” said Bill Marczak of the University of Toledo’s Citizen Lab. According to Marczak, the messaging system “stuck out like a sore thumb.”

By 2011, Iranian authorities successfully dismantled the CIA network in its country, and either executed or imprisoned the informants. Likewise, it was reported that authorities in China also found similar websites being used in their country and executed more than two dozen CIA sources between 2011 and 2012.

Other sites include a fan site for the late comedian Johnny Carson, a site about extreme sports, and one about Brazillan music. (Image: cirosantilli.com)

The outlet reports that some of the sites targeted France, Spain, and Brazil based on their language and content. (Image: cirosantilli.com).

Israel, North Korea, Russia, Israel, and China have competent and experienced counterintelligence organizations. Cultivating and handling HUMINT sources in hostile environments with sophisticated or pervasive surveillance systems is therefore a daunting challenge for CIA and DIA. If a civilian sleuth like Ciro Santilli was able to piece this CIA operation together, imagine how easily America’s adversaries were able to unravel this program and neutralize the informants. CIA and DIA adopted other methods of clandestinely communicating with their sources since this operation which Coriolanus is aware of, so that means the enemy is also aware. Moreover, Trumpf’s idiotic purge of the USIC will make intelligence collection even more difficult with the loss of experienced operators, analysts, and investigators.

Messages were posted in Mandarin, Farsi and Korean on various CIA accounts. CIA/ Facebook

Source: https://archive.ph/oPiLu

Drunk Driver Lucky Not to Be Killed by CIA Security Officers

Background: CIA new headquarters building in Langley, Virginia (CIA.gov) Inset: Monia Spadaro (Alexandria Sheriff’s Office)

Security officers shot Monia Spadaro who was driving in the wrong lane toward CIA headquarters. The drunkard was driving her gray Toyota Corolla at about 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, 22 May, when she traveled on to CIA HQ in Langley, Virginia. The federal sign at the front entrance reads: “WARNING: RESTRICTED US GOVERNMENT INSTALLATION” and prohibiting entry to people “without proper authorization.”

Spadaro reportedly entered the complex in the outbound lane of traffic — causing a CIA police officer in a marked CIA vehicle to flash their lights and activate their sirens.

She continued toward the main security gate “while executing several reckless maneuvers” by driving on the wrong side of the road and swerving from one lane to the other. Another CIA officer reportedly tried to stop the car, but it sped up, and as it reached the gate, the officer fired shots at the car and hit Spadaro. The defendant was treated at a local hospital and then arraigned before a federal magistrate in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Miss Spadaro is lucky to be alive. She could have been easily killed by CIA security personnel who did not know whether she was a terrorist, saboteur, lunatic, or drunkard.

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

Source:

Canada: Thousands Flee Massive Wildfires in Northern Manitoba; Evacuation Orders in Alberta and Saskatchewan

Massive wildfires burning out of control in western and central Canada are forcing thousands to flee as dire forecasts for the country’s fire season come to fruition. The intensifying blazes are also sending hazardous smoke toward major cities in the US.

The premiers of Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces have declared monthlong states of emergency, and much of Canada, from the Northwest Territories and Alberta to Ontario, are at “extreme” risk of wildfires. — the highest level on Environment Canada’s fire risk scale.

A wildfire in the Sherridon, Man. area is shown in a government handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO – Manitoba Government

There are just over 170 wildfires burning across Canada, about half of them uncontrolled. The country raised its National Preparedness Level to 5 of 5, unusually high for this early in the fire season. Last year, Canada didn’t reach that level until 15 July.

These fires are the result of global climate changing and are going to add pollution and carbon into the atmosphere, reducing the Air Quality Index (AQI) in surrounding areas. The habitats of thousands of animals are being destroyed, along with people’s homes and properties. Insurance costs are going to skyrocket after paying out for the losses.

The new Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, has several challenges on his plate. Besides dealing with the new geo-political landscape caused by Dotard Trumpf and war criminals Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin, Mr. Carney must deal with this natural catastrophe. But the new PM holds a doctoral degree and assembled a competent cabinet which will deal with all of these issues logically. Link: https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/cabinet

Sources:

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/wildfires/article/evacuation-orders-impact-thousands-as-wildfires-continue-burning-in-manitoba-saskatchewan-alberta/

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/29/weather/canada-wildfires-smoke-midwest-climate

https://www.saskpublicsafety.ca/emergencies-and-response/active-incidents

https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/readouts/2025/05/30/prime-minister-carney-convenes-incident-response-group

US: Multi-State Food Recall for Salmonella-Tainted Cucumbers From Florida

The FDA informs: “Bedner Growers, Inc. of Boynton Beach, FL is voluntarily recalling cucumbers sold at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market between 29 Apr and 14 May 2025 because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.”

The cucumbers are being recalled because they have been linked by the FDA to a Salmonella outbreak that has resulted in 26 illnesses in AL, CA, CO, FL, IL, KS, KY, MI, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, and VA.

Florida is probably one of the worst managed states in America, led by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who graduated Yale University and Harvard Law School. His handling of the COVID epidemic was a disaster as his is response to escalating gun violence in the Sunshine State: tax holidays for firearm purchases. DeSantis wasted money on establishing an election police and empowered local police forces to enforce immigration laws. Tourism is crashing in Florida, farms have lost migrant workers, and the orange juice industry is falling apart. We should expect more calamities from Florida because of poor governance during natural disasters, as well as uncontrolled gun violence and unvaccinated people.

Source:

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/bedner-growers-inc-recalls-cucumbers-because-possible-health-risk

US: Dangerous Invasive Tick Spreading

Per the CDC, the number of people diagnosed in 2022 with tick-borne diseases in the US rose to 62,551. In the previous decade, infections averaged about 33,000 a year. With climate change raising temperatures, tick populations have expanded into new regions and put more people in contact with ticks and their illness-causing bacteria.

Sources:

https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/caes/publications/caes-press-release-invasive-longhorned-tick-infection-5-27-25.pdf?rev=a916f5a25703451994cecca4a8721600&hash=64A38C08E5838D15D88091BF928C6B47

USAToday

Legionnaires Disease Detected in Las Vegas

Five travel-associated cases of Legionnaires’ disease are being investigated by the Southern Nevada Health District. Four individuals have recovered and one remains hospitalized.

Following notification of cases, the Health District conducted environmental water sampling at the facilities the travelers stayed at. Multiple water samples tested positive for Legionella, the bacteria that can cause Legionnaires’ disease, the release said.

Legionnaires’ disease symptoms typically begin within two to 10 days after exposure to the bacteria. However, people should watch for symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches and headaches for up to two weeks after exposure.

Source:

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/8323167/Grandview-Legionella-Investigation

Endnote: The Trumpf junta published its long-awaited report Making America Healthy Again, which was rife with errors and poor or missing citations. Hardcopies of the report would make excellent kindling for the fireplace. HHS cancelled a $590 million contract with Moderna to develop a vaccine for avian flu and the Trump junta terminated the CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program as part of the agency’s reduction in force. In Nov 2023, the FDA had recalled these three children’s beverages below because they were linked to lead poisoning.

Link: FDA

A recent report suggested that Felon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had a dust-up in the White House and Musk was seen with a black eye in the Oval Office which he attributed to his five-year-old son inaptly named “X.”

The Worst Person in the World sporting a black eye. Felon Musk won’t be going away anytime soon as a “special government employee.” Expect more corruption, as well as mega-contracts and zero regulation of his companies.

Simply put, the Trumpf junta’s health, economic, diplomatic, intelligence, and national security departments are led by incompetents, lickspittles, political hacks, oligarchs, and mountebanks. The arch-malefactor is oligarch Felon Musk. Their policies do not promote the security, safety, or health of the American people. Dotard Trumpf has turned the White House into a three-ring circus which will endanger American lives while robbing them blind, as you will read more about below.

Russia: Deputy Mayor of Stavropol Neutralized by Explosion

See video of operation in link: https://mamul.am/en/news/326364

An international arrest warrant issued by the ICC for war crimes remains active for Russian President Vladimir Putin. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innnocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Germany: Two Heroes in Stabbing Rampage Muslim Refugees

Muhammad al-Muhammad helped to halt a knife attack in Hamburg in which 18 people were injured. (Photo: Marco Zitzow/BILD/BILD Fotoservice)

There were no calls from neo-Nazis to shut down Germany’s borders after this terrorist rampage because the perpetrator was a white German native woman. A 2023 analysis found that both print and television German media reported five times more on violent crimes when the suspect was a foreigner. Munich-based Ifo Institute found there was no correlation between migration and higher crime rates. In June 2024, some 3.48 million refugees with varying types of residency permits were living in Germany, a country of 84,198,272 people, and the third largest economy in the world. Germany provides universal health care for its residents, is cracking down on Neo-Nazis, and is generously helping Ukraine fend off Russian aggression. 

Gut arbet, Muhammad, live long and prosper in Germany; Coriolanus enjoyed his assignment there decades ago.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/26/hamburg-knife-attack-syrian-refugee

https://www.ifo.de/en/press-release/2025-02-18/more-foreigners-do-not-increase-germanys-crime-rate#:~:text=Migration%20to%20Germany%20does%20not,and%20the%20local%20crime%20rate.

South Africa: Pet Baby Hippo Kills Owner

The late Major Marius Els with Humphrey (Photo: Social media)

An army Major from Free State province of South Africa met a horrifying end after he was mauled to death by his pet hippo who he took in as a baby and treated ‘like a son.’ Marius Els (40) was bitten to death by the 1.2 ton hippo he named Humphrey. He had brought Humphrey to his 400 acre farm where the animal learned to swim with humans. A clip of Els riding the 2,000-pound beast like a horse went viral after many people were shocked he was able to accomplish such a feat.

But there had been several signs the animal would never be able to be domesticated — including an incident where a 52-year-old man and his seven-year-old grandson had to climb a tree to get away from the hippo when they canoed through the section of river on Els’ farm where Humphrey lived. Els reportedly tempted the hippo away with an apple while the pair were rescued by paramedics.

Els’s widow, Louise — a pharmacist — also expressed misgivings, as the hippo had caused trouble before. Humphrey had chased golfers on a nearby course and killed several calves belonging to Els’ business partner.

But Els’ himself was always upbeat about his unusual relationship with the animal. He said: “Humphrey’s like a son to me, he’s just like a human. There’s a relationship between me and Humphrey and that’s what some people don’t understand.”

“They think you can only have a relationship with dogs, cats, and domestic animals. But I have a relationship with the most dangerous animal in Africa.”

“I can swim with him. I go in the water. He allows me to get on his back, and I ride him like a horse. He swims with me. He’s like a son to me.”

But unfortunately for the animal lover, the situation did not end well for him after Humphrey turned on him — resulting in Major Els being killed by the hippo. Paramedics found Els immersed in a river and “had been bitten several times by the animal.” It was unclear how long he had been lying in the water.

Here is a video of what an adult hippopotamus is capable of:

Photo by William Warby on Flickr CC BY 2.0 (Cropped from original).

Hippos are formidable creatures and are armed with giant canine teeth — they are said to kill more people every year than lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo, and rhinos combined. Vegetarians, adult hippos have no predators because of their huge size, thick skin, ferocious temperament, and powerful jaws, but young hippos are vulnerable to Nile crocodiles, leopards, lions, and spotted hyenas.

While the common hippo (Hippopotamus amphibious) is categorized as vulnerable, its smaller relative, the pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis or Hexaprotodon liberiensis), does have a place on the endangered species list. Both species continue to be threatened by illegal hunting and shrinking habitats.

Source:

https://www.unilad.com/news/us-news/pet-hippo-mauled-owner-humphrey-marius-els-south-africa-491517-20250528

Sidenote: South Africa President Cyril Cyril Ramaphosa had recently rebuked Dotard Trumpf’s mythological claim that white Afrikaners are being persecuted in his country. But one such “persecuted” Boer who took advantage of the resettlement plan in the US established a website with resource information to help other Boers emigrate to America:

https://www.refugeforafrikaners.com/

The website author ridiculously wrote that rightwing Fox News and Newsmax are “Trusted News Sources.” At the bottom of the website is a gif of the Dotard doing a silly dance.

‘Verloorder’ is Afrikaans for “loser.”

Mexico Fighting Organized Water Pilferage

Authorities in the Mexican state of Michoacán are employing satellite technology to counter water theft, as criminal groups exploiting an increasingly scarce and valuable natural resource.  The environmental surveillance system will monitor deforestation and land-use, as well as the 35,000 privately-owned irrigation reservoirs to ensure they are not illegally filled during the dry season. If the reservoirs are filled, the government will investigate the source of the water used. 

The system, which is backed by NASA and EU satellites, would permit authorities to “address environmental crimes on a large scale like never before in the state’s history.”

Nearly 76% of Mexico experienced drought through the end of May 2024, according to the North American Drought Monitor (NADM) and the soil has not yet fully recovered. That was the most widespread drought Mexico has experienced since 30 Jun 2011, when 85% of the country was affected.

In March, the Trumpf junta callously refused to release Colorado River water to Mexico, making that the first time the US had refused to release water in their 80-year partnership agreement. On 28 April in the spirit of good fellowship, Mexico said it would meet its water-sharing responsibilities with the US to help Texas ranchers and farmers. This past January, Dotard Trumpf idiotically wasted 2.2 billion gallons of California’s precious water, against the wishes of the US Army Corps of Engineers and Sacramento. Weather predictions indicate this summer will prove to be punishing in the American Southwest.

Sources:

https://insightcrime.org/news/water-scarcity-is-a-boom-for-mexican-organized-crime/

https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/04/welcoming-mexicos-water-deliveries-to-the-united-states-and-steps-to-meet-1944-water-treaty-requirements/

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/multi-year-drought-and-heat-waves-across-mexico-2024

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/03/climate/trump-california-water-dams-reservoirs

Donald Trumpf and Cronies Make Fortune in White House

Two Mega-Goniffs Score With $2bn Investment from Abu Dhabi

The investment by a firm controlled by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund will go to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm whose biggest beneficiaries are the Trumpf and Witkoff families. Thanks to Abu Dhabi’s purchase of their “stablecoin”, the Trumpfs and Witkoffs will collect hefty fees and could reap hundreds of millions of dollars in interest payments.

Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/30/trump-steve-witkoff-envoy

Felon Musk Tried to Block Massive Trumpf-backed Mideast AI Deal Unless He Was Included

The worst person in the world rushed to the Mideast to hold up a massive Trumpf-endorsed American AI operation in Abu Dhabi unless it included him. That apparently explains Felon Musk’s sudden appearance at a Trumpf meeting with Saudi Arabia officials during the president’s three-country Middle East vacation.

Trumpf was about to announce a huge AI partnership on foreign soil with America’s OpenAI, run by Musk’s arch rival Sam Altman, and the United Arab Emirates’ G42 company to build a Stargate UAE campus in Abu Dhabi.

The operation would also include America’s Oracle, Nvidia, and Cisco, and Japan’s SoftBank as part of the UAE’s push to become a major AI player. The new venture will be the biggest AI campus outside the US.

The Dotard must have said ‘WTF is Elon doing here?’ like when he blocked Musk’s secret China war briefing a few months ago. Trumpf and his cronies have completely erased the lines between government and private business, making mega fortunes for themselves and there is little the American people can do about their abominable corruption and greed.

Source:

www.the-independent.com

Kitten Comforts Crying Abandoned Puppy

You can hear the robust purr of the kitten comforting the poor puppy.

After US Republican Budget Passes, Israel Renews Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza, Killing 400 on First Day

Followers of the Watch, keeping up with the nefarious Donald Trumpf junta is challenging, but Coriolanus will do his utmost to capture the most salient issues, beginning with the renewed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and how we got here.

Schumer’s security concerns: “Jewish Voice for Peace” volunteers. Above is a sit-in at Trumpf Tower, NY.

So, why did Senator Schumer cave in to the Republicans and the oligarchs without a fight?

“Chuck Schumer: The Man Who Let American Fascism Rise Without a Fight” (Photo: Kent Nishimura for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Connecting the dots for a retired US Army intelligence officer can be tricky at times, but not on this occasion. Across the Atlantic Ocean, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is facing more domestic challenges to his iron-fisted rule. He announced that he is trying to fire his Director of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, who knows all the secrets of Netanyahu’s mishandling and cover-up of the 7 Oct 2023 surprise attacks. Netanyahu’s corruption trial is also hobbling him.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s greatest threats aren’t Iran, the Palestinians, or the Houthis. His most dangerous enemies are D/Mossad David Barnea, D/Shin Bet Ronen Bar, D/Mossad David Barnea, and Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara.

So, what happens next? The US budget is passed, freeing billions of dollars of aid to Israel. Over the weekend, Donald Trumpf orders the bombing of the Houthis in south Yemen, a Shia tribe aligned with Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah (LH). The Houthis are undergoing a man-made famine thanks to Sunni Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS), whose ground forces were unable to defeat the Shias. The Houthis counter-attack against Israeli shipping in the Gulf of Aden or the Red Sea on behalf of Iran and LH, since they and the UN are the only entities helping them.

By conducting this military strike, Trumpf is killing two birds with one stone, doing a favor to both Benjamin Netanyahu and Muhammad Bin Salman. Below is the Dotard fascinated by the video feed of brown-skinned people being nebulized by powerful precision rocket strikes from USCENTCOM forces:

Before golfing in West palm Beach, Trumpf called the Houthis “barbarians.”

Given the financial green light from the US budget thanks to Chuck Schumer, and the political green light from Trumpf, Netanyahu announces that Hamas has reneged on the ceasefire and begins a brutal attack on the people in Gaza. On the first day of the renewed Nakba, the IDF killed 400 Palestinians. As a wartime Prime Minister, Netanyahu again delays his corruption trial and drowns out talks of inquiries. This was all done in one week.

An international arrest warrant issued by the ICC for Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes remain active.

Adjusting 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.

Regardless if a Labor or Likud Prime Minister was leading Israel, Senator Chuck Schumer’s voting patterns in the US Congress reflect that he wants to ensure the uninterrupted flow of American taxpayer funds to Israel. This is why his critics refer to him as the “Senior Senator from Israel.” Unlike US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) who called for stopping US military aid to Israel during the Nakba, Senator Schumer timidly called for Israel to hold elections against Netanyahu. The most powerful lobbying group in the US is AIPAC. Bernie Sanders and AOC do not receive a dime from AIPAC.

Simply put, US Senator Chuck Schumer put the interests of the State of Israel ahead of the interests of the American people, and everybody knows it. Hence, the chorus of calls for him to step down as Senate Minority Leader. Serious discussions have arisen about challenging him in a primary. And who cares if hundreds of Arabs are needlessly killed or American servicemembers in the Middle East are put in harm’s way?

Two indicted criminals awaiting justice. (Photo:  Carlos Barria / Reuters)

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

“Uh, just one more thing, Senator…”

Citations:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-says-it-is-striking-hamas-targets-in-gaza-and-will-intensify-military-force/ar-AA1B7jjz

https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/newsletter/20231102-House-Passes-143B-Israel-Aid-Bill-Setting-Clash-Senate

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/senate-leader-schumer-says-chamber-will-rush-through-military-aid-israel-2023-10-15/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/chuck-schumer-push-stripped-israel-ukraine-aid-package-gop-blocks-sena-rcna137661

https://www.commondreams.org/news/government-shutdown-2025

https://www.businessinsider.com/netanyahu-white-house-trump-recognizes-golan-heights-israel-2019-3

https://indivisibleeb.org/

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/schumer-not-leader-need

https://www.trackaipac.com/states/newyork

https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-says-hell-fire-shin-bet-chief-bar-ag-says-he-cant-before-legal-review/

https://www.timesofisrael.com/arrogance-and-inherent-blindness-civil-probe-slams-netanyahu-for-oct-7-failures/

How much aid does the US give to Israel? (usafacts.org)

Russia-Ukraine Update

The most important fact to remember is Vladimir Putin and Donald Trumpf are not good faith actors, like Benjamin Netanyahu and Elon Musk.

Ukraine and Russia Exchange 175 POWs

Ukraine secures return of 175 defenders from Russian captivity on 19 Mar (Photo: Zelensky / Telegram)

175 Ukrainian soldiers were released after a one-for-one prisoner trade with Russia. Another 22 Ukrainian service members returned through negotiations outside of the one-for-one swap. “This is one of the largest exchanges. Our soldiers, sergeants and officers are returning. The soldiers who fought for our freedom in the Armed Forces, Navy, National Guard, Territorial Defense Forces and Border Guard,” President Volodomir Zelensky stated. These 175 Ukrainian POWs are lucky to be alive because elements of the Russian forces have been torturing and executing prisoners since Putin launched his invasion in Feb 2022, as you have read here on Coriolanus.

Look how happy this poor guy is to be free from the clutches of the Russians. (Photo: Zelensky / Telegram)

Russia has lost 897,010 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on 24 Feb 2022. The number includes 1,560 casualties suffered just over the past day according to the General Staff of Ukraine Armed Forces.

Russia has also lost 10,352 tanks, 21,509 armored fighting vehicles, 40,892 vehicles and fuel tanks, 24,640 artillery systems, 1,319 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,107 air defense systems, 370 airplanes, 331 helicopters, 29,616 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.

This has been quite an expensive war for the Pariah State in terms of population, materiel, morale, and international reputation. No doubt Vladimir Putin enjoyed reading about US military casualties and costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, only to find he vastly surpassed US losses in only three years.

Putin Increased Sabotage Attacks to Pressure Europe and US

Over the past two years, Russia has significantly increased sabotage against European countries that support Ukraine. The number of attacks on critical infrastructure quadrupled in 2023 and tripled in 2024. Moscow is waging a covert campaign against submarine cables, warehouses, and rail networks in Europe in an attempt to put pressure on the West. Poland blamed Russia for the fire at this Warsaw shopping center pictured above.

Lithuanian authorities assess that Russian military intelligence organized and funded the Ikea store arson attack in Vilnius in 2024. The main suspect in the incident engaged with “Russian military and security services” and accepted payment as part of a terrorist organization plotting attacks in both Lithuania and Latvia. The suspect is said to have planted a timed fuse in the store on 9 May 2024, which was activated overnight.

After filming the fire and sending the footage, the suspect in the case attempted to cover up their tracks and fled to Warsaw — where they picked up a BMW as a reward for completing the task.

Saboteur activity has decreased in recent weeks against the backdrop of US diplomatic efforts to end the war. Experts predict that attacks may resume after the adoption of new European decisions on assistance to Ukraine.

Putin Puts Trumpf Call on Hold While Talking to Oligarchs

Trumpf reacts in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, 6 Mar 2025 (Photo: Reuters / Evelyn Hockstein)

Russian President Vladimir Putin waved off concerns that he was making US President Donald Trumpf wait for a planned phone call on the Ukraine war as he was speaking to Russian oligarchs instead. Financial Times Moscow Bureau Chief Max Seddon noted Tuesday morning that Putin was speaking to the group even though the call with Trump was due on his schedule.

“Putin is meant to be speaking to Trumpf around now, but he is talking to a room full of oligarchs instead,” Seddon wrote on X. “Asked if he’s going to be late, Putin waves off the question and says not to listen to his spokesman.”

This is what happens when the court jester is crowned as king. Republicans voted for this and own it.

French Legislators Condemn Trumpf

The Statue of Liberty in Paris, France.

Paris should take back the Statue of Liberty because the US no longer represents the values that led France to offer the statue, French Euro-Deputy Raphael Glucksmann demanded. “Give us back the Statue of Liberty. We’re going to say to the Americans who have chosen to side with the tyrants, to the Americans who fired researchers for demanding scientific freedom: ‘Give us back the Statue of Liberty,'” he told cheering supporters. “‘We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,'” he added.

French Senator Claude Malhuret castigated Trumpf and compared the White House to the court of insane Roman Emperor Nero: “Never in history has a President of the United States capitulated to the enemy. Never has anyone supported an aggressor against an ally.”

Malhuret continued: “We were at war with a dictator, now we are fighting a dictator backed by a traitor.”

Meanwhile, the outgoing German government agreed to release an additional three billion euros ($3.3 billion) in military assistance for Ukraine. They also warned their citizens about traveling to the US because of the recent detention of their citizens by ICE.

As you read here on Coriolanus, the European powers and Canada are organizing a defense of Ukraine without the US. France announced that it will provide intelligence, most likely satellite imagery and SIGINT, to Kiev as well as extend its independent nuclear arsenal to “allies.” This is what happens when the President of the United States is a Russian asset.

Citations:

https://www.euronews.com/2025/03/17/lithuania-says-russian-military-intelligence-behind-ikea-arson-attack-in-vilnius

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-returns-175-ukrainian-service-members-from-russian-captivity/

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1148026

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-putin-ukraine-phone-call/

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-monitoring-us-detentions-of-its-citizens/a-71952116

North Korea Publicly Executes Three Men for Trying to Escape by Boat

A North Korean navy ship, top right, patrols near fishing boats at South Korea-controlled Yeonpyeong island, 31 May 2009. (Photo: Byun Yeong Wook / AFP)

North Korea publicly executed three men — shooting each with 90 machine gun rounds — for attempting to flee to democratic South Korea by boat. Authorities then burned their corpses in front of horrified residents of the town, who were forced to watch. The three victims, all in their 30s, had been caught in January. In Dec 2023, hundreds of residents were forced to gather at an airfield in frigid weather to watch authorities execute a 23-year-old man by firing squad. His alleged crime was murdering a woman while trying to steal about $6 worth of beans from her. Public executions are a common occurrence in North Korea, for crimes like murder or human trafficking, or even distribution South Korean videos.

A North Korean defector reacts next to a drawing depicting a public execution of a North Korean soldier, at a human rights rally in Seoul, South Korea, 14 Apr 2011. (Photo: AP)

Sadistic North Korean supremo Kim Jong-un fattens himself and his treasury by sending cannon fodder to Russia and keeping their salaries. Pyongyang is also making money through criminal enterprises, like the recent massive crypto-heist which you read about here on Coriolanus. While his people are starving, North Korean soldiers are selling their equipment for money and scrounging for cigarette butts on sidewalks.

North Korean cigarette pack.

The North Korean army is ordering soldiers to stop scrounging the streets for cigarette butts to smoke even as commanders keep some of the soldiers’ monthly cigarette rations for themselves. In the past, it was just the lower-ranked soldiers who looked for butts, but now even the higher-ranked soldiers are doing it too. Each soldier is supposed to get 15 packs per month in rations, but the higher ranks skim off the top. In the case of the border guards, each soldier used to be supplied with 15 packs of Baekseung-brand cigarettes per month, but since last fall, they have only been supplied with 10 packs. Female soldiers are forbidden from smoking, so they trade their ration of cigarettes for other things.

North Korean soldiers smoke cigarettes as they stand on the banks of the Yalu River near Sinuiju, 4 May 2014. (Photo:  Jacky Chen / Reuters)

Hungry North Korean soldiers are selling some of their military equipment to buy food, prompting officials to conduct inspections that have caught some soldiers without all their issued gear. Though the country’s military is often said to be under-supplied, military-grade items tend to be of better quality than products civilians can obtain, so are viewed as desirable. Weapons are used often during training, but personal gear like tents, lunch boxes, canteens and waterproof rice containers are not used as often, so some soldiers figure they won’t be missed.

In North Korea, able-bodied men are required to serve ten years in the 1.2 million-strong military after high school, from around age 18, while able-bodied women must serve seven years. But rations can be small and new recruits plead with their parents for food after enlisting.

Kim Jong-un enjoying his cigarettes and light refreshment while his people starve and his soldiers scrounge the streets for butts.

Victor Hugo wrote in Les Miserables: “There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher.” 

US President Donald Trump (R) and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un shake hands following a signing ceremony during their historic US-North Korea summit. (Photo: Saul Loeb/ / AFP / Getty Images)

In 2018, President Trumpf took his enthusiasm for his detente with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to new heights, declaring at a rally with supporters that “we fell in love” after exchanging letters.

Citations:

https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/public-execution-12222023162046.html

https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2025/03/19/north-korea-soldiers-cigarette-butts/

https://www.rfa.org/english/korea/2025/03/15/north-korea-soldiers-sell-gear/

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/we-fell-in-love-trump-swoons-over-letters-from-north-koreas-kim-idUSKCN1MA03L/

US: Louisiana Prisoner Executed With Nitrogen Gas

The late Jessie Hoffman Jr was convicted of murder.

Louisiana executed a man convicted of murder with nitrogen gas on Tuesday evening, the state’s first execution in 15 years and its first using the largely-untested method. A raging legal battle ended with a gas mask strapped over his face in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola death chamber. State officials pronounced Jessie Hoffman Jr. dead at 6:50 p.m. Tuesday at Angola. He inhaled pure nitrogen gas through a mask strapped to his face for 19 minutes while pinned to a gurney, until oxygen deprivation caused him to die. Officials acknowledged that Hoffman showed “convulsive activity” as he died and that he moved and shook.

An appeal stated that since Hoffman is a Buddhist, his breathing and meditation practices would be disrupted by the execution process. “Kill me with a firing squad, at least then, I’ll be able to breathe air at the time of my death,’ Hoffman requested. The state said no.

Dead Man Walking (1995) with global activist nonpareil Sean Penn took place in a Louisiana death row. Susan Sarandon portrayed Sister Helen Prejean who continues advocating against the death penalty.

Sister Helen Prejean. (Undated photo)

When Trumpf bombed the starving Houthis, he called them “barbarians.” Republican-controlled red states are using firing squads and now nitrogen gas to execute prisoners, as if the death penalty will deter violent crime or bring back the victims. Perhaps these faux Christians in the Republican Party will bring back lapidation as a punishment.

Citation:

https://www.nola.com/news/courts/jessie-hoffman-nitrogen-gas-louisiana-execution-death-penalty/article_be325356-03bb-11f0-8525-a3855f3523b9.html

Ireland’s Little-Known Intelligence Agency: J2

EU member Ireland has a population of approximately 5,233,461 people who enjoy a $114,900 GDP per capita. 7,500 active-duty personnel make up the Irish armed forces, which is not part of NATO. In terms of military strength, Ireland is ranked 97 out of 145 countries by the Global Firepower Index (GFI), yet her military successfully participates in UN peacekeeping missions worldwide. In fact, Ireland “punches above her weight” on the geo-political stage.

Besides the armed forces and the Garda (the national constabulary), protecting Ireland is a small, but effective secretive agency called “J2”. Excerpted from Spyscape with gratitude, let’s see one of the reasons why welterweight Ireland effectively punches as a heavyweight in international affairs.

FTA:

“Ireland’s Directorate of Military Intelligence, AKA J2, is one of the most secretive units in Europe and the main intelligence branch of the Defense Forces.

J2 has been monitoring suspected Russian spies at Moscow’s embassy in Dublin since the compound opened in 1973 and deploys alongside Irish forces on international duties.

J2 is the national intelligence service of the Irish Armed Forces operating domestically and internationally. Traditionally, J2’s work in Ireland has focused on suspected terrorists and terrorist sympathizers but J2 also gathers intelligence from UN mission reports and other sources that would be helpful to Irish peacekeeping forces abroad. Ireland’s secret service retained its €2m ($2.18m) annual funding as part of the 2024 Budget, reportedly up from €750,000 in 2019.

Irish peacekeepers in the Golan Heights (Undated photo: Defense Forces)

Staff are drawn from the Army, Naval Service, and Air Corps. The service is under the command of a Colonel, known as the Director of Military Intelligence, who provides a monthly intelligence briefing to Ireland’s Minister for Defense. J2’s current director is not named

J2’s HQ is believed to be at McKee Barracks in Dublin.

Internally, J2 works with Ireland’s national police counterterrorism and counter-espionage unit known as the Garda Síochána (Guardian of the Peace) Special Detective Unit. Externally, J2 liaises with foreign intelligence agencies like CIA, as well as government and non-governmental agencies.

G2/J2

G2 – The Office of the Directorate of Intelligence began in the 1920s as the intelligence arm of the Irish Army following the Anglo-Irish Treaty, a designation used to refer to an Army intelligence, security, and information branch.

J2 – The Directorate later became the intelligence service for the entire Irish Armed Forces, and J2 now refers to joint services for the Army, Naval Service, and Air Corps, as well as its national security roles.

Known Operations

While Ireland was militarily ‘neutral’ in WWII, G2 had secret agreements with Britain’s MI5 and the US Office of Strategic Services (the predecessor to the CIA). G2 intercepted German naval and aerial communications through Irish listening stations and apprehended more than a dozen Nazi spies including notorious spy Hermann Görtz. Ireland also broke German codes during the war, under the supervision of cryptologist Richard J. Hayes.

Army officers reportedly headed to Portugal in 1943 posing as Red Cross officials delivering supplies (including 52 tons of potatoes) to neutral Portugal for refugees in Spain. Their real mission – dubbed Spuds for Secrets by the Irish media – was to gather intel on Irish minister Leopold H. Kerney in Madrid. Kerney had met with Edmund Veesenmayer, one of the Nazis involved in plotting secret German operations in Ireland. G2 contacted British spies in Lisbon and Madrid and had a good look around but eventually concluded Kerney was neutral.

From the late 1960s to 1998, G2 was said to be involved in intelligence-gathering operation during ‘The Troubles’, the decades-long conflict drawn largely along religious lines between Catholics and Protestants. G2 officers crossed the border into Northern Ireland on intelligence-gathering missions from 1969.

J2 military intelligence had their hands full monitoring the comings and goings at the Russian Embassy in Dublin, established in 1973. Within a decade, Ireland expelled three suspected KGB spies. Five decades later, J2 is still at it, The Irish Times reports. J2 conducts limited work in the embassy area, sometimes using the Army Ranger Wing to carry out surveillance.

Irish journalist Rory Carroll

In 2005, Arabic-speaking J2 officers were reportedly deployed in Iraq following the kidnapping of Irish journalist Rory Carroll in Baghdad by militants. With J2 working alongside the British and American governments, Carroll was released unharmed and returned safely to Dublin.

Lisa Smith. As a soldier, she had worked on the PM’s private plane.

In 2019, J2 reportedly drew up a plan with US military intelligence to extract Lisa Smith, a former Irish Army soldier who converted to Islam and allegedly joined ISIS militants. According to some reports, J2’s extraction plan was rejected by the Irish government but Ms. Smith was brought back to Ireland in 2019 and charged with terror offenses. Ms. Smith denies the charges.

In 2023, the Irish military launched a recruiting campaign to hire Russian language and cultural analysts to work with intelligence officers – Arabic and Chinese specialists have already been hired. The Journal reported that the job would feed into data gathered by J2.”

Citations:

https://spyscape.com/article/j2-spies-who-are-irelands-equivalent-to-the-cia

https://www.thejournal.ie/russian-irish-defence-forces-linguist-6066714-May2023/

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

https://www.ireland.ie/en/un/newyork/

New Strain of Bird Flu Wipes Out Mississippi Poultry Farm

A new strain of a highly pathogenic bird flu known as H7N9 has surfaced at a poultry farm in Mississippi where chickens are raised for breeding.

The finding of the new strain came as researchers separately reported a potentially positive development: Exposure to human seasonal flu may confer some immunity to H5N1 bird flu.

The new strain found in Noxubee County, Miss., was confirmed 12 Mar and all of the roughly 46,000 birds either died or were euthanized after the infection spread, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and Mississippi’s Board of Animal Health. None of the birds entered the food supply.

Authorities didn’t say how the birds were infected, although federal wildlife agents had been identifying low-pathogenic versions of the H7N9 virus for several years in wild birds. It is possible that the version found in the chickens is circulating in wild birds, but most researchers think it probably acquired its deadly attributes once it got into the Noxubee chicken operation.

These chickens were grown and maintained for breeding purposes, not for their meat. This is significant because breeders live for months, if not years. If a low-pathogenic virus “happens to get into a broiler meat flock, the birds don’t get sick and they go on to slaughter,” an analyst said. But when a breeder flock picks up that virus, “the virus can replicate for weeks … this may well be what happened in Mississippi.”

Is the Trumpf junta, headed by quacks, fraudsters, and mountebanks capable of dealing with the economy-crushing avian flu, whooping cough, or spreading measles which has reached a five-year high with 15 states reporting cases?

Citations:

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-strain-bird-flu-mississippi-poultry.html

https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/03/us-measles-cases-reach-5-year-high-15-states-report-cases-texas-outbreak-grows/

UN: 151 Unprecedented Climate Disasters Struck World in 2024

Floods, heatwaves, and supercharged hurricanes occurred in the hottest climate human society has ever experienced.  The devastating impacts of the climate crisis reached new heights in 2024, with scores of unprecedented heatwaves, floods and storms across the globe, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The WMO’s report on 2024, the hottest year on record, sets out a trail of destruction from extreme weather that took lives, demolished buildings and ravaged vital crops. More than 800,000 people were displaced and made homeless, the highest yearly number since records began in 2008.

The report lists 151 unprecedented extreme weather events in 2024, meaning they were worse than any ever recorded in the region. Heatwaves in Japan left hundreds of thousands of people struck down by heatstroke. Soaring temperatures during heatwaves peaked at 49.9C at Carnarvon in Western Australia, 49.7C in the city of Tabas in Iran, and 48.5C in a nationwide heatwave in Mali.

The 2024 Los Angeles fires.

Sadly, the earth is most likely passed the tipping scale for recovery. Greenhouse gas emissions (methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) have been steadily growing in the atmosphere and ocean water temperatures are rising. Deforestation and desertification are taking away nature’s ability to convert CO2 to oxygen. With the polar caps melting, sea levels of warmer water will rise. The earth will have less ability to cool itself off. In the future we will see more flooding and wildfires, more toxic algae blooms in the oceans, more powerful hurricanes, and tornadoes raging in the strangest places. Idiotically, Trumpf has reduced the budgets for NOAA and other agencies that could monitor weather threats and analyze trends to find solutions.

Citations:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/19/unprecedented-climate-disasters-extreme-weather-un-report

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-team-looks-to-drastically-cut-noaa-staff-and-budget/

Meet Dog That Behaves Like Cat

Gaza/Lebanon Nakba Continues: IDF Attacks Kill at Least 50 People

In Gaza, at least  50 people were killed in several IDF strikes, including children, according to hospital officials and AP reporters.

After armed Palestinian groups conducted a raid on Israel on 7 Oct 2023 that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of about 250 hostages, Israel’s Nakba in Gaza has killed more than 42,400 Palestinians, with more than half of them women and children. The reprisal rate is close to 40:1.

Israeli strikes hit the upper floors of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, and forces opened fire at the hospital’s building and its courtyard, causing panic among patients and medical staff. At the Awda hospital in Jabaliya, strikes hit the building’s top floors, injuring several staff members.

In central Gaza, at least ten people were killed, including two children, when a house was hit in the town of Zawayda. Another strike killed 11 people, all from the same family, in the Maghazi refugee camp, according to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where they were taken. Two Associated Press journalists counted the bodies at the hospitals. Attacking medical staff or facilities is a war crime.

The war has destroyed vast swaths of Gaza, displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people, and left them struggling to find food, water, medicine, and fuel. The UN has warned of an imminent famine for the people of Gaza.

In the West Bank, the UN reports that between 8-14 Oct, Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians, including a child, and injured 104 people, including nine children.

“Israeli forces accused most of those fatalities of being involved in attacking Israelis,” a UN official said.

“Yesterday, a Palestinian woman was reportedly killed while she was harvesting olives in Jenin. That follows 32 attacks by Israeli settlers this month on Palestinians engaged in the olive harvest. Hundreds of olive trees and saplings have been vandalized, sawed off or stolen. The olive harvest is an economic lifeline for tens of thousands of Palestinian families.”

Meanwhile, James Elder, a UNICEF spokesperson who recently returned from another mission to Gaza, called the Palestinian enclave “the real-world embodiment of hell on Earth for its one million children. And it is getting worse, day by day, as we see the horrific impact of the daily airstrikes and military operations on Palestinian children.”

In Dec 2023, UNICEF stated: “The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child.”

Meanwhile, families of hostages still held in Gaza demanded the Israeli government restart negotiations to bring home their loved ones. There are about 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, at least 30 of whom Israel says are dead.

In Lebanon, an Israeli airstrike hit a vehicle on a main highway north of Beirut, killing two people.

According to Lebanese authorities, more than 2,300 people have been killed and over 11,000 injured since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah began in Oct 2023, while more than 1.2 million people have been displaced.

UNIFIL Peacekeepers near the southern Lebanese town of Marwahin, 12 Oct 2023. 48 countries contribute Soldiers to this mission, including Finland, China, Turkiye, France, Italy, Ireland, Malaysia, and Spain. Approximately 800 Peacekeepers are women.

A UN official accused the IDF of repeatedly targeting UN peacekeepers along the blue line, the provisional border between Israel and Lebanon.

“We have been targeted several times and deliberately attacked once inside the borders in Naqoura, injuring two peacekeepers,” said Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for UNIFIL in Geneva.

“The Israelis hit the communication system very close to the bunkers where peacekeepers were sheltering. And there was an instance when IDF troops entered a UNIFIL position and remained there for 45 minutes. So, all these elements are clear, and we have been very vocal that these are deliberate attacks against the mission.”

Israel has rejected accusations that it is going after the peacekeepers, but acknowledged injuring two UNIFIL peacekeepers on 11 Oct when forces fired on what an IDF statement on X called “an immediate threat.” The IDF has stated that Hezbollah militants in Lebanon deliberately operate near UNIFIL posts and bases, “thereby endangering UNIFIL personnel.”

Demands by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for the UN mission to move its positions away from the blue line were ignored by the UN.

Tenenti said that incursions into Lebanese territory by the IDF in the proximity of the blue line in both UNIFIL sectors, east and west, “constitute a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, and also a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”

Security forces near Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s house in Caesarea, Israel, 19 Oct 2024. Neither he nor his wife were home and there were no casualties when a drone crashed nearby.

Israeli forces do not want witnesses to their offensive in Lebanon (or in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank for that matter). After the IDF attacked the USS Liberty spy ship on 8 Jun 1967 during the Six-Day War, James Bamford, an NSA historian, wrote that the USS Liberty SIGINT personnel intercepted IDF communications about Israeli soldiers massacring unarmed Egyptian POWs. To eliminate damaging evidence of war crimes the naval eavesdropping platform might be gathering, the Israeli High Command allegedly ordered an airstrike on the USN ship, killing 34 Americans and wounding 173.

Of a crew of 294 officers and men (including three civilians), the ship suffered 34 KIA and 173 WIA. The ship itself, a $40,000,000 state-of-the-art signals intelligence (SIGINT) platform, was so badly damaged that it never sailed on an operational mission again and was sold in 1970 for $101,666.66 as scrap.

Sources:

Strike launched toward Israeli prime minister’s house; Gaza strikes kill at least 21 (voanews.com)

USS Liberty incident – Wikipedia

USS Liberty Veterans Association |

Israel denies UN accusations that it’s targeting peacekeepers in Lebanon (voanews.com)

Infographics | UNIFIL (unmissions.org)

Drone targets Israeli prime minister’s house as strikes in Gaza kill 50 (scrippsnews.com)

Russia, Ukraine Conduct Prisoner Swap, Exchange Fallen Soldiers

Ukrainian prisoners of war seen following a prisoner swap at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, on 18 Oct 2024 (AFP Photo/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout)

Russia and Ukraine swapped 190 prisoners of war on 18 Oct under an agreement completed with the help of the United Arab Emirates who mediated the exchange.

95 returning Russian servicemen were undergoing medical checks in Belarus. There was no immediate word of the exchange from Ukrainian authorities.

Russia and Ukraine also exchanged the bodies of fallen servicemen. 501 servicemen returned to Ukraine and 89 to Russia.

The bodies will be taken to Ukrainian morgues for identification, after which they will be handed over to relatives for burial.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet commented on the exchange of bodies, which the two sides have regularly done since 2022. The International Committee of the Red Cross acts as an intermediary in the exchanges.

In the meantime, South Korean intelligence confirmed Ukrainian President Zelensky’s accusation  on TV that North Korea is sending troops to fight Ukraine. NIS (once called KCIA) reported Pyongyang began moving special forces to Russia earlier this month to help support the Kremlin in its war against Ukraine. One report indicated 1,500 special forces were en route to Russia and a total of 10,000 troops would be ready to fight in Nov.

Satellite images released by South Korea’s intelligence services show North Korean special forces troops boarding Russian ships and being transported to the mainland. (Via UK Latest News.)

Large Russian transport planes (AN-124s) have been observed frequently sortieing between Vladivostok and Pyongyang. North Korean soldiers were provided with Russian uniforms and Russian-made weapons, as well as fake identification cards of residents of the Siberian region of Yakutiya Buratiya (Attachment 5) who have a similar appearance to North Koreans. They are being disguised as Russian soldiers in order to conceal their participation in the war.

NIS assessed that North Korea has provided more than 13,000 containers of artillery, missiles, anti-tank rockets, and other lethal aid to Russia on more than 70 occasions since Aug 2023.

The Ukrainian military should make targeting these North Koreans with HIMARs or other catastrophic weapons a priority to immediately demoralize them. These DPRK soldiers may be well-trained and disciplined, but Coriolanus can not uncover the last time these commandos were involved in a real shooting war since 1953.  Some commandos have conducted pin-prick raids against the South Korea coast, but nothing large-scale like this conflict. Seoul can be of assistance to Kiev by providing linguists and messages in order to begin a PSYOP campaign directed at these North Koreans. The old terminology was “leaflets and loudspeakers” to induce surrenders or get them to question why they are so far away from their families.

Serhii Hnezdilov, a Ukrainian soldier and activist, at a court hearing in Kiev this month after his arrest on a charge of desertion.  He wanted to draw attention to the need to discharge worn-out soldiers and replace them with fresh conscripts. (Photo: Stanislav Yurchenko / Reuters)   

The Ukrainian population is beginning to fatigue from the stresses of this 21-month long war while these fresh North Korean soldiers bolster the Russian army. As posted here on Coriolanus, the Ukrainian military is seeking out military-age males who have not registered for conscription or served at the front. Appeals to the Ukrainian diaspora to return home to fight have failed. Reports of Ukrainian military desertions are increasing and they seem not to stem from cowardice or lack of patriotism, but sheer exhaustion. Serhii Hnezdilov, pictured above, is protesting the never-ending combat tours.

Sources:

Russia, Ukraine Conduct Prisoner Swap, Exchange Of Bodies (rferl.org)

A Soldier Chose a Radical Way to Publicize Troop Fatigue: He Deserted – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

UAE resets a decade of muscular foreign policy (ft.com)

Press Release Details | News | NIS National Intelligence Service

Zelenskyy says 10,000 North Koreans could join Russian forces in Ukraine as he pushes ‘victory plan’ | AP News

US/Canada/Mexico: 16 Defendants Charged in Cocaine Smuggling Network; Four Murders

Ryan James Wedding (43) a Canadian citizen residing in Mexico and Andrew Clark (34) a Canadian citizen also residing in Mexico, were charged with running a continuing criminal enterprise, murder, and conspiring to possess, distribute, and export cocaine. Clark was arrested 8 Oct by Mexican law enforcement and is detained. Wedding is a fugitive.

Wedding, whose aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” and “Public Enemy,” and who competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, UT, is head of the Wedding Drug Trafficking Organization (WDTO).  Wedding and Clark allegedly directed the 20 Nov 2023, murders of two members of a family in Ontario, Canada, in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment that passed through Southern California. They ordered the murder of another victim on 18 May 2024, over a drug debt

Cocaine shipments were transported from Mexico to the Los Angeles area, stored in stash houses, then delivered to Canada using long-haul semi-trucks. 

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for any information leading to his arrest.

Law enforcement seized more than one ton of cocaine, three firearms, dozens of rounds of ammunition, $255,400 in US currency, and more than $3.2 million in cryptocurrency.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If convicted, Wedding, Clark, and Cunningham would face a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison on the murder and attempted murder charges. The continuing criminal enterprise charges also carry a mandatory minimum penalty of life in federal prison. The drug trafficking charges carry mandatory minimum penalties between 10 and 15 years in prison. 

Olympian Ryan James Wedding competing in happier times. (Undated photo . Getty Images)

This is only a matter of time before Wedding is either caught by law-enforcement or disposed of by other nefarious elements south of the border. Wedding is no longer of any utility and now presents a threat to lucrative criminal operations with the spotlight shining on him as a fugitive with a reward for his capture.   

Sources:

Central District of California | 16 Defendants Charged in Superseding Indictment Alleging Bulk Shipments of Cocaine to Canada, Four Murders | United States Department of Justice

Canadian former Olympic snowboarder wanted in double homicide: DOJ | CTV News

France: Local Transmissions of Dengue Fever Reach Record High

The tiger mosquito bites throughout the day and carries dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika. (Photo:  © AP – James Gathany)

Since the beginning of May, the onset of tiger mosquito activity, 80 people have contracted the tropical disease without travelling to endemic regions.

This marks a new record, surpassing the 65 locally transmitted cases reported in 2022 and 45 in 2023

It follows a recent report from the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses) that suggests the risk of an epidemic of dengue, chikungunya or Zika – all diseases transmitted by tiger mosquitoes – is high.

On a scale of 0 to 9, the agency rated the likelihood of such an outbreak occurring in mainland France within the next five years at 6 to 7.

Map: Welt-Atlas.de

Currently, dengue cases are localised mainly in the south-eastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, which has reported 58 infections this year alone. The main factors contributing to potential outbreaks are warm temperatures – between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius – and the importation of viruses from areas experiencing epidemics.

Since the beginning of the year, Santé Publique France has recorded 3,938 imported dengue cases, alongside 22 cases of chikungunya and five of Zika – 1.5 times the number reported in 2023. 

A significant majority of these cases – 68 percent – involved travelers returning from the French Caribbean territories of Guadeloupe and Martinique, in the grip of extensive outbreaks for over a year.

The tiger mosquito first arrived in mainland France in 2004, establishing a foothold in the southern town of Menton before spreading across the entire country. Once an area is colonised by mosquitoes, eradication becomes a daunting challenge. Residents are urged to eliminate standing water and other mosquito breeding sites in their surroundings.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the spread of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases in recent years is “an alarming trend that demands a coordinated response across sectors and across borders”.

The UN health agency said the number of dengue cases reported globally has approximately doubled each year since 2021, with over 12.3 million cases, including more than 7,900 deaths, reported in the first eight months of 2024 alone.

An estimated four billion people worldwide are currently at risk of contracting dengue, chikungunya, or Zika, according to the WHO, with that number estimated to swell to five billion by 2050.

Dengue symptoms include high fever, often accompanied by headaches, nausea and vomiting, lasting two to three weeks.

Global warming has been a benefit to man’s apex predator, the mosquito. Longer summers and warmer temperatures help expand their spread, as well as their feeding/mating times.  

Sources:

Local transmissions of dengue fever reach record high in France (rfi.fr)

Chikungunya, dengue et zika – Données de la surveillance renforcée en France hexagonale 2024 (santepubliquefrance.fr)

What are the risks and impacts of diseases transmitted by the tiger mosquito? | Anses – Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail

Paris wards off tiger mosquito scourge ahead of Olympics

Dengue and severe dengue (who.int)

Tel Aviv Man Arrested for Allegedly Spying for Iran; Planned Assassination of Israeli Scientist

Vladimir Varkhovsky (Photo: Regtechtimes)

Israeli authorities have arrested a Tel Aviv resident on suspicion of carrying out missions for Iranian intelligence, including graffiti, distributing flyers, and gathering information on Israeli targets.

Vladimir Varkhovsky allegedly agreed to assassinate an Israeli scientist for $100,000 and had obtained a weapon for the task. The Shin Bet said communication with his handlers was in English.

Varkhovsky communicated with an Iranian agent via the Telegram messaging app and carried out several tasks for the agent between Aug and Sep 2024. These included spraying anti-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu graffiti around Tel Aviv, placing plastic containers with tracking devices near Segula Cemetery in Petah Tikva and filming protests in Tel Aviv in an attempt to connect with another demonstrator.

Varkhovsky was reportedly instructed to retrieve a pistol intended for the assassination of the Israeli scientist. The foreign agent promised him $100,000 and assistance in fleeing to Russia after the murder. Varkhovsky collected the gun and matching magazine at a pre-arranged location as part of the plot. He received payment for his activities in digital currency.

The intelligence network that led to Varkhovsky’s arrest was uncovered through a joint investigation by the Shin Bet and the Israeli police’s serious crime Lahav 433 unit, often dubbed “the Israeli FBI.” (Photo: Regtechtimes)

The Shin Bet and police warned that Iranian intelligence has used social media platforms to recruit unsuspecting Israelis for various tasks. “While some assignments may initially seem harmless, they pose a genuine threat to national security. Many Israelis who received suspicious outreach did not respond and alert the authorities,” the statement added.

Superintendent Maor Goren, head of the security division at Lahav 433, added: “This case is part of a series of serious investigations where Israeli citizens were recruited by foreign agents. However, this case stands out due to its severity and boldness: the defendant had already armed himself with a pistol, magazine and bullets, after agreeing to carry out the murder of a scientist for $100,000 and planning to flee the country with the foreign agent’s help to Russia immediately after the attack.”

The indictment follows a similar case just days earlier, in which a couple from the nearby city of Ramat Gan was charged with contacting an Iranian agent and agreeing to assassinate Israeli officials.

Vladislav Victorsson (30) and his partner Anna Bernstein (18) are accused of working under the direction of an Iranian agent to carry out various criminal activities. (Photo: Yuval Chen)

The alleged plot against an Israeli scientist is most likely a response to the murder of nuclear physicists in Iran. Between 2010 and 2020, five Iranian nuclear scientists (Masoud Ali-MohammadiMajid Shahriari, Darioush Rezaeinejad, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, and Mohsen Fakhrizadeh) were killed in foreign-linked assassinations.

Sources:

Tel Aviv man arrested for allegedly spying for Iran, planned assassination of Israeli (ynetnews.com)

Israeli couple indicted in Iranian plot to assassinate Israeli officials (ynetnews.com)

Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists – Wikipedia

Main Zoo in North Macedonian Capital Shut Down After Avian Flu Case Detected

Map: CIA

The main zoo in North Macedonia’s capital Skopje was closed Saturday after authorities confirmed the presence of a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu.

According to a press statement, the flu was detected in a goose that died in a pond.

“Laboratory results confirmed a case of the presence of a pathogenic strain of the Avian influenza H5N1 virus,” the statement said.

Authorities immediately put down dozens of ducks, geese, chickens and one jackdaw, which inhabited the same pond.

The zoo will be closed for at least three weeks. During that period, authorities will disinfect the place, inspect other animals and apply other biosecurity measures aimed to prevent the spread of the disease.

The last cases of bird flu in North Macedonia, all in wild birds, were detected in 2022.

You can see more fauna in the Skopje Zoo here: ZOO Skopje photo gallery – Quest Macedonia (Photo: Aleksandar Ristevski)

The virus can cause heavy losses in the poultry industry and lead to restrictions on the import and export of live birds and poultry products. Highly pathogenic strains of avian flu can also be transmitted to humans.

Founded in 1926, Skopje’s zoo is one of the most visited places in the capital, with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, not only from the country but also from across the Western Balkans.

In the past, the zoo had been the target of much criticism over the animals’ living conditions. Starting in 2008, authorities poured large sums of money into improvements, working with the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) to bring the zoo up to modern standards.

Sources:

Main zoo in North Macedonian capital shut down after avian flu case detected – ABC News (go.com)

ZOO Skopje photo gallery – Quest Macedonia

US/Canada: Frozen Waffles Sold at Walmart, Target Recalled Over Listeria Risk

This is a voluntary recall of the product. (Photo: Treehouse Foods)

Hundreds of varieties of frozen waffles sold under brands like Kodiak Cakes, Simple Truth, Walmart’s Great Value and Target’s Good & Gather have been recalled because of a possible listeria contamination.

Manufacturer TreeHouse Foods voluntarily announced the recall on Friday after the contamination was discovered during routine testing.

There have been no confirmed reports of illness linked to the recalled products to date, the company said.

The recalled frozen waffles were distributed throughout the US and Canada and packed in various formats.

Listeria infections typically cause fever, muscle aches and tiredness and may cause stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions. Symptoms can occur quickly or to up to ten weeks after eating contaminated food, according to the Center for Disease Prevention and Control.

The infections are especially dangerous for older people, those with weakened immune systems or who are pregnant.

Consumers who have purchased any of the products listed in the recall should dispose of them or return the product to the place of purchase for credit. Further questions can be directed to the company at (800) 596-2903.

Sources:

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. – TreeHouse Foods Announces Voluntary Recall of Certain Waffle Products Due to the Potential for Listeria monocytogenes Contamination

Frozen waffles sold at retailers like Walmart, Target recalled for listeria risk (scrippsnews.com)

American Warzone: Mass Shooting After Mississippi High School Homecoming; 3 KIA; 8 WIA

Whether people in the US want to admit it or not, Americans suffer from wartime casualties every day without having to go to war with another country. This is why Coriolanus uses these brutal, military terms. According to the CDC, in 2022 there were more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths in the US. The US military suffered 58,281 KIA in Vietnam. In this photo, US Army medics are providing aid to a casualty. (Image: US Department of Defense)

Three people were killed and at least eight more were wounded during a shooting in Mississippi early Saturday morning.

The shooting happened just after 12:30 CDT during a trail ride in Holmes County, approximately five miles from the city of Lexington, Miss.

(Map: thedirectory.org)

Police are still searching for suspects, with agents from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation assisting local authorities.

Officials say a group of people were riding together following a homecoming event at a local high school when a confrontation broke out, leading to the mass shooting.

Police identified two men from Durant, MS and a woman from Kosciusko in neighboring Attala County, as those who were killed.

The remaining victims were taken to hospitals in Jackson, MS, including by air ambulance, with varying degrees of injuries.

The incident took place following a homecoming event and football game at Holmes County Central High School.

In an average year, 804 people are murdered and 2,101 are wounded by guns in Mississippi. The Magnolia State has the 2nd-highest rate of gun violence in the US.

Mississippi has the 2nd-highest societal cost of gun violence in the US at $3,323 per resident each year. Gun deaths and injuries cost Mississippi $9.9 billion each year, of which $307.2 million is paid by taxpayers.

Sources:


https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/10/19/mississippi-high-school-shooting-homecoming/4021729354393/

https://www.cdc.gov/firearm-violence/data-research/facts-stats/index.html

EveryStat – EveryStat.org

Massachusetts Governor Grants Reprieve to Beaver

Nibi was found on the side of a road when she was just a baby. Efforts to familiarize her with other beavers were not successful and she preferred to be near humans, according to Newhouse Wildlife Rescue who provided this photo.

The question of whether a two-year-old beaver named Nibi can stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild was resolved when the Massachusetts governor stepped in to protect Nibi.

The state issued a permit to Newhouse Wildlife Rescue for Nibi to remain at the rehabilitation facility and serve as an educational animal.

“Nibi has captured the hearts of many of our residents, mine included,” Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey said Thursday. “We’re excited to share that we have issued a permit for Nibi to remain in Newhouse’s care, continuing to educate the public about this important species.”

Nibi’s fate had made it all the way to the state courts before Healey stepped in.

A judge on Tuesday had said that Nibi would be allowed to stay in her home at the rescue center in Chelmsford, located northwest of Boston. A hearing had been set in a case filed by the rescuers against MassWildlife, the state’s division of fisheries and wildlife, to stop the release.

Nibi’s rescuers at Newhouse Wildlife Rescue said on their Facebook page that they were “beyond grateful” for Healey’s decision.

Nibi has been a hit on the rescue group’s social media since she was a baby, and posts about her impending release garnered thousands of comments.

An online petition to save Nibi from being released into the wild has received over 25,000 signatures, lawmakers have weighed in, and earlier this week Healey pledged to make sure Nibi is protected.

“We all care about what is best for the beaver known as Nibi and all wild animals throughout our state,” Mark Tisa, director of MassWildlife, said. “We share the public’s passion for wildlife and invite everyone to learn more about beavers and their important place in our environment.”

Jane Newhouse, the rescue group’s founder and president, has said that after Nibi was found on the side of the road, they tried to reunite her with nearby beavers who could have been her parents but were unsuccessful. After that, attempts to get her to bond with other beavers also didn’t work.

“It’s very difficult to consider releasing her when she only seems to like people and seems to have no interest in being wild or bonding with any of her own species,” she said.

Nibi has a large enclosure with a pool at the rescue operation, and will also wander in its yard and rehabilitation space, Newhouse said. “She pretty much has full run of the place. Everybody on my team is in love with her,” she said.

Newhouse said she had asked MassWildlife if she could get a permit for Nibi to become an educational beaver, allowing her to take the beaver to schools, libraries and town halls. Newhouse said she feared a release would mean certain death for her beloved “diva” beaver, who doesn’t know how to live in the wild.

“It doesn’t give her much time… to figure out how to build a lodge for the first time, how to build dams for the first time, how to store all of her food before winter sets in,” she said.

Newhouse said that beavers usually leave their parents between the ages of 2 and 3, so it’s possible that over the next year Nibi will show more interest in wanting to be in the wild. But unless that happens, she wants to keep her safe.

Beavers are common and abundant throughout Massachusetts. A keystone species, beavers play an important role in fostering biodiversity of ecosystems, according to state officials. By damming rivers and streams, and forming shallow ponds, beavers are vital for creating healthy wetlands that support a tremendous diversity of plants, bugs, and wildlife, and store floodwaters during storms.

They are also North America’s largest native rodents, weighing between 35 and 80 pounds and reaching 2–3 feet in length as adults. Adult beavers have very few predators and can live for 20 years or more.

In almost all cases, it’s best to leave wildlife alone, officials said, so they don’t come to rely on humans for food and shelter.

Sources:

Nibi the ‘diva’ beaver to stay at rescue center, Massachusetts governor decides | AP News

download (mass.gov)

Undated photo of Nibi, courtesy of Jane Newhouse, Newhouse Wildlife Rescue