US Army Soldier from Hawaii Arrested for Assaulting Law Enforcement with Weapon and Other Charges During 6 Jan Attack on US Capitol

Alexander Cain Poplin (31), an active duty servicemember of the US Army, was arrested in Hawaii for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges related to his conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

In addition to the felonies of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon and civil disorder, Poplin is charged with three misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.

On the morning of 6 Jan 2021, Poplin attended a rally held by the former President at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Poplin was observed wearing a black Columbia jacket, a black beanie, and an Army ACU camouflage backpack. Throughout the day, he was seen holding various flags.

At approximately 2:30 p.m., Poplin was at the Lower West Plaza of the US Capitol Building and within the restricted perimeter. He was holding an “Area Closed” sign in his left hand and a flagpole with a blue flag in his right. Poplin allegedly repeatedly struck a Metropolitan Police Department officer with the blue flagpole. Video footage from open-source media and body-worn cameras captured the assault. Poplin’s alleged actions at the Lower West Plaza contributed to the chaos as rioters confronted law enforcement officers who were defending the Capitol. After the attack, Poplin reportedly posted on Facebook “we beat their fucking ass and stood for something” and “we took our house back.”

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 may 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.

Civilian Cargo Ship Carrying Ukrainian Grain Attacked by Russian Jets in Black Sea

Ukraine accused Russia of using strategic bombers to fire missiles at a civilian ship carrying Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea.

The ship was in the maritime economic zone of Romania, a NATO member, when it was hit. The vessel was transporting the grain from Chernomorsk, Ukraine, to Istanbul when it was attacked. The ship’s cargo was bound for Egypt. Russia deployed Tupolev Tu-22 bombers to fire the missiles at around 11 PM local time on 11 Sep.

Tupolev Tu-22M-3 (Image courtesy of airliners.net).

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said the strike was “a brazen attack on freedom of navigation and global food security.”

The attack was confirmed by the Romanian Coast Guard, which said the vessel had a crew of 22 people on board. No one was injured and the ship headed to Constanta for damage assessment.

The ship was 55 kilometers from the town of Sfantu Gheorghe in the exclusive economic zone of Romania when the attack took place. The exclusive economic zone is the maritime area adjacent to a country’s territorial waters and can extend up to a maximum of 200 nautical miles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said earlier that a cargo ship carrying wheat was hit by a Russian missile strike in the Black Sea as it was headed for Egypt.

“Today’s strike in the Black Sea was against an ordinary civilian vessel immediately after leaving Ukrainian territorial waters. According to preliminary data, fortunately, there were no casualties,” he said. “Ukraine is one of the key global donors of food security. The internal stability and life of dozens of countries in different parts of the world depends on the normal and smooth operation of our export food corridor.”

Ukraine, one of the world’s leading grain producers and exporters, has been shipping about four million tons of grain each month through the Black Sea corridor, which was set up through a deal mediated by Turkey and the UN.

The US recently signalled that it may allow Ukraine to fire missiles more deeply into Russia. Aircraft like the TU-22M-3 could have easily sunk this unarmed cargo ship. This move by the Kremlin is probably a warning that if Ukraine is permitted to strike deep targets in Russia with Western hi-tech weapons, the Kremlin will retaliate with economic attacks like this.

Sources:

Civilian Cargo Ship Carrying Ukrainian Grain Hit By Russian Strike In Black Sea (rferl.org)

US reconsidering Ukraine missile restrictions on firing into Russia (voanews.com)

NYPD Commissioner to Resign After FBI Seized His Phone

Edward Caban (L) being sworn in as NYPD Police Commissioner on 17 July 2023. Mayor Eric Adams is on the right.

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said he would resign Thursday, one week after it emerged that his phone was seized as part of a federal investigation that touched several members of Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle.

Edward Caban (57) had been in charge of the nation’s largest police department for about 15 months. Of Puerto Rican heritage, he was the first Latino to lead the 179-year-old NYPD and oversee its annual budget of over $5 billion. There are approximately 36,000 sworn officers in New York’s Finest.

Caban was one of several high-ranking city officials whose electronic devices were seized recently by federal investigators. The subject of the investigation, which is being led by the SDNY US Attorney, remains unclear. Federal authorities are also investigating Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, who runs a nightclub security business.

Other NYC officials whose devices were recently seized include First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety; his brother David Banks, the Board of Education chancellor; and Timothy Pearson, a mayoral adviser and former high-ranking NYPD official.

Mayor Adams, a first-term Democrat, was subpoenaed in July, eight months after federal agents seized his cell phones and an iPad while he was leaving an event in Manhattan. Federal authorities haven’t publicly accused him or any officials of any crimes and Adams has denied any wrongdoing. The SDNY investigation may have to do with campaign fundraising.

Under Commissioner Caban, from 1 Jan 2024 to 1 Sep 2024, the NYPD tallied 243 murders, compared with 279 in the same period last year. Burglary, grand larceny, and auto thefts were also down. At the same time, there was a 17.8% spike in reported hate crimes, 11.1% jump in rapes and smaller increases in some other categories.

Caban was criticized for his handling of officer discipline. The NYPD has stifled more than 400 cases of alleged misconduct this year which an oversight board had investigated and substantiated. Two examples follow.

In April, Caban declined to take disciplinary action against two officers involved in the fatal 2019 shooting of Kawaski Trawick inside his Bronx apartment. Caban said the officers “acted within the law” and that the city’s police watchdog agency waited too long to bring administrative charges.

In August, Caban upheld a department administrative trial judge’s recommendation to drop a disciplinary case against Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, who was accused of ordering officers to void the November 2021 arrest of a retired officer who previously worked for him. The trial judge, Rosemarie Maldonado, said the watchdog agency didn’t have jurisdiction to investigate the case.

Mayor Adams named retired FBI Special Agent Thomas Donlon interim police commissioner. The timing of Caban’s resignation is astonishing with the UN General Assembly (UNGA) convening in NYC. Several weeks ago, the director of the US Secret Service resigned in the middle of the 2024 presidential campaign.

Sources:

New York City police commissioner to resign after his phone was seized in federal investigation (voanews.com)

FBI seized phones, iPad of NYC mayor amid campaign fundraising probe | CBC News

https://www.propublica.org/article/nypd-tossed-out-police-misconduct-discipline-cases-edward-caban

Bomb Threats Reported in Springfield, Ohio, Amid False Malignant Claims Targeting Haitian Migrants

Donald Trump pandering to the Haitian vote during a 2016 visit to Little Haiti, Miami. Now Haitians have becoming a convenient scapegoat for him. Photo courtesy of Michael Bennett via miamitimesonline.com.

Local and federal law enforcement agencies responded Thursday to a bomb threat made against multiple facilities in the Ohio city of Springfield. City Hall, a driver’s exam station, an Ohio BMV facility, the Springfield Academy of Excellence, and Fulton Elementary School were all evacuated and cleared by explosive-detecting K9s.

The threat comes days after Donald Trump repeated baseless and dehumanizing claims made online that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating residents’ pets. He made the comments during his Tuesday debate against Vice President Kamala Harris which were echoed by his running mate, JD Vance.

The city of some 58,000 people has pushed back against the claims, with City Manager Bryan Heck explaining in a recorded statement “it is disappointing that some of the narratives surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified by political rhetoric in the current highly charged presidential election cycle.”

The city manager added Springfield is experiencing challenges due to the rapid growth of its immigrant population, those challenges “are primarily due to the pace of the growth rather than the rumors.”

Sources:

Bomb threats reported in Springfield amid false claims targeting migrants – UPI.com

Trump, missing-in-action with Haitians, still draws handful of supporters – The Haitian Times

North Korea Releases Rare Images of Uranium Enrichment Site

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits a uranium enrichment facility, which produces weapon-grade nuclear materials. The photos were published by North Korean state media on Friday, 13 Sep 2024. No located or date were released for the photos and certain faces in the pictures had been blurred before their release. (Courtesy: KCNA / Rodong Sinmun)

New pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un touring what state media described is a uranium enrichment facility have given an extremely rare glimpse inside the isolated nation’s closely guarded nuclear weapons program.

According to a report from Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim visited the facility – a bright, sterile warehouse filled with long rows of cylindrical machinery – which is used to produce weapons-grade nuclear material for the North’s growing arsenal. The report comes as North Korea continues to ramp up its illegal nuclear weapons program and strengthens relations with Russia, deepening widespread concern in the West over the isolated nation’s direction under Kim.

The location and exact date of Kim’s visit to the site were not disclosed in the report, but the purpose of his inspection was clear, according to KCNA: to lay out a “long-term plan for increasing the production of weapon-grade nuclear materials.”

Experts say the images – which show Kim flanked by men in military uniforms and crisp white lab shirts – underscore North Korea’s growing confidence in its position as a nuclear power.

In a speech celebrating the 76th anniversary of North Korea’s founding on Monday, Kim pledged to “exponentially” expand the regime’s nuclear arsenal, reiterating bellicose rhetoric he has used in the past.

As reported here on Coriolanus, the North Korean supremo ordered the launch of a ballistic missile into the sea when the dust settled after the US presidential debate. For years the West kept “kicking the can down the road” regarding North Korea and the dynastic family which has been producing WMDs while starving their own people. Neighboring South Korea, Japan, and China, must be wondering how this dangerous dynasty will one day end and what type of fallout will ensue.

Sources:

North Korea releases images of Kim Jong Un visiting a uranium enrichment site | CNN

Four Black Rights Activists Convicted Over Nefarious Russian Links

Protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in London to support Omali Yeshitela (Imagery: BBC, circa Sep 2024)

Four activists for black rights have been convicted of federal charges of conspiring to act as unregistered Russian agents.

Omali Yeshitela (82), Penny Hess (78), Jesse Nevel (34), and Augustus Romain (38), face maximum sentences of five years in prison. A jury in Tampa, FL, found them not guilty of the more serious charge of acting as agents of a foreign government. A date has not yet been set for sentencing.

Yeshitela is the founder of the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) and Uhuru Movement. Hess and Nevel are white allies of the groups. Romain is the leader of a Georgia-based spinoff known as Black Hammer. The four carried out a number of actions in the US between 2015 and 2022 on behalf of the Russian government and received money and support from Aleksandr Ionov, the president of the Moscow-based group Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia.

Mr. Ionov used the APSP, Uhuru Movement, and Black Hammer to promote Russian views on politics, the Ukraine war, and other issues. The US State Dept is offering a reward up to $10 million for information that would lead to his arrest.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | U.S. Citizens Convicted of Conspiring to Act as Illegal Agents of the Russian Government | United States Department of Justice

Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov – Rewards For Justice

US black-rights activists convicted over Russian links (bbc.com)

Usutu Virus Threatens Blackbirds in Germany

The blackbird is one of the most common birds in Germany, but the spread of Usutu virus is threatening their population. Numerous cases have been identified in the Rendsburg and Eckernförde areas of Germany (see map). Infested birds become disoriented, begin to stagger, and often die within a few days.

The Usutu virus, which originated in South Africa, was first detected in Germany in 2011. Since the disease mostly affects blackbirds, the Usutu epidemic is also known as “blackbird death”. The virus is generally transmitted by mosquitoes. Humans can become infected with the virus – but serious illness is rare. Most recently, the pathogen caused a severe bird mortality in Germany in 2018.

Source:

Dead blackbirds: Usutu virus reaches the Rendsburg area | SHZ

Trump Tower Declared ‘Public Nuisance’ After Killing Thousands of Fish in Chicago

Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago. Locals have long derided the building as an aesthetical and architectural eyesore which doesn’t blend in with the Windy City’s marvelous architecture. (Courtesy Ghornephoto / Getty Images).

An Illinois Cook County judge has ruled that Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago has been conducting operations that violate state and federal environmental law, operates without a legitimate state environmental permit, and has killed thousands of fish over the years.

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thaddeus L. Wilson on Monday found that Trump International Hotel & Tower “committed a continuing public nuisance through a series of failures to comply with state and federal law dating back to 2008.”

This ruling has taken years of litigation to achieve, with Friends of the Chicago River, the Sierra Club, and the Illinois Attorney General having filed the lawsuit in 2018.

Sources:

Trump Tower Declared ‘Public Nuisance’ After Killing Thousands of Fish | IBTimes

News Detail Page (illinoisattorneygeneral.gov)

Dog Rushes into Burning Ukraine Home to Save Helpless Kitten

A few years ago, an explosion occurred in a defense industry building near Donetsk City, Ukraine. Fire and smoke spread to nearby areas. As people rushed out of burning buildings and homes, they made sure that family members were with them, but some pets got left behind in the chaos. One dog re-entered a burning house to the surprise of the owner and neighbors. After a while, the dog emerged from the house fire with a tiny fluff ball in his jaws. The dog had gently picked up a kitten from the burning home and carried him to safety.

The lucky kitten has eight lives left.

Source:

Dog Rushes Into Burning Ukraine Home To Save Helpless Kitten (iheartdogs.com)

Ukraine Strikes Moscow in Biggest Drone Attack to Date

A 46-year-old woman was killed and three people were injured. Ukraine asserted its right to strike Russian territory in response to Moscow’s ongoing attacks. (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov)

Ukraine launched its biggest drone attack so far on the Russian capital, killing at least one woman and destroying dozens of homes. The Kremlin reported they destroyed at least 20 Ukrainian attack drones as they swarmed over the Moscow region and 124 more over eight other regions. Three of Moscow’s four airports were closed for more than six hours and almost 50 flights were diverted. Russia counter-attacked with 46 drones.

Meanwhile, in a rare joint trip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was taking the train to Kiev with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, whose two-month-old Labor government has vowed to keep up Britain’s role as a key defender of Ukraine.

The pair, who boarded the train early Wednesday at the Polish border town of Przemysl, are expected to meet in Kiev with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has kept pressing the West for weapons with more firepower and fewer restrictions.

US President Joe Biden, asked in Washington whether he would let Ukraine use longer-range weapons, said: “We’re working that out right now.”

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/03/politics/cnn-poll-trump-indictment/index.html

US, UK top diplomats head to Ukraine with eye on weapons (rfi.fr)Ukraine targets Moscow in biggest drone attack yet | Reuters

Israeli Man Pleads Guilty to Violating Export Restrictions Imposed on Russia

Gal Haimovich was arrested in southern Florida on 4 June 2023.

Gal Haimovich (49) of Israel, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit export control and smuggling violations in a scheme to illegally ship aircraft parts and avionics from US manufacturers and suppliers to Russia, including for the benefit of sanctioned Russian airline companies. Haimovich admitted to deceiving US companies about the true destination of the goods. The defendant and others attempted to conceal the scheme by submitting false information in export documents filed with the US government.

Haimovich owned an international freight forwarding company that facilitated the export of aircraft parts and avionics, including those with missile technology applications from the US to various third-party transhippers on behalf of Russian customers.

Russian Su-35 multi-purpose fighter jet (Wikimedia Commons)

As part of Haimovich’s plea agreement, he forfeits the sum of $2,024,435, as well as various aircraft parts and components. A sentencing hearing has been set for 22 Nov.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Israeli Freight Forwarder Pleads Guilty to Violating Export Restrictions Imposed on Russia | United States Department of Justice

EU Weighs ‘Strong’ Response to Iranian Deliveries of Ballistic Missiles to Russia

The EU has joined the US, UK, France, and Germany in accusing Iran of supplying short-range ballistic missiles for Russia to wage its war in Ukraine.

The 27-country bloc has received “credible” evidence of the deliveries, which adds that the weapons are likely assisting Moscow in its “escalatory bombing campaign against Ukrainian civilians, cities and civilian infrastructure, further increasing civilian casualties and destruction.”

The EU’s reaction came hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London, promised fresh sanctions on Tehran for its procurement of the deadly weapons.

The foreign ministers of the UK, France, and Germany also issued a joint statement describing the move as an “escalation” by both Iran and Russia and a “direct threat to European security.”

Source:

EU weighs ‘strong’ response to Iranian deliveries of ballistic missiles to Russia | Euronews

13 Die of Mysterious Illness Following High Fever in Gujarat, India

350-bed government hospital in Gujarat. (Undated public domain imagery)

Thirteen people have died in Gujarat’s Kachchh district due to a mysterious disease days after the region suffered from heavy rainfall. The doctors have yet to diagnose the disease accurately.

The patients who died from the mysterious disease had symptoms including fever, cold, cough, and pneumonia. Young patients had reduced immunity following high fever and died of lung and liver damage. Elderly patients died just two days after getting a fever. The health department could not verify the type of fever and are investigating the situation.

“Primarily, the deaths appear to have been caused by pneumonia. It does not appear to be from contamination nor does it seem like a communicable disease,” Amit Arora, an official from Kachchh said.

“Samples are being collected for testing against dengue, malaria, H1N1 swine flu, and pneumonia. The family members of the affected are being provided updates, and 22 teams from the Health Department are keeping a close watch on this.”

Source:

Gujarat News 13 Die Of Mysterious Illness Following High Fever In Gujarat, Probe Underway (ndtv.com)

Explosion Reported at US Military Facility Near Baghdad Airport Ahead of Iranian President’s Visit

Satellite imagery of Baghdad International Airport (circa 2023)

Iraqi security officials said an explosion targeted a site used by the US military next to Baghdad airport late Tuesday, one day before an expected visit by Iran’s president. The expected visit by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to Baghdad Wednesday would be his first official trip abroad since taking office.

The explosion was heard at 11 PM in an area used by advisers to the US-led international coalition.Iraqi security forces were unable to determine the “type or causes of the explosion, and no party has claimed responsibility for it.” It added that the incident was under investigation and civilian air traffic continued as normal. There was no immediate information on damages or casualties.

Officials who were at the airport preparing for Pezeshkian’s visit heard “the sound of two strong strikes,” which apparently targeted a logistics support site for the coalition. Over the past 11 months, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have periodically targeted bases housing US forces in Iraq in retaliation for Washington’s support of Israel in the war in Gaza.

One of those militias, Kataib Hezbollah, appeared to be trying to distance itself from Tuesday night’s strike. Jaafar al-Husseini, the group’s spokesperson, said the targeting of the airport was “carried out by suspicious hands and its aim is to disrupt the Iranian president’s visit to Baghdad.”

Sources:

Explosion reported at U.S. military facility near Baghdad airport ahead of Iranian president’s visit – Washington Times

Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center Or United States’ Air Base In Baghdad?! – Islamic World News (iswnews.com)

Rebel Army Captures Major Myanmar Navy Training Base

Map courtesy of http://www.globalsecurity.org

Insurgents in western Myanmar have captured an important military training base after a month of fighting, dealing what is likely to be a severe blow to the embattled military. The Arakan Army seized the Central Naval Diving and Salvage Depot in Rakhine state. The Rakhines are an ethnic minority insurgent force battling for self-determination.

This facility was the last naval base held by junta forces in Thandwe township, and it was defended on a “huge-scale” by the junta’s air force and navy as well as more than 1,200 soldiers, including new graduates trained at the base.

“More than 400 junta soldiers were killed during our attack, and junta weapons, ammunition, and equipment were seized,” the AA reported.

“Losing such a base will affect training as well as fighting. The AA destroyed the navy and weakened the army, like cutting a man off at the waist,” an AA spokesman said. “The military is like a bird with one wing now.”

Arakan Army forces after capturing the junta’s Central Naval Diving and Salvage Depot in Rakhine state on 5 Sep 2024.

The loss of the base will not only damage the junta’s morale and reputation but also bring in more resources for the AA through the control of goods coming through a nearby port. The AA said it expected junta retaliation against civilians in the area. Human rights investigators say junta forces have been increasingly attacking civilian targets as they lose ground to insurgent forces in different parts of the country. The Myanmar military denies attacking civilians.

The Arakan Army, which launched a new offensive against the military in Nov 2023, controls nine townships in Rakhine state and one in neighboring Chin state, and is battling to take full control of three other townships.

In February, the military rulers enacted a draft law to bolster troop shortages and has since trained around 9,000 recruits for front-line fighting. Myanmar’s junta has also begun forcibly recruiting male civilians up to age 65 – including even those who are disabled – to protect villages, towns, and cities against encroaching rebel militias. Since the 2021 coup, junta forces have lost 76 towns across the country to ethnic rebels and other armed opposition groups.

The move comes amid mounting battlefield losses since the junta’s 2021 coup d’etat as rebel groups and ethnic armies have gained the upper hand in Myanmar’s three-year civil war.

According to Human Rights Watch:

“Since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, the junta has driven the country further into a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe. At least 55 townships are under martial law. Faced with opposition from the general population and pro-democracy armed groups, the military has struggled to maintain control over the country. The junta’s widespread and systematic abuses against the population—including arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, and indiscriminate attacks on civilians—amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.”

“More than 600,000 Rohingya in Myanmar continue to live under apartheid conditions, facing persecution and effective imprisonment from the junta authorities. Of this population, roughly 140,000 Rohingya have been confined to camps in central Rakhine State since 2012, denied the right to return to their homes.”

Sources:

Rebel army captures major Myanmar navy training base — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Myanmar junta begins conscripting men up to age 65 to protect towns against rebels — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

World Report 2024: Myanmar | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)

Homepage » Myanmar Peace Monitor (mmpeacemonitor.org)

https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/myanmar/navy-bases.htm

Lebanon Judge Orders Arrest of Ex-Central Bank Governor

Riad Salameh is accused of amassing a fortune during three decades in the job and faces numerous charges, including embezzlement, money laundering, and tax evasion in separate probes. He is probably the worst central bank governor in history. (Undated photo courtesy of AFP)

Last week Lebanese authorities arrested Riad Salameh (74), the former governor of Lebanon’s central bank, after he was questioned over the alleged embezzlement of more than $42 million. Lebanon’s financial prosecutor initiated legal proceedings against Salameh over allegations of “embezzling” public funds, as well as “illicit enrichment and money laundering”, and the case was referred to an investigating judge.

That investigating judge questioned Riad Salameh for two and a half hours and then issued an arrest warrant against him. The warrant ended Salameh’s provisional detention and placed him under formal arrest, indicating that the investigating judge’s suspicions against Salameh strengthened.

The judge’s move follows an 18-month investigation into allegations that Riad and his brother Raja embezzled $300m from the Banque du Liban between 2002 and 2015.

Salameh, who has French nationality, is widely viewed as a key culprit in Lebanon’s devastating economic crash which began in late 2019. The World Bank called the crash one of the worst in recent history, leaving more than 80% of the population living in poverty and struggling to afford food and medicine.

A handful of protesters gathered outside Beirut’s justice palace on Monday, some trying to attack a convoy of vehicles transporting Salameh as he arrived for an interrogation, hitting the windows and yelling “Riad Salameh is a thief!”

“No to your corruption, conspiracy, indifference, yes to justice,” one of the protest signs read.

After questioning, Salameh was returned to the jail where he had been detained. Last year, Germany and France issued arrest warrants for Salameh over accusations including money laundering and fraud, though German prosecutors later cancelled their warrant. He is currently under sanctions by Canada, the UK, and the US.

Salameh has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and defended his three-decade legacy, saying he is a “scapegoat” for Lebanon’s catastrophic economic collapse.

The central bank governor’s departure and arrest raises questions over how Lebanon’s political and economic elite enriched themselves at the expense of the public—even as their actions helped bring about an enormous economic crisis. (The National Interest).

Sources:

Lebanon Judge Orders Arrest Of Ex-central Bank Chief: Official (hngn.com)

https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1687

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64746658

How “Financial Engineering” Helped Push Lebanon’s Economy into Crisis | The National Interest

Bear Trying to Nap Loses Fight Against Pesky Hammock in Colorado

Source:

Watch: Large bear wrestles with hammock outside Colorado home (usatoday.com)

FBI: White Supremacist Leaders of “Terrorgram” Group Plotted Assassinations, Inspired Attacks

Undated social media image of Dallas Humber.

Dallas Humber (34) of Elk Grove, CA and Matthew Allison (37) of Boise, ID, leaders of the Terrorgram Collective transnational terrorist group, were charged with a 15-count indictment for soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. The FBI arrested Humber and Allison.

The indictment alleges that the defendants spread videos and publications called “The Hard Reset,” “White Terror,” and “The List,” and solicited group members to carry out attacks against “racial enemies” and on crucial infrastructure. The following incidents attacks were inspired or guided by Terrorgram:

An individual shot three people (killing two) outside of an LGBT bar in Slovakia (Oct 2022);
An individual who planned an attack on energy facilities in New Jersey (July 2024);
An individual who stabbed five people near a mosque in Turkey (Aug 2024).

The defendants also allegedly produced several videos and instructional manuals on how to construct and detonate a “dirty bomb” (an explosive device with radioactive materials) to “fumigate the cities” of minority groups.

Terrorgram is the white supremacist version of the Islamic State (IS), motivating and inspiring “useful idiots” to murder and attack innocent people, as well as cause carnage and chaos.

If convicted of all charges, Dallas Humber and Matthew Allison each face a maximum penalty of 220 years in prison. These two young miscreants caused innocent people to be hurt or killed while throwing away their own lives over hatred.

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 | Leaders of Transnational Terrorist Group Charged with Soliciting Hate Crimes, Soliciting the Murder of Federal Officials, and Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Terrorists | United States Department of Justice

https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1366641/dl?inline

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/terrorgram-collective-federal-charges-white-supremacists-california/

IDF Missile Strike on Gaza Humanitarian Area Kills and Wounds Dozens; Israel Pressing Congress for Help Against South Africa at ICJ

Plumes of smoke rise above the tents of displaced Palestinians following an Israeli military strike on the al-Mawasi camp for internally displaced people, near the city of Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on 13 July. Israel said warplanes struck a Hamas compound within the Khan Yunis humanitarian zone early Tuesday. File Photo by Saber Arar/UPI | License Photo

Israel’s military conducted a missile strike of early Tuesday that targeted a humanitarian area in the Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians. The Mawasi coastal community area is home to many Palestinians displaced after the IDF devastated the wider Gaza Strip after 7 Oct 2023. The Palestinian news agency WAFA said dozens had been killed and wounded, without providing precise casualty figures. It described five missiles striking the area, cratering the ground.

The IDF described the strike as hitting “significant Hamas terrorists who were operating within a command-and-control center,” without immediately providing additional evidence.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reports over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced approximately 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.

Meanwhile, the IDF halted a UN convoy for more than eight hours on Monday who were trying to work on a polio vaccination campaign in northern Gaza and Gaza City. “The convoy was stopped at gun point just after the Wadi Gaza checkpoint with threats to detain UN staff,” a UN official posted on the social platform X. “Heavy damage was caused by bulldozers to the UN armored vehicles.”

The convoy later returned to a UN base but it was unclear if the polio vaccination campaign resumed Tuesday in northern Gaza.

Discreetly and audaciously during this unprecedented IDF carnage against the Palestinians, Israel is reportedly lobbying members of the US Congress to press South Africa to drop its legal proceedings in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Israeli officials want members of Congress to make clear to South Africa that there will be consequences for continuing to pursue the legal case. The official filing is linked below.

Last December, South Africa filed a case at the ICJ accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention, alleging Israel’s actions “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part” of the Palestinian population in Gaza. Israel has rejected the accusations.

Israeli diplomats were instructed to ask members of Congress and Jewish organizations in the US to reach out directly to South African diplomats in the US and make clear South Africa would pay a heavy price if it doesn’t change its policy. But the US wants to maintain a positive relationship with South Africa in order to counter the influence of Russia and China.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already been indicted by the ICC for alleged war crimes and now he has exposed Israel to international legal jeopardy at the ICJ. The UN General Assembly convenes in NYC within a matter of weeks.

Sources:

Israeli missile strike on Gaza humanitarian area kills and wounds dozens, authorities say (voanews.com)

Spain files a declaration of intervention in the proceedings under Article 63 of the Court’s Statute (icj-cij.org)

Israel asks Congress to press South Africa to drop ICJ genocide case (axios.com)

https://www.un.org/en/high-level-week-2024

Two More Russian Ex-Convicts Recruited by Wagner Mercenary Group Sentenced for Murders

Freeze frame image of sociopathic Wagnerites in Syria using a sledgehammer to execute Mohammed Taha Ismail Al-Abdullah (31) who reportedly deserted Bashar al-Assad’s government army (Summer 2017).

On 9 Sep a court in Siberia sentenced Andrei Ashcheulov to eight years in prison for shooting a man to death for questioning his parking. He was serving an 18-year prison term for leading a criminal gang when he was recruited by Wagner to fight in Ukraine in 2023. Ashcheulov was pardoned after he returned from the war.

On the same day, a different court sentenced Sergei Kozlov (36) to 19 years prison for killing his pregnant 18-year-old girlfriend in October 2023. He was also ordered to pay 12 million rubles ($11,060) to the victim’s family. Before Wagner recruited him from prison in 2022, Kozlov was serving a 6 ½ year term for attacking a woman and her daughter with an ax.

In July, the Agentstvo Telegram channel reported that as of 4 Oct 2023, 27 people had been killed in 20 incidents by former military personnel who returned home from the war in Ukraine; 12 of the registered deadly incidents involved former Wagner mercenaries.

Courts in Russia tend to hand mitigated sentences to such felons, citing their “patriotism” and “contributions” they made to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Wagner’s late leader and founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said in late June 2023 that 32,000 former inmates recruited by his group from prison had returned home after being granted clemency as part of their remuneration for fighting in Ukraine.

Mercenaries from the Wagner Group have been accused of committing war crimes in Ukraine, including decapitating captured Ukrainian servicemen. On top of fighting professional soldiers and unwilling conscripts, the Ukrainian army must also deal with homicidal sadists and maniacs on the battlefield.

Sources:

Two More Ex-Cons Recruited By Wagner Mercenary Group Sentenced For Murders (rferl.org)

In Omsk, a soldier who killed an 18-year-old pregnant woman was sentenced to 19 years (sibreal.org)

Wagner Group Accused of Beheading Ukrainian Servicemen – Newsweek

Traces of Prigozhin Maniacs: “Wagner” as an Instrument of Russian Expansion in the World (spravdi.gov.ua)

The Latest Protests in Cuba Are About Thirst: Over 600,000 People Live Without Drinking Water

Cubans lining up to get drinking water in Pinar del Río province, Cuba, in Oct 2022. Ramon Espinosa (AP)

The water crisis in Cuba is not new, but the country’s overall deterioration, the impossibility of adequate pipeline maintenance, and the shortage of fuel have clearly exacerbated the problem. The water management sector is the second largest consumer of electricity in the country. Cuban authorities have acknowledged that more than 600,000 people suffer from a lack of water. In Havana alone some 130,000 clients are affected by the water shortage, and that there are several provinces in the interior of the country with thousands of clients without service.

Breakdowns of pumping equipment, constant power outages, and water leaks are blamed. At the end of 2023, there were approximately 2,000 of these water leaks in Havana that remained unrepaired “for days and months.”

The constant complaints about the poor maintenance of the water management system and the proliferation of sewage in the Cuban capital are also blamed on the poor work of Aguas de La Habana, the company in charge of the water, sewage, and sanitation services. There are very few people who want to work for the state company today because of low wages.

Last year, the president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) said that 478 population centers had a total or partial lack of water supply; that some 2.7 million people received water every three or more days, and that some 475,000 Cubans received water via tanker trucks. Although the government has tried to solve the water problem by sending tankers, they often cannot be transported due to the shortage of fuel or tires. An entire informal market has also been created. Cubans who can afford to pay up to 8,000 pesos ($25) can access water from these tanker trucks.

Source:

The latest protests in Cuba are about thirst: Over 600,000 people live without drinking water | International | EL PAÍS English (elpais.com)

New Tick-Borne Virus Discovered in China Can Affect Brain

A newly described virus is carried by the tick species pictured above which can spread to humans through bites. (Image credit: Bramborica, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

A new tick-borne virus discovered in China can spread to humans and can cause neurological disease. The germ, dubbed Wetland virus (WELV), was first detected in a hospital patient who was treated in the city of Jinzhou in June 2019, according to a recent report in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The 61-year-old experienced fever, headache, and vomiting approximately five days after visiting a park in a large wetland in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of northern China. He told doctors he’d been bitten by ticks at the park. Antibiotics didn’t ease the man’s symptoms, indicating that the infection wasn’t caused by bacteria.

An analysis of DNA and RNA in the man’s blood revealed a never-before-seen orthonairovirus — a group of related viruses that includes several carried by ticks. Other examples of these viruses include the one behind Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, a rare and deadly illness that can spread to humans via tick bites or through exposure to infected people’s bodily fluids.

WELV had not previously been seen in animals or humans. After uncovering the virus in the hospital patient’s blood, the researchers went looking for it in ticks and animals in northern China, including in the wetland park the man had visited.

They collected nearly 14,600 ticks and grouped them by location and species for analysis. Roughly 2% of the ticks tested positive for WELV genetic material. Five tick species could harbor the virus, but proportionally, ticks in the species Haemaphysalis concinna tested positive most often. The virus was also detected in a small percentage of the sheep, horses, and pigs the researchers examined, as well as in a handful of rodents called Transbaikal zokor (Myospalax psilurus).

Sources:

New tick-borne virus discovered in China can affect the brain, scientists report | Live Science

A New Orthonairovirus Associated with Human Febrile Illness | New England Journal of Medicine (nejm.org)

Mountain Lion Loose in Northern California Community

The mountain lion was initially spotted on Auburn Folsom Road and Eagles Nest, the Auburn Police Department said before posting screenshots of surveillance footage of the cougar. The Department of Fish and Wildlife was notified and residents who encounter the cat should call 911 or Fish and Wildlife officials at 916-358-2917.

Mountain lion sightings have grown in prominence since a deadly attack on two brothers last spring near Georgetown in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Facebook pages have been created to report mountain lion sightings in California. This sighting came nearly three weeks after a mountain lion was spotted in downtown Vacaville on 17 Aug.

Experts say mountain lions rarely attack people and they often try to avoid human interaction. The attack last spring was the state’s fourth that resulted in a death of the 21 known attacks since records started being kept in 1986.

Two isolated mountain lion populations in southern California’s Santa Ana and Santa Monica Mountains are at risk of local extinction, perhaps as soon as within 50 years, according to a study published in the journal Ecological Applications.

The study showed the extinction risk is due to low genetic diversity and mortality that affects the stability of the population. Mountain lion mortality is often caused by humans, but can also result from changes in the environment, such as wildfire and fluctuations in prey density.

Sources:

Mountain lion spotted in Auburn, according to police | Fresno Bee

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/local-extinction-southern-california-mountain-lions-possible-within-50-years

US Army Brigadier General: Trump is ‘Cacophonous Buffoon’ Who Will ‘Weaken Our National Security’

Retired US Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson (Official US Army portrait)

Retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson shredded Donald Trump as a danger to American national security on MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House.” He and several other senior military officials signed a letter endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, which was released last week.

“[Trump’s] going to weaken our national security in the most profound ways,” Anderson said. “I mean, first of all, all of our allies think that he is really a cacophonous buffoon. And whenever I travel overseas, people are always saying, what is going on with America? You can’t seriously be looking at bringing Donald Trump back into office.”

BG Anderson said that he’s forced to tell international audiences that there are 50 million-plus people who have bought into Trump’s “con.”

The retired US Army general urged Americans to “step up” and “understand what’s going on.”

Someone important who does understand is Mary Trump, a psychologist and Donald Trump’s niece. She reports that her uncle’s mental condition is declining and that he is now “demonstrably untethered from reality.” She addressed the former president’s cognition after his rambling, incoherent answer to a question about childcare. Asked last week at the Economic Club of New York what legislation he would advance to make childcare more affordable, Trump blathered on incomprehensibly for almost two minutes.

“It’s deeply disturbing that somebody as unhinged and incoherent as Donald Trump is allowed to run for the presidency in the first place (and that leaves aside all of the other disqualifying things about him),” Mary Trump wrote, lamenting a lack of urgency from the media “in the face of Donald’s increasingly bizarre behavior.”

“Surely a political press corps that spent months arguing that President Biden’s age rendered him mentally unfit, wouldn’t look the other way when the Republican candidate, the oldest person to run for president in American history, is not only old but decompensating before our very eyes. The difference of course is that Biden is aging while Donald is dementing.”

Sources:

‘Cacophonous buffoon’ Trump will ‘weaken our national security’: Brigadier general – Raw Story

https://archive.ph/2024.09.09-095700/https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-psychologist-niece-mary-says-donald-is-dementing

As Debate Looms, Trump Is Now the One Facing Questions About Age and Capacity – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Scores Killed in Vietnam by Asia’s Most Powerful Storm of 2024

Aerial imagery of damaged buildings and debris on a street after Typhoon Yagi hit Ha Long, in Quang Ninh province. (8 Sep 2024; Nhac Nguyen / AFP)

Nearly 60 people were killed in Vietnam as the region’s most powerful storm of the year swept across the north of the country.

Typhoon Yagi made landfall on Vietnam’s north coast on Saturday, battering Quang Ninh and Hai Phong with winds of up to 149 kilometers per hour (92 mph) and injuring 247 people. More than 8,000 homes were damaged by winds which tore down power and telecommunications lines; waves as high as 13 feet sank 25 boats and swept away fish farms. Torrential rainfall – as much as 16 inches in some provinces – destroyed more than 120,000 hectares (297,000 acres) of rice and other crops.

Scientists say extreme weather, fueled by rising temperatures, will have an increasing impact on this region in coming years, warning of more intense and unpredictable storms in a warming world.

In the US, Louisiana is bracing for Tropical Storm Francine which is predicted to make landfall this week as a Category II hurricane.

Sources:

Scores killed by Asia’s most powerful storm of the year — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Tropical Storm Francine strengthens, expected to hit Louisiana | AP News

Beachgoers Rescue Kitten Hiding Under Snow-Covered Rocks in Milwaukee, WI

Kitten here >

If you look carefully to the right, you can see her little face. (Phoro: Urban Cat Coalition)

As soon as Karen Hendrickson heard about the stray kitten hiding amongst the rocks at Bradford Beach in Milwaukee, WI, she knew she had to rescue her. It was cold and stormy, and the waves of Lake Michigan were crashing against the rocks, not far from where the kitten had taken refuge.

“It was freezing out there,” Hendrickson, a volunteer at the Urban Cat Coalition said. “The waves were really starting to crash in …. and if she would have gotten wet, I don’t think she would have made it.”

But catching this kitten — a tortoiseshell who was about 5 months old — wasn’t easy. “I was thinking, ‘Well, it’s a kitten and they like to play,’” she said. “I didn’t have any toys on me, but I took the shoe string out of my boots and started playing with her under the rocks. I also had a bit of deli ham with me and I started feeding her a little bit of it.”

Slowly but surely, Hendrickson gained the kitten’s trust. When the kitten ventured out from her rock shelter, Hendrickson managed to grab her and took her to the vet. Despite having lived out in the cold for several weeks, the kitten was in relatively good health, although she had to be treated for fleas and worms. She also got a name — Ruby.

Photo of Ruby (Urban Cat Coalition)

Since her adoption, Ruby has changed into a playful, confident kitten. “She just loves attention. Ruby comes running over and she’s very talkative.” The kitten now happily lives with a new owner and feline brother to boss around.

Sources:

Urban Cat Coalition

Facebook

Beachgoers Notice A Tiny Face Hiding Under The Snow-Covered Rocks – The Dodo

Three Israeli Border Guards Killed at West Bank-Jordan Border Crossing

Israeli security forces secure the entrance of the Allenby Bridge, between the West Bank and Jordan, after a Jordanian truck driver killed three Israeli border agents. (Photo: Debbie Hill)

Three Israeli border guards were shot dead by a Jordanian truck driver at the Allenby Crossing on the border between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, the Israeli Emergency Services said Sunday.

The IDF described the shooting as a terror attack and is investigating whether the truck was rigged with explosives. The truck driver was identified as Maher Dhiab Hussein al-Jazi (39). The gunman got out of the truck during an inspection at the terminal and opened fire at several of the workers.

Security guards returned fire at the terrorist, killing him. Two other crossings between Israel and Jordan — Rabin and Jordan River — were closed after the attack. Palestinians can only use the Allenby Bridge Crossing to enter Jordan from the West Bank, while Israelis generally use the Rabin and Jordan River crossings.

The three Israeli victims were settlers from Ma’ale Efraim, Na’ama, and Ariel. Two weeks ago, the IDF carried out raids, bulldozing highways, and launching airstrikes in multiple parts of the occupied West Bank.

Last week, the IDF shot and killed a 26-year-old Turkish-American female humanitarian who was protesting the dislocation of Palestinians from the West Bank.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in an undated photo via social media. She was shot in the head and the UN called for a complete investigation.

More than 670 West Bank Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza War began in Oct 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The IDF alleged most of the Palestinians were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.

Jordan, which signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, has been highly critical of Israel’s military operations in the West Bank and Gaza. And the UK recently restricted some military aid to Israel so that the weapons may not be used to perpetrate war crimes against Palestinians. See previous posting.

Meanwhile, Israelis held massive demonstrations nationwide demanding a deal to return the remaining Jewish hostages, as protesters flooded the streets 11 months after the start of the war in Gaza.

One of the largest demonstrations was in Tel Aviv, where videos showed what appeared to be many thousands of protesters choking Begin Road. Family members of some of the estimated 101 remaining hostages implored Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to close a cease-fire deal to gain their release.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday demanding a cease-fire and calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. Organizers claimed 400,000 demonstrators took part as the country marked 11 months since militants kidnapped hundreds of Israelis on 7 Oct 2023. Photo by Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE.

A recent editorial from Canada dubbed Israeli PM Bejamin Netanyahu “the curse of Israel.” Already indicted for war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague, a cessation of hostilities is not in Netanyahu’s best personal interest. He is playing for time with the Gaza War, using it to avoid his criminal bribery and corruption trials, as well as an inquiry into whether he could have prevented Hamas’ surprise attack last October. The longer everything is put off, the better it is for Netanyahu.

Sources:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/09/08/border-guards-killed-West-Bank-Jordan-crossing/6331725803551/

Netanyahu is Israel’s curse – The Hill Times

Trial of Benjamin Netanyahu – Wikipedia

Hundreds of thousands march across Israel to demand return of hostages – UPI.com

Filipino Pastor on FBI’s Most Wanted List Captured by 2,000 Police Officers

Influential pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the self-proclaimed “owner of the universe” and “appointed son of god” who was wanted in the US for child sex trafficking, was arrested in the Philippines on Sunday.

Over 2,000 police were deployed for more than two weeks to search a 74-acre compound in the southern city of Davao owned by his church – the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) – on suspicion that he was hiding there in a bunker.

Quiboloy’s followers had blocked the gate of the compound to prevent shield-carrying police from enforcing a court order to arrest him. Police also used helicopters to circle over a cathedral, a college, and a 75,000-seat stadium. The police reportedly recorded the warmth and heartbeat of a human body, deep in the earth, using thermal imaging and radar technology.

Apollo Quiboloy, a longtime friend of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte, was charged by the US Justice Department in 2021 with sex trafficking of girls and women between the ages of 12 and 25 to work as personal assistants, or “pastorals”, who were allegedly required to have sex with him.

He is also accused of bulk cash smuggling and a scheme that brought church members to the US using fraudulently obtained visas. They were then forced to solicit donations for a bogus charity, raising funds that were instead used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders.

The evangelist preacher, who is followed by millions of people in the Philippines, has denied wrongdoing.

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

Sources:

Apollo Quiboloy: How Filipino Pastor On FBI’s Most Wanted List Was Arrested By 2,000 Cops (ndtv.com)

Wildfires Force Thousands to Evacuate as Heat Wave Scorches Western US

A wildfire east of Los Angeles exploded overnight — more than doubling in size — as strong winds and dry conditions keep it raging out of control. Evacuation orders are in place for some mountain communities and neighborhoods near Highland, California — east of San Bernardino.

Meanwhile, in Nevada, the Davis Fire has torched a reported dozen buildings south of Reno and knocked out power to thousands as crews struggle to establish any containment.

Triple-digit heat will keep baking the Western US until Tuesday, offering fire-friendly conditions and straining crews working on the ground. In the cities, meanwhile, the heat could force power outages. Controlled outages may be implemented to help prevent broader outages or any new fires. However, no power also means no air conditioning as temperatures soar.

Source:

Wildfires force thousands to evacuate as heat wave scorches Western US (scrippsnews.com)

Dozens of ‘High-Risk’ Viruses Discovered on Fur Farms in China

Two workers at the Jiaozuo leather factory in Henan province, China, in 2006. (Guang Niu / Getty Images)

An international team of scientists offers insights into where and how the next pandemic may be brewing. Researchers analyzed the organs of 461 animals from dozens of species raised on fur farms in China, one of Asia’s leading producers. All the animals had died for unknown reasons.

The results reveal the presence of more than 100 different viruses, many of them unknown. Among them are 39 that are defined as “high risk,” as they have the ability to jump between species and potentially to humans. The research describes several viruses from wild animals that have spread to domestic species, often raised in their thousands in overcrowded cages and without sanitary controls. Samples were collected between 2021 and 2024 in more than a dozen provinces, mainly the four major fur-producing provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning, in the northeast of the country. The results were published 4 Sep in the journal Nature.

British virologist Edward Holmes theorized that the COVID-19 pandemic virus originated in bats and reached humans through other animal carriers sold in Chinese markets. “Breeding animals for fur is an obvious way in which a pandemic coronavirus, or flu virus, could emerge in humans,” Holmes said. Another researcher emphasized: “Our study shows that viruses have jumped from wild species to farm animals. Because humans are in close contact with these animals, there is also a risk of contagion, and in fact we see that some human viruses have been transmitted to animals.” Researchers have so far detected no cases of human-to-human infection.

Raccoon dogs, members of the fox family, are nocturnal carnivores that are bred by the millions on Chinese fur farms for their pelts. Another coronavirus that emerged in China in 2002 and killed nearly 800 people — severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) — was also detected in a Guangdong animal market in raccoon dogs. The new work points to this mammal, along with mink, guinea pigs, rabbits, and arctic foxes, as the major carriers of viruses classified as “high-risk” to humans.

Among the pathogens isolated are viruses from many families, including coronaviruses and influenza viruses. The most “worrying” of these, according to Holmes, may be the HKU5 coronavirus, which originated from the common bat and was found in mink that died of pneumonia. This pathogen is related to MERS, which has been detected in 27 countries and has killed nearly 900 people since 2012. The jump from bats to mink is “alarming” and requires monitoring.

The research is published just as the world is witnessing the worst avian flu epidemic ever recorded. A new, highly pathogenic H5N1 virus emerged in wild birds in 2021. It has since spread to domestic species, forcing the culling of hundreds of millions of birds, and infected wild and domestic mammals, including dairy cows in the US and mink on fur farms in Spain. It has already spread to humans and reached Antarctica, the most isolated and pristine continent on the planet. If H5N1 gains the ability to transmit efficiently between people, a new pandemic would ensue.

Source:

Dozens of ‘high-risk’ viruses discovered on fur farms in China | Science | EL PAÍS English (elpais.com)

Human Rights Group: Chechen Forces Coerce Gay Men into Military Service; Seven Sent to Frontlines in Ukraine

A serviceman listens to Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechen Republic, as he addresses troops in Grozny, the regional capital of Chechnya, on 29 March 2022. Source: AP Photo

Security forces in Chechnya are forcibly sending detained homosexual men to Ukraine by blackmailing them into “volunteering” for the frontlines, according to a report from the human rights group NC SOS («СК СОС»). The human rights activists have reported at least seven such cases, with one of the men sent to the front already having been killed.

SK SOS reports that these forced conscription methods began before 21 Sep 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “partial mobilization” of the army. In early Sep 2022, six men in Chechnya were detained on suspicion of being homosexual. They were threatened with fabricated criminal charges and warned they would be sent to pre-trial detention, where their orientation would be revealed to fellow inmates.

The detainees were given the choice of paying a ransom or volunteering for the war in Ukraine. Three of the men were forced to become “volunteers,” as the ransom amount — 1.5 million rubles (over $17,000) — was unaffordable for their families. One of these men was reportedly killed in action. In 2023, several members of the LGBTQ+ community were arrested. The women among them were released to their families later that evening, while four men were forcibly sent to Ukraine. Their fate remains unknown.

Source:

Human rights group reports Chechen forces coercing detained gay men into military service, with at least seven sent to frontlines in Ukraine (theins.ru)

‘Very Dangerous’ British Prisoner Among Five to Escape High-Security Prison in Portugal

Top (L-R): Fernando Ferreira, Fabio Loureiro, Shergili Farjiani; Bottom: Mark Roscaleer, Rodolfo Lohrmann

Mark Cameron Roscaleer (39) had been serving a nine-year sentence for kidnapping and robbery at the Vale de Judeus Prison, 43 miles north of Lisbon. He and four others escaped the high-security prison Saturday morning. According to the Portuguese prison service (DGRSP), the convicts received “external help” from accomplices who provided a ladder which “allowed the inmates to scale the wall.” With three accomplices outside the prison, the five prisoners fled the scene in a Mercedes and a Volvo.

Vale de Judeus Prison. The prison guards’ union has criticized a lack of staffing at the high-security prison, saying there were not enough guards to properly watch the perimeter wall

The four other escapees are:

Fernando Ferreira (61), Portuguese, serving 25 years for drug trafficking, theft, robbery, and kidnapping.

Fabio Loureiro (33), Portuguese, jailed for 25 years for extortion, theft, and money laundering.

Rodolf Lohrmann (59), Argentinian, sentenced to 18 years and 10 months for theft, robbery, and money laundering.

Shergili Farjiani (42), originally from Georgia, given a seven-year term for violent crimes theft and forgery.

Luis Neves, national director of the Judicial Police, said that with the exception of Shergili Farjiani, all the prisoners were “very dangerous” and their escape was “very well prepared”.

He also told a news conference on Sunday they have “already tried to escape from prison several times” and will do “anything to remain free”, direly warning:

“When I say everything, I mean everything, including the fact that human life may be at stake here.”

Source:

‘Very dangerous’ British prisoner among five to escape from high-security prison in Portugal | World News | Sky News

Thieves Snatched Phone in London; One Month Later It Was in China

In April, a thief on the back of an electric bike snatched Akara Etteh’s phone in central London, making him another victim of an estimated 78,000 “snatch thefts” in England and Wales.

Mr. Etteh put his iPhone 13 into “lost” mode so the thieves couldn’t access its contents. He then turned on the Find My iPhone feature using his laptop. This allowed Akara to track his phone’s rough location as shown in the illustration above.

Stolen phones often end up in Shenzhen – where if devices can’t be unlocked and used again, they are disassembled for parts. The city is home to 17.6 million people and is an enormous hi-tech hub, sometimes referred to as China’s “Silicon Valley.”

One phone snatch victim, James O’Sullivan (44), says he lost more than £25,000 when thieves used his stolen device’s Apple Pay service. Another victim, Katie Ashworth, said her phone was snatched in a park along with her watch, and a debit card in the phone case. The phone contained the last photos of her mother while she was healthy.

Devastated by the loss of the photos, Ms. Ashworth says there was a lack of action from the constabulary.

“The police never even followed it up with me, despite my bank transactions showing exactly where the thieves went. The police just told me to check Facebook Marketplace and local second-hand shops like Cex.”

Source:

Thieves snatched his phone in London – he tracked it to China (bbc.com)

Baby Beavers Born in Urban London for First Time in Over 400 Years

The beavers constructed six dams and two lodges

At least two kits have appeared just eight months after the pioneering reintroduction of a beaver family to west London. The last time beavers had a presence in London was during the time of William Shakespeare.

The births of the kits mark the end of a more than 400-year absence of breeding beavers in urban London. At least two new kits born in the spring appear to be thriving, announced organizers of The Ealing Beaver Project.

In what is being called “a huge advancement in urban rewilding”, the successful reintroduction of beavers to London – and now the birth of the kits – is the fruit of a collaboration between multiple organisations and bodies.

The babies have been spotted venturing outside of their lodge in recent weeks at what is a publicly accessible site in Paradise Fields, a wetland in Greenford, west London. Beavers used to be permanent residents in the capital, before hunting, habitat destruction, and persecution led to the loss of the species throughout the UK. Their arrival shows that humans and wildlife can thrive side by side in urban environments, said Dr Sean McCormack, the license holder at the Ealing Beaver Project and chair of Ealing Wildlife Group.

“I had every confidence our beaver family would settle in at Paradise Fields, but to discover they’ve had new baby kits this spring is really the icing on the beaver cake,” he said. “These are not a wilderness species, they are an important animal we once lived alongside up and down the country and welcoming them back, even to our towns and cities, is the right thing to do. We may need to learn to live alongside them again, and sometimes manage their behaviour, but the ecosystem services they provide have been clearly demonstrated here already at the Ealing Beaver Project.”

Since their reintroduction, water quality has improved, flooding has reduced, and more insects and other wildlife have already been attracted to the site.

Source:

Ealing: First baby beavers born in urban London for 400 years (bbc.com)

IDF Kills US-Turkish Humanitarian in West Bank

Undated image of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.

A 26-year-old Turkish-American activist, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was shot in the head and killed during an anti-settlement protest near Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The IDF admitted to firing at the demonstrators and has not said if any other gunmen were present.

She was shot during a weekly demonstration against an Israeli settlement near the Palestinian village of Beita. Eyewitnesses and Palestinian officials said the Israeli military was responsible.

The IDF stated its forces “responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them.” It said that it was “looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area.”

Protests at Beita are common. The Palestinian town is next to a ramshackle Israeli settler outpost known as Evyatar. The settlement was unauthorized by the Israeli state until it was legalized earlier this year. All Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.

Eygi was volunteering in the West Bank with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), the same group as Rachel Corrie (23), a US citizen who was killed in 2003 while trying to block an Israeli bulldozer from razing Palestinian homes. (Getty Images)

In 2012, IDF Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner smashed the face of an unarmed activist named Andaers in the West Bank with his US-made M16 rifle. His expression looks like contempt. This protestor can consider himself lucky just to be alive.

Nearly 700 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah and the UN, who have called for a full investigation of Aysenur’s killing.

Sources:

Aysenur Eygi: US activist killed after Israeli military fires at protest in West Bank | CNN

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi: UN urges inquiry into killing of US-Turkish protester in West Bank (bbc.com)

Massachusetts Physician Sentenced Nine Months for Punching Police Officer During 6 Jan Attack

A medical doctor who punched a police officer during a mob’s attack on the US Capitol was sentenced to nine months of imprisonment followed by nine months of home confinement. Jacquelyn Starer (70) was inside the Capitol on 6 Jan 2021 when she struck the officer with a closed fist and shouted a profane insult.

Jacquelyn Starer told US District Judge Timothy Kelly that she isn’t proud of her actions that day, including her “regrettable encounter” with the officer. “I accept full responsibility for my actions that day, and I truly wish reason had prevailed over my emotions,” she said.

Starer also turned to apologize to the officer whom she assaulted. The officer, identified only by her initials in court filings, told the judge she feared for her life as she and other officers fought for hours to defend the Capitol from the mob of Donald Trump supporters. “Do you really take responsibility for your actions or are you just going to say: ‘It wasn’t my fault. Fight or flight’?” the officer asked Starer before she addressed the court.

Starer of Ashland, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in April to eight counts, including a felony assault charge. Starer’s attorneys asked the judge to sentence her to home confinement instead of incarceration.

In the 43 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,488 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the attack on the US Capitol, including nearly 550 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

Sources:

District of Columbia | Massachusetts Woman Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Law Enforcement and Other Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach | United States Department of Justice

https://www.yahoo.com/news/physician-sentenced-9-months-prison-214655876.html

US Sees Increasing Risk of Sabotage of Key Undersea Cables by Secretive Russian Military Unit

The USIC has detected increased Russian military activity around key undersea cables and assesses Russia may now be more likely to carry out potential sabotage operations aimed at disabling a critical piece of the world’s communications infrastructure. Russia has been building up a dedicated military unit called the “General Staff Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research,” or GUGI.

“We are concerned about heightened Russian naval activity worldwide and that Russia’s decision calculus for damaging US and allied undersea critical infrastructure may be changing,” a US official told CNN. “Russia is continuing to develop naval capabilities for undersea sabotage mainly thru GUGI, a closely guarded unit that operates surface vessels, submarines, and naval drones.”

The US and NATO regularly tracks Russian ships that patrol close to critical maritime infrastructure and undersea cables often far from Russian shores.

Undersea cables form a critical backbone of internet and telecommunications traffic around the world. Most communications and internet traffic travels across a vast network of high-speed fiber-optic cables installed along the ocean floor. A coordinated attack could significantly disrupt private, government and military communications along such cables as well as industries that rely on such communications, including financial markets and energy suppliers. Undersea cables also carry vast amounts of electricity among several European countries.

Commanders aboard a NATO patrol vessel in April 2023 told CNN they had witnessed an increase of military surveillance over undersea cables in the Baltic Sea and the waters around Northern Europe.

Last year, a joint investigation by the public broadcasters of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland found that Russia has a fleet of suspected spy ships operating in northern European waters for potential sabotage of both undersea cables and wind farms. Using data analysis, intercepted radio communications, and intelligence sources, the broadcasters tracked over several years some fifty ships operating in the area, using underwater surveillance to map sites for potential attacks.

Taiwanese and US intelligence have observed similar activity by the Chinese Navy in waters around Taiwan. “The activity looks like targeted harassment by Beijing – or an exercise in preparation for cutting off the whole of Taiwan,” Elisabeth Braw wrote in Foreign Policy magazine in February 2023.

Russia’s covert naval program has not been disrupted by its ongoing war against Ukraine, continuing to fund GUGI even while waging war in Ukraine. Sabotage of US or allied undersea infrastructure would be a significant escalation in Russian aggression outside of Ukraine.

Sources:

Exclusive: US sees increasing risk of Russian ‘sabotage’ of key undersea cables by secretive military unit (yahoo.com)

To Secure Undersea Cables, Take Lessons from the British Empire’s All-Red Line | Proceedings – July 2024 Vol. 150/7/1,457 (usni.org)

Pakistani Accused of Plotting to Kill Jews in NYC on Behalf of Islamic State

The lone unarmed suspect was arrested by an army of police officers Wednesday in the town of Ormstown, Quebec, 60 km south of Montreal. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan is described as a Pakistani citizen residing in Toronto.

A Pakistani citizen living in Canada has been charged with planning an attack in NYC in support of the Islamic State group. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan AKA Shahzeb Jadoon (20) is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center around 7 Oct 2024, the first anniversary of the Gaza War. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan aimed to kill “as many Jewish people as possible” in the name of Islamic State. Khan attempted to travel from Canada to the US but was arrested on 4 Sep before reaching the border. He had told two undercover law enforcement officers of his plans to create “a real offline cell” of Islamic State supporters to carry out an attack.

The suspect, who was unarmed when arrested in Canada, requested the undercover officers to acquire AR-style rifles, ammunition, and other equipment for the NYC attack, including hunting knives in order to slit throats.

There is no information regarding Muhammad Shahzeb Khan’s mental faculties or whether he has any military or firearms training in order to carry out this extraordinary mega-attack with accomplices whom he has never personally met.

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

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Pakistani National Charged for Plotting Terrorist Attack in New York City in Support of ISIS | United States Department of Justice

Pakistani Accused Of Plotting To Kill Jews In New York On Behalf Of Islamic State (rferl.org)

Locals Accuse Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump of ‘Taking What is Ours’ for Billion Dollar Resort Project in Albania

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump, daughters of former US President Donald Trump, look on during the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on 18 July 2024 in Milwaukee, WI. The land they plan on developing in Albania is subject to several disputes. (Getty Images)

Local residents in Albania are accusing Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump of attempting to take land away from them for two luxury resort projects.

The daughter and son-in-law of former President Donald Trump are looking to invest almost $1bn in the area. Kushner previously announced his plans to build a hotel and a number of beach villas on a part of land that has been farmed by an Albanian family for generations but which was seized from them after the end of the Communist regime in 1991, according to The New York Times.

“They are trying to take from us what is ours,” Bledar Alexandros Konomi told the paper. Konomi used to help take care of cattle on the part of the mainland where Kushner now wants to build a hotel. His claim to the land is supported by court records. Kushner is also seeking exclusive development rights on the small island of Sazan, where the Soviet Union stored military supplies during the Cold War.

2024 CIA World Factbook

A second bid to develop the island was submitted by Albanian-American developer Evi Kokalari-Angelakis. When her proposal to the Albanian government was disregarded, she insinuated the regime wants to ingratiate themselves with the former president in the event he returns to the White House in January.

Opposition party member in the Albanian parliament Agron Shehaj said the process of choosing a developer had lacked transparency, which “makes it look like this is a private deal that is in the political interest of the prime minister of Albania.”

Prime Minister Edi Rama and Kushner both rejected the notion that the former president had anything to do with the development process.

“The fact that such a renowned American entrepreneur shows his interest on investing in Albania makes us very proud and happy,” said a spokesperson for the prime minister. “It shows on another level to the US and the world that there is a new rising star in the beautiful Mediterranean world of tourism named Albania.”

“We have this 1,400-acre island in the Mediterranean and we’re bringing in the best architects and the best brands,” Ivanka Trump said on the Lex Fridman Podcast earlier this summer.

The projects on the Albanian coastline are not connected to the Trump Organization, which is partly owned by Trump, and it will not be linked to the Trump name.

Jared Kushner established an investment company called Affinity Partners, which is supported mostly by funds coming from the Saudi Arabian government. Over the years, Saudi NGOs built 200 mosques in Albania and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia donated one million copies of an Albanian-language version of the Quran.

A University of Cincinnati professor of statistics said it’s “very obvious that a big corruption scheme is going on.”

On the mainland, villagers in Zvernec, near the site where one of the projects is planned, have notified Kushner that they claim to own the land, which is subject to several disputes.

Source:

Locals accuse Jared and Ivanka Trump of ‘taking what is ours’ for billion-dollar resort project in Albania | The Independent (the-independent.com)

US-Iraq Deal Would See Hundreds of Soldiers Withdraw by Sep 2025

The US and Iraq have reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from Iraq. Hundreds of troops would leave by September 2025, with the remainder departing by the end of 2026. The US and Iraq are also seeking to establish a new advisory relationship that could see some US forces remain in Iraq after the drawdown. The US has approximately 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in neighboring Syria as part of the coalition formed in 2014 to combat Islamic State as it rampaged through the two countries. The group once held roughly a third of Iraq and Syria but was territorially defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Iraq had demonstrated its ability to handle any remaining threat.

The agreement follows more than six months of talks between Baghdad and Washington, initiated by Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in January amid attacks by Iran-backed Iraqi armed groups on US forces stationed at Iraqi bases. The rocket and drone attacks have killed three American troops and wounded dozens more, resulting in several rounds of deadly US retaliation that threatened government efforts to stabilize Iraq after decades of conflict.

Under the plan, all coalition forces would leave the Ain al-Asad airbase in western Anbar province and significantly reduce their presence in Baghdad by September 2025. US and other coalition troops are expected to remain in Irbil, in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdistan region, for approximately one additional year, until around the end of 2026, to facilitate ongoing operations against Islamic State in Syria.

In other news, Switzerland reopened its embassy in Baghdad, 33 years after closing its previous representation due to the 1991 Gulf War. By reopening the embassy, the Swiss Federal Council aims to strengthen bilateral relations with the populous country and deepen cooperation in economic, security, and migration matters

Sources:

US-Iraq deal would see hundreds of troops withdraw in first year, sources say (voanews.com)

Swiss embassy in Baghdad reopens (admin.ch)

12 Students Hospitalized, One Dead from Unidentified Cause in Northern Vietnam

Two hospitals have been tasked with uncovering the cause of the death of a student from Thai Nguyen Industrial College in northern Vietnam and the hospitalization of 12 others.

All 13 victims had developed fevers, headaches, stomach aches, and nausea, with the cause still unknown. The deceased student was diagnosed with multi-organ failure, acute heart failure, myocarditis, and hepatitis B. One student is in a critical condition and on a ventilator. The ten remaining students are in stable condition.

The two hospitals were ordered to identify appropriate treatments for the patients and control the infection, if any, to minimize the number of people likely to catch the disease.

Source:

12 students hospitalized, 1 dead from unidentified cause in northern Vietnam | Tuoi Tre News

Lioness Rescued in Ukraine from a Tiny Cage Tentatively Walks on Grass for First Time

A UK animal rescue charity evacuated two lionesses from Ukraine and one has just been filmed taking her first steps on grass. Yuna the lioness had never felt grass beneath her paws, having been raised in captivity in a small concrete enclosure. She had been traumatized long before the Russian invasion.

In concert with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, England, organized the retrieval and air transport of the lionesses out of Ukraine in a 30-hour operation.

Yuna safely arrived at a 32-acre facility in Kent, and another lioness was delivered to a similar sanctuary in Belgium. Fundraising and preparations are underway to rescue another three lionesses from Kyiv.

Source:

The Good News Network and YouTube

US Charges Former Trump 2016 Campaign Adviser Dimitri Simes for Working with Sanctioned Russian Media

Undated image of Dmitri Simes.

The US government has charged a Russian-born US citizen and former adviser to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign with working for a sanctioned Russian state television network and laundering the proceeds. Dimitri Simes (76) and his wife allegedly received over $1 million dollars and a personal car and driver in exchange for work they did for Russia’s Channel One. The state television network was sanctioned by the US in 2022 over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Simes and his wife, Anastasia (55), have a home in Virginia and are believed to be in Russia. Simes ran a think tank based in Washington that advised Trump’s campaign.

A second indictment alleges that Anastasia Simes (55) received funds from sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexander Udodov. If convicted of the charges, the two face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

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

Sources:

TV Presenter Who Worked for Channel One Russia Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions Imposed on Russia

https://apnews.com/article/trump-simes-russia-election-fbi-f0b0fe681c821f735c4e951736f041c8

US Indicts Six Russian Hackers for Attacking Ukrainian and US Computer Systems

This image released by the US State Department shows Russian military officers charged for allegedly conducting cyberattacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine ahead of the Russian invasion.

A grand jury in Maryland has charged six Russians, including five who are officers in Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), with conspiracy to hack into computer systems and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The indictment, unsealed on 5 Sep, alleges that the Russians conspired to hack into computer systems associated with the Ukrainian government in advance of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Their original targets included Ukrainian government systems and data with no military or defense-related roles and later included computer systems in countries around the world that were providing support to Ukraine, including in the US. The whereabouts of the men are unknown, and the State Department has issued a reward for information leading to their arrest.

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 | Five Russian GRU Officers and One Civilian Charged for Conspiring to Hack Ukrainian Government | United States Department of Justice

US widens indictment of Russians in ‘WhisperGate’ conspiracy to destroy Ukrainian and NATO systems | AP News

China’s Consul General in NY Departs After Aide Charged with Acting as Agent for Chinese Government

The State Dept reported that Huang Ping was not expelled, but had rather reached the end of a regularly scheduled rotation and departed his post at the end of August.

China’s consul general in New York departed after a former aide for New York governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo was charged with acting as an agent for the Chinese government.

“I have conveyed my desire to have the counsel general from the People’s Republic of China and the New York mission expelled, and I’ve been informed that the counsel general is no longer in the New York mission,” Hochul said during an off-topic portion of an unrelated press conference. The governor was on the phone with a high-ranking State Department official at the request of Antony Blinken. He was later identified as Kurt Campbell, the deputy secretary of State.

Hochul’s announcement comes after Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to Hochul and Cuomo aide, was charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registrations Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.

If Huang Ping was not expelled, Beijing won’t reciprocate by expelling a US diplomat from China.

Beijing has presented the USIC and federal law-enforcement with a complex and challenging counterintelligence threat that will not go away any time soon. The USIC has also been dealing with nefarious Russian espionage and election interference attempts and the FBI must spend precious resources investigating dead-ender 6 Jan insurrectionists that were allegedly inspired by then-President Donald Trump.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/04/us/china-consul-general-ny-expelled/index.html

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/chinese-consulate-says-envoy-not-162531466.html

German Police Kill Gunman in Shootout Near Israeli Consulate in Munich

(Image Credit: X/Hans92183466101)

German police shot dead an Austrian gunman in Munich close to the Israeli consulate. The 18-year-old man fired shots from an old carbine rifle with a bayonet in Munich’s Maxvorstadt district, near both the consulate and a Nazi history museum, before being killed in a shootout with five officers.

The incident occurred on the 52nd anniversary of the 1972 attack at the Munich Olympics in which Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli athletes. “There may be a connection between the two,” Bavarian state Premier Markus Soeder told reporters, adding that this was being investigated.

The teenage gunman was already known to Austrian authorities for alleged membership in an extremist group.

The use of lethal force in Germany is rare. Since 1952, German law-enforcement personnel have killed a total of 529 people; between 1961 and 1989, perhaps 140 people were killed by East German security services at the infamous Berlin Wall.

German police will be unable to interrogate the corpse of this 18-year-old suspect and will have to speculate as to his motivation for the attack. As long as injustices and brutality continue against Palestinians or Arabs, Western intelligence services should expect more lone actor attacks or IS-inspired plots against soft civilian targets like the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna or the recent stabbing spree in Solingen, Germany. That attack left three people dead and eight injured. The suspect, a young Syrian asylum seeker, was taken alive and will be thoroughly interrogated and prosecuted.

Sources:

German police kill suspected Islamist gunman in shootout near Israeli consulate | Reuters

List of killings by law enforcement officers in Germany – Wikipedia

The East German secret police and the Berlin Wall – DW – 08/12/2021

Suspect in custody after stabbing spree in Germany killed three people – ABC News

Greta Thunberg Detained by Danish Police at pro-Palestinian Demonstration: “Protests Should Be Everywhere.”

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (C) participates in a march from the University of Copenhagen to Vor Frue Square in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 4 Sep 2024. (EMIL HELMS via Getty Images)

Danish police detained activist Greta Thunberg (21) at a Copenhagen University protest against the war in Gaza and Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. The activist was part of a group occupying a University of Copenhagen building to call for an academic boycott of Israeli universities. Thunberg was later released from detention and the daily Ekstra Bladet showed video footage of her walking out of a police station.

Students Against the Occupation posted on Instagram that “while the situation in Palestine only gets worse, the University of Copenhagen continues cooperation with academic institutions in Israel.”

Widely known for her campaign to end man-made climate change, Swedish-born Greta Thunberg has increasingly taken up the Palestinian cause and in May said such protests “should be everywhere”.

Since last spring, pro-Palestinian protesters have set up encampments at universities around the US and Europe to demonstrate against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and the occupation of Palestinian territories. The IDF have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians and injured at least 94,398 others, according to Al Jazeera’s tracker of the conflict.

A UN special rapporteur on human rights said earlier this year that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israel’s military offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide. The International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes, but his arrest warrant has inexplicably not been issued yet.

Insensitive bloggers, on supposedly liberal websites in the US, have already began robotically demonizing defenseless Greta Thunberg for daring to protest Western complicity in what US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) described in April 2024 as “ethnic cleansing.”

“It is not antisemitic to oppose Israel’s US-backed massacre of over 33,000 Palestinians. I don’t think there’s any doubt that what Netanyahu is doing now, displacing 80 percent of the population in Gaza, is ethnic cleansing.”

Greta Thunberg and those Danish students agree with you, Senator.

Sources:

Greta Thunberg arrested at pro-Palestinian protest in Denmark (lemonde.fr)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/greta-thunberg-detained-by-danish-police-at-pro-palestinian-protest/ar-AA1pZ4CB?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=EDGEXST&cvid=051174ff722246fb9930b3a85efd7a76&ei=27

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/09/04/greta-thunberg-arrested-at-pro-palestinian-protest-in-denmark_6724752_4.html

Sanders: It Is Not Antisemitic to Oppose Israel’s Assault of Gaza | Truthout

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx88l499vero

New Hampshire Man Tests Positive for EEE and Two Other Mosquito Viruses Fighting for His Life

Joe Casey. (Family photo)

A New Hampshire man is fighting for his life because of a mosquito bite. Fifty-four-year-old Joe Casey of Kensington has tested positive for three mosquito-borne viruses, including eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), West Nile Virus, and St. Louis Encephalitis

Casey started to feel sick back in early August. He now has swelling in the brain and is barely able to communicate at Exeter Hospital.

Last week, 41-year-old Steven Perry of Hampstead, N.H., died after contracting EEE.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services said Kensington has had at least one mosquito pool test positive for EEE. The town has sent out postcards notifying residents and the threat level has been raised to high.

This is another danger that global climate change is causing. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports current and future climate will affect mosquito and parasite biology, but that “temperature is not the only driver of change.” Other environmental factors include rainfall, humidity, land use, and human population density.

To avoid mosquito bites, people must cover up their skin, use mosquito repellant, and avoid being out from dusk to dawn. Leave dragonflies and spiders alone, as they help catch virus-spreading mosquitoes.

Sources:

New Hampshire man tests positive for EEE and 2 other mosquito viruses, now fighting for life – CBS Boston (cbsnews.com)

Researchers Discuss Impact of Climate Change on Mosquito-Borne Diseases | NIH Record

North Korea Launches More Trash-filled Balloons Across Border

North Korea resumed launching hundreds of trash-filled balloons into the South. 20 balloons carrying paper and plastic bottles fell in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, with no hazardous substances detected. (File Photo by Yonhap)

The South Korean High Command confirmed that North Korea had launched more than 420 garbage balloons across the border with South Korea, continuing its latest nuisance campaign for the second day in a row. While Beijing launches sophisticated spy balloons against the West, Pyongyang launches petty balloons filled with garbage and manure against her southern neighbor.

This marked the first time in 25 days that North Korea has launched the balloons, ramping up the back-and-forth Cold War-style psychological warfare that has emerged along border areas in recent months. North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of launches since early June, sending thousands of balloons carrying scrap paper, shredded clothing, and manure into the South — including one that spilled trash on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s compound.

In response, South Korea started propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts near the DMZ in mid-July, blasting K-pop songs and South Korean news and information. The broadcasts reportedly call for soldiers working in border areas to escape and include news of the defection of a North Korean diplomat from Cuba last year. South Korea’s military claims the speakers can be heard as far as 15 miles away.

A pair of North Koreans, including one soldier, defected across the inter-Korean border on two separate occasions last month, prompting speculation that the broadcasts may be having an impact. The balloon launches come as US and South Korean officials held high-level talks in Washington. The US and South Korea are also currently staging a 13-day military amphibious landing exercise and the allies concluded their annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield joint exercise last week.

Pyongyang frequently condemns the joint drills as preparation for an invasion and maintains that its own nuclear and weapons programs are a necessary form of deterrence.

Source:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/09/05/north-korea-trash-balloons-dmz-launch-border/4631725522632/

Dangerous Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Law Enforcement During 6 Jan 2021 Capitol Attack

Joshua Lee Atwood (31) of Burgettstown, PA, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

Atwood traveled from his home in Burgettstown to Washington, D.C., to attend the 6 Jan 2021 “Stop the Steal” rally on the National Mall. After the rally, Atwood made his way toward the US Capitol building and arrived at the Lower West Terrace Tunnel, the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement that day. Atwood observed law enforcement officers actively attempting to prevent members of the crowd from entering the building.

Atwood climbed into the Capitol building through a broken window next to the Tunnel and entered into a Senate room near the Lower West Terrace exterior doors. Atwood exited the building and joined the mob gathered around the Tunnel entrance, which law enforcement officers were actively defending. Atwood started throwing several objects at officers in the Tunnel, including a plastic bottle and a metal pole, both of which struck police officers.

The defendant then picked up a wooden pole and used it to forcibly strike at the riot shields of officers, struck an officer’s helmet, then threw the pole at the USCP. Next, Atwood drew a canister of pepper spray and continuously sprayed the police until the canister was depleted, which he then threw at police. This maniac then hurled additional items at the police, including a baseball bat and a plastic bottle.

Atwood then used a police riot shield to strike at officers guarding the Tunnel. When striking police with the riot shield, Atwood yelled, “F— off, you guys are all pieces of s—”, and “Everyone of you should be ashamed of yourself. Everyone of you m—f—are pieces of s—. Betraying your country like this, why would you betray your country. Do you love your country, or do you want civil…communist f—.”

Shortly after, the defendant picked up a metal scaffolding pipe and threw it at police which bounced off a riot shield and struck another officer in the head and neck. Moments later, Atwood picked up a heavy black speaker and threw it toward the USCP. The FBI arrested Atwood on 17 April 2024, in Pennsylvania.

This dangerous member of America’s “Fedayeen Saddam” (FS), dead-ender white supremacists, has been in custody since his arrest and will be sentenced on 20 Dec 2024. Remarkably, this miscreant is reportedly the owner of an HVAC company and the father of two children, with a third on the way.

In the 43 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,488 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including nearly 550 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/pennsylvania-man-pleads-guilty-assaulting-law-enforcement-dangerous-weapon-during-jan-6

https://triblive.com/local/regional/federal-judge-keeps-accused-jan-6-rioter-from-burgettstown-behind-bars-pending-trial/

Ukraine Names Career Diplomat Andrii Sybiha as New Foreign Minister in Government Shake-Up

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on 5 Sep 2024. Photo: Ukrainian Parliament Press Office.

Ukrainian lawmakers appointed Andrii Sybiha (49) as the country’s new foreign minister in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s reshuffling of his top advisers. He replaces Dmytro Kuleba, who had been instrumental in lobbying Ukraine’s Western allies for military assistance for Ukraine’s 30-month fight against Russia’s invasion.

Sybiha, who speaks English and Polish, has been the deputy foreign minister and had also served as ambassador to Turkey. He is considered to be closer to Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, than Kuleba, who is the most prominent departure from Zelenskyy’s list of top officials.

While Kuleba’s diplomatic skills were acknowledged, his removal was part of a bid by Zelenskyy to exert a tighter grip on foreign policy, Ukrainian sources suggested. A source in Zelenskyy’s party said the presidency had been growing frustrated with Kuleba:

“He was giving interviews, speaking beautifully, going on trips, this handkerchief in his jacket. … He was engaged in self-promotion, instead of improving the work of embassies, working systematically on countries and getting their support.”

Zelenskyy, when asked about the rationale for his government shake-up, told reporters, “We need new energy. And these steps are related to strengthening our state in various areas.”

Ukraine’s parliament also approved new nominations for several other posts, naming two new vice prime ministers and six other new ministers.

On the battle front, Ukraine’s military shot down 60 of 78 Russian drones that targeted regions across the country. In Kherson, officials reported Russian strikes that hit two medical facilities and injured two people. Russian forces struck an educational institution in Poltava, but there was no information about casualties. Russia’s defense ministry said it destroyed a rocket and two Ukrainian aerial drones over the Belgorod region, injuring one person and damaging a home. Russian air defenses also shot down three drones over the Kursk region and two drones over Bryansk.

Source:

Ukraine names career diplomat Andrii Sybiha as new foreign minister (voanews.com)

Sumatran Tiger Cub Born at San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance announced the birth of a baby Sumatran tiger cub at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.

The alliance said first-time mother Jillian gave birth to a cub 23 Aug in the park’s Tull Family Tiger Trail habitat. Care specialists said Jillian quickly bonded with the newborn and has been displaying the expected maternal behaviors.

“We are thrilled at the birth of this very special tiger cub at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park,” said Lisa Peterson, senior vice president and executive director of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. “This birth adds Jillian’s incredibly important genes into the pool of the population, furthering the genetic diversity and health of the Sumatran tiger species.”

Sumatran tigers are considered critically endangered, with only 400-600 of the big cats believed to live in the wild. Officials said the mother and cub will remain in their den for the next few weeks while specialists continue to monitor the duo and their milestones.

Animal lovers can “adopt” a tiger at the International Tiger Project, linked below.

Sources:

Watch: Sumatran tiger cub born at San Diego Zoo – UPI.com

https://www.internationaltigerproject.org/adopt/

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau Weakened After Main Ally Unexpectedly Pulls Support

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

dl (justice.gov)

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

dl (justice.gov)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

US Army Officer Dies in Poland; Cause Under Investigation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Map: 2024 CIA World Factbook

Source:

US Army officer dies in Poland | Stars and Stripes

Russia: Two Alleged Pro-Ukraine Mercenaries Detained In Venezuela

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

British Cat Steals Neighbors’ Clothes for Her Owner

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source:

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

At Least 51 Killed, 219 injured in Russian Missile Strike in Central Ukraine

An Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile launcher. Russian forces have been firing such missiles from mobile launchers across the border into Ukraine. (Credit: Maxim Shipenkov/EPA, via Shutterstock)

At least 51 people were killed and 219 were injured on 3 Sep in one of Russia’s deadliest attacks in a single strike since its all-out invasion of Ukraine. Two missiles struck a building of the Military Communications Institute in a morning attack on the city of Poltava in central Ukraine.

The victims didn’t have time to evacuate to a bomb shelter after hearing the air-raid alert. 15 people may still be under the rubble as search teams were continuing to work at the scene.

The Prosecutor-General’s Office announced that it launched an inquiry after President Zelensky ordered a “full and prompt investigation” into what happened.

The attack is believed to be the deadliest single strike since May 2022 when 87 soldiers were killed at a military training center in the northern Cherniv region. Ukraine’s defense readiness came under scrutiny after the strike on Poltava, and some observers questioned why a large number of people were left vulnerable to a single attack.

Vladislav Seleznev, a Ukrainian military analyst and former spokesman for the General Staff of the Ukrainian military, said Ukraine can blame the Kremlin for the strike on Poltava, but there must also be a clear understanding of Kiev’s responsibility.

President Zelensky had previously requested 25 Patriot air defense systems to fully defend its airspace and protect the entire country from Russian missile attacks.

Sources:

https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-strikes-poltava/33105117.html

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-27ea21c05a2fc336ac4fdbbce31b77bc

Former Aide to New York Governors Charged with Acting as Agent of Chinese Government

Undated image of Linda Sun.

A former aide to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was charged with acting as an agent for the Chinese government.

Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to Hochul and a Cuomo aide, was charged with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registrations Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering, according to an unsealed copy of the indictment.

Her husband and co-defendant, Chris Hu, was also charged with conspiracy to launder money and commit bank fraud as well as misusing means of identification.

Sun acted as “an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government while her husband, Hu, facilitated the transfer of millions of dollars in kickbacks for personal gain.”

Prosecutors allege Sun blocked Taiwanese diplomacy and ensured then-Governor Andrew Cuomo praised China for help during the Covid-19 emergency. The defendants used shell companies, iCloud accounts and WeChat messages – with everything in Mandarin – in their alleged crimes.

Sun and Hu were arrested at their palatial Long Island residence and both pleaded not guilty to all charges in federal court Tuesday afternoon. Sun’s bond is set at $1.5 million and her husband’s is set at $500,000. Both will have their travel limited to NYC, Long Island, Maine, and New Hampshire.

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is scheduled to testify at a Congressional hearing on 10 Sep regarding his response to the Covid-19 response.

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 | Former High-Ranking New York State Government Employee Charged with Acting as an Undisclosed Agent of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party | United States Department of Justice

BREAKING: Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to Testify at Public Hearing on September 10 – United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

American Warzone: Man Kills Four People on Train Near Chicago

Rhanni S. Davis (30) of Chicago was charged with four counts of first-degree murder after he allegedly killed four people on a Chicago Transit Authority train in Forest Park, Illinois, early Monday.

The Forest Park Police Department received a 911 call about three people shot on a westbound train at the CTA Blue Line station in Forest Park, just west of Chicago, around 5:30 a.m. local time.

Authorities cleared the station, finding four victims. Three were pronounced dead at the scene and the fourth died later in a hospital.

Law-enforcement agencies used video surveillance to help identify the alleged murderer. The suspect was taken into custody and a firearm was recovered. The shooting appears to have been an isolated incident with no immediate additional threat to the community.

In an average year in Illinois, 1,657 people die and 4,994 are wounded by guns.

With a rate of 13.2 deaths per 100,000 people, the Land of Lincoln has the 35th-highest rate of gun deaths in the US.

Sources:

Man charged in fatal shooting of 4 people on train near Chicago – ABC News

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

US Justice Dept Indicts Hamas with One Hand; US State Dept Negotiates with Hamas with Other

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv, Israel, hold placards showing support for hostages who were kidnapped during the 7 Oct 2023 attack.

The Justice Department announced criminal charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and other senior militants in connection with the 7 Oct 2023 rampage in Israel, marking the first effort by US law enforcement to formally call out the masterminds of the attack.

The seven-count criminal complaint filed in federal court in NYC includes charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to murder US nationals, and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, resulting in death. It also accuses Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah of providing financial support and weapons, including rockets, that were used in the attack.

The charges come as the White House says it is developing a new cease-fire and hostage deal proposal with its Egyptian and Qatari counterparts to try to bring about an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the nearly 11-month war in Gaza. A US official, who was not authorized to talk publicly about the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was no reason to believe the charges would affect the ongoing negotiations.

A State Department spokesman said that reaching a cease-fire and release of the 100 or so remaining hostages “will require both sides to show flexibility. It will require that both sides look for reasons to get to yes rather than reasons to say no.”

The full unsealed complaint is linked below.

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

The fabled Pushmi-Pullyu from the Dr. Dolittle canon.

Sources:

Office of Public Affairs | Justice Department Announces Terrorism Charges Against Senior Leaders of Hamas | United States Department of Justice

dl (justice.gov)

US charges Hamas leader, other militants in Oct. 7 attack on Israel (voanews.com)

US issues new call for Israel, Hamas to reach cease-fire pact (voanews.com)

Canada Turning Away More Foreigners Amid Rise in Anti-Immigration Sentiment

At a 2020 rally, protesters called on the federal government to grant permanent status to all refugees across Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. (Michael Charles Cole/CBC)

Canada is taking steps, both official and unofficial, to curb the number of people coming to the country, highlighting the way in which immigration has become a political flashpoint ahead of a federal election.

The ratio of refused visitor visa applications to approved ones was higher in recent months than at any point since the height of the Covid pandemic. Immigration officials rejected more applications than they approved in January, February, May, and June 2024. At the same time, the number of approved study and work permits dropped. And in July, Canada refused entry to nearly 6,000 foreign travelers, including students, workers and tourists – the most since at least January 2019.

Recent polling has shown a sharp change in how Canadians perceive of immigration, amid a mounting cost of living crisis. One immigration lawyer in Nova Scotia said his firm has seen an increase in rejections – and mounting hostility towards the firm’s clients. The sudden growth of the Canadian population stressed the affordable housing and medical care infrastructure.

The immigration minister said he would reassess the number of people applying for permanent residency. PM Justin Trudeau added his government would scale back the controversial temporary foreign workers following a surge in applications. The program was recently condemned by a UN special rapporteur for being a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery”.

The prime minister also mentioned reducing the number of permanent residents Canada accepts each year, dramatically upending years of increased immigration levels under his tenure. In late 2023, the federal government said it would freeze permanent resident targets over the next three years to ensure inflows were “sustainable”. Ottawa intends to bring in 485,000 permanent residents in 2024, but only 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026.

Sources:

Canada turning away more foreigners amid rise in anti-immigration sentiment | Canada | The Guardian

UN envoy calls Canada’s use of migrant workers ‘breeding ground for slavery’

Russia Orders French Researcher Accused of Spying Held for Six More Months

French researcher Laurent Vinatier during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia, on 31 July 2024. © Yulia Morozova/Reuters

A court in Moscow on Tuesday ordered a French researcher to remain in jail until at least February 2025, on the first day of his trial for unlawfully collecting sensitive data. Laurent Vinatier was arrested in June for gathering information on Russia’s military without being registered as a “foreign agent”.

The 48-year-old French national has been charged with collecting information on Russia’s “military and military-technical activities” and he faces up to five years in prison if convicted. After he was first arrested, he admitted to the charge of not having registered as a foreign agent, saying he did not know that he was legally required to do so. Vinatier has been held in pre-trial detention since June, despite several requests to be placed under house arrest.

Vinatier is a specialist on the former Soviet Union and worked with the Swiss NGO Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), which helps to mediate conflicts outside of standard diplomatic channels. He was reportedly working on mediation efforts in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

His detention has increased tensions between Moscow and Paris, already strained since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and France’s subsequent support of Kiev. Arrests on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia since the start of the war.

After the biggest post-Cold War prisoner exchange between Russia and the West in early August, which did not include Vinatier, France called on Moscow to free all people “arbitrarily detained in Russia.”

Source:

Russia orders French researcher accused of spying held for six more months (rfi.fr)

Indigenous Mothers Fight to Search Former CIA Experiment Site in Montreal, Quebec

Anthropologist Philippe Blouin poses with Mohawk mothers Kahentinetha and Kwetiio at the Allen Memorial Institute in Montreal. (Image: Alexis Aubin/AFP)

Between 1957 and 1964 (though possibly beginning as early as 1948), psychiatric experiments were conducted at the Allan Memorial Institute in Montreal, a psychiatric teaching hospital affiliated with McGill University. Scottish-American psychiatrist Dr. Donald Ewen Cameron led and conducted these experiments which exposed patients to electroshocks, hallucinogenic drugs, and sensory deprivation. The program is widely believed to have been partly funded by the US CIA as part of their top-secret MKULTRA program, as well as the Canadian government.

Today, a group of Indigenous women are trying to stop the bulldozers at a former Montreal hospital which they believe could hold the truth about children still missing from that grisly half-century-old CIA experiment. They have spent the last two years trying to delay the construction project by McGill University and the Quebec government.

The mothers are relying on archives and testimonies that suggest the site contains unmarked graves of children formerly interned at the Royal Victoria Hospital and Allan Memorial Institute, a neighboring psychiatric hospital.

In the fall of 2022, these activists obtained an injunction to suspend work on a new university campus and research center at the site — a project worth Can$870 million (US$643 million).

In recent years, Canada has opened its eyes to past atrocities. Generations of Indigenous children were sent to residential schools where they were stripped of their language, culture, and identities in what a 2015 truth and reconciliation report said amounted to “cultural genocide.”

Between 1831 and 1996, some 150,000 Indigenous children were taken from their homes and placed in 139 such schools. Several thousand never returned to their communities.

In May 2021, the discovery of unmarked graves of 215 children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia started a national reflection on this dark chapter of Canadian history, while sparking searches for more graves across Canada.

“It was not only residential schools, it involved hospitals, sanatoriums, churches, and orphanages too,” said Kwetiio (pictured above).

Last summer, sniffer dogs and specialized probes were brought in to search the hospital’s expansive and dilapidated buildings. They managed to identify three areas of interest for excavations. But, according to McGill and the government’s Societe Quebecoise des Infrastructure (SQI), “no human remains have been discovered.”

The Indigenous activists were not satisfied with the search and want another investigation conducted by a party unaffiliated with the government or the university.

Sources:

Montreal MKULTRA Experiments | The Canadian Encyclopedia

Indigenous mothers fight to search CIA experiment site in Montreal – Raw Story

‘The American People Deserve to Know’: Dems Demand Answers from Trump on $10M Egypt Donation

Donald Trump with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah-el-Sisi on 23 Sep 2019.

On top of his stumbling campaign, Neanderthalic VP running mate JD Vance, imminent due dates for criminal and civil liabilities, and hideous, incoherent speeches, ex-President Donald Trump has another headache to deal with. On 2 Aug, Washington Post journalists Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. David reported that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi “sought to give” Donald Trump “$10 million to boost his 2016 presidential campaign.” The journalists also noted that in January 2017 — five days before Trump was sworn in as president — almost $10 million was withdrawn from a bank in Cairo.

A month after that article was published, Leonnig and David report that the top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) — have sent a letter asking Trump “if he ever illegally received money from the government of Egypt, and whether money from Cairo played a role in a $10 million infusion into his 2016 run for president.”

“As members of the House minority,” Leonnig and David explain, “Raskin and Garcia do not have the power to subpoena documents or witnesses, and Trump is under no obligation to respond to their inquiries. But the Democrats said the public deserves answers now that Trump is running for president again.”

Should Donald Trump elect to answer the inquiry (the entire six-page letter is linked below), his legal team would advise him to answer truthfully. Making false statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001) in “any matter within the jurisdiction” of the federal government of the US, is punishable up to five imprisonment as well as a fine. This law generally prohibits knowingly and willfully making false or fraudulent statements, or concealing information, even by merely denying guilt when asked by a federal agent. One of the charges George Santos pleaded guilty to was making false statements to the House of Representatives.

Sources:

Copy of the official six-page letter to ex-President Donald Trump: 2024-09-03.JBR to DJTrump re. Egypt.pdf (house.gov)

‘The American people deserve to know’: Dems demand answers from Trump on $10M Egypt donation – Alternet.org

What Are the Penalties for Lying to Congress? – FindLaw

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-congressman-george-santos-pleads-guilty-fraud-and-identity-theft

Norway’s Forests Have More Than Tripled in One Hundred Years

Norwegian forest development since 1919. Forest volume has more than tripled (dark blue); logging has long been fairly steady (yellow); forest growth (red) has decreased in recent years. (2024 Data and graphic: Landskogtakseringen/NIBIO).

In good news for the world, Norway has tripled its forest volume over the past 100 years to one billion cubic meters of forest; ten percent grew in the last ten years alone. These forests valuably convert the world’s carbon dioxide to oxygen. In 2023, approximately 18 million tons of CO₂ (and greenhouse gasses) were absorbed by Norwegian forests.

Several factors account for this phenomenal growth. In the 1960s, schoolchildren planted almost 100 million spruce trees in Norway. Another factor has been higher temperatures and longer summers, as well as increased amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Jane Goodall believes that planting one trillion trees before 2030 can reverse global climate change. See how this can be accomplished here: A platform for the trillion trees community. | 1t.org.

Sources:

Statistics Norway: “Standing forest volume has passed 1 billion cubic meters”, 30 Aug 2024

NIBIO: “Major changes in The development trend for Norwegian spruce forests”, 6 Feb 2024

Energy and climate: “What is it that is happening to our forest?”, 21 May 2024

Why We Believe Planting 1 Trillion Trees Can Save the Planet | TIME

Our forest has more than tripled in a hundred years (forskning.no)

US Researchers Locate Probable Launch Site of Russia’s New Nuclear-Powered Missile

A satellite image shows what is believed to be a deployment site for a Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile, including 5 nuclear warhead storage bunkers (right) and bermed launch positions (lower left), in Vologda, Russia, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on 27 Aug 2024. Planet Labs PBC/Handout via REUTERS.

Two US researchers say they have identified the probable deployment site in Russia of a new nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile touted by President Vladimir Putin as “invincible.” Using commercial satellite imagery, the analysts identified a construction project abutting a nuclear warhead storage facility known by two names – Vologda-20 and Chebsara – as the new missile’s potential deployment site. The facility is 295 miles (475 km) north of Moscow.

Dubbed the SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin brags the 9M370 Burevestnik has an almost unlimited range and can evade US missile defenses. But some Western experts dispute his claims and the Burevestnik’s strategic value, saying it will not add capabilities that Moscow does not already have and risks a radiation-spewing mishap.

Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom said five staff members died during the testing of a rocket on 8 Aug. Putin presented their widows with top state awards, saying the weapon they were developing was without equal in the world, without naming the Burevestnik.

The nuclear-powered engine threatens to disgorge radiation along its flight path and its deployment risks an accident that could contaminate the surrounding region, a former US nuclear weapons scientist reported.

“The Skyfall is a uniquely stupid weapon system, a flying Chernobyl that poses more threat to Russia than it does to other countries,” reported Thomas Countryman, a former top State Department official with the Arms Control Association, referring to the 1986 nuclear plant disaster.

Burevestnik being launched (undated image).

Meanwhile, Kiev fended off a massive Russian drone attack while President Putin made an official visit to Mongolia without being detained for his ICC arrest warrant.

Source:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-researchers-find-probable-launch-site-russias-new-nuclear-powered-missile-2024-09-02/

Spy’s Confession Sheds Light on Russian Espionage in Georgia

Vsevolod Osipov (recent image)

Last month, Vsevolod Osipov was unmasked as an informant for Russia’s security services. He had been sent to Tbilisi to monitor the many Russian dissidents who have flooded the Georgian capital recently. But, he says his new notoriety hasn’t much affected his life here, and done little to scare away patrons – primarily Russians themselves – at the busy wine bar in central Tbilisi where he works as a sommelier.

“An occasional customer who recognizes me from the news stories may come up and ask questions, but beyond that I don’t get much attention,” Osipov reflected.

The young spy’s confession, which was then re-reported in several other media, would seem to be big news in Georgia, where concern about the large influx of Russians is keen. But it’s barely made a ripple.

“I thought that the Georgian police would show up to question me, but nobody seemed to care, except maybe an occasional reporter,” Osipov said with a smile and a faint note of disappointment.

Osipov said he knows at least two more individuals who came clean via social media about traveling to Georgia to spy, and thinks he has spotted a few others. “You are not given identities of other agents, but if you look close enough you can guess who they are.”

“Before coming here in October, I had a pre-departure briefing in Moscow, where they told me to go cafés and restaurants in Tbilisi frequented by the Russians,” Osipov recalled. “I wasn’t supposed to ask any questions or go out of my way to meet people, just observe and keep my thoughts to myself. Then, once a week, I was supposed to report to my coordinator what the general scene was like and if I had picked up on anything important.”

Being a bit of an amateur himself – he was only recruited last year – Osipov was also identifiable to a keen eye. Well before he went public, one heavily inebriated young Russian came up to him in a bar and said in a drunken slur that he knows who he really is.

Osipov was a law student and an activist with the small Libertarian Party of Russia (LPR) when he got arrested last year for participating in a demonstration in Moscow in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Threatened with imprisonment, he was intimidated into serving as a mole in the LPR and another opposition group, adding that that is how many young people get caught in the FSB net.

After Osipov performed his first, trial assignment to his handlers’ satisfaction, he was awarded with a bigger assignment: go to Georgia. “They gave me 214,000 rubles [about $3,550] to spend for a month and a half. I was supposed to go back to Moscow in December as, I guess, they were still testing me.”

Osipov was tasked with spying on two people in particular: self-exiled chairman of the LPR, Yaroslav Konvey, and Anton Mikhalchuk, a manager with the opposition group Free Russia Foundation. Upon his arrival, Osipov says he went directly to the two and told them outright that he was recruited by the FSB. He says he was trying to warn the LPR leadership all along, but failed to arrange a tête-à-tête with them until he arrived in Georgia.

Osipov offered to send false info back to his superiors to throw the FSB off the track, but the two exiles appeared to be mistrustful and spread the word among their colleagues about an informant in their midst. Word soon reached Osipov’s girlfriend, who runs a tiny bar in Tbilisi. She asked Vsevolod directly if he was working for the FSB. “I said yes, as I realized that she must’ve heard about it from the people I trusted,” he admitted.

Osipov continued reporting back to Moscow and convinced his handlers to extend his stay in Georgia. “I loved the city and had a good life here, so I did my best to stay as long as I could and have the FSB pay for it.” Even his handlers appeared curious about vacation options in Georgia: on top of his main job, the intelligence officers asked him to collect information on nice bars and landmarks worth checking out.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the handlers did not need much convincing to extend Osipov’s stay further.

“With so many people coming, they needed more eyes on the ground,” Osipov said.

Infuriated by the war, Vsevolod stopped responding to his handlers in March. In June, he spoke to media outlet Meduza, which fact-checked his claims, found his handlers and published their identities, and also spoke to the activists that Osipov was supposed to follow. Meduza also published screenshots of Osipov’s chats with his FSB bosses.

The story raised questions among some Russians in Georgia. Some were surprised by Osipov’s choice to try to pull one over on Russia’s formidable security service, though others put it down to his young age. Osipov admitted that he is indeed worried about the potential of FSB revenge, especially given that his mother remains back in Moscow; but he’s not so concerned about himself.

“I don’t think I’m that important for them to come chasing me here,” he said. “And I can always move to the next place.”

Source:

Spy’s Confession Sheds Light on Russian Espionage in Georgia – The Moscow Times

Britain Suspends Some Arms Exports to Israel

Palestinians look at an unexploded Israeli shell that landed on the main road outside the town of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. Photo credit: Reuters.

Britain announced it was suspending the export of some military equipment to Israel as London increases its public criticism of an ally and its methods of war that have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

Israel’s behavior has attracted increasing criticism, including from allies, such as the US, as the death toll has continuously climbed and much of Gaza has been razed.

Britain announced it was suspending, with immediate effect, some 30 of roughly 350 licenses for the export of military goods to Israel following an assessment the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer showed that there is “clear risk” that Israel could use them in violation of international law. Items affected include military aircraft, helicopter and drone components, as well as items for ground targeting. Trainer aircraft and naval equipment remain permissible for export.

A British policy paper noted that Israel has not fulfilled its duty as the occupying force of Gaza to ensure the enclave’s some two million people receive essential humanitarian supplies. The study indicates that while Israel does not accept it is the occupying power, it does accept the obligation to allow free passage of humanitarian relief by third parties, including the UN. Amnesty International — which is among critics who accuse Israel of potentially committing genocide in Gaza — turned its criticism towards Britain for not going further with its sanctions.

British government statistics show its military exports to Israel have been declining. London had some $55 million worth of licensed arms deals with Israel in 2022, compared to 23.8 million last year.

The US has also withheld some shipments of bombs to Israel, but still allows most of them to be exported.

The International Court of Justice has ordered the Middle Eastern country to take immediate steps to end atrocities in Gaza and the International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu of war crimes. Inexplicably, an arrest warrant has yet to be issued for him, unlike Russian President Vladimir Putin who can be arrested by any country that is a signatory to the ICC.

More than 40,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have been killed during the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Lancet.

Source:

Britain suspends some arms exports to Israel – UPI.com

American Warzone: Five People Shot at New York’s West Indian American Day Parade

Police move revelers from the street after a shooting on Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, during the West Indian Day Parade, 2 Sep 2024.

Five people were shot Monday at New York City’s West Indian American Day Parade. This was the latest incident of violence to mar one of the world’s largest annual celebrations of Caribbean culture.

A gunman targeting a specific group of people opened fire along the parade route in Brooklyn around 2:35PM. The parade had kicked off hours earlier, with thousands of revelers dancing and marching down Eastern Parkway, a main Brooklyn thoroughfare. The parade was expected to continue into the night.

Two people were critically wounded and three were expected to survive their wounds. The gunman fled. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was marching in the parade at the time and completed the route. Police cordoned off an area adjacent to the parade route, where they placed crime scene markers. The parade continued flowing past as officers were seen bagging items.

In 2016, two people were killed and several others were wounded near the parade route. The year before, Carey Gabay, an aide to then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, was shot in the head during pre-parade festivities. He died nine days later.

In an average year, 44,341 people die and 96,935 are wounded by guns in the US, costing the country $557.2 billion each year.

Sources:

5 people shot at New York’s West Indian American Day Parade (voanews.com)

Gun-Violence-in-the-United-States-2024-05.pdf (everystat.org)

Nationalist Mob Chanting ‘Yankee Go Home’ Assaults Two US Marines in Izmir, Turkiye

Two off-duty US Marines are safe after they were assaulted in Turkiye on Monday. @genclikbirligi via X

Two US Marines were assaulted by a group of young nationalists in Turkiye with one attacker placing a bag over the head of one servicemember.

The dramatic incident in the western port city of Izmir was captured on video, showing the moment two Marines were surrounded by a group of 15 people in a commercial area who were chanting “Yankee go home.” The gang then restrained one Marine before one of them places a bag over his head. Moments later, another man can be seen charging the group. None of the service members are in uniform.

Other Marines intervened and no one was reported injured. The service members later returned to their ship, the USS Wasp. Local authorities later identified the group as members of the Turkish Youth Union, or TGB, which is affiliated with the Patriotic Party — a small, nationalist political party without parliament seats. 15 alleged attackers were detained by local security forces.

An account on X purporting to represent the TGB said on Monday: “WE PUT SACKS ON THE US SOLDIERS SERVING ON THE LARGEST ATTACK SHIP OF THE USA, USS WASP! US soldiers, who carry the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians on their hands, cannot dirty our country. Every time you step into these lands, we will welcome you as you deserve!”

The reason why these Turkish nationalists placed a sack over one of the Marines stems from the 2003 “hood event.” On 4 July 2003, a detachment of Turkish soldiers operating in Iraqi Kurdistan were captured by US forces, hooded, then led away for interrogation. Afterwards, US forces raided a Turkish Special Forces safehouse in Sulaymaniyah and seized 15 kgs (33 lb) of explosives in addition to sniper rifles, grenades, and maps of Kirkuk with circles drawn around positions near the local governor’s building. Ankara lodged a diplomatic protest with Washington and the Turkish soldiers were eventually released after spending 60 hours in US custody.

The sight of seeing Turkish military personnel arrested, humiliated, and hooded by their American ally infuriated the Turkish public and wounded their national pride. The Turkish people have never forgotten that insult from 21 years ago.

Sources:

Two U.S. Marines assaulted by nationalist mob in Turkey (nbcnews.com)

Hood event – Wikipedia

US detains Turkish troops in Iraq | News | Al Jazeera

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3067319.stm

Donald Trump’s Cognitive Decline Becoming More Apparent

Ex-President Donald J. Trump delivers a speech during the “Make America Great Again” rally held at the Mohegan Sun Arena. (Brandon Stivers / Shutterstock.com)

Political analysts and mental health experts are becoming more and more alarmed by the 45^th President’s latest bizarre and incoherent speeches.

Written verbatim below is what Donald Trump said at a rally in Potterville, MI. This is painful to read and must have been torturous to hear:

“She destroyed the city of San Francisco, it’s — and I own a big building there — it’s no — I shouldn’t talk about this but that’s OK I don’t give a damn because this is what I’m doing. I should say it’s the finest city in the world — sell and get the hell out of there, right? But I can’t do that. I don’t care, you know? I lost billions of dollars, billions of dollars. You know, somebody said, ‘What do you think you lost?’ I said, ‘Probably two, three billion. That’s OK, I don’t care.’ They say, ‘You think you’d do it again?’ And that’s the least of it. Nobody. They always say, I don’t know if you know. Lincoln was horribly treated. Uh, Jefferson was pretty horribly. Andrew Jackson they say was the worst of all, that he was treated worse than any other president. I said, ‘Do that study again, because I think there’s nobody close to Trump.’ I even got shot! And who the hell knows where that came from, right?”

As Donald Trump’s mental faculties continue to decline, so are GOP campaign coffers. Republicans are “starting to panic” because of a large fundraising gap they see emerging with their Democratic rivals and time is running short to close any distance with the election a little more than two months away.

Adding to Donald Trump’s miseries, a former advisor recently issued a humiliating message on ‘X’:

“Former Trump staffer and friend Anthony Scaramucci says Melania “hates” Trump and wants Kamala Harris to win.”

https://twitter.com/MikeSington/status/1830209424566395336/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1830209424566395336%7Ctwgr%5Ee50bd64db012f21b0a16035e4fc38c70b5f06f89%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.democraticunderground.com%2F100219408110

Moreover, an “October Surprise” awaits the the oldest candidate to ever run for the White House. An unflattering film about a young Donald Trump called ‘The Apprentice’ opens on 11 Oct in US and Canadian theaters (one month before the election). “The Apprentice” chronicles Trump’s rise to power in NY real estate under the tutelage of notorious defense attorney Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong). Late in the movie, Trump is depicted raping his wife, Ivana Trump (played by Maria Bakalova ). In Ivana Trump’s 1990 divorce deposition, she stated that Trump raped her. Trump denied the allegation and Ivana Trump later said she didn’t mean it literally, but rather that she had felt violated.

Sources:

GOP ‘starting to panic’ as Democrats build massive fundraising lead: report – Raw Story

‘Genuinely chilling’: Analyst sounds alarm over Trump’s latest bizarre speeches – Raw Story

Trump film ‘The Apprentice’ finds distributor and will open before the election | AP News

New Zealand Spy Report Calls Out China for Interference

New Zealand’s spy service branded China a “complex intelligence concern,” warning the Pacific nation was vulnerable to foreign interference. In an annual threat report, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) reported that several countries were undertaking “malicious activity” on its shores, but called out China’s attempts as “complex and deceptive.”

In particular, Beijing was accused of using front organizations to connect with local groups to replace authentic and diverse community views with those approved by the ruling party. In one example, a Chinese-language community news outlet parroted Beijing’s talking points.

In March, Wellington publicly said a Chinese state-sponsored group was behind a 2021 malicious cyber attack that infiltrated sensitive government computer systems. China dismissed allegations of hacking and accused New Zealand critics of being puppets of Washington.

Sources:

New-Zealands-Security-Threat-Environment-2024.pdf (nzsis.govt.nz)

New Zealand Spy Report Calls Out China For Interference | IBTimes

True Story of Penguin’s Annual Return to See Man Who Saved it From Oil Spill

Years ago, João Pereira de Souza discovered a Megallanic penguin covered in oil from a recent spill on Proveta Beach in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil.

Taking the penguin home, João found the bird exhausted and depleted after swimming through the oil spill. He nursed the penguin back to health, with plenty of soapy scrubbing and fish treats, naming it ‘Dindim’ after the toddler-speak of his son trying to say the Portuguese word for penguin (pinguim).

After Dindim recovered, João released him on an island near Proveta Beach and went home. But Dindim had followed him back and remained on his lawn waiting to be let inside. Dindim finally left of his own accord in Feb 2012. But for eight consecutive years, the penguin would leave every February and faithfully return to João Pereira de Souza in June.

My Penguin Friend recounts this story and premiered this month to mostly positive reviews, including an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Source:

The Good News Network

Russia Bombs Civilian Target in Kharkiv, Killing Six, As Zelenskiy Begs West to Lift Weapons Restrictions

Paramedics carry a victim rescued from an apartment building after a Russian air strike in Kharkiv on 30 Aug.

Ukraine needs “strong decisions” from its partners to stop the terror that Russia is perpetrating in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on 30 August after a Russian air strike on Kharkiv hit a high-rise residential building and playground, killing six people. One of the victims killed was a 14-year-old girl and the overall number of injured was 47.

“This strike was a Russian guided aerial bomb. A blow that would not have happened if our defense forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are based. We need strong solutions from our partners to stop this terror,” Zelenskiy said on Telegram. He also again emphasized that agreements Ukraine has made with its partners on providing air-defense systems must be fulfilled.

Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has an active international arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, will be blithely visiting Mongolia on 3 Sep. The trip will be Putin’s first to a country that is a member of the ICC since the arrest warrant was issued in March 2023. Putin will travel to Mongolia at the invitation of President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh to participate in ceremonies marking the 85th anniversary of the joint victory of the Soviet and Mongolian armies over Japan on the Khalkhin Gol River, a Kremlin statement said.

Sources:

Russia Bombs High-Rise In Kharkiv, Killing 6, As Zelenskiy Begs West To Lift Weapons Restrictions (rferl.org)

‘No Worries’ About Putin’s Visit To Mongolia, Kremlin Says, Despite ICC Warrant For His Arrest (rferl.org)

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Orders Suspension of X After Elon Musk Misses Legal Deadline

With supreme oligarchic arrogance, Elon Musk threatened to reactivate X accounts and shared a manipulated image showing Brazilian Supreme Justice Alexandre de Moraes behind the bars of a prison cell, threatening that one day “this picture of you in prison will be real.”

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of the social media platform X across the country after it missed a deadline to name a local legal representative. The decision was handed down two days after Moraes ordered X and its owner Elon Musk to appoint a Brazilian representative within 24 hours or face suspension until one is named.

According to Brazilian law, social media platforms must have someone available in their country to receive takedown notice information in alleged cases of misinformation. X has not had someone in this position since it closed its offices in Brazil, alleging that Moraes had asked it to censor political opponents in violation of “Brazilian, Argentinian, American and international law.”

Justice de Moraes also ordered Apple and Google to take steps preventing the downloading of the X application from their app stores in Brazil and instituted a a fine of nearly $9,000 for any person or company in Brazil that uses X.

In his ruling, Moraes blasted what he called X’s lack of moderation policies, citing an “imminent danger” of extremist groups using the platform to disseminate “Nazi, racist, fascist, hateful and anti-democratic” messages leading up to this year’s municipal elections.”

Moraes had previously ordered all X accounts blamed for spreading disinformation, many of them supporters of former conservative president Jair Bolsonaro, must be blocked while they investigate the charges. The Brazilian Supreme Court also froze the bank accounts of Musk’s space satellite service Starlink in the country.

Authorities in the UK and Australia have previously expressed their distaste for Elon Musk for harboring extremist right-wing communicators and spreaders of malicious disinformation on X. Whether the UK or Australia take action against Elon Musk, like a French investigating magistrate took action against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov or Justice de Moraes did here, remains to be seen.

Too bad the US does not have a Supreme Court like Brazil.

Sources:

Brazilian supreme court justice orders suspension of X across country – UPI.com

Elon Musk confirms Brazil X office closure

American Police Brutality Continues: Former MPD Sergeant Sentenced Five Years for Fatally Shooting D.C. Motorist

27-year-old An’Twan Gilmore in 2021. LaShunna Gilmore, the cousin of Mr. Gilmore, had a message for Enis Jevric: “I hope that you learn to be a better person.” (Public domain image)

Enis Jevric (42), a former Sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), was sentenced in federal court to 60 months in prison and five years supervise release for the August 2021 shooting death of 27-year-old An’Twan Gilmore. Jevric pleaded guilty on 23 Feb 2024 to violating Mr. Gilmore’s constitutional rights by using deadly excessive force. Jevric also pleaded guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter under D.C. law.

Shortly before 3AM on 25 Aug 2021, Jevric and 17 other MPD officers responded to a report of a man asleep in the driver’s seat of a vehicle stopped at an intersection. Officers approached the car and noticed that the sleeping driver had a handgun in his waistband. After officers had been on scene for about ten minutes and had cleared the avenues of civilian pedestrian and vehicle traffic, Jevric approached the car and directed another officer to knock on its windows to rouse Mr. Gilmore. When Mr. Gilmore awoke, the car moved forward several feet, stopped briefly, and then moved forward again. As it did so, Jevric fired his MPD-issued firearm at the car four times. The car then rolled farther and Jevric fired at it six more times. Three of Jevric’s shots struck Mr. Gilmore, who died a short time later from his wounds. No other officer fired at Mr. Gilmore. When officers pulled the bleeding, unresponsive, and unconscious Gilmore out of the car after it came to a rest, Gilmore’s firearm was in the same spot it had been observed, tucked into his waistband, underneath his buckled seatbelt.

As part of his guilty plea, Jevric admitted that his conduct constituted unconstitutional, unreasonable force, and that he acted willfully, in reckless disregard of Mr. Gilmore’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from excessive force by police. He also admitted that his conduct created an extreme risk of death to Mr. Gilmore and was a gross deviation from a reasonable standard of care.

Remarkable that 17 police officers initially responded to a stopped vehicle incident, followed up by a senior officer who would recklessly fire a total of ten rounds at the victim and the car.

Sources:

District of Columbia | Former MPD Sergeant Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for Fatally Shooting a D.C. Motorist | United States Department of Justice

Family of man killed by DC Police speaks out | wltx.com

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

Trump Re-Election Campaign: “A Real $hitshow”

The wheels of Donald Trump’s campaign clown car are falling off.

As former Bush advisor David Frum wrote about Donald Trump after the July RNC Convention: “This crew is totally beatable.” With approximately two months to go until the Presidential election, the Trump Campaign is thrashing about like an angry, wounded acid-blooded xenomorph from the iconic movie Alien. A blogger recently noted the GOP has become a “real $hitshow.”

The latest misstep following the cheap publicity stunt at America’s most revered cemetery came from Trump who recently said he believes the six-week abortion ban in his home state of Florida was “too short.” Republicans in the swing state just north of there were quick to angrily respond.

“This is completely and utterly grotesque and indefensible,” said Cole Muzio, head of the Georgia anti-abortion group Frontline Policy Council. Georgia conservative pundit Erick Erickson piled on: “If Donald Trump loses, today is the day he lost. The committed pro-life community could turn a blind eye, in part, to national abortion issues. But for Trump to weigh in on Florida as he did will be a bridge too far for too many.”

This week Megachurch leader and MAGA acolyte Robert Morris, who has served as religious adviser to Trump, confessed to “inappropriate sexual behavior” after a woman accused him of molesting her starting when she was 12. The disgraced, hypocritical sky-pilot resigned this week from the Gateway Church in the Dallas TX area and whether the victim is seeking criminal or civil remedies is not yet known.

Meanwhile, Walmart’s is marketing a Trump campaign hat with a glaring typo: “Take American Back.”

But there are more calamities. Recently a so-called “Never Walz” group bought a booth at the Minnesota State Fair in order to hand out their propaganda. But these MAGA supporters neglected to buy the “Never Walz” domain name. Pray take a peek inside: https://www.neverwalz.com/

Super-icons ABBA demanded that the Trump campaign stop using their music at rallies. Abba’s request came the same day that White Stripes guitarist and singer jack White blasted Trump’s people for using his songs, too, calling the campaign “fascists.” Foo Fighters, Céline Dion, Beyoncé, Johnny Marr of the Smiths, the estate of the late singer Sinéad O’Connor and the family of the late soul singer Isaac Hayes have all previously asked Trump to stop playing their songs. Hayes’ family even filed a lawsuit against Trump.

Meanwhile, justice is slowly but surely closing in on Donald Trump. Special Counsel Jack Smith’s carefully crafted re-indictment should concern Trump’s legal team. And the 45^th President lost a massive civil liability case in NYS at the hands of AG Letitia James. Thanks to Johnny Palmadessa, here is the Live Trump Debt Counter:

Donald Trump’s Debt: Live Counter (trumpdebtcounter.com)

Despite these Trumpian disasters, Team Kamala must continue what they are doing and not take the foot off the pedal. In football parlance, the Democrats must “run up the score” with overkill touchdowns to counter potential Republican voter suppression efforts in states like Texas, Arizona, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, and others.

Sources:

‘Today’s the day he lost’: Georgia Republicans furious at Trump’s latest comments – Raw Story

ABBA, other music icons, demand Trump stop campaigning with their music – UPI.com

MAGA pastor Robert Morris’ sexual abuse scandal underscores the right’s LGBTQ hypocrisy (msnbc.com)

This Crew Is Totally Beatable – The Atlantic

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/04/politics/voting-laws-restrictive-map-october/index.html

On 30 August 1983: Guion Bluford Becomes First Black American in Space

File Photo Courtesy of NASA.

In 1983, Guion Bluford became the first Black American astronaut in space aboard the Challenger as part of the STS-8 mission. Bluford participated in four Space Shuttle missions, his final in 1992.

Astronaut candidates Ron McNair, Bluford, and Fred Gregory wearing Apollo spacesuits, May 1978.

Bluford was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1997, the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2010,^[14] and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2020, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine awarded Colonel Bluford the Ohio Distinguished Service Medal: Ohio’s highest non-combat decoration for service.

Sources:

Guion Bluford – Wikipedia

On This Day, Aug. 30: Guion Bluford becomes 1st Black American in space – UPI.com

Germany: Far-Right AfD Party Eyeing Potential First Win in Eastern German State Elections

German authorities identified over 32,200 right-wing extremists in 2019. Much of the rise has to do with authorities counting groups affiliated with the far-right AfD for the first time. (Source: DW.com)

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is predicted to come first in at least one of two state elections in Thuringia and Saxony on Sunday, putting pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s federal coalition over the economy, immigration, and support for Ukraine. Germany holds federal elections October 2025.

The 11-year-old AfD, which has greater support in the formerly communist-run east, will be unlikely to be able to form a state government even if it does win, as it is polling short of a majority and other parties refuse to collaborate with it. But it will be the first time a far-right party has the most seats in a German state parliament since World War Two and its strength will complicate coalition building and could allow it to block constitutional changes and appointments of some judges.

The AfD is led in Thuringia by Bjoern Hoecke, a man that some in the party considered so extremist they tried to expel him. The former history teacher has called Berlin’s memorial to Nazi Germany’s Holocaust of Europe’s Jews a “monument of shame” and was convicted earlier this year for using a Nazi slogan at a party rally.

Business leaders have warned of the threat of far-right extremism to Europe’s largest economy, saying it could make it harder to attract skilled labor and investment. German politicians say populist rhetoric has fueled physical attacks against moderate or progressive politicians.

Any right-wing electoral win in the West is a win for the Kremlin. As in France and elsewhere, the rise of anti-establishment parties in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the ensuing cost-of-living crisis are complicating coalition-building and governability. Any win for the AfD, big or small, will stoke xenophobic hatred for immigrants and minorities as seen in the UK this summer.

Map: 2024 CIA World Factbook.

Source:

Far-right AfD on track for its first win in eastern German state vote | Reuters