ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks at the roundtable in The Hague on 8 Oct. This is the same lawyer who prosecuted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes. (Photo: RFE/RL)
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is entitled to try cases of the alleged execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs).
According to the latest data published by the Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General’s Office, investigators have so far obtained information on the execution of 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war by the Russian military.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine presented a report in March about the execution of at least 32 Ukrainian POWs in 12 separate cases between Dec 2023 and Feb 2024.
In Mar 2023, the ICC’s pretrial chamber issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, charging them with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia — a war crime under international legislation.
Meanwhile, Former US Marine Trevor Reed has been sentencedin absentia by a Russian court to 14 1/2 years in prison, on charges he joined the Ukrainian Army as a mercenary.
Trevor Reed vaulted into the news in 2020 when he was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on an assault charge he denied. (AFP File photo)
The Russian Investigative Committee said on October 9 that Reed enlisted with Ukrainian forces in May 2023 and participated in combat operations in the Donetsk region.
Reed’s participation in the war became public in Jul 2023 when he was injured by a mine explosion while fighting for Ukraine. He had been transferred to Germany for medical care.
In April 2022, Reed, who by then had served nearly three years in a Russian prison, was exchanged for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been serving a 20-year sentence in the US for drug trafficking.
Reed’s conviction in absentia comes days after two other Americans were convicted and sentenced by Russian courts.
Stephen Hubbard (72) was sentenced by the Moscow City Court on 7 Oct to six years and 10 months in prison on charges of being a mercenary and fighting against Russia in Ukraine.
Robert Gilman (30), another former US Marine, was sentenced to seven years and one month in prison for assaulting a prison official and a state investigator.
Both cases follow a pattern of high-profile arrests and detentions of Americans in Russia, which are part of Moscow’s broader strategy to exert pressure on Washington and use these AMCITs for future prisoner swaps.
US Issues Solar Storm Watch After Large Outburst From Sun
An image released by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows a solar flare, the bright flash in the center of the image, on 3 Oct Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory/NASA, via AP
Periodically, the sun spews out gigantic eruptions of particles into the solar system. Sometimes, when the solar eruptions are aimed right at Earth, the particles may create brilliant auroras in night skies in many parts of the planet. Then there are other occasions when the battering can damage satellites, mangle GPS signals and knock out power grids.
On Wednesday, a federal center issued a space weather severe storm watch after sun-watching spacecraft observed a large solar flare emanating from a sunspot in the sun’s northern hemisphere, accompanied by an explosion of particles known as a coronal mass ejection.
The charged particles from the latest event — protons, electrons and helium nuclei — are speeding at more than 2.5 million miles per hour and are expected to start slamming into the Earth’s magnetic field on Thursday morning Eastern time.
But the geomagnetic storm could last about 36 hours. If the storm reaches the severe level, the auroras in the Northern Hemisphere could stretch down into the middle of the US, potentially as far south as Alabama.
On top of the terrestrial super-storms wracking the American south, now comes an extra-terrestrial storm that may hamper the communications network during recovery operations.
Sources:
The New York Times and NASA
Israeli Forces Demolish Homes in the Occupied West Bank
Israeli forces demolished two homes under construction in a town west of Salfit, in the central occupied West Bank.
Local sources told the Wafa news agency that military bulldozers demolished the two houses in az-Zawiya, which belonged to local Palestinians.
The agency also reported Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at Palestinian civilians at the Hamra military checkpoint, in the northern Jordan Valley, while a mosque in Khirbet Tana was attacked by settlers.
Settlers entered and vandalized the mosque and smashed solar panels that generated electricity for it.
The cartoonist, Amos Biderman, explained in an interview with The Times of Israel that he meant to suggest that Mr. Netanyahu’s “arrogance” and policies on settlement construction in the West Bank had provoked “a disaster in Israel-US relations on the scale of 9/11.”
Ohio MAGA Militant Pleads Guilty to Felony Charges for Attacking US Capitol on 6 Jan
Dustin Martin (30) of Grove City, OH, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds before US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan. Judge AliKhan will sentence Martin on 7 Feb 2025.
The FBI arrested Martin on 21 June 2023, in Ohio.
His accomplice, Cody Lee Tippet, was previously sentenced to 30 days in prison for his seditious role on 6 Jan 2021.
These two young men threw their lives away with these federal felony convictions over a misguided belief of white supremacy and the hateful lies of Donald J. Trump.
n the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Ukrainian Missile Attack Kills Six North Korean Officers Near Donetsk
You wonder if any of the six North Korean officers were any of these lickspittles surrounding Kim Jong-Un. Photo: Reuters
Six North Korean military officers were among about 20 military personnel killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on Russian-occupied territory near the city of Donetsk. Three North Korean servicemen were also wounded.
The DPRK officers were reportedly visiting the front lines as part of an ‘exchange of experience’ program.
That’s some experience they received!
The attack came after Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia.
Ukrainian intelligence officials said last year that North Korean military personnel, including engineers, were operating in Russian-occupied territory. Russia was planning to mobilize North Korean laborers for various construction projects in occupied Ukrainian territory.
And speaking of experience, for which battles, campaigns, or wars did these above North Korean generals earn all of these impressive-looking awards? North Korea hasn’t been at war since 1953.
America’s part-time Soldiers (Army National Guardsmen, Army and USMC Reservists) have more combat experience than these bloated uniformed popinjays.
Nota Bene: During the Vietnam War, South Korean soldiers fought Viet Cong guerrillas and the NVA; the ROK also deployed forces to Iraq in the early 2000s.
Japanese Encephalitis Cases Reported in Taiwan, Nepal
The mosquito species _Culex tritaeniorhynchus_ and other related _Culex_ species are efficient vectors of the JE virus and breed in wet areas such as rice paddies. Vector control is difficult because potential breeding sites are extensive.
In Nepal, 63 people have been infected with the mosquito-borne zoonotic viral disease since June 2024. As of 22 Sep 2024, 17 people, including children, have died from JE infections this year.
This JE outbreak has been detected in 29 Nepal districts, including those in the Kathmandu Valley, which is located at 5,000 feet, where virus-carrying mosquitoes are found.
Nepal’s health department estimates that about 12 million people, out of a total population of 31 million, are at risk of JE in 2024. Additionally, many of the one million visitors to Nepal this year may need protection from JE.
Taiwan health authorities announced the 3rd Japanese encephalitis case this year.
Health officials say the man started showing symptoms on 24 Sep 2024 and was hospitalized 1 Oct 2024.
Officials suspect a pigsty within two kms of his workplace as the origin of the mosquitos.
Authorities have taken measures to eradicate the contagious disease-carrying mosquitoes, which breed in places like rice paddies and ponds. Pigs play an essential role in the life cycle and serve as an amplifier host without suffering from the disease. They maintain prolonged high-level viremia, which allows mosquitoes to get infected easily.
The only measures to prevent JE infection are vaccination and avoidance of mosquito bites.
While there are very few local JEV cases in the US, the CDC cautions the millions of Californians who travel west to Asia and Pacific Ocean countries to protect themselves from infection.
In the US, Valneva SE’s IXIARO (JESPECT) vaccine has been approved by the US FDA and CDC for many years. This safe and effective vaccine is authorized for most children and adults traveling to Japanese encephalitis endemic areas.
As of 5 Oct 2024, IXIARO is available at travel vaccine clinics and pharmacies in the US.
Trump and Putin Have Had ‘As Many as Seven’ Private Phone Calls Since Trump Left the White House
What are these two chatterboxes always talking about? Saving the planet? (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Former President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have apparently communicated several times since Trump left office in 2021, according to Bob Woodward.
CNN obtained an advance copy of Woodward’s revealing new book War, which went behind the scenes of President Joe Biden’s administration and touched on Trump’s time in office as both navigated recent foreign conflicts with world leaders. Among the revelations was Trump’s seemingly special treatment of Putin, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Woodward wrote that a former Trump aide recounted being told to leave a room so Trump “could have what he said was a private phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.” Woodward adds: “According to Trump’s aide, there have been multiple phone calls between Trump and Putin, maybe as many as seven in the period since Trump left the White House in 2021.”
In 2020, Woodward writes, Trump had “secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use.”
“Please don’t tell anybody you sent these to me,” Putin said to Trump, according to Woodward.
“I don’t care,” Trump replied. “Fine.”
“No, no,” Putin said. “I don’t want you to tell anybody because people will get mad at you, not me. They don’t care about me.”
Putin understands English (and speaks German), but rarely speaks it publicly. You can hear him in the YouTube link below. Trump and Putin do not need an interpreter. The two greatest threats to American national security are Donald J. Trump and his former national security advisor, disgraced US Army Gen. Michael Flynn.
Kitten Comes Up to Man in His Front Yard, Brushing Against His Legs, Next He’s on His Shoulder, Ready to Stay
Roman and Janna had never had a cat, but a kitten inexplicably appeared in their yard, seemingly delivered by the mysterious workings of the “cat distribution system.”
Elvis the kitten. Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli
The kitten approached Roman in his front yard, brushing against his legs. Next, he got on Roman’s shoulder and decided to stay. They named the kitten Elvis.
Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli
With the help of the online community, Janna gave Elvis a warm bath, kitten food, and a flea comb to help clean him up. Elvis was so calm, soaking up every ounce of love and attention.
Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli
Elvis likes to “help” when Janna does chores. Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli
Janna at TikTok@jannaclavelli
Janna never imagined how this small, furry creature could become the missing piece she never knew she was searching for. “I had been struggling with anxiety… but since Elvis entered our lives, it has all gone away. I didn’t know I needed him till he came.”
The FBI arrested Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi (27) of Oklahoma City, OK who allegedly planned to conduct a violent attack on US soil in the name of ISIS on Election Day. He and a co-conspirator expected to die as martyrs, according to charging documents.
Tawhedi, who arrived in the US in Sep 2021, had taken steps in recent weeks to advance his attack plans, including by ordering AK-47 rifles, liquidating his family’s assets and buying one-way tickets for his wife and child to travel home to Afghanistan.
On 7 Oct Tawhedi and his juvenile accomplice met with FBI assets and purchased, received, and took possession of two AK-47 assault rifles, ten magazines, and 500 rounds of ammunition. Upon receipt of the rifles and ammunition, Tawhedi and his accomplice were arrested.
Tawhedi was charged with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and receiving a firearm to be used to commit a felony or a federal crime of terrorism, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years, if convicted.
Tawhedi entered the US on a special immigrant visa in 2021 and has been on parole status pending the conclusion of his immigration proceedings. The program permits eligible Afghans who helped Americans, despite great personal risk to themselves and their loved ones, to apply for entry into America with their families. Eligible Afghans include interpreters for the US military as well as individuals integral to the US Embassy in Kabul. The program has existed since 2009 and the number of applicants skyrocketed after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in Aug 2021.
Shawn Van Diver, the president of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of organizations dedicated to helping Afghans trying to leave Afghanistan, said that though the charges are serious, “it’s critical that we do not assign blame to an entire community for the actions of one individual. Thousands of Afghans who resettled in the US are working to build new lives and contribute to our shared future. These are the same individuals who stood shoulder to shoulder with us in Afghanistan for over two decades, defending the values we hold dear.
This defendant was committed to his attack plan as evidenced by all of the preparations for sending his wife and child back to Afghanistan and liquidating his assets. Thanks to Muslim-American or Afghan-American FBI assets who duped Tawhedi, the plot was interrupted. Note this is an ISIS-inspired plot, not a Taliban plot.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Minnesota Man Sentenced to Prison on Felony Charge for Actions During 6 Jan Attack on the US Capitol
Photos: FBI
Paul Orta Jr (34) of Blue Earth, MN was sentenced to six months in prison, 12 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution and fines by the Honorable US District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich. Orta pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder on 14 May 2024
Orta traveled from Minnesota to Washington, DC to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally on 6 Jan at the National Mall. A crowd of rioters, with Orta at the front, began to overwhelm officers at the Peace Memorial entrance and began to move onto Capitol grounds. United States Capitol Police (USCP) officers retreated from this area and attempted to set up a new police line, but some in the crowd, including Orta, pressed forward. As Orta advanced toward the retreating officers, he yelled, “We’re taking that s— today!” Minutes later, Orta forcefully moved at least two temporary bike racks that were being used by law enforcement to control the crowd and threw them over a concrete wall.
During the scrum, Orta lobbed a dark-colored object over the heads of rioters and towards a crowd of law enforcement officers. He then pushed a bike rack barricade against the police line and made physical contact with law enforcement officers. After the mob broke through the police line and advanced to the Lower and Upper West Terraces, Orta climbed on top of a concrete wall and raised a fist in the air.
The FBI arrested Orta on 14 Nov 2023 in Minnesota.
Note that Orta appears dressed for combat, not a rally, and was given a fairly light sentence. He represents America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), dead-enders clutching on to the last vestiges of white supremacy in the US. This young man threw whatever semblance of a life away by heeding the idiotic call of Donald J. Trump. The internet is forever and technically so is Orta’s federal conviction. Orta will face difficulties obtaining gainful employment after he is releasedfrom prison.
In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
The FBI investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Houses and other buildings are submerged following a dam collapse in Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria, on 10 Sep 2024. Image: VOA
Cholera is surging in Nigeria with the number of cases and deaths increasing by more than 200% this year. The Nigerian Center for Disease Control recorded nearly 11,000 cases of cholera this year — a 220% increase compared with the same point in 2023. Fatalities over the same periods have increased from 106 to 359 — a rise of 239%.
Nigeria has a population of 236,747,130 people. GDP per capita: $5,700 (2023 est.) Data: CIA. Map: ontheworldmap.com
The state of Lagos accounted for 43% of the nation’s cases, while Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, and Borno also recorded significant numbers.
Last month, the worst flooding in 30 years ravaged conflict-ridden Borno state, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation there. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and moved to overcrowded camps. The flooding caused a massive prison break earlier this summer.
“We’re now facing a significant public health challenge that demands urgent attention and action,” Borno Health Commissioner Baba Mallam Gana said. “The floods have created ideal conditions for the spread of waterborne diseases like cholera by contaminating water sources and disrupting sanitation systems.”
Cholera is a bacterial disease, usually spread by contaminated food or water. It causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.
Nigeria’s Health Ministry is sending hundreds of thousands of doses of cholera vaccine to the affected areas. Borno alone received 300,000 doses, and state authorities say the vaccine has been distributed to camps for those displaced by the floods.
Nigeria has Africa’s highest malaria death rate which the floods will exacerbate.
Lagos residents use art to draw attention to the gaps in the prevention and treatment of malaria. According to UNICEF, over 1,000 children under the age of five catch malaria every day. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images.
Born in Saudi Arabia, where he spent his early years, Omar bin Laden (43) has also lived in Sudan and Afghanistan. He left his father at the age of 19 and eventually settled in Normandy in northern France in 2016, taking up painting.
France’s new interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said on X that Omar bin Laden “posted comments on his social networks in 2023 that advocated terrorism. As a result, the prefect of Orne issued an order to leave French territory. The courts have confirmed the legality of this decision taken in the interests of national security,” he added.
The interior minister also said he had signed off on a ban preventing Omar bin Laden “to return to France for any reason whatsoever.”
He did not provide further details and it was not clear if Omar bin Laden had already left France.
Omar bin Laden’s marriage to British woman Jane Felix-Browne, a grandmother who had been divorced five times previously and over two decades his senior, had caused considerable media interest when it was confirmed in 2007. Omar bin Laden sought to live in the UK, but his bid was rejected by the British authorities.
The announcement of Omar bin Laden’s expulsion comes as the French interior minister held a meeting on Tuesday with the police chiefs of the 21 departments most affected by illegal immigration.
This comes at a time when the French government just survived a no-confidence vote. The motion was brought forward by the left-wing New Popular Front, who won the most seats in the snap legislative elections called by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this year.
French Prime Minister Michel Barnier passed the first test of his new government on Tuesday, as a leftist no-confidence motion failed to garner enough votes to bring down his center-right administration.
President Emmanuel Macron tapped Barnier for the job of prime minister last month after a snap election led to a fractious hung parliament. Barnier’s government is weak, propped up by the far right and despised by leftist lawmakers who filed the no-confidence motion last Friday.
The no-confidence motion was always a longshot, as it needed the backing of the far-right National Rally (RN) party to get over the line – a move RN lawmakers had signaled they were unwilling to take.
RN’s Marine Le Pen said she wanted “to give a chance” to the prime minister. But she set out red lines, including that any tax increases be offset by increased spending power for the lower and middle classes.
Anti-immigration is becoming an issue in European politics and this announcement by the French Interior Minister may have been to appease the far-right which is part of the governing coalition.There is no information where Omar bin Laden will re-locate to or whether another EU country will accept him.There is no open source reporting that he has not been charged with any crimes.
French Island Uncovers Waste Ring Exporting Toxic Vehicle (HAZMAT) Scrap to India
Most illegal vehicle waste ends up in countries in Africa and Asia, where the environmental impact is devastating. Photo: AP / Mark Lennihan
The illegal operation, which ran for several years, shipped approximately 200 containers of dangerous car waste annually from the French overseas department and generated profits of €3.5 million. Under environmental laws, vehicles must be depolluted before being exported.
Map: Courtesy of Business Insider
Those arrested include a prominent local entrepreneur in the vehicle destruction sector, his wife and seven others. The investigation revealed that the suspects had been hiding dangerous materials with other waste products whose international trade is permitted.
Illegal exports of waste, including electronics and vehicle parts, are not uncommon. Much of this waste ends up in countries in Africa and Asia, where the environmental impact is devastating.
Developing countries often receive vast shipments of waste – both legally and illegally – from wealthier nations. India is a frequent destination for such waste. French authorities are continuing their investigation into the Reunion-India trafficking network, with further arrests possible in the coming weeks.
The move comes as part of a wider crackdown on international waste trafficking.
In 2023, INTERPOL reported a 50% percent increase in such operations over the previous two years.
In 2017, 835 large ocean-going ships were sold to scrap yards, 543 of which were broken down on beaches of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. The toxic materials stripped from these hulks have caused illnesses and deaths among the poor people doing this dangerous work, but authorities do not seem to be investigating the causes. And India already has a pollution problem, causing 2.3 million premature deaths in 2019, according to a Lancet study. Nearly 1.6 million deaths were due to air pollution alone, and more than 500,000 were caused by water pollution.
Iran: An Earthquake or Secret Underground Nuclear Test?
The University of Tehran’s seismography center announced that a 4.4-magnitude earthquake had shaken the city of Aradan in Iran’s Semnan province, with tremors also felt in parts of eastern Tehran this past Saturday. The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred 12km below ground, were recorded as 35.42° north and 52.78° east.
Hours after the news broke, social media users began speculating that the Tehran regime had attempted to conduct its first underground nuclear test, presumably as a deterrent measure against Israeli attacks on its territory. Tehran had stopped disclosing its nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after then-President Donald Trump recklessly withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018.
These speculations came as Islamic Republic officials and Revolutionary Guard commanders repeatedly threatened that if economic, political, and military pressures on the country intensify, Tehran will alter its military defense doctrine — a change that would require amending the Iranian leader’s fatwa on the illegality of nuclear weapons. Iran is also a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The NorNews news website, which operates informally as the Islamic Republic’s National Security Council main information outlet, dismissed the nuclear speculation as “rumors” and once again stressed that nuclear testing contradicts Iran’s nuclear and defense doctrine.
In 2019, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies claimed that Iran had begun a program to build underground nuclear testing sites, known as the “Field Project”.
The foundation has been sanctioned by Iran’s Foreign Ministry for five years for “producing and disseminating lies, encouraging, consulting, lobbying, and negative propaganda campaign against the Islamic Republic with the aim of playing an effective role in imposing and intensifying economic sanctions”.
According to its 2019 report, its researchers “identified the likely location (in an area southeast of Semnan) where underground non-nuclear explosives tests were conducted in 2003 as part of developing seismic methods of measuring the yield of an underground nuclear explosive.”
This raises the speculation that the earthquake reported in Semnan could be connected to Tehran’s first nuclear test. While Iran has previously acknowledged the existence of the “Imam Khomeini” space center and missile headquarters southeast of Semnan, the site is more than 100 kms from the earthquake’s epicenter. Conspiracy theorists claim Iran prefers use this as a testing site instead of conducting them at a well-known facility such as Natanz.
Iran is an earthquake-prone country, so tremors like these are not uncommon or strange. During the savage Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, Iranian generals wanted to desperately counter-attack Iraqi chemical weapons attacks with their own stockpiles, but the religious leaders of Iran issued a fatwa against the use of WMDs, arguing thy would despoil nature. The Iranian High Command bitterly acquiesced in the face of appalling battlefield casualties. The recent social media speculation seems to be emanating from war-hawks itching to incriminate Iran and inflame tensions in an already precarious time with Israel continuing its murderous rampage in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, and against Shia Yemenis on the Arabian peninsula.
Ex-British MI6 Operative: Donald Trump Took British Naval Secrets to Mar-A-Lago
Boxes and boxes with classified information stored inside a bathroom at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in April 2021. Photo: Department of Justice
Donald Trump took “British naval secrets” to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House, the former UK MI6 operative Christopher Steele writes in a new book. “I was reliably informed by impeccable sources that among the classified documents which Trump, apparently unauthorizedly, took with him to Mar-a-Lago at the end of his presidency were British naval secrets, some of the most sensitive ones in our governmental system,” Steele writes.
“It remains unclear to me, at least, why Trump would have wanted to retain such documents and what eventually happened to them.”
Steele does not say what the secrets concerned.
Trump’s retention of classified documents after leaving power in 2021 was the subject of an FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago and 40 criminal charges brought by the special counsel Jack Smith. That case was thrown out in June by Aileen Cannon, a Florida judge appointed under Trump. Smith has appealed.
Trump was convicted on 34 criminal charges in New York, over hush-money payments to an adult film star. His attempts to overturn the 2020 election are the subject of four federal criminal charges and eight in Georgia.
Trump was previously reported to have discussed US nuclear submarines at Mar-a-Lago with an Australian billionaire who then shared the information. Reporting of that incident did not mention “British naval secrets”.
A Russian foreign ministry photo showing Donald Trump with Sergey Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak sharing a laugh during their meeting in the White House on 10 May 2017 (EPA)
Steele discusses the reported occasion in May 2017 when Trump shared “top secret intelligence”, allegedly about an Israeli asset working inside the terrorist group Isis, with Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister. Sources, Steele says, believe Russia told Iran, which tipped off ISIS, leading to the death of the asset.
Steele then cites his “impeccable source” saying Trump took documents concerning British naval secrets to Mar-a-Lago. He also says the British government knew of links between Trump and Moscow before his intervention, as the Australian government reported activities involving a Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, in 2016.
The two most dangerous internal national security threats to the United States of America are Donald J. Trump and disgraced retired US Army LG Michael Flynn.
The head table of a gala celebrating the tenth anniversary of Russia Today in Dec 2015 in Moscow. Mikhail Klimentyev / Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via APand NBC News.
How Waffle House Helps Southerners and FEMA Judge Storm’s Severity
Image: FOX Weather
Golden hashbrowns, gravy-smothered biscuits and crispy waffles with a hearty helping of maple syrup are among the classic Southern comfort foods. But when hurricanes tear through Southeastern towns, the hot meals and bold yellow signs of the local Waffle House provide another kind of comfort.
If a Waffle House stays open in town, even in a limited capacity, neighbors are reassured that the coming storm is unlikely to cause devastation. A closed location of the dependable diner chain has come to indicate impending disaster. The metric is known as the Waffle House Index.
What might sound like silly logic has become one of the most reliable ways for Southerners — and even federal officials — to gauge a storm’s severity and identify communities most in need of immediate aid.
About two dozen Waffle House locations remained closed in the Carolinas and the chain’s home state of Georgia on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after the states were among those battered by Hurricane Helene. Several other locations were open but serving a limited menu.
As Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida communities still recovering from Helene, many Waffle House locations along the Gulf Coast, including those in Tampa, Cape Coral, and St. Petersburg, have closed in preparation.
The South’s favorite disaster authority provides an informal measure of how significantly a storm will affect or has affected a community.
A map of the chain’s over 1,900 locations, concentrated in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, helps residents of storm-prone states assess whether they’re likely to lose power, experience severe flooding or endure other extreme conditions that might cause a resilient restaurant to close its doors. For some, it’s a telltale sign of whether they need to evacuate.
Waffle House is known not just for serving breakfast 24/7, 365 days a year, but also for its disaster preparedness. For decades, people across the South have noticed that the local Waffle House seemed to be the only business still open during a storm or the first to reopen after it passed.
The restaurant chain’s reputation for remaining open when people desperately needed a place to warm up, charge devices and grab a hot meal became a fairly reliable — albeit amusing — source to help track recovery efforts.
Waffle House’s social media shares color-coded maps of its restaurant locations in certain regions that will soon be hit or are recovering from storm damage. FEMA also offers some live tracking.
Waffle House has closed many Florida locations before Hurricane Milton has made landfall, indicating the damage will likely be severe.
The appropriately named Milton (Paradise Lost) was upgraded back to a Category 5 storm Tuesday as it churned toward Florida’s west coast. The “meteorological monster” could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on Tampa and St. Petersburg, engulfing the populous region with towering storm surges and turning debris from Helene’s devastation into projectiles.
Therapy cat Xeli always seems to know when she’s needed. So, when she starts tugging on her leash, her handlers follow the cat to an older couple hunched miserably over their chairs at one of Denver International Airport’s concourses. Their return flight was cancelled, and they’ve logged countless hours trying to get back home.
Volunteers Nathan and Laine ask the duo if they’d like to hold the cat. The travellers’ faces light up instantly and Xeli bounds onto their laps and curls into a ball. The couple start reminiscing about their own pet who resembled the tabby. By the time the trio leaves, the travelers are smiling. “Visiting with Xeli was the highlight of our day,” they say.
Photo Courtesy The Petco Foundation
These kinds of transformations are par for the course for members of the Canine Airport Therapy Squad (CATS). Despite the acronym, the team consists of 94 dogs and one cat—Xeli. The program, founded in 2015, offers stress relief to travelers overwhelmed by the airport’s hustle and bustle, missed or late flights, or the scrutiny at security. By the time voyagers reach the boarding areas, they’re ready for the soothing snuggles and distraction of the therapy teams.
Xeli has always done that. Her “sweet nature” was evident to Nathan and Laine from the moment they glimpsed the purring kitten at a Petsmart adoption event. After bringing her home, the couple quickly realized that Xeli could charm even their most feline-resistant friends. A friend told Laine, “I’m not really a cat person, but Xeli’s pretty cool.” That’s when the couple began to see Xeli’s potential as a therapy animal.
Not every cat is cut out for the role. A potential therapy cat must have a mellow disposition and enjoy interacting with people. Prospective animals have to be certified by a recognized national agency who puts them through a gauntlet of simulated real-life situations, including loud noises and nearby dogs. Cats who prove their mettle undergo a more specific evaluation at the airport, where they’re shepherded through security, taken up escalators, and ride the trains.
Some travelers don’t know what to make of the tabby and her handlers, dressed in matching blue plaid vests. “Some people give us weird looks,” says Laine. Others offer money. A few have even tried to adopt the cat.
Photo: Courtesy K99
“We own her,” the volunteers clarify. “We’re here so that people who might be a little anxious can have some kitty cuddles.”
A young Palestinian injured in an IDF air strike is transferred to a Kuwait Hospital on 9 Jan 2024 in Rafah, Gaza [Ahmad Hasaballah / Getty Images]
International lawyer Lara Elborno says statements publicly made by Israeli officials about Palestinians in Gaza are “essential in establishing the element of genocidal intent” in the case before the International Court of Justice.
“When we hear these Israeli leaders refer to Palestinians as human animals, that there are no uninvolved civilians, that the children of Gaza brought this upon themselves, we can understand that this is a technique being used to justify the industrial-scale slaughter of Palestinians,” Elborno told Al Jazeera.
International attorney Ms. Lara Elborno (R) talking with Mr. George Galloway (L). Undated photo.
The Palestinian-American lawyer said regardless of what Israeli officials say, “we already know that this is a genocide”.
“We have seen it play out every single day for the last year,” she said, adding that Palestinians “have been undergoing this process of dehumanization for the last 76 years.”
Meanwhile, the IDF continues pounding Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, killing 77 Palestinians. And Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid pushed for strikes on Iran’s energy facilities. He said the US does not want oil and natural gas prices to rise before the presidential election, so Washington is against an attack on Iran’s oil facilities. Completely insouciant and ignoring the fact that Pres. Biden and the US taxpayer sends billions of dollars to Israel every year, Lapid said:
“But that doesn’t change the fact that Israel has its own interests and perspectives. Immediate retaliation against Iran’s economic infrastructure is crucial after two separate Iranian [counter] attacks.”
Democrats are beginning to vocalize their suspicions that the right-wing Likud regime of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu prefers a right-wing Republican Donald Trump presidencythis November.
A wounded Palestinian child receives treatment at Al-Avde Hospital in Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza [Moiz Salhi/Anadolu]
Once Russia’s Best-Known Activist, Ildar Dadin Killed Fighting for Ukraine
The late Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin. Ildar Dadin was a “peaceful opposition activist” and used the call sign “Gandhi.” Dadin attended rallies in support of the LGBT community (and he was not LGBT himself) Photo: RFE/RL
Once one of Russia’s most prominent rights activists and a vocal Kremlin critic, Ildar Dadin has been killed in action with Ukrainian forces during a battle in the northeastern Kharkiv region.
The news of Dadin’s death was confirmed by the Freedom of Russia Legion.
Initially, Dadin was reported to be fighting with the Siberian Battalion, which consists of anti-Putin Russians. Dadin transferred to the Free Russia Legion in Dec 2022.
Dadin rose to prominence in Russia as the first person convicted under a law that penalized repeated violations of rally regulations. In March 2016, he was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison on this charge, and the law became widely known as the “Dadin law.”
A year later, Dadin spoke out about the torture he endured while imprisoned in Russia’s northwestern Karelia region. His conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in Feb 2017, and he was subsequently granted 2.2 million rubles ($23,113) in compensation for illegal prosecution.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in late Feb 2022, Dadin fled Russia for Poland in March of that year, aiming to join Ukraine’s defense. He spent nearly a year in Poland preparing the necessary documents to enlist in a Ukrainian volunteer battalion made up of Russian opposition fighters.
In June 2023, Dadin joined the Siberian Battalion which he viewed as one of the few viable ways for him to fight against Putin on Ukraine’s side.
American Warzone: MAGA Militant Pleads No Contest in Shooting of Native American Activist in New Mexico
Trump supporter Ryan David Martinez firing weapon after his red MAGA hat fell off. He drove 100 miles to this event on Thursday 28 Sep 2023. The man scrambling at lower left was luckily not hit with any rounds. (Photo: Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal via AP)
Ryan David Martinez pleaded no contest Monday to reduced charges of aggravated battery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the shooting of a Native American activist during demonstrations about abandoned plans to reinstall a statue of a Spanish conquistador.
Ryan David Martinez scuttled his scheduled trial for attempted murder and concluded a plea arrangement. He accepted a combined 9 1/2-year sentence but ultimately would serve four years in prison with two years’ parole if he complies with terms including restitution. He was would have faced 15 years in prison if convicted.
Mariel Nanasi, a lawyer representing Johns, called the shooting “a racially motivated hate crime by a MAGA-proud gun-toting crazed man who came to a peaceful prayer ceremony with a fully loaded live gun.”
Martinez was at the protest wearing a red cap with the Donald Trump slogan “Make America Great Again.”
Native American climate activist and artist Jacob Johns (R) drums with members of the Santa Clara Pueblo tribe of New Mexico in Santa Fe, 11 Jul 2024. He survived the 26 Sep 2023 assassination attempt. “The lifelong scars and injuries, loss of an internal organ, mental anguish and trauma will be with me forever — and in a couple of years Martinez will live free,” Johns said.
In an average year, 507 people die and 821 are wounded by guns in New Mexico. New Mexico has the 9th-highest rate of gun violence in the US. The Cactus State has the 5th-highest societal cost of gun violence in the US at $3,133 per resident each year. Gun deaths and injuries cost New Mexico $6.6 billion each year, of which $141.8 million is paid by taxpayers.
Father and Son MAGA Militants Found Guilty of Charges for Actions on 6 Jan 2021
You can see the stolen riot shield on the right.
Toney Sheldon Bray (46) and his son Ethan Bray (25), both of Blue Springs, MS, were found guilty of felony and misdemeanor charges for their riotous conduct during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Judge Contreras will sentence the two men on 7 Feb 2025.
The father and son team dressed in military-style gear, including tactical helmets, vests, and goggles, and were part of the initial breach of police barricades on 6 Jan 2021. Specifically, Ethan and Tony Bray pushed and climbed over the police barriers. The Brays were among the first to confront law enforcement and wore gas masks. The rioters engaged in a concerted push against police, and were rebuffed when police used OC spray to repel them. Toney Bray stole a captured US Capitol Police riot shield. The FBI arrested the two men on 8 June 2023.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
This father and his son threw their lives away in the misguided belief of white supremacy, as well as their idiotic belief in Donald Trump. In the 45 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,532 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 571 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.
The Patriot Mail Project considers these 6 Jan insurrectionists as “political prisoners” and fundraises on their behalf. You wonder if Toney Bray will be smirking in prison. The FBI is aware of their activities.
INTERPOL Asks Public to Help Crack Missing Women Cases
INTERPOL has launched a campaign to identify a number of dead women. These victims are “sisters, mothers, aunties. Just because they don’t have names, don’t assume they’re not people,” said a relative.
INTERPOL is trying to solve 46 cold cases aimed at finding the names of unidentified murdered women. Most of the victims are thought to have been aged between 15 and 30.
“We want to identify the deceased women, bring answers to families, and deliver justice to the victims,” said Jürgen Stock, Secretary-General of INTERPOL.
“Whether it is a memory, a tip, or a shared story, the smallest detail could help uncover the truth.”
This phase of the Operation Identify Me campaign includes cases in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, and Spain.
Details of each one have been published on Interpol’s website, along with photographs of possible identifying items and facial reconstructions. Most of the victims are thought to have been aged between 15 and 30.
INTERPOL released sketches of women they are hoping to identify as part of the campaign.
Rita Roberts was successfully identified thanks to the campaign last year.
Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) has alerted the public to be wary of uncooked pork following 12 deaths linked to Streptococcus suis in four provinces in the lower northeastern region.
The DDC reported that 149 cases of hearing loss were caused by the bacterium in four surveillance areas (Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Surin, and Chaiyaphum) this year.
89 people were afflicted in Nakhon Ratchaisima, including six deaths, followed by Chaiyaphum with 31 cases and four fatalities, Surin with 16 cases and one death, and Buri Ram with 13 cases and one death. The majority of the reported cases involved elderly individuals aged 65 and older.
Streptococcus suis is a peanut-shaped bacterium that is normally found in the upper respiratory tract, particularly the tonsils and nasal cavity, and the alimentary and genital tracts of swine. Humans can contract the bacterium through the consumption or exposure to raw pork, pigs’ blood and internal organs. It can also enter through an open wound, scratch, or eye conjunctiva.
Normally, infection by the bacteria manifests as a fever with hearing loss following 14 days later. Patients suffer a high fever, severe headache, dizziness, vomiting and neck stiffness, and permanent hearing loss.
The DDC recommends people only buy pork from a reliable source and consume meat, internal organs and blood that has been cooked at 60–70 degrees Celsius for more than 10 minutes, using separate utensils for cooked and raw pork, and not to use bare hands when handling meats.
New Planetary Defense Mission Heads to Double Asteroid System
The European Space Agency’s Hera spacecraft is seen here in this artist’s impression. The Hera spacecraft is roughly 1.6 meters across, with solar arrays that stretch 11.5 meters once they’re fully deployed. Hitching a ride are two CubeSats, small spacecraft used due to their size and low-cost.(ESA-Science Office)
The European Space Agency’s Hera mission is a two-year-long voyage beyond the orbit of Mars. This follows up on NASA’s successful Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which impacted the asteroid Dimorphos in Sep 2022.
The goal of that mission was to demonstrate the ability to change the orbit of an asteroid. Dimorphos is the smaller of a two-asteroid system, or binary, with Didymos being the largest.
Before the DART mission, Dimorphos orbited Didymos once every 11 hours and 55 minutes. After the impact, that orbit was shortened by 33 minutes, and a plume of debris spread more than 10,000 km into space, lasting for months.
The NASA spacecraft slammed into Dimorphos two years ago:
NASA’s DART spacecraft slammed into the asteroid Dimorphos — 11.3 million kms away from Earth — to alter its orbit and test whether objects that threaten Earth can be redirected.
Illustration courtesy of earth.com.
The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 60 million years ago left behind a crater so massive that it measures over 115 miles in width.
Tiny Kittens Saved from Hurricane Helene Follow Everyone Around, Thinking They are Part Dog
A tuxedo and a tabby ended up at the Humane Society in Tampa, FL desperately needing a foster home. Weighing around 12 ounces, they were starved of both food and love.
Allison, a foster volunteer, offered to help and gave the pair a cozy place to settle in. They were believed to have been “found as orphans and brought in by Good Samaritans as a result of the storm (Helene).”
“The first day, they were really struggling from feeling so hungry. Since then, they have been very brave and friendly.” Our gratitude to Allison for her TLC and the photos.
Hadley (L)and Ernie (R). Note Ernie has six-toes, the type of cat favored by Ernest Hemingway.
The gentle dogs don’t mind the kittens nursing on them despite not having any milk to offer. They happily watch over them, letting them pounce on their tails and wrestle with their floppy ears.
With all of the terrible storms wracking the American south, including the imminent landfall of Milton, there will be more orphaned or separated cats and dogs needing TLC and forever homes.
Displaced Palestinian child sitting in a tent at a camp in the city of Rafah, Gaza, Mar 2023. The NYT reported the IDF onslaught created 19,000 orphans. (Photo: AFP)
One year ago, Israel launched one of the deadliest and most destructive bombing campaigns in modern history in the Gaza Strip.
The reprisals came just hours after armed Palestinian groups carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel. The multipronged attack on Israel from Gaza killed 1,139 people, including 685 Israeli civilians and 71 foreigners. At the time of this surprise attack, the Israeli government was holding 7,000 Palestinian Gazans in “administrative detention” without trial or hearing. As a bargaining chip to free some of the detainees, Palestinian guerillas took 251 Israelis hostages with them. In Nov 2023, the first prisoner exchange took place.
Since then, 117 Israelis have been released, rescued, or freed. 101 hostages are still believed to be in Gaza and 35 are believed to be dead. Some were inadvertently killed in Israeli strikes.
Israel’s goal of destroying resistance in Gaza has taken a huge toll on civilians and infrastructure in the Palestinian enclave, one of most densely populated areas in the world. 24,955 Palestinian adults and 16,500 children were killed; 95,878 wounded, and 10,000 people are missing, presumably still buried under the rubble of residential buildings in Gaza. At least one-quarter of those wounded face life-changing injuries, with many requiring amputations and major rehabilitation, said WHO.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk said in April that “every 10 minutes, a child is killed or wounded” in Gaza. Children, he said, are “disproportionately paying the ultimate price in this war.”
Israel reports 648 IDF and police personnel were killed and 1,902 injured in the offensive.
Israeli Likud Cabinet Minister Avi Dichter had called for “Nakba 2023” against the Palestinians and the IDF has certainly delivered. And to the east, over 700 Palestinians, including 150 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank; 5,700 have been injured.
Israeli forces have been accused of unlawfully using lethal force against Palestinians, including deliberately executing Palestinians who posed no apparent security threat. Foreign aid workers, UN employees, journalists, and international volunteers have also been killed. According to the UN, more than 250 aid workers lost their lives.
At least 116 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). At least five reporters were directly targeted by Israeli forces in what the NY-based media watchdog classified as “murders”.
Human Rights Watch reported in Dec 2023, Israel has used the starvation of Palestinian civilians as a weapon of warfare in the Gaza Strip, which is a war crime. The UN estimates over 85% of Gazans (+1.9 million people), were internally displaced in the enclave by the end of 2023.
Amnesty International has documented cases of IDF soldiers torturing Palestinian detainees, including “severe beatings” and “humiliation.” The human rights group said that such torture had been occurring “for decades” before the surprise attack on 7 Oct 2023.
The UN reports that Israel has destroyed over half of all the structures in Gaza Strip, another 360,000 residential units have been damaged. Satellite imagery shows that at least 53 schools have been destroyed since Oct 2023, the world body said.
Protesters march towards Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Jerusalem to mark one year since the 7 Oct 2023 surprise attack by Palestinian armed groups to seize captives for a prisoner swap. (Photo: 7 Oct 2024/ Reuters).
The International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague indicted Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes, but the international arrest warrant has inexplicably not yet been issued. You may read the specific charges at the link below. Now the IDF is conducting a “limited ground offensive” into Lebanon. Russian President Vladimir Putin, similarly indicted for war crimes by the ICC, described the invasion of Ukraine as a “special military operation.” Putin’s international arrest warrant has been issued and it is incumbent for any signatory to the ICC treaty to arrest him. Mongolia already ignored their obligation when Putin came and left for a state visit last month.
Chinese hackers accessed the networks of US broadband providers and obtained information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized wiretapping.
Verizon Communications, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies are among the telecoms companies whose networks were breached by the recently discovered intrusion.
The hackers might have held access for months to network infrastructure used by the companies to cooperate with court-authorized US requests for communications data. The hackers had also accessed other tranches of internet traffic.
China’s foreign ministry responded that it was not aware of the attack but said the US had “concocted a false narrative” to “frame” China in the past.
Beijing has previously denied claims by the US government and others that it has used hackers to break into foreign computer systems. The attack was carried out by a Chinese hacking group with the aim of collecting intelligence. US investigators have dubbed it “Salt Typhoon.”
Earlier this year, US law enforcement disrupted a major Chinese hacking group nicknamed “Flax Typhoon,” months after confronting Beijing about sweeping cyber espionage under a campaign named “Volt Typhoon.”
China’s foreign ministry that Beijing’s cybersecurity agencies had found and published evidence to show Volt Typhoon was staged by “an international ransomware organization.”
Beijing and its internal proxies will continue their relentless campaign of cyber-espionage, hacking, and intelligence collection against Western targets. China has the budget, resources, will, and manpower for this mission as they wish to replace the US as the number one military and economic superpower in the world. Stealing technology is cheaper than years of research and development (R&D) is one method of catching up with the US and Europe. The “thousand grains of sand” approach allows Beijing’s analysts to construct an intelligence mosaic of the enemy. This particular breach may harm US counterintelligence efforts against China’s spies since Beijing will see who the USG is investigating through the names and telephone numbers associated with the FISA warrants (AKA “wiretaps”).
Canadian World War II Pistols Slated for Destruction Will Be Donated to Ukraine
The Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol has a 13-round magazine capacity and is one of the most widely used military pistols in history. The Hi-Power has armed the militaries or security services of over 50 countries.
Second World War-era handguns that had been earmarked for destruction by the Canadian Armed Forces will instead be sent to Ukraine starting in December. The original plan was to destroy 11,000 of the Browning Hi-Power pistols. But now 10,500 of the 9-mm pistols will be shipped to Ukraine.
Delivery of the handguns is expected to start in December.
The Canadian Forces pulled the Browning Hi-Powers from service after receiving new modern handguns. It was having trouble keeping the Second World War pistols in service because of a lack of parts and concerns they were no longer functioning properly.
Since Feb 2022, Canada has committed more than $19.5 billion in total assistance to Ukraine, including $4.5 billion in military equipment. This includes Leopard II main battle tanks, armored combat support vehicles, anti-tank weapons, small arms, M777 howitzers, and associated ammunition as well as high-resolution drones.
In response to a specific request from Ukraine, Canada was donating decommissioned chassis from 29 M113s and 64 Coyote light armored vehicles. These surplus vehicles will be repurposed or used for spare parts by Ukraine.
Ottawa will also donate and transport 80,840 additional CRV-7 rocket motors and 1,300 warheads to Ukraine. This follows Canada’s initial delivery of 2,160 CRV-7 rocket motors.
Canada donated an unspecified number of Teledyne SkyRanger drones to Ukraine. Canadian military personnel are not involved in that training which is being conducted by Teledyne employees.
The SkyRanger is a next-generation, small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS)
The Browning Hi-Power pistol is a capable weapon that the Ukrainian security services will put to excellent use. The SkyRanger is reported to be a multi-functional, durable drone that Kiev will be able to employ for a myriad of missions from civil defense to sophisticated stealthy offensive operations. The Ukrainian government is no doubt grateful for all of these donations.
TwoIndiana Men Plead Guilty to Assaulting Law Enforcement During 6 Jan Attack on Capitol
Donald Lee Moss (62) of Elizabethtown, IN and James Link Behymer (61) of Hope, IN, each pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
During the “Stop the Steal” rally on 6 Jan 2021 outside the US Capitol, a group of Metropolitan Police (MPD) officers in riot gear became surrounded by angry and violent rioters who began shouting obscenities and curses at them. Behymer and Moss ignored commands to step back. Shouting “USA! USA! USA!”, “This is our f— house!”, the two defendants assaulted the police officers. When a rioter shouted: “Y’all surrounded,” Behymer grabbed an officer’s baton while the officer attempted to keep Behymer away. Behymer re-engaged with another officer, attempting to steal his baton.
After the assault, Behymer and Moss entered the US Capitol building and encouraged other members of the mob to enter. He is seen leading rioters in the top photo. The FBI arrested the two miscreants on 6 Mar 2024.
The Honorable Judge Tanya S. Chutkan will sentence these two morons on 13 Feb 2025. Of the approximately 30 defendants who have come before her, she has sentenced every one of them to at least some prison time. Judge Chutkan is overseeing Donald Trump’s election conspiracy trial.
No doubt the Honorable Judge Chutkan will recommend FCI Terre Haute, IN for their incarceration.
In the 44 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,504 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 560 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
This is a fine time for two men in their early sixties to get “jammed up” by Federal agents for believing Donald Trump’s idiotic lies about a stolen election. Their white supremacist attitudes have undone them. At least they will most likely be incarcerated close to their families in Indiana.
FDA Recalls Eggs That ‘Will Cause Serious Adverse Health Consequences or Death’
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled eggs that it said “will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.” These products, sold in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois, have been linked to a salmonella outbreak.
The FDA told people not to eat, sell or serve recalled chicken eggs from Milo’s Poultry Farms and Tony’s Fresh Market.
The FDA issued the first recall on 6 Sep but has upgraded the recall to Class I, a product that “will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.”
The recall covers all expiration dates for the following eggs:
All carton sizes and all egg types labeled with “Milo’s Poultry Farms”andall carton sizes of “Tony’s Fresh Market” branded eggs.
Across nine states, 65 people were sickened from the same strain of Salmonella, 24 people were hospitalized and no deaths have been reported.
“This outbreak may be difficult to treat with some commonly recommended antibiotics and may require a different antibiotic choice for people who need them,” said the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
FDA said symptoms could occur 12 to 72 hours after eating food that is contaminated with Salmonella, and the symptoms usually last four to seven days. Symptoms could include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.
Over 180 People on Royal Caribbean Cruise Sick After Salmonella Outbreak
The Radiance of the Seas is manned by 894 crewmembers.
Over 180 passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean Cruise got sick after a salmonella outbreak. The cruise ship was traveling from Vancouver to Alaska between 20 Sep and 27 Sep.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that 180 of the 2,172 passengers and three of the 894 crew members on the cruise ship, Radiance of the Seas, were affected by the illness.
Passengers and crew members symptoms included diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, and muscle aches.
CDC reported the Royal Caribbean Cruise ship took these actions:
Made announcements to notify onboard passengers and crew of the outbreak, encouraged case reporting, and encouraged good hand hygiene.
Collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing.
Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan.
New Zealand Navy Ship Manawanui Sinks Off Coast of Samoa
HMNZS Manawanui, which sunk after becoming grounded on a reef in Samoa (Photo Christopher Weissenborn / AP)
A Royal New Zealand Navy vessel has run aground and sunk off Samoa – the first time the navy has lost a ship since the second world war.
Manawanui, the navy’s specialist dive and hydrographic vessel, ran aground near the southern coast of Upolu as it was conducting a reef survey last Saturday. All 75 crew and passengers were safe.
An oil spill was “highly probable” as a result of the sinking. Several vessels responded and assisted in rescuing the crew and passengers who had left the ship in lifeboats. The cause of the grounding was unknown and under investigation.
Video and photos published on local media showed the Manawanui, which cost the New Zealand government NZ$103m in 2018, listing heavily and with plumes of thick grey smoke rising after it ran aground. The vessel later capsized and was below the surface by 9am local time.
The Manawanui was used to conduct a range of specialist diving, salvage, and survey tasks around New Zealand and across the south-west Pacific.New Zealand’s navy is already working at reduced capacity with three of its nine ships idle due to personnel shortages.
This is a quadruple blow as cases like this are career-ending in most naval services. This incident also caused an oil spill, further threatening the coral reefs the ship was sent to survey. Besides costing the New Zealand taxpayer $NZ103 million dollars, this accident also further reduces their naval readiness.
North Korean Defector Crashes Stolen Bus in Failed Bid to Return Home
Military sentry posts of North Korea, rear, and South Korea, front, are seen in Paju, near the border with North Korea. Photograph: Ahn Young-joon/AP
A North Korean defector living in South Korea has been detained after ramming a stolen bus into a barricade on a bridge near the heavily militarized border, in a failed attempt to return to his isolated homeland.
The man – who fled to the South in 2011 – ignored warnings from soldiers to stop while attempting on Tuesday to drive through the Tongil Bridge in Paju, just south of the heavily fortified demilitarized zone (DMZ).
“He lives under difficult economic conditions as a construction worker and misses his family still in the North,” an investigator told Agence France-Presse, explaining the man’s reasons for the attempted crossing. The police are considering charging the suspect, who is in his 30s, with theft and violating national security laws.
More than 34,000 North Koreans have defected to the South since the 1950-53 Korean war, mostly after arduous, sometimes life-threatening journeys, usually via China, to escape poverty and oppression at home. But this defector didn’t realize that he would have been severely punished by the Kim Jong-Un regime for defecting in the first place. He would have made a public apology and announcement about how terrible life is in South Korea before being whisked away by security personnel.
Tiny Kitten Seen on the Road Begging to Be Rescued Ends Up Having All Her Wishes Come True
A few months ago, a Good Samaritan spotted a tiny kitten crawling on the side of the road and stopped. The kitten cried out and inched towards the person. “She was lucky someone saw her and jumped to save her,” said Ellen Carozza LVT, VTS (CP-Feline). “Right from the beginning, she was the sweetest kitten who wanted to be rescued.”
A local animal rescue, To The ResQ, took her in and gave her immediate medical care but realized the kitten would need additional help. They contacted Ellen, whose Chris Griffey Memorial Feline Foundation (CGMFF) is dedicated to saving the most critical kittens.
Poppy was found on the side of the road emaciated, covered in ticks, and suffering with broken legs. Photo: Ellen Carozza
Poppy was given a thorough bath and fresh splints for her front legs. Photo: Ellen Carozza
Healing well, Poppy (R) enjoyed playtime with another kitten. Photo: Ellen Carozza
Fast forward to today. Poppy was adopted by a loving family and has a new home: A dream come true.
Gaza’s Government Media Office accused Israeli forces of committing “two brutal massacres” overnight by bombing a mosque and a school-turned-shelter and killing at least 24 Palestinians. Some 93 others were wounded in the attacks in central Gaza.
The targeted buildings were identified as the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Ibn Rushd School. Both were housing hundreds of displaced people.
The bombings followed 27 Israeli attacks on 27 homes and displacement centres across the Gaza Strip in the past 48 hours.
Almost 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the war. Half of the dead are women and children. Almost 90% of Gaza’s residents are now displaced, amid widespread destruction.
This weekend tens of thousands of people all over the world protested against the Likud-run government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a man indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague for war crimes. Time and space permits only a sampling of the outrage. The Israeli government and its supporters will disparage these thousands and thousands of demonstrators as “Hamas lovers,” “antisemites,” “useful idiots of Iran,” “terrorism supporters,” et cetera et cetera, but rational people know the reality, despite the unfounded accusations, aspersions, rhetoric, and hate speech emanating from Jerusalem and the repetitive, nauseating, droning talking points we’re forced to hear or read in the West.
Police put out a fire after a self-proclaimed journalist self immolated during a pro-Palestinian rally outside the White House in Washington on 5 Oct [Seth Herald / Reuters]
Protesters march during a pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday 6 Oct. (Photo: AAP)
Berlin, Germany [Christian Mang/ Reuters]
Madrid, Spain [Ana Beltran / Reuters]
Copenhagen, Denmark [Ritzau Scanpix / Thomas Traasdahl via Reuters]
Jakarta, Indonesia [Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/ Reuters]
Copyright Michel Euler/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
A protester waves a flag reading ‘Death to NATO fascists!’ during a pro-Palestinian gathering in Belgrade, 5 Oct 2024 Darko Vojinovic/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
President Biden has only a few months left in the White House while his legacy is being effectively corroded by war-monger Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, despite President Biden’s brilliant handling of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Biden Administration deployed a stellar cast in Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director William Burns to negotiate for a ceasefire and release the hostages, but they were thwarted by Netanyahu. Many Democrats openly suspect that Netanyahu is interfering with the US election by refusing to “seal a deal” or reach a ceasefire to make President Biden look ineffective and thereby help Donald Trump against Kamala Harris this November. Many Arab-Americans have already decided to support Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, which could siphon off Democratic votes in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Israeli Settlers Seizing Occupied West Bank Land Under Cover of War; 623 Palestinians Killed Over Past Two Years
Palestinian Alice Kisiya (R), whose family land was taken over by armed Israeli settlers, confronts a settler in the area of al-Makhrour in the occupied West Bank, near Beit Jala, on 22 Aug 2024 (AFP/Hazem Bader)
Over the past year, while much of the world’s attention has been focused on the war on Gaza, several residents of Umm Safa – a picturesque village just 12km north of Ramallah – have been driven from their homes by armed settlers, often aided by the Israeli army.
Settler violence is not a new phenomenon in the occupied West Bank, where large swathes of territory are under Israeli civil and military control. But since the war on Gaza erupted, land seizures and violent attacks aimed at forcing Palestinians to abandon their homes have spiked. The attacks have coincided with sweeping movement restrictions that have seen Palestinians denied access to cities, towns, and villages.
Omar Hamed (17, L) and Jihad Abu Alia (25, R) were killed by Israeli settlers. (Source: BBC News)
In recent months, the settlers – emboldened by the election of far-right leaders of the settlement movement – began levelling the al-Shami and Ras mountains near Umm Safa, with the aim of turning the area into a settlement outpost.
Residents said that when they approached Israeli authorities for help, they were rebuffed and told to return with documents proving their legal ownership of the lands.
After an extensive search, they presented documents dating back hundreds of years to the Ottoman era, showing that they were, in fact, the legal owners.
Hussein Khasib lives in constant fear, knowing he and his family could be next.
“We went to the Israeli civil administration, hoping it would prevent the settlers from seizing our lands. In the end, they [the Israeli officials] told us that the lands were state property and we couldn’t use them,” Khasib reported.
‘The terrorism carried out by settler militias is why many Bedouin communities left,’ said Hassan Malihat, Director of the al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights
You can easily see the difference from this dated map comparing the West Bank population in 1967 to 2017. The situation for Palestinians have since worsened.
In 1995, the Oslo Agreement divided the West Bank into three zones known as Areas A, B, and C.
Area C, which comprises around 60 percent of the West Bank, was meant to be “gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction”. But after a failed peace process in which Israel refused to end its occupation and withdraw militarily, the area remains under full Israeli military and civil control.
Khasib said that the lands currently being levelled were just 15m away from his home. Since the settlers started their construction works, he and his brothers received notices ordering them to demolish their homes.
“Every day, we live in hell,” a distraught Khasib said.
“We don’t sleep at night because they aren’t content with just bulldozing [the land] but also attacking our homes. They want us to leave so they can take over the entire mountain.”
According to the village council in Umm Safa, Israeli settlers have sought to connect the settlements of Halamish (Neve Tzuf) and Ateret, which were established after hundreds of Palestinians were evicted from their ancestral lands. Around 600 dunams (60 hectares) of village land were also confiscated in the 1990s to build the main road leading to the settlements.
There are only 720 Palestinians left in Umm Safa, many of whom lack the land to build new homes. Meanwhile, Israel has closed the village’s eastern and western entrances, severely restricting civilian and commercial movement. The situation in Umm Safa is not new and is part of a broader push by settlers and the Israeli government to take advantage of the war in Gaza to increase pressure on Palestinian communities to flee.
Earlier this year, Israeli authorities approved the seizure of 12.7 sq km of land in the Jordan Valley, indicating it was the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Israeli settlers gather in the West Bank village of Umm Safa on 26 Sep 2024, as construction begins to level Palestinian land (Fayha Shalash / MEE)
As reported here on Coriolanus, the Biden Administration sanctioned a handful of these extremist terrorist Settlers, but clearly this minor gesture has been ineffective.
Israel Expands Bombardment of Lebanon; Thousands Flee Widening War
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched what the IDF called a “limited ground operation” into southern Lebanon. Russian President Vladimir Putin called his invasion of Ukraine a “special military operation.”
88 Countries of La Francophonie called for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon.
People inspect the rubble of buildings levelled by Israeli strikes, which killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, on 29 Sep 2024 (AFP). Who is going to pay to reconstruct Lebanon and its infrastructure after this carnage?
Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut’s southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both alleged Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Thousands of people in Lebanon, including Palestinian refugees, continued to flee the widening conflict in the region, while rallies were held around the world marking the approaching anniversary of the start of the war in Gaza.
At least 1,400 Lebanese, including civilians, medics and Hezbollah fighters, have been killed and 1.2 million driven from their homes in less than two weeks. Israel says it aims to drive the militant group away from shared borders so displaced Israelis can return to their homes.
The fighting is the worst since Israel and Hezbollah fought a brief war in 2006. Nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in the ground clashes that Israel says have killed 440 Hezbollah fighters.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told reporters in Damascus that “we are trying to reach a cease-fire in Gaza and in Lebanon.” The minister did not name the countries putting forward initiatives, saying they include regional states and some outside the Middle East.
At least six people in Lebanon were killed in more than a dozen Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday. Nearly 375,000 people have fled from Lebanon into Syria in less than two weeks.
People carry luggage as they cross into Syria by foot through a crater caused by Israeli airstrikes aiming to block Beirut-Damascus highway at the Masnaa Border Crossing, in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, 5 Oct 2024. Hundreds continued to cross the border on foot.
“We were on the road for two days,” said Issa Hilal, one of many Syrian refugees in Lebanon who are now heading back. “The roads were very crowded … it was very difficult. We almost died getting here.”
Other displaced families now shelter alongside Beirut’s famous seaside Corniche, their wind-flapped tents just steps from luxury homes. “We don’t care if we die, but we don’t want to die at the hands of Netanyahu,” said Om Ali Mcheik.
Three hospitals in south Lebanon were forced to close after Israeli bombings struck two and the other ran out of supplies, displacing a number of doctors from the area and creating concerns around the state of the Lebanese health sector.
Marjayoun governmental hospital and the Salah Ghandour hospital in Bint Jbeil, large healthcare centres along the eastern and western sections of the Lebanese borders, announced their closure after their premises were struck, killing seven and wounding 14 healthcare workers.
“The main hospital of the entrance was targeted as paramedics were approaching. Seven were killed, five were wounded. We considered this a message, so we decided to close,” said Dr Mones Kalakish, the director of Marjayoun governmental hospital. He added that because of the frequent targeting of paramedics in south Lebanon, wounded people had not been able to reach the hospital for the past three days.
“There was no warning to the hospital before they struck. The warning didn’t come over the telephone, it came via bombing,” Kalakish said.
Mays al-Jabal governmental hospital, 700 meters from the Israel-Lebanon border, said hospital staff could no longer perform their role due to a cutoff of supplies.
“Medical supplies, diesel, electricity, none of it was available. Unifil was bringing us water, and now they are unable to move. How can a hospital operate without water?” said Dr Halim Saad, the director of Mays al-Jabal hospital’s medical services.
More than 50 healthcare workers have been killed since 23 Sep, when Israel started an intense aerial campaign in south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley. Paramedics all over the country have been killed and injured by Israeli airstrikes, including in a medical centre in central Beirut, where nine were killed in a strike on Thursday.
97 paramedics had been killed since fighting between Hezbollah and Israel started last year – a number which has grown over the past two days.
The displacement of medical workers due to Israeli bombing has created problems across the country at a time when the number of people wounded by Israeli strikes regularly exceeds 100 a day. The health system in Lebanon, and particularly in the south, is fragile after five years of economic crisis and almost a year of war.
At Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, the largest public hospital in Lebanon, officials said Israeli bombing of nearby Dahiyeh, a southern suburb, had displaced some of its staff, leaving some unable to come to work. The hospital has opened a dorm on its campus to accommodate some of its more vital staff and tried to find housing in safe areas for others.
There is a concern among hospital staff that work conditions in the Beirut hospital could become dangerous, as news of hospitals and paramedics being bombed spreads.
“A person who does not have big responsibilities, they might think to leave. I can’t blame them, they have their own security, own family, own life,” Dr Jihad Saade, the chief executive of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, said. Until now, the hospital has been operating normally.
Displacement of medical staff has primarily affected south Lebanon, where Israeli bombing is more frequent. It is unclear how many people still remain in the south, after Israel ordered people in about 70 villages to evacuate.
More than 2,000 people have been killed and more than 9,535 wounded since fighting started in Lebanon, most of them since 23 Sep.
Kiev: Russia Has Executed 93 Ukrainian POWs Since Start of Invasion
A Russia-backed rebel sniper wears a mask in Debaltseve, Ukraine. Photo: Vadim Ghirda / AP
Ukraine has documented evidence related to the execution of 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
80 percent of the executions occurred this year.
On 1 Oct, the Prosecutor-General’s Office announced it had opened an investigation into what it described as the “largest mass execution” of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian troops since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in Feb 2022.
According to an official statement published on the office’s Telegram channel, Russian forces recently killed 16 Ukrainian “prisoners of war” near the villages of Mykolayivka and Sukhiy Yar in the Pokrovsk district of the Donetsk region.
Videos circulated on various Telegram channels appear to show Ukrainian soldiers, freshly captured by Russian troops, emerging from a forested area.
After the prisoners were lined up, Russian soldiers appear to open fire. The videos then appear to show Russian soldiers approaching those who were only wounded and shooting them again at close range with machine guns.
Under international humanitarian law, executing soldiers who have surrendered is considered a war crime.
Kiev alerted the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross over the deaths, citing violations of the Geneva Conventions, which govern the treatment of prisoners of war.
In March, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine published a report that recorded the execution of at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war in 12 separate cases from Dec 2023 to Feb 2024.
Vietnam-era Veterans Exposed to Nerve Agents and Hallucinogens in Secret Military Tests Seek Years of Back Benefits
Test subjects in an undated photo enter a chamber where they were exposed to chemical agents as part of military experiments at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. (US Army photo)
Vietnam-era veterans exposed to nerve agents and hallucinogenic drugs in a classified military research program more than 50 years ago are appealing for retroactive disability benefits after a federal court ruling found their constitutional rights were violated.
Now in their 70s and early 80s, the veterans were sworn to silence and restricted from reporting the debilitating health effects from the program, which included paralysis, cancer, depression, and psychosis. They were also restricted from obtaining disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I never knew what I was given in those tests,” said Frank Rochelle (76) of North Carolina, a former Army corporal whose service from 1968-1970 included a tour in Vietnam. “When I went to file a VA claim, I was told that the tests I took part in had never happened. The records were sealed. I had no way to prove my case.”
But a 2023 court ruling is enabling Rochelle and other service members for the first time to obtain VA disability compensation retroactive to their date of discharge. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 veterans who participated as human test subjects in classified studies that the US Army Chemical Corps conducted at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland are believed to be alive today.
The facility was established in 1948 primarily as a center for researching chemical warfare agents, but military equipment, protective clothing and pharmaceuticals also were tested at the facility. The Vietnam-era veterans were considered volunteers in classified studies that began in 1956. They signed consent agreements prior to participating in experiments but said later they were not informed of the risks.
About 7,000 military personnel participated in the tests until the Army disbanded the program in 1975, according to the DoD. Edgewood Arsenal now functions as the Army’s center for research, tests and development in chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defense.
The court found the secrecy agreements that the participants signed, which carried the threat of criminal penalty if violated, effectively denied them due process and disability compensation to which they were entitled.
“This decision importantly opens a pathway for all veterans who are under a secrecy agreement to pursue their claims, whether they are Edgewood Arsenal vets or not,” he said.
Rochelle’s case is pending a higher review in the U.S. Veterans Court of Appeals, which has already ordered retroactive compensation this year in three other cases involving Edgewood veterans.
Jones said though the VA states it now has a process in place for Edgewood Arsenal veterans to file to receive benefits, the agency continues to delay decisions and deny their claims.
The VA does not have figures on how many Vietnam-era veterans have submitted claims for retroactive payments related to illnesses and injuries from serving as test subjects at the Edgewood Arsenal.
In 2023, Army veteran Bob Taylor of Idaho was the first veteran to receive disability compensation retroactive to his military discharge for illnesses and injuries that he suffered after participating in the classified research project.
Taylor’s attorneys first argued in US Court of Appeals for Veterans that he was entitled to compensation back to his discharge date of 1971. Taylor, who served from 1969-1971, has been diagnosed with multiple cancers, depression, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He and other Edgewood veterans said they thought they had volunteered to test military equipment in the 1960s and 1970s but were directed instead to military research labs for human trials using chemical substances they received in gas chambers, by injection and other means.
Taylor was exposed to at least three highly poisonous chemical agents during the Edgewood experiments. Some of the agents were known only by numbered references with the prefix “EA” for Edgewood Arsenal.
They were EA-3580, a form of sarin gas; EA-3547, a derivative of tear gas, and scopolamine, a highly toxic chemical test as a “truth serum” but that can cause psychosis.
The service-connected illnesses and injuries of Taylor and other veterans from the experiments were not recognized by the VA until the secrecy agreements were partially lifted by the DoD in 2006.
“We were lied to about our reasons for going to Edgewood. We thought that the Army was testing equipment to better the forces,” said Rochelle, whose medical problems from his experiences at Edgewood made him “unemployable,” according to VA records. “This has been ignored for 30 to 50 years.”
An attack by the notorious Gran Grif gang in the town of Pont Sondé, Haiti, left at least 70 people dead on Thursday, after gunmen armed with automatic rifles opened fire. Among the victims were ten women and three infants.
“As the attacks unfolded, gang members reportedly set fire to at least 45 houses and 34 vehicles, forcing a number of residents to flee,” said a UN official.
The attack comes in the wider context of indiscriminate gang violence across Haiti, leading to an alarming escalation of human rights violations and large-scale internal displacement.
Over 700,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, making Haiti the country with the largest number of displacements globally due to crime-related violence. Mass displacement has led to widespread insecurity in the nation, with almost half of Haiti’s 11.9 million civilians in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The gang violence against the Haitian population has spread from the capital, Port-au-Prince, to isolated rural areas. The pervasive assaults include sexual violence, kidnapping, looting, roadblocks to intimidate and rob civilians and forced recruitment by armed gangs.
Jimmy “Barbeque” Cherizier (C) is a powerful criminal leader who leads an alliance of gangs in Port-au-Prince. A former police officer, he is openly defiant and does not wear a mask like thousands of gang members in Haiti.
Despite the growing urgency of the crisis, funding for Haiti’s humanitarian response remains critically low and the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan asking for $674 million is currently only 39 per cent funded.
Kenyan police officer who is part of a UN-backed multinational force takes a selfie after landing in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 16 July 2024. Another 200 police officers from Kenya arrived for a UN-backed mission led by the East African country to battle violent gangs that have taken over parts of the Caribbean country. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Donald Trump Says He’d Change Name of Fort Liberty, NC Back to Fort Bragg if Elected
Fort Liberty, NC sign greets visitors to the base. This is the home of the 82nd Airborne Division (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)
Former President Donald Trump said he would change the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg if he’s elected. Trump made the remarks on Friday night during a town hall in Fayetteville, NC, which is near the military installation.
“I walked in — the first question that I asked — should we change the name from Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg? First question,” he said as the crowd cheered. “Right, so here’s what we do — we get elected, I’m doing it. I’m doing it.”
The renaming of Fort Bragg was part of a controversial three-year process to strip the names of Confederate leaders who took up arms against the US in the Civil War from Army installations. It was part of an effort initiated by top Pentagon officials in 2020.
Congress mandated the Naming Commission in a 2021 annual Pentagon policy bill, giving it the task of identifying items in the Defense Department inventory associated with the Confederacy. Among the items that the commission studied were the names of nine Army installations honoring Confederate generals, including Fort Bragg.
Then-President Trump vetoed the bill, disapproving of the effort to remove Confederate names from the military. Congress overrode the veto, making the changes law. Fort Bragg was renamed Fort Liberty in 2023. Changing the name of Fort Liberty would require congressional approval.
Instead of providing his supporters with a plan or policy on how to deal with global climate change and the hurricanes that have damaged the Carolinas, the ex-President is concerned about changing the name of a US Army base back to honor a traitorous Confederate Army General. You wonder if this brontosaurus knows the Civil War ended in 1865, the racist, slave-owning Confederacy lost, and that Americans have more pressing needs like universal health insurance, flood re-insurance programs, or logical gun control measures?
This incredible statue in Sendai, Japan, represents a bodhisattva, a person who is on the path towards bodhi (‘awakening’) or Buddhahood. At the time of its completion in 1991, it was the tallest statue in the world.
With all of the war criminals running amok creating death, destruction, and misery, some world leaders could use a bit of enlightenment or a “bodhi”.
Heavy rains from Hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, NC, on 28 Sep. Photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits / Getty Images
Flooding in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene has led to swarms of yellow jackets.
Heavy rain and standing water likely destroyed the insects’ nests underground and in trees.
State health officials said they have bought Benadryl and EpiPens to help people who get stung, especially those with allergies.
One million people without power in the Carolinas; over 200 killed in US by Hurricane Helene; hundreds still missing or unaccounted for.
1,000 active-duty troops ordered to assist with recovery efforts.
Flooding increased the risk of water-borne and mosquito-borne diseases dramatically.
Most people aren’t allergic to wasp or bee stings but may still develop pain, itching or swelling at the site. Benadryl, either in topical or oral form, can help reduce those symptoms. Epinephrine injections, or EpiPens, are reserved for people with severe allergic reactions — such as trouble breathing or swallowing — which can sometimes be life-threatening.
Hayes said people who are allergic to bees are usually allergic to yellow jackets, as well, though the scale of the reaction might differ.
Mexican Military Kills Six Migrants Near Guatemalan Border
Soldiers stand guard outside a hospital where injured migrants were taken after Mexican soldiers shot a group of 33 migrants in Tapachula, Mexico. 2 Oct 2024. Photo: Jose Torres/Reuters
One day after Mexico’s first female president was inaugurated, soldiers opened fire at a pickup truck carrying migrants, killing six people from Egypt, El Salvador, and Peru, in an incident that President Claudia Sheinbaum described as “regrettable.”
The tragic event occurred on Tuesday evening when soldiers spotted a vehicle carrying 33 migrants “going at high speed,” according to the Mexican Defense Ministry (AKA SEDENA). The vehicle reportedly tried to evade a military patrol in Chiapas, a Mexican state bordering Guatemala.
“Behind the pick-up truck there were two vehicles like those used by criminal groups in the region,” the ministry said, adding that two soldiers reported hearing explosions leading them to open fire.
Four of the migrants died on the scene and two more in a nearby hospital. The attack also left 12 wounded.
Sheinbaum called for the incident “to be investigated and punished” and the soldiers involved in the attack were turned over to the Attorney General’s Office.
Violence has been on the rise in Chiapas as cartels fight for control of lucrative routes for smuggling migrants and drugs. The Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel have been engaged in a turf war in the area, with hundreds forced to flee their homes last January.
President Claudia Sheinbaum announces salary increases for military personnel, focusing on lower enlisted soldiers and junior officers.
These poor migrants were escaping terrible, violent conditions in search of a better life, only to be needlessly killed. There is no information indicating where the sounds of the explosions originated and if the human traffickers opened fire on the Mexican soldiers. Authorities haven’t disclosed whether the refugees or the smugglers were armed. Through no fault of her own, President Sheinbaum is off to an inauspicious start to her five-year term.Nevertheless, she is going to change politics in Mexico for a long time to come.
FBI: Seven 6 Jan 2021 Seditionists Processed: Four Arrested; Two Sentenced; One Convicted
The FBI and the Justice Department has been extremely busy over the past 24 hours dealing with 6 Jan 2021 white-supremacist insurrectionists.
First, the FBI made four arrests.
Photo: FBI
Andre Maurice Bonneau (64) of Lewiston, Maine, pictured above, was arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges. Bonneau allegedly disregarded police orders to “get back” and grabbed a bicycle rack in an apparent attempt to breach the police line. Bonneau struggled with officers over the bike rack as he attempted to lift and remove the barricade from the police line. In response to his actions, officers defended themselves by using their riot batons against him and deploying a chemical irritant in Bonneau’s direction. The officers successfully repelled Bonneau’s advance and he retreated.
Christopher Jordan (circled in green) lunging toward a police officer; Earl Jordan (circled in yellow) being moved by other officers.Photo: FBI
Brothers Christopher Jordan (48) of St. George, UT and Earl Jordan (50) of Dickens, IA, were arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement and other charges.
Earl and Christopher were seen allegedly engaging with and confronting law enforcement officers during the melee. Earl Jordan allegedly threw his elbow at a police officer, knocking him off balance. Christopher Jordan allegedly lunged toward another officer. Despite verbal commands from police to “get back,” the brothers continued their aggressive behavior. Earl Jordan was allegedly swiped at an officer’s face before grabbing the officer by the throat in another encounter. Simultaneously, Christopher Jordan engaged another police officer, pushing and attempting to wrest control of the officer’s baton.
Despite repeated efforts by the officers to break free from the crowd and establish a police line the Jordan brothers persisted, blocking law enforcement. The brothers then disappeared into the crowd, allowing the officers to regroup behind their line.
Later that day, both brothers confronted police again. Earl Jordan picked up a piece of metal fencing and hurled it as officers struggled to prevent rioters from breaching the building. The Jordan brothers remained on Capitol grounds until the evening hours of January 6th, when law enforcement successfully cleared the area.
James Roe Cleary identified himself to the FBI as being seen in images taken from the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol. (Photo: US DoJ)
James Roe Cleary (56) of Waterford, CT, was arrested for felony civil disorder, assault, and trespassing during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Cleary was involved in the most intense fighting between rioters and police in the Tunnel, the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on 6 Jan.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants above are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Two miscreants below were sentenced for their participation in the 6 Jan 2021 attack on American democracy.
Michael Oliveras outside the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. (Photo: US DoJ)
First, Michael Oliveras (51) of Lindenwold, NJ was sentenced to five years in prison, 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution by the Honorable US District Judge Beryl A. Howell.
A federal jury convicted Oliveras of three felonies in Nov 2023. Oliveras traveled to Washington, DC prepared for “war on January 6” because he wanted to stop the certification of the Presidential election. At the Capitol, he swarmed and helped attack a unit of police officers on the West front, engaged in a brawl with officers on the West Terrace, and entered the US Capitol twice—and attempted to enter a third time—during the riot, all while repeatedly calling for the execution of “traitors,” i.e., lawmakers, and encouraging rioters to drag members of Congress out “by their hair.” Oliveras documented many of his actions on videos he took himself.
Oliveras violently engaged and re-engaged with police officers during the fracas and was undeterred even after being sprayed with chemical irritant. After law-enforcement finally secured the US Capitol, Oliveras returned to NJ and posted on social media about his attack on the Capitol:
“Did we want to get our bare hands on the flesh of those who have committed treason? Yes. Would I, as one of those red-blooded Americans, if the opportunity presented itself, grasped and removed one of those traitors? Yes.”
On 8 Jan 2021, Oliveras posted again: “Patriots. Are any of you discouraged? What you saw in the Senate was precisely what we want. Insurrection acts in motion.”
The FBI arrested Oliveras on 9 Dec 2021, in NJ. After his arrest, Oliveras repeatedly joined YouTube airings and exclaimed that he was not sorry for his actions and he would “do it again.”
Jeremy Daniel Groseclose on 6 Jan 2021. (Image: FBI)
Second, Jeremy Groseclose (41) of Elliston, Virginia, was sentenced to 40 months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $5,000 by the Honorable US District Judge Christopher R. Cooper.
Groseclose was found guilty on 21 Nov 2023 of felony civil disorder and felony obstruction of an official proceeding, in addition to the misdemeanor offenses following a bench trial.
Groseclose was among a mob of rioters illegally on the Capitol grounds. During his time inside the Capitol building, Groseclose wore a gas mask and interfered with US Capitol Police (USCP) officers as they attempted to prevent the mob from progressing farther into the Capitol. As USCP tried to close a security door located on the east side of the Crypt, Groseclose and others prevented the door from closing by placing chairs, trash cans, and other objects under the door. Groseclose and others also used their hands to lift the door as it was closing. Ultimately, Groseclose and the mob prevented the door from closing and moved toward the retreating USCP officers.
Security footage captured Groseclose taking pictures and recording videos of the chaos inside the Capitol building. In particular, at about 2:39 PM, Groseclose documented a physical struggle between law enforcement officers and a member of the mob. Later, Groseclose captured an image of a dark red substance – believed to be blood — on the floor of the Capitol Building just outside of the Rotunda. The images and videos that Groseclose appeared to capture were not found on his phone, and in the days following the attack, Groseclose sent messages to others discussing the deletion of evidence.
The FBI arrested Groseclose on 25 Feb 2021 in Elliston.
Lastly, one lunatic was just convicted.
Jay Matthew Kenyon (47) of Harrisonburg, VA, was found guilty of felony civil disorder and four misdemeanor offenses. The Honorable US District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson will sentence him on 10 Jan 2025. After breaching the US Capitol, USCP was able to escort Kenyon from the building. But the defendant returned and resisted law-enforcement efforts to eject him. USCP then finally removed him one hour after he trespassed.
A US Capitol Police Officer identified Kenyon with brandishing a knife during the ordeal. The complaint read: “Officer _ recalled the individual swinging the knife and perceived that the individual was trying to attack officers. Officer _ disarmed the individual.”
According to online court records, Kenyon has faced additional charges for assault and battery of a family member, contempt of court and additional traffic violations dating back to 2011.
The FBI arrested Kenyon on 28 Feb 2023, in Harrisonburg, VA.
In the 44 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,504 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 560 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
These dangerous fanatics represent America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), white supremacist dead-enders who are trying to cling on to the last vestiges of white privilege in the US. In addition to Fox News and social platforms that disseminate hate speech, hundreds of American AM radio stations broadcast radically right Republican talking points which these miscreants listen to and believe. According to the 2021 Congressional articles of impeachment, then-President Donald Trump incited his supporters to attack the US Capitol, made easier for him by this ugly cesspool of hate speech dominating the internet and airwaves.
Israel Continues Bombing Beirut; Biden Says Hitting Iran’s Oil Sector Under Discussion
Smoke rises following an explosion over Beirut’s southern suburbs after an air strike late on 3 Oct.(Reuters)
Multiple explosions from Israeli air strikes rocked the suburbs of Beirut late on October 3 as the United States said it is discussing strikes on Iran’s oil facilities as retaliation for Tehran’s missile attack on Israel earlier this week.
Giant balls of flames could be seen shooting into the night sky around the Lebanese capital hours after the Israeli Army had sent evacuation orders to residents in several areas of the city.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported “more than 10 consecutive strikes,” which it called “one of the strongest raids on the southern suburbs of Beirut since the start of the Israeli war on Lebanon.”
Earlier on 3 Oct, an IDF strike on an apartment building in downtown Beirut near the Lebanese parliament killed nine people. More than 1,100 people have been killed since Israel launched its aerial bombardment on 23 Sep. About 1.2 million people have been displaced, a fifth of the population, in the biggest displacement in the country’s history. In Beirut, schools, universities, mosques, and even soccer stadiums have been converted to shelters for refugees. Even then, thousands have nowhere to go and are sleeping on beaches, in parks and squares, or in their cars.
Displaced children sleep on the sidewalk in downtown Beirut. Photo: Patrick Baz / AFP
The Lebanese military is unable to defend its sovereign airspace, territory, or population. Lebanese Hezbollah will fire rockets into northern Israel and avoid head-to-head confrontations with the modern, US-funded IDF, employing guerilla tactics in this modern-day David versus Goliath clash.
US President Joe Biden, when asked by reporters in Washington on 3 Oct whether the White House supports strikes on Iran’s oil facilities, said: “We’re discussing that. There is nothing going to happen today.” Biden also said he would not support an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran’s military has warned it would launch broader strikes if Israel responds to its 1 Oct missile counterattack on Israel.
Nothing would please Israeli Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more than US military intervention against Iran. American military casualties would be the “icing on the cake,” feeding his Islamophobic rhetoric and further cementing the ionic bonds between the US and Israeli right-wing, even though war against Iran is not in the best interest of the hard-working American taxpayer or military servicemember.
For years Israeli PM Netanyahu has been vilifying Iran and assassinating their nuclear scientists while maintaining his own atomic arsenal. Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) Treaty; Israel is not. Then-POTUS Barack Obama wasn’t so easily fooled. Illustration source: Cleveland.com
And besides immense loss of civilian life, a protracted conflict keeps Netanyahu’s bribery and corruption trial in abeyance, threatens oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, and endangers US military personnel in CENTCOM AOR. After Pres. Biden extricated the US from the “forever wars,” he is letting the US get sucked into Netanyahu’s “forever wars.” Benjamin Netanyahu is no closer to getting the remaining hostages freed and will go down in history as Israel’s worst prime minister. Moreover, he is tarnishing Joe Biden’s legacy as his presidency winds down. Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate may siphon off disenfranchised Muslim and Arab Democratic voters in Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin this November. While Dr. Stein has no chance of ever winning the White House, she could play the part of spoiler for Kamala Harris.
Pakistan is seeing an increase in the chikungunya virus as patients seek relief for bone and joint pain at physiotherapy clinics. The virus is spread by two types of mosquitos: Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti, which mainly bite during the day. The virus may circulate within a number of animals, including birds and rodents. The risk of death is around 1 in 1,000. The very young, old, and those with other health problems are at risk of more severe disease.
Local hospitals, including the Police Hospital, report dozens of new cases every month, as patients seek treatment for symptoms such as muscle pain, fatigue, and inflammation.
Last month, Karachi saw a surge in chikungunya cases over the past five months, with 140 individuals confirmed to have contracted the disease from May to September.
During this period, 211 suspected cases of chikungunya was reported, with 189 individuals screened for the disease. Out of those screened, 140 tested positive.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) issued an advisory on controlling and preventing the spread of chikungunya, a disease similar to dengue fever. The Ministry of Health directed relevant authorities to take immediate measures to combat the outbreak.
As noted previously on Coriolanus, the mosquito is man’s acme predator and global climate change is helping spread them with longer summers and warmer temperatures.
Justice Department Disrupts Russian Intelligence Hacking Group
The Justice Department disrupted a hacking group tied to Russian intelligence. The group tried to break into the computer systems of former US military and intelligence staff as well as NGOs, US companies, and others.
A US court unsealed documents authorizing Microsoft and the Department of Justice to seize more than 100 website domain names associated with the hacking group, known as the Callisto Group of Star Blizzard.
The group targeted individuals with e-mails that appeared to come from a trusted source, a tactic known as spear phishing. Once links inside these e-mails were opened, the hackers would attempt to access the victims’ internal systems as a way of stealing information and disrupting their activities.
Star Blizzard’s actions were persistent and sophisticated, according to Microsoft, and the group often did detailed research on its targets before launching an attack. Star Blizzard also went after civil society groups, US companies, American military contractors, and the Department of Energy, which oversees many nuclear programs, the company said.
Authorities haven’t provided details about Star Blizzard’s effectiveness but said they expect Russia to keep deploying hacking and cyberattacks against Washington and its allies, and the US pledged to continue its vigilance.
US authorities charged two Russian men last year in connection with Star Blizzard’s past actions and remain at large.
Along with American targets, Star Blizzard went after people and groups throughout Europe and in other NATO countries, particularly supporters of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
Tourists visit the Dorasan station in the Civilian Control area near the demilitarized zone in Paju, South Korea, on 13 Sep 2017. North Korea has been taking actions to sever connections with South Korea, including dismantling a key railway bridge along the line. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo
Recent satellite imagery revealed that North Korea has been dismantling a key railway bridge and planting landmines along the Gyeongui Line, as Pyongyang continues to sever relations with Seoul.
The images show most of the iron bridge, heading toward Panmun Station near the Kaesong Industrial Complex, has been reduced to only pillars. In February, the bridge appeared in satellite imagery fully intact. Moreover, landmines have been buried along Gyeongui Line.
Once considered a symbol of inter-Korea cooperation, the Kaesong Industrial Complex has been shuttered since 2016 as relations between Seoul and Pyongyang frayed.
Relations between the two countries have only worsened since the 2019 Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump failed to produce tangible outcomes.
Early this year, Kim announced that unification was no longer a goal and that South Korea was now the “principal enemy.”
North Korean supremo Kim Jong Un said this week that cutting ties with Seoul allows North Korea to “strike and destroy the South,” threatening the use of nuclear weapons against South Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae visit the Ministry of National Defense on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army in Pyongyang, DPRK 9 Feb 2024, Korean Central News Agency via Reuters.
The people of South Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan are watching in horror as they see the next generation of lunatics becoming groomed to ascend the nuclear throne of the Hermit Kingdom.
Republican Yells at Native American Candidate: ‘Go Back to Where You Came From!’
Dan Foreman, a retired USAF Colonel and former police officer, has previously landed in the news for unruly behavior. In a viral video in 2017 taken from police body camera footage at the Latah County Fair, he shouted at a constituent, calling him a “son of a b—-” and telling him to “go to hell.”(image via Idaho Republican Party).
Far-right Idaho state Sen. Dan Foreman got into a heated argument with a Native American candidate during a forum this week that culminated with him shouting at her to “go back to where you came from!”
Trish Carter-Goodheart, a member of the Nez Perce tribe and candidate for House Seat A, said in a statement that the incident occurred at a “meet the candidates” gathering Tuesday in the northern Idaho town of Kendrick, where voters posed questions to Senate and House candidates in the area. The dispute began when Foreman categorically proclaimed discrimination did not exist in Idaho, reported Boise State Public Radio on Thursday.
Carter-Goodheart took issue with this, pointing out that there is an extensive and painful history of white supremacist organizations in northern Idaho. The state GOP has on multiple occasions had to fight off takeovers by those white supremacist groups.
“[J]ust because someone hasn’t personally experienced discrimination, doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Racism and discrimination are real issues here in Idaho, as anyone familiar with our state’s history knows,” she explained in a statement issued after the forum. “I highlighted our weak hate crime laws and mentioned the presence of the Aryan Nations in northern Idaho as undeniable evidence of this reality.”
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, there are 25 active hate, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist groups in Idaho.
In response to Carter-Goodheart’s words at the forum, Foreman “stood up and angrily interjected, using an expletive to criticize what he cast as the liberal bent of the response.”
He then told her she should “go back to where you came from,” Carter-Goodheart said, before storming away. Carter-Goodheart’s Republican candidate, incumbent Rep. Lori McCann, was among the attendees who corroborated the incident.
Trish Carter-Goodheart (above) and the Nez Pierce indigenous peoples, including Chief Joseph and his ancestors, were in North America long before the Foreman family.Maybe the Foreman family should go back to where they came from.
Dan Foreman retired from the USAF after 30 years as a Colonel. US military personnel had to salute this so-called “officer.” He then served as a police officer in the Moscow (Idaho) PD, making you wonder what kind of policeman this Republican was. Worse, this man has seven children and 20 grandchildren. What kind of values has he inculcated his family with? Oof!
Feline Hiding on the Stairs of Subway Station Turns Into Total Lap Cat Within Days
Photo: PuppyKittyNYCity
A feline found hiding on the stairs of a NYC subway station turned into a total lap cat in just a few days. Meagan, president of PuppyKittyNYCity (an animal rescue), was on her way to work when she received an urgent message about a cat found in a subway station.
The cat crouched down on the stairs, frozen in fear. Though terrified, there wasn’t a mean bone in his body, and he even allowed his finder to pet him. As soon as Meagan received the location, she sprang into action.
Her shelter was already full, but “there are some situations you can’t say no to. There is no way we could let this baby stay in the subway station all day long,” Meagan shared.
Photo: PuppyKittyNYCity
The cat had likely been abandoned as no one came to claim him. Somehow, he ended up in the subway station. Overwhelmed by the noise of the city, he pressed himself against the stairs, trying to hide.
Despite needing to report to work that morning, Meagan rerouted and headed to the scene while one of their volunteers stayed with the cat to keep him safe.
Photo: PuppyKittyNYCity
Estimated to be one year old, Subway is still a kitten at heart. As much as he loves to play, he craves human affection even more. “He’s literally perfect and so friendly. He’d be a great first cat or an amazing addition to any home.”
Subway has regained his confidence and no longer cowers. He saunters up to his people for pets and attention, his purr engine rumbling loudly.
Photo: PuppyKittyNYCity
He’s incredibly gentle and sweet with every loving stroke he receives from his people. The cherry on top is that Subway also adores the company of other cats and has a heart of gold.
The Ukrainian military has confirmed that it is pulling out of the strategic city of Vuhledar as Moscow continues its grinding offensive. Vuhledar, a deserted former mining town with a prewar population of some 14,000, has been at the center of ferocious battles since the start of Russia’s unprovoked invasion in Feb 2022. Russian Telegram channels posted videos of troops waving the Russian flag over shattered buildings.
Russian forces used repeated attacks on the flanks of Vuhledar to exhaust the Ukrainian defenses, threatening to surround the hilltop city. Although razed, this location is strategically important for Russia to protect its supply routes. Vuhledar could also act as a springboard toward Pokrovsk, a communications hub some 80 km to the north that Moscow has been eying for months.
Moscow’s troops, overwhelmingly superior in numbers and equipment, have been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine despite huge losses, as Ukraine has been desperately appealing to its Western allies to provide it with more advanced weapons and give it permission to strike military objectives deeper inside Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s critically important Danube port of Izmayil was again targeted by waves of Russian drone strikes that raised the alarm in neighboring NATO member Romania. Izmayil, on the border with Romania, is Kiev’s only gateway to exporting its grain and other produce. Two people, including a Turkish citizen, were wounded in the attack.
Vladimir Putin is waging war against grain and global food security to disrupt the Western and Ukrainian economies. As previously reported on Coriolanus, the Kremlin recently ordered jets to attack a cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain in the Black Sea to Egypt.
Azerbaijani Opposition Figure Brutally Murdered in France
Vidadi Isgandarli (undated web screenshot).
Vidadi Isgandarli, an Azerbaijani opposition figure in exile well-known for his fierce criticism of the government, has died in France after being brutally beaten and stabbed in an attack at his apartment that his family says was politically motivated.
The deadly attack on Isgandarli follows a similar pattern of violence against Azerbaijani opposition figures in exile; in 2021, another politician in exile, Mohammad Mirzali, survived being stabbed.
“My brother had no idea who the attackers were or what motivated the assault…. They did not speak, and they wore masks, making it impossible to identify them,” said Oktay Isgandarl.
“I have no doubt this is a politically motivated assassination. My brother survived a previous attack by approximately 15 assailants in 2022 here in France.”
Oktay Isgandarli said he received a desperate video call from his brother early on 29 Sep as he clutched a pillow to his abdomen to try and staunch the bleeding after being attacked by three masked men who had broken into his apartment in Mulhouse in eastern France.
Vidadi Isgandarli was stabbed at least 21 times in the abdomen as well as blows to the body and head.
Medics managed to resuscitate him, but he never regained consciousness and succumbed to his injuries on 1 Oct.
Vidadi Isgandarli was known as a vocal critic of the Azerbaijani government and President Ilham Aliyev, who has maintained a tight grip on power since 2003. Azerbaijani Supremo Ilham Aliyev gestures as he addresses the nation in Baku, Azerbaijan, 20 Oct 2020. Israel supplied Azerbaijan with nearly 70% of its arsenal between 2016 and 2020 — giving Azerbaijan an edge against Armenia and boosting Israel’s large defense industry.Aliev has also been deepening ties with Vladimir Putin.(AP Photo)
In 2010, Vidadi Isgandarli participated in parliamentary elections, which he denounced as fraudulent after opposition candidates failed to get elected. He then helped organize protests against the official election results.
Arrested in 2011 and charged with various offenses, including assault and interference with election officials, Vidadi denied the allegations, claiming they were politically motivated.
He was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison but was released early in Dec 2012 in a presidential amnesty. Fearing further persecution, Vidadi, his brother, and their families emigrated to France in 2015.
With Azerbaijan set to host the climate conference COP29 in November, right groups have said it is imperative that the event is used also to shine a spotlight on the country and the deteriorating human rights situation there.
Amnesty International and other human rights groups had documented the “widespread abuse” by the Azerbaijani authorities of the criminal justice system to crack down on human rights including the right to freedom of expression, often “detaining and falsely charging their critics with economic crimes.”
Editorial cartoon on the 2015 Baku European Games from Meydan TV (Image: Meydan TV)
These cowardly murderers took advantage of world attention being focused on the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and Russia’s campaign against Ukraine to eliminate this political opponent of the Aliev regime which has been in power for 21 years. The Amnesty International report contains several instances of political opponents being bullied or imprisoned on fabricated charges. The Aliev regime has the wealth and security apparatus, the DTX, to maintain power and target opponents at home and abroad. The petroleum industry in Azerbaijan produces about 873,260 barrels (138,837 m3) of oil per day and 29 billion cubic meters of gas per year as of 2013.[1]Azerbaijan is one of the birthplaces of the oil industry. This attack is reminiscent of the brutal 2018 murder and butchery of political dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul, which was directly linked to Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.
CIA Makes It Easier for Potential Informants to Share Tips
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) wants to make it easier — and safer — for people in Iran, China, and North Korea to share information with America’s premier spy agency.
CIA posted online instructions in Korean, Mandarin, and Farsi detailing steps that potential informants can take to contact US intelligence officials without putting themselves in danger.
The instructions include ways to reach the CIA on its public website or on the darknet, a part of the internet that can only be accessed using special tools designed to hide the user’s identity. The CIA posted similar instructions in Russian two years ago following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“People are trying to reach out to us from around the world and we are offering them instructions for how to do that safely,” the agency said in a statement. “Our efforts on this front have been successful in Russia, and we want to make sure individuals in other authoritarian regimes know that we’re open for business.”
The tips, presented in text-only videos and infographics, include using a virtual private network, or VPN, to circumvent internet restrictions and surveillance, and the use of a device that can’t easily be traced back to the user. The CIA also urged any potential informants to use private web browsers and to delete their internet history to cover their tracks.
The messages in the three languages were posted on Telegram, YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Several of those platforms are blocked in China, Iran, and Russia but can still be accessed using a VPN.
Authoritarian leaders around the world have used the internet as a tool of mass surveillance and as a way to deliver propaganda and disinformation while blocking sites and views deemed unfavorable to the government.
China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran all block access to American platforms like Facebook, for example, and use web access to control which sources of information users can access.
VPNs and other tools offer ways around this censorship and surveillance, but that ability has made them a target. In its instructions to potential sources, the CIA warned its audience to be selective, as their well-being could depend on choosing the right program.
“Use a VPN provider not headquartered in Russia, Iran, or China, or any other country that is considered unfriendly to the US,” CIA wrote in its instructions for Mandarin users.
This system apparently worked with informants operating in Russia. For the technologically savvy who are confident of remaining undetected, this method may provide the USIC with useful information from Iran, China, and North Korea. Of course, the information would be evaluated for quality and access. For years Wikileaks has used a system to allow people to anonymously download information without detection.
Denmark: Three Arrested Following Explosions Near Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen
Security personnel inspect the site of two explosions near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Wednesday. Police are conducting initial investigations at the scene of two blasts for a possible connection to the Israeli embassy located in the area, Copenhagen police said on social media platform. No injuries were reported in the incident, the police added. Photo by Emil Helms/EPA-EFE.
Police in Denmark arrested three people Wednesday following a pair of explosions overnight near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, probably two hand grenades. There were no injuries or damage to the Israeli facility.
The first suspect was arrested within the Danish capital before two others were taken into police custody on a train at Copenhagen Central Station. The three suspects are Swedish males between the ages of 15 and 20 years old. The pair of explosions occurred at around 3:20 AM at the intersection of Strandagervej and Lundevangsvej near the Israeli embassy in Hellerup, north of Copenhagen. Police said they had launched an investigation to see if the explosions were in relation to the Israeli embassy.
Israel’s offensive against the Palestinians and Lebanon with the increasing death toll has resulted in growing criticism and anger directed toward the Middle Eastern country. Last month, German police shot and killed an armed man near Munich’s Israeli embassy after he opened fire on security forces. In June, a man with a crossbow attacked police outside the Israeli embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
Meanwhile, Israel continues pounding Lebanon. At least six people have been killed and eight wounded in Israeli air strikes targeting central Beirut overnight. A further 46 people were killed and 85 injured in IDF attacks across Lebanon in the previous 24 hours. More than 1,900 people have been killed and about 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, with most of the deaths occurring in the past two weeks.
Destruction at the site of an overnight Israeli air raid on the Bir el-Abed neighbourhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs on 1 Oct 2024 [Anwar Amro/AFP]
As written here on Coriolanus, Israel and the West will be dealing with asymmetric reprisals, ranging from rank amateurish like this hand grenade episode to highly professional attacks, because of the Likud government’s brutal campaign against the Palestinians and its offensive against Lebanon. Innocent Jews and Israelis, who may be Labor Party members or peace activists like the young woman on the left seated next to Greta Thunberg below, are vulnerable worldwide thanks to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. The right-wing in Israel and the West will denounce attacks like this hand grenade folly with the standard lines that it’s “antisemitism,” when it’s really an anti-Likud gesture and an expression of anger and frustration that people of a darker color and a different religion should be killed so easily in the name of “self-defense.”
Israel Bars UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from Country
Israel Wednesday banned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country because in Israel’s opinion he was not sufficiently unequivocal about condemning Iran’s missile attack on Israel. After Iran’s attack Tuesday Guterres condemned the escalation of violence in the Middle East and called for it to stop. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Israel Wednesday banned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from entering the country, citing his comments immediately following Iran’s attack on Tel Aviv..
“I decided today to declare UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres an undesirable personality in Israel and to ban his entry into Israel,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X. “Anyone who is unable to unequivocally condemn Iran’s criminal attack on Israel, as almost all the countries of the world have done, does not deserve to set foot on Israel’s soil.”
Tuesday Guterres said in a statement after Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel, “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a cease-fire.”
Guterres added, “An all-out war must be avoided in Lebanon at all costs, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.”
Katz alleged that Guterres “has not yet denounced the massacre and sexual crimes committed by the murderers of Hamas on 7 Oct, and has not led to decisions to declare them a terrorist organization.”
In Oct 2023 in remarks at the UN Security Council, Guterres said, “I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 Oct acts of terror by Hamas in Israel.”
“Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians – or the launching of rockets against civilian targets,” he said at the time.
In his Oct 2023 remarks, Guterres cited Israeli occupation in the West Bank:
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum,” he said. “The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation.”
In remarks before the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Guterres said the “deadly cycle of tit-for-tat violence must stop.”
“The events of the past week, the past month and indeed nearly the past year make it clear: It is high time for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, with the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the effective delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and irreversible progress to a two-state solution,” Guterres said. “It is high time for a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon, real action towards full implementation of Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1701, paving the way for diplomatic efforts for sustainable peace.”
“It is high time to stop the sickening cycle of escalation after escalation that is leading the people of the Middle East straight over the cliff. Each escalation has served as a pretext for the next.”
Guterres told Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati that the entire UN system in Lebanon is mobilized to assist all those in need in the country as Israel continued it military attacks on Hezbollah.
As it attacked Hezbollah, Israel has also killed civilians with its attacks and has forced dislocation of civilian residents in the country. Guterres said the UN will continue efforts to de-escalate the situation.
Katz said in his statement Wednesday that the global terrorism of Iran will be remembered as a “forever blot in the history of the UN.”
Guterres maintains that the UN must demand that all parties uphold and respect obligations under international law, including how warfare and occupation are conducted.
Katz’ X statement Wednesday said, “Israel will continue to protect its citizens and maintain its position and national honor with or without Antonio Guterres.”
Israel and the UN have clashed over the role of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian humanitarian relief. Israel accused several of the agency’s staff of being involved in the 7 Oct 2023 attack on Israel.
That surprise attack killed hundreds of Israelis, including civilians as well as military personnel, when armed Palestinians gunmen crossed into Israel from Gaza. These gunmen kidnapped hostages in order to conduct a prisoner swap with Israel as over 7,000 Palestinians have been held in military detention without trial or hearing. Israel massively attacked Gaza in response to the 7 Oct attacks.
Guterres has not yet publicly responded to being banned from Israel nor should he dignify this childish edict.
The Israeli government has a long, rich tradition of ignoring UNSC Resolutions. Former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon is depicted above bullying UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. This cartoonist caricaturized Ariel Sharon as a pig with hooves and a tail.Note the bottom of Ariel Sharon’s hoof is (regrettably) an American flag. Since 2023, over 300 aid workers have been killed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
This diplomatic blunder by Israel should not surprise anyone. Bullies and authoritarian regimes exercise censorship tactics to prevent a counter-narrative inimical to their position. Mr. Guterres will probably not personally respond to this idiotic measure taken by the Israeli Foreign Minister. A member of the Likud Cabinet had previously called for another “nakba” against the Palestinians and another lunatic minister advocated the use of a nuclear device against the Gazans. The Likud government was more upset of a leaked video showing IDF soldiers gang-raping a Palestinian man, not at the unforgivable crime of rape perpetrated by those Israeli miscreants. That grim episode was posted here on Coriolanus. Both the Israeli Prime and Defense Ministers have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague for war crimes.
68 Dangerous California White Supremacists from “SFV Peckerwoods” Gang Indicted
The letters SFV for the Peckerwoods gang signify “San Fernando Valley” and the acronym of “Searching for Victims.”
A massive law enforcement sweep targeting the SFV Peckerwoods, what federal prosecutors call a San Fernando Valley based white supremacist street gang has led to the arrests of 42 members of the racist criminal organization.
A total of 68 alleged members of the SFV Peckerwoods were named in a 76-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday that details a litany of crimes related to what prosecutors call a “years-long pattern of racketeering activity that included trafficking of drugs — including fentanyl — illegal firearms possession, and COVID-19 benefits and loan fraud.”
A massive cache of guns and drugs was seized by the Joint Terrorist Task Force in sweeps targeting the SFV Peckerwoods, a violent white supremacist street gang. Photo: Department of Justice
Of those caught up in a series of federal and local law enforcement sweeps, twelve alleged Peckerwood members were hit with federal racketeering charges, while another 56 defendants were charged with conspiring to distribute drugs. Another 13 defendants were already behind bars.
The Peckerwoods use Nazi tattoos, graffiti, and iconography to indicate their violent white supremacy extremist ideology. Among the monikers its members use include nicknames like “Bezerker,” “Rascal,” “Monster,” and “Meat,” while inked with “tattoos and iconography” that “include swastikas, the symbol “88”, used by violent white supremacy extremists as code for “Heil Hitler”, and images of Nazi aircraft.”
The gang has a large number of females, who call themselves “Featherwoods,” including “SFV Mama,” whose real name is Claire Patricia Haviland, who was among those arrested Wednesday.
During the investigation, law enforcement seized large quantities of illegal firearms, and dozens of pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin, according to the indictment. The AUSA aid “the Peckerwoods’ violent white-supremacist ideology and wide-ranging criminal activity pose a grave menace to our community. By allegedly engaging in everything from drug-trafficking to firearms offenses to identity theft to COVID fraud, and through their alliance with a neo-Nazi prison gang, the Peckerwoods are a destructive force. In prosecuting the members of the Peckerwoods criminal organization, our office is carrying out its mission to protect the public from the most dangerous threats.”
When these dangerous maniacs are convicted, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will no doubt incarcerate them at separate maximum security facilities throughout the US to prevent them from re-organizing behind prison walls. But these miscreants will join the Aryan Brotherhood, Proud Boys, or other neo-Nazi white supremacist gangs in federal prison.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
A salmonella outbreak linked to reptiles has left one person dead and three others hospitalized in Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said at least 25 people have been infected across seven provinces in this outbreak, which is the second one linked to geckos in 2024.
Cases have been reported in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Many of the individuals who became sick reported having direct or indirect contact with geckos, or the environments where these pets are kept, before their illnesses occurred,” the PHAC announced.
“Some people who became sick did not touch or handle the geckos themselves, but lived in the same house where they were kept.”
The illnesses occurred between Aug 2020 and Sep 2024. Most of the people infected were females (64 per cent) and in the age range 1 to 103.An investigation into the outbreak is ongoing and PHAC said that the number of cases is likely higher than what has been reported so far.
Salmonella is a bacterial infection commonly transmitted through contaminated food and water and it poses a significant health threat, especially to children and older adults, as it can lead to severe gastrointestinal symptoms, dehydration, and, in extreme cases, death.
People can also get sick with salmonella infection by directly touching reptiles or their environments, as well as through indirect contact by touching contaminated surfaces where these animals are kept.
always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after touching a reptile or rodent, and anything they eat, or after being in the area where they live, play or touch
if visiting an exhibit or event with reptiles, wash your hands when you leave animal areas, even if you do not touch the animals directly
clean any surfaces or objects your reptile or rodent touches with soapy water followed by a household sanitizer
never kiss a pet reptile
always supervise children when they touch or play with reptiles
keep reptiles and rodents and all their food, containers, enclosures, and any objects that have been in their enclosures, such as plants or enrichment items, away from the kitchen and other places where food is made or eaten
clean or bathe reptiles in a dedicated plastic bin, not in the kitchen or bathroom sink
Symptoms of salmonella infection typically start between six and 72 hours after exposure and can last anywhere from four to seven days. They may include fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, or abdominal cramps.
If you suspect you have salmonella, PHAC recommends seeing a health-care provider. Most people recover on their own after a few days without any medical treatment.
At least 36 people got sick with salmonella infection between March 2020 and March 2024 in a separate outbreak linked to geckos. The salmonella strain of that outbreak was traced back to a gecko habitat at a home of a person who was infected.
Politico legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney shared his immediate takeaways on the 165-page document Smith filed in a Washington DC federal court.
In the filing, Smith asserts his case against the former president within the context of the Supreme Court ruling that Trump enjoyed partialpresidential immunity in the lead-up to the US Capitol riots on 6 Jan 2021.
Smith argues Trump can still be tried on election interference charges as he acted as a private citizen seeking personal gain and not a US official seeking to protect the integrity of national elections.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to those charges and contended Wednesday, as he has in the past, that Smith is mounting a political witch hunt.
1) A Trump campaign employee sought to foment chaos at the TCF Center in Detroit where ballots were being processed.
“When a colleague at the TFC Center told [redacted] ‘We think [a batch of votes heavily in Biden’s favor is right, [redacted] responded, “find a reason it isn’t,” “give me options to file litigation,” and “even if itbis [sic],” the filing reads.
“When the colleague suggested that there was about to be unrest reminiscent of the Brooks Brothers Riot, a violent effort to stop the vote count in Florida after the 2000 presidential election, [redacted] responded, ‘Make them riot’ and ‘Do it!!!'”
2) Trump sidelined his campaign legal team on 13 Nov and put Rudy Giuliani in charge because he was willing to lie about the election results.
“As the defendant placed alternating phone calls to [redacted] and [redacted] throughout 13 Nov [redacted] informed [redacted] , another private Campaign advisor, of the change,” the filing states, “writing, “Close hold don’t tell anyone Trump just fired [redacted] and put [redacted] in charge.”
3) Vice President Mike Pence told Trump he saw no evidence of fraud over the course of many conversations detailed in his book and cited by prosecutors.
“In the post-election time period, Pence, the defendant’s own running mate, who he had directed to assess fraud allegations told the defendant that he had seen no evidence of outcome-determinative fraud in the election.”
“The defendant disregarded [redacted] and Pence in the same way that he disregarded dozens of court decisions that unanimously rejected his and his allies’ legal claims, and that he disregarded officials in the targeted states including those in his own party–who stated publicly that he had lost and that his specific fraud allegations were false.”
4) Trump repeatedly promised to provide election fraud evidence to Govs. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) and Brian Kemp (R-GA) but never did.
“The defendant was on notice that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud in Arizona within a week of the election.”
“The defendant also raised claims of election fraud, and [redacted] asked the defendant to send him supporting evidence. Although the defendant said he would, stating ‘we’re packaging it up,’ he never did.”
5) Mark Meadows and a White House attorney exchanged messages on 3 Dec 2020 confirming that dead voters statistics were false.
“During the hearing, Chief of Staff [redacted] and [redacted] exchanged text messages on their personal phones confirming that a Campaign attorney, [redacted] had verified that [redacted] claim of more than 10,000 dead voters was false and that the actual number was around 12 and could not be outcome-determinative.”
6) A US senator helped facilitate a 8 Dec call between Trump and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr.
“US Senator [redacted] told [redacted] that the defendant had heard that [redacted] was ‘whipping,’ or lobbying, other state attorneys general against filing amicus briefs in support of Texas.”
“[Redacted] asked [redacted] if he would speak with the defendant about it, and [redacted] agreed.”
Trump supporters heeded his call and stormed the US Capitol on 6 Jan 2021. Many of them have now been convicted and incarcerated. VPOTUS Mike Pence did not abandon his duty as Trump wanted; instead, he stayed to certify the election. Photo: Roberto Schmidt AFP via Getty Images
Special Counsel Jack Smith is competent and experienced, having convicted war criminals at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague. Nevertheless, the American electorate should not rely on Mr. Smith, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, NYSAG Letitia James, or any part of the US legal system to stop Donald Trump and Project 2025. The Democratic strategy should be to register voters as many voters as possible and overwhelm Republican ballots so that even GOP voter suppression tactics will be ineffective.
Since 2016, poaching of one-horned rhinoceroses in India’s Assam state has fallen 86% after the government took decisive steps to protect them
By expanding protected areas and bolstering ranger patrols, 3,000 rhinos grace the Assam savannah.
“Rhinos are synonymous with the identity of Assam. They are our pride and the crown jewel of our biodiversity. Ever since we assumed office, we have taken various initiatives to protect the prized species, expand its habitat and ensure its safety,” Assam state’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote on X.
In India, the Chief Minister, often abbreviated CM, is the equivalent on an American governor, and the state of Assam which Sarma governs is India’s rhino stronghold, with 88% of all the rhinos in the country located in Kaziranga, Manas, and Orang national parks, and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.
The remaining 12% is spread widely across the country. CM Sarma’s tenure which began in 2021 oversaw the addition of nearly 50,000 acres of habitat in Orang National Park, and another 50,000 to two other protected areas.
Last year, GNN reported that for the first time since 1977, zero rhinos were poached in India.
Sarma ordered the rhinos to be treated like “presidents”, with sophisticated police commando teams patrolling the parks with night vision equipment and drones during moonlit nights.
Since then, the population of Assam’s rhinos has grown by 105 to 3,000; up from a low of 600 during the 1960s. The government released these figures on World Rhino Day (22 Sep) to show that “if the will to protect these animals is there, the most poached megafauna species on Earth can thrive.”
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum addresses supporters during a rally in the Zocalo, Mexico City’s main square, on her inauguration day, 1 Oct 2024. Photo: AP
Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in Tuesday as Mexico’s new president, becoming the country’s first female president and the first president of Jewish descent in the largely Roman Catholic country. Her win comes 70 years after women in Mexico won the right to vote. President Sheinbaum is also the first woman to lead a government in North America. Should Kamala Harris win the US election next month, the continent will have two women in charge of their nations, another first.
The daughter of activist academics, Sheinbaum (62) was also the first female mayor of Mexico City, Mexico’s capital. She stepped down from that position last year for her presidential campaign, which had the support of her predecessor and political mentor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
She has promised to continue the social welfare programs for the country’s poor that Lopez Obrador initiated, despite Mexico’s current massive budget deficit and sluggish economy.
Sheinbaum is also facing a country beset with violence, such as battles between drug cartels that often erupt onto the streets of the northwest city of Culiacan, where many cartels are located. Local security forces have had little luck in quelling the violence.
As mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum was applauded for reducing the city’s homicide rate by increasing the salaries of an expanded police force, a strategy she has promised to duplicate across the country.
Sheinbaum is also assuming Mexico’s helm just as the country is implementing a judicial overhaul, a move spearheaded by Lopez Obrador. The controversial reform will eventually replace all of Mexico’s judges with new ones elected by popular vote.
Former President Ernesto Zedillo, who has been critical of the overhaul, said in a recent guest essay in Britain’s Economist magazine that “our hard-won democracy will be transformed, for all practical purposes, into a one-party autocracy.”
Sheinbaum, however, said, “The reforms to the judicial system will not affect our commercial relations, nor private Mexican investments, nor foreign ones. Rather, the opposite. There will be a greater and better rule of law and democracy for everyone.”
The first trip for the new president, a former climate scientist who has a doctorate in energy engineering, will be to Acapulco, the resort on Mexico’s Pacific coast, which was brutalized last week by the rains of Category III Hurricane John, after being devastated last year by Hurricane Otis.
Population of Mexico: 130,739,927; GDP per capita: $22,400 (2023 est.) Data and map: CIA
Russian Forces Execute 16 Ukrainian POWs Near Pokrovsk
In 2022, Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old tank commander, was sentenced to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian in Ukraine’s first war crime trial following Russia’s invasion. He had pleaded guilty to killing a 62-year-old citizen in north-eastern Ukraine. There will be more war crimes trials in the future.PhotoCredit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Russian forces appear to have shot 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Donetsk Oblast, the largest recorded case of mass execution of surrendered soldiers on the battlefield, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on 1 Oct.
Evidence of the execution appeared on social media earlier on 1 Oct. The POWs were reportedly killed after surrendering on the front line near Pokrovsk. The Prosecutor General’s Office said it was verifying the material published online and investigating the circumstances around the case.
The execution of POWs is a “cynical and gross violation of the Geneva Conventions,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said.
“This is the most massive known case of execution of Ukrainian POWs on the front line,” Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said.
“The murders and torture of prisoners are not an accident, but a purposeful policy of the Russian military and political leadership,” he added.
In early September, Russian forces executed three Ukrainian POWs near Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast. The Prosecutor General’s Office said earlier this year that it was investigating more than 50 cases of execution of Ukrainian POWs.
The US Department of Justice has been investigating Russian war crimes as well. Last year the DOJ charged four Russian soldiers with torture, inhumane treatment, and unlawful confinement of a US national in Ukraine.
Iran Counterattacks Israel on Behalf of Lebanese Hezbollah with Ballistic Missiles
Photo: AP
Iran launched a massive ballistic missile attack at Israel on 1 Oct in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Lebanon’s Hezbollah in a new escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed resistance group.
Israeli air defenses intercepted many of the estimated 180 missiles that were fired, though some landed in central and southern Israel. There were no reports of any injuries and after about an hour after the attack was launched it was safe for them to leave their bomb shelters.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attack “a big mistake” and said Tehran “will pay for it.” He added: “Whoever attacks us, we attack them.”
US President Joe Biden said he would discuss a response with Netanyahu. Asked what the response would be, Biden replied: “That’s in active discussion right now. That remains to be seen.”
He added that the attack appears to have been “defeated and ineffective, and this is a testament to Israeli military capability and the US military” and said the US is “fully supportive of Israel.”
Israeli police reported that at least six people were killed and nine wounded in a shooting and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv. Police said it was a “terrorist” attack carried out at a light rail station and the two attackers were later killed by civilians and inspectors using their own firearms. There has been no claim of responsibility.
While the missile attack sent Israelis scurrying to take cover in bomb shelters, it prompted people in Iran to celebrate. State television broadcast images from the city of Mashhad showing people in the streets waving the yellow flag of Hezbollah and portraits of the group’s slain chief, Hassan Nasrallah. Similar celebrations also took place in the capital Tehran and in several provincial cities.
World leaders urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink and negotiate a cease-fire.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East” following fighting in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
To a hammer, everything is a nail as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is demonstrating. He has ignored the entreaties of the UN and world leaders for a cease-fire, as well as the pleas of his citizens to make a deal to release the remaining hostages. The widening conflict will keep Netanyahu’s bribery and corruption trial in abeyance while casualties begin to mount. In this “David versus Goliath” conflict, Israel and her supporters should expect asymmetric attacks or lone-actor reprisals against soft civilian targets, ranging from runamok knife attacks (like in Germany earlier this year), vandalism against synagogues, or bomb threats against Jewish hospitals (like earlier this year in Canada).
Lebanese man stands in remains of a building destroyed by the IDF in Beirut on 1 Oct 2024. The Lebanese economy was already in shambles before the Israeli onslaught. Photo: Fadel Itani / UPI.
A French naval ship is deploying to Lebanon to assist with any evacuations of French citizens. Approximately 23,000 French and Franco-Lebanese residents live in Lebanon. The French embassy in Beirut has established a hotline and started coordinating evacuation options for civilians who wish to leave. Two French nationals have already been killed by the IDF.
Florida Man Found Guilty of Felony Destruction of Property and Other Charges During 6 Jan Capitol Breach
Supporters of then-US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol’s Rotunda on 6 Jan 2021, in Washington, DC. Photo: NBC News.
A federal jury in the District of Columbia found Marcus Smith (47) of Fleming Island, FL, guilty of a felony offense of destruction of government property and several misdemeanor charges during the 6 Jan 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Joining the mob that stormed the US Capitol, Smith noticed some rioters trying to breach a locked door inside the building. The defendant joined them in breaking down the door. The Architect of the Capitol later determined that the value of the damage to the door, which was part of the original construction of the Senate Wing of the Capitol and dated back to the 1850s, necessitated the door being replaced at a cost of approximately $21,000.
After further trespassing within the US Capitol, this runamok finally departed at approximately 2:50 PM. The FBI arrested Smith on 26 Jan 2024, in Fleming Island.
This brontosaurus represents America’s Fedayeen Saddam (FS), dead-ender white supremacists clinging on to the last vestiges of white privilege in the US. Marcus Smith is lucky that he wasn’t charged with any crimes of violence against USCP officers. The Honorable US District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich will sentence Smith on 10 Jan 2025.
In the 44 months since 6 Jan 2021, more than 1,504 suspects have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to attacking the US Capitol, including more than 560 seditionists charged with feloniously assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The FBI investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
US Targets Israeli-Occupied West Bank Settler Violence with Sanctions
Hilltop Youth settlers in West Bank (Photo credit: REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen)
The US sanctioned one informal organization and two people as the Biden administration continues to tighten its financial grip on those it accuses of perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The US Treasury designated Hilltop Youth, an extremist group of West Bank settlers accused of attacking Palestinians and destroying their homes and property. The US government listed Hilltop Youth as a “criminal organization.”
The Treasury said the group of settlers has “conducted a campaign of violence against Palestinians,” which includes killings, arson, assaults and intimidation, with the goal of driving Palestinians out of the West Bank. It conducts what are called “price tag” assaults, which are revenge attacks conducted in reprisal for actions carried out against settlers.
The late author and Israel Prize laureate Amos Oz who was known as: “The humane heart of Israel.”
In 2014, the late Amos Oz condemned the perpetrators of “price tag” attacks, saying “‘Price tag’ and ‘Hilltop Youth’ are cute nicknames for a monster that needs to be called what it is: Hebrew neo-Nazi groups.” Oz went on to say that the only difference between neo-Nazis around the world and those who commit hate crimes in Israel is that “our neo-Nazi groups enjoy the support of numerous nationalist or even racist legislators, as well as rabbis who give them what is in my view pseudo- religious justification.”
The State Department sanctioned Eitan Yardeni and Avichai Suissa, who leads Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli non-government organization the US sanctioned in late August.
Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory and the establishment of settlements are widely viewed as illegal under international law and have attracted the repeated criticism and condemnation of the UN and the wider international community.
The US has been a critic of Israel’s occupation and has said it represents an obstacle to a two-state solution. The Biden administration has sanctioned 27 individuals and entities accused of perpetuating violence there under an executive order that President Joe Biden signed in February.
The Biden administration has used the sanctions to criticize Israel for not doing more to curb violence in the West Bank, while critics have called on the administration to use its sanctioning power against those in the Israeli government who enable the violence against Palestinians.
“The Biden administration imposes more sanctions on settlers for violence against West Bank Palestinians but still hasn’t imposed sanctions on any of the Israeli officials who are encouraging the settler violence,” Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch and current visiting professor at Princeton, said on X.
According to an update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there have been some 1,390 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians between the start of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 Oct and 23 Sep.
Of those attacks, 135 involved the killing and wounding of Palestinians, 1,110 saw Palestinian property damaged and about 150 caused both casualties and property damage. The report added that some 1,628 Palestinians, including 794 children, have been displaced by the settler violence. The AP reported that 623 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank.
French Far-Right Leader Marine Le Pen on Trial for Misusing EU funds
Marine Le Pen sits in the European Parliament, Strasbourg, in Jan 2017. She looks quite pleased with herself. Photo: AP / Jean-Francois Badias
Marine Le Pen, her father, and 25 colleagues – including current and former French lawmakers and MEPs – are accused of embezzling public funds and collusion. Prosecutors claim that the defendants set up a fake jobs scheme using European parliamentary funds to pay for assistants who in fact worked for her National Rally party, formerly called the National Front, rather than on European affairs.
The scheme, which ran from 2004 to 2016, was in breach of EU rules.
The EU Parliament estimated in 2018 that 6.8 million euros had been embezzled. Marine Le Pen has always denied any wrongdoing.
The trial runs through to 27 Nov. If found guilty, Le Pen could face a maximum ten years behind bars and a €1 million fine. That’s unlikely, but she also faces a possible five-year ban on standing for public office. This would rule her out of the 2027 presidential election she is preparing for, and which a recent poll suggests she has a stronger than ever chance of winning.
A total of 11 members of the European Parliament, 12 of their parliamentary assistants and four party collaborators are to be tried as well, while the RN party itself faces charges of concealing the wrongdoing. Among the high-profile figures are Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the National Front, her former partner Louis Aliot – the mayor of the southern city of Perpignan – and RN spokesperson Julien Odoul.
The National Rally is not the only party to be accused of misappropriating MEP funds.
In February this year the centrist MoDem party, currently part of President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble coalition, was fined €350,000 for similar charges.
MoDem’s leader, Francois Bayrou, was acquitted due to reasonable doubt, but the eight people found guilty were ordered to pay fines, sentenced to prison terms of 10 to 18 months and were banned from serving in public office.
German police arrested a Chinese woman accused of spying on the country’s defence industry while working in a logistics company.
Named only as Yaqi X., she allegedly reported to another suspected Beijing agent now under arrest, Jian G., who was working in the office of a German far-right member of the European Parliament, Maximilian Krah. The woman arrested on Monday is “strongly suspected of acting as an intelligence agent for a Chinese secret service.”
Yaqi X. worked for a company that provides logistics services at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany.
She allegedly used her position to gather information on “the transport of military equipment and persons with connections to a German arms company.”
Between mid-2023 and February, she “repeatedly sent information on flights, cargo and passengers at the airport to an employee of a Chinese secret service — namely Jian G., who is being prosecuted separately,” prosecutors said.
Jian G., a German national, was arrested in April on suspicion of spying while working in the Brussels office of German MEP Krah of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Her Leipzig home and workplace were also searched.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann told Bild daily that “the arrest of a suspected Chinese spy in Leipzig shows us once again that foreign intelligence services have long had Germany in their sights.
Citing unnamed security sources, news site Der Spiegel reported that Yaqi X., a 38-year-old, in particular had targeted the arms giant Rheinmetall, which is involved in making Leopard tanks and which uses Leipzig airport for cargo flights.
Her alleged handler Jian G. was arrested on suspicion of sharing European Parliament information with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany.
The European Union assembly, which had listed Jian Guo as an accredited assistant to Krah, moved to suspend him earlier this year. Krah posted on X at the time that prosecutors had confirmed to his lawyer that he was “not a suspect in the investigation”. The allegations involving China were among a series of controversies to hit Germany’s AfD, including claims that some of its members have links to Russia.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the allegations against Guo “very serious” and said that, if confirmed, it was “an attack on European democracy from within”.
According to German broadcasters ARD, RBB, and SWR, Guo was no stranger to German intelligence. He had reportedly offered his services as an informer at least a decade ago but was turned away on suspicion he might be a Chinese double agent.
California Wildfires One Million Hectares This Year
Map: FIRMS US / NASA
The total hectares burned in California this year surpassed one million as spiking temperatures Tuesday added to the challenges facing firefighters struggling to contain a stubborn blaze in the mountains northeast of Los Angeles that flared up over the weekend.
Evacuation orders were expanded again Monday for remote communities northeast of Los Angeles as the Line Fire that has been burning for nearly a month spread over nearly 176 square kilometers (68 square miles) of the San Bernardino Mountains, and containment dropped from 83% to 76%.
“The dry vegetation, steep slopes and wind aligned … to create conditions for the rapid fire spread,” according to a statement late Monday from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.
The risk of wildfires increased across California as an autumn heat wave scorched much of the state. Some inland areas could see temperatures up to 20 degrees above average for this time of year, according to the National Weather Service.
San Francisco, where residents typically break out the sweaters in October, could hit 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit), while triple digits 38 C were predicted for Sacramento. The weather service office in the state’s capital urged residents to stay indoors during the heat of the day on Tuesday.
Dry, hot winds in the northern part of the state prompted Pacific Gas & Electric to pre-emptively cut power to small clusters of customers in high-risk areas. The utility routinely stops electricity service in counties where weather conditions increase the probability of fires.
In Southern California, the Line Fire’s surge pushed the total hectares burned across the state in 2024 to 405,492 (1,001,993 acres) as of Tuesday morning, according to Cal Fire. The milestone surpasses the total scorched during the same time last year — 118,719 hectares (293,362 acres) — but is roughly on par with the five-year average for the period, the Los Angeles Times reported.
At its height, the blaze threatened more than 65,000 homes in and around the Big Bear Lake area.
A 34-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to starting the Line Fire on 5 Sep. Justin Wayne Halstenberg of Norco, CA, was charged with 11 arson-related crimes.
Firefighters monitor the advancing Line Fire in Angelus Oaks, CA, 9 Sep 2024.
Vietnam: 25 Students Suspected of Poisoning After Drinking Free Soft Drinks; Other Cases of Possible Food Poisoning Reported This Summer
Pediatric patient treated at the hospital. Photo: BVCC
After drinking free soft drinks at the gate of Binh Minh Secondary School, Thanh Oai, 25 students showed signs of poisoning; 12 were hospitalized with headaches, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Physicians suspect food poisoning. Three more serious patients were transferred to Intensive Care, the rest were treated at the Infectious Diseases Department. The children drank free bottled soft drinks outside the school gate. There is no information yet regarding the brand or the ingredients, but the product was distributed for free for advertising purposes.
Authorities recommend that schools in the area, as well as parents, educate their children not to eat snacks outside the school gate and absolutely not to accept food from strangers.
On 21 Sep, 70 people at Primary and Secondary School in Nong Thuong commune, Bac Kan city vomited, had abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, and were hospitalized. The day before, 88 students and five teachers ate rice, fried chicken, vegetable soup with melons, stir-fried potatoes, and watermelon.
The next morning, 20 students appeared with hot fever, abdominal pain, headache, diarrhea, and were admitted to the emergency city health center. The number of sick patients increased to 70 with similar symptoms. The cause is unknown.
On 16 Sep, 34 students of Ton Duc Thang Secondary School in Pleiku drank milk tea at the Mid-Autumn Festival. Within a few hours, 21 students had abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. They received emergency medical treatment and doctors suspected food poisoning.
The City Health Center took food samples for testing to find the cause.
Without further information, these incidents appear to be isolated examples of poor quality control over food and beverage production in Vietnam, and not a sinister plot to murder innocent children.
When an Australian nurse working at a hospital with outdated incubators happened upon a kangaroo rescue center, she realized she could help save lives.
Once used to help save premature human babies, the incubators are now mimicking the conditions of a mother kangaroo’s pouch, where her joey will live for the first eight months of its life.
Every year dozens of orphaned joeys and pinkies, or marsupial pups who haven’t opened their eyes yet, are brought into Kununurra Kangaroo Rescue Haven in East Kimberly, Australia.
Since they are the largest terrestrial animal in Australia, an adult kangaroo rarely has to worry about predators and their populations can balloon quite dramatically. This, unfortunately, renders them much like whitetail deer in the US—at extreme risk of becoming roadkill.
Mandy Watson, director of the Kununurra Haven, has saved hundreds of orphaned joeys from their moms who have been hunted or struck by vehicles. Young, pinky joeys can struggle to survive without the warmth and humidity of their mother’s pouch. She has seen hundreds of orphans return to the wild, but thousands not make it to adulthood.
“In 20 years, we’ve released 823 back into the wild. It’s really hard, especially in the dry season, for us to keep up that constant temperature,” Watson told ABC News Down Under. “The humidicrib (incubator) is going to be a constant temperature that’s going to dramatically help [to] save a few more lives.”
The humidicribs were donated by nurse Jane Darlington, a clinical pediatric nurse at the Kununurra District Hospital. The hospital needed to get rid of them as the rapid march of medical technology had seen them become obsolete.
Darlington got the idea while shopping in town. She saw a volunteer from the rescue center helping to raise awareness of their work by walking around in a wallaby costume, holding one of their orphaned joeys.
Mandy Watson (left) and a volunteer play with some joeys next to their truck-mounted incubator. Photo: Jane Darlington
Israel’s military attacked the Yemeni port city of Hodeida held by Shia Houthis while it intensified air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon. IDF planes and rockets attacked Ras Issa and Hodeida areas of Yemen, targeting a power plant and seaport used to import oil and to allegedly receive Iranian food and weapons. The vast majority of humanitarian aid arrives through Hodeida’s deep-water port, although much of that has been disrupted since the Houthis seized the facility. Four people were killed, 49 wounded in the Israeli attack.
Hashem Mahmoud Atin, a 10-month-old displaced child suffering from acute malnutrition and who is unable to reach a hospital for treatment, is held by his mother at a refugee camp in Yemen. 2020 photo: Sky News
Yemen has endured a civil war since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, prompting Saudi Crown Prince Muhamad Bin-Salman (MBS) to intervene in support of his fellow Sunnis on the Arabian Peninsula. After the Saudis and Sunni Yemenis were defeated and humiliated, MBS ordered a sea, air, and land blockade of the Houthis which led to a massive humanitarian disaster and man-made famine. When no other country assisted the starving Shia Houthis, Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah— Shia co-religionists— filled the vacuum. In gratitude, the Shia Houthis afterward became loyal proxies to Tehran and Lebanese Hezbollah. MBS effectively drove the starving Yemenis into the Shia Crescent, although Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi reportedly doesn’t see himself as subordinate to Iran’s supreme leader.
The Houthis have been targeting ships in the Persian Gulf and launching missiles toward Israel over the past year in support of Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip. And we see Shia Houthis counter-attacking against Western or Israeli maritime targets in the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden almost immediately after the IDF attacks a Shia target in Lebanon, Syria, or Iran.
US national-security spokesman John Kirby earlier warned that all-out war would not help Israel safely return people to their homes in the north of the country near the Lebanese border, where many thousands have been evacuated.
Demonstrators hold pictures of Hassan Nasrallah, late leader of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, during a protest vigil in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on 28 Sep. Photo: AFP
Lebanese people rank among the world’s angriest populations, according to a Gallup report on global emotions. Lebanese anger can be attributed to a number of events, as the country has been witnessing an exacerbating political and economic crisis since October 2019.
The country’s unprecedented economic meltdown and the government’s disastrous policies have thrusted two-thirds of the population into poverty. Rising unemployment and sharp increases in food, medicine, and everyday goods prices have also impacted on millions of lives, according to the UN.
Public services in Lebanon are also experiencing a major decline in efficiency. Homes and even offices experience long-lasting power cuts throughout the day, while hospitals continue to struggle with supply shortages. Netanyahu’s continued attacks on the dilapidated Lebanese infrastructure, people, and economy will only increase Lebanese anger, most likely towards Israel and possibly the US for not stopping Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and providing the IDF with billions of dollars of military aid.
While the Freedom Party (FPOe) has been in government several times, this is the first time it has won a national vote. But even with the victory, it is not certain it will be able to form a government.
In line with far-right parties elsewhere in Europe, the FPOe has seen its popularity surge, fed by voter anger over migration, inflation, and Covid restrictions.
The FPOe won 29.1% of votes cast, against 26.3% for the conservative People’s Party (OeVP), according to projections based on more than 60 percent of the votes counted.
Kickl regularly attacks EU sanctions against Russia and espouses the far-right concept of “remigration”: expelling people of non-European ethnic backgrounds deemed to have failed to integrate.
Long a political force in Austria, the FPOe’s first government with the Conservatives in 2000 set off widespread protests and sanctions from Brussels.
“The FPOe mainly stirs up fears and never has anything constructive to contribute,” researcher Theres Friesacher told AFP, citing corruption scandals that have frequently engulfed the party.
The Kremlin has been supporting right-wing groups throughout Europe, including Austria. The far-right AfD party recently won a statewide election in Germany, stoking fears amongst non-white immigrants and refugees in Germany. And Western intelligence agencies are also concerned about Russian penetration of Austria’s intelligence services. A damaging espionage scandal recently rocked Vienna and exposed Russian spying operations across Europe. Any right-wing electoral gain in Europe is a plus for the Kremlin and a concern for immigrants.
A Lithium Battery Fire Sent Toxic Gas Over Montreal
The smoke was so thick that it was nearly impossible to see what lay beyond the cloud as a lithium battery fire burned in the Port of Montreal. (Yannick Gadbois/Radio-Canada)
Residents, chemists, and firefighters are raising concerns about prevention and emergency preparedness after 15,000 kilograms of lithium batteries inside a shipping container caught fire at the Port of Montreal on Monday. The fire started at 2:40 PM. About two hours later, the city issued a precautionary lockdown notice through landlines to some nearby residents. A reminder alert was sent at 6:51 PM.
At 6:53 PM the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough posted a warning on Facebook, and the comment section quickly filled with residents saying they were never notified or didn’t see the post until much later.
Meanwhile, about 100 people were evacuated from the area near the fire, but there was no mandatory evacuation order. Residents were free to leave or stay and were offered transportation to a safe location while awaiting confirmation that the fire posed no danger.
The Port of Montreal is Canada’s second largestand handled 35.3 million tons of cargo in 2023. The longshoreman’s union may order a strike this week if negotiations with corporate management fail.
But it wasn’t just the fire that worried experts. Lithium battery fires emit hazardous pollutants like hydrogen fluoride and small particles that can penetrate the lungs.
Montreal firefighters wore self-contained breathing apparatuses as they went out into the neighborhood, urging people to shelter in place or leave the area. Residents, on the other hand, had nothing covering their eyes, noses, and mouths.
Exposure to high levels of hydrogen fluoride can cause chemical burns, eye irritation and respiratory distress. Acute exposure can even lead to a risk of heart attack or stroke. Health risks depend on the length of exposure, pollutant concentrations, and individual vulnerability.
Residents living close to where the fire occurred, firefighters, and first responders were advised to monitor their health over the next week.
Trinidad and Tobago: 1,500 Mosquito-Borne Dengue Cases, 19 Deaths
Dengue fever has killed 19 people and sickened 1,579 in Trinidad and Tobago.
Dengue Fever may be spread by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito. Symptoms appear within five to six days of being bitten, last for up to two weeks, and can include: Fever, headaches, (sometimes severe), pain behind eyes, muscle and joint pains, skin rash, nausea / vomiting, and diarrhea.
The Ministry of Health said anyone showing signs or symptoms of dengue fever should seek immediate medical treatment at their doctor or the nearest health facility.
The Ministry reminded citizens that the best means of reducing the incidence of mosquito borne diseases is through the elimination of the breeding sites of the Aedes species mosquito.
The public is urged to:
1. Dispose of all unwanted articles, derelict vehicles or appliances in the yard or environs which can collect water and become mosquito breeding grounds.
2. Cover water containers such as tanks, barrels, drums or buckets with a mosquito proof covering.
3. Cut down and remove all bush or undergrowth that can harbour mosquitoes.
4. Clean drains and guttering to allow for the free flow of water.
5. Use mosquito nets and insect repellent, when appropriate as a means of personal protection.
FOIA: F22 Raptor Shoots Down Strange Object Over Canadian Airspace in 2023, Image Finally Released
CTVNews.ca obtained an image of this unidentified object shot down by an F-22 Raptor over Canada’s Yukon territory in February 2023. (Department of National Defense via Access to Information Request. Senior Airman Meghan Hutton/USAF)
Canada’s CTV News obtained a report from their nation’s Department of National Defense on the 11 Feb 2023 Yukon incident, the contents of which include a brigadier general’s description of the unknown object as “cylindrical,” with a metallic top quarter and the rest of it white. It also mentions a package attached to the object by a 20-foot wire.
The report contains an unclassified image of the object, which CTV says “appears to be a photocopy of an email printout.”
Due to the poor resolution, it remains difficult to tell exactly what the object is. CTV noted that they’ve requested a higher resolution version. As you could see above, the object has circular shape containing a gap on the left side.
The Stealth F22 Raptor is the USAF’s leading platform for air-to-air missions against peer adversaries. Whatever the object was over Canadian airspace, NORAD sent its premier aircraft to deal with it. The RCMP, FBI, US military, Public Safety Canada, and USCG conducted a massive search for the debris between Dawson City and Mayo, but eventually called it off on 17 Feb 2023 because of snowfall.
Congress Uncovers Major US Secret Service Failures and Urges Changes
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump is covered by USSS agents at a campaign rally, 13 July 2024, in Butler, PA. 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crookswas killed by a USSS counter-sniper. He was not known to the FBI. Evan Vucci / AP
Despite heightened partisan tensions heading into a consequential election, Congress has put aside its usual divisive rhetoric to investigate the dual Trump assassination attempts in a serious, bipartisan way.
Among the more stunning failures identified by the US Senate report, which is based on 2,800 pages of documents and a dozen transcribed interviews with USSS personnel:
A Pennsylvania State Police lieutenant involved in a planning meeting on site five days before the rally said the USSS couldn’t answer basic questions, including where the stage would be.
Counter-snipers were added to the security plan due to credible intelligence of a threat, relayed by Mr. Trump’s detail, but the USSS SAIC in charge of the rally was never notified of that threat.
The USSS and local law enforcement communicated on separate radio frequencies and their communications teams were operating out of separate locations more than 100 yards apart. That is an unusual departure from the norm of a single unified command center and hampered quick sharing of information.
The USSS agent running a system for countering drones, which the shooter used to surveil the area, only had about three months of experience using that equipment. When technical problems arose, he had to call a toll-free 888 hotline, delaying deployment of the system.
In the aftermath, USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned and at least five USSS agents were re-assigned or put on modified duty. The preliminary report is linked below.
UK: Two Squirrel Travelers Force Train Cancellations
Photo: Great Western Railway
A morning train to Gatwick Airport was cancelled after two squirrels boarded and one refused to get off – forcing passengers to move away from the “frightened and erratic” animals to another carriage.
The rodent pair jumped on the Great Western Railway (GWR) service from Reading to Gatwick on Saturday and could have become scared after being trapped in the confined space, a spokesperson for the train operator said.
GWR explained that passengers made their way along the train after the rodents boarded the rear carriage, where the train manager locked them in.
A Network Rail member of staff unsuccessfully tried to shoo the animals off the train at Redhill, where the 08:54 BST service had to be terminated, GWR said.
The squirrel that refused to leave was returned to Reading in the train.
A GWR spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the 0854 Reading to Gatwick was terminated at Redhill after a couple of squirrels boarded the train at Gomshall without tickets, breaching railway byeclaws.
“We attempted to remove them at Redhill, but one refused to leave and was returned to Reading to bring an end to this nutty tail.”
The IDF will deploy formidable Merkava tanks in their ground offensive into Lebanon.Adjusting for inflation, US aid to Israel from 1951 to 2022 totaled $317.9 billion, making Israel the largest recipient of American foreign aid since World War II as well as the 17th most powerful country in the world according to the Global Firepower Index (GFI). The Lebanese Army is ranked 118/145. Photo: AP
Israel has deployed troops near the border with Lebanon, a day after the air strikes in Beirut that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Lebanon is currently observing three days of mourning following Nasrallah’s killing but Israeli warplanes have continued to bombard Beirut, killing 33 people across Lebanon.
Meanwhile, hundreds of displaced Lebanese families have been sleeping in public spaces in Beirut as the Israeli aerial assault continues.
Families sit on the ground in central Beirut after fleeing Israeli in the southern suburbs, 28 Sep 2024. Bilal Hussein/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved.
“We just want a safe place, we do not need clothes or aid or food or drink. We just want a safe place so that our children are not afraid, we left the Syrian war for the sake of the children, we came here and the same war happened,” said Syrian refugee Fatima Ziyada.
The wave of displacement comes alongside a rapid escalation over the past week that has killed more than 700 people in Lebanon and culminated with a massive barrage of strikes Friday and overnight that levelled at least six multi-story buildings.
And across the border in Israel, Tel Aviv residents took shelter as sirens sounded throughout the city.
The Israeli military said a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted shortly after the sirens were heard. There were no reports of injuries. It was not immediately known if the missile strike was aimed at PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s flight who cut short a trip to the US to return to Israel.
Israel first invaded Lebanon in 1978 and then again in 1982 which led to the 16-18 Sep 1982 “Sabra and Shatila massacres” of between 1,300 and 3,500 Palestinians and Lebanese Shias in Beirut by Christian militias. Israeli defense minister Ariel Sharon was forced to resign “for ignoring the danger of bloodshed and revenge” during the massacre in which the IDF stood passively by and allowed the Falange militias to murder the unarmed and defenseless captives. The 1982 Israeli invasion was the genesis of Lebanese Hezbollah. In 2017, Janes assessed Hezbollah’s strength at more than +20,000 full-time fighters and approximately +20,000 reservists.
Remarkably, a former senior Republican official wrote a recent editorial that “a new Gang of Four has emerged: [the leaders of] China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia,” completely ignoring Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, a man indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague. 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip and 623 in the West Bank.
Just before becoming Special Counsel investigating former president Donald Trump, Jack Smith was a prosecutor at the ICC. Karim Khan at the ICC is now prosecuting a war crimes case against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Chief prosecutor Karim Khan KC of the ICC is seeking an international arrest warrant for indicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he was indicted for war crimes committed against the people in Gaza.
The Lebanese military or Hezbollah will be unable to stop the imminent IDF offensive. Somehow, in a “David versus Goliath” battle, Palestinian fighters in Gaza were able to disable one Merkava tank in Oct 2023. The fate of the IDF tank crew is not clear.
NTSB Issues Urgent Safety Recommendations on Boeing 737 Rudder System
The rudder control system could jam or become restricted on some 737NG and 737MAX airplanes. Image: jetnews.com.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued urgent safety recommendations to The Boeing Company and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the potential for a jammed or restricted rudder control system on some 737 airplanes.
The NTSB is investigating a 6 Feb 2024 incident in which the rudder pedals on a United Airlines Boeing 737-8, a MAX variant, were “stuck” in their neutral position during the landing rollout at Newark Liberty International Airport, NJ. The captain used the nosewheel steering tiller to control the airplane’s direction after touching down. There was no damage to the airplane or injuries to the 155 passengers and six crewmembers.
NTSB investigators tested one of the rudder control components from the incident airplane, a rollout guidance actuator, at the component’s manufacturer, Collins Aerospace. When the incident actuator and an identical unit from another airplane were tested in a cold environment, the actuators’ function was significantly compromised.
Investigators found evidence of moisture in both actuators, which failed testing. Collins Aerospace subsequently determined that a sealed bearing was incorrectly assembled during production of the actuators, leaving the unsealed side more susceptible to moisture that can freeze and limit rudder system movement.
Collins notified Boeing that more than 353 actuators that Collins had delivered to Boeing since February 2017 were affected by this condition.
The NTSB has recommended that Boeing “determine appropriate flight crew responses besides applying maximum pedal force” for such situations in flight or during landing. The NTSB also recommended that Boeing notify flight crews operating 737s with affected actuators that the rudder control system can jam due to moisture that has accumulated inside the actuators and frozen.
To report an incident/accident or if you are a public safety agency, please call 1-844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290 to speak to a Watch Officer at the NTSB Response Operations Center (ROC) in Washington, DC (24/7).
‘Asian NATO’ Supporter Shigeru Ishiba to Become Japan’s Prime Minister
Former Japanese defense minister Shigeru Ishiba waves as he is elected as new head of the ruling party in the Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership vote and is set to become Japan’s next prime minister in Tokyo, Japan, 27 Sep 2024
Veteran Japanese lawmaker Shigeru Ishiba, who supports the creation of an “Asia version of NATO,” will become the next prime minister after winning a closely fought contest to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The LDP chose Ishiba as Japan grapples with increasing security threats and risk of war in the region, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, and China’s growing military assertiveness.
The 67-year-old Ishiba said changes in the security environment were the reason he announced his candidacy. He advocates deterrence, strongly backs Taiwanese democracy, while also calling for deeper engagement with China.
The former defense minister expressed his desire to create an “Asian version of NATO” and bring equality to the Japan-US Status of Forces Agreement.
Ishiba announced he would consider revising the SOFA, or Status of Forces Agreement, which set the rules for US military operations in Japan in 1960. He has considered establishing a base in the US to train Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.
He wrote in his memoir that conflating the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan was driven by emotion, not a pragmatic assessment of Chinese threats and the impact on Japan.
“I want to protect Japan, protect the people, protect the local regions, and want to be the LDP that follows the rules,” Ishiba said during the campaign.
He will be officially announced as prime minister at a special legislative session on 1 Oct, the same day Mexico inaugurates its first female President, Claudia Sheinbaum.
Russia Convicts Nearly 800 Foreign Nationals Fighting for Ukraine Since 2014
Undated photo of Georgian national Giorgi Goglidze. Russia Ministry of Defense
Russia has convicted 785 foreign nationals for fighting on the side of Ukraine since hostilities between the two countries first broke out in 2014, Russia’s Investigative Committee said Thursday.
Investigators disclosed the figure while announcing criminal charges against Georgian citizen Giorgi Goglidze, accusing him of fighting for Kiev “for monetary compensation.”
In Nov 2023, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces captured Goglidze, releasing an interrogation video where he claims to have been promised $300 for every Russian soldier he killed. The ministry alleged he was recruited in Germany and said he fought with Ukraine’s 2nd International Legion.
In the days following Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation of an international territorial defense legion consisting of foreigners fighting on behalf of Kiev. Among the most prominent pro-Ukraine foreign units are the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Belarusian Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, and the Georgian National Legion.
Russia labeled the Georgian National Legion as a terrorist organization earlier this year, accusing the group of organizing sabotage and terrorist acts on Russian territory and torturing Russian military personnel and civilians.
In March, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces had killed nearly 6,000 foreign volunteers fighting for Ukraine since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, including 561 fighters from Georgia.
Russia’s military is also known to enlist the help of foreign volunteers as it continues to wage war against Ukraine, recruiting men from African countries, Cuba, Nepal, and India, among others. Many of the volunteers from India and Sri Lanka have escaped the Russian army, claiming they were duped into combat service by unscrupulous recruiters offering contracts of employment to be either helpers or security guards.
Russia had discharged dozens of the 91 Indians who were duped into fighting for Russian forces in the country’s war with Ukraine. Several of them have since returned home, while the process to bring others back is still under way.Undated photo: BBC
With 13,623,302 people, Rwanda is one of Africa’s most densely populated countries. Map: CIA
Rwanda has confirmed six deaths and 20 cases of Marburg disease; the majority of victims are health workers in an intensive care unit.
“We are counting 20 people who are infected, and six who have already passed away due to this virus. The large majority of cases and deaths are among healthcare workers, mainly in the intensive care unit,” the health minister said.
Marburg disease, a viral hemorrhagic fever, can cause death among some patients, with symptoms including severe headache, vomiting, muscle aches and stomach aches. Institutions and partners are working to trace those who have been in contact with the virus-affected individuals.
With a fatality rate of as high as 88%, Marburg is from the same virus family as the one responsible for Ebola and is transmitted to people from fruit bats. The virus then spreads through contact with bodily fluids of infected people. Neighboring Tanzania had cases of Marburg in 2023, while Uganda had a similar outbreak in 2017.
In total, 15 women and two men were killed in the shootings, which also sent one additional person to the hospital in critical condition. Photo courtesy of South African Police Service/EPA-EFE
A manhunt is underway after at least 17 people died in shootings in a small village in South Africa on Saturday. Police confirmed the deaths occurred at two separate rural properties in Lusikisiki, a town of around 4,000 people.
In one home, 13 people were killed, with four others found dead on the second of the two properties, which sit slightly over a half-mile apart. In total, 15 women and two men were killed in the shootings, which also sent one additional person to the hospital in critical condition.
Authorities have not elaborated on a potential motive behind the crimes.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) reported over 6,000 murders took place between April and June this year. An average 58 people are murdered every day in South Africa. Like the US, these are war-time casualty figures without going to war.
South African Police Special Task Force in action (public domain image circa 2017).
China’s Newest Nuclear Submarine Sank in Dock Last Year
Chinese nuclear-powered submarines in the South China Sea in 2018. Photograph: China Stringer Network/Reuters
China’s efforts to achieve maritime military parity with the US have suffered a serious blow after its newest state-of-the-art nuclear submarine sank in a dock, American officials have confirmed.
The incident happened last May or June at the Wuchang shipyard near Wuhan – the same city where the Covid-19 pandemic is believed to have originated – and came to light, thanks to satellite imagery, despite efforts by the country’s communist authorities to stage a cover-up.
The Zhou-class vessel – first of a new kind of Chinese submarines and distinctive for its X-shaped stern that aids maneuverability – is believed to have been next to a pier when it sank.
It is not known if there were any casualties – or if the submarine had any nuclear fuel onboard at the time, although experts have deemed that likely, according to the Wall Street Journal. The submarine was eventually salvaged but it is believed that it will take many months before it can be put to sea.
There has been no acknowledgment of the incident from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) or any indication that Chinese authorities have checked the water or nearby environment for radiation.
The incident and the wall of silence shrouding it raised serious questions about the Chinese military’s competence and accountability which has been plagued by corruption, including the PLA rocket forces command.
As of 2022, China had six nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, six nuclear-powered attack submarines and 48 diesel-powered attack submarines. That submarine force is expected to grow to 65 by 2025 and 80 by 2035. Beijing wants to counteract US moves to come to Taiwan’s aid in a conflict and establish “maritime superiority” in a string of islands stretching from the Japanese archipelago to the South China Sea. As posted previously on Coriolanus, a Chinese military hospital ship recently treated thousands of patients for free along Africa’s coasts, fostering goodwill with people while making political inroads on the so-called “Dark Continent”.
Philadelphia Cat Recovering Well After Being Shot with Bow and Arrow
Kimiko is recovering at a PSPCA shelter which posted a clip of the kitty playfully stretching in an open-crate. Kimiko is still loving towards humans despite ample reason to be cautious and even fearful. Image: PASPCA/Instagram
A depraved miscreant shot a cat with a bow-and-arrow and left her to die on a Philadelphia street before she was miraculously saved by a volunteer.
Kimiko was found last week with an arrow protruding from her thigh in an apparent act of animal cruelty, according to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA).
The friendly feline was found by the caretaker of a cat colony in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia on Friday September 20th with the metal arrow jutting out from the side – left to die a slow and painful death.
An x-ray image posted on Facebook shows an arrow point wedged into Kimiko’s right leg – just inches away from her bones. PSPCA surgeons at the Philadelphia Animal Specialty and Emergency hospital rushed to save her life.
Nicole Wilson of the PSPCA said of the heartless attack, “Not only is it senseless, the suffering that that causes. That cat was clearly injured for hours, suffering for hours before somebody was able to find it and bring it to help.”
“This person severely injured this cat,” adding ” we don’t know that an individual who would make that choice wouldn’t make the next choice of potentially injuring a person.”
Pennsylvania recorded 50,000 cases of animal abuse since the year 2017 – when the state introduced Libre’s Law which created stricter punishments for animal abusers including making aggravated assault on an animal a felony.
An x-ray image showed how close the arrow point was to her bones. PASPCA/Instagram
The PSPCA’s Animal Law Enforcement is investigating the incident and asking anyone with information about the person or persons responsible to call the PSPCA’s cruelty hotline at 866-601-7722 or email cruelty@pspca.org.
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Coriolanus 