Canada: RCMP Neutralizes Terrorist Threat in Quebec

This cell was recruiting members via Instagram.

The Canadian RCMP arrested and charged four people, including active military members, who were “planning to create an anti-government militia” and to “forcibly take possession of land” in the province of Quebec. This marks the largest weapons cache ever seized as part of a terrorism investigation in Canada. The four lunatics are Marc-Aurle Chabot (24), Simon Angers-Audet (24), Raphal Lagac (25), and Matthew Forbes (33). Three of them are accused of planning to create an anti-government militia. This cell conducted military-style training: shooting, ambush, survival, and land navigation exercises. The three also conducted a “scouting operation” of an undisclosed target. Matthew Forbes was charged with possession of firearms, prohibited devices, and explosives. The four maniacs have not yet entered pleas.

Canada is Not Immune from Terrorism

Canada is not immune from ideological violence or terrorism. From the 1963 to 1970, Quebec separatists launched a terrorism campaign seeking independence from Anglo-dominant Canada. The Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) was involved in over 160 violent incidents, killing eight people and injuring hundreds. In 1985, Sikh separatists detonated a bomb on Air India Flight 182 departing Toronto killing 329 passengers. In 2014 after Conservative PM Stephen Harper joined the US in supporting attacks against ISIS targets in the Middle East, a lone actor counterattacked the Canadian Parliament, killing one and wounding three. Security forces rendered the perpetrator ineffective.

Note that three of the suspects in this instant offense have French names, one has an Anglo name. When it comes to ideological or racist extremism, the Anglo-French divide in Canada seems to blur.

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

Source:

https://rcmp.ca/en/news/2025/07/ideologically-motivated-violent-extremism-four-individuals-charged

The Film ICC-Indicted War Criminal Benjamin Netanyahu Doesn’t Want You to See

Over the past 48 hours, the Israeli Death Forces (IDF) slaughtered 300 Palestinians in 26 separate massacres. Since 7 Oct 2023, Israel has waged a military onslaught, AKA ‘Nakba,’ on the Gaza Strip, killing 57,680 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounding or maiming 137,409 others. Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. There are more child amputees in Gaza than anywhere else in the world.

American Complicity

Ordnance experts identified the fragments as parts of an MK-82 general purpose bomb. (Photo: Enas Tantesh / The Guardian)

The IDF used a 500lb (230kg) bomb, a powerful and indiscriminate US-made weapon that generates a massive blast wave and scatters shrapnel over a wide area, when it attacked a target in a crowded beachfront cafe in Gaza. Between 24 and 36 Palestinians were killed in the attack on the cafe and dozens more were injured. The dead included a well-known film-maker and an artist. Experts in international law said the use of such a munition despite the known presence of many unprotected civilians, including children, women and elderly people, was almost certainly unlawful and may constitute a war crime. Fragments of the weapon from the ruins of al-Baqa cafe have been identified by ordnance experts as parts of an MK-82 general purpose 230kg bomb, a powerful US-made bomb.

An IDF spokesperson said the attack on the cafe was under review and that “prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance.”

The Censored Film

The IDF has been specifically targeting medical personnel in the Gaza Strip. Below, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Abdullah Hammad is the 609th medical worker killed in the Gaza Genocide

The late Abdullah Hammad, murdered by the IDF. (Undated photo)

This documentary you are about to watch is what Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud junta, and AIPAC doesn’t want you to see: the specific targeting of Palestinian medical personnel, another war crime committed by the IDF. When there are no medical personnel to treat the wounded, those casualties die. This tactic is called ‘NHI’ (‘No Humans Involved’). This film was made by the award-winning British filmmaker Mehdi Hasan and is quite graphic. Followers of the Watch are hereby advised. Please click to the zeteo.com site: https://zeteo.com/p/watch-now-gaza-doctors-under-attack

Ludicrous Nobel Peace Prize Nomination for Donald Trump

Official White House photo of two criminals: one convicted, the other twice-indicted.

Followers of the Watch: Coriolanus does not like wasting your time or your brain cells writing about Dummkopf Trumpf, but at times your author is forced to. The odious Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the White House for the third time this year. Unwanted on 99% of the planet, this pariah is only welcome in AIPAC-influenced America. This time the ‘Crime Minister’ of Israel ridiculously nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize to gratify the madman occupying the White House. A pundit wrote this is akin to nominating the late notorious O.J. Simpson for ‘Husband of the Year.’ In turn, Dotard Trumpf sanctioned more international civil servants of the UN and ICC for their legitimate pursuit of arch-war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu.

Shia Houthis Counterattack on Behalf of Sunni Palestinians

The Houthis released footage showing the Eternity C sinking after it was hit by rocket-propelled grenades.

Make no mistake, below is what’s happening in the Gaza Strip today and some IDF soldiers have had enough of this malice, cruelty, and barbarity.

Unidentified prisoner, most likely a Jew, in his last moment of life during the Second World War. (Photo: Public domain)

An international arrest warrant for war crimes remains active for Benjamin Netanyahu. This defendant is also on trial in Israel for gross corruption and potential obstruction of justice. An indictment is merely an allegation. Mr. Netanyahu is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Sources:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/un-says-85-of-gaza-strip-under-israeli-military-orders-militarized-zones/3620073

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2025/7/3/israel-kills-more-than-300-palestinians-in-48-hours-as-ceasefire-in-balance

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/mar/27/gaza-palestine-children-injuries

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3071vp2d8yo

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/francesca-albanese-sanctions-trump_n_686e8d35e4b07e11dd9a37f1

US Terrorism: Rightwing White Militia Sabotaging ‘Weather Weapons’

Authorities are looking for this white maniac who sabotaged a weather facility.

Michael Meyer (AKA Lewis Arthur), the founder of the anti-government extremist group Veterans on Patrol, posted a warning on his Telegram channel. “Due to the recent weather weapon deployed against Texas, which resulted in a high number of child murders, efforts to eliminate this military treason are being escalated.”

Hours later, a maniac broke into an enclosure containing the NextGen Live Radar system operated by News 9 in Oklahoma City, damaging its power supply and briefly knocking it offline. The man also damaged CCTV cameras monitoring the site, but footage shared by News 9 shows the cameras captured a clear image of his face before they were destroyed.

No arrests have been made but that authorities are aware of the extremist Veterans on Patrol group.  The attack was part of their Operation Lone Wolf and there are dozens of useful white idiots willing to carry out similar attacks of wanton sabotage against weather surveillance facilities and systems.

Veterans on Patrol vigilantes. (Photo: WaPo)

Veterans on Patrol is a white xenophobic militia that began in Pima, Arizona, to bully, intimidate, and capture vulnerable immigrants crossing the border into the US. Supposedly they have 70,000 members or followers on social media. After the preventable deaths from the cataclysmic floods that killed over 100 children in Texas, conspiracy theories about “weather control weapons” have flooded the internet. One proponent of this lunacy is House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wants to enact legislation banning ‘weather manipulation,’ making it a felony:

Americans should expect more such attacks from these lunatics, as well as more weather-related casualties and damage because the Trumpf junta slashed the workforce and budgets of the NWS and NOAA.

Sources:

https://www.wired.com/story/texas-floods-conspiracy-theories-geoengineering-weather-weapon/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/09/texas-floods-conspiracy-theories

Russia Using Unwitting Suicide Bombers Against Ukraine

Two detained suspects. These saboteurs were knowing participants in an IED operation. (Photo: Ukrainian SBU)

A growing number of young Ukrainians have been unknowingly recruited by Russian forces as unwilling suicide bombers as the Ukraine-Russia War drags on in its third year. Russian spies have been recruiting Ukrainians, mainly teenagers, to bomb police stations, post offices, or military targets under the guise of odd jobs postings on Telegram as part of an ongoing shadow war.  

For example, 19-year-old Oleh was offered $1,000 to video himself vandalizing a police station in western Ukraine with provided materials. He collected a rucksack from a given exchange point with what he thought was a canister of spray paint. When he opened the bag, he found a crude bomb with a cell phone attached to it as a crude remote detonation system.

Oleh’s experience is part of a trend that has seriously injured or killed over a dozen people. Ukraine’s SBU security agency said that this sabotage campaign began in the Spring of 2024. The attacks appear to target areas in western Ukraine, far beyond the frontlines in the east of the country. 

In the earlier part of the campaign, teens were lured by “curators” who used a mix of blackmail and enticement to carry out arson attacks on Ukrainian civil and military infrastructure. This effectively allowed the Kremlin to target deep into western Ukraine without being physically present. 

Using unwitting dupes for kamikaze or sabotage attacks is not a new tactic. Other terrorist groups such as the PKK or ISIS have tricked underlings to deliver a package unknowing that it contained a remote controlled explosive device. The Ukrainian counterintelligence service is top-notch and constantly improving, as you have previously read here on Coriolanus.

Source:

https://www.jpost.com/international/internationalrussia-ukraine-war/article-860415

DNI Tulsi Gabbard Purging USIC Employees Disloyal to Trumpf and MAGA Agenda

The vastly underwhelming vapid lapdog DNI Tulsi Gabbard. (Undated photo from the public domain).

Per the ODNI: “Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard established a new task force charged with restoring transparency and accountability to the USIC. The Director’s Initiatives Group (DIG) is executing President Trump’s EOs aimed at rebuilding trust in the USIC, starting with investigating weaponization, rooting out deep-seeded politicization, exposing unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence, and declassifying information that serves a public interest. Per POTUS’s directive, DNI Gabbard has taken steps to restore trust in the USIC by revoking security clearances for individuals who no longer have an active role in national security, including former President Joe Biden, Liz Cheney, and Hillary Clinton. Further, the DNI has already held employees who participated in sexually-explicit NSA chatrooms accountable, and has begun pursuing unauthorized leaks of classified information within the USIC. DNI Gabbard will also be reviewing documents for potential declassification including: COVID-19 origins, Crossfire Hurricane, Anomalous Health Incidents (AHI), and the Biden Administration’s alleged domestic surveillance and censorship actions against Americans.”

Tulsi Gabbard is the most under-qualified individual to ever lead an intelligence organization of any nation on the planet. The member of a homophobic, Islamophobic Hare Krishna off-shoot sect, lickspittle Gabbard was appointed by Dummkopf Trumpf for her good looks and loyalty. The ‘DIG’ is all designed to root out Democrats, liberals, progressives, and non-Zionists (AKA ‘undesirables’) from the USIC. Snagged in the dragnet will be Russia and Middle East experts vital to penetrate hostile intelligence services (HOIS) or terrorist groups. Stalin’s purges of the 1930s eliminated competent, experienced national security personnel which cost the Russian people dearly in the Winter War against Finland and later when the USSR was caught off guard by Hitler’s surprise attack (Operation Barbarossa). Coriolanus is glad to have retired years ago because your humble narrator would have been on the top of Gabbard and Trumpf’s hideous ‘Enemies List.’

Sidenote on Tulsi Gabbard Colleague USSECSTATE/National Security Advisor Marco Rubio

USSECSTATE Marco Rubio is basically a lickspittle and an empty suit without vision, character, moral compass, or sense of decency. (Undated photo from the public domain).

Sidenote: Hackers have been successfully impersonating the voice and emails of Marco Rubio, the most underqualified individual to ever lead the US Department of State. Rubio recently dismantled the JFK-created USAID which analysts contend will kill millions of people in the developing world over the next several years. Someone using artificial intelligence (AI) to impersonate Rubio contacted at least five people, including three foreign ministers, a US governor, and a member of Congress, “with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts,” a US diplomatic cable said. The unknown actor posing as Rubio created an account in mid-June on the messaging platform Signal, using the display name “marco.rubio@state.gov.”

To Followers of the Watch, none of this should come as a surprise. The members of the Trumpf junta have demonstrated their incompetence, terrible Operational Security (OPSEC), and poor judgment since they took power on 20 Jan 2025. The damage the junta is wreaking on US national security, government operations, and the economy will take decades to mend. In the meantime, the Kremlin, Beijing, Jerusalem, and Pyongyang benefit from America’s follies.

Sources:

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2025/4063-pr-05-25

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/08/politics/marco-rubio-artificial-intelligence-impersonation

UK: Pink Floyd Legend Roger Waters Risks Imprisonment for People of Palestine

Roger Waters has voiced his support for Palestine Action, risking prosecution and a potential 14-year prison term, since the organization is now proscribed as a terrorist group in the UK under the Terrorism Act 2000. As of 5 July, membership of Palestine Action, or expressing public support for the group, is a criminal offence in Britain. On 5 July, police in London arrested 29 people in Parliament Square for holding placards stating, “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.” In a video post on 5 July, former Pink Floyd legend Waters says, “For the record, I support Palestine Action,” calling them “a great organization” and stating the “non-violent” group are “absolutely not terrorists in any way.” Waters then displays a piece of cardboard: ‘ROGER WATERS SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION’ and “Parliament has been corrupted by agents of a genocidal foreign power! STAND UP AND BE COUNTED. IT’S NOW!!!” The cardboard is dated “5th July 2025.”

The UN had specifically urged the UK not to misuse terrorism laws against the group Palestine Action. But as Roger Waters points out, the UK Parliament seems to have been corrupted by their version of AIPAC. Recall that after nearly three decades, Pink Floyd had re-united to play a special concert to support the people of Ukraine after Russia’s brutal invasion. Now, in Spartacus-like fashion, Roger Waters is boldly standing up for the people of Palestine after Israel’s brutal invasion of Gaza. Roger Waters is also defying his own government, risking his very liberty. Pro-Israeli supporters have ridiculously tried to smear and slander the rock legend as a “Jew hater” and antisemite; all of those attempts and ad hominem attacks failed miserably.

Amongst the 29 Samaritans arrested is the Reverend Sue Parfitt, an 83-year-old retired Anglican priest for displaying a sign reading, “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Your humble author wonders when the Bobbies will come for Roger Waters (first they’ll have him sign some autographs for them). The Reverend Parfitt is what a “dangerous Jew-hater” or terrorism supporter looks like. Hmph.

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=qs35t2xFqdU

Sources:

https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/i-am-spartacus-pink-floyd-roger-waters-risks-jail

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/un-experts-urge-united-kingdom-not-misuse-terrorism-laws-against-protest

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/7/7/headlines/

Russian Orthodox Church (ROCOR) Publicly Exposed as Arm of Russian Intelligence

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), under the leadership of the Moscow Patriarchate, has evolved into a central instrument of Russian state influence, operating well beyond its religious mandate to advance Kremlin interests abroad. Across Europe and the US, the ROC is recognized for its role in disseminating pro-Kremlin narratives, conducting espionage, and recruiting intelligence assets. No longer limited to pastoral duties or cultural preservation, the Church now operates as a transnational ideological actor whose activities align closely with Russian foreign policy goals. Their global network has a headquarters in NYC and they have been expanding across parts of the US mainly as a result of people converting from other faiths. Young American males have been joining Russian churches promising ‘absurd levels of manliness.’ In the links at bottom, you can see the large number of ROCOR parishes spreading in the US.

The late Pope Francis had advised Patriarch Kirill not to be ‘Putin’s altar boy.’

UFC Fighting and Machismo Are Part of the Russian PSYOP Scheme for Young Americans

Before the Trumpf junta took power, the USIC was monitoring the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) for the very reasons cited in this OSINT analysis and why Ukraine has been purging itself of nefandous clergymen. Vladimir Putin has already aligned the Republican Party and is now targeting macho young men as part of his influence campaign over the US, aided and abetted by Dotard Trumpf. This is in tandem with the promotion of uber-macho UFC activity by the Trumpf junta. These gladiatorial spectacles are designed to distract Americans from real issues affecting them like the ancient Roman ‘Bread and circuses’ while at the same time promoting anti-LGBTQ themes and pro-macho ideologies, like in Russia and Chechnya.

D/FBI Kashyap Pramod “Kash” Patel wants FBI SAs to undergo routine UFC training, but FBI Defensive Tactics (DT) is an excellent system. Your humble author completed an FBI DT Course last century and can attest to that. This will waste precious investigative time for FBI Special Agents who already undergo monthly and annual refresher hand-to-hand combat training and firearms qualifications.

Nota Bene: On 12 June 2025 USSECSTATE Marco Rubio issued a congratulatory note on Russia National Day.

An international arrest warrant for war crimes remains active for Vladimir Putin. An indictment is merely an allegation. Mr. Putin is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Sources:

https://www.global-influence-ops.com/gior-analysis-the-russian-orthodox-church-putin-weaponizes-religion/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c30q5l8d4lro

https://mospatusa.com/parishdirectory

https://www.state.gov/releases/2025/06/russia-national-day/

Death Sentence: DHS to Deport Hondurans and Nicaraguans

Yes, the entire world believes you. Uh-huh.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaragua and Honduras. The termination will be effective 60 days after the publication of the Federal Register notice. Nicaraguan and Honduran nationals departing the US are encouraged to use the US Customs and Border Protection CBP Home app to report their departure from the US and take advantage of a safe, secure way to self-deport which includes a complimentary plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and potential future opportunities for legal immigration.

The cruelty of the Trumpf junta and their desire to bleach the country of non-whites has no limit.

Some migrants have been deported to countries which have no connection to them, like several detainees were cruelly sent to South Sudan recently. The corrupted Republican Party-majority Supreme Court has allowed this to happen.

www.fosterglobal.com

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/07/07/dhs-terminates-tps-nicaragua-it-was-never-meant-last-25-years

https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/07/07/improved-conditions-dhs-ends-tps-honduras

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/nicaraguas-grim-reality-investigation-un-experts-reveals-crimes-against

https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2024/what-is-happening-in-honduras/

US/Canada: Costco Initiates Massive Product Recall for Safety and Health Issues

Costco is recalling nearly a dozen products and urging shoppers to immediately stop using some items purchased either through Costco Next or directly in stores. The recall includes several electronics with potential safety hazards. Anker Power Bank and PowerCore models have been flagged due to issues with their lithium batteries. The Danby 8-K U-shaped window air conditioner should be immediately stopped use because of water collection problems that can lead to mold growth. These units were sold under various brands including Midea, Comfort Aire, Danby, and Frigidaire. Other recalled items include car tires, dumbbells, Topo Chico mineral water, and Fresh and Ready Foods prepared sandwiches and salads. The mineral water may be contaminated with pseudomonas and the prepared meals may be tainted with listeria. The SharkNinja pressure cooker lid comes off and can burn consumers.

Source:

https://www.costco.com/recalls.html

UK: Ozzy Osbourne Sings Final Concert with Black Sabbath in Birmingham

Ozzy Osbourne at the Back to the Beginning concert in Birmingham, UK, on 5 July 2025. (Photo: Ross Halfin)

Ozzy Osbourne (76) sang his final concert with his legendary heavy-metal band, Black Sabbath, in Birmingham, England on Saturday.  The ten-hour farewell show at Villa Park, titled Back to the Beginning, featured appearances by Mastodon, Metallica, Rival Sons, Anthrax, Guns n’Roses, and Jack Black, leading up to Osbourne’s headlining set.

“You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Osbourne told the crowd of 40,000 fans.

Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine also took the stage during the show.

This marked the first time in 20 years that Osbourne performed with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward.

Formed in 1968, the rock group has sold more than 100 million albums. The musicians were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Osbourne is retiring from performing live because he is suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

The next song by Ozzy Osbourne as a solo artist is a hard-driving entreaty for world peace during the Cold War and healing psychological wounds from fear, conflict, anxiety, and PTSD.

“The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.”

The Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene I

JAMA: Parkinson Disease and Proximity to Golf Courses

Researchers asked whether living within proximity to a golf course affect the risk of Parkinson disease (PD). A case-control study found the greatest risk of PD within one to three miles of a golf course, and that this risk generally decreased with distance. Effect sizes were largest in water service areas with a golf course in vulnerable groundwater regions. These findings suggest that pesticides applied to golf courses may play a role in the incidence PD for nearby residents.

Pesticide risk assessment has traditionally been studied in agricultural systems, though few studies have attempted to quantify pesticide risk on golf courses. About 150 agricultural pesticides that the World Health Organization (WHO) considers “hazardous” were used in the US in 2017, according to a review of US Geological Survey data.

From the NIH: Pesticides are known neurotoxins. Evidence suggests that lifelong cumulative exposure to pesticides may generate lasting toxic effects on the central nervous system and may also contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A number of reports indicate a potential association between long-term/low-dose pesticide exposure and AD, but the results are inconsistent.

This may help explain some things about Donald Trumpf’s (79) rapidly declining cognitive skills. In addition to a lifetime of golfing, Trumpf spent 22.15% of his presidency on the links while the world economy crashed, children drowned in the Texas floods, and innocent people were killed in the Middle East.

Sources:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2833716

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5007474/

https://trumpgolftrack.com/

Cats Love to See What’s Going On

Murder-Death-Kill: Israel Celebrates Independence Day By Killing 60 Palestinians

Anguish on the faces of Palestinians caused by the Israeli Death Forces (IDF). (Photo: Middle East Eye)

After the British mandate ended on 14 May 1948, Israel declared its independence. To commemorate the anniversary this year, the IDF killed 60 Palestinians and attacked a European hospital in the Gaza Strip.

With a massive heatwave about to set over Israel [temperatures reaching 46.5°C (115°F) in Eilat, 37°C (99°F) in Tel Aviv, 38°C (101°F) in Jerusalem], the UN reports that 75% of Gazans report a decline in water access over the past month, amid deteriorating sanitation conditions. 

France President Emmanuel Macron called Netanyahu’s policies in Gaza ‘shameful’ and ‘unacceptable, but he has not yet recognized the State of Palestine. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dotard Trumpf fecklessly said that people in Gaza “deserve a much better future.”

Democratic and Republican Party Complicity

All of this Murder-Death-Kill of Palestinians has been bought and paid for by the hardworking American taxpayer who has been heavily subsidizing Israel since 1950. The US provided Israel with a record $17.9bn since 7 Oct 2023 alone. Both political parties are responsible for this wanton mayhem and suffering. In a previous post, Followers of the Watch heard the CEO of the America Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) discuss how much they have infiltrated the national security apparatus of the Trumpf junta.

The mission of AIPAC is to ensure that neither the Democratic nor the Republican Party in the US, as well as other Western governments, recognize the State of Palestine. To this end they spread Islamophobic talking points and smear the Palestinian muqawama (resistance) as ‘terrorists.’

Palestinian fighters resorted to seizing hostages on 7 Oct 2023 in order to exchange them for any number of the thousands of their relatives being held by the IDF without trial or hearing in Israeli prisons. Amnesty International reported the number of Palestinians in Israeli military detention was at a record number before the infamous 7 Oct 2023 raid. In November 2023, prisoner exchanges took place. But Netanyahu stopped the prisoner trades and began the Nakba to keep his rightwing coalition happy, keep his corruption trial in abeyance, and split the Democratic Party bloc before the 5 November 2024– and the MIT graduate who understands American politics– succeeded. Netanyahu helped usher in fellow rightwing xenophobe Dotard Trumpf to the White House.

“Thanks very much!” “You’re welcome!”

As a red herring, one of the AIPAC talking points is that Arab-Americans that voted for Donald Trumpf are somehow to blame for all of this Murder-Death-Kill, like a rape victim being cross-examined in court why she wore a mini-skirt the day she was attacked. But only 21% of Arab-Americans voted for Dotard Trumpf and Palestinians make up only 1% of the Arab-American population. The plurality of Arab-Americans are of Lebanese descent (25%), a country that Israel devastated in 2024.

The ‘Saigon Execution’ is a 1968 photograph by Associated Press photojournalist Eddie Adams, taken during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War. South Vietnamese brigadier general Nguyễn Ngọc Loan shoots Viet Cong captain Nguyễn Văn Lém near the Ấn Quang Pagoda in Saigon. Antiwar Americans were sickened by the revolting Saigon regime and President Lyndon B. Johnson chose not to run for President again in 1968.

Followers of the Watch, whether a Democrat or Republican POTUS is in the White House makes no difference to Israeli policy as you can see from the map below.

Besides ensuring the continual flow of US funds to Israel and the State of Palestine remains unrecognized, AIPAC prefers US servicemembers to fight Israel’s enemies in the Middle East. This is why we saw Dotard Trumpf order USCENTCOM to bombard the starving Shia Houthis of Yemen.

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

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-us-military-spending-8e6e5033f7a1334bf6e35f86e7040e14

https://www.timesofisrael.com/massive-heat-wave-to-hit-israel-this-weekend-meteorological-service-warns/

https://www.middleeasteye.net/live/israel-gaza-palestinians-killed-genocide

https://archive.ph/GhECk

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/palestinian-population-by-state

Trumpf Junta Completely Out of Control

AIPAC-supported politicians like Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was out at full force calling Qatar’s gift to Trumpf Hamas Force One, while other critics call it Bribe Force One. The reality is that Qatar is an ally of the US and hosts CENTCOM Forward at Al-Udied Air Base, but this doesn’t excuse the idiotic bribe from the al-Thani ruling clique. The family has been unable to sell this particular Boeing jumbo jet for several years, so rather than keep paying the exorbitant maintenance costs, they off-loaded it on Dotard Trumpf. The Trumpf Crime Family (TCF) had sealed a deal for a five billion dollar golf resort in Qatar.

This new plane will take time and money to equip and test it to USAF and Presidential standards: Tempest proofing, defensive apparatus, extra fuel tanks, exhaustive air-worthiness checks, and counterintelligence sweeps for hidden devices. The legality of who owns this Flying Babylon is in question as the POTUS is a civil servant and Constitutionally prohibited from accepting personal gifts.

Source:

https://apnews.com/article/trump-qatar-deal-conflicts-saudi-arabia-emoluments-7379bee2e307d39bd43b534a05ae3207

US Attorney General Pam Bondi Conducts Insider Trading

If you look carefully enough, you will see Pam Bondi smirking as she renders an oath to testify truthfully before Congress.

Source:

https://www.propublica.org/article/pam-bondi-trump-media-stock-tariffs

EPA Delays Limits on “Forever Chemicals” in Drinking Water

The Environmental Protection Agency is delaying the timeline for water utilities to comply with reducing some per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS chemicals, in drinking water — and reconsidering the allowable levels for others.

PFAS are a class of thousands of chemicals that have been used for decades to waterproof and stainproof a variety of products including clothing, cosmetics, upholstery, and firefighting foams. They’re sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they contain strong molecular bonds that persist for decades. Long-term exposure to PFAS has been linked with harms to human health, such as certain cancers or damage to the liver and immune systems.

State of Florida Bans Fluoride in Public Water

Not to be outdone by Washington Republicans, Florida has become the second state to officially ban fluoride in public water. Utah was the first with this lunacy.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called the fluoridation of water “forced medication,” saying it violates “informed consent.”

“The move to block fluoride has been decried by major health organizations, who warn that it would negatively affect residents’ health.”

Nota Bene: The governor of the Sunshine State is an Ivy League graduate like VPOTUS JD Vance.

Sources:

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-it-will-keep-maximum-contaminant-levels-pfoa-pfos

www.nbcnews.com

Department of Homeland Security Requests National Guard Support for Mass Deportations

Many Americans escaped service in the Vietnam War by joining their state’s National Guard, like former Republican VPOTUS Dan Quayle. These citizen-soldiers from Ohio were deployed to Kent State University to quash student demonstrations.

Note Bene: This month marks exactly 55 years since Ohio Army National Guardsmen opened fire on unarmed college students at Kent State University, killing four of them. No one was ever convicted for their murders.

Mary Ann Vecchio gestures and screams as she kneels by the body of a student lying face down on the campus of Kent State University on 4 May 1970.  (Photo: John Filo / AP)

Source:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/dhs-requests-20-000-national-guard-troops-to-help-with-mass-deportations/ar-AA1ERO2u

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr Swam in Sewage Tainted Creek

RFK Jr committing child abuse in this toxic creek. (Image: social media)

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr posted photographs of his grandchildren swimming and wading with him in sewage-tainted Rock Creek, Wash DC this past weekend. The creek is known for having a sewage overflow problem and posing a health hazard to any who enter it. The National Park Service, which manages the Rock Creek Park, strictly bars all use of the water there and the park’s other waterways due to the “high levels of fecal bacteria” and ‘infectious pathogens.’

Rock Creek Environmental Reports: Link One Link Two

Mental Illness Spreading in America

Lunatic Suspected in Killing 50 Birds in San Francisco Area

Photo: Tim Graham / Getty Images

Since Feb 2025, more than 50 birds have been killed in the vicinity of Bernhard Avenue in Richmond, north of Berkeley, CA. Several witnesses describe hearing a loud crack before the birds plunge to the ground, and one homeowner described how the creatures “explode” on impact in “traumatic” scenes. Many of the homeowners fear a power line running across the street could be malfunctioning and electrocuting the birds.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife Wildlife conducted necropsies and confirmed that the bird’s injuries were consistent with trauma from a pellet gun, BB gun, or a slingshot, not electrocution from power lines.

As if these harmless birds aren’t already ecologically threatened by pesticides, drought, and pollution, some maniac is killing them with a BB or pellet gun. Shooting at power lines is not a good idea either. Note that Rachel Carson’s classic book will be 63 years old this year.

At times like this, Coriolanus wishes he wasn’t retired but is confident the heinous perpetrator will be caught.

Sources: 

Link 1

https://www.newsweek.com/dead-birds-richmond-california-explode-power-gun-2071521

Texas Mother Arrested on Terrorism Charges

Ashley Pardo mugshot.

Ashley Pardo (33) is accused of buying ammunition, tactical gear, and supplies for her son who was planning a mass casualty attack at a San Antonio, Texas school. This maniac was arrested and charged with aiding in commission of terrorism after a relative tipped off police. Jeremiah Rhodes Middle School went on high alert and her son was detained without incident. A homemade explosive device was recovered; written on it was “For Brenton Tarrant,” a white supremacist who shot and killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand in 2019. Reportedly Ashley Pardo was reimbursing her son for baby-sitting his younger siblings with these lethal purchases.

‘Pardo was well-aware of her son’s “violent expressions and drawings,” and had been warned in the past by police, Child Protective Services, and the school district. Not only was Pardo not troubled by his behavior, she “expressed to the school her support” of it.’

Remarkably, Ms. Pardo made $75,000 bond and is now on pre-trial supervised release.

In an average year, 4,330 people die by guns in Texas. Firearm licenses in 2021: 1,006,555. 45.7% of Texan adults live in homes with firearms. Throughout the US, every eleven minutes someone is killed with a firearm.

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

Sources:

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article306384041.html

Bexar County

Serial Killer Praises Dotard Trumpf Before Execution

Glen Rogers circa 1995. (Photo: public domain)

Glen Rogers, dubbed the “Casanova Killer”, saved his last words for President Dotard Trumpf right before he was executed by lethal injection in Florida. “President Trump, keep making America great. I’m ready to go,” he said. Rogers (62) was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Tina Marie Cribbs. He stabbed the mother-of-two to death in a motel room after they met in a bar. Glen Rogers is suspected of having committed several other murders and was also known as the “Cross Country Killer” because the victims all lived in different states: Florida, California, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

That a serial killer would praise racist, greedy oligarch Dotard Trumpf speaks volumes about the type of people that support the current president. Critically important though is that by executing Glen Rogers, authorities lose a source of information about other murders he may have committed that remain unsolved. Rogers may have traded information for better accommodations, increased visitation rights, or any other minor benefit a prison might afford. The FBI and local investigators can’t interview his corpse.

Source:

https://www.newsweek.com/casanova-killer-praises-trump-final-words-before-execution-2073102

UN: Russia Responsible for Shooting Down Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17

The UN aviation agency ICAO ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014. All 298 passengers were killed when it was shot down by a Russian-made missile. The Kremlin has always denied any responsibility for the air disaster. 196 Dutch, 38 Australians, as well as Belgian, Malaysian, and British nationals on board. This represents the first time in ICAO’s history that its Council has made a determination on the merits of a dispute between Member States under the Organization’s dispute settlement mechanism.

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

Source:

https://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/Insert-Subject-Here.aspx

German Security Agencies Neutralizing Threats

Three Russian Aviation Saboteurs Detained

German counterintelligence agents rendered a Russian terrorist ring ineffective. Three Ukrainian nationals were plotting parcel bomb attacks on cargo planes in Germany on behalf of Russia. Vladyslav T, Daniil B, and Yevhen B, were detained in Germany and Switzerland, accused of “secret agent activity for sabotage purposes.”

The explosive devices were rigged to ignite in mid-air using pre-set timers repurposed from inexpensive Chinese electronics typically used for tracking lost items. Their impact was intensified by tubes disguised as cosmetics, which were filled with a flammable gel containing compounds such as nitromethane. In July 2024, European security agencies were shaken by three separate explosions in packages sent from Lithuania, which detonated in Birmingham, UK; Leipzig, Germany; and near Warsaw, Poland. Germany is the second-largest national supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the US and has pledged unwavering support of Kiev.

 Richard Moore, the head of MI6, warned in Nov 2024 that the Kremlin was waging a “staggeringly reckless campaign” of sabotage in Europe while also increasing its nuclear saber-rattling to scare off other countries from backing Ukraine.

Source:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/14/germany-arrests-three-ukrainians-over-alleged-russian-parcel-bomb-plot

Far-Right Group Banned; Four Leaders Arrested

The so-called “Kingdom of Germany” was proclaimed by its leader Peter Fitzek, who was among those arrested. The group may have as many as 6,000 rightwing followers.

The new German government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz banned the largest “Reich citizen” group in the country. This is an extremist far-right organization that calls itself the “Kingdom of Germany” and seeks to undermine the country’s democratic order. Hundreds of security forces in several states searched the association’s properties and the homes of leading members, arresting four of them. “The members of this association have created a “counter-state” in our country and built up economic criminal structures,” said the Interior Minister, adding that the group propagated antisemitic conspiracy narratives. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is the German analog to the US FBI.

Sources:

https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/EN/topics/right-wing-extremism/right-wing-extremism_node.html

https://www.nsnews.com/world-news/germany-bans-the-largest-reich-citizen-group-and-arrests-4-leaders-10651257

UK: MI6 Will Appoint Woman to Lead Agency for First Time

Ambassador Barbara Woodward of the UK Mission to the UN condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and expressed concern for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. She called for a ceasefire and criticized Palestinian resistance fighters. Dame Woodward also urged Israel to increase aid to Gaza and improve aid distribution. She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, but was criticized for not being tough enough on China while she was posted there. Dame Woodward will have her hands busy dealing with Chinese espionage, Russia sabotage, and a less cordial relationship with CIA who had its first female director in 2018, Gina Haspel, an experienced clandestine services officer.

Footnote: UK counterterrorism police are investigating two separate fires at PM Keir Starmer’s houses which he rented out after moving into Ten Downing Street.

Sources:

https://www.thesun.ie/news/15187832/beijing-barbara-mi6-intelligence/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9wgrngplnro

Russia Update

Vladimir Putin Fires Commander-in-Chief of Russian Ground Forces

General Oleg Selyukov.

General Oleg Selyukov was fired by presidential decree on 15 May. He had been in this position since 2014 and commanded the Victory Parade on Red Square on 9 May. Vladimir Putin moved Selyukov to be deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council under Sergey Shoigu.

Putin refused to meet Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky in Istanbul this week, so that whole affair was a monumental waste of time and money. But it gave the diplomats the opportunity to enjoy delicious Turkish cuisine and hospitality while jabber-jawing at taxpayer expense.

Since Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, they have lost ~970,590 military personnel (plus 1,220 over the last 24 hours), 372 aircraft, 337 helicopters, and 10,820 tanks.

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

Link

Australia: Toxic Algae Bloom Kills 200 Species of Sealife

Toxins produced by the algae cause gill and tissue damage by attacking the red blood cells. The large density of the bloom also means that oxygen is being taken out of the water, suffocating marine life like this shark above.

A vast bloom of toxic algae is killing more than 200 species of marine life off the southern coast of Australia. The algae, Karenia mikimotoi, appeared in waters around South Australia in March, causing mass deaths in species including sharks, rays, crabs, and octopuses. Carcasses are littering the beaches of Kangaroo Island, Yorke Peninsula, and Fleurieu Peninsula, affecting tourism. The toxic algae bloom stretches across 1,700 square miles

California recently suffered a toxic algae bloom which killed thousands of sea creatures which you read about here in a previous post. Pollution, plastics, and global warming are destroying our oceans.

Source:

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/world-news/article/302548/Toxic-algae-killing-marine-life-off-Australian-coast

Alleged Forgery Stifles Trumpf-Kushner Hotel Development in Serbia

(Photo: Andrej Isakovic / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images)

In Serbia, the prospect that the historic complex would be demolished and replaced with a luxury hotel benefiting Dotard Trumpf has spurred outrage. Several protests have been held in Belgrade opposing the demolition of the site. “This was all to make room for the Trumpfs,” complained Dragan Jonic angrily, a lawmaker who led protests against the project.

“The Trumpf family’s $500 million luxury hotel project in Serbia, slated to be built on the site of a bombed-out Defense Ministry building, has run into an embarrassing complication. A key document the Serbian government has relied on to deliver this deal was forged, officials reported. The leader of the Serbian agency charged with protecting cultural monuments admitted to the authorities that he had forged a government document allowing the former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense headquarters in Belgrade to be demolished and replaced with the Trumpf hotel.”

Source:

Argentina: Treasure Trove of Third Reich Information Found

Local authorities check Nazi-related documents that were recently discovered in the country’s Supreme Court basement. Photo: Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Republica Argentina/Handout via REUTERS

Argentine Supreme Court officials uncovered hundreds of long-forgotten Nazi documents, membership cards, and propaganda materials in the court’s archives. Staff had discovered these confiscated 84 year old documents while relocating materials to a museum.

A few weeks earlier, the Argentine government released nearly 1,850 de-classified documents that show how Nazi fugitives escaped to the country after World War II and made them available to the public.

Both the archived materials and the declassified documents will shed light on the Nazis’ global financial networks and activities during World War II, as well as the financing of their escape routes to South America via so-called “rat lines” after the war.

Sources:

Supreme Court Archives 

Declassified Records

Unhappy Chained Dog Gets Brand New Wonderful Life for Only $23

Donald Trumpf Waved Off Israeli Strike on Iran to Placate Vladimir Putin

Israel had planned to strike Iranian nuclear sites as soon as next month but was waved off by Donald Trumpf in recent weeks in favor of negotiating a deal with Tehran to limit its nuclear program, according to press reports. Trumpf claims he made his decision after months of internal debate over whether to pursue diplomacy or support Israel in seeking to set back Iran’s ability to build a bomb, at a time when Iran has been weakened militarily and economically.

Has Donald Trumpf been in office long enough to “internally debating” this issue from his golf resorts?

The Reality

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet at the Kremlin in Moscow on 17 Jan 2025. (Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofyev / Pool via AFP)

While Benjamin Netanyahu can’t wait to get the US to help him destroy Iran’s infrastructure, Trumpf has another master in the Kremlin. Tehran and Moscow signed a twenty-year cooperation treaty and are economically enmeshed. Iran has been sending Shaheed drones to Russia for three years in its brutal war on Ukraine. As predicted, Donald Trumpf cannot please two masters at the same time, so Vladimir Putin trumps Benjamin Netanyahu on the issue of attacking Iran. For now, Netanyahu will just have to settle for the hardworking American taxpayer wasting billions on obliterating the Shia Houthis, as that won’t affect the Kremlin’s investments or interests in Iran.

Attacking Hodeidah is a deliberate act of cruelty by the Trumpf junta.

The Ras Isa fuel port on fire following US airstrikes (photo from social media via Al Mayadeen)

US forces bombed the Ras Isa fuel port in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeidah, targeting the facility with two attacks that killed dozens of civilian workers and paramedics. At least 80 people, including at least five paramedics, were killed, and 150 were wounded. The paramedics were hit by a second US attack on the facility that came after rescue workers had already arrived at the scene to help victims of the first strikes. Targeting medical personnel is a war crime according to the Geneva Convention.

Attacking the starving (Shia) Houthis also pleases (Sunni) Muhammad Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. But as you will see below, besides killing Houthis, Trumpf makes it up to ‘Bibi’ by doing something else nefarious for him.

An outstanding international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) remain active for Benjamin Netanyahu. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

 

Sources:

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/18/more-than-30-killed-80-injured-in-us-air-strikes-on-yemen-report

www.reuters.com

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/17/russia-and-iran-presidents-sign-partnership-treaty-in-moscow

Columbia University Dean of SIPA Former IDF Intelligence Officer

Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo poses with Hillary Clinton during Clinton’s 2023 guest teaching stint at Columbia University. With thousands of Palestinians being butchered in Gaza in 2023, what did these two find so hilarious? (Photo: Public domain)

Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo, Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University, is a former IDF intelligence officer and an official at Israel’s UN Mission in NYC. Yarhi-Milo played a significant role in drumming up public hysteria about a supposed wave of intolerable anti-Semitism sweeping over the campus during Israel’s Nakba against the Palestinians in 2023 and 2024. Dr Yarhi-Milo laid the groundwork for the extensive nationwide crackdown on civil liberties and ICE detentions, including Mahmoud Khalil.

Pro-Israel billionaires and oligarchs have donated $100 million to Columbia University and they are getting their money’s worth.

Now we know why Dotard Trumpf mistakenly called called General H.R. McMaster– he meant to call Governor H.R. McMaster (see last post).

Yehuda Kaploun and his wife with ethnic cleanser Dotard Trumpf.

Sources:

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/04/19/uger-a19.html

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64906

https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/dhs-to-begin-screening-aliens-social-media-activity-for-antisemitism

https://www.mintpressnews.com/

US National Security Council To Be Staffed By MAGA Cultists

The White House is starting to rebuild the NSC with aides that are staunchly aligned with Trumpf’s Make America Great Again agenda. Derek Harvey, a military intelligence analyst and retired US Army colonel, is expected to be named senior director for intelligence.

“Always, we’re letting go of people,” Trumpf told reporters about the firings of aides to National Security Adviser Mike Waltz in the wake of the Signal group chat controversy. “People that we don’t like, or people that we don’t think can do the job, or people that may have loyalties to somebody else.” 

The man selected to lead the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) is a former CIA officer associated with white supremacist paramilitary organizations. DNI nominated Joe Kent, a failed Republican politician who never won a race, to lead this important position.

White supremacist Joe Kent is vastly underqualified to lead the NCTC, a Senate-confirmed position. (Public domian image)

Followers of the Watch, Coriolanus is proud to have personally worked with a genuine analyst decades ago who would later go on to lead the NCTC, Ms. Christy Abizaid:

Former D/NCTC Christy Abizaid.

Purges continue in the US government and Coriolanus is doing his best to provide you the more interesting or impactful cases, like this vignette below, involving the manifestly underqualified USSECSTATE Marco Rubio.

6 Jan terrorist Peter Marocco, the Trumpf junta apparatchik in charge of dismantling USAID, left a meeting at the White House last week to return to his office at the State Department. But when he arrived, Marocco could not enter the building: security told him he was no longer an employee there. Word of Marocco’s firing quickly tore through the GOP and MAGA ecosystem, startling Trumpf’s loyalists who viewed the aide as part of an elite cohort of administration true believers. Loud voices on the right piled on Marco Rubella, accusing him of undermining their disruptive agenda. Rubella has also differed with Trumpf regarding Ukraine and Russia.

Just as the Third Reich cowardly eliminated their enemies, so does the Trumpf junta by not addressing the victims to their face. Employees are terminated by email or surprise, like Peter Marocco, who deserved his fate.

The NSC will undergo a dramatic Islamophobic and anti-NATO realignment, rife with faulty analysis and bellicose policy decisions– an AIPAC dream come true. When Democrats return to power, they should immediately rescind the over-abused POTUS Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF). The damage this right-wing NSC will cause will take years for Democrats to repair while Ukrainians suffer and the Palestinian population and their lands will be further reduced.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/national-security-council-rebuilding-aides-aligned-maga-agenda/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/little-marco-rubio-splits-with-trump-with-brutal-slapdown-over-ukraine/ar-AA1Dc5ws

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/18/marco-rubio-peter-marocco-usaid-firing-00297812

https://www.dni.gov/index.php/nctc-who-we-are

Ukraine-Russia Update

This Ukrainian POW amputee somehow survived Russian captivity for an unspecified amount of time. (Photo: Ukrainian government)

1) After ICC-indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin announced an ‘Easter ceasefire’ with Kiev, Russian forces carried out 387 attacks and 19 assaults. Ukrainian casualty counts are still being tabulated. 2) China is supplying weapons to Russia, including gunpowder and artillery, and Chinese representatives are involved in weapons production on Russian territory, Ukraine’s president President Volodomir Zelensky announced.  3) Fascist Viktor Orban of Hungary is urging countries against Ukraine’s ascension into the EU. The Putin acolyte vowed not to let Brussels “force” Budapest to accept Kiev’s EU membership, lying that Ukraine’s entry would harm Hungary’s economy. 4) A prisoner exchange with the Kremlin returned 277 Ukrainian POWs and 246 Russian EPWs. Most of the Ukrainians had been held in captivity for nearly three years. The Russian EPWs were most likely not undernourished like the Ukrainian POWs. 5) Christopher Smith is expected to become the US Ambassador to Ukraine. From 2022-23 he served as deputy chief of mission in Kiev. Bio: 2021-2025.state.gov

Trumpf’s Ukraine ceasefire is slipping away, a war he promised his supporters and the world that he would end within a day.

Russians Celebrate Trumpf Serving Russia’s Interests

Dotard Trumpf is a “Soviet leaders’ dream” according to a leading Russian scholar. Writing in a weekly Russian newspaper, the scholar praised the actions of Trumpf for “driving a wedge” between the US and “the European part of NATO.” Other Russian news outlets echoed these sentiments. Moskovsky Komsomolets described the actions of Trumpf as “destroying the world created by American liberals.” In another newspaper, Russian Duma Senator Alexei Pushkov wrote: “None of the steps Trumpf has taken threatens Russia’s interests directly.”

The Economist was much more charitable in their assessment of Trumpf:

“The American president increasingly looks like Russia’s willing dupe.”

An outstanding international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) remain active for Vladimir Putin. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Sources:

https://english.nv.ua/nation/zelenskyy-russia-launched-387-attacks-after-putin-declared-easter-ceasefire-50507790.html

https://archive.ph/vgTxZ#selection-1119.0-1123.68

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2043274/russia-donald-trump-ukraine

Ex-NYPD Sergeant Sentenced as Illegal Agent for China

Michael McMahon on his way to trial. (Photo: Public domain)

A former NYPD sergeant was sentenced to 1-1/2 years in prison for acting as an illegal Chinese agent. Michael McMahon (57) was hired as a private investigator to surveil a New Jersey resident as part of a global campaign by Chinese law enforcement to repatriate alleged criminals living abroad, known as Operation Fox Hunt. Two of McMahon’s co-defendants were similarly sentenced. McMahon said he thought he was working for a company seeking to recover embezzled funds, and would not have taken the job if he knew the Chinese government was behind it. “I was unwittingly used,” McMahon testified. 

China Monitors Its Citizens Worldwide

An NYPD officer with McMahon’s experience should have known better, as he’s not operating in a vacuum of knowledge about China and their oppressive system. Retired NYPD officers enjoy a healthy pension, pistol permits, and access to a tremendous network of gumshoes and security companies in the Big Apple, which McMahon flushed away.

Source:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/private-investigator-sentenced-prison-interstate-stalking-and-harassment-chinese-nationals

Powerful Explosion at Northrop Grumman’s Utah Rocket Facility

A powerful explosion destroyed part of Northrop Grumman’s solid rocket motor production facility in Promontory, UT.  Unbelievably, no serious injuries resulted from the blast which sent shockwaves through the surrounding area. The facility, known as “Rocket Ranch,” is a cornerstone of the US solid rocket motor (SRM) production capability and plays a central role in some of the nation’s most critical defense and space programs. An investigation and safety review are underway.

Sources:

https://www.ft.com/content/4a3cba7d-1377-479e-8a09-4ef1d0f989a3

https://www.rferl.org/a/wagner-veteran-timur-praliev-detained-us-mexico-border-russia/33271493.html

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69518211/3/united-states-v-praliev/

Canadian TV Show Mocks Trumpf Mercilessly

Trumpf has been in office three months and he has a 43% approval and 55% disapproval rating. Nearly 70% of CEOs disapprove of Trumpf’s tariffs, including oligarch Felon Musk. Trumpf was already named the worst president of all time (Joe Biden was ranked 14th greatest).

President Plane Crash’ Meme for Trumpf Mostly True

During the National Prayer Breakfast at the US Capitol, Trumpf mentioned the aviation disaster in which 67 people lost their lives after an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk US Army Helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport — and compared the odds of a helicopter and plane colliding to golf balls striking one another on a golf driving range:

“I guess the helicopter was high, and we will find out exactly what happened,” he said. “But the odds even if you had nothing, nobody, the odds of that happening are extremely small. You go to a driving range in golf and hit hundreds of balls, thousands of hours.”

He added, “I’ve never seen a ball hit another ball. … Balls going up all over the place, you never see them hit. It was amazing that could happen. There were a lot of mistakes made. It should’ve never happened.”

Besides this imbecilic comparison of an aviation tragedy to hitting golf balls, Trumpf and Felon Musk’s DOGE team began slashing the federal budget, including the FAA. Concern grew that American aviation would become unsafe. After another plane crash occurred shortly after the Washington calamity and the budget cuts, the internet meme “President Plane Crash” went viral. Remarkably, the pundits and aviation analysts were correct.

Just over 100 days in, 2025 is already the deadliest year for US aviation since 2001. Fear of flying has spiked with 29% Americans now thinking it is unsafe to travel by plane. Analysis reveals such concerns are not entirely unfounded. While the 21 accidents recorded up to 10 April are lower than the 24 recorded by this point last year ” the number of aviation fatalities in 2025 exceed that of the past 15 years combined. There have been 83 fatalities on civilian airliners in the US so far this year, making up 63% of the global total of 131. And this is not inclusive of helicopter crashes, so the overall aviation total is even higher. The rate of fatalities per month is, as such, ten times higher in 2025 relative to 2024.

Most Recent Airplane Crashes

Emergency crews respond after a plane crashed into the Platte River killing several people Friday, 18 Apr 2025, in Fremont, NE. (Photo: Nikos Frazier / Omaha World-Herald via AP)

The pilot of an airplane that crashed into a carport near Deer Valley Airport had only minor injuries. (Photo: 19 Apr, Phoenix Fire Authorities)

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2025/04/19/us-news/nebraska-plane-crash-leaves-3-dead/

https://nypost.com/2025/04/19/us-news/nebraska-plane-crash-leaves-3-dead/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2025/04/16/has-flying-in-america-become-more-dangerous/

Belize: US Hijacker Shot Dead Aboard Small Passenger Plane

A US man has been shot dead after hijacking a small passenger plane in the Caribbean nation of Belize. Fourteen passengers were on board the aircraft when Akinyela Sawa Taylor took control of the flight at knifepoint. Two passengers were injured, including one who was stabbed in the back.

Taylor ordered the pilot to take him out of the country, but was then shot in the chest by another passenger. The hijacker’s motives are unclear, but Taylor had previously been refused entry into Belize. How Taylor was able to get through its borders is unclear as is how another passenger was able to board the flight with a loaded firearm.

Akinyela Sawa Taylor is allegedly a US military veteran and he could have been suffering from PTSD and/or have been under the influence of drugs.

In another unrelated mystery that was recently solved in Belize, in Feb 2025 three American women were found dead in a beach resort in Belize. Officials first investigated the deaths as possible drug overdoses. Belize police identified the women as Kaoutar Naqqad (23), Imane Mallah (24), and Wafae El-Arar (26), who were staying at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort. Note: Carbon monoxide detectors are not legally required in homes and businesses in Belize, so many hotels and lodgings do not have carbon monoxide detectors. People have suffered adverse effects or died from exposure to carbon monoxide in Belize and indeed, forensic investigators determined in March that was the cause of their tragic and useless deaths.

Sources:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/17/belize-hijacking-plane

https://apnews.com/article/belize-american-women-dead-overdose-92244764df6318c7cdeb0985a39725f5

https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/cause-of-death-determined-for-3-young-u-s-women-found-dead-at-belize-resort/

Cats and Toddlers

The Nightmare That Is Now America

Followers of the Watch, there is much to cover and time is a precious resource. BLUF: The US police state under Donald Trumpf is a nightmare and national security is in utter disarray thanks to rank amateurs, buffoons, an alcoholic, and pro-Kremlin acolytes.

Vladimir Putin giving his protege instructions in this 2018 photo from the NY Times.

CIA Update

Senior CIA officer Ralph Goff (undated photo).

CIA has withdrawn Ralph Goff, an agency veteran and vocal supporter of Ukraine, from consideration to serve as its chief of clandestine operations. Goff had been appointed and given a start date for later this month before he was pulled from consideration. The CIA’s DDO is responsible for overseeing the agency’s covert activity and the gathering of HUMINT, one of the most challenging and vital aspects of the agency’s work. The role is commonly seen as one of the most powerful jobs in the agency. No immediate explanation was given as to why Goff had been withdrawn from consideration for this important position. Goff’s career at CIA spanned 35 years, and included significant stretches in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe. CIA declined to comment on this story.

MI6, CSIS, ASIO, and other NATO intelligence agencies have paid strict to this significant victory for Vladimir Putin.

Felon Musk Visits CIA HQ, Nose Pins Handed Out

The worst person in the world recently visited CIA HQ for talks on government efficiency. This is the first time Musk has visited the CIA since the establishment of DOGE.

Unlike other government departments, DOGE isn’t going to get unlimited access to CIA databases or internal systems because most of it is top secret, a source familiar with the issue said. CIA has an internal DOGE team that was formed after Trump’s executive order. The team that includes CIA career officials has been working for several weeks.

CIA officials didn’t give Musk an intelligence briefing, but discussed with him “how the CIA is unique” in comparison to other government agencies. Musk visited NSA HQ a few weeks ago, and they too must have placed clothespins over their noses.

Does anyone on the planet think that UK PM Keir Starmer, Canada PM Mark Carney, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, or Chinese Premiere Xi Jinping would allow Felon Musk into their main intelligence agency headquarters?

OPSEC (Operational Security) Non-Existent with US National Security Adviser

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz (undated photo from the public domain)

National security adviser Mike Waltz’s team regularly set up chats on Signal to coordinate official work on issues including Ukraine, China, Gaza, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, according to four people who have been personally added to Signal chats.

Two of the people said they were in or have direct knowledge of at least 20 such chats. All four said they saw instances of sensitive information being discussed.

It’s a more extensive use of the app than previously reported and sheds new light on how commonly the Trumpf administration’s national security team relies on Signal, a publicly available messaging app, to conduct its work. D/CIA Ratcliffe and D/DNI Tulsi Gabbard were already grilled by the US Senate over the previous court-martial offense of using a commercial phone app while discussing national security information about bombing the Houthis. The Israeli Mossad were livid because the group chat on Signal discussed one of their HUMINT sources in Yemen.

Now we learn that Mike Waltz and other senior officials also use their personal Gmail accounts for government business. The administration’s handling of sensitive information is already under severe scrutiny, and Gmail is even less secure than Signal.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is a successor to the man below, which is absolutely breath-taking.

USSECDEF Pete Hellsbreath Plagiarizes Heritage Foundation

The hits just keep coming with this All-Star line-up selected by Dotard Trumpf. USSECDEF Pete Hellsbreath issued a secret memo outlining US military priorities which comes straight from the conservative Heritage Foundation, including some passages that are nearly word-for-word duplications of text published by the think tank in 2024. The memo outlines Trumpf’s vision to prepare for and win a potential war against Beijing and defend the US from threats in the “near abroad,” which may include Greenland and/or the Panama Canal. Iran is mentioned several times as a powerful adversary.

Besides spilling classified information on Signal to an uncleared journalist which the US military pilots said potentially endangered their mission bombing starving Houthis on Israel’s behalf, Hellsbreath committed other blasphemies. He brought his wife into official meetings and like a good nepotist, gave his brother a cushy job in the Pentagon. Lacking any imagination, Hellsbreath, who was removing all traces of minorities and females from DOD websites, stole the blueprints for America’s national security from a conservative think-tank itching to get America involved in another war, most likely against Iran.

Notorious Islamophobe Sebastian Gorka is a senior advisor to Trumpf and wants to destroy Iran.

A US-led war against Iran has been a dream of Israel, AIPAC, and Islamophobic Republicans for decades because Tehran stands up for the Palestinians. ICC-indicted war criminal Putin will warn his protege in the White House that attacking Iran is not in the Kremlin’s interest. Russia has invested heavily in Iran which provides them drones and other materiel. ICC-indicted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu and US Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will just have to settle for American taxpayer-funded, US military strikes on the starving Shia Houthis for the time being.

Loyalty Tests Purge National Security Staff

Rightwing conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer (11 Sep 2024 photo: Matt Rourke / AP)

Dotard Trumpf fired six national security council staffers after a fraught meeting in the Oval Office where the far-right psychopathic Laura Loomer presented opposition research against a number of staffers that she said showed they were disloyal to the US president.

The firings encompassed four staffers who were fired overnight, right after the meeting, and two who were removed over the weekend. This created the extraordinary situation where Loomer appeared to have more influence than national security adviser Mike Waltz over the NSC and undercutting Waltz in having his own aides axed.

The fired officials included Brian Walsh, the senior director for intelligence who previously worked for now USSECSTATE Marco Rubio on the Senate intelligence committee; Thomas Boodry, the senior director for legislative affairs who previously served as Waltz’s legislative director in Congress; and Maggie Dougherty, the senior director for international organizations.

This is the Islamophobic Laura Loomer that began the rumors of Haitians eating cats that Dotard Trumpf listens to:

American Police State Out of Control

On 2 April 2025, the New York Times finally wrote that the police state finally arrived in America. What took them so long?

FBI Raid Home of Computer Scientist Who is Now Incommunicado

Xiaofeng Wang (Undated photo from public domain)

Xiaofeng Wang, a prominent computer scientist who has spent 20 years publishing academic papers on cryptography, privacy, and cybersecurity, has gone incommunicado. His professor profile, email account, and phone number were removed by his employer, Indiana University, after his home was raided by the FBI. No one knows why.

“The FBI conducted court authorized law enforcement activity at homes in Bloomington and Carmel Friday. We have no further comment at this time.”

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – 28 Mar: The FBI works at the scene of a resident in the 3000 block of South Xavier Court. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan / The Bloomingtonian)

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – 28 Mar: The FBI works at the scene of a resident in the 3000 block of South Xavier Court. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan / The Bloomingtonian)

par.nsf.gov

par.nsf.gov

par.nsf.gov

Maryland Man Wrongfully Deported to Notorious El Salvador Prison

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a loving father, husband, son, brother, union construction co-worker, and CASA member. (Photo: gofundme page)

The Trumpf junta has been using the archaic Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to circumnavigate the immigration review and judicial process enshrined in the US Constitution. This “shoot first, ask questions later” approach will lead to terrible mistakes, like this appalling episode.

The Trumpf administration admitted in a court filing that an “administrative error” and an “oversight” resulted in a Salvadoran man’s deportation and imprisonment in a supermax prison in El Salvador, despite a legal order prohibiting his removal there.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was removed from the US on 15 Mar as part of a series of deportation flights that sent hundreds of alleged gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, even though an immigration judge had granted him a legal protection from deportation.

There is no information as to how the Trumpf junta will return Mr. Garcia to the US and what his physical condition is after being in a notorious mega-prison crammed with hardened criminals and real gang-members for two weeks.

Judge Holds ICE Agent in Contempt of Court

Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville. (Photo: Pat Greenhouse via AP / Boston Globe)

Boston Municipal Judge Mark Summerville is holding ICE agent Brian Sullivan in contempt after he detained a suspect while the man was on trial. The agent detained Wilson Martell-Lebron last week as he was leaving court. Judge Summerville issued a ruling against Sullivan, arguing that he had deprived Martell-Lebron of his rights to due process and a fair trial by taking him into custody.

“It’s a case of violating a defendant’s right to present at trial and confront witnesses against him,” Judge Mark Summerville said from the bench. “It couldn’t be more serious.”

Summerville dismissed the charge against Martell-Lebron of making false statements on his driver’s license application — namely that he wasn’t Martell-Lebron. After that, Summerville filed the contempt charge against Sullivan, which could lead Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden to review the case and determine if any charges should be filed.

Wilson Martell-Lebron (Family photo / Erkan & Sullivan PC via AP)

American Policing at Local Levels Needs Complete Overhaul

As if living under the Trumpf junta wasn’t terrible enough, the legacy of hiring underqualified or racist police officers at the local level in America continues, as you have read here on Coriolanus. Here are more examples of serious dysfunction.

NJ State Trooper Arrested for Alleged Dog Killing, Vandalism, Assault

A New Jersey state trooper faces multiple charges after allegedly shooting and killing his dog, fleeing his home, vandalizing a stop sign, and assaulting a local police officer.

Authorities arrested Alexander Lark in Wayne Township. He is charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. He also faces a municipal violation for discharging a firearm. Animal cruelty charges are pending. An affidavit of probable cause states that Lark appeared to be under the influence of an unidentified substance.

Four Texas Deputies Commit Suicide in Six Weeks

From left to right: Long Nguyen, Christina Kohler, Maria Vasquez, William Bozeman (Harris County Sheriff’s Office)

The Harris County sheriff’s office in Texas is mourning the loss of four current and former deputies who died by suicide in just six weeks. There is insufficient information to correlate anything connecting the four at this time and Coriolanus will not speculate as to what drove these deputies to kill themselves, but clearly something is amiss in Harris County and in American policing in general.

Harris County, Texas.

American policing requires a complete overhaul, but this will never happen. The US has thousands of counties and local municipalities within 50 states, each with their own standards, budgets, and hiring practices. So, Americans have to suffer not only with professional jackbooted police officers at the federal level, but with a melange of unfit police officers at the local levels.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/01/waltz-national-security-council-signal-gmail/

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/01/mike-waltz-signal-gmail-security

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/03/laura-loomer-trump-meeting

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-administrative-error-deporting-man-el-salvador-prison/

https://www.axios.com/2025/04/02/hakeem-jeffries-mike-waltz-gmail-signal-hegseth

https://www.gofundme.com/f/legal-aid-for-kilmar-abregogarcias-government-abduction

https://apnews.com/article/boston-immigration-ice-municipal-court-due-process-f2d13626ffba28025a3e0314fa6ca908

https://wcyb.com/news/nation-world/texas-harris-county-sheriffs-office-mourns-4-deputies-lost-to-suicide-in-6-weeks-william-bozeman-christina-kohler-maria-vasquez-long-nguyen-mental-health-behavioral-health-division-support-crisis-lifeline

USAG Pam Bondi Seeks Death Penalty for Luigi Mangione

US Attorney General Pamela Bondi released the following statement:

“Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”

Make America safe for the oligarchs again is what Lady Dracula means.

Blonde-haired sycophant to Trumpf USAG Pam Bondi refused to investigate Trumpf University when she was Florida’s Attorney-General and is now using federal resources to investigate Tesla vandals.

The late oligarch Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthCare (UHC) amassed himself a tidy fortune by denying healthcare to premium-paying patients using cost-benefit analysis of who gets to live and who gets to die. The strategy used was “Delay, Deny, and Defend” to fight payouts to people who paid thousands of dollars in premiums to the AARP Medicare Advantage program he operated, one of the worst health insurers in the world. UHC’s aggressive and appealing marketing campaigns bring them thousands of unknowing elderly customers every year who go on to receive the worst medical outcomes. Coriolanus knew a suffering victim of Brian Thompson– a man who put profits over people– and so the oligarch paid the ultimate price for his greed.

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

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-pamela-bondi-directs-prosecutors-seek-death-penalty-luigi-mangione

https://www.luigimangioneinfo.com/

Australia Shuts Down Six Confucius Institutes

Six Australian universities have quietly closed Chinese government-linked Confucius Institutes (CI) on their campuses, leaving seven open nationwide. Canberra has ramped up scrutiny on the education centers over concerns that Beijing is using them to spread propaganda and spy on Chinese international students. Beijing says its Confucius Institutes, which offer Chinese language and cultural classes overseas, are a “bridge reinforcing friendship” with the world. Western intelligence agencies have been concerned about Beijing’s global reach through these education centers. Some universities in America and Europe also closed some of their branches.

AI estimates there are approximately 30 Confucius Institutes operating in the US, down from a peak of around 1,201. In Canada, there are 13 Confucius Institutes operating. Beijing also operates secret police stations to spy on Chinese citizens in the US.

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx1dyxyg10o.amp

https://www.oni.gov.au/news/asio-annual-threat-assessment-2025

Toxic Algae Off Southern California Kills Hundreds of Sea Lions, Dolphins, Birds

A sea lion with domoic acid poisoning experiences involuntary muscle spasms as toxic algae off the coast of Southern California kills or sickens hundreds of marine mammals. (Photo: Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute)

An early toxic algae bloom off the coast of Southern California is killing or sickening hundreds of sea lions, dolphins and seabirds, while forcing rescuers to make tough choices about “which animals to save.”

Studies reveal global algae blooms are growing, and warming waters may be to blame. Swirling blooms of turquoise phytoplankton along coasts may be happening more often and getting bigger, according to new research published in Nature, raising concerns about the impacts of climate change on the world’s oceans. 

Phytoplankton are microscopic algae, and a “bloom” is a sudden explosion of them, sometimes covering hundreds of square kilometers of ocean. The study found that over that period, the global median frequency of algal blooms increased by 59%, and the total area affected by the blooms expanded by nearly four million square kms — close to half the size of Canada.

This spectacular view of intensifying phytoplankton blooms was captured by NASA’s Aqua satellite and then shaded by researchers to illustrate the data captured. (Illustration: Lian Feng)

Some oceanographers claim that we may be the last generation to enjoy genuine seafood because of the algae, pollution, chemicals, and plastics that have poisoned the world’s oceans.

Sources:

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2025/03/31/southern-california-toxic-algae-killing-sea-lions-dolphins/1081743463448/

23andMe DNA Data Up for Grabs After Going Bankrupt

Customers of 23andMe are rightly concerned about what could happen to their DNA profiles now that the ancestry-research company has filed for bankruptcy. “It looks like it’s up for grabs,” he said of the genetic information. “And there doesn’t really seem to be any parameters regarding its use.”

After a customer provides a saliva sample, DNA-testing companies like 23andMe provide a profile of a person’s genetic heritage. Police used forensic genetic genealogy to solve crimes. 23andMe had a data breach in 2023 and paid out $30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. Under bankruptcy, the company’s DNA database of more than 15 million customers could potentially be sold as an asset.

As you are aware, oligarch Larry Ellison wants to put all America’s data, including DNA, in one large Oracle system for AI to study (17 Feb 2025).

Sources:

https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/12/larry_ellison_wants_all_data/

23andMe bankruptcy leaves customer DNA ‘up for grabs’: Attorney | NewsNation

Two Mass Murderers Believe They Were Fulfilling Trumpf’s Wishes

Mass murderer Patrick Crusius.

MAGA terrorist and white supremacist Patrick Crusius believed he was acting at the direction of President Donald Trumpf when he murdered 23 people and wounded 22 others at an El Paso Walmart on 3 Aug 2019, his defense lawyer told El Paso Matters. Crusius was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences in July 2023. Crusius admitted that he killed and wounded people at the Walmart because of the actual and perceived national origin of the people he expected to be at the Walmart. He further admitted that he intended to kill everyone he shot.

Crusius wrote a manifesto titled “An Inconvenient Truth” and uploaded it to the internet minutes before he commenced his attack. In it, he characterized himself as a white nationalist, motivated to kill Hispanics because they were immigrating to the US. The maniac admitted to selecting El Paso, a border city, as his target to dissuade Mexican and other Hispanic immigrants from coming to the US.

“He thought he had to stop the invasion because that’s what his president was telling him, which is just not rational,” defense attorney Joe Spencer said in his first extended interview about the mass shooting that Crusius said was meant to stop “the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

“He thought, if he doesn’t do it, then nobody’s going to do it. He’s got to start,” Spencer said.

The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment from El Paso Matters. On 5 Aug 2019, two days after the El Paso shooting, Trumpf condemned the attack and the motives behind it: “The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate. In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America.” [Hah!]

Trumpf visited El Paso on 7 Aug, ignoring pleas from much of El Paso’s elected leadership that he stay away because they felt his rhetoric may have played a role in the shooting. Trumpf’s vile hate-mongering may be responsible for another heinous mass murder, the slaughter at the Miami high school in 2018.

Mass murderer Nikolas Cruz. He offered to donate his brain to science.

Parkland Miami mass murderer Nikolas Cruz has mastered the talking points of Donald Trumpf. Before Cruz used an AR-15 assault rifle to kill 17 people, including 13 students, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, he idolized Trumpf. One of his most prized possessions was a MAGA hat; the rage-filled, paranoid teen posed with it on his head for Instagram and wore it while he practiced shooting a pellet gun in his backyard. Cruz even put the red hat on his mother’s urn during her funeral.

In a in a batch of released prison letters, Cruz expounds on politics and the letters show the unhinged killer remains deeply drawn to Trumpf’s divisive and negative political messaging, which takes aim at immigrants, liberals, and the media. Cruz seems to have taken especially seriously Trump’s unfounded allegations that illegal immigrants threaten American society and are more prone than others to crime. He is sentenced to life imprisonment without the chance of parole for one of the worst high school shootings in the US.

“Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”

Sources:

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/texas-man-sentenced-90-consecutive-life-sentences-2019-mass-shooting-walmart-el-paso-texas

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/from-parkland-school-shooter-nikolas-cruz-writes-of-support-for-donald-trump-ron-desantis-and-gun-rights-11143077

Signs That Your Dog Was Raised By a Cat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adjusting for inflation, US aid to Israel from 1951 to 2022 totaled $317.9 billion, making it the largest recipient of American foreign aid since World War II.

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

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

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

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

“Uh, just one more thing, Senator…”

Citations:

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://indivisibleeb.org/

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

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

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

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

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

Russia-Ukraine Update

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

Ukraine and Russia Exchange 175 POWs

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

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

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

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

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

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

Putin Increased Sabotage Attacks to Pressure Europe and US

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

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

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

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

Putin Puts Trumpf Call on Hold While Talking to Oligarchs

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

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

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

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

French Legislators Condemn Trumpf

The Statue of Liberty in Paris, France.

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

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

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

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

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

Citations:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

North Korean cigarette pack.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Citations:

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

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

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

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

US: Louisiana Prisoner Executed With Nitrogen Gas

The late Jessie Hoffman Jr was convicted of murder.

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

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

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

Sister Helen Prejean. (Undated photo)

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

Citation:

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

Ireland’s Little-Known Intelligence Agency: J2

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

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

FTA:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

G2/J2

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

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

Known Operations

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

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

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

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

Irish journalist Rory Carroll

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

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

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

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

Citations:

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

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

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

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

New Strain of Bird Flu Wipes Out Mississippi Poultry Farm

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

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

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

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

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

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

Citations:

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

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

UN: 151 Unprecedented Climate Disasters Struck World in 2024

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

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

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

The 2024 Los Angeles fires.

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

Citations:

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

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

Meet Dog That Behaves Like Cat

Israel Attacks Shia Houthis in Yemen

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.

Sources:

Israel Extends Attacks To Huthis In Yemen As Fears Of All-Out War Rise (rferl.org)

Israel’s offensive against Yemen, Syria, Lebanon is ‘dangerous escalation’ supported by US: Hamas (aa.com.tr)

Yemen in ‘a desperate situation’ as famine looms and hundreds of thousands face starvation | World News | Sky News

Famine in Yemen (2016–present) – Wikipedia

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

Austrian Far Right Party Scores Historic Win in National Vote

Since taking over at the helm of the Freedom Party (FPOe) in 2021, Herbert Kickl has rejuvenated the scandal-tainted party. Conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer reiterated his refusal to work with Kickl, who has called himself the future “Volkskanzler”, the people’s chancellor, as Adolf Hitler was termed in the 1930s. © Alex HALADA / AFP

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.

Sources:

Austria far right scores historic win in national vote (rfi.fr)

An espionage scandal rocks Austria, laying bare alleged Russian spying operations across Europe | AP News

Spy scandal revives fears of Austrian exposure to Russia (bbc.com)

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 largest and 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.

Source:

A lithium battery fire sent toxic gas over Montreal. Are we ready for such emergencies? | CBC News

Statistics (port-montreal.com)

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.

Source:

Dengue cases cross 1,500, 19 deaths recorded | Loop Trinidad & Tobago (loopnews.com)

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.

Sources:

Did a US F-22 shoot down a UFO? Photo of aerial object adds to mystery (militarytimes.com)

2023 Yukon high-altitude object – Wikipedia

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 Crooks was 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.

Sources:

politico.com/f/?id=00000192-26b6-d338-a9da-7eb6556f0000

Trump assassination attempts: Secret Service failed on key fronts, Congress finds – CSMonitor.com

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.”

In Dec 2023, a hedgehog was found hiding under a train seat on a service between Weybridge and London Waterloo.

The animal, named Hector, was taken in by a rail worker and his family.

Photo: South Western Railway

Sources:

Two squirrel travellers force Gatwick train cancellation (bbc.com)

Hedgehog found on train taken in by rail employee as sanctuary full (bbc.com)

Pagers Rigged with Explosives Kill Nine, Wounds 2,800 in Lebanon; Israel Blamed

A victim is carried on a stretcher outside American University of Beirut Medical Center as people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded and killed when pagers exploded across Lebanon on 17 Sep 2024.

At least nine people were killed and more than 2,800 others wounded, overwhelming Lebanon’s hospitals, when pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded Tuesday. No one has claimed responsibility for this terrorist attack, but the people of Lebanon are blaming Israel. Many of the injuries were described as gruesome and some victims lost their eyes.

Lebanese press reports said the pagers were relatively new and were part of an order of 5,000 given to Hezbollah operatives in the past few months. They had been using pagers to communicate as Israeli intelligence is able to track and record cellphones.

Hsu Ching-Kuang, founder of Taiwan-based manufacturer Gold Apollo, told reporters Wednesday his company did not manufacture the pagers, but rather authorized its brand to be used on devices produced and sold by a company called BAC in Budapest. Two or three ounces of explosives were secreted into each device which exploded simultaneously across Lebanon at approximately 3:30PM.

Iran state media reported the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those wounded by an exploding pager. Lebanon’s Hezbollah issued a statement Tuesday blaming the blasts on Israel, which has not officially commented. At least two Hezbollah members were reported dead as well as a child.

The Lebanese government condemned the attack as “criminal Israeli aggression.” Beirut is a recipient of US military assistance and its security services may request forensic assistance from Washington to determine the culprits of this attack. Lebanon also enjoys close economic and political ties with France whom they can also ask for investigative help.

If Israeli intelligence was responsible, this was a monumental counterintelligence and political blow against Lebanese Hezbollah, which also served to demonstrate Israel’s espionage capabilities. And this was also an innovative method of conducting Extra-Judicial Killings (XJK) across international borders which Israeli can deny perpetrating. If ISIS, al-Qaida, the FARC, or the IRA conducted this attack, the world would condemn it as terrorism.

Lebanese Hezbollah said it would continue its fight against Israel in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and that Israel should await “harsh punishment.”

US forces in Iraq should be prepared for reprisal attacks from Iran’s Shia proxies. Western commercial ships in the Red Sea or Gulf of Aden may see attacks from the Shia Houthis, who have become allies with Tehran and Lebanese Hezbollah. After the Sunni Saudi blockade created a catastrophic famine for Shia Yemenis, the Houthis accepted Iran’s aid and have since become proxies for Tehran.

Sources:

Pagers rigged with explosives kill 9, wound 2,800 in Lebanon (voanews.com)

BBC NEWS | Middle East | French nearly fired at Israelis

Russia Claims to Kill ‘Ukrainian Agent’ Plotting Assassination of Defense Executive

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said that its agents killed a suspected Ukrainian military intelligence officer allegedly plotting to assassinate a Russian defense industry executive.

The FSB identified the man as a Russian citizen born in 1984, accusing him of illegal trafficking explosives and claiming he was working on behalf of Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency.

According to Russian law enforcement authorities, the man was instructed by “his handlers” to create an improvised explosive device (IED), which was to be used as a car bomb targeting a defense executive in the Sverdlovsk region, a major hub for Russian defense manufacturing.

FSB agents reportedly killed the man during a gunfight as he attempted to place the IED in a cache. “While being apprehended, he offered armed resistance and was neutralized by return fire,” the FSB said in a statement.

Footage released by state news agencies showed the body of a man in a wooded area holding a handgun, along with images of what the FSB claimed were the explosive device components found in a garage.

The FSB did not identify the alleged target of the assassination plot, describing him only as a “senior employee of a defense company.”

There was no immediate response from Kiev about Russia’s allegations.

IEDs have killed high-value target (HVT) Russians during the war. The daughter of ultra-nationalist Putin-ally Alexander Dugin was killed in a bomb attack in August 2022 and in May 2023, pro-war blogger Zakhar Prilepin was seriously injured in an attack.

Sources:

Russia Claims to Kill ‘Ukrainian Agent’ Plotting Assassination of Defense Executive

Russian military intelligence officer injured in Moscow car bomb attack, Kommersant says | Reuters

Car bomb attack’ investigated in Moscow – amid conflicting reports military officer was target | World News | Sky News

Impeachment Proceedings Against France’s Macron Pass First Hurdle

The pomp and spectacle of the Paris Olympiad are over as reality returns for President Macron in this undated image. (AP – Thomas Padilla)

The hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) has accused President Macron of denying democracy in refusing to name a prime minister from one of their ranks. The procedure to impeach him got over the first hurdle on Tuesday but it’s highly unlikely the president will fall. LFI has accused Macron of carrying out an “anti-democratic coup” after he ruled out choosing its pick for prime minister, naming veteran conservative politician Michel Barnier instead.

petition, signed by more than 300,000 people, refers to Macron’s “unprecedented authoritarian drift … in the system of representative democracy.”

Impeachment proceedings have never gone this far before. Ten years ago, a proposal tabled by the right against then Socialist president François Hollande didn’t get beyond the committee stage.However, there is little chance of Macron being forced to step down. Under Article 68 of the Constitution, the motion now has to be examined by the assembly’s Law Committee, before being put to a wider vote by MPs. The text must be approved by two-thirds of MPs – 385 out of 577.

Mathematically that’s highly unlikely as Macron can count on his centrist Ensemble (Together) coalition and the mainstream right Republicans to vote against.

Outgoing prime minister Gabriel Attal has described the motion as “a declaration of war on our institutions.” The far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies – with 143 MPs – will not vote in favour either. RN leader Marine Le Pen has termed the motion a “sinister comedy” and accused the left of spreading “disorder and chaos.” The Socialists have also announced they will not vote to impeach Macron.

Should it pass the MP hurdle, it will then go to the Senate, where Ensemble and the Republicans hold a majority.

Tuesday’s vote is, however, a strong symbolic victory for the leftist alliance.

“It’s an opportunity to put Emmanuel Macron’s early departure on the public agenda,” said LFI MP Clemence Guetté, while fellow MP Antoine Léaument hailed a “parliamentary riposte”.

The New Popular Front (NFP) has called for nationwide demonstrations on Saturday “to depose Macron”.

Source:

Impeachment proceedings against France’s Macron pass first hurdle (rfi.fr)

Canada: Justin Trudeau Under Pressure as Liberal Party Loses Montreal By-Election

Louis-Philippe Sauvé celebrated with his Bloc Québécois supporters after his win in LaSalle-Émard-Verdun. Photograph: Canadian Press/REX/Shutterstock

Canada’s ruling Liberal party has lost a once-safe seat in Montreal, a result that is likely to put more pressure on the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to quit.

Elections Canada said that with 100% of the votes counted in the parliamentary constituency of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun, the separatist Bloc Québécois candidate, Louis-Philippe Sauvé, had beaten the Liberal candidate, Laura Palestini, by a whisker: 28% to 27.2%. The New Democratic party (NDP) candidate received 26.1%.

The election, which was held to replace a Liberal legislator who resigned, will put more focus on the political future of Trudeau, who has become increasingly unpopular after almost nine years in office.

Trudeau insists he will lead the party into an election that must be held by the end of October 2025, but some Liberal legislators have broken ranks to call for change at the top.

Alexandra Mendès, a Liberal MP who represents a Québec constituency, said last week that many of her constituents wanted Trudeau to go.

In the 2021 general election, the Liberal party won the Montreal seat with 43% of the vote, ahead of the Bloc Québécois on 22% and the NDP on 19%.

Polls now suggest that the Liberals will lose badly in the next federal election to the right-of-centre Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre. A Leger poll last week put public support for the Conservatives at 45%, a level rarely seen nationally in Canada, with the Liberals in second place at 25%.

Trudeau’s popularity has sagged as voters struggle with a surge in the cost of living and a housing crisis.

Poilievre has promised to do away with a federal carbon tax that he claims is making life unaffordable and last week vowed to cap immigration limits until more homes could be built.

Liberals concede the polls look grim but say they will redouble efforts to portray Poilievre as a supporter of the “Make America Great Again” movement led by the former US president Donald Trump.

Poilievre, an acerbic career politician who often insults his opponents, also says he would defund the CBC, Canada’s national public broadcaster. In April he was ejected from the House of Commons after he called Trudeau “a wacko”.

Source:

Justin Trudeau under pressure as his party loses Montreal election | Canada | The Guardian

Portugal Wildfire Deaths Rise to Seven After Firefighters Trapped in Blaze

A woman next to her home in Covelo, Gondomar, northern Portugal. Photograph: José Coelho/EPA

Seven people have been killed and more than 50 injured in wildfires ravaging central and northern Portugal after three firefighters died when their vehicle was trapped in flames.

Portugal’s civil protection service said 54 wildfires were burning nationwide, mainly in the north, with 5,300 firefighters mobilised. France, Greece, Italy, and Spain sent eight water-bombing planes through the EU’s mutual assistance mechanism.

More than 1,000 firefighters battled to control four separate blazes near the towns of Nelas and Aveiro, south of Porto, with TV footage showing residents frantically pouring buckets of water on rapidly advancing flames. In Aveiro alone, the blazes have consumed more than 10,000 hectares (24,710 acres) of forest and scrubland in the last two days, roughly the same area that has been burnt by fires so far this year across the country.

The national civil protection commander said the three firefighters – two women and a man – had been killed near Nelas. Four people, including a man retrieving tools from his shed, were reported dead.

Three firefighters died in Nelas, southeast of Porto, on Tuesday. Photograph: Pedro Nunes/Reuters

The fires forced the closure of two railway lines and several motorways, including part of the main road between Lisbon and Porto and could consume a further 20,000 hectares.

The weather conditions on Monday brought the highest risk of fire in northern Portugal since 2001, experts said. After a wet start to the year Portugal and Spain have recorded fewer wildfires than last year, but temperatures were above 30C across Portugal over the weekend amid exceptionally low humidity and strong winds, which have fanned the flames.

The government increased fire-prevention funding ten-fold and doubled its firefighting budget after deadly blazes in 2017 claimed 64 lives.

Scientists have said human-caused climate breakdown is supercharging extreme weather across the world, driving more frequent and more deadly disasters, from floods – as seen this week in central Europe – to heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.

Human-caused climate breakdown is making heatwaves more likely and more intense, such as the extreme heatwave in western Canada and the US in 2021.

Source:

Portugal wildfire deaths rise to seven after firefighters trapped in blaze | Portugal | The Guardian

UK MoD: Russia Suffered Over 610,000 Casualties in Ukraine

(Undated photo: Vladimir Smirnov / TASS)

Russia has likely suffered over 610,000 causalities, killed or wounded, since the beginning of its full-scale invasion, according to the UK Defence Ministry’s latest intelligence update.

Russian officials said that in 2023, the defence ministry was recruiting at a rate of 1,600 daily. However, publicly cited figures this year put the rate at around 1,000 daily.

The Washington Post, meanwhile, claims that the total number of Ukrainian and Russian servicemen killed or wounded since the start of Russian aggression has reached one million.

The WSJ, citing confidential data dating back to earlier this year from sources familiar with the matter, wrote that “the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed stands at 80,000 and the number of wounded at 400,000.”

“Western intelligence estimates of Russian casualties vary, with some putting the number of dead as high as nearly 200,000 and wounded at around 400,000,” the newspaper reported.

The Financial Times, citing a senior Ukrainian military intelligence official, reports that Russian forces have committed 38,000 personnel to fight in Kursk region, including assault brigades redeployed from southern Ukraine.

Russian forces recently recaptured territory in the Ukrainian salient, advancing northern Obukhovka, southeast of Korenevo.

Ukrainian and Russian forces continued to advance in Glushkovsky district amid continued fighting in the area.

Russian troops march during the Victory Day military parade in Red Square in Moscow, 9 May 2024.  Photo: Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters. President Putin recently ordered to boost the size of the army by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million

Source:

Russia has likely suffered over 610,000 causalities in Ukraine, says UK MoD | Euronews

Washington State Man Sentenced on Felony and Misdemeanor Charges for Actions During 6 Jan Capitol Attack

Benjamin John Silva (37) of Yacolt, WA, was sentenced to four months in prison, 24 months of supervised release to include four months of home incarceration, and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Silva pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder on 5 Apr 2024.

Silva was identified on 6 Jan 2021, at approximately 2:49 p.m., near an entrance to the Capitol building on the Lower West Terrace, often referred to as the Tunnel. Some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement on January 6th occurred at the Tunnel. Inside the Tunnel, Silva made his way to the front of a crowd of rioters confronting an established police line.

During the melee, Silva distracted a police officer while a seditionist behind him sprayed the line of officers with a chemical irritant. When police lines held, some attackers began leaving the Tunnel. But Silva fought to stay in and to pressed forward in a concerted effort with other rioters doing the same. Defeated, Silva made his way out of the Tunnel at about 3:07 PM but remained in the area outside the Tunnel for several minutes afterward.

The FBI arrested Silva on 25 July 2023, in Oregon.

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 Military Aid Packages to Ukraine Shrink Amid Concerns Over Pentagon Stockpiles

Photo: USAF

US military aid packages for Ukraine have been smaller in recent months, as the stockpiles of weapons and equipment that the Pentagon is willing to send Kiev from its own inventory have dwindled. The shift comes amid concerns about US military readiness being impacted as US arms manufacturers play catchup to the huge demand created by the war against Russia.

The shortage means the Biden administration still has $6 billion in funds available to arm and equip Ukraine, but the Pentagon lacks the inventory it is willing to deliver.

The US is ramping up production of key items, such as 155 mm ammunition and Patriot missile systems, both to supply Ukraine and to refill US inventories. But it is a yearslong process that won’t quickly meet the surging demand.

Before the war in Ukraine, the US produced approximately 15,000 155 mm artillery shells each month. With new factories and production lines opening, the US is now producing 40,000 shells a month. But it will still take more than a year for the Pentagon to hit its goal of 100,000 shells each month.

Ukraine is feeling the impact of the inventory shortages, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. During a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany this month, Zelensky told the US and other allies that deliveries of promised air defense systems were moving too slowly and warned of a “significant” shortfall in vital aid.

The US is still trying to announce a new aid package roughly every two weeks which Ukraine is “supportive of because they believe getting new packages every two weeks is a morale boost.”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has vowed to continue providing military support to Ukraine and announced a new $250 million aid package at the meeting in Germany this month. Austin acknowledged that the US is working to ramp up production and “speed up deliveries” to Ukraine.

“Time is of the essence, especially with winter on its way,” Austin said. “And we must all step up our support — and quickly.”

The US is simultaneously sending military aid to Israel. And as noted in a previous post, North Korea and Iran are assisting Russia with their supply shortfalls during this 2 ½ year war.

Source:

US military aid packages to Ukraine shrink amid concerns over Pentagon stockpiles | CNN Politics

The Lancet: Superbug Crisis Could Get Worse, Killing Nearly 40 Million People by 2050

This illustration of a bacteriophage shows its tripod-like form that mimics a tiny robot. These microscopic creatures have saved the lives of patients dying from superbug infections and are being used in clinical trials as a potential solution to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. In the US alone, more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year. SCIEPRO/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

Cumulatively, from 2025 to 2050, the world could see more than 39 million deaths that are directly attributable to antimicrobial resistance or AMR, according to the Lancet.

Antimicrobial resistance happens when pathogens like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to evade the medications used to kill them.

The World Health Organization has called AMR “one of the top global public health and development threats,” driven by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medications in humans, animals and plants, which can help pathogens develop a resistance to them.

The new study reveals that when it comes to the prevalence of AMR and its effects, “we expect it to get worse,” said lead author Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

“We need appropriate attention on new antibiotics and antibiotic stewardship so that we can address what is really quite a large problem,” he said.

Sources:

Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 1990–2021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050 – The Lancet

Nearly 40 million people could die from antibiotic-resistant superbug infections by 2050, new study estimates | CNN

Birth of Spectacled Bear Brings Joy to Farming Community in Peru

A spectacled bear was born in a rescue center built by a Peruvian farming community that has protected these animals for more than two decades.

The bear cub, which does not yet have a name, was discovered after park rangers in the community of Santa Catalina de Chongoyape, in northern Peru, noticed that a female bear named Lola did not leave.

Born in mid July, the little bear is the second birth after a female was born six years ago in a fenced area of several hectares where food and care are provided to ailing bears.

The farming community manages an ecological reserve where spectacled bears (Tremarctos ornatus) and other animals such as the white-winged guan (Penelope albipennis) are not hunted and can find a safe habitat for their lives in its carob trees and other types of flora.

The spectacled bear is a vulnerable species, according to the Red List of Threatened Species released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They are the only bear species in South America with potentially as few as 2,500 mature individuals remaining.

Source:

The birth of a spectacled bear brings joy to a farming community in Peru | AP News

CENTCOM: US, Iraqi Security Forces Kill 15 ISIS Operatives; In Yemen, Two Shia Houthi Drones Destroyed

A UH-60 Black Hawk flies during a 2022 mission targeting ISIS. (MAJ Karl R. Cain II/ US Army)

CENTCOM forces and Iraqi Security Forces conducted a partnered raid in Western Iraq in the early hours of 29 Aug, resulting in the death of 15 ISIS operatives.  Seven US casualties were reported. The ISIS element was armed with numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive “suicide” belts.  There is no indication of civilian casualties or if any prisoners were taken for interrogation or prosecution. Iraqi Security Forces continue to further exploit the locations raided. CENTCOM also reported in the past 24 hours they destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

The Houthis are a Shia Muslim minority in Yemen, seen as heretical by the majority Sunnis Muslims on the Saudi Peninsula. After the Yemen government collapsed earlier this century, Saudi Arabia, led by the king and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), supported the Yemeni Sunnis in the ensuing civil war. After the Yemeni Shias defeated and humiliated the Saudi Army in 2015, MBS instituted a Saudi air and naval blockade of Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. This created an appalling humanitarian disaster of starvation and disease. The UN estimates 130,000 deaths from lack of food, health services, and infrastructure as of December 2020.

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 image: Sky News).

The famine and blockade propelled the beleaguered Shia Yemenis into the arms of Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, their fellow Shia co-religionists.  This is why we see Houthi drone counterattacks against Western maritime targets in the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden after Israel conducts an Extra-Judicial Killing (XJK) in Lebanon, Syria, or sovereign Iranian territory (via drone, missile, jet, or assassin). The Shia Houthis are simply supporting the two groups that are helping them to survive. This humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen can be laid squarely at the feet of the notorious MBS, who allegedly had a dissident journalist named Jamal Khashoggi literally butchered and dismembered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on 2 Oct 2018.

Sources:

CENTCOM Forces and Iraqi Security Forces conduct partnered raid in Western Iraq > U.S. Central Command > Press Release View

15 ISIS militants killed, 7 US troops injured during Iraq raid (airforcetimes.com)

Yemen in ‘a desperate situation’ as famine looms and hundreds of thousands face starvation | World News | Sky News

The Houthis: Who They Are and Why Conflict Exists (brookings.edu)

Famine in Yemen (2016–present) – Wikipedia

Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi – Wikipedia

Hundreds of Taiwanese Disappear in China Like a Black Hole Over Past Ten Years

Victims of enforced disappearance in China (L to R) rights attorney Gao Zhisheng, retired university professor Sun Wenguang, 2022 bridge banner protester Peng Lifa, and the 11th Panchen Lama.

More than 800 nationals of democratic Taiwan have “disappeared” over the past ten years in China, which has long used forced disappearances to silence and control its own dissidents and rights activists, rights groups. Figures compiled by the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and several other non-government groups showed that 857 Taiwan nationals have been “forcibly disappeared or arbitrarily arrested” in China.

The victims include publisher Li Yanhe (pen name Fu Cha), detained in Shanghai since April 2023, democracy activist Lee Ming-cheh, who served a five-year jail term in Hunan province for “attempting to subvert state power,” and businessman Lee Meng-Chu, jailed for nearly two years for “espionage” after he snapped photos of People’s Armed Police personnel during the 2019 Hong Kong protests.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese lawmaker Hung Shen-han warned that it’s not only Taiwanese who are at risk of arbitrary arrest and “disappearance” in China. “Chinese citizens themselves face the same problem.”

Geng He, the US-based wife of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng said it has been seven years since he “disappeared” on 13 Aug 2017.

Disappeared Chinese rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng in an undated photo. (Weiquanwang)

Chinese authorities have also forcibly disappeared Uyghurs and Tibetans in the far-western part of mainland China. An estimated 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims have been detained in Xinjiang under flimsy pretexts during mass incarcerations that began more than seven years ago in an effort by Chinese authorities in a massive Sinicization project.

Former Xinjiang University President Tashpolat Teyip, who himself vanished in 2017 amid rumors he had run afoul of China’s increasingly hardline policies in Xinjiang has had no news about his brother, Nury, who also fell victim to an enforced disappearance. Teyip, who now lives in the US state of Virginia, said he has lost faith in the UN and international human rights organizations which did little to help except release a statement.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy highlighted a “disturbing trend” of underreporting of the number of Tibetans who are victims of enforced disappearances as China cracks down more heavily with restrictions and heightened surveillance in Tibet.  The rights group has documented more than 63 known cases of Tibetans subjected to enforced disappearance in Tibet over the past four years, but said the underreporting likely had to do with fear of reprisals. 

In February 2024, Tibetan performer  Gyegjom Dorjee (pictured below), who sang publicly about the exiled Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet and blasted Chinese leaders as “false,” was arrested in China’s Sichuan province.

In March, Chinese police arrested Pema, a Tibetan monk from Kirti Monastery, for staging a solo protest while holding a portrait of the Dalai Lama.  And on May 28, the Chinese authorities arrested Rabgang Tenzin who hoisted the Tibetan national flag in Tibet’s Chamdo prefecture as part of a consecration ceremony.  

The U.S. Congressional Executive Commission on China and the Tibetan government in exile urged Beijing to reveal the whereabouts of one of the highest Tibetan Buddhist leaders, the 11th Panchen Lama, or Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as one of the “most prominent enforced disappearance cases.” He was abducted by Chinese authorities in May 1995, just days after the Dalai Lama recognized the then six-year-old as the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second-highest spiritual leader in the largest sect of Tibetan Buddhism. 

Source:

Hundreds of Taiwanese ‘disappear’ in China over past 10 years — Radio Free Asia (rfa.org)

Since Its War in Ukraine, Russia Relies More on “Bargain Basement” Spies

Pablo Gonzalez (second from left in back), a freelance journalist from Spain, listens to Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing him and other “swapped” Russian prisoners upon their arrival in Moscow on 1 Aug 2024. (Imagery: Radio Free Europe)

After Russia lost many of its valuable spy assets when dozens of diplomats were expelled from Western countries after the invasion of Ukraine, non-diplomatic civilian agents have now become essential. 90% of operations now carried out by these shadowy figures.

Many manage to avoid detection by working in innocuous jobs that allow them access to events and people of interest to Moscow. One purpose of these low-level spies is to exert influence on the Western world by infiltrating radical protest groups or opposition organizations.

A recent prisoner swap with Moscow included supposed art dealers and a Spanish-Russian freelance reporter Pablo Gonzalez, also known as Pavel Rubtsov.

On the surface, Pablo Gonzalez worked as a reporter for media outlets that included Deutsche Welle (DW) and the Voice of America (VOA), specializing in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. But in reality, according to the head of the British MI6 secret service, Gonzalez was gathering information on Russian opposition groups and trying to destabilize Ukraine in the run up to Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Polish authorities detained Gonzalez in February 2022. Until 1 August, he was held in a high-security jail on charges of spying for Russia — allegations he had denied.

Media watchdogs condemned the conditions in which Poland held Gonzalez, but video footage of him being welcomed by Putin after the swap appeared to confirm his primary role was spy craft, not journalism.

Marc Marginedas, a correspondent for Spanish newspaper El Periodico, said despite the expulsions of Russian diplomats after the Ukraine invasion, the Russian intelligence service is like a small army. Staff in Russian embassies and state-run media organizations are probably forced to work in some kind of intelligence capacity. Marginedas agreed that “illegals” or “bargain basement” agents are now a mainstay of Moscow’s spying operation.

“Russia has invested heavily in ‘illegal’ agents who do not enjoy diplomatic protection,” he said. “Putin, by receiving those people with pomp at [Moscow’s] airport and promising them jobs and medals, was sending out the message to the future spies that the Russian state will not abandon its spies.”

Sources:

‘Renaissance of illegals’: Since its war in Ukraine, Russia is relying more on bargain basement spies (voanews.com)

Putin’s welcome ends speculation around true identity of Pablo Gonzalez

South Africans Flocking to Visiting Chinese Hospital Ship for Free Medical Care

The Peace Ark has a capacity to treat 700 patients each day and the service forms part of a joint exercise between the South African and Chinese armies. (Image: BBC)

As reported above, while undesirables are disappearing in China, Beijing is fostering goodwill in Africa with the Peace Ark, a 300-bed hospital that is docked in Capetown, South Africa. The military medical staff on board are providing free health care to needy South Africans.

Since the Peace Ark arrived last week, more than 2,000 South Africans have been treated on board – ranging from maternity check-ups and cataract surgeries to cupping therapy. Approximately 60 surgeries have been carried out so far, a tiny dent in the province’s waiting list of 80,000 patients.

The floating hospital leaves Cape Town for Angola before moving on to several other countries. The Peace Ark already visited the Seychelles, Tanzania, Madagascar, and Mozambique on this 10th excursion since being commissioned in 2008.

China enjoys a strong political partnership with South Africa, and this is Beijing’s latest show of soft power and a further step in China’s efforts to increase its influence on the African continent.

The 300-bed Peace Ark has a crew of 100, 20 intensive care beds, operating theatres, clinical departments, and a rescue helicopter.

Source:

Peace Ark: South Africans flock to Chinese hospital ship in Cape Town (bbc.com)

West Nile Virus Kills Two in New Jersey as US Death Toll Reaches Five; EEE Threatens New England

Two people have died in New Jersey after contracting West Nile virus — marking the fourth and fifth deaths in the US this year from the mosquito-borne disease. Little is known about the victims, beyond that they’ve been identified as “older adults.”

The deaths come on the heels of two virus-related fatalities in Wisconsin and one in Illinois. There have been a total of eight West Nile cases in New Jersey this year, leading to seven hospitalizations for encephalitis or meningitis. In 2023, 14 cases were reported in New Jersey and one death. NYC has reported six cases of West Nile and a total of 20 cases have been reported throughout NYS.

To the north as reported in a previous post, New England health authorities have been dealing with mosquitos carrying eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). Vermont’s health department is urging residents of several towns, including one bordering Quebec, to stay indoors from dusk to dawn to prevent the spread of a mosquito-borne illness.

Sources:

Department of Health | News | State Officials Urge Residents to Take Precautions Against Mosquito-Borne Illnesses (nj.gov)

West Nile kills 2 in NJ — 5 total dead across US (nypost.com)

Quebec towns near U.S. border alerted as Vermont faces mosquito-borne illness threat | CBC News

Jews and Arabs Hoped to Fill One Truck with Aid for Gaza Civilians. They filled 300.

Haviva Ner-David (R) with other Standing Together volunteers collecting humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza at Umm al-Fahem, a mostly Arab Israeli city in the Haifa district, 11 Aug 2024. (Photo: Faisel Mahagneh)

Standing Together, a joint Jewish-Arab Israeli national activist movement working for peace, equality and justice, had a plan to hire one big truck to go from one Arab town to another across Israel collecting donations of supplies. These would then be transported across the border and distributed to Gazan civilians through an international organization.

But already at the first site in northern Arab city of Sakhnin, it became clear more than one truck would be needed and volunteers filled three trucks. At Umm El Fahem, these volunteers collected 29 trucks full of aid. Donations included tuna fish, baby formula, bags of legumes and flour, as well as packages of diapers and menstrual pads. By the end of the humanitarian aid drive, which was extended a few extra days to include a couple more sites, Standing Together filled 300 trucks with supplies.

Before the war, back in January 2023, Standing Together organized the first mass demonstration against the government in Tel Aviv, drawing thousands of Arabs and Jews.

Humanitarian aid collected for civilians in Gaza at a warehouse in Umm al-Fahem, Israel, Aug. 11, 2024. (Jacob Ner-David)

Source:

Jews and Arabs hoped to fill a truck with aid for Gaza civilians. We ended up filling 300. – Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)

American Warzone: NFL Rookie Wounded During Robbery Attempt in San Francisco

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall during NFL football training camp in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, 31 July 2024. Photo by: Jeff Chiu/AP

America’s two favorite pastimes, firearms and football, collided this weekend when 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (23) was shot Saturday during an attempted robbery in central San Francisco.  Police said that Pearsall was injured while being robbed and so was the suspect. Both were taken to the hospital and Pearsall’s condition was reported as “good” by his teammate Deebo Samuel (posted on X).

In an average year, 3,299 people die and 9,787 are wounded by guns in California. The Golden State has the 32nd-highest rate of gun violence in the US. Per CBS News, California firearms licenses in 2021 numbered 406,360 and an estimated 28.3% of adults in California have guns in their homes. The number of illegal firearms in California is unknown.

Sources:

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Pearsall shot during attempted robbery (scrippsnews.com)

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

4. California – Gun map: Ownership by state – statistics and rates (cbsnews.com)

Baby Rhino’s First Video: Southern White Calf Born in Melbourne Zoo

The new rhino calf will be named by public vote in the coming weeks. His mother, Kipenzi, means “precious one” in Swahili. Imagery: Werribee Open Range Zoo

Kipenzi is an 11-year-old southern white rhino, one of the most numerous rhino subspecies. Her calf was born on 18 Aug, and unlike her first baby which she tragically rejected years ago, she has been an attentive mother this time around.

Sheltered from public view as the two bond, visitors will soon be able to see the new boy stomping about his enclosure. Dr. Mark Pilgrim, the zoo’s director, said that Kipenzi was “doing her best to shepherd it and keep it close to her, and making sure that it’s not wandering off too far. So she’s just doing the perfect thing we expect a mother rhino to do.”

Kipenzi herself was born at Werribee Zoo in 2013 to resident rhino Sisi, who also presented a danger to her calf as she would not let Kipenzi out of her sight, even just to walk alongside her to nurse.

Source:

Baby Rhino’s First Video: Adorable Footage of Southern White Calf Born in Aussie Zoo (goodnewsnetwork.org)