Federal prosecutors have announced an arrest in the Cornell threats case (see Sunday’s post):
Patrick Dai, age 21, a junior at Cornell University who is originally from Pittsford, New York, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications….
The complaint alleges that Dai posted threatening messages to the Cornell section of an online discussion site, including posts calling for the deaths of Jewish people and a post that said “gonna shoot up 104 west.” According to information provided by Cornell University Police and other public information, 104 West is a Cornell University dining hall that caters predominantly to Kosher diets and is located next to the Cornell Jewish Center, which provides residences for Cornell students.
In another post, Dai allegedly threatened to “stab” and “slit the throat” of any Jewish males he sees on campus, to rape and throw off a cliff any Jewish females, and to behead any Jewish babies. In that same post, Dai threatened to “bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews.”
The charges and the allegations in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The charge filed against Dai carries a maximum term of 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors….
As the saying goes, if you want to know what’s really going on, follow the money. That catchphrase doesn’t just apply to foreign companies and investors backing out of China. It also applies to the Chinese economy.
In the midst of widespread economic duress and growing social disruption, following the money trail shows how Chinese investors are voting with their wallets.
Consumer spending is down, and the savings rate is up.
Capital is flowing out of China any way it can, and it all amounts to a definite no-confidence vote for Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The CCP Tries to Hide the Facts
In true CCP fashion, the state puts the blame for its failed policies on those who point them out. Anyone who mentions the crumbling economy, for example, is guilty of creating “financial stability.” Even though the CCP would consider prosecuting journalists and economists who report accurately about the falling employment numbers and the high debt levels that plague local governments, China’s worsening economic conditions are too dramatic and widespread to hide.
Of course, financial stability isn’t threatened by people talking about it. It’s the CCP that’s destroying the economy. Even recent history shows that the less involved the Party is in the economy, the better it performs.
The property market and the development sector are perfect examples, though not the only ones. Both continue to be heavily manipulated by the CCP, and both are hemorrhaging value, as financial ruin in flagship companies such as Evergrande and Country Garden contribute to deteriorating conditions in the wider economy. Completed projects that remain unsold are being demolished, work on existing projects is being halted, and other development plans are being canceled, even as the development companies owe billions to creditors.
More Than a Cyclical Downturn
The reality of what’s happening is starting to dawn on the Chinese. Many understand that the current trend is much more than a cyclical downturn, which is typical of capitalist economies. Growth in the second quarter of 2023 was reported to be only 0.8 percent. Still, that statistic is hardly trustworthy in a country that runs on graft and political favors and routinely fudges the numbers. The reported third-quarter gain of 4.9 percent is touted but not believable, given the real estate collapse, falling consumer spending, and lower exports.
Going forward, as the CCP takes more control, a stagnant economy may be the best-case scenario. Jobs in property development, related industries, and manufacturing sectors are all struggling as foreign companies leave China’s shores.
Meanwhile, individual investors, mostly from the middle class—who put their life savings into properties that aren’t even built and likely won’t ever be built—are seeing their wealth evaporate before their eyes as valuations crater.
This stagnation is primarily due to two factors: internal policies and external ones. Internally, an economy based on graft and corruption rather than one based on market signals—such as the price mechanism that allocates resources and assets where they’re most needed in the economy—can’t sustain itself. Thus, turning profitable private enterprises into debt-ridden state-owned enterprises, which is a euphemism for confiscation by the CCP, has destroyed entrepreneurship—the economic engine of China.
Add to that the CCP’s fundamental shift from economic growth to internal security and stability. It’s a vicious cycle wherein more Party control results in less economic activity, financial duress, and civil discontent. The Party then doubles down on more state control and more oppression.
In short, the Party is more concerned with maintaining its grip on power than it is with growing the economy or supporting the middle class.
Companies Are Fleeing ‘Uninvestible’ China
But there are external factors, or consequences, as well.
Over the past year, the flight of Western manufacturers out of China has accelerated. American and European firms are seeing the writing on the wall. They see the world’s growing disenchantment with Beijing’s trade and foreign policies, with many anticipating a decline in economic stability and a greater degree of decoupling from China in the foreseeable future. As a result, they’re relocating their operations out of China to friendlier nations.
‘Friendshoring’ Making Things Worse
This trend is known as “friendshoring.” In essence, countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Mexico are capturing companies exiting China. They offer less political risk, friendlier trade policies, lower labor costs, and are closer to markets. Barring any major shifts in Chinese leadership, companies leaving China are unlikely to return, which is a growing economic and financial gap for the CCP to fill.
Other symptoms of the collapse are evident, such as the soaring unemployment rate for young people. It is now a reported 20 percent, but counting those who live with their parents for financial reasons, it’s likely approaching 50 percent. Underemployment makes that picture even worse, which is leading to an angry younger generation. Disaffected youth who see no good options for a better future can be a volatile force to reckon with.
The Race to Exit Chinese Real Estate
All of these reasons and others are why some wealthy Chinese have been selling their China properties as quickly as they can. They’re desperately trying to move their money out of China and invest abroad before the value of their Chinese real estate holdings loses even more value. They know the trajectory of the Chinese economy and want out.
Many are buying real estate in Japan.
It’s not just proximity attracting Chinese investors to Japanese real estate, although that is a significant factor. Another enticement is that owning real estate (or a profitable business) in Japan can lead to long-term or even permanent residency visas. That gives Chinese investors an easy way out of the country to avoid the coming meltdown, as well as avoiding the iron hand of the CCP.
The “China miracle” is no more.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
Weeks after Israel followed through with its threat to cut water supplies to Gaza, Palestinians living in the besieged territory are struggling to survive without the basic necessities. Residents of the area currently being bombarded by Israeli warplanes told Middle East Eye that obtaining water has become a “daily ordeal”, and they fear the spread of disease with a number of residents already dealing with stomach ailments and other illnesses.
Israel cut off water supply to Gaza shortly after the October 7 attack by Hamas-led Palestinian fighters on southern Israel. During the attack, around 1,400 Israelis died and more than 220 were taken captive. At least 8,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliation for the assault. Israeli authorities conditioned the resumption of water supplies on the return of the hostages, but has also attacked other means of water delivery and sewage treatment in the territory, such as desalination plants.
“Our access to water, be it for drinking or cleaning, has diminished significantly. The quest for even a modest amount of fresh water has become a daily ordeal,” said Osama al-Baz, a displaced Palestinian in Gaza. Baz’s family were forced to leave their home in northern Gaza on October 13 after Israel warned civilians living there that they were not safe.
They now live with friends in the south of the region, where they are part of a group of 20, including several elderly people and six young children. Calling Israel’s policies a form of “collective punishment”, Baz said getting “basic necessities such as water and food has become a daunting task”.
“On the few occasions when water is available, we rush with buckets and containers, hoping to salvage what we can. Every chance to obtain water feels like it could be the last. “On the rare occasions when we do obtain water, we prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable among us: the elderly, the infirm, and the children,” he said.
“There have been times when, out of sheer desperation, we consumed water that was clearly unfit for drinking for several days.” Baz explained that taking such risks with water exposed those in his group to illnesses, such as dehydration, stomach ailments and diarrhoea.
Showers have become a “luxury” for Baz’s group and there is barely enough water to clean bathrooms.
‘Disease outbreak’
Baz’s descriptions correspond with those of other Palestinians in the area. Tens of thousands from the northern areas of Gaza have moved south to comply with the Israeli army’s orders. The south of the territory remains an active warzone with frequent Israeli attacks on the area.
Continued bombardment and consequent damage to infrastructure, coupled with the resource strain that has emerged from the mass displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza, means there are already huge shortages that make it near impossible to carry out the basic functions of life.
Wisam, a Gaza resident, told Middle East Eye that he had initially moved from Gaza City to the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the south to seek refuge with relatives.
“There was no water available, to the extent that going to the bathroom became a strenuous task. We had to bring water in a bucket to the bathroom, if we found any, and use the least amount possible. We force ourselves to avoid going to the bathroom as much as we can,” he said. “We bathe the children only, using the most meagre amounts of water,” Wisam added.
His family then returned to Gaza City and specifically to Al-Quds Hospital, which Israel has repeatedly demanded the evacuation of. “The scene there was nothing short of harrowing,” Wisam said.
“Clean water was a rarity, and basic sanitation seemed a distant memory. Hundreds of people were crammed into tight spaces, using communal bathrooms without adequate sanitation facilities.
“I fear that the hospital is turning into a hotspot for disease outbreaks, given the cramped conditions and dwindling supplies,” he added.
‘Scratching incessantly’
Of course, journalists working on the ground in Gaza know first-hand the difficulties of getting water. Middle East Eye contributor Mohammed al-Hajjar described how Israeli attacks on water pumps had ensured the only water coming through was that which was tainted by sea water and pollution.
Gaza’s residents had previously installed filters at these pumps so that a majority of impurities were removed for use besides drinking. “This water was okay for bathing or washing dishes, and you could use it for ablutions (wudhu), but it wasn’t really drinkable,” Hajjar said.
“Now, with the filters non-operational and the pumps barely working, that dirty water is back in our homes.” The effects, Hajjar said, were immediate.
“My skin started showing inflammations, especially where I washed or performed ablutions. My children have the same reaction. It looks like mosquito bites but it isn’t. Washing our hair with this water results in intense itching, especially on the scalp and hands.
“I’ve resorted to a moisturizing cream with an anasthetic for my children to stop them from scratching incessantly. My wife has the same issues. In fact, almost all of my family, 14 of us in total, suffer from this.”
Hajjar said his wife was showing signs of illness including “fever and a yellowish tint to her skin”. Seeking medical help though was out of the question, as hospitals and clinics are stretched to their limits trying to save victims of Israel’s bombing campaign. “We’re trying to self-treat, we’re doing our best.”
Thirty-three months after their daughter Rosanne Boyland’s tragic death at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Bret and Cheryl Boyland feel new pain every time a media outlet publishes the false claim that their daughter died of a drug overdose.
On Oct. 12, a prominent national newspaper wrote that Ms. Boyland “died of what was determined to be a methamphetamine overdose.”
Within a day, that claim spread all over the internet, even appearing as a snippet on the website of the Merriam-Webster dictionary under the word “die.” A week later, the newspaper corrected the error, but the family said the damage was done—again.
The article brought to the surface new pain for the Boylands, whose daughter died in Washington at age 34 after collapsing in the Lower West Terrace tunnel.
News outlets have routinely claimed that Ms. Boyland died of a drug overdose.
In April 2021, a popular news website’s headline blared “Capitol Rioter Rosanne Boyland Died of Drug Overdose, Not Trampling.” The same day, a prominent news magazine stated that Ms. Boyland “died as a result of a drug overdose.” A British tabloid used the same wording in its coverage.
The official cause of death was listed as amphetamine toxicity from her prescription medication Adderall. The manner of death was an accident.
The Boylands challenged the amphetamine finding, eventually hiring an independent forensic pathologist who said Ms. Boyland most likely died of compressional asphyxia, not from Adderall or illegal drugs.
Getting anyone to listen has been a never-ending battle.
“We knew from the early morning of January 7 that somehow the cause of death would be listed as drug-related,” Cheryl Boyland told The Epoch Times. “Both the medical examiner’s office and the detective said to expect a fentanyl overdose. We told them that was impossible, but they continued to insist on it.”
The fentanyl theory was due to the presence of fluid in Ms. Boyland’s lungs, according to a Jan. 7, 2021, Metropolitan Police Department report. The theory was wrong, as toxicology tests would prove a few months later.
Ms. Boyland didn’t use fentanyl or street drugs. She had battled addiction earlier in her life but had been clean and sober for five years when the Jan. 6, 2021, overdose accusations began.
“For anyone like Rosanne or their family members who helped fight through addiction battles for years, to be falsely reported as dying of an overdose is about the worst slap in the face anyone could get,” Mr. Boyland told The Epoch Times. “To take it a step further and to see a lot of journalists say she died of a meth overdose is an even worse slap in the face.”
Ms. Boyland had taken the prescription medication Adderall, a stimulant that’s used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for 10 years without complication, her parents said.
Adderall is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Ms. Boyland had taken the medication for 10 years without complications, her parents said. The stimulant is made up of four amphetamine salts.
Methamphetamine—a highly addictive and potent stimulant—isn’t the same drug as Adderall.
Meth is one of the most widely abused controlled substances in the United States. Its illegal use has driven a steep increase in overdose deaths over the past decade. Much of the illegal supply of meth comes from criminal gangs in Mexico, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
When the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled that Ms. Boyland died of “acute amphetamine intoxication,” the Boylands challenged the conclusion, but their concerns were ignored by the medical examiner’s office, they said.
The Boylands said that Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Francisco Diaz told them that the “results of the autopsy were not clear-cut” and that the only thing that they could “all agree upon” as a cause of death was Ms. Boyland’s prescription of Adderall.
“We asked him to include the term ‘prescription’ because others would believe she died from a meth overdose,” Mrs. Boyland said.
“He responded that everyone knows the difference between amphetamine and methamphetamine. Our family knew better.”
There was a time in Ms. Boyland’s life when she used heroin and crystal meth. Her parents said she worked very hard to get clean.
“Rosanne spent a long time in treatment, trying to overcome her addictions,” Mrs. Boyland said. “She dedicated herself to helping others. Her friends have countless stories about her support during their trying times. Many of them relied on her to be strong.
“During her memorial service, we emphasized that she did not relapse, not only for Rosanne’s reputation, but so that her friends wouldn’t give up and relapse.”
The Boylands said their daughter would have taken her morning dose of Adderall at about 7 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2021.
There’s no evidence that Ms. Boyland was ailing or impaired when she and her friend Justin Winchell attended President Donald Trump’s speech at the Ellipse or when they walked to the U.S. Capitol after 1 p.m. that day.
A video clip of Ms. Boyland ascending the stairs from the Capitol’s West Plaza to the Lower West Terrace that afternoon showed her smiling from behind her American flag sunglasses. She didn’t appear ill.
“It’s impossible for her to have taken her medication about 7 a.m., walk around fine all day long, then overdose in the late afternoon without taking any more medication,” Mrs. Boyland said. “The medical examiner’s office refused to answer us about that. The blood sample used for toxicology tests was taken from an area [of the body] known to give inaccurate results—probably deliberately.”
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) declined to comment on the issues that were raised by the Boylands.
The department “does not release information or discuss cases with the media beyond the release of an official statement as to cause and manner of death, which was previously done in this case,” Rodney K. Adams, OCME chief counsel, wrote in a statement to The Epoch Times. “This is based on the District’s privacy statute and out of respect for the privacy of the survivors.”
New Cause of Death
In April 2022, the Boylands hired forensics consultant group Park Dietz & Associates to do a comprehensive review of the autopsy and its conclusions. A new autopsy wasn’t possible because Ms. Boyland’s body was cremated.
A board-certified forensic pathologist from Park Dietz ruled out amphetamine intoxication as the proximate cause of death but said it might have been a secondary contributing factor.
“There was no evidence of illicit drug use,” the forensic pathologist wrote. “The finding of amphetamine in her postmortem blood and gastric contents is consistent with her prescribed use of Adderall, which is a combination drug containing four amphetamine salts.”
The concentration of amphetamine in Ms. Boyland’s blood was elevated, the doctor wrote, but other factors could explain this finding.
“Ms. Boyland’s obesity may have potentiated the storage of the drug in her body tissues,” the pathologist wrote, “and blood from the inferior vena cava is not the optimal specimen for testing for amphetamines, which may be subject to postmortem redistribution.”
The pathologist said Ms. Boyland’s cause of death was compressional asphyxia, “a situation in which pressure exerted on the chest or back of an individual impedes normal breathing and often leaves no diagnostic physical findings.”
The pathologist said Ms. Boyland’s surroundings at the time of her collapse can’t be ignored.
Police had deployed an unknown gas into the tunnel at about 4:20 p.m., two minutes after Ms. Boyland walked into the structure, security footage shows. Witnesses described a sensation of the oxygen being sucked out of the atmosphere. The crowd panicked and ran to escape the tunnel.
Five months before an Army Reserve sergeant killed 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, his relatives told police he was increasingly paranoid, erroneously complaining that people were describing him as a pedophile. Two months later, he underwent a psychiatric evaluation after service members who were training with him at West Point reported that he was behaving erratically, and last month he told a friend he was “going to shoot up the drill center” at his base in Saco, Maine.
The fact that the 40-year-old petroleum supply specialist nevertheless managed to commit his horrifying crimes last week, after which he killed himself, underlines the challenge of identifying and thwarting mass murderers. But contrary to what some critics claimed, the problem was not Maine’s “woefully weak” gun regulations.
On its face, Maine’s “yellow flag” law, enacted in 2019, could have made a crucial difference in this case. It authorizes police, after taking someone into “protective custody” based on probable cause to believe he is “mentally ill” and poses a threat to himself or others, to ask a “medical practitioner” for an assessment of whether the detainee “presents a likelihood of foreseeable harm.”
If the medical practitioner thinks so, police “shall” seek a court order temporarily barring the individual from obtaining or possessing firearms. The respondent is entitled to a hearing within 14 days, after which the order can be extended for up to a year based on “clear and convincing evidence” of a threat.
Since the Maine killer was released after his psychiatric evaluation at West Point’s Keller Army Community Hospital, where he stayed for two weeks, he apparently did not meet the state’s criteria for involuntary commitment. But that needn’t have been the end of the matter.
After the shootings, neighbors in Bowdoin said the sergeant’s psychological problems were “pretty well-known.” The Maine Information and Analysis Center had alerted police about his “recently reported mental health issues,” including “hearing voices and threats to shoot up the National Guard Base in Saco, ME.”
The local sheriff’s office had received disturbing reports from “increasingly concerned” relatives, a friend, and the Saco base. But its investigation did not result in an assessment or a court order, possibly because police thought his relatives had “a way to secure his weapons.”
Gun control activists complained that Maine’s “yellow flag” law is harder to use than the “red flag” laws that 21 states have enacted, which have fewer and weaker procedural protections. That criticism seems doubly misguided.
First, this looks like a situation where Maine’s law could have been used but for some reason was not. Second, the state’s requirements are aimed at minimizing the number of people who lose their Second Amendment rights for no good reason.
Weaker protections for respondents might make effective intervention more likely. Or they might not.
Despite what in retrospect looks like clear warning signs, New York’s “red flag” law did not prevent the massacre that killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket in 2022. Nor did California’s “red flag” law prevent two mass shootings that killed 18 people in that state last January.
One thing is clear: Casting a wider net inevitably means that more people will be deprived of their constitutional rights even when they do not actually pose a threat to public safety. That is true not only of “red flag” laws but also of the federal ban on gun possession by people who have been involuntarily committed to psychiatric institutions, which applies no matter how long ago that happened and regardless of whether they were ever deemed a threat to others.
Police said the Maine murderer was legally allowed to buy guns because he had no such record. The answer, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says, is laxer standards for civil commitment rather than stricter gun control. Both prescriptions ignore the tradeoff between civil liberties and crime prevention, which activists and politicians, try as they might, cannot wish away.
The Biden administration must stop cutting and otherwise damaging razor wire that Texas has placed along the U.S.–Mexico border, a federal judge ruled on Oct. 30.
U.S. officials mustn’t remove the wire or tamper with it, U.S. District Judge Alia Moses said as she entered a temporary restraining order.
The exception is in cases of medical emergencies that would “most likely” result in serious bodily injury or death to a person, provided no “live-saving apparatus” is available, Judge Moses, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote in her ruling.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes border agents, told news outlets it doesn’t comment on pending litigation but would comply with the order.
“Generally speaking, Border Patrol agents have a responsibility under federal law to take those who have crossed onto U.S. soil without authorization into custody for processing,” the agency said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, called the ruling “another win for Texas and our historic border mission.”
The wire was put into place as the governor’s effort, called Operation Lone Star, to strengthen border security.
“Biden created this crisis and has tried to block us at every turn. Attorney General Paxton and I are pushing back,” Mr. Abbott wrote on X.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, another Republican, sued the Biden administration earlier in October for tampering with the barriers.
The temporary order is in place until Nov. 13, unless the court extends it.
The government is prohibited from removing the wire, concealing it, offering it to another person, selling it, and tampering with it.
A hearing on the bid from Texas for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for Nov. 7.
Mr. Paxton said in his complaint that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents were damaging the wire to allow thousands of illegal immigrants to enter Texas.
“Federal agents not only cut Texas’s concertina wire, but also attach ropes or cables from the back of pickup trucks to ease aliens’ ability to illegally climb up the riverbank into Texas. And they regularly cut new openings in the wire fence, sometimes immediately after Texas officers have placed new wire to plug up gaps in fencing barriers,” Mr. Paxton said.
Several days later, Texas officials asked for the temporary restraining order, pointing to how federal agents had used a forklift on Oct. 26 to hold up some of the wire so that a group of hundreds of immigrants could cross the border.
“This brazen escalation by defendants is an affront not only to Texas, but also to this court, which already had pending before it a motion for a preliminary injunction,” the officials said. “This court should immediately grant a temporary restraining order to enjoin defendants from continuing to damage, destroy, or otherwise meddle with Texas’s concertina wire fence until the court can rule on the state’s preliminary-injunction motion. Alternatively, this court could simply grant a preliminary injunction in light of defendants’ willful misconduct.”
In a notice to the court on Oct. 28, the officials said federal agents damaged another portion of the fence. Texas Military Department officer Roberto Ortiz Diaz attested to witnessing federal agents using a forklift to flatten the fence, letting dozens of illegal immigrants into Texas.
“While the operator was flattening the concertina wire, I observed no medical emergencies among the migrant[s] crossing the river, and I am not aware of any reason for [CBP] agents to flatten the concertina wire other than to allow an easier entry path for migrants arriving in the United States,” Mr. Diaz said.
Federal officials hadn’t yet responded to the various filings as of press time.
Judge Moses said Texas was likely to succeed in its claim that federal officials violated a law that prevents people from trespassing to interfere with a person’s property.
Texas has established that it owns the wires, she said. And multiple officials have said that they witnessed federal officials tamper with the barriers.
“Third and finally, the plaintiff established that the defendants lacked permission to interfere with the wires,” she said.
Judge Moses said that because she determined that Texas was likely to succeed in one of its claims, she need not analyze its other claims.
The other claims include illegally exercising dominion over another’s private property and acting in excess of statutory jurisdiction.
The case is Texas v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al. It’s being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
‘Mystery’ Blast Rocks One Of Russia’s Largest Ammo Manufacturing Plants
An explosion of unknown cause has rocked one of Russia’s largest ammunition manufacturing plants, according to officials in central Russia’s Perm region, which lies about 1,000km east of Moscow.
“Windows and doors were broken [but] there are no victims, there is no threat to the populace,” a statement said. “The incident did not affect the plant’s production process.”
⚡️An explosion occurred at a military factory in Russia’s #Perm Krai.
The incident took place at the building of the Solikamsk plant “Ural,” one of the largest military-industrial factories in Russia. They produce various military ammunition and explosives there. pic.twitter.com/q18ASsVWzw
Throughout more than a year-and-a-half of war, there have been dozens of similar incidents at various Russian facilities ranging from military warehouses to oil facilities to electrical grid stations and energy pipelines.
Both Ukrainian and US media have at times admitted some of these instances are part of a covert Ukrainian sabotage campaign with the assistance of Western intelligence. So naturally, when a new explosion happens, there’s an immediate question of whether it is connected to sabotage, or an industrial accident.
The new incident, resulting in apparent damage to the Solikamsk Plant Ural, is raising eyebrows also given it’s a facility under Russian defense giant Rostec:
Images shared on social media appeared to show a plume of smoke rising from the plant following the blast, but The Moscow Times could not independently verify the photos.
An unnamed local emergency official told the news website Podyom that the explosion did not cause a fire or impact work at the plant.
“All in all, the situation is calm,” the official said. Solikamsk Plant Ural, part of the defense conglomerate Rostec, is one of Russia’s largest manufacturers of gunpowder and explosives.
Earlier this month, at a time the globe’s attention has by and large been completely focused on events in Gaza, The Washington Post published a bombshell report openly admitting that the CIA is actively running covert ops inside Russia, which has included the killing of journalist and geopolitical commentator Darya Dugina.
Russia is ramping up production capacity and building military plants across the country
This is reported by journalists of the project “Schemes”. They produce and repair tactical and strategic airplanes, attack helicopters, as well as assemble drones and ammunition. pic.twitter.com/rNOSppljtB
The report stunningly laid out that as part of this shadow war, “The missions have involved elite teams of Ukrainian operatives drawn from directorates that were formed, trained, and equipped in close partnership with the CIA,according to current and former Ukrainian and US officials. Since 2015, the CIA has spent tens of millions of dollars to transform Ukraine’s Soviet-formed services into potent allies against Moscow, officials said.”
Whether this latest blast is part of this covert ops program or not (perhaps just a ‘normal’ accident?), it will certainly be a plausible question in the minds of the Russians.
For decades, stress shouldered the blame for painful stomach ulcers. But in 1982, doctors made a groundbreaking discovery: A specific type of bacteria was the real culprit.
Now, scientists are peering through microscopes again, but this time, they are searching for evidence that suggests blood transfusions may contribute to strokes, a leading cause of death and long-term disability.
Common Cause for Stroke May Be Transmissible via Blood
A new study found that blood transfusions from donors who later developed multiple spontaneous brain bleeds were associated with a slightly higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke in recipients. This suggests a potential link between blood-borne factors and a type of stroke-causing blood vessel damage in the brain.
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is the second leading cause of spontaneous hemorrhagic stroke and is associated with deposits of defective beta-amyloid proteins in the walls of blood vessels in the brain, making them fragile and subject to rupture, leading to strokes and cognitive decline.
Research recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found evidence that CAA exhibits “prion-like” transmissivity. Prion disease was previously associated with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly called mad cow disease, a brain disorder in cattle that can potentially be transmitted to humans through contaminated meat. There has been evidence that the condition can transmitted to people by pituitary hormones gathered from cadavers contaminated with amyloid-beta and tau proteins.
Scientists theorized that blood transfusions may carry the same risk as exposure to contaminated meat.
To test this theory, researchers conducted a cohort study using nationwide blood bank and health data from over 1 million patients in Sweden and Denmark aged 5 to 80. All had received a red blood cell transfusion between Jan. 1, 1970 (Sweden) or Jan. 1, 1980 (Denmark) and Dec. 31, 2017.
The study found that patients transfused with blood from donors who later developed multiple spontaneous brain bleeds had a significantly higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke than those receiving blood from donors without bleeds.
However, no increased stroke risk was seen in recipients of blood from donors who had just a single bleed after transfusion.
The authors suggest these findings indicate a potential “transfusion-transmissible agent” may be associated with certain spontaneous strokes. They described the increased stroke risk of 2.3 percent in recipients of blood from multi-bleed donors as a “novel finding.”
A Similar Association Found With Alzheimer’s
Though not directly analyzed, the study found a similar increased dementia risk in blood recipients from donors who had a single stroke after donation.
In an editorial accompanying the study, Dr. Steven Greenberg, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, wrote the study’s methodology rigorously supports the findings.
“Even a modest increase in hazard of future brain hemorrhages or dementia conferred by an uncommon—but as of now undetectable—donor trait would represent a substantial public health concern,” Dr. Greenberg wrote.
This underscores the seriousness of undetected traits that could be transmitted through donors, highlighting the importance of identifying these factors to protect tens of millions of people. After all, someone in the United States needs blood every two seconds.
How Bleeding in the Brain Is Treated
Treatment depends on the type of injury to the brain, Dr. Theodore Strange, chair of medicine at Staten Island University Hospital, part of Northwell Health in New York, told The Epoch Times.
If bleeding is from a fall causing a subdural hematoma, it can often be managed nonsurgically or with a simple burr hole procedure, he added. This is a procedure where tiny holes are drilled into the skull, and a rubber tube is inserted to drain the hematoma.
However, bleeds from stroke or ruptured aneurysms are harder to control. “Although we can, as long as we can get to them early enough and do whatever it is that we can do to minimize the damage done by the bleed to the part of the brain,” Dr. Strange said.
For cerebellar bleeds, where the bleeding is in the very back of the brain, surgical evacuation of the blood clot is typically needed before finding the cause, he noted. As with strokes, this is simpler for bleeds outside rather than inside the brain.
Managing Risk Factors Only Hope for CAA: Expert
Currently, no treatments stop CAA-related amyloid buildup in brain blood vessels. So prevention of bleeding events is crucial, Dr. Strange said.
Reducing a patient’s risk of trauma, such as falls, which cause concussion and can start a bleed, is imperative.
“Patients, as they get older, have a tendency to fall more,” Dr. Strange said, noting that medications that increase bleeding risk, including anticoagulants, aspirin, and ibuprofen, should be minimized “when appropriate.”
Doctors must weigh the risks against the benefits of anticoagulants in patients with other conditions, he added.
FBI Director Warns Threat Of Attacks By Hamas On American Soil Raised “To A Whole Other Level”
“The reality is that the terrorism threat has been elevated throughout 2023 but the ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole ‘nother level.”
That is the scenario FBI Director Chris Wray led with during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing today.
Specifically, Wray warns Hamas terrorists may soon exploit tensions in the US to “conduct attacks here on our own soil” while also inspiring potential domestic extremists to do the same.
“Here in the United States our most immediate concern is that violent extremists individuals or small groups will draw inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks against Americans going about their daily lives.”
“…cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization May exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here on our own soil.”
Does this mean the feds are no longer focusing their Orwellian ire on conservative Christians as the “greatest threat” to America? Not quite. Wray noted very clearly that this threat from overseas is
“…on top of the homegrown violent extremists and domestic violent extremist threat…”
Watch Wray’s remarks in full below:
Any attacks, whether perpetrated by actual Islamic terrorists, leftist activists or covert agencies serving “special interests” will likely be used as an excuse for more aggressive pressure on constitutional rights in the US.
Anyone who opposes such controls may also be labeled terrorists.
The sociopolitical dynamics of America are about to shift once again to an ugly place with uncertain outcomes.
A lawsuit has been filed against Los Angeles County by 29 cities located within the county, challenging the county’s recently-implemented zero bail policy making it easier for criminals to be released back onto the streets.
According to Just The News, the lawsuit states that the zero bail policy, which took effect on October 1st, does not “take into consideration the protection of the public, the safety of the victim, the seriousness of the offense charged, the previous criminal record of the defendant, and the probability of his or her appearing at the trial or hearing of the case.”
The new policy declares that cash bail will still be required for those charged with assault, domestic battery, stalking, and violation of a protective order. Judicial review will be utilized for anyone charged with the crimes of human trafficking, sex with a minor, and battery on a peace officer.
Meanwhile, all other crimes will see suspects cited and released immediately upon their arrest, and instead given court orders to appear for arraignment at a later date.
Following the announcement of the lawsuit, Claire Simonich, a spokeswoman for Vera California, the state branch of left-wing criminal justice reform group Vera Institute of Justice, defended the zero bail policy by claiming, with no evidence, that it is a safe policy.
“The opponents are not only drowning out the factual data on the policy, but the years of research on not just Los Angeles County but in areas across the country that show ending money bail and ensuring public safety go hand in hand,” Simonich claimed.
“A similar version of the policy has been in effect on and off for the last three years in Los Angeles County. Violent crime and property crime effectively dropped or remained unchanged compared to the two years before the policy was in place.”
Los Angeles County had previously implemented a similar zero bail policy during the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic, in an effort to reduce the prison populations and slow the spread of the virus throughout prison facilities.
However, after briefly ending the COVID-era policy, Los Angeles County opted to re-implement a more permanent version due to what some activists called “dismal” conditions in pre-trial jails.
Among those supporting the lawsuit against zero bail are Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna and Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami, the latter of whom is challenging District Attorney George Gascon (D-Calif.) in the 2024 election.
“Our communities have not been shy about telling us how nervous they are about this change,” said Sheriff Luna.
“Crime victims who see offenders immediately released from custody are left with little confidence in the criminal justice system.”
“The total number of cities now suing over LA County’s $0 bail policy has reached 29. All of us want a bail policy that is fair and just for every resident of LA County,” said Deputy DA Hatami.
“That, however, should be done in collaboration with the 88 cities and their residents, victim groups and law enforcement agencies that are going to be directly affected by immediately releasing individuals who are arrested for crimes.”
