Man arrested by FBI for plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

 

File photo of the New York Stock Exchange. NBC News.

A man has been arrested by the FBI for a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. NBC News. Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, a 30 year old man who lived in Florida, was arrested after stockpiling bomb making materials. The man had links to ISIS but decided not to join them overseas as he did not believe they would accomplish their goals. Yener had schematics and was arrested after he picked up bomb making materials. Yener's plan was foiled when the FBI received a tip and undercover FBI officers began to monitor him. 

My Comment:

Yet another incompetent terrorist foiled by his own incompetence. Thankfully these folks never seem to understand that the one thing you can't do as a terrorist is talk to people about your plot. And anyone that is trying to help you is probably FBI.

It's unclear how serious the threat in this case was. From the article it doesn't seem that serious, the man had schematics and a bit of bomb making materials, so there was some threat at least. But I also don't know if he was capable of building one that would actually explode, if he had a way to get it to the NYSE and if he would have avoided security. 

I noticed that there was very little in the article about Yener's motivation, but it seems pretty obvious. He has an Arab sounding name and was considering joining ISIS but I guess he was doing it because he hated the stock exchange or something? Of course this was radical Islam but you can't count on the news media to mention that. 

I am honestly surprised we haven't seen any major terror attacks from Islamic extremists recently. Like I have said, ISIS has made a bit of a resurgence, especially in Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda appears to be a spent force, but ISIS is still out there. They just don't seem to be able to pull anything off in the United States, probably because they just don't have the funding to do so. 

But there is absolutely the threat of lone wolf attackers, as this case proves. Thankfully most of these folks are idiots. Had Mr. Yener been a bit more smart and tried a mass shooting or car ramming attack he might have been able to do something but instead he did a needlessly complicated plot that was never going to accomplish anything. 

As with all cases where the FBI is involved I do wonder if this may have been a bit of entrapment. Yener was a homeless man who was, at the very least, pretty stupid. He may have been mentally ill. I do wonder if he would have done this on his own or if he was pushed there by the FBI. In this case it seems like the former is more likely than the later as he was supposedly making searches on the internet for bomb making materials as far back as 2017, long before the FBI contacted him. 

Sabotage? Two European undersea cables cut.

 

One of the undersea cables being laid down in 2015. BBC/Getty.

Two European undersea internet cables have been cut in what may be an act of sabotage. BBC. One of the cables ran between Finland and Germany while the other one ran between Sweden and Lithuania. It is unclear who cut the cables but the European states affected by the incident were quick to blame Russia, as tensions between Russia and NATO countries are extremely high. The cables were in the Baltic Sea and should be repaired in 5 to 15 days. Undersea cables are occasionally damaged by shipping so it is possible this  was a mundane incident, like the 2023 damage to a gas line between Estonia and Finland. However, there was the Nordstream attack in 2022, which was an act of sabotage. 

My Comment:

It would be pretty hilarious if this was just another example of a ship dragging an anchor chain and accidently severing a couple of cables. That happens fairly often and I wouldn't be surprised if that is indeed what happened here. It's certainly a possibility. 

But there is a reason against that. This was two cables that got severed and not where they intercept either. It's possible an anchor dragging could cut both cables, but it seems more likely that it was enemy action at that point. If it was more than two cables that got severed, it would be even more likely. 

On the other hand though, why bother with just a couple of cables if you are a state actor? The severing of these cables didn't really cause any disruption for internet users in the affected countries. There are many other cables that provide internet in the region and without cutting all of them, it serves little purpose. 

If that's the case could this have been a trial run for an actual effort? Training for the divers that would have to pull this off if an actual conflict broke out? It would have to be divers, the Baltic Sea isn't super deep, so deep sea divers could target internet cables. Those divers would want practice at this kind of thing, so perhaps it was a practice run? 

And who could be responsible? Well who you think did it probably has more to do with your priors than anything else. It's just like the Nordstream attack. Western media said Russia did it while Russia said Ukraine or the US did it and there are arguments for both. At least in this case its plausible Russia would have done it because of high tensions and the fact that unlike Nordstream they wouldn't be shooting themselves in the foot. But it's just as likely that this was some kind of false flag that could be blamed on Russia, which I think the original Nordstream attack was. 

Regardless, this wouldn't even be a story if tensions weren't so high with Russia right now. The ATACMS strike has certainly raised the tensions to levels not seen since the 1983 Able Archer exercise that almost started World War  III. I don't  think this particular incident has anything to do with the ATACMS strike though, you can't pull off a major mission like this, it takes time to plan and execute, assuming this was sabotage as well. 

Donald Trump will use the US Military to assist in deporting illegal immigrants.

 

Soldiers on the US border. BBC/Reuters.

Donald Trump said it was "true" that he would use the US Military to assist in deporting illegal immigrants on his Truth Social account. BBC.  Trump has promised to put into place the largest deportation effort in US history but it was unclear how he would do so, given the major logistical challenges and the relatively small size of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). ICE only has 20,000 members and would have difficulty deporting illegal aliens at the rate that would be needed. Trump would declare a national emergency to allow US troops to be used on US soil. Under his first administration, Trump deported 1.5 million illegals while Biden will probably match that by the end of his term, but millions have arrived during his term. 

My Comment:

This is both expected and welcome. There are a huge number of illegal aliens that have to be deported and it's too big of a job for ICE alone. They will absolutely need help from the US military if they want to actually get rid of them. 

So what would the military do? I doubt they would be conducting raids or rounding up illegals. Instead, they would likely be using the military to do logistical work in transporting illegals and helping with paperwork and things like that. They would also likely be deployed to the border to prevent any new immigrants from coming in. 

Keep in mind that a lot of these illegals are going to self deport. Indeed, I have already heard of that happening. They have no reason to stay if they believe they are going to be kicked out anyways and if they do leave they at least have a chance to come back. But that gets a lot harder if they are deported. 

They are also going to focus on the worst of the worst first as well. Folks with a felony conviction or links to foreign gangs and cartels are going to be the first targeted for deportation. This will be very popular and there isn't going to be any sympathy for these folks. 

Indeed, I do expect this to go fairly smoothly. Trump pretty obviously won a mandate on illegal immigration and I don't really expect the media to pitch a fit like they did in the first Trump term. Getting rid of the folks from the illegal immigrant gangs will be wildly popular. I do think groups like the ACLU will try and derail as much as they can, but this will be a rear guard effort. 

I also worry that Democratic governors won't play ball. There are a few, like Gavin Newsom and basically all of the governors in the Northeast, won't help ICE at all and may even work to undermine them. Doing so would be politically unpopular but they also have to please the folks that donate to their campaign that profit from illegal aliens. 

Cost is going to be an issue as well, deporting people isn't free. But for me the cost is well worth it. Deporting a huge number of illegal aliens will have positive effects on American workers. It should cause wages to rise, not to mention that housing costs should slow, and maybe even reverse. If successful it will be very good thing for America. 

Joe Biden authorizes strikes in Russia with US ATACMS missiles, raising major fears of World War III.

 

File photo of an ATACMS missile launch. BBC/US Military photo. 

Joe Biden has authorized strikes within Russia proper with US ATACMS missiles, raising fears of World War III. BBC. Vladimir Putin has warned that using those missiles, which cannot be operated by anything other than NATO troops, would be direct participation in the Ukraine War. The ATACMS will be used to support the Kursk incursion, which is not going well for Ukraine. The decision has been made due to supposed deployments of North Korean troops in the region. France and the UK have also said they will allow Ukraine to use their Storm Shadow missiles as well. Ukraine has not been doing well in the war and has been blaming the US and NATO for not providing enough aid. 

My Comment:

This is an act of utter insanity from the outgoing Biden administration. This will accomplish nothing but at the same time risks a 3rd world war. Putin has said for a long time that the use of these territories would be a valid casus belli for a war between Russia and NATO. 

Why? Because these missiles cannot be used without NATO support. Ukraine can launch the missiles, but that's it, they can't actually aim them. These weapons use satellite GPS and have to programed by the US (and France/UK for the storm shadows). Doing so is actively participating on an attack on Russian soil, which means that Russia would have every right to declare on NATO if they chose to do so. 

And the reason why they are doing this? Because North Koreans are supposedly fighting in the Kursk incursion. I still haven't seen any evidence that the North Koreans are actually fighting, let alone have been deployed to the area. The only thing I have heard is that North Korean troops are probably firing their missiles that they donated to Russia, but even that hasn't really been confirmed. So this whole thing might not have any justification at all. 

If there is any good news about this it's the fact that these missiles will not have much impact on the battlefield at all. Russia has extremely good air defenses and that was clear when the Storm Shadows and ATACMS debuted to little actual effect. Plus, it's not like there are that many left, the UK Storm Shadows have already been moved up and France doesn't have too many of them to give either. Same with the ATACMS, we just don't have the stockpiles of weapons to actually overcome Russia's air defenses. And Russia has finally been smart and greatly hardened their strategic sites in the region.

Another factor that could lead to cooler heads prevailing is the fact that Ukraine is pretty obviously losing the war. The Kursk incursion, where all this drama is focused on, is not going their way at all, despite sending in their best units and almost all of their remaining reserves. Russia has steadily pushed them back to the point where they don't control much territory anymore. And to accomplish this attack, Ukraine has had to pull back from other fronts, which has left those fronts on the border of collapse, with Russia making major gains. 

The real question is how Russia responds. My hope would be that cooler heads prevail. Though I don't think it is clear who would "win" a nuclear war, Russia has the tech advantage at this point, the fact is that Russia appears to be led by rational actors and I can't see them launching nukes at this point. Nobody wins if everyone dies in nuclear hellfire, even if NATO is directly attacking Russia. And like I said, it's not like Ukraine is winning the war at this point. 

Still, giving Russia a valid casus belli for a nuclear war with NATO is beyond stupid. Why risk it at all for an adventure that has not only failed, it has only made Russia stronger? I don't think the chances of a nuclear war are high, but they are as high as they have been since the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Able Archer exercise that spooked the Soviets. Such a huge risk for basically zero gain. 

But the Democrats and deep state might think it's worth it because I see this as an effort to undermine the incoming Trump administration. This move probably won't start World War III (at least I hope it won't) but it will make it very hard for Trump to negotiate with Putin. Why would Putin negotiate with people launching missiles at US territory? Trump's effort to end the war will now probably fail and Trump will go down as the one that "lost" Ukraine despite the fact that the war wasn't ever winnable in the first place. I have said for awhile that Trump finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war was probably his biggest challenge and I see this as an effort to set him up for failure. 

Of course nobody really knows what Trump will do on Ukraine. If anyone on earth can pull off a deal in Ukraine it would be Trump given his good relationship with both Zelensky and Putin. And he does have quite a few advisors that are against the war and he's been very skeptical himself. But Trump has been put in a very difficult position and there are still a lot of war hawks in his party. My hope is that he will just cut the Ukrainians loose if it's clear that they are losing, but who knows what kind of info he could be getting. The Deep State is lying about Ukraine to the point it's possible the powers that be actually think Ukraine has a chance to win the war... 

Donald Trump has picked RFK Jr as his Health and Human Services Secretary.

 

RFK Jr. and Donald Trump shake hands at a rally. Fox News/Getty. 

Donald Trump has picked RFK Jr. as his Health and Human Services Secretary. Fox News. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. started the race for President as a candidate for the Democrats, but then went Independent. He then gave Trump a critical endorsement which may have helped Trump win. Kennedy campaigned on "Making America Healthy Again" and railed against the links between pharmaceutical companies and the government, and despaired about the health of Americans. Kennedy is expected to clean house at the FDA and CDC and said they weren't doing their jobs due to all the chemicals in US foods. Kennedy also suggested ending advertisements for drug companies, which are common in the United States but unheard of in other countries. This was not the first time RFK Jr. was considered for a cabinet position, Barack Obama had considered him for the head of the EPA. 

My Comment:

RFK Jr. did a lot to help Trump win the election in 2024 so it is no surprise that he got nominated for this post. RFK Jr. shuttled his supporters to Trump after his endorsement and he was polling around 5% of the electorate. Trump probably would have still won without RFK Jr., but he would not have captured the popular vote and probably would have done worse down ballot. 

Is RFK likely to be confirmed? It doesn't matter. Trump is going to get his cabinet in via recess appointments, and there isn't really anything anyone can do about it. The powers that be are furious with this pick, even more so than they were with Matt Gaetz, which they tried to discredit today, but I don't think they will really be able to stop him. But there is a decent chance he would pass anyways, the Republicans seem a lot more likely to play ball with Trump's picks this time around. 

I've absolutely have disagreements with RFK Jr., most notably on vaccines. RFK Jr. is a vaccine skeptic and though he probably has a point about the Covid vaccines, I have never been swayed by the argument that other vaccines are bad. With that being said, I don't expect him to ban vaccines or anything, but he may allow vaccine makers to be sued for damages, which is something that probably should change regardless. 

I do agree that something is very wrong with the health of Americans. We are not a healthy people and obesity is out of control. Nothing the previous administrations did has fixed this and the problem is even worse. Is RFK Jr. right about what is causing the problem? Seed oils and chemicals in our food? It's very possible but we won't find out unless we try something different and that is what RFK Jr. is going to do. 

Some of what he wants seems like common sense. Getting rid of pharma companies advertisements is reason enough to be happy with this. It never made sense that they should be advertising to the people directly when it should be between the doctor and the patient. It helps that these advertisements are beyond intolerable...

As for the rest of Trump's picks, I have been pleased. The only concern I have is that there are a lot coming from congress and those picks will have to be replaced in special elections. Those seats are mostly safe Republican seats, but I am concerned that the Democrats will be sending millions of dollars to try and flip them. And Gaetz immediately resigning cuts the lead even closer...