Bits n’ pieces from east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

A new “X” feature reveals where online accounts originate: a significant number of “high-engagement” MAGA accounts are from Russia, Eastern Europe, India, Nigeria, Thailand and Bangladesh.

According to Sen. Rob Wyden (D), the Treasury Dept. also has Jeffrey Epstein files, but is “stonewalling” their release. Those records are expected to show a money trail explaining how Epstein got his money, how he controlled his victims and what banks and individuals enabled Epstein’s crimes.

The Washington Post ran an exclusive story about the U.S.’s Sept. 2 attack on a boat allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean (some 23 more military attacks followed). The Post said prior to the attack there was a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “kill everybody.” Two survivors were dispatched -- which was not shown in video. A bi-partisan statement from the Senate Armed Services Committee has vowed “vigorous oversight” of Hegseth’s “kill them all” order, a possible war crime or murder or both. Hegseth denies wrong-doing; President Donald Trump said “I believe him.”

Various media: Trump recently pardoned the former president of Honduras, convicted in 2024 of drug trafficking, quickly ending his 45 year sentence.

In August The Military Times warned against using the National Guard in the nation’s capital, saying there’s a distinction between military protecting the country and police protecting citizens -- and the Guard was not trained for the latter. They said lives of enlisted people in D.C. are put at risk, and that was borne out with the shooting of two National Guard members last week, near the White House.

Last week Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, allegedly shot two National Guard members who were part of D.C.’s occupation; one died and the other is in critical condition. Lakanwal was struggling with mental health issues, various media reported. He’d worked with a CIA-backed “death squad” unit in Afghanistan, and was one of 76,000 Afghans under Operation Allies Welcome who came to the U.S. in 2021. Various media said he suffered “dark periods” that suggested PTSD. 

He’d been granted asylum by the Trump regime seven months before the shooting. Lakanwal, also shot, is expected to survive and faces first degree murder and assault charges. (He entered a not guilty plea.) Trump pushed for more restriction on Afghan refugees; experts said many of those were already in place. The president vowed to “permanently pause all migration from Third World countries,” to deport all legal immigrants from countries he deems “high risk,” to deport those he regards as non-compatible with western civilization, and to further reduce due process to carry out his plans.

The D.C. shooting came on the heels of a federal judge saying the National Guard deployment to D.C. was “likely illegal.” Trump defended the Guard, saying there’ve been no murders for six months. But there were 62 homicides. The judge had put a pause on the deployment for three weeks, allowing time for troop removal and an appeal. But Trump ordered 500 more troops to D.C. after the shootings.

A recent Politico poll shows 55% of Trump voters see themselves as MAGA, 38% do not, and the latter do not share MAGA’s enthusiasm for Trump.

Is Trump in mental decline, political historian and writer Thom Hartmann asked? He reviewed recent Trump actions, such as making the debunked claim that a Congresswoman married her brother, calling for death for six Congressional Dems, and calling a governor “seriously retarded.” The governor called for the release of Trump’s recent MRI results, given that Trump’s father died of Alzheimer’s. Trump did release the results, and said he doesn’t know why an MRI was part of his health assessment.

Headlines, for brevity: Jeffries says Johnson ‘tanked’ Trump’s health care proposal [it would have extended the ACA for two years, to dodge massive premium hikes]; Trump’s FBI spent nearly $1 million on redacting Epstein files; U.S. Banks Shelve $20 Billion Bailout Plan for Argentina; Duke Health researchers announce vaccine trial breakthrough in breast cancer [a two decade clinical trial, with a small group of women with advanced breast cancer, showed all are alive today]; CDC quietly appoints doctor critical of vaccines as second in command; A Surprise When Your [overseas] Package Arrives: You Have to Pay the Tariff, and, Once Foes of Obamacare, Some Republicans Push to Protect It.

Courtroom headlines: Starbucks to pay $35 million to NYC workers after city alleges years of abuse; Son of drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ pleads guilty in US drug trafficking case [he was arrested in 2024]; Trump administration cannot expand rapid deportations, appeals court rules; Appeals Court says Alina Habba [Trump’s former lawyer] is Unlawful U.S. Attorney; More than 220 judges have now rejected the Trump regime's mass detention policy [including judges appointed by Trump]; New prosecutor won’t pursue charges against Trump and others in Georgia election interference case; and, Netanyahu submits request for a pardon amid his ongoing corruption trial [Trump has urged his pardon].

Blast from the past: “Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction.” French artist Francis Picabla, 1879-1953. He was a painter, writer, filmmaker, magazine publisher and poet.