Random News and Notes 2 January
Today is the 6th day of unrest in Iran. Anti-regime protests have spread across the country occuring in every region and every major city. The IRGC and their local proxies the Basij have started to crack down in some of the more remote regions but have been remarkably circumspect about reprisals in the larger cities with the exception of Ishfahan. There regime forces have been recorded firing directly into crowds of protesters.
President Trump issued a statement warning the regime about violent reprisals against the protesters.
What “coming to their rescue” would look like is as clear as mud at the moment, but I’d bet more things going boom. Mainly underground regime facilities like bomb shelters and bunkers. Kinda like the one that Iranian proxy Hassan Nasrallah met his end in. Keeping in mind, we have far more effective ‘bunker busters’ than the Israelis do.
A while back – it’s been so long I forget exactly when myself – I started telling you about the US Naval buildup in the Southern Caribbean. Well, it’s still there. And I am beginning to wonder why. About a week ago I brought you news of some tanker seizures off the coast of Venezuela. At the time, I incorrectly said that the Coast Guard had seized the M/T Bella 1. It turns out the Bella 1 is running from the Coast Guard and Navy. But it gets worse. Until 31 December, the Bella 1 was ‘stateless’ – a term of art in maritime law that renders a vessel more or less free for the taking – because it was improperly registered and displaying incorrect flagging on both the ship and its AIS broadcast. (AIS is a marine tracking system that broadcasts registration, ships flag and GPS coords). As of the 31st, the vessel is registered in Russia.
Why is this an issue? Because a quarter of the US Navy was in the area and nobody had the testicular fortitude to order a forced boarding. This could have been over a week ago. I know there is at least 1 SeAL platoon in the collection of US forces in the area, why not let them do what they do. Before yesterday, because of the registry and flag spoofing, the Bella 1 had no ‘state’ protections and was legally fair game.
On the lighter side, a prison in Brazil is using guard geese to patrol the perimeter fences. At São Pedro de Alcântara Penitentiary in Santa Catarina, Brazil, a flock of geese has guarded the grassy strip between the inner fence and outer wall since around 2009, alerting guards alongside 200 cameras. Officials chose geese over dogs because the birds need no training, graze on grass, and stay vigilant day and night, vocalizing naturally at disturbances. No perimeter escapes have occurred since the geese were installed.
. . . say that guard dogs require a lot of work, they need to be trained, they can be bribed, they require a lot of attention, and they are expensive. Geese, on the contrary, are naturally very aggressive, territorial, and constantly on guard.
The geese are placed around the perimeter of the prison, so if someone intrudes into their territory, the geese start to rage, make a noise, and alert the correctional facility staff.
Anyone who has encountered a nesting Canada Goose will know. . .
