Are the exploding pager attacks killing 9 including a girl and boy state-sponsored murder or an act of war?

Image: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

I asked AI the above question. Note: for me this alleged Israeli attack on Hezbollah is very close (or is) state-sponsored murder as a boy and girl were killed and of course non-Hezbollah members might have been killed or badly injured. It was reckless. How could Israel (if they did it) guarantee that only Hezbollah members would be carrying the pagers? There was a real risk of killing and injuring innocent civilians which is what has happened. Update: latest count is 12 dead with thousands injured some very seriously. Further update: Hezbollah say that 300 have been injured and 9 dead so far.

Further update, next day: 'New phase' in conflict as walkie-talkie blasts kill 20. Same sort of thing. In this case 20 killed and 450 injured by booby-trapped walkie-talkie devices that blow up in your hands. This is certainly the work of sophisticated Mossad, Israel's spy service. This is a different kind of warfare but is it cold-blooded murder?

Further update: Also hand-held radios used by Hezbollah have exploded across the country's south, and in the southern suburbs of the capital. And solar energy systems have exploded in several areas as well. This is an incredible example of underhand warfare which I have suggested might be state sponsored murder and mayhem. But if it is Israel, they won't give a damn. They've killed tens of thousands of innocent civilians including children and babies in Gaza, by recklessly shelling and firing rockets into civilian buildings.

The pagers where were made under licence in Budapest by a firm called BAC Consulting, using the Gold Apollo name.

 Here is AI's response (ChatGPT).

The incident you’re referring to involving exploding pagers killing nine people, including a girl and boy, sounds like a targeted or violent attack, but without additional details about the specific case, it's difficult to categorize it definitively as state-sponsored murder or an act of war. The distinction depends on several factors:

1. State-Sponsored Murder: This occurs when a government or a state-backed entity carries out or orders the assassination or killing of individuals. Examples include targeted assassinations, politically motivated killings, or extrajudicial killings that a government either directs or endorses. These are typically covert operations intended to silence or eliminate threats or opposition.
2. Act of War: An act of war refers to aggressive actions between states or factions engaged in armed conflict. If the attack was carried out by one state or an armed group as part of a larger military campaign against another state, then it could be seen as an act of war. In this context, civilian casualties can occur as a result of broader hostilities.

To determine whether this particular attack was state-sponsored or an act of war, you'd need to consider:

• The perpetrator: Was it a state or state-backed group that carried out the attack, or was it a non-state actor, such as a terrorist organization or criminal group?
• The motive: Was the attack politically motivated, part of a conflict, or related to some other cause like terrorism or organized crime?
• The context: Was the attack part of a larger military conflict, or was it a targeted strike on individuals?

If this attack was part of a broader conflict between states, it could be considered an act of war. If it was a targeted killing carried out by or on behalf of a government, it could fall under the category of state-sponsored murder. If more context can be provided, a more specific classification could be offered.

When an innocent boy and girl are killed and possibly non-Hezbollah individuals too this is very close to murder isn't it?

Yes, when innocent civilians, including children, are killed in an attack—especially if they are not involved in any armed conflict or militant activities—it is generally viewed as a grave injustice and could be described as murder. Whether or not the attack was carried out by a state or a non-state actor, the intentional or reckless killing of non-combatants, especially children, is often considered a violation of international humanitarian law and human rights.

Here’s how different perspectives might frame such an event:

1. Murder: From a moral and legal perspective, the killing of innocent civilians, particularly children, could be considered murder if it was intentional or if the attackers acted with reckless disregard for human life. Murder implies an unlawful, unjustified, and deliberate act of killing. Even in conflict zones, the deliberate targeting of civilians is a criminal act.
2. War Crime: In the context of armed conflict, if the attack violated the rules of war, such as the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit attacks on civilians, it could be considered a war crime. Targeting civilians, including children, is explicitly forbidden, regardless of the attackers' affiliation.
3. State-Sponsored Assassination vs. Collateral Damage: If a government or state-backed entity carried out the attack, and it was aimed at specific targets but resulted in civilian deaths, it could be categorized as state-sponsored murder or extrajudicial killings. Even if the target was not civilians (but militants, for example), the killing of innocent bystanders, especially when children are involved, could be interpreted as a failure to observe the principle of proportionality and distinction in warfare, potentially leading to criminal liability.

Innocent lives lost in such a situation, especially if the victims were not involved in any hostile activities, reflect the devastating human cost of violence. Even when not labeled outright murder, the attack would likely be condemned as reckless, unjustified, and deeply tragic.

If this incident occurred in the context of a military operation or state-sponsored attack, international law, ethics, and public opinion would view the loss of innocent lives as highly problematic and likely demand accountability.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Similar deaths of Mathew Perry and Michael Jackson

See base of page for credit. This is Mathew Perry in case you were unsure 😃

Mathew Perry was the famous star on the Friends American sitcom. He was an admitted drug and alcohol addict who fought his demons for a long time sought help. His cause of death was ketamine (high as the amount given during general anaesthesia, according to the medical examiner) and drowning. Other contributing factors were coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid use disorder.

Michael Jackson died at his Los Angeles mansion at age 50 of acute propofol intoxication. His physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for providing the drug.

A doctor has been arrested over Mathew Perry's death. Speculation: his doctor prescribed ketamine on Perry's request (mirroring Jackson who asked his doctor for more 'milk') but at a dose that was the same as if he was being put under a general anaesthetic.

"The levels of ketamine in his body were as high as the amount given during general anaesthesia, according to the medical examiner." - BBC

He died in his bath as a consequence. There are distinct similarities between the deaths of Mathew Perry and Michael Jackson and the thread that runs through them is their personal physician who prescribed powerful anaesthetic drugs I believe on their direct request. The problem is that the doctors overdid it (I am speculating about Perry' doctor).

"Matthew Perry 'froze up' after predatory doctor injected him with huge ketamine dose just two weeks before his death, prosecutors say" - Newspapers today 16th Aug. 2024.

And:

"Dr Salvador Plascencia had a license to prescribe and administer the powerful tranquilizer but needed help from another medic to keep pace with the vast amounts the Friends star was consuming in the weeks before he died in October last year."

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Below are some details about the similarities and differences of these similar drugs from ChatGPT. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this section but it looks good.

Propofol and ketamine are both used as anaesthetics, but they have distinct characteristics and mechanisms of action.

Similarities:

• Anesthetic Agents: Both propofol and ketamine are used to induce and maintain anaesthesia.
• Sedative Properties: Both drugs can cause sedation and are used in various medical procedures to achieve this effect.

Differences:

1. Mechanism of Action:

• Propofol: Acts primarily by enhancing the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) at the GABA_A receptor, leading to increased inhibitory neurotransmission and sedation.
• Ketamine: Works by blocking the NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptor, which is involved in excitatory neurotransmission. This results in dissociative anesthesia, where the patient may feel detached from their surroundings or experience altered perceptions.

1. Anesthetic Depth and Effects:

• Propofol: Provides a smooth induction and maintenance of anesthesia with rapid onset and recovery. It does not usually produce significant analgesia (pain relief) on its own.
• Ketamine: Induces a state of dissociative anesthesia, which includes pain relief, sedation, and amnesia, often with vivid dreams or hallucinations during emergence. It can cause a trance-like state where the patient may remain conscious but unaware of their surroundings.

1. Cardiovascular and Respiratory Effects:

• Propofol: Can cause significant cardiovascular depression, leading to lower blood pressure and respiratory depression, especially in higher doses.
• Ketamine: Typically preserves cardiovascular stability and can even increase heart rate and blood pressure, making it useful in patients who are at risk of hypotension. It also has a lower risk of respiratory depression compared to propofol.

1. Use Cases:

• Propofol: Commonly used for induction of anesthesia in surgeries, sedation for procedures like endoscopy, and maintenance of anesthesia in combination with other agents.
• Ketamine: Often used in emergency situations, for short procedures, and in patients with certain types of chronic pain or in those at risk for hypotension. It's also used in sub-anesthetic doses for its analgesic and antidepressant effects.

In summary, while both propofol and ketamine are used in anaesthetic practice, they have different mechanisms, effects, and clinical applications. Propofol is favoured for its smooth and predictable sedative effects, while ketamine is valued for its dissociative properties and cardiovascular stability.

Image credit: By Office of National Drug Control Policy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Matthew_Perry_Office_of_National_Drug_Control_Policy_The_White_House.theora.ogv, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=139762070

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Five death bed regrets according to a palliative care nurse

The five death bed regrets according to a palliative care nurse who has been with dying patients.

1. 'I wish I hadn't dedicated so much of my life to working so hard.'
2. I wish I'd lived my life the way I wanted, not how others expected me to behave.
3. 'I regret losing touch with so many of my friends'.
4. 'I wish I'd been brave enough to express my feelings more'.
5. 'I wish I'd let myself be happier'

Is there a common threat running through the five regrets? Probably, yes. I see the common thread as regretting not being adventurous enough to live life as fully as possible; to take some risks. 

Being overly cautious curtails life dramatically. It means the person does not life a full life and does not maximise the chance of new experiences.

Caution is very understandable as the world can be scary to a lot of people. Anxiety is a massive, sometimes hidden problem but anxiety stops a person pushing their boundaries and living as fully as possible.

People need to take a few risks in life to get more out of it. It takes energy to maximise life. I guess it is an example of what you put in you get out. 

The palliative care nurse's name is Bronnie.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Teenage girl killed on motorway trying to rescue a cat in Brazil

Jaciannny Maria da Silva. Image: Mirror.co.uk.

A 17-year-old girl, Jaciannny Maria da Silva, tried to rescue a cat lying on the BR-423 highway, in Jupi, north-eastern Brazil and was hit by a car and killed. The story continues below the map showing the location of this motorway.

The girl was waiting for a school bus last Monday morning. Her name was Jaciannny Maria da Silva. News media tells me that the cat was lying on the road which is a motorway. That would imply that the cat had already been hit by the way but I don't know. The girl decided to go onto the motorway to remove the cat from it. As she crossed the road, she was hit by a Fiat Argo. I don't know the make and model. She was taken to a hospital suffering from multiple traumatic injuries and died shortly afterwards. The cat driver was breathalysed and passed the test.

Of course, the family are devastated. Her schools said in a statement: "it is with deep sorrow that we mourn the loss of our dear student Jacianny Maria da Silva, who passed away this morning, leaving a huge void in our hearts. Our sincere condolences to her family and friends during this difficult time. May they find comfort in the memories and the love she left as a legacy."

Jupi Municipality said: "We deeply regret the passing of Jacianny Maria da Silva, a victim of a tragic accident that occurred this Monday morning, 9 October 2023. The Municipality of Jupi, through Mayor Ant nio Marcos Patriota, expresses solidarity with her entire family and we ask the merciful God to welcome Jacianny into the eternal abode."

RELATED: Thankful kitten rescued from highway by police officer sets off siren on way to station (video).

Comment: I have read of people going onto the motorway before in America to rescue kittens which begs the question by the way how the kitten got onto the motorway in the first place. It is probably because somebody threw the kitten out of a car window as they drove down the motorway.

Professional rescuers can rescue cats and kittens from motorways because they are aware of the dangers. But I guess sometimes people misjudge the speed of the cars and they are so desperate to get the cat that they become careless.

I can recall another instance of a couple rescuing a cat when they were both hit and killed. That occurred in America as I recall.

I don't have a photo of the girl

Ciprofloxacin is a potentially dangerous antibiotic which might cause suicidal thoughts

This is not directly to do with cats but I feel that I must flag it up. The story surprised me. This is not simply a factual reporting of that story but I would like to provide my opinion as well, where appropriate. The Telegraph reported in the drug about 7 hours ago.

It concerns a retired cardiologist with no history of mental health problems; no history of depression. His name was Robert Stevenson. He was respected.

He was prescribed the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. This is a general-purpose antibiotic which can be prescribed for a wide range of bacterial infections including urinary tract infections, chest infections and for example sexually transmitted disease infections. It is also prescribed for infections such as conjunctivitis.

Just over a week after commencing the course of this antibiotic he left a note for his wife on Facebook telling her that he had left a written note under his pillow at home. The note apparently was uncharacteristically confused and illogical.

He was found hanged in a nearby wood.

Clearly, in the face of it, ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic which can alter brain chemistry causing the patient to become suicidally depressed. That is the logical conclusion from the story and it is the implied conclusion from the story as reported by the press.

As I mentioned, it needs to be flagged because my guess is that 99.9% of the population of any country are going to be ignorant of this apparently dangerous antibiotic. People consider antibiotics to be safe and nearly always without serious side effects or side effects at all.

Concerningly, ciprofloxacin is sometimes prescribed for reducing inflammation in the prostate in order to investigate possible prostate cancer. A lot of old man might well be going through this process. Or it might she scheduled.

The story should concern elderly man. Some of them will live with a domestic cat like me. I will take note of this story.

Ciprofloxacin appears to be widely available antibiotic. It is certainly available in the UK and the USA.

Arrogant abusive big cat owner in Europe eaten by his lions. Karma.

This is another example of nature's way; to introduce some karma into the equation. In this instance a private zoo owner in Oškerda, Slovakia, who had a reputation for breaking the rules and whose license had expired in 2019 had the habit of personally feeding his lions every day. He kept them in poor conditions and therefore he abused them.

He'd had done this since the lions were cubs. His name was Jozef B. Why don't we know his name? He was labelled "Europe's Joe Exotic" after the American private zoo owner now in jail serving a very long sentence for conspiring to murder Carole Baskin.

Arrogant abuse big cat owner in Europe eaten by his lions. Karma. Image: NewsFlash.

I guess he felt entirely safe despite a 29-year-old woman being injured when petting a lion at his zoo. One visitor said:

"We used to come here regularly. I saw with my own eyes how he went to the cage and fed the lions. I always asked him if he was afraid, and he just said that he had been feeding them since they were babies."

One day he did not return from feeding the big cats and his family alerted the police. They discovered some human remains. Perhaps they were starving and ate part of him. The police shot two of the lions. Shame that the lions always get it when they kill humans.

A local, who only went by Peter, said:

"He was very arrogant, he didn't know how to behave, he abused the animals and they had very bad conditions."

The local authority are now considering putting down the tigers and lions at the zoo as the conditions are poor. Not good. Why not find new zoos for them. So much more humane, surely? This is a very poor and inhumane decision.

He was said to be an arrogant man. A local person, Peter, said:

"He was very arrogant, he didn't know how to behave, he abused the animals and they had very bad conditions."

Cat-liking journalist killed by Russian missile when covering the Ukraine war

The tweet is very sad. Arman Soldin was an AFP journalist. And it would appear that he was an ailurophile - a cat lover or at least a cat liker. According to the Defense of Ukraine tweet (a great Twitterer by the way) he was killed by a Russian missile attack on Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region of Ukraine. 

Arman Soldin an AFP journo was killed by the Russians in Ukraine. Image: Twitter.

The Defense of Ukraine tweeting authors always spell 'Russia' without capitalising it. I believe this is a deliberate sign of disrespect and I agree with them. No one should respect Russia anymore. 

Putin says that the West wants to destroy Russia and that the West has started the war. It is complete mumbo-jumbo. He is constantly feeding misinformation to the citizens of Russia. He calls black, white and white, black. He is a consummate liar and I think that he believes his lies. If he could have made friends with the West it would have protected Russia. His actions are jeopardising Russia; making it more vulnerable

The Defense of Ukraine tweet concludes: "Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and coworkers. He dedicated his life to informing the world about the truth. His legacy, as well as his cause, will live on."

RIP Arman. God speed. And I love the ginger tabby cat on your shoulder. I hope the cat was not with you when the missile struck. I wonder what happened to this cat?

UPDATE from CBS: "The French judiciary has launched a war crime investigation into the death of AFP reporter Arman Soldin who was killed in Ukraine, anti-terror prosecutors said Wednesday."

Soldin, 32, died when he and his AFP colleagues came under fire by Grad rockets on Tuesday while they were with Ukrainian troops near Chasiv Yar, in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. According to the AFP, other reporters with Soldin were not injured in the attack.

 
Hundreds of thousands of animals have been 'murdered' by Putin's forces during this illegal invasion. It is horrible and tragic. Not enough has been mentioned about them.

And many thousands of domestic cats have become feral. They've become homeless as their owners have been killed in their flats. There is a girl who looks after them where she lives. Heroic.

Here she is: 11-year-old girl feeds abandoned cats in devastated Ukraine. The girl's name is Veronika Krasevych. Such an adult character and approach to animal welfare from such a young girl. She sounds like an adult when she talks about cats.

Video screenshot.

Ukraine: actress and her four cats killed by rocket fragment as she slept in 16th-floor flat

A well-known Ukrainian actress with a distinguished stage career, Oksana Shvets, was killed while she slept in her 16th-floor flat in Kyiv, Ukraine as a result of a freak accident, as it happens.

Oksana Shvets. Photo in public domain (assessed).

The flat is in the south-east of Kyiv miles from any frontline fighting or any previous missile strike. Regrettably, a missile that was flying above her flat was intercepted by Ukrainian rocket.

The Russian missile exploded and broke into several parts. One of those parts flew through her bedroom window, while she was asleep, killing her instantly.

Shvets was a known cat lover. She fed the local strays and took them in. At the moment she was struck by this piece of missile junk, it appears that her four cats were in her bedroom, perhaps on her bed at the time. Accordingly, they died with her.

Perhaps we can be comforted by the fact that it must have been an instant death. Perhaps she did not even realise it for a second.

It is incredibly sad that this well-loved person had her life taken from in such tragic circumstances. There is another potentially good aspect to this, if it is possible to say that, which is that her cats died with her. Without her they would have struggled to survive.

Sasha, an IT engineer was in the next room at the moment she was killed and survived unscathed.  I think he is her son.

Natasha Tsytsiarieva, a neighbour next door, said: "She was a beautiful person, a real star, kind to us all".

A fellow actor, Anatoly Petrov, 66, said that it is hard for him to believe that she has gone as they were acting on stage at the start of the war last month. Her last performance on February 12 was of a classic manipulative, scheming mother-in-law in a Ukrainian tragedy. Petrov played the young wife's father.

Her body was laid out amid the broken glass in front of her apartment block, covered by a shroud. Her son Sasha, 35, knelt over her body in shock and distress.

This is another tragic and distressing snippet from this brutal, unnecessary and illegal war started by Putin who wants to annex Ukraine and call it Russia. He wants to increase in an instant the population of Russia because it is declining. 

And he wants to return Russia to the old USSR. He is scared of Ukraine's democracy. He fears that it is contagious and that there might be a revolution in Russia to depose him. He doesn't mind whether he takes possession of a country that has been destroyed by his forces. And he doesn't mind if it takes possession of a country in which the citizens universally hate him and therefore his objective is entirely futile.

There is no doubt in my mind that he has engaged in war crimes. I agree with Biden on this. Many others will agree with me too. We can only hope that when this is over, he is somehow taken to The Hague, Netherlands, for a trial.

But it will never bring back people like Shvets.