//The Wire//2300Z February 24, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: GERMAN ELECTION RESULTS IN GAINS FOR THE AFD, THOUGH CDU/CSU TAKES LEAD. POPE FRANCIS REMAINS IN CRITICAL CONDITION. AMERICAN GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY INITIATIVES DRAW IRE OF FEDERAL WORKERS.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Vatican City: Over the weekend the Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis remains in critical condition regarding his previous illness. Germany: Sunday's election resulted in Friedrich Merz becoming the new Chancellor, as the CDU/CSU took 33% of the vote. While falling short of any sort of majority, the AfD party surprised many by coming in second place, winning 24% of the vote. AC: The key takeaway from this election is that the AfD now has more bargaining power than in previous years, albeit falling short of their own goals. Though by American standards the AfD is a rather lukewarm center-right party (at best), throughout Germany the AfD party has been vilified as extreme-far-right (which may be technically true for Germany's perspective, by comparison with other political parties). As such, this signals a significant shift in atmospherics throughout the nation, even if radical changes in the grand scheme of national politics will be challenging to arrive at.. -HomeFront- New York: Sunday evening American Airlines Flight 292 bound for Delhi was diverted to Rome due to a bomb threat. After a security inspection in Rome detected no threat to the aircraft, the flight was cleared for departure to Delhi. AC: These types of bomb threats are relatively common. Though American Airlines has not specified the exact details of what resulted in the brief diversion, it is very likely that a threat was received (probably on social media) that referenced this specific flight, which caused the security concerns. Georgia: This morning Delta Flight 876 (bound for Columbia, SC from Atlanta) experienced an in-flight emergency via smoke filling the passenger cabin. The aircraft promptly returned to Atlanta due to the smoke. California: Saturday night, Delta Flight 43 (bound for Sydney from Los Angeles) also experienced an in-flight emergency with smoke filling the passenger cabin. AC: Of note, though two separate emergencies of similar characteristics (and via the same airline) occurring within 24 hours of each other is rare, it must be noted that both smoke incidents involved separate airframes. The Los Angeles emergency involved an Airbus A350, and the Atlanta incident involved a smaller regional jet, a Boeing 717-200. Washington D.C. - Controversy has erupted over the past few days regarding various initiatives to improve the efficiency of government agencies. Over the weekend an email was sent out from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to every single federal employee, requesting them to provide a short list of 5 bullets regarding what they had completed last week. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: As the OPM email was sent out to everyone, from every single military service member to the highest-paid directors of various federal agencies, mass pandemonium has largely been the result. The initial knee-jerk reaction for many department directors of various levels of bureaucracy has been to order their subordinates to not reply to the email. The Department of Defense also issued guidance to prevent all service members from responding to the email as well. Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//
//The Wire//2300Z February 20, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: THOUGHT CRIMES REMAIN CONCERNING THROUGHOUT EUROPE. KASH PATEL CONFIRMED AS FBI DIRECTOR. TWO JUVENILES ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED SCHOOL ATTACK PLOT IN TEXAS.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Scotland: This morning a 74-year-old woman was arrested for speech and thought crimes. Rose Docherty (a well known, pro-life advocate) was arrested for demonstrating via standing on a sidewalk outside Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, a very large medical complex that houses abortion facilities. At the time of her arrest she was holding a sign that read "Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want". -HomeFront- Texas: Two juveniles were arrested for an alleged plot to attack a school in Houston. The two unidentified girls, aged 15 and 16, allegedly posted the details of the plot on social media. Washington D.C. - In Congress, Kash Patel was confirmed as the next Director of the FBI this afternoon. This morning Senator Mitch McConnell announced that he will be stepping down from his seat in the Senate. AC: This is not an immediate resignation, but rather an announcement that he will not seek reelection next year. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: The arrest of Rose Docherty was made under the so-called "buffer zone" laws, which have recently gained scrutiny after being denounced by American Vice President JD Vance. Regardless of the recent media coverage, the policing of thought crimes and the persecution of Christianity throughout Scotland, the British Isles, and almost all of western Europe has remained a little-discussed (yet exceptionally grave) concern for many years. Silent Christian prayer, even including praying inside one's own home, has been relentlessly targeted by authorities, drawing the ire of those who have been subjected to public Islamic calls for prayer, which have included the participation of hundreds of official government officials and buildings. As pointed out by American diplomats (such as JD Vance), this double standard is a very large societal problem that is impacting civilization itself throughout Europe. Regarding the alleged threats in Texas, neither of the two girls were attendees of the school which was threatened (Memorial High School), both were students at neighboring schools. While inter-school rivalries are extremely common throughout the nation, in this case authorities state that the undisclosed attack details were specific and credible enough to warrant the arrests. However, the FBI is the lead agency in charge of this investigation, which has caused doubts due to the FBI's long and very questionable history pertaining to these types of events. Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//
//The Wire//2300Z February 19, 2025// //ROUTINE// //BLUF: WAR EXPANDS IN THE CONGO. TENSIONS BUILD BETWEEN THE US AND UKRAINE FOLLOWING ZELENSKY BEING SIDE-LINED DURING PEACE TALKS.//  -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events- Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): The advance by M23 rebels in the eastern districts of the country has continued, with the rebels capturing the city of Bukavu yesterday. Separately, in the northeastern region of Bunia, Uganda launched an invasion of their own, deploying special forces soldiers throughout the region. AC: The flimsy attempt to conceal the M23 "rebels" as an independent group has largely fallen away, as the military uniforms that the "rebels" are now wearing more or less confirm that these forces are in fact mercenaries slow-walking a Rwandan invasion of the DRC. Uganda now wanting a piece of the action is very likely to escalate the situation further, and probably marks a new era of the decades-long conflict. Europe: Tensions remain elevated between the United States and Ukraine, with Ukrainian leader Zelensky expressing a variety of hostile sentiments towards the United States for himself not being invited to the peace talks conference currently underway in Saudi Arabia. -HomeFront- USA: The arrival of winter weather conditions throughout much of the central and eastern parts of the nation has caused significant travel delays. Many airlines have issued ground stops for much of the central United States due to poor weather conditions. In Kentucky, the casualty figure has risen to 14x fatalities resulting from the recent flooding disasters throughout much of the state. Arizona: This morning an aircraft collision was reported at the Marana Regional Airport, which resulted in the destruction of two small planes. Two fatalities were reported as a result of the collision. AC: As the focus remains on aviation mishaps nationwide, it will be up to the individual to conduct their own analysis to determine if these events are happening more often, or if the increased media coverage is skewing the overall risk assessment. Washington D.C. - Various Presidential actions continue, with a handful of cartels being formally designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) this afternoon. AC: This decision was made weeks ago, and already in practice as evidenced by the significant intelligence collection efforts recently undertaken by the United States in Mexico. As the formalization of this decision is solidified in policy, the ball is now in the court of the various cartels to determine what their reaction will be. On the diplomatic front, relations between the United States and Russia have improved significantly over the past few days, at the expense of rapidly deteriorating relations with Ukraine and most of Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an official restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia, as part of ongoing conversations pertaining to peace talks. -----END TEARLINE----- Analyst Comments: As has long been theorized since the start of the war (and as the conflict in Ukraine draws to a close), a lot of things are going to happen in very rapid succession. Perhaps most frustratingly, a lot of things are going to happen that may seem to be nonsensical to some. This is due to the rabid censorship efforts over the past few years that have painted a specific picture...the vast majority of those in the west have largely been looking at the war through a lens that is completely one-sided. This is nothing new, however, reality is often a great equalizer in the realm of information warfare...at a certain point all of the propaganda and gaslighting falls away to reveal the reality of the situation. In the case of Ukraine, there are many people who likely still believe everything they have heard about the war, the motivations for the conflict beginning, and so on. As such, when the lies are increasingly more and more detached from the truth, the more damage is done; the bigger the lies are, the harder they fall. Over the next few weeks, the American taxpayer is going to learn a lot of inconvenient truths, and as a result may feel a level of betrayal as the situation does not turn out the way that it has been portrayed for years. More specifically, harsh statements will very likely continue to be traded between the United States and Ukraine as it becomes more clear that ever since the West became involved in the conflict Ukraine has had very little agency or leeway to decide their own fate. Ukrainian leaders may even seek to bite the hand that feeds them, as that hand starts feeding them less. Likewise, many European nations which have been involved in the war will probably continue to express hostile sentiment toward the United States (as Germany already has), for a variety of reasons: some probably justifiable, some not so much. Either way, the rapid pivot away from the policy of the past four years is likely to cause issues domestically among Americans who have differing (and often combative) opinions on the war. Analyst: S2A1 Research: //END REPORT//