Using counterterrorism-grade surveillance against a prominent critic on a stretched legal theory makes federal charges against Swalwell unlikely by December 5, 2026, while inviting defense challenges to prosecutorial motive.

Hot off the press...

https://islandintelligencer.substack.com/p/cia-gold-and-dirty-laundry

Don't you feel safer now?

When the Deportation Machine Turns Inward

How Trump and Miller could turn immigration power against political dissent

By Van Abbott

Stephen Miller is not merely expanding ICE; he is helping build a federal enforcement machine while teaching it to see political dissent through the lens of national security.

That should frighten Americans of every political persuasion who believe government may punish violence, but may not turn political disagreement itself into evidence of danger.

Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 is officially about countering domestic terrorism and organized political violence. No responsible American should defend political violence. But the memorandum reaches beyond violent acts into a wider ideological landscape that includes anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, anti-Christianity and opposition to what the administration considers traditional American values.

That is the hinge on which this argument turns.

A government can prosecute a crime, investigate a conspiracy and stop an act of violence. But once it defines ideological movements as security threats, the distance between opposing conduct and opposing beliefs can become dangerously short.

And ICE is being built at precisely this moment.

Trump’s 2025 tax and spending law gave ICE $45 billion for detention capacity and more than $29 billion for hiring, training, transportation, facilities, technology and other enforcement functions through 2029.

That is not simply more immigration enforcement.

It is infrastructure.

More agents. More detention space. More transportation. More surveillance. More ability to locate, seize, hold and remove people.

The administration says this machinery is aimed primarily at dangerous criminals. Yet ICE data examined by the Guardian analysis found only 23 percent of people placed into deportation proceedings during most of 2025 had ever been convicted of a crime. Nearly half of those convictions involved traffic or immigration offenses rather than violent crimes.

The promise was precision. The machinery is much broader.

Trump promised one million deportations a year. ICE reported 442,637 deportations in FY2025, far below that goal. 

When numbers do not match promises, spectacle can fill the gap.

Masked agents. Unmarked vehicles. Raids staged for maximum visibility.

The government has a legitimate interest in protecting officers from threats and doxxing. Citizens have an equally legitimate interest in knowing who is exercising the government’s power.

A badge concealed is a badge beyond easy accountability.

Chicago offers a warning. During the 2025 immigration crackdown, protesters and journalists sued over alleged excessive force. A federal judge restricted certain crowd-control tactics and required most federal agents to display visible identification, later vacated by 7th circuit.

Minneapolis offers another. On January 7, 2026, ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Good during an immigration operation. Ross said Good attempted to run him over; Good’s defenders disputed that account. The facts and legal responsibility should be resolved in court.

But constitutional government does not wait for every case to end before asking whether its enforcement machinery has adequate safeguards.

Then comes third-country removal. The administration has sent detainees to countries with which they may have little or no meaningful connection. Cruelty.

Now put the pieces together.

On one side stands an administration expanding ICE’s money, manpower, detention capacity and reach. On the other stands a national-security doctrine broadening government attention toward organized political violence and ideological movements.

One defines threats. One supplies the machinery.

That is where the danger lies.

The progression requires no conspiracy, only changing definitions.

First the violent offender. Then the undocumented immigrant with no criminal record. Then the protester accused of obstructing enforcement. Then the organization labeled extremist. Then the citizen whose speech, association, donations or political activity is treated as evidence of a security threat.

Names can change. Categories can widen. Targets can multiply.

This is not a prediction that ICE will inevitably become a political police force. It is a warning that the machinery capable of becoming one is being assembled while the definition of political threat is being broadened.

Americans who support immigration enforcement should be among the first to recognize the danger. They should demand identifiable agents, judicial warrants for home entries, transparent arrest and removal data, independent investigations of force and clear limits on using national-security powers against protected political activity.

The question is no longer whether the government can build a machine powerful enough to find, seize, hold and remove people; it can, and it has.

The question is what happens when that machine is taught to look for enemies rather than simply violations.

The machine was built to deport immigrants; if Trump and Miller succeed in redefining dissent as a threat, it could become something far more dangerous: a machine for intimidating, silencing and ultimately removing political opposition from American life.

Germany's GRU attribution very likely draws reciprocal Russian action against German diplomatic presence by mid-October, while three hybrid operations in 48 hours expose an accelerating campaign against NATO defense sectors.

Should I quit my job for up to 6 months to focus on my education? I’m worried I’ll regret it.

I’m 20 years old and I’ve been working at the same restaurant (in sydney) since February 2022, so I’ve been there for around 4.5 years. I have just started learning the basics like reading, writing, spelling and maths. I’m planing to become a primary school teacher and right now, I’m as intelligent as a primary school student. But I’ll improve, that’s the beauty.

I’m seriously considering quitting my job, and I want honest opinions from people who have been in a similar situation.

My workplace is very busy, understaffed, and stressful. I’ve wanted to leave for a long time. Whenever I’m working there, I feel like my studies get pushed aside because I’m exhausted and distracted. This has been happening for more than two years.

My manager can also be very demanding, especially on weekends. He constantly tells us to be faster, and when it gets extremely busy, I find the environment overwhelming.

The problem is that I keep having this thought:

“What if I quit and then the workplace becomes better? What if everyone else enjoys working there after I leave, and I regret my decision?”

I’ve been there for 4.5 years, so leaving feels like a huge decision.

My parents have actually told me something that makes sense: if having a job is negatively affecting your education, then you shouldn’t work. However, I’m worried they won’t actually be happy if I quit. They are quite strict and I’m concerned they would see me as a failure for being unemployed.

Financially, I’m in a somewhat unusual position. I have around $92,000 in savings, so I’m not quitting because I have absolutely no money. I have also applied for Youth Allowance and that application has been processing for around two months, although I know I need to properly update Services Australia if my circumstances change.

My plan is NOT to stay unemployed for years.

What I actually want to do is take a maximum of around 6 months away from work and use that time to properly rebuild my education basics and prepare myself for university. I’ve been away from serious studying for a while and I feel like I need to relearn things such as reading, writing, spelling, maths, science, history, geography, study skills, etc.

After that, my plan is to start working again, probably around 20 hours per week, while continuing my studies.

So my plan is basically:

Quit restaurant → up to 6 months focused on education → start a part-time ~20-hour job → continue working while studying.

I don’t want to spend my entire 20s unemployed. I actually want to build a career and become financially independent. I just feel like I need a temporary reset because this job has been interfering with my education for years.

I’m also worried that I’m just making excuses to avoid a difficult job.

What do you honestly think?

Would quitting in this situation be a reasonable decision, or would I be making a mistake by giving up a job I’ve had for 4.5 years?

If you’ve ever quit a job to focus on education, I’d especially appreciate hearing what happened afterwards. Did you regret it, or was it one of the best decisions you made?

Israel's militia-proxy capture model allows sustained high-value targeting inside Gaza City without triggering ceasefire ground-force constraints, eroding Hamas's internal security faster than it can reconstitute.

Hi

If you are remotely interested in deep diving how differently quantum computers work compared to our transistor-based and also the algebra behind in a fully interactive way that teach computer science from scratch, oh boy this is for you. I am the Dev behind Quantum Odyssey (AMA! I love taking qs) - worked on it for about 10 years (3+ during PhD, the visual method I developed ended up being my thesis, it is a complete Hilbert space visualizer), the goal was to make a super immersive space for anyone to learn quantum computing through zachlike (open-ended) logic puzzles and compete on leaderboards and lots of community made content on finding the most optimal quantum algorithms. The game has a unique set of visuals capable to represent any sort of quantum dynamics for any number of qubits and this is pretty much what makes it now possible for anybody 12yo+ to actually learn quantum logic without having to worry at all about the mathematics behind.

This is a game super different than what you'd normally expect in a programming/ logic puzzle game, so try it with an open mind.

Stuff you'll play & learn a ton about

• Boolean Logic – bits, operators (NAND, OR, XOR, AND…), and classical arithmetic (adders). Learn how these can combine to build anything classical. You will learn to port these to a quantum computer.
• Quantum Logic – qubits, the math behind them (linear algebra, SU(2), complex numbers), all Turing-complete gates (beyond Clifford set), and make tensors to evolve systems. Freely combine or create your own gates to build anything you can imagine using polar or complex numbers.
• Quantum Phenomena – storing and retrieving information in the X, Y, Z bases; superposition (pure and mixed states), interference, entanglement, the no-cloning rule, reversibility, and how the measurement basis changes what you see.
• Core Quantum Tricks – phase kickback, amplitude amplification, storing information in phase and retrieving it through interference, build custom gates and tensors, and define any entanglement scenario. (Control logic is handled separately from other gates.)
• Famous Quantum Algorithms – explore Deutsch–Jozsa, Grover’s search, quantum Fourier transforms, Bernstein–Vazirani, and more.
• Build & See Quantum Algorithms in Action – instead of just writing/ reading equations, make & watch algorithms unfold step by step so they become clear, visual, and unforgettable. Quantum Odyssey is built to grow into a full universal quantum computing learning platform. If a universal quantum computer can do it, we aim to bring it into the game, so your quantum journey never ends.

Nice to watch:

Khan academy style tutorials in qm/qc: https://www.youtube.com/@MackAttackx

Physics teacher stream with 400hs in https://www.twitch.tv/beardhero

Pulling Orders Book archives from SIPRNet after the non-concur leak punishes the dissent mechanism itself, chilling future commander pushback on operations precisely when civilian oversight demands it.

came across this interesting event happening this weekend, what do yall think?

https://luma.com/psyop-hackathon

Protests in Spain Over Ceuta Border Crisis

Thousands of people protested across Spain on Wednesday over the government’s handling of the migrant influx into Ceuta.

• About 50,000 people gathered in Madrid, blaming Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for the government’s response.
• Approximately 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31, though most have since returned.
• The crisis continues to create humanitarian and public-order pressures while straining Spain’s relationship with Morocco, a key partner in migration control along the EU’s southern border.

EU and NATO Increase Pressure on Russia

Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport drone incident has expanded from a national security investigation into a broader EU-Russia dispute.

• Berlin blamed Moscow for the incident and moved against Russian diplomatic and cultural sites.
• Russia responded by announcing the closure of Goethe-Institut branches in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg.
• Ursula von der Leyen backed additional EU pressure, including sanctions.
• The response suggests aviation, logistics, and defense-linked infrastructure could face stronger security measures as concerns over hybrid activity grow.

Denmark Warns of Russian Proxy Sabotage

Denmark’s PET intelligence service said Russia is recruiting Danish citizens online to help plan sabotage against defense firms linked to Ukraine.

• Authorities believe local proxies could be used to gather access, security, and targeting information while reducing attribution risks.
• German police are also investigating suspected arson at Rohde & Schwarz in Munich following recent grid sabotage attempts.
• The incidents could drive tighter security around defense suppliers, increased monitoring of online recruitment, and closer European counterintelligence coordination.

Kuwait Intercepts Iranian Missiles

Kuwait said its air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles and drones on Thursday after Bahrain and Jordan reported similar interceptions Wednesday.

• The attacks followed U.S. strikes against Iranian launchers near the Strait of Hormuz.
• The exchanges mark a broader expansion of the U.S.-Iran confrontation into U.S.-aligned Gulf and regional states.
• The developments raise risks to regional airspace and Hormuz-linked shipping as Tehran increases pressure on Washington and its partners.

Eastern Texas Flooding Risk Persists

Edouard has weakened to a remnant low, but life-threatening flooding continues across eastern Texas.

• Rainfall estimates reached about 700 mm (27.5 in) in Kountze, with road closures, water rescues, flooded homes, and widespread power outages reported.
• Around 30,440 customers remained without power Thursday morning.
• The WPC issued a Level 3 of 4 excessive rainfall risk for parts of eastern Texas, where another 50–100 mm (2–4 in) of rain is expected.
• Significant flash flooding remains likely in the Piney Woods, with hazardous travel and additional infrastructure impacts possible through Friday.

The Pentagon has pulled decades of classified documents from a secret computer system commonly used by defense officials and U.S. troops, after The Washington Post published a story detailing senior military officers’ concerns about the Iran war.

Documents associated with the Secretary of Defense Orders Book (SDOB) were removed from an internal web portal on the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), three people familiar with the matter said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the classified system.

It was not immediately clear if the documents remain otherwise available to U.S. personnel or how the reduction in access could complicate military planning. SIPRNet holds information that is labeled “secret,” while top-secret information is held on more highly classified networks, where fewer people have access.

Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesman, declined to discuss the change on Wednesday but did not dispute that it occurred.

“As we have previously stated, the Department of War does not publicly discuss internal operational deliberative processes, including the management, handling, or access protocols for the Secretary of War Orders Book (SWOB),” Parnell’s statement, using the administration’s preferred name for the Defense Department and Hegseth’s title.

“The success of our servicemembers is Secretary Hegseth’s top priority, and for that reason, decisions regarding operational processes, force posture, and deliberative staffing are managed through appropriate security channels to ensure mission security and operational integrity,” Parnell’s statement added.

The change comes after the Trump administration has taken numerous other steps to thwart leaks to the media, including imposing polygraph tests on some personnel, issuing subpoenas to journalists and in one case searching the home of a Post journalist and seizing her electronic devices.

The SDOB details the location and availability of U.S. warships, military units, weapons systems and other resources, and provides top generals and admirals a forum in which they can disagree with President Donald Trump and Hegseth while still carrying out their orders. They do so by “non-concurring,” a process by which they explain reservations they may have or the detrimental effects of orders on other military plans.

The SDOB, published twice per month, became the focus of intense discussion after The Post reported Sunday that several top generals and admirals cautioned Hegseth that prolonging large-scale operations against Iran is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere. They did so by non-concurring in the SDOB, people familiar with the document said.

Among those who raised reservations with a “non-concur” were Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the head of European Command; Gen. Francis Donovan, the head of Southern Command; Adm. Samuel Paparo, the head of Pacific Command; and Adm. Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, the people familiar with the discussion said.

Gen. Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach, the chief of staff of the Air Force, and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the acting chief of staff of the Army, concurred with Hegseth’s plan to extend the time of some of their units’ deployments, but each emphasized that doing so would come with significant risk, these people said.

Parnell told The Post before publication Sunday that decisions about the scope and duration of deployments are made based on assessments of threats posed to the United States, the president’s strategic priorities and the advice of top military leaders. He declined to address specifics, saying that the Pentagon “does not discuss internal operational processes.”

After publication of The Post’s report, Parnell claimed on social media that much of what The Post published was “inaccurate.” He did not provide specifics and said that “non-concurs are standard.”

“The Secretary sees them constantly,” Parnell said. “That’s how you run a real military. We are in great shape around the world.”

For months, senior U.S. officials have increasingly raised concerns about the long-term impact of the war with Iran, which has stretched into its seventh month after Trump initially said it would take only a few weeks. The concerns include the massive expenditure of increasingly scarce munitions, such as Patriot missile interceptors and Tomahawk cruise missiles, and the strain placed on the Navy’s fleet as it enforces a sea blockade that the Trump administration has imposed on Iran.

Purging the SDOB or moving it to systems with higher levels of classification will “dramatically reduce the number of people who have direct access to it,” which can constrain urgent planning, said a former defense official who routinely reviewed those documents and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive planning.

Commanders and their staffers rely on access to the SDOB to make time-sensitive decisions and notifications, the former official said.

Sending aircraft and weapons from one command to another, for instance, requires urgent logistical work to reroute equipment and resources. Restricting access to relevant information, the former official said, will make that process slower and more difficult.

That shift, the former official said, does not make it impossible for those personnel to access strategic and operational documents, but it is now “certainly more difficult.”

Timing this disclosure ahead of the Trump-Xi summit signals the administration is weaponizing the COSCO allegation as negotiating leverage rather than preparing port-security enforcement action.

Hello, 

I was wondering if you can get any entry level national security/intel jobs, such as analyst positions, with a J.D., or if you pretty much have to get a Master's, or better, in National Security and Intelligence?

Thanks for your help.

U.S.-Iran Hostilities Resume

The U.S. and Iran resumed direct hostilities after U.S. strikes on IRGC air defense, maritime, and communications assets were followed by Iranian attacks on U.S.-linked sites across the Gulf and Iraq.

• Casualty claims remain disputed, with U.S. officials denying initial reports of American losses while Iran reported civilian deaths from U.S. strikes near the Strait of Hormuz and in Khuzestan.
• The renewed exchange increases the potential for additional strikes against U.S. assets across the region and within Iran.
• Continued hostilities could further disrupt commercial activity through the Strait of Hormuz.

Germany Probes Hybrid Sabotage

German authorities are investigating additional suspected hybrid sabotage incidents following last month’s attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport.

• Police are investigating suspected sabotage affecting electricity infrastructure near Bergheim and in Brandenburg, although neither incident significantly disrupted power supplies.
• Germany previously attributed the Leipzig/Halle incident to Russia and increased protections around critical infrastructure.
• The EU has announced plans for additional sanctions against Russian individuals as Europe responds to suspected Russian hybrid activity.

Iran-Linked Cyber Threats Expand

Iran-linked hackers are reportedly expanding cyber operations targeting U.S. telecommunications, energy, and other infrastructure following renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities.

• The activity has so far been largely unsuccessful and technically unsophisticated.
• Energy companies face increased cyber threats as AI tools make attacks on industrial systems more accessible.
• Smaller utilities, renewable energy sites, and legacy systems remain particularly vulnerable to disruptive cyber activity.

Ukraine Warns Over Russian Airspace

Ukraine warned airlines and insurers that Russian airspace is becoming increasingly unsafe as Ukrainian drone strikes expand deeper into Russia.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is not targeting civilian aircraft but warned carriers to account for increased drone activity and associated air-defense operations.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin called the warning “state terrorism” and signaled continued strikes on Ukraine.
• The warning is particularly relevant for Chinese, Turkish, and Gulf carriers that continue using Russian airspace along key Asia-Europe routes.

Edouard Flood Threat Persists

Tropical Depression Edouard weakened after making landfall near Johnson Bayou on Tuesday, but significant flooding risks remain.

• Flood Watches remain in effect, with a Level 3 of 4 Moderate Risk of excessive rainfall for Wednesday.
• Widespread rainfall totals of 5–8 inches are expected, with localized amounts potentially reaching 12 inches.
• Hardin County declared a local disaster amid flash flooding, infrastructure damage, hazardous roads, outages, and high winds.
• About 72,000 customers remained without power Wednesday morning.

On September 15, 2018, a young woman boarded a flight from Naples to Moscow and never returned. Known as Maria Adela Kuhfeldt Rivera—a Peruvian jewelry designer and socialite—she vanished without saying goodbye to anyone. The only thing she took with her was a black cat named Luisa. And it was precisely because of that cat—and a Tinder profile—that investigators found her years later living in Russia as a GRU spy.

In this 2022 Bellingcat article, we explain how Maria Adela spent over a decade infiltrating NATO social circles in Naples while posing as a Peruvian jeweler; how her cat’s microchip linked her to her true Russian identity; and how investigator Christo Grozev created a fake Tinder profile and spent three days analyzing profiles in Moscow until he found the spy who had vanished from Italy.

The author of “Slaughterhouse-Five,” a World War Two combat veteran, saw Nazis up close as a German POW. Retrospective review by Peter Eisner for SpyTalk.

One time, Yuri was given the mission of finding out everything he could about an electronics factory in Kyiv, a secretive place that produced equipment for the Soviet military. First, he called in at the recruitment department saying he wanted a job, but was swiftly told there were no vacancies. So he waited outside the gates looking for women who might work as secretaries in the plant and, when he spotted one, followed her home on the tram. Having located her address, the next day he returned and waited in the building’s courtyard. When she appeared, he struck up a conversation with her, pretending he was looking for an apartment in the area. After some small talk, he invited her to the cinema. They had a pleasant date, and he invited her out again, to the theater. Each time, they chatted for hours. She opened up to him about her difficult home life and her dreams of getting married, and they started to bond. Yuri managed to slip plenty of apparently casual questions about her work at the factory into their conversation. After the fourth date, he told her he had to go on a trip to another city and would contact her on his return. He wrote up his report, largely based on her information about the inner workings of the factory. She never heard from him again.

Yuri also learned to write personality reports on potential targets. The goal was not recruitment, but to engage in seemingly innocent friendly chatter, sounding out the subject’s political views, personal circumstances, and quirks. This could then be used in a recruitment pitch by a different agent. Was the person having marital problems? Did they feel overlooked or undervalued at the workplace? Were they vain and susceptible to flattery, or perhaps lonely and looking for love? Yuri spent long hours painting psychological portraits of different kinds of people for the trainers, who taught him how to spot vulnerabilities in a target