Crimson Star Prologue

New Wave of Murders Hits Baltimore

 

While estimates are still coming in, at least seventy-two people have been killed in a fresh wave of violence in Baltimore this weekend.  Victims include several police officers, and at least one family of four, identified as Jim and Patty Gorson and their two daughters.

Gunfire tore through the night, and social media posts have claimed most of the killings in the name of the Black Kingdom Revolutionaries.  The group’s anonymous spokespersons have said that the killings are in retribution for the Fourth Reich’s assassination of activist Kamal Lamont Granger last week.

 

Standoff in Detroit

 

The siege of Harm’s Elementary School enters its second week today.  The leader of The Martyrs of Al Gharb, Abdulqaadir Ismaili Abdi, has issued another statement, claiming that, “The sons and daughters of the filthy kufar will be returned to their unbelieving mothers and fathers one limb, one piece at a time, unless Siad Muhammad Abdi, Ahmed Abu Qadir, and Ali Omar Hersi are freed.  If the Martyrs of Al Gharb do not receive, in addition, five hundred million dollars, we will cut out their tongues before we set them free.  Allahu Akhbar!”

Local police still have the school surrounded, but are facing not only harassment from protestors and local gangs, but also political pressure from anti-Islamophobia and anti-racism groups.  A SWAT team is reportedly standing by, but has not received authorization to move in.  Sources close to the police claim that there are only about six of the “Martyrs” in the school, but an unknown number of explosive devices have been emplaced around the grounds and inside the building.

 

Is Jose Ravela Muñoz a Drug Trafficker?

 

Rumors continue to abound about the reclusive leader of the “Soldados de Aztlan” militia.  He has been seen in public only twice, and only appears in his group’s propaganda videos wearing sunglasses and a thick beard.  Some observers have claimed that the name “Jose Ravela Muñoz” is an alias, and that he is, in fact, the man known only as “El Sonrisa,” the chief enforcer and chosen killer of the Los Hijos de la Serpiente cartel.  El Sonrisa is believed to have personally murdered and dismembered—not always in that order—at least a hundred people.

Many law enforcement agencies publicly dismiss the rumors as conspiracy theories, but sources close to many authorities in Arizona admit that there are concerns.  While very little is known with certainty about the “Soldados de Aztlan,” they have started appearing in force more openly, and several known members are suspected of serious violent crimes.

 

Demonstrations Turn Violent in Minneapolis

 

Protestors were attacked by counter protestors during demonstrations calling for the exoneration of Officer Ted Lamb in the shooting death of Rafael Dumont.  Lamb shot and killed Dumont during a routine stop two weeks ago.  The shooting is being investigated by Minneapolis authorities, and Lamb is currently in protective custody.  Demonstrators had gathered outside City Hall, announcing that they were there in support of Lamb, but many of the protestors were outright calling for his exoneration.  Counter protestors insisting that Dumont was murdered out of racism.  Confrontation followed, and the street fighting that then broke out has spread to outright riots throughout much of downtown Minneapolis.  Police are still trying to restore order.

 

Infrastructure Attacks Are on the Rise

 

Over the last six months, watchdog organizations have recorded no fewer than seventeen physical and cyber attacks on vital infrastructure in the United States.  Bombs have been planted near power stations, two attempts have been made to poison water supplies, two car bombs have been placed near major bridges, at least one case has been recorded of a steel bar welded across train tracks, and cyber attacks have targeted power grids, food distribution systems (attempting to reroute loads), and at least one has successfully crashed the United Federal Bank’s computer system, resulting in millions of dollars of losses.

There is so far no discernable pattern in these attacks, as most of the perpetrators have either been lone wolves, or are currently unidentified.

 

Record Narcotics and Human Traffic Through California

 

There is now no disputing it; California’s “progressive” attitudes toward border security, drug enforcement, and criminal enforcement priorities in general have engendered a crisis.

While cartel activity in the Southwest in general is on the rise, despite recent Border Patrol reinforcement of the border with Mexico, California has become a superhighway for cartel movement.  DEA and Border Patrol have intercepted shipments as high as twenty tons of cocaine and methamphetamine coming through California, and captured convoys carrying human traffic, mostly young women between 13 and 17, numbering in the hundreds.  And it is assured that such busts are only the tip of the iceberg, given the dwindling resources for both agencies in the face of what amounts to a series of cascading national crises.

 

Fighting Reported at Chakothi – Salambad Crossing

 

While Indian spokesmen claimed that Pakistani Army troops attacked a border security post near Salambad, India, on Monday, Islamabad has denied it, saying that any hostilities were likely the work of Lashkhar e Taiba.  Islamabad has further denied any Pakistani casualties, or that a major LeT attack on the border with India is a sign of failure of Pakistani security forces.  Meanwhile, the Indian authorities claim that twenty of the Pakistani attackers were killed, and that Indian Army forces have seized control of the bridge, called the “Bridge of Peace” in Hindi.

This incident comes against a backdrop of rising tensions between India, Pakistan, and China, especially as the Salafist influence in Islamabad grows more pronounced.

 

Unease as US Peacekeeping Mission in Europe Nears Its Fourth Month

 

“I don’t know what we’re doing here.”  It is becoming a common sentiment among American peacekeepers in the civil-war wracked country of Slovakia.  Once a flourishing example of post-Communist Eastern Europe, the Republic of Slovakia has been shaken by riots and internecine strife ever since the government in Bratislava refused to abdicate the country’s obligations to the European Union and the newly-formed European Defense Council.  Nationalists have refused to abide by the government’s economic agreements, and began openly fighting against government forces last August.  Citing NATO treaty obligations, the United States has sent US Army and Air Force units to support the EDC’s peacekeeping mission, but the troops have been increasingly discontented since their arrival.

“I mean, there are riots in my own hometown,” Specialist Aaron Roberts said.  “And the other Euros don’t seem to want us here.  On top of which, I can’t help but think that we’d get along better with the regular Slovaks than with the French or the Germans around here, if we’re being honest.”

 

China’s Control of Overseas Commerce and Transport Gets More Aggressive

 

It has been a pattern that has been emerging for the last decade.  Not only have Chinese companies (always under the auspices of Beijing and the CCP) been buying controlling interests in ports around the world, even in Europe, but they have been using infrastructure projects in developing countries to open the door to Chinese de facto ownership of those countries’ natural resources.  As with the larger trend, the pattern has become clear; the Chinese offer vital infrastructure projects or humanitarian relief (though most often the former), and then, after the projects are completed, demand payment.  When the countries can’t pay in cash, then they cede a portion of their natural resources to the PRC’s control.

China already owns a sizeable fraction of Africa’s raw materials, along with more of Central and South America’s than are currently known.  Along with control of ports and growing influence on sea lanes, the Chinese Empire is becoming less a dream and more of a reality every day.

Crimson Star is now available for Kindle pre-order, coming out January 30.