Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 8/11

[SVPete]

Madison Named the Officer. Now Kiel Baitinger-Peterson Has to Watch His Back.

https://pjmedia.com/david-manney/2026/08/10/madison-named-the-officer-now-kiel-baitinger-peterson-has-to-watch-his-back-n4956010

Madison police officer Kiel Baitinger-Peterson survived an encounter with a man armed with a knife. Now his name is public, his family's safety is a concern, and precautions are being taken to protect them.

Welcome to the second ordeal faced by an officer who already survived the first one.

PBS Wisconsin ...:

Investigators on Aug. 10 released the name of the Madison police officer who shot and killed a 38-year-old Black man in July — a shooting that was captured on video and sparked protests that put Wisconsin’s capital city on edge over how authorities treat people of color.

Kiel Baitinger-Peterson, a white officer with nearly 11 years’ experience in law enforcement, fired the shots that killed Corey Ruiz on July 22, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation said in a statement. Baitinger-Peterson was one of four officers who surrounded Ruiz, who was on a bike, in response to calls about someone who was checking out parked cars and an alleged burglary attempt, police said.

...
The Wisconsin Department of Justice identified Baitinger-Peterson Monday as the officer who fatally shot 38-year-old Corey Ruiz on July 22. The facts released so far are remarkably clear. Police responded after reports of someone checking parked vehicles and an alleged burglary attempt.

Ruiz fled on a bicycle; four officers later encountered him near South Baldwin and Williamson streets, and a struggle followed.

Ruiz brandished a knife and injured Baitinger-Peterson. Two other officers tried Tasers, which failed.

Baitinger-Peterson fired his weapon; another officer was also injured. Investigators recovered a fixed-blade knife at the scene.
...
Yet long before investigators finished their work, Madison Alder Noah Lieberman publicly called Ruiz's death "absolutely unacceptable" and wrote that he found it difficult to imagine any justification for the officers' actions.
...
Wisconsin Professional Police Association Executive Director Jim Palmer says he's deeply concerned about the safety and privacy of Baitinger-Peterson, his family, and the other officers.

Palmer says officials are taking those concerns seriously and have put appropriate precautions in place.
...
A cop with nearly 11 years of law enforcement experience leaves home one morning, gets injured by a man wielding a knife, survives, and later learns his wife, children, parents, or whoever else shares his life may need protection because strangers now know exactly whom to hate.

My emphasis.

[SVPete]

Spy cameras on Navy drones used by Britain's elite special forces 'secretly sent data to China'

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16040489/Spy-cameras-Navy-drones-Britains-special-forces-China.html

Royal Navy surveillance drones used by Britain's elite special forces were fitted with cameras containing Chinese-made components that were secretly sending data to an address in China.

The K3 Scout drones, operated by Royal Marines, were found to be transmitting so-called 'heartbeat' communications to an IP address in China.

The signals were designed to tell a remote device that the cameras were online and operating normally.

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The discovery has triggered national security concerns and forced the Ministry of Defence to strip the cameras of their internet connectivity.
...
But the revelation has raised fresh questions about the security of Britain's military supply chains – and whether Chinese technology has found its way into highly sensitive areas used by special forces.

This is, ummmm, less than brilliant. Hopefully the US military is paying attention and vetting its systems.

[SVPete]

Groups sue the Trump administration over its targeting of the International Criminal Court

https://srnnews.com/groups-sue-the-trump-administration-over-its-targeting-of-the-international-criminal-court/

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Human Rights Watch and three other advocacy groups sued the Trump administration on Tuesday to challenge its campaign against the International Criminal Court, arguing that sanctions against ICC judges and prosecutors are undermining the ability to prosecute people responsible for humanity’s worst crimes.

The complaint — filed in the Southern District of New York — says that President Donald Trump’s executive order last year targeting the Hague-based criminal court and the U.S. sanctions issued against a U.N. human rights expert and three Palestinian rights groups represent a “blatantly illegal attack on international justice and should be struck down,” according to a press release.

The lawsuit is the latest example of organizations pushing back on what they call the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine international law and prevent efforts to combat impunity by governments around the world.

“The fact that so many leading human rights and humanitarian organizations have come together to challenge Trump’s unlawful executive order demonstrates the widespread harm it is causing across civil society groups dedicated to bringing those responsible for grave crimes to justice,” said Andrew Loewenstein of Foley Hoag LLP, the lead counsel representing the plaintiffs.

The groups assert that the financial and legal penalties against the ICC have forced them to “curtail a wide range of human rights and legal work in violation of their First and Fifth Amendment rights under the US Constitution and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”

Maybe these "human rights" orgs should stop working with the UN's kangaroo kourt.