Warning: Some Followers of the Watch may find the photos and video disturbing.
The Russians were eager to have the slaughter recorded. (Credit: East2West)
Russian soldiers filmed themselves shooting dead six Ukrainian prisoners of war in cold blood, audaciously proud of committing war crimes. Kiev has launched a criminal investigation and reported the sickening killings to the UN and Red Cross, insisting Russia cannot be allowed to brazenly flout the laws of war.
The Russian soldiers filmed themselves committing the illegal massacres of unarmed Ukrainians in the occupied Donetsk region. The POWs are seen lying face down on the ground in a wooded area next to a temporary hut. The Russians shoot at a drone flying overhead so it doesn’t film the heinous crimes they are about to commit.
Two Ukrainians kneel just before they are shot in the back. (Credit: East2West)
Three of the other prisoners lay on their fronts in the dirt and watched their friends murdered. (Credit: East2West)
Another soldier is forced to his feet and made to walk away with his hands up before being sprayed with bullets. (Credit: East2West)
Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets sent his findings to the UN and International Committee of the Red Cross:
“The Russian army has never been famous for its dignified treatment of prisoners of war, and here it once again demonstrates its helplessness and criminality. The lack of responsibility has turned the crime into a systematic one. We cannot turn a blind eye to this. Ukraine needs justice and responsibility for those who commit crimes and do not adhere to any norms.”
These are not the first war crimes Russian soldiers and Wagnerites have committed against Ukrainians. The ICC indicted and issued an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, but this is symbolic. Mongolia, an ICC signatory, did not arrest Putin when he visited Ulan Bator in late 2024. Donald Trump has signaled that he will be sanctioning the ICC to pressure them to remove the indictments against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin. After any future ceasefire is reached, there will be a new level of ethnic animus between Russians and Ukrainians following all of this bloodshed thanks to PIFWC Vladimir Putin and his willing accomplices.
Sources:
https://www.politico.eu/article/russian-soliders-shot-disarmed-ukrainian-pows-filmed-execution/
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/401849
https://www.icc-cpi.int/defendant/netanyahu
Israeli Cabinet Ministers Already Pushing to Continue Waging More War
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu– dubbed “Israel’s curse”– is facing pressure from within his cabinet. Hard-line coalition partners have threatened to topple the government if he does not resume Israel’s war in Gaza when a six-week ceasefire with Hamas expires. That could leave Netanyahu torn between his erstwhile allies at home and Donald Trump who says he wants to end the region’s wars. The “crime minister” is facing a nettlesome corruption trial that ensnared his wife Sara, an international arrest warrant for war crimes issued by the ICC, and a potential 9/11 Commission-style inquiry into his handling of the 7 Oct 2023 surprise attack by armed Palestinian groups. Those guerillas seized hostages in order to conduct a prisoner swap which has been taking place since the ceasefire.
Rightwing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said:
“If, God forbid, the war is not resumed, I will bring the government down.”
Mr. Smotrich, when one belligerent doesn’t have F16s, air-defense weapons, tanks, satellites, or world-class hospitals while the other side does, it’s not called war, it’s called ethnic cleansing. So the horrific Nakba wasn’t really about releasing the Israeli hostages, was it?
In addition, Bezalel Smotrich stated that Israel should occupy Gaza and “encourage” half of the Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinians to emigrate within two years. He would like the same in the West Bank.
Along that vein, the IDF has been conducting “counter terrorism operations” and Settlers are going on rampages against Palestinian homeowners and farmers in the West Bank. Israeli forces have killed 34 people, including six children so far this year. This is not new. Abuse against Palestinians in the West Bank has been going on for decades, regardless of whether there was a Democrat or Republican in the White House.
Do you wonder if this poor guy who had the temerity to throw stones at his oppressors is alive today? (Photo: 7 Oct 2015, Ramallah / AFP / ABBAS MOMANI)
So, where should these Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank go? Will they go to Jordan– which already hosts 2.2 million Palestinian refugees? Islamophobic America? And will they be compensated for their lost, destroyed, or seized homes?
White supremacist Christian Republicans certainly don’t want Muslims in the US and Trump is closing the door on non-white immigration. Would Democrats have accepted them? There are Democrats that blame the tiny 1.34% Muslim-American population for supposedly not supporting Kamala in 2024. (Even though Trump won only 21% of the Arab vote, Kamala 20%, and Stein 59%). Arab-Americans have become convenient scapegoats among some Democrats for Kamala Harris’ loss and what friends do Palestinians have in the Middle East?
Adjusting for inflation, US aid to Israel from 1951 to 2022 totaled $317.9 billion, making it the largest recipient of American foreign aid since World War II.
Hasn’t the hardworking American taxpayer– who doesn’t have universal healthcare like his Israeli counterpart– had enough of this fraud, waste, and abuse from his so-called ally?
Sources:
https://usafacts.org/articles/how-much-military-aid-does-the-us-give-to-israel/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/smotrich-says-half-of-gazans-can-be-encouraged-to-leave-within-two-years/
https://www.aljazeera.com/
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-trump-ceasefire-gaza-f27c1dbbfba4bf268f5368aaceb47e29
https://www.newarab.com/analysis/how-smotrichs-west-bank-plan-actualises-second-nakba
Mexican Border States Prepare Migrant Shelters as Trump Begins Deportation Campaign
Workers begin the installation of a temporary shelter for possible deportees from the US in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, 22 Jan 2025. (AP Photo / Christian Chavez)
Mexico raised sprawling tents on the US border Wednesday as it braced for President Donald Trump to fulfill his pledge to carry out mass deportations. In an empty lot tight against the border with El Paso, Texas, cranes lifted metal frames for tent shelters in Ciudad Juárez.
Enrique Serrano, an official in Chihuahua state, where Ciudad Juárez is located, said the tents erected for Mexican deportees were just the initial phase of a potential larger operation, and something authorities would scale up if the number of migrants gathering on the border continued to mount. He suggested migrants from other countries expelled from the US would be relocated to Mexico City or southern regions of Mexico as they’ve done previously.
Nogales, Mexico — across from Nogales, Arizona — announced that it would build shelters on soccer fields and in a gymnasium. The border cities of Matamoros and Piedras Negras have launched similar efforts.
At a border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico, on Tuesday night, one man shouted to journalists that he was being deported in a group that was arrested that morning in farm fields near Denver. Another man said he was in a group that had been brought from Oregon. Everyone carried their belongings in a small orange bag.
As previously posted here on Coriolanus, the Mexican government began a program of intercepting and resettling migrants throughout their country before they could arrive at the US border. These refugees are escaping poverty, misery, violence, and the effects of global climate change.
Newly-elected Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum, as a thoughtful, compassionate leader, was prepared for the Fuhrer and his cruelties. She had a plan ready: “México te abraza.”
President Sheinbaum’s “México te abraza,” or “Mexico embraces you” program includes welfare support for deportees, registration with the Mexican Social Security Institute, and transport so that returning migrants “can reach their places of origin.” (Photo: Moisés Pablo / Cuartoscuro)
At Trump’s inaugural convocation on 20 Jan 2025, the Episcopalian Bishop of Washington, the Right Reverend Mariann Budde, issued a scathing sermon about mercy and compassion to the oligarchal Trump Crime Family (TCF). Like hostages with no chance of escape, the TCF was forced to remain in their pews and listen to her, so they sat dumbfounded and squirmed. Look at Trump’s posture and the First Lady’s icy-cold expression. Priceless.
Sources:
https://apnews.com/article/mexico-us-trump-border-migrants-f3e5daf10f550e871bfe98b29950bc6a
Space Chorus Detected from Unexpected Source
“Bursts of electromagnetic radiation that share similarities with birdsong have long been observed close to Earth. A detection farther out in space confirms a key part of the theory of their origin, but also poses questions.“
Chorus waves play a leading role in the formation of aurora borealis. (Photo: OWEN HUMPHERYS – PA IMAGES)
From Nature:
“In the 1960s, scientists at the Halley Research Station in Antarctica began hearing mysterious waves originating over the Earth’s equator. Their radio receivers were picking up intense bursts of electrons shaking the magnetosphere, the layer created by Earth’s magnetic field that protects life from space radiation. When these signals were converted into sound, they produced a whistling sound that could be mistaken for the chirping of birds at dawn.”
Different types of plasma waves triggered by various mechanisms, occupy different regions of space around Earth. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith
“Later, it was discovered that this chorus is also heard on Saturn and Jupiter, and it was thought that it was governed by the magnetic field generated by the planets between their poles. The origin of this spatial trill is usually found close to them, in the case of Earth less than 51,000 kilometers (31,690 miles) above its surface. Now, a team has published a study in the journal Nature, the results of which suggest that it can also be located much further away, in deep space.”
“For more than 70 years, scientists have believed that chorus waves can only be generated in regions close to planets where a dipolar magnetic field is present, which has been proposed as the key factor controlling the generation and propagation of chorus waves,” explains Chengming Liu, a researcher at the School of Earth and Space Sciences at Beihang University in Beijing, China, and one of the leaders of the study. “In our paper, we present an unexpected observation of chorus waves far from Earth, where a dipolar magnetic field is absent, and reveal a fundamental mechanism for chorus wave generation, which can operate anywhere in space.”
“The discovery is of scientific interest, but also of practical interest. Chorus waves can cause radiation that is dangerous for astronauts or satellites, and knowing in detail how they are produced would allow us to predict their occurrence and apply protective measures. “Chorus waves are some of the most intense waves in space. They can accelerate electrons to ultra-high energies and therefore cause radiation that affects humans and electromagnetic devices on spacecraft,” explains Liu. “Just as we worry about rain and wind on the Earth’s surface, we should worry about weather in space,” he points out.”
These are Juno Waves recorded from the Planet Jupiter:
Sources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-04211-6
https//www.nasa.gov
‘Dignity for All’: Idaho Bill Proposes Firing Squad as State’s Primary Execution Method
Firing squad executing a prisoner, circa 1890. (Vintage Images / Getty Images)
Eleven months after Idaho failed to execute a prisoner for the first time ever using lethal injection, Republican lawmakers have their targets set on using a firing squad as the state’s primary execution method. State Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa) introduced the bill which would make Idaho the only US state to give preference to a firing squad. Skaug sponsored a bill that became law in 2023 that added back the firing squad as a backup method of execution in the state, but only when lethal injection is not possible because of a lack of execution drugs.
Humanitarian and all-round good guy State Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa) who heinously introduced the firing squad bill. (Undated photo via the public domain).
The Idaho Department of Correction has since had more consistent access to pentobarbital, the state’s preferred chemical for lethal injections. The state prison system most recently bought a batch of the drugs in Oct 2024, court records showed. But nearly two years later — and after state prison officials failed to find a suitable vein for an IV in the body of 73-year-old death row prisoner Thomas Creech — Skaug now hopes to ensure that prisoners on Idaho’s nine-member death row are shot to death. Lethal injection would become the state’s backup method. In South Carolina any of the 30 death row inmates may request firing squad if lethal injection is unavailable.
Idaho’s death row at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution near Kuna houses male prisoners sentenced to death. Female death row inmates are housed at the Women’s Correctional Center in Pocatello. (Photo: Idaho Department of Correction)
Remarkable, the day after Bishop Mariann Budde chastises President Trump to have more compassion and show mercy, this avuncular-looking miscreant wants to enshrine capital punishment rather than ban it. This Kentucky Fried Chicken Colonel Sanders doppelganger– Bruce Skaug– is my candidate for Worst Person of the World.
What would Kentucky-bred Colonel Sanders say about his evil twin in Idaho?
Sources:
https://www.idahostatesman.com/news/northwest/idaho/article298915055.html
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/south-carolina-firing-squad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_death_row_inmates_in_the_United_States
Spain: Increased Cases of Hepatitis A in 2024
Spain is facing a worrying situation: 894 confirmed cases of hepatitis A mark the largest increase in cases in a decade. This unexpected viral outbreak raises questions about current public health measures. The highest number of cases occurred in Andalusia, Madrid, and Catalonia.
Map courtesy of worldatlas.com.
Below are the regions with the highest number of reported cases:
- Andalusia: 166 cases
- Madrid: 161 cases
- Catalonia: 114 cases
- Balearic Islands: High infection rate
- Basque Country and Canary Islands: Notable increase
The high rate of infection in these areas underscores the need to strengthen preventive and control measures. The hepatitis A virus is spread mainly by fecal-oral transmission, which highlights the need to maintain high standards of personal and collective hygiene.
How many times have you seen someone exit the water closet without their hands? Coriolanus witnessed this too many times. On one occasion in a large metropolitan shopping mall, your author witnessed one such miscreant walk out of the thunder closet, pull up his pants, and exit the latrine without washing his hands. Coriolanus followed the neanderthal who went behind the counter of a bagel shop to resume work! Your humble author alerted two nearby constables who merely shrugged their shoulders and replied that no crime was committed (other than potentially spreading hepatitis A or other awful diseases to the public). That baker should have been beaten in place, then court-martialed.
Source:
Spain registers a large increase in cases of hepatitis A
Wagner Group Accused of Plotting Attacks on Chevron’s African Pipelines, Cooperating with Al Qaeda
The Kremlin’s new Afrika Korps. Wagnerites have been implicated in committing war crimes in Africa.
The Wagner Group has been accused of plotting attacks against Western infrastructure in Africa, including the US oil company Chevron’s pipelines, according to the leaked correspondence of Prigozhin’s Concord Group obtained by Ukraine’s Channel 24. Another accusation is that Wagner mercenaries have allegedly cooperated with terrorists, including Al Qaeda, in Africa. The obtained emails also shed light on a scandal involving food poisoning allegedly caused by the Concord Group.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the information.
In March 2021, Igor Smirnov wrote an email to Prigozhin’s Concord Group, saying that retired Russian officers were expected to take part in attacks on foreign infrastructure facilities in West Africa.
Smirnov, allegedly a former Russian intelligence officer who allegedly worked for oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was attempting to frame or warn the group. He claimed that “a group of Russians is contacting many armed groups in West Africa, including Ansaru, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Nigeria.”
“In exchange for attacks on Western oil companies, jihadists are helping to arm militants in the Niger Delta under a direct agreement with the Russians,” Smirnov said. “After the first attacks on Western companies, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb will take responsibility for that.”
Apart from military activities, the correspondence covers Concord Group’s food procurement schemes. In 2019, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s team exposed Concord Group’s low-quality food deliveries to schools and kindergartens in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which resulted in the poisoning of hundreds of children.
Amid the scandal, many parents sent emails to Concord Group and demanded compensation.
In response to the accusations, in August 2019, Prigozhin accused Navalny and his associate Lyubov Sobol of orchestrating the poisoning, according to the leaked correspondence. He claimed that Navalny and Sobol “extorted 300 million rubles ($3 million) to avoid stirring up a scandal regarding the children.”
These accusations fit the modus operandi of the Kremlin and the Wagner Group. Create chaos, then arrive with a solution (Wagnerites). 127 confirmed cases of food poisoning were blamed on Yevgeny Prigozhin who had to pay compensation and poor Alexei Navalny died later in a Siberian gulag. Prigozhin himself would die in a mysterious aviation disaster after an explosive detonated while his plane was in mid-flight. This coincidence occurred after his failed coup d’etat against Vladimir Putin.
Sources:
Roadrunner Brings His Rescuer Gifts Every Day
Coriolanus 