Oleksandr left his unit without permission after six months of hard fighting, but later returned to the army (Photo: AFP)
Oleksandr LNU (photo in link) deserted from the front line in eastern Ukraine after watching his fellow servicemen being pulverized by Russian bombardments for six months. Then, those remaining were ordered to counterattack.
It was the final straw for Oleksandr (45) who had been holding the line in the embattled Lugansk region in the early months of the war. Even his commanding officer was reluctant to send his men back toward what looked like certain death. So when Oleksandr saw an opening to save his life, he did.
“We wanted to live. We had no combat experience. We were just ordinary working people from villages,” the soft-spoken serviceman.
Family, friends, and army comrades gather to mourn Ukrainian army paramedic Nazarii Lavrovskyi (31) at his funeral at Lisove cemetery in Kiev, 24 April 2024 (Photo: Francisco Seco / AP)
Oleksandr’s is just one of many cases plaguing the Ukrainian military, which has already suffered at least 43,000 losses in nearly three years of fighting, President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed this month. The government is also struggling to recruit new troops.
Figures published by the Ukrainian general prosecutor’s office show that more than 90,000 cases have been opened into instances of soldiers going absent without leave or deserting since Russia invaded in 2022, with a sharp increase over the past year.
Members of Ukraine’s ‘Da Vinci’ Assault Battalion without masks or blurred faces. Kiev now offers amnesty for first-time deserters if they return to their units. (Photo: AFP)
Shell shock and PTSD have devastating effects on soldiers, on top of them dealing with plain innate fear and miserable living conditions in the front lines. This is not a new phenomenon. Drone operators or logistical personnel in the rear are most likely not deserting, but frontline soldiers are. During the Second World War, 50,000 American soldiers of the “Greatest Generation” deserted in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) from 1942 to 1945; there were no desertions reported in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO).
Kiev offering amnesty or pardons is a positive step in improving morale, as well as maintaining their exhausted manpower levels. The Ukrainian Army may also consider extended Rest and Recreation (R & R) leaves, like US servicemen enjoyed in Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, Hawaii, Taiwan, and Singapore, during the long and tortured Vietnam War.
Sources:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/21/why-is-ukraines-army-facing-a-desertion-crisis
https://www.ibtimes.com/desertions-spark-panic-pardons-ukraines-army-3757026
https://www.npr.org/2013/06/17/189275754/wwii-deserters-stories-of-men-who-left-the-front-lines
Russian Arrested For Running Gay Travel Agency Found Dead in Cell
The late Andrei Kotov in court (Photo: SOTA)
Authorities claim Kotov organized a New Year holiday trip to Egypt and a Volga River cruise centered around LGBTI+ themes.
Denying the charges, Kotov defended himself in court, stating that the tours were purely of a tourist nature and did not involve any ideological propaganda.
“The LGBTQ+ community in Russia has been under legal and public pressure for over a decade but especially since the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in 2022. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has argued that the war is a proxy battle with the West, which he says aims to destroy Russia and its “traditional family values” by pushing for LGBTQ+ rights.”
Helmeted riot police detain clearly dangerous looking LGBTQ+ rights activists during a St Petersburg march. (Photo: Getty Images)
One of Russia’s most famous sons, the man who composed “Swan Lake” and “The Nutcracker,” was LGBTQ+.
You wonder what music Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to?
“The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus. Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.”
― Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
Sources:
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-lgbt-gay-travel-arrest-death/33257088.html
What Will the Incoming Trump Regime Prosecute and What Will the FBI Investigate?
The President-elect already announced he will vindictively go after his enemies once he assumes power.
The Trump/Putin/Musk cabal, with advice from the rightwing Federalist Society (AKA the) “Feudalist Society”) will appoint Assistant US Attorneys (AUSAs), as well as the US District Marshals which are basically well-paying sinecures, in the below 94 federal districts.
Under the new regime, will these AUSAs defend anti-trust measures against oligarchs or prosecute violators of the Clean Water Act, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act?
The President-elect intends to nominate the reactionary and unpopular Kash Patel to be Director of the FBI.
If confirmed by the US Senate, this unqualified and incompetent Trump loyalist will be D/FBI. (Undated photo)
While the FBI will continue to investigate nefarious Iranian and Chinese operations in the US, as well as ISIS plots, will the FBI continue to investigate Russian espionage or white supremacist organizations?
Notorious convicted Russian spy Maria Butina infliltrated the GOP and the NRA.
Flesh-Eating Bacteria Cases in Florida Prompt Warnings for Disney World Guests
(Image credit: Inside The Magic)
In 2024, Florida reported 83 confirmed cases of Vibrio vulnificus, almost doubling the 46 cases seen in 2023. 17 deaths have been attributed to the bacterium this year compared to 11 in 2023.
The recent spike in cases is linked to two powerful hurricanes—Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton—which battered Florida with heavy rainfall and flooding. These conditions create ideal environments for Vibrio vulnificus to thrive in warm, brackish, and saltwater areas.
The Florida Department of Health has identified counties with elevated cases, including Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota. Fortunately, Disney World is located in Orange and Osceola Counties, where Vibrio vulnificus cases remain rare.
According to the CDC, this bacteria can enter a human through an open wound or by consuming seafood contaminated with Vibrio vulnificus.
Necrotizing fasciitis can result in life-long complications from loss of limbs or severe scarring due to surgically removing infected tissue. Even with treatment, up to 1 in 5 people died from the infection.
Global warming has been linked to the increase in flesh-eating bacteria in several states.
In 2016, Aimee Copeland went ziplining in Georgia and fell into shallow dirty water. She became infected with Vibrio vulnificus and lost all of her limbs.
Aimee Copeland was 24 at the time and pursuing an MA degree in psychology. (Photo: John Loomis)
Florida suffers red tide and blue-green algae blooms, which hurt people, animals, pets, and marine life. Emergency declarations have shut down beaches and fishing along large parts of both coasts. Nitrogen and phosphorus entered the watershed harming agriculture. There is a fresh water shortage in southern Florida because the salinity of Florida Bay has changed.
Remarkably, Floridians have no right to bodies of water ‘free of pollution.’ For the second time this year, a Florida appellate court has ruled against environmentalists fighting to enact a widely supported local clean water measure.
Sources:
https://insidethemagic.net/2024/12/disney-world-flesh-eating-bacteria-emd1/
https://www.cdc.gov/group-a-strep/about/necrotizing-fasciitis.html
https://people.com/human-interest/aimee-copeland-flesh-eating-bacteria-survivor/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/floridians-no-bodies-water-free-204050826.html
Retired US Army General: Elon Musk is National Security Risk
US Army Lieutenant-General Russel Honore in Cameron Prairie, LA on 25 Sep 2005. (Photo: Carlos Barria / Reuters)
Retired US Army Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré branded Elon Musk a “national security risk,” citing Musk’s history of appeasing and praising the Chinese Communist Party and his multiple business deals with them, particularly in the space race.
In a scathing op-ed published in The New York Times (NYT), Honoré noted that Musk and his company SpaceX already face federal reviews for failing to provide details of meetings with foreign leaders, but said that such infractions were “just the beginning of my worries.”
Musk has previously borrowed at least $1.4 billion from banks controlled by the Chinese government to help build a “gigafactory” in Shanghai for Tesla. The factory was responsible for more than half of Tesla’s global deliveries in the third quarter of 2024.
“China does not tend to give things away,” Honoré wrote. “The country’s laws stipulate that the Communist Party can demand intelligence from any company doing business in China, in exchange for participating in the country’s markets. “This means Mr. Musk’s business dealings in China could require him to hand over sensitive classified information, learned either through his business interests or his proximity to President-elect Donald Trump.”
The NYT reports that the egomaniacal oligarch is being investigated by the Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General, the USAF, and the Pentagon’s Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. Musk had not disclosed frequent meetings with foreign leaders, most notably Russian president Vladimir Putin. Musk has been violating the rules set out by his “top secret” security clearance for years and Israeli officials have expressed concerns that he could leak sensitive state secrets.
Elon Musk’s murky background of how he obtained his fabulous wealth and the circumstances surrounding his immigration to the US remain unclear. There have been calls to investigate and deport the racist Elon Musk back to South Africa for obtaining his US citizenship under false pretenses. Linked at bottom are the specific USCIS regulations on US naturalization which Musk may have violated.
An indictment or accusation is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Sources:
Opinion | Elon Musk Is a National Security Risk – The New York Times
Retired Army general declares Musk a ‘national security risk’ in brutal NYT op-ed | The Independent
https://futurism.com/elon-musk-investigated-violating-terms-top-secret-clearance
https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-l-chapter-2
American Police Brutality: NYS Prison Guards Beat Inmate to Death
Warning: Some Followers of the Watch may find the following images graphic and disturbing. This is one of the most cruelest stories that ever beset the author’s eyes.
NYS prison inmate Robert L. Brooks bleeding and disoriented. (Photo: AFP)
This brutal racist attack on inmate Robert L. Brooks (43) happened at Marcy Correctional Facility in upstate NY on 9 Dec in an examination room. Brooks was serving a twelve-year sentence for assault. Other officers stood by and watched as the handcuffed and helpless Brooks was abused and beaten by several correctional officers while blood poured from his face during the 30-minute episode.
After the beat down, Brooks was taken to Wynn Hospital in Utica and declared dead from “asphyxia due to compression of the neck,” in the early morning of 10 Dec.
One guard is holding Brooks in a chokehold as officers try to move him. (Photo: AFP)
One prison guard kicks and stomps on Brooks’ chest. (Image: Office of the New York State Attorney General)
NYS Governor Kathy Hochul began the process of firing the guards and had already suspended 13 without pay. One guard has already resigned.
Marcy Correctional Facility received a scathing evaluation by an oversight agency following a two-day monitoring visit from 11-12 Oct 2022.
Key Highlights: Observations of a Retaliatory Environment, Racial Disparities in Disciplinary Process Affecting Access to Food for Incarcerated Individuals
Marcy Operating Outside HALT Guidelines by Incarcerating Individuals with Mental Health Conditions in SHU Units
The Empire State incarcerates approximately 32,600 convicts which provide white, rural non-college graduates with pensioned careers and peace officer status. There are over 15,000 sworn members in the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYSDOCCS). This nationwide pattern of hiring rural whites to guard minority convicts is called the “prison-industrial complex.”
Note the correlation between the prisons above and this 2020 election map below:
The competent NYS Attorney-General Letitia James will most likely be leading the prosecution.
Compare America with Scandinavia.
Norwegian prison guard playing volleyball with inmates. (Photo: NY Times)
Sources:
https://nypost.com/2024/12/27/us-news/ny-prison-guards-beat-handcuffed-inmate-robert-brooks-video/
https://www.correctionalassociation.org/press-releases-archive/2023-marcy-pvb-release
France: In 2023, 62% of Criminal Convictions Were for Sexual Offenses
This woman is protesting domestic violence, an issue that continues to plague France. A 2018 report said one out of ten women were raped at least once in their lifetimes. (Photo: The Globe Post and AFP)
Rape was the most frequently convicted crime in French courts in 2023, with 1,800 cases resulting in convictions.
Sexual crimes accounted for 62% of the 2,900 criminal convictions handed down by French courts in 2023.
Aggravating circumstances were considered in more than 70% of these cases, and 10% involved perpetrators who were the victim’s spouse or partner.
In total, nearly 550,000 people were convicted of all crimes in 2023, while some 900,000 offences were recorded in criminal records.
However, serious crimes such as murder, rape, armed robbery and violent crimes, accounted for only 0.3% of these infractions.
The average length of French prison sentences in 2023 was 9.7 months.
This outrageous case in 2024 blackened both of France’s eyes.
The hideous Dominique Pelicot, who drugged and raped his wife Gisele Pelicot, appears during his trial with 50 co-accused at the courthouse in Avignon, France, 17 Sep 2024, in this courtroom sketch. (ZZIIGG / Reuters)
Below are what French prisons look like. All photos courtesy of acidcow.com:
Endnote: France, an EU and NATO member which hosts INTERPOL headquarters in Lyon, is unhappily and ironically a top ten member of the Global Organized Crime Index.
Sources:
https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20241228-rape-tops-criminal-convictions-in-france-justice-report-shows
Cat Simply in Love With Woman That Saved Him
Coriolanus 