www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/28/hundreds-dead-in-ukraine-as-frontline-trench-war-escalates
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MONDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2022
(Note: The Telegraph Newspaper is offering a good deal on subscriptions at the moment. The Telegraph is a wonderful source of information especially about the war against Ukraine. Their podcast “Ukraine: The Latest” is the very best podcast for those interested in Ukraine. Everybody should be interested in Ukraine.)
Ukraine:
The Telegraph
- Russia seems to be arming warships again in the Black Sea preparing for missile attacks.
- Residents of Kyiv are being cautioned to prepare for worsening blackouts as Russian attacks on the Ukrainian infrastructure become worse.
- US Prime Minister Sunak vows to maintain military aid to Ukraine.
- Even though there have been reports of Russia vacating the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear power plant, it is still under Russian control.
- Propagandist at Russia Today is telling Russian soldiers they should just get tougher and “stricter” and follow the example of a Russian explorer who removed his own appendix in the Antarctic.
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The 13th Apostle: A Novel of Michael Collins and the Irish Uprising [McEvoy, Dermot] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The 13th Apostle: A Novel of Michael Collins and the Irish Uprising
— Read on www.amazon.com/13th-Apostle-Michael-Collins-Uprising/dp/1510712070/ref=nodl_ -
FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2022
It’s another Friday. When you’re 71, Fridays happen on average every two days.
Random Harvest
France
- Emmanuel Macron was re-elected as president of France with 28 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election. 34% of the electorate either didn’t vote or spoiled their ballots. The second round of voting saw the highest level of abstention for 50 years. (DM)
- Macron’s party lost over 100 seats in the subsequent legislative elections, forcing him to make an alliance with a party called the National Rally (formerly the National Front).
- Over the past several years, Macron has attacked pensions and the retirement age of French workers. He had declared war on public sector workers.
In Britain
- In Britain, Sunak came to power through what was “effectively a coup by finance capital.” (DM)
- “There is probably no leader of a liberal democracy with a weaker democratic mandate…He has not been elected by popular vote, nor by his own party. He became Prime Minister via an establishment coup.”
In the States
- Last night I watched a documentary about the rise of Hitler. Tonight, my partner showed me a video of a man standing in a Seattle airport spouting Nazi slogans and doing Nazi salutes, spouting hatred and doing a brown-shirt performance. People don’t go crazy in a random fashion. They pick up the undercurrents in societies. Here, they pick up the hatred, the resentment, the violence and now Trump and the Republicans have unleashed them, given them permission. This was not a mentally ill young man, mimicking something he had seen on television. This was a young man who hated, resented, felt entitled to dominance. It made me sick, physically sick.
On a Lighter Note
- I saw a photograph on Twitter today of a group of dogs sitting in theatre seats looking at the stage. They were assistance dogs learning how to sit through a play. There were actors on stage performing. It was precious.
- I kept thinking of one dog getting agitated saying to another dog “I can’t bark? I can’t bark? Somebody’s going to get killed. That guy’s going to kill the other one. I have to bark.” The other dog shrugs. “If you bark you’ll get in trouble.”
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Two Swedish brothers, one a former intelligence official, went on trial in Stockholm on Friday accused of “aggravated espionage” for allegedly spying for Russia’s GRU military intelligence service between 2011 and 2021.
— Read on www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/11/25/swedish-brothers-go-on-trial-in-unique-russian-spy-case-a79504 -
Donald Trump has been credibly accused of committing at least 56 criminal offenses since he launched his campaign for the presidency in 2015.
— Read on www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/president-trumps-staggering-record-of-uncharged-crimes/Friday 25 November 2022
CREW NOTES
the deadline has already passed or will soon pass for charges relating to several extremely serious offenses. That includes offenses relating to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign as well as his obstruction of the FBI’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and the subsequent special counsel investigation. The investigation of both matters was terminated by the Department of Justice at the direction of former Attorney General Bill Barr. While there is substantial evidence that Trump committed several felonies, he is unlikely to face consequences for that conduct.
is also critical that no individual be insulated from accountability simply because they are a national political figure, a former president, or a candidate for public office. Choosing not to pursue accountability for fear of political criticism or consequences is itself a deeply political act.
Failing to deter Donald Trump from engaging in further criminal misconduct would have profoundly damaging consequences for our democracy. Criminal law is designed to punish individuals for criminal offenses to discourage these individuals and others like them from engaging in the same conduct in the future. If President Trump avoids criminal prosecution for attempting to retain power despite being voted out of office or for compromising some of the country’s most sensitive national security secrets, the message to him and others who hold power will be clear: you can commit crimes that threaten the future of our democracy with impunity. O
Failing to deter Donald Trump from engaging in further criminal misconduct would have profoundly damaging consequences for our democracy. Criminal law is designed to punish individuals for criminal offenses to discourage these individuals and others like them from engaging in the same conduct in the future. If President Trump avoids criminal prosecution for attempting to retain power despite being voted out of office or for compromising some of the country’s most sensitive national security secrets, the message to him and others who hold power will be clear: you can commit crimes that threaten the future of our democracy with impunity.
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twitter.com/euromaidanpress/status/1595677544979861504
Surgeons at the Kyiv Heart Institute used flashlights to continue operation, having no power after Russian missile strikes on energy infrastructure
No water, staff spent night at hospital. “So far we are coping on our own, but every hour is getting harder” director writes
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Chris Coons helped organize this fake investigation.
FBI Director Chris Wray has now admitted to botching the FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh, as his own Federalist Society connections to the anti-abortion agenda run deep.
— Read on shero.substack.com/p/the-director-of-the-fbi-helped-to -
www.nytimes.com/2022/11/22/world/europe/ukraine-russia-state-of-war.html
Ukraine is on the offensive along most of the 600-mile front line, and the Russians are in a defensive crouch. But about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory is still occupied by Russia.
the Ukrainian military has defied the odds, and all expectations, and forced Russia into multiple retreats over nine brutal, bloody months of war.
While it has pushed more Russian fighters into a tighter space, this means the battles ahead will be against more densely defended territory, on challenging terrain.
- Dnipro River: A volunteer Ukrainian special forces team has been conducting secret raids under the cover of darkness traveling across the strategic waterway, which has become the dividing line of the southern front.
- Evacuation Plans: The Ukrainian government is preparing to help evacuate residents from the southern cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv, where shattered infrastructure has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis when winter sets in.
- A Race to Rebuild: Ukrainian attempts to stabilize some of the country’s battered electricity supply and make a dent in the seemingly endless task of demining swaths of the country offered a glimpse into the Herculean effort that lies ahead off the battlefield.
- Visual Investigation: Videos circulating on social media have ignited a debate over whether Ukrainian forces committed war crimes or acted in self-defense as they tried to capture a group of Russian soldiers who were then killed. Here’s what we know.
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Former Attorney General William Barr believes it is time for the Republican party to move on from former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
— Read on nypost.com/2022/11/21/trump-threatens-to-burn-down-the-gop-its-time-to-move-on/ -
The war in Ukraine has created an influential new Russian media space with an audience of tens of millions — channels on messaging app Telegram that specialize in war reporting and analysis. One of the most significant among them is the anonymous channel Rybar with 1.1 million followers. Rybar publishes detailed reports and accurate maps of the front lines that are heavily used by Western media and military analysts. The Bell conducted an investigation (part one and part two) to find out who runs this key outlet.
— Read on thebell.io/en/unmasking-russia-s-influential-pro-war-rybar-telegram-channel/ -
Vladimir Putin cannot win, but growing opposition at home means he cannot afford to end the conflict either. The next year will give some indication of how far Russia will fall | The World Ahead
— Read on www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2022/11/18/russia-risks-becoming-ungovernable-and-descending-into-chaos
