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Over 700 people, some of them in Russian military uniform, gathered in front of the White House and were greeted by the Russian Ambassador to the United States.
— Read on euromaidanpress.com/2022/05/08/immortal-regiment-is-a-tool-of-hybrid-war/ -
It’s true the Vatican has to walk a diplomatic tightrope, but in doing so it increasingly risks drawing moral equivalence between Russia and Ukraine.
— Read on www.commonwealmagazine.org/ukraine-vatican-and-vatican-ii -
While we tend our graves, vanquished Russian troops are heading through Belarus in a cloud of radioactivity after literally digging up the past, says novelist Andrey Kurkov
— Read on www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/may/06/vladimir-putin-ukraine-traditions-chernobyl-graves-russian-troops-belarus-radioactivity -
SATURDAY 7 MAY 2022 (@cjjohns1951)
UKRAINE UPDATE: Day 73
Podcast: Daily Telegraph Podcast “Ukraine the Latest”
This is probably the best daily update podcast. It is well worth subscribing to.
Yachts, Oligarchs and the view from Washington
- The Russian effort in the Donbas is stalled.
- The Russians are consuming a lot of military equipment. (Note: From another podcast, the Soviet Union strictly depended on military equipment that was made of parts made in the Soviet Union. With the fall of the Soviet Union, this changed. Russia depends on parts that come from the West for its military equipment. Because of sanctions these parts are becoming more and more scarce. The interviewee in this podcast speculated that Putin would not know details like this.)
- Regardless of the original aims, the devastation of the military makes it disadvantageous for him to continue the war.
- The grain and wheat produced in Ukraine is important to the world food supply. This will affect the Middle East and North Africa especially in terms of higher costs.
- Germany is sending self-propelled Howitzers to Ukraine. This is important because these great guns can be moved. With current military technology, firing from a gun like a Howitzer can be located by the enemy within three minutes. So, it become essential that the gun can fire and then move quickly.
- In the east, each side is trying to push back the other’s artillery.
- Reports that another large Russian ship, south of Odesa, is on fire and sinking. There are US drones in the area monitoring events and also other Russian ships which are perhaps part of a rescue effort.
- Sanctions as a political weapon. There is a big difference between freezing assets and actually seizing them and turning them into funds to use. Using the assets requires changes in sanctions law. (Note: At times, the frozen assets must be maintained by the freezing country and not allowed to decrease in value. This can result in a lot of money being spent maintaining the sanctioned property, like a yacht.)
- Elites often buy yachts as ostentatious displays of their wealth, but also as assets that can be easily moved. A lot of these yachts are held in the names of other people so they cannot easily be targeted. (Note: Yachts as opposed to bank accounts have to, in some instances, be maintained. Money can just be frozen.)
- Roman Abramovich have five mega-yachts, worth around $1 billion.
- The yachts are also often owned by shell companies. They are also often registered in countries where the financial records are not transparent.
- The bar to actual confiscation is very high and likely to result in a protracted legal struggle.
- Financial Times coverage of sanctions.
- Loans for “luxury toys” are made to these oligarchs to help buy high end purchases. The banks now (Credit Suisse) are not being paid for the loans on these frozen assets.
- “Kleptopia: How Dirty Money is Conquering the World” book. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=book+kleptopia&adgrpid=1333708182580435&hvadid=83356999508486&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=74961&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-83357131359266%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=964_1014981060&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_5ajun2kvdj_e
CNN
- Russia claims to be liberating areas and peoples in eastern Ukraine, but after months of shelling, even those who might have had sympathy with Russia no longer do.
- Zelensky warns Russia that they are ensuring that people will no longer want to speak Russian because it will be associated with this invasion.
- Putin’s girlfriend may soon be sanctioned by the EU. (Note: From Telegraph podcast, this sanctioning has a propaganda goal. A newspaper that covered the story about Putin’s girlfriend before the war, was closed down.)
- Another sanctioning target may be Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church.
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FRIDAY 6 MAY 2022
UKRAINE UPDATE
Zelensky feared exactly what is happening, i.e., that the West, specifically the US, would tire of the conflict in Ukraine and turn attention away. The corporate news is once again filled with the Trump soap opera. Revelation follows revelation, and each revelation is talked about ad nauseum. NOTHING is done. We are going down a dark path and most people are oblivious. The others are whining, lamenting, calling for another report or investigation. I see no evidence of anyone in a leadership position willing to put themselves on the line to fight for what democracy is left in this country.
Oh, but coverage of Johnny Dep and his loathsome partner continues.
THE KYIV INDEPENDENT
- Zelensky has said he sees no indication that Russia is interested in ending the war.
- Andrey Turchak, Russian senator, says that Russia is in Kherson “forever.”
- Over 2,000 people have left occupied Kherson by foot or car.
- Russians tire at evacuation vehicle near Aovstal killing a Ukrainian soldier.
- Finland imported 70% less Russian oil from Russia since February.
- Russians attack Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
CNN
- (Note: For some reason, CNN thinks it is interesting, relevant to debate exactly what kind of intelligence was passed from the US to Ukraine to sink the Moscow ship. They are debating the words used by Kirby at the Pentagon. What relevance this has to anything I do not know.)
REUTERS
- Putin is predicted to send a “doomsday” warning to the West on May 9.
- Putin is expected to speak on Red Square in front of a parade of troops, tanks, rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
NEWSWEEK
- Kremlin denies Putin’s apology to Israel.
ANDERS ASLUND
- Book: Russia’s Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy, 2019
- Russian television is now maintaining that Nazism doesn’t have to be antisemitic but can be and is in this new iteration, anti-Slavic and anti-Russian.
DAILY MAIL: “Six Russian Businessmen die…”
- Six oligarchs with Kremlin ties have died in mysterious circumstances this year.
- Four worked for the state energy firm Gazprom, which has bankrolled the war in Ukraine.
- Mikhail Watford, Ukrainian gas and property tycoon who told friends he feared Putin’s hit list. He was found hanged in his mansion in Surrey last month. He told friends he was on Putin’s “hit list.” Boris Berezovsky was found hanged at his home in Ascot Berkshire in 2013. He was friends with Watford.
- Leo Shulman was found hanged at his home near St. Petersburg on January 30.
- Alexander Tyulakov was found hanged at the same St. Petersburg housing complex.
- Vasily Melnikov was found dead in what was presumed to be a “murder-suicide.”
- On April 18, Gazprombank vice-president Vladislav Avayev was found dead in their Moscow apartment. His family was also killed. Avayev was reported to have tortured his wife for hours before killing her.
- Avayev was found with an “FSB gun” after his death.
- Avayev was still at the bank and would have had access to the accounts of its most elite clients, including Putin’s circle and possibly Putin himself.
- The next day, Sergey Protosenya was found dead in Spain with his family. His wife and daughter were hacked to death with an axe.
- There were no fingerprints on the weapons, an axe and knife, and there were no bloodstains on his body.
ATLANTIC COUNCIL: New Fires
- The fires in Russia in numerous strategic facilities were not officially confirmed.
- They are suspected of being sabotage operations.
UKRAINE WORLD
- Ukraine has reclaimed six towns in Kharkiv’s suburbs.
- Russians are going to hold a parade of prisoners in Mariupol on May 9.
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Mystery shrouds the deaths of six Kremlin-connected Russian oligarchs and leading executives. The son of billionaire Sergey Protosenya said he ‘could never’ have killed himself.
— Read on www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10770211/Six-Russian-billionaires-executives-oil-giant-Gazprom-died-suicide-three-months.html -
THURSDAY 5 MAY 2022
UKRAINE UPDATE:
CNN
- Besieged Ukrainians inside the steel plant in Mariupol refuse to surrender. NATO has refused to help. These brave fighters have occupied Russian military force and kept it from being moved to other parts of the country.
- Missile strike in Kramatorsk, no one killed.
- The Russians are having a hard time breaking through the front lines in the east so they are going back to bombing civilian targets.
- Former Ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst: The US has been “slow and late” with assistance. Israel has been criticized for staying on the sidelines about the war. The Israelis have a reason to publicly say that Putin apologized.
- Putin apologized to the Israelis for the comments of Lavrov about Jewish people.
- Reports that Ukrainians have used US intelligence to kill generals. John Kirby is saying that the US has not given targeting information to the Ukraine, that the Ukrainians have information of their own.
MSNBC
- Whoever is talking to the NYT about US intelligence and targeting generals should stop talking about it. It makes the Ukrainians look like they can’t run their own war, according to Michael McFaul. (Note: I also think it looks like the US is bragging.)
NEW YORK TIMES: “Anti-Putin Russians are leaving…”
- Russia is designating some as “foreign agents” and thereby making living in Russia untenable.
- More than 400 people or organizations have been designated foreign agents since 2020. New names are announced virtually every Friday.
- There is no prior warning, nor any explanation.
- The designation means opposition figures outside the country will not return.
- The designation extends not only to political figures but to “technology specialists, entrepreneurs, designers, actors and financiers.”
- Six people associated with a rare private university have been charged with embezzling public funds.
- Leaflets were hung in the neighborhood of one of the targets featuring her face and saying; “She Supports Ukrainian Nazis.”
- This woman stated: “…the public sphere in Russia will be largely cleaned, purged of its liberal, humanistic elements.”
- Putin has publicly stated that those who identified with Western values are “scum and traitors.” Peskov has stated that “cleansing” would happen naturally.
- “The most recent additions to the list…have been…journalists and gay rights activists.”
- “Those designated must put the label prominently on all their work…and file frequent, and onerous, financial disclosure forms.”
KYIV INDEPENDENT
- EU seeks to sanction Putin’s rumored mistress. Alina Kabaeva is a former gymnast.
- Japan is increasing the reliance on nuclear power to reduce dependence on Russian energy.
- Ukraine is asking for the extradition of pro-Kremlin blogger Anatoly Shariy from Spain. Shariy was arrested on treason charges and then a Spanish court released him with travel restrictions.
- Ukrainian authorities sat Shariy has been spreading disinformation to harm Ukraine’s national security, while being paid by Russia.
- Shariy has lived in exile in EU since 2012. He founded a political party that was banned in February.
- A 15-year-old was killed while trying to help evacuate animals from the Feldman Ecopark. The owner is Oleksandr Feldman.
- Russians shell Russian Orthodox monastery in Donetsk.
- Fierce battles still continue near Popasna, Kreminna and Torske in Luhansk.
- Chornobaivka mayor hospitalized. His deputy was kidnapped by Russians.
- The Mayor of the village Ihor Dudar was hospitalized after encounter with Russian troops. (Note: It appears that troops are targeting local officials when they take over an area.)
- Ukraine’s biggest thermal power plant has stopped due to coal shortage.
- Canadian embassy to return to Ukraine.
EUROMAIDAN PRESS
- Ukraine has begun to counterattack in Kharkiv and Izium. Russia’s main focus is now in the Luhansk direction: Popasna, Kreminna, Torske.
- Russian forces stormed the Azovstal Plant and managed to break inside the facility.
RANDOM NOTES
- OpenSecrets.org is reporting that lobbyists disclosed an unprecedented $1 billion haul in 2022’s first quarter. (Note: This is absurd.)
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THURSDAY 4 MAY 2022
Podcast: “Gaslit Nation” Interview with Anne Nelson. How the Evangelical Right exploited the anti-democratic nature of our electoral system to get us where we are.
MSNBC: The Last Word
Last night, Lawrence O’Donnell made the wonderful point that even though Republican members of the Supreme court don’t care about our privacy, they sure as hell care about their own.
70% of the population does not agree with what the Supreme Court is doing in overturning Roe. For the first time in the history of the country, the Court is taking away a constitutionally guaranteed right. And this will not be the end. The right to an abortion depends on an area of law involving privacy. Once the assumption of a legally protected sphere of privacy is thrown out, all our privacy rights are jeopardized.
What the right did, over four decades, was to see the anti-democratic nature of the U.S. electoral system and capitalize on it. They exploited the fundamental anti-democratic nature of our electoral system (See Anne Nelson’s book).
If you want to listen to how we got here, listen to the interview with Anne Nelson on Gaslit Nation Podcast. Or, read her book “Shadow Network.”
Random Notes:
Corporate news keeps interviewing members of Congress as if any member of Congress is going to say anything that hasn’t been approved and focus group tested and guaranteed to be meaningless. Why waste our time? Last night, Madeline Dean refused to even say that Alito and the other Republican members of the court had committed perjury in their confirmation hearings.
The corporate media has tired of the devastation in Ukraine. This morning’s coverage consists of congratulating the U.S. for giving Ukrainians intelligence that led to the killing of generals. The focus is not on the devastation and the fact that the Russians occupy a fifth of the country and are likely to keep it. The focus is on the “positive.” There are endless human-interest stories, for example, the legless bride dancing with their husband. It is not as if this is not important, but any intelligent discussion of the war and what led up to it is replaced by endless variations of personal stories.
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WEDNESDAY 4 MAY 2022
We are back enmeshed in the minutiae of the Trump soap opera. Crime after crime, scam after scam, move after move to destroy what democracy we have left in this country. And, there are no consequences, none. Trump and his minions continue with the crime spree they have enjoyed for decades. The Democrats wring their hands, the corporate media obsesses over things like whether Biden used the word “abortion” in a statement. It is a country disintegrating before our very eyes. The media has lost interest in the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile the transnational crime network consolidates power.
Turn over to Fox News and you can watch endless discussion of a lawsuit between two spoiled movie stars.
MSNBC: Nicolle Wallace
- After saying that Trump was leading the white working class into a dark place, J.D. Vance has now decided to kiss Trump’s a.. He has just won the Republican Senate primary in Ohio. (Note: The corporate press tried to turn Vance into a cultural icon right after the publication of his book and the 2016 presidential race. He was a guest on every prime time show after his book came out.)
- “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine,” says J. D. Vance.
- Tim Ryan (Democratic Senate candidate) faces Vance in the Senate race.
- The abortion bills are so extreme that doctors could be put in jail for life for performing an abortion.
- (Note: Why does MSNBC find it necessary to show examining rooms while talking about the Supreme Court decision on abortion? They love to show women getting mammograms as well. I have never seen a man getting a prostate exam or the instruments for doing so.)
- Vance on Fox News: Calls the media and Democrats “obsessed with Ukraine.” Vance is claiming that Democrats are bringing in immigrants because they want to “replace” U.S. workers.
- Jeremy Bash: J.D. Vance is “parroting Kremlin talking points.” A major party is going to veer off in a pro-Russia direction. (Note: “going to”? Where has he been?)
- Miles Taylor, former Republican: The Republicans will tell people privately that they are part of the good guys. But, publicly they will side with the Trumpers. One in ten Americans thinks that violence would be justified against the U.S. government, according to polls.
UKRAINE UPDATE, 5:00 pm
UKRAINE WORLD
- War journalist Oleksandr Makhov died near Izyum.
- 600 people were killed in the Russian bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theatre.
THE KYIV INDEPENDENT
- Lviv mayor plans to nationalize Russian-owned bus plant.
- The city has some 80 businesses fully or partially owned by Russians.
- Russians tok three-year stock of grain out of Luhansk. 100,000 tons of gain have been either moved out of the war-torn region or destroyed.
- Missiles hit Dnipro.
- There are three Russian missile carriers currently in the Black Sea, ready to strike in Ukraine.
- People injured by mines around Kyiv.
- EU plans to block Russians from buying real estate.
- Ukrainian government criticizes the Red Cross for close cooperation with the Russian authorities and a lack of communication with Ukraine.
- “Belarus said it has begun large-scale drills on May 4 to test its combat readiness while local residents reported spotting columns of military vehicles moving in the direction of Ukraine.
- Russia plans to hold military parade in Mariupol on May 9, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
- EU proposes sanctioning head of Russian Orthodox Church.
If you haven’t listened to the most recent podcast from “Gaslit Nation,” you need to. The guest, Anne Nelson, details the years of work the right has done to get us where we are.
Anne Nelson’s books:
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TUESDAY 3 MAY 2022
NEW YORK TIMES
- A warehouse of a Russian textbook company whose chairman is a close friend of Putin, went up in flames overnight. This is another of the suspicious fires. The warehouse is in the outskirts of Moscow.
- It was reported that the company had tried to remove as many references as possible to “Ukraine” after the war started.
- Arkady R. Rotenberg is the close friend of Putin, a billionaire and became chairman of the company in around 2013.
- At least a dozen suspicious fires have broken out inside Russia recently.
- This includes one fire at a military research institute near Moscow.
- Moscow doubled its defense budget from 2005 to 2018.
- There was a blast in the Russian city of Belgorod overnight.
- A US diplomat says Russia plans to annex parts of Ukraine with “sham” elections.
- The CIA is making a push for Russians with information to share contact them on the dark web.
- Israel’s prime minister condemned comments by Russia’s foreign minister as antisemetic.
CITY AM
- City a.M. 5/3/22: Rumors are swirling in Moscos that former generals and KGB officials are preparing to oust Putin and end the war. The war is increasingly seen across Russia as “a strategic mistake and…an economic disaster.”
- Reports are that the head of Putin’s forme employer, the Russian security service FSB, is so frustrated with the progress of the war he had reached out to others.
- A group called the “Siloviki” comprised of former FSB officers who are active in Russian politics, is said to be pushing hard to replace Putin, together with former officers from the GRU,KGB and FSO, and other Russian intelligence units.
- Russian expert Andrei Soldatov said: “The Russian President has been bracin for a coup for some weeks as has faced fierce criticism over his ‘special operation’ in Ukraine and he has purged around 150 of his spies over the constant failures.”
- Rumor is also that Putin’s health has taken a hit since the war.
- The relationship between Putin and the FSB has deteriorated since the start of the war.
- Last month, two officials in the FB, were put under house arrest by Putin.
- Soldatov’s investigative website, Agentura.
- This is seen as a sign that Putin thinks that the FSB may be working against him.
- Russian analyst Alexey Muraview is also convinced that Putin is facing a coup.
NY POST (Note: I have not seen this story elsewhere. I am including it just for information. I did hear on a podcast that Russia’s head of federal police’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev is not in the chain of command to take over power from Putin.)
- Putin is set to undergo cancer surgery and temporarily hand over power to a “hardline former federal police chief.”
- He will transfer control to Nikolai Patrushev.
- This information comes from “the mysterious Telegram channel “General SVR.”
- The channel which is “purportedly” run by a former Russian Foreign Intelligence Service lieutenant general known as “Viktor Mikhailovich.”
- The channel released a video where the narrator says: “Patrushev is an outright villain. He is no better than Putin. If he comes to power Russians’ problems will only multiply.”
- The video follows reporting by “The Project” claiming that Putin has seen a cancer doctor 35 times in recent years. He is so paranoid about his health he is resorting to “unconventional, and barbaric, therapies.”
- The problem is suspected to be some sort of thyroid problem.
TWITTER
- Anders Aslund: After losing the battle of Kyiv, Putin did not relinquish his immediate military command, but has tightened it. “Putin thinks he is a genius and all others fools. That is his greatest mistake.”
- Nolan Peterson: Russian forces now reportedly attempting to storm Azovstal in Mariupol with ground forces.
- Ukraine World: Russian-organized Viber chats are actively spreading anti-semitic propaganda. This is hardly coincidence.
- Olga Lautman: the FSB is harassing and calling in family members of people who left Russia.
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Rumours are swirling in Moscow that a number of former generals and KGB officials are preparing to oust Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and plan to end
— Read on www.cityam.com/kremlin-on-high-alert-as-coup-rumours-grow-in-moscow-disgruntled-generals-join-fsb-looking-to-oust-putin-and-end-ukraine-war/ -
MONDAY 2 MAY 2022
CNN
- There is speculation that Putin may declare way on Ukraine on May 9. This opens the way toward more conscription since he has lost a great many troops.
- This may mobilize the Russian population behind Putin.
- The population is declining and this includes military age men. If this soon after the beginning of the war they are considering a more broad spread conscription it speaks to a failure.
- The Kremlin is maintaining that Hitler had Jewish blood.
EUROMAIDAN PRESS
- Ukraine destroyed two Russian Raptor boats.
- After a partial evacuation of civilians from Azovstal in Mariupol, Russia continues to fire on the building.
- Missile fired at Odesa.
- Zelensky: Russia’s top diplomat is blaming the Jewish people for Nazi crimes.”
- Journalist Iryna Danilovych disappears after being seized in Crimea.
- Russia plans to annex occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk and also to create a similar “people’s republic” in Kherson.
- An explosion took place on May 1 in Russia at the Perm Plant that produces charges for air defense. The company told the media that these were “scheduled tests.”
THE KYIV INDEPENDENT
- UN documents at least 6,400 civilian casualties in Ukraine due to the war.
- Hungarian authorities knew of Russian full scale invasion beforehand. (CPAC has just had its annual meeting in Hungary).
- Russian troops are pushing from Izyum, Kharkiv, south towards Donetsk.
- Russia may announce a general mobilization.
- Bloomberg is reporting that employees at a Dutch dock refused to unload tanker with Russian fuel.
- Ukraine identifies first suspect in Bucha massacre. Sergey Kolotsey, commander of a Russian National Guard unit.
- Kuleba: Lavrov “could not hide the deeply-rooted antisemitism of the Russian elites.”
- Hungary to block any EU proposal for embargo on Russian energy imports.
UKRAINE WORLD
- Russian propagandist, Dmity Kukikov, maintains on television that the US tried to destroy Russia in 2012. It was foiled because Trump was elected. Trump “gave us those four years, thank you very much.”
- More than 100 people were evacuated from Azovstal today.
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Law, Power, and Justice 