Some in the elite fear the invasion was a catastrophic mistake — but say the Russian president won’t relent and is in no danger of losing power.
— Read on www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-20/putin-s-war-in-ukraine-has-russian-elites-fearing-global-isolation
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‘Hide the girls’: How Russian soldiers rape and torture Ukrainians
— Read on kyivindependent.com/national/hide-the-girls-how-russian-soldiers-rape-and-torture-ukrainians/ -
MODAY 18 APRIL 2022
Articles You Should Read:
- Rick Scott revealed a tax plan that is the dream of the Republican Party.
- The White House pointed out that it would increase the taxes of over half Americans.
- McConnell has distanced himself from the proposal but it is squarely in line with policies the Republicans have supported for decades. The policy direction of the Republican party has always been to structure the tax system to benefit the rich and powerful and to eliminate social programs that help the working and lower classes.
- The reason the party elite is objecting to Scott’s proposal is that it makes the policy direction all to clear.
https://news.yahoo.com/why-democrats-republicans-gop-senator-230158237.html
- Scott’s “Plan to Rescue America” (for the rich and powerful) is meant to outline his party’s political priorities should the Republicans retake the Senate.
- The tax burden would further penalize millions of voters , mostly lower or middle income.
- Scott’s plan would end all federal programs after five years requiring congress to continually vote to reauthorize their existence. (Note: Given the amount of time Congress actually spends in Washington, this would never get done.)
- This would endanger social Security, Medicare and Medicaid
- (Note: McConnell’s objections to Scott’s plan is not that he would not pursue these goals in a heartbeat, it’s just that he doesn’t want everybody to know it.)
- Many republicans support cuts in these programs and also privatizing them.
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MONDAY 18 APRIL 2022
CNN
- The Russian offensive in the east has begun.
- (Note: How many gd times are these anchors going to ask different people how the current offensive is different from the first one?)
MSNBC: Ari Melber
- Russian missile attacks on Lyiv. Lyiv had been a refuge for refugees.
- Barry McCaffery: “He has conducted a criminal operation against Ukraine.” The brutality of the ground forces, acting “like savages against women and children.”
- “Evacuate to where?” Ukrainian woman.
- 90% of Mariupol is thought to be completely destroyed.
- Putin thinks he’s winning the war according to the Austrian Chancellor.
- Evelyn Farkas: Coons evidently hinted at US military becoming involved. She thinks we need to leave these options on the table. (Note: So do I.)
- Barry McCaffrey: The target is not the land in the east, it’s the Ukrainian army. (Note: McCaffrey thinks that the Biden administration has done an absolutely wonderful job in this first phase of the war in Ukraine. Yep, I agree, they just lost a quarter of the country if things don’t change.)
- Kirby: (Note: Kirby is an actor. He is sent out there not to tell the truth, but to perpetuate certain narratives.)
EUROMAIDAN PRESS
- As of April 18, Russian are holding 20,000 people in so-called “filtration camps” west of Mariupol.
- 5,000-7,000 people remain in a filtration camp in Bezimeene west of Mariupol. They are being prepared for transportation to Russia.
- Russian invaders have abducted the 16-year-old child of a Zaporizhzhia regional head.
- Zelensky: The Russians are attacking in a “little more thought-out manner…putting pressure, looking for a weak spot in the defense of our state to go there with the main forces.”
- Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman has warned that more than 400 people from Mariupol, including 147 children, have been transferred by Russians to a fenced camp near Penza.
- Google Maps has opened “all military and strategic facilities in Russia….Any user can see the airfields of Russia, naval bases, launch pads…” (Quote from article)
- Russia has started a cyber attack, sending out emails that are titled: Urgently. Deblockade of Azovstal.” Opening the document leads to an attack by Cobalt Strike Beacon.
- Putin rewards the brigade which massacred people in Bucha.
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MONDAY 18 APRIL 2022
Joe Scarborough took his audience through a detailed analysis of how the events in Ukraine are like the suffering of the Christian Christ from Friday to Sunday. The dreaded Mika sat beside him staring with adoration. Best Scarborough quote, said with the injured pride of the religious right: “I believe because I believe and if that offends you, so be it.” The injured pride is a political construct created by the Republicans. There is a church on every corner. Christianity is not a beleaguered, oppressed religion. To maintain that it is feeds into the politics of grievance practiced so successfully on the right and the fascist right.
Later in Monday’s show Joe Scarborough actually sat on national television and scoffed at the people who go to Maralago and act like “crabs in a bucket” crawling all over each other trying to get Trump’s attention. In 2016, Morning Joe started off every show with coverage of Trump, usually Trump phoning in himself. The dreaded Mika asked Trump’s permission to ask him hard questions over a hot mic. The two were at Maralago after the election. So, they were part of the bucket of crabs crawling all over each other to get Trump’s attention and largess. They only broke with Trump when he revealed their adulterous affair. But Joe Scarborough can look down on the crabs because he conveniently refuses to acknowledge he was one. “I believe because I believe and if that offends you, so be it.” God help us.
UKRAINE
The American party line this morning on Ukraine is that even if Ukraine loses Mariupol (which it seems likely to do) it has been a victory because it has drained Russian assets. Nothing like turning a defeat of losing a fourth of the country into a victory because it serves American interests. Defending this crescent of land from Kharkiv to Odesa would be easier than trying to take it back. But, it really doesn’t matter because we can just call it a victory. More delusional thinking.
MSNBC
- The steel factory is the last remaining hold out for the Ukrainians in Mariupol.
- Fighting is stalled around Kherson.
- There is an expected push in the east within the next few days.
- The sycophant, Jonathan Lemire, on Morning Joe, repeats the formula about Mariupol. According to Lemire, Mariupol will probably fall, but it took over a month rather than the expected few days. What this is designed to impart is that the loss of Mariupol and the establishment of a land-bridge from Kharkiv to Odesa which takes up something like a fourth of the country is a victory rather than a defeat. So, the West hasn’t abandoned Ukraine, Ukraine is fighting (and really winning).
- (Note: In a conversation, I mentioned that a local store was flying a Ukrainian flag. Friend dismissed the act by saying that it was an attempt to appeal to gullible people’s “sympathy.” It’s amazing how a country fighting for its very life, taking astonishing loses, fighting against enormous odds, trying to save the democracy the people had established after throwing out a Russian kleptocratic stooge, can elicit sympathy from gullible people. Jesus.)
- Clint Watts: How long can the fighters in the steel mill in Mariupol keep supplied? Belgorod is a major Russian military supply line. Forces are being moved from there South and East to Izyum. They are trying to build combat power in Izyum. They are also moving North and west to Severodonetsk and Slovyansk. The Russians are trying to trap segments of the Ukrainian army. Slovyansk is going to be a key battle in the region. Part of the issue is the resupply of munitions. The Russians have taken the railroads near the Black Sea.
- Foreign Policy Article: There is a shift from defensive to offensive supplies going from U.S. to Ukraine. (Note: One of the reporters commented recently that Biden had essentially given up on this distinction between “offensive” and “defensive” weapons. The distinction didn’t really exist in the first place. The assumption was that if the US didn’t supply “offensive” weapons it wouldn’t be considered an “escalation.” I don’t know where people come up with this bull.)
- There are plans for US trainers to go into NATO countries.
- Amy Mackinnon: In the past “offensive” weapons supply was considered to escalate and to be considered by Russia as provocative. Zelensky notes that this supply of weapons is not enough and not fast enough. One official said it was like trying to put out a raging fire one glass of water at the time.
- Richard Haas: Most of the combat is in the east, but Russians sent missiles into Lyiv yesterday.
- (Note: The Washington press is obsessed with these designations like “State Sponsor of Terrorism” or “War Crimes.” Other people, not so much. Amy MacKinnon tells Lemire that she doesn’t think the administration is very concerned with these designations.)
- Clint Watts: Russians are trying to flank around the Ukrainian positions established for years in the Donbas. Russian military is being redeployed and they are tired. It is estimated that they have lost 40,000 soldiers killed or wounded or missing. (Note: “disinfo” has become a verb. Example: You can’t disinfo your way out of that forever.” God help us.)
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UKRAINE UPDATE, 3:00 PM
16 APRIL 2022
NYT:
- The Russians are claiming that they have seized Mariupol except for a steel plant near the port. They are saying that the only chance of the remaining Ukrainian military surviving is to surrender.
- Zelensky acknowledged that the Ukrainian forces only controlled a small part of the port city.
- Targets throughout Ukraine were pounded on Saturday in what is thought to be retaliation for the sinking of the flagship.
- The shelling is also thought to be preparation for the attack in the east.
- Russians targeted a Kyiv tank factory where the missiles were produced that sank the Moskya.
- “Russia is ambling toward a major default on its foreign debt…”
- The legal question about the default is over who decides if a nation has defaulted if sanctions have curbed the ability to pay.
- A missile slammed into a shopping mall in Kharkiv.
- The UN warned that closures of ports on the Black Sea could trigger a global food catastrophe “that yields starvation, mass migration and political instability.”
- Ukraine’s silos are brimming with grains that in a normal year help feed 400 million people around the world.
- Zelensky has said that in an attempt to control occupied areas, Russians are hunting down anybody ever associated with the Ukrainian military or government. In the eastern Zaporizhzhia region alone, Russia’s forces have kidnapped more than 30 local government leaders.
- Ukrainians say that the Russians are trying to cover up the evidence of war crimes in the areas they occupy.
- There are estimated to be more than 100,000 civilians still in Mariupol.
- Russia has barred Boris Johnson from visiting Russia.
UKRAINE WORLD @ukraine_world (One of the best sources of information out there). They are on twitter and have podcasts and a website. I was listening to their podcasts before this all started. Fascinating. If you have the time, go back and listen to the prior podcasts where they talk about Zelensky and Ukrainian politics.
- “Separatists” in the Donbas were drafting 16-year-olds.
- Another Russian major general killed and buried in St. Petersburg.
- Britain is ready to provide further military aid to Ukraine.
- Some 400,000 people have reentered Ukraine since the 24 February, many of them evacuated previously.
- Russians are preparing a referendum in Kherson around May 1 to May 10.
- Near Kherson, Russians are distributing leaflets saying that they are fighting the “Kyiv Regime.” They also say that Russians do not wage war against civilians.
- “Ukraine asks Europe for weapons. Europeans support the call for their governments. Europe gives Ukraine weapons, not the ones asked for. Weapons take too long to arrive. Democracy won’t win from playing this game. Ukraine needs weapons.”
- The Mayor of Lozova (between Kyiv and Kharkiv) calls on town’s citizens to immediately leave via the 17:30 train to Khmelnytskyi.
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FRIDAY 15 APRIL 2022, 7 pm
MSNBC: Ari Melber
- The Russians have blockaded the ports on the Black Sea. They have been firing long-range missiles into Ukraine. There was the threat of an amphibius invasion particularly around Odesa.
- Why is it important that this was Russia’s flagship.
- Ray Mabus, fmr. Sec. of the Navy: It hasn’t happened since WWII. This was the ship that threatened people on Snake Island. A stamp has been issued commemorating this ship. Neptune missiles that hit it were developed and made inside Ukraine. The Russians underestimated the Ukrainians. Ukraine can use the smaller weapons and also sophisticated long range missiles.
- Kasparov: This war can last for months but not for years. If Putin doesn’t have a decisive win in the east by May 9, I don’t see the necessary losses to give a Russian win.
- Mabus: The Russians don’t have the long term capabilities to continue this war, but he is perfectly willing to continue to pour people and money into this. What is possible is just to change the definition of victory and get out. The time has passed when you say that the Russians win this war. They are not going to subjugate Ukraine.
MSNBC: Mehdi Hassan
- Zelensky cautioned the world from assuming that Russia would lose this war. We have a very small window of opportunity.
- Russia formally warns the U.S. that sending the most sensitive weapons to Ukraine is an escalation and could provoke consequences.
- William Burns, CIA Director, warned today that an increasingly cornered Putin means that we must not take likely a resort to a tactical nuclear weapon.
- Zelensky said that the world should prepare for a nuclear attack inside Ukraine.
- This would be the first nuclear attack since that by the U.S. on Japan.
- Phillip Breedlove, Military. There is no infrastructure in Mariupol. It is one of the two remaining large ports in Ukraine that keep it connected to the rest of the world. The land bridge from Donesk to Crimea, is also essential. Some soldiers had to surrender because of lack of food and supplies, this is the fault of the West.
- Breedlove: We will likely find brutality and war crimes. Breedlove has said that the U.S. had been completely deterred by Russia nuclear capacity but the Russians have been not at all deterred by U.S. Nuclear weapons.
- Hassan: Burns said that there was a prospect of using tactical nuclear weapons.
- Breedlove: We have to take this threat seriously. Putin is extremely good at deterring us. Now declaring our weapon shipments will cause new possibilities for him. He’s seeking to further deter us. In Northern Syria, we took a battalion of Russians off the battle field. “There are people in this world who believe that there is no risk if we do nothing.”
- Hassan: In Syria these were mercenaries.
- Breedlove: Wagner Group is an extension of the Russian military. “I don’t think he’s bluffing.” Will take these more drastic actions. But, if we allow every nation who had a nuclear weapon to blackmail us, we are going to have a tough time in the world ahead. We don’t want Ukraine to give up sovereign territory.
CNN
- Teams of people working to retrieve people in mass graves in Bucha.
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THURSDAY 14 APRIL 2022
UKRAINE WORLD
- Kyiv explosions, unsure whether bombing or demining.
- Russia has either captured or is blocking Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. Maritime trade is a huge part of Ukrainian economy and food exports. It is key for global food security.
- This is a violation of international freedom of navigation norms.
- The Russians have virtually taken over the Sea of Azov, and is now trying to do the same with the Black Sea.
- The warships on the Black Sea are being used to launch missiles.
- The world should help Ukraine lift the Black Sea blockade.
- 16 Cruise missiles were on the Moskova warship.
- 3,600 cultural heritage sites destroyed in Ukraine.
- Since the beginning of the invasion 324 hospitals have been damaged.
- Over 500,000 Ukrainians have been forcibly taken to Russia.
KYIV INDEPENDENT
- Parliament dissolves pro-Russian Opposition Platform faction. Zelensky signed a decree banning all pro-Russian political projects.
- Ireland supports EU ban on Russian gas imports.
- Moldova bans Russian pro-war symbols.
- Dutch government instructs firms not to pay for Russian gas in rubles.
CNN
- Unsure whether Russian ship explosion has resulted in a withdrawal of that ship and other ships.
- This leads to belief that it was a strike or Russian ships would not be moving back off the coast.
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THURSDAY 14 APRIL 2022
UKRAINE:
Everyone is preparing for a new front in the battle for Ukraine. Failing to take over Kyiv, the Russians are concentrating force in the east of Ukraine, solidifying and expanding control of the Donbas region. The fighting is expected to be more brutal, the terrain is different, allowing for a more WWII style battle. The US has approved an expanded package of aid and equipment, but the question is whether they can get the equipment there in time to make a difference.
It is just beyond my comprehension why the Biden administration has not already sent this equipment. The reaction of some of the American people to the war has also just amazed me. Certain groups of people seem completely incapable of distinguishing between a war like that against Iraq and Afghanistan (which I opposed) and the war defending Ukraine. I am no admirer of the corporate media, but I also can see the difference between a press that is covering the war in Ukraine and a war-mongering press cheering for aggressive warfare (as they did in Panama, Iraq and Afghanistan).
UKRAINE UPDATE
WASHINGTON POST
- Russia warned that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, Moscow will reinforce the Baltic Sea region, including deploying nuclear weapons (Washington Post).
MSNBC
- EU is considering ban on Russian oil. (Note: Evidently a ban on natural gas would be more helpful.)
CNN
- Long range artillery is important in this new phase of the war. The Us is providing some of this.
- They want to stop the artillery forces. Russians have a lot of artillery. ‘it’s a killer on the Russian battlefield.”
- The urgency is to deliver the equipment.
- Advisers were trying to caution against some of this equipment.
- The problem remains getting this equipment in fast enough to make a difference. (Note: So why not send this before?)
- Barbara Star trots out the Pentagon line.
- The helicopters are important, and they were not always in the package. Zelensky evidently talked Biden into including this. It’s a very good helicopter for this type of terrain.
- Biden attempted to make some kind of distinction between “offensive” and “defensive” weapons. The assumption was that offensive weapons were escalatory. This distinction is evidently being abandoned. (Note: Thank God.)
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WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL 2022
MEDVEDCHUK
• Zelensky was criticized before the war for his use of sanctions against media mogul Medvedchuk, one of the leaders of the pro-Kremlin party Opposition Platform – For Life.
• Putin is the godfather to Medvedchuk’s youngest daughter.
February 14, 2022
- The Los Angeles Times wrote that Ukrainians, before the invasion, were “starting to wonder whether their…president has the smarts and strength to lead them…”
- They quoted a woman from the Democratic Initiatives Foundation saying: “Since the beginning of the current tensions last year, Zelensky lost the public’s trust.”
- They cited criticisms of Zelensky as a “jester-turned-king wholly unsuited to the situation at hand.”
- The Times quoted another women saying that Zelensky was “disrespectful to Biden.”
- Yet another women was quoted as taking about “frustration over the contradictory messaging.”
- The article notes that Zelensky ran on a platform of “ending the war in the east in a way palatable to Ukrainians and breaking up corrupt oligarchs’ hold over the economy.”
- Zelensky, the article maintains “failed to bring peace, angering pro-Russian Ukrainians” and “infuriating others who saw him as weak.”
- Zelensky passed some land reforms, but his fight against corruption “was hardly a success.” (quote from another woman)
- The Deputy Chief Economist at the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, is quoted as blaming Zelensky for the fact that he has not “changed the fundamental structure of the government in Ukraine, which is still corrupted by oligarchs.” She said that Zelensky “failed to create institutional structures that could independently fight corruption rather than when it was convenient for him as president.” (Quote from article).
- The article then cites “critics” who has problems with Zelensky’s use of sanctions against media mogul Viktor Medvedchuk.
- Medvedchuk was charged with high treason. His television network was shut down and placed under house arrest.
- Another oligarch, Ihor Kolomoisky, who backed Zelensky’s election, faced no charges but was sanctioned in the U.S. “Critics” found fault with Zelensky for this.
- Zelensky’s moves against former president Poroshenko, charges including treason, were criticized as “political opportunism.”
- The article then cites other criticisms of Zelensky’s inner circle, “comedy industry veterans with little experience.”
Note: Zelensky’s moves against Medvedchuk seem wise in retrospect.
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WEDNEDAY 13 APRIL 2022
THE ILK
LAWRENCE O’DONNEL
- We need guard rails for the Supreme Court. Clarence Thomas just posed for a campaign photo with Hershel Walker running for office in Georgia.
- “There are no rules in war.” Virginia Thomas.
- There is an act before the Senate that would help with judicial ethics.
- (Note: I did not know until last night that Hershel Walker claimed that when he put a gun to his wife’s head and threatened to blow her brains out that he was suffering from a mental illness that caused him to have 11 personalities. I think Thomas is in a similar situation and I have my suspicions about Alito.)
- NYT reported a massive transfer of money from Saudis to Kushner.
- The Trump administration covered for the Saudis after the killing of Khashoggi. Now, Jared is collecting payment. Saudi’s are rewarding and making a down payment on a future Trump presidency.
MEDVEDCHUK
• Zelensky was criticized before the war for his use of sanctions against media mogul Medvedchuk, one of the leaders of the pro-Kremlin party Opposition Platform – For Life.
• Putin is the godfather to Medvedchuk’s youngest daughter.
• Some articles of interest
• https://globalhappenings.com/opinion/59012.html
• https://www.rt.com/russia/544152-eu-ukraine-detention-opposition/
• https://khpg.org/en/1608809236
• https://en.hromadske.ua/posts/zelenskyy-at-war-with-akhmetov-poroshenko-medvedchuk-roundup-of-2021
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/28/ukraine-russia-medvedchuck/
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TUESDAY 12 APRIL 2022, 8:00 pm
CNN
- They have identified the shooter through a credit card dropped at the scene.
- A Uhaul van was rented with the credit card.
- Chris Hayes is showing a photo of the suspect.
MSNBC:
- “We need police everywhere.” Former NYPD detective on Chris Hayes.
- De Blasio is now praising the “resilience” of New Yorkers. This is hardly the point. They shouldn’t have to be this resilient.
- “There are no rules in war.” Virginia Thomas.
MEDVEDCHUK
- Zelensky was criticized before the war for his use of sanctions against media mogul Medvedchuk, one of the leaders of the pro-Kremlin party Opposition Platform – For Life.
- Putin is the godfather to Medvedchuk’s youngest daughter.
- Some articles of interest
- https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-02-14/ukraine-president-zelensky-tight-spot-russia-crisis#:~:text=Critics%20highlight%20Zelensky%E2%80%99s%20use%20of%20sanctions%20against%20media,Putin%2C%20who%20is%20godfather%20to%20Medvedchuk%E2%80%99s%20youngest%20daughter.
- http://scottrewired.com/zelensky-imposed-sanctions-against-the-media-holding-of-an-associate-of-medvedchuk/
- https://globalhappenings.com/opinion/59012.html
- https://www.rt.com/russia/544152-eu-ukraine-detention-opposition/
- https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/12/ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-russia-propaganda-media-medvedchuk-euromaidan-kremlin-hybrid-war/
- https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/3183254-zelensky-imposes-fiveyear-sanctions-on-medvedchuks-ally-his-tv-channels.html
- https://khpg.org/en/1608809236
- https://en.hromadske.ua/posts/zelenskyy-at-war-with-akhmetov-poroshenko-medvedchuk-roundup-of-2021
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/28/ukraine-russia-medvedchuck/
