Law, Power, and Justice

Join me in trying to make sense of a complicated world.

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  • UKRAINE UPDATE AND THE “IT’S SO HARD” WHINING FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT LEGAL COMMUNITY

    THURSDAY 7 APRIL 2022

    MSNBC: Chris Hayes

    • Timothy Snyder being interviewed: 
    • Snyder: If Putin wins this second part of the war, in the Donbas he will keep going.  Russia must be defeated on the battlefield.  It’s the only way to win this war.  You want that victory to be as quick as possible.
    • We need a paradigm shift away from talking about stagnation in terms of winning the war.  The Russian offense will probably start within 48 hours.  Putin is determined to win by May 9.  There is a critical month ahead of us.  We should be sending arms as quickly as we can.
    • Nobody in Russia cares about the Donbas.  They just think they have to have some kind of victory.  The only way this ends is for them not to win a victory. 
    • Hayes: Mentions Bloodlands, a book written by Snyder about WWII.
    • The Russians seem to have forgotten that when they won the second world war, the Ukrainians were on their side.  Calling them Nazis while committing the same kinds of atrocities that the Nazis committed during  WWII, is not only perverse, it’s like a second version of the crime itself.   Ukraine was colonized by the Russians and the Germans.  Ukrainians have won the battle of Kyiv. 
    • Hayes:  There is a kind of discomfort with this conflict being determined by who wins on the battlefield. 
    • Snyder:  The American left specializes in being right in losing.  We are not used to being right and winning.  If the Ukrainians lose, democracy will be “rocking on its heels.”  “It’s not just about Ukraine and Russia.  It’s also about the rest of us.”
    • (Note: I just keep thinking about how the Americans were encouraging Zelensky to leave Ukraine.  With Friends like these.)
    • RUSSIAN MALWARE
    • The US government discovered that companies had not removed malware put there by Russians.  The US government was tracking Russian hacking groups.  They went in and removed the malware. 
    • If this had been successful, the GRU would have access to corporate computers.  They could have stolen data from the companies.  Court orders allowed them to go into the computers of companies and remove the malware for them.
    • The FBI had done this before, in 2018. 
    • Some of the fears of hacking in Ukraine have not occurred (such as taking down the central power), but there were attacks.  (Note: Why did we not hear more about them?)
    • ERIC BOEHLERT
    • Eric Boehlert: Fox News is a closed society.  They know they can lie to their viewers.  Their viewers expect them to lie to them.  “This is a rush to the gutter from the right.”  Boehlert has died.
    • MANHATTAN DA AND TRUMP
    • (Note: If you are interested in the Manhattan DA’s office and the Pomerantz resignation, listen to the podcast “Gaslit Nation” for a valuable take.  The corporate press has largely taken Pomerantz’s resignation at face value.  Sarah Kenzior does not.  She argues that the Manhattan DA’s office functions to protect elite criminals.)   
    • Today, Bragg (the new head) maintained that the investigation of Trump was still going on.
    • Rebecca Roiphe, a former Manhattan Assistant DA interviewed on Chris Hayes said, that what is strange is that after this well-known prosecutor (Pomerantz) said he had a case, that there would be more evidence as maintained by Bragg.  “It feels like clean up.”  “It was a public relations disaster.” (When it was announced they would not be pursuing the cae).  This is a way of making it look like they are turning over “every stone.” 
    • Hayes:  There seem to be two different views of what’s going on here. First, the DA’s office is scared of Trump, afraid they might lose the case.  After all, the scrutiny of the world would be on you.  Second, Pomerantz had come out of retirement to do the case, so of course he would want to indict.  There is no case there.
    • Roiphe: I’m sure that both Pomerantz and Bragg are trying to treat every case brought before them equally.  (Note: This is bullshit). 
    • Hayes:  Hayes is questioning his own desire to see Trump held accountable.  Then, he is saying that Trump has committed lawless behavior.  (Note: So why is he apologizing for his own desire for accountability?)  Hayes then says that Trump is clearly committing lawless behavior all over the place and his not being held accountable  doing “flagrantly lawless things” and getting away with them completely born of the fact that he is powerful and wealthy.  This makes it look like he’s escaping the law because of his wealth and privilege.
    • Roiphe: “It really does look that way.”  (NO IT DOESN’T LOOK THAT WAY, IT IS THAT WAY.)  “It’s really hard to prove these criminal cases.”  It’s not that he’s getting special treatment. There are tons of people who get away this kind of thing.  (Note: That raises a gigantic problem in and of itself).
    • Hayes: These cases are difficult to prosecute.  (Note: Hayes does not bring up the fact that the laws are written so that they will be difficult to prosecute. Because they are crimes of the elite.
    • Roiphe: “You really want to be sure you are prosecuting people who have crossed that line.”  (Note: Bullshit). 
    • (Note: These laws are written to make them difficult to prosecute because they are the crimes of the powerful.  The crimes of the powerless are not so difficult to prosecute.
    • Please, please listen to Gaslit Nation.  This interview was just bullshit.

    MSNBC: Ali Velshi

    • Kuleba asks for “weapons, weapons, weapons.”  “Either you help us now, and I’m talking days not weeks, or your help will come too late.” 
    • Russian radio traffic intercepted, talking about killing civilians.
    • Mass graves in Bucha.  Many were shot in the head.
    • Russians are going house to house and stealing from the residents.

    EUROMAIDAN PRESS

    • Ukraine says Russian planes will be downed if they try to enter the airspace of Transnistria. 

  • UKRAINE UPDATE: THURSDAY 7 APRIL 2022, 3:30 PM

    On Twitter @cjjohns1951

    UKRAINE WORLD

    • Russians shelled railway in Kharkiv oblast used to evacuate civilians from Donbas.
    • (Note: Ukraine World is publishing the photographs of Russian military people who are perpetrating atrocities.)
    • Russia has shelled railroad near Barvinkove in the Kharkiv region thus rendering impossible evacuation of civilians from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk that are about to become hot spots in days to come.
    • Russia’s rights of membership in the UN Human Rights Council has just been suspended.
    • Russia has ruined virtually every hospital in the Luhansk region.
    • 90% of those killed in Bucha were fatally wounded by bullets, not shrapnel.

    THE KYIV INDEPENDENT

    • Russia abducted more than 100 people in Melitopol.
    • According to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Russia had lost around 18,900 soldiers since launching a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24.
    • Russia plans to capture Mariupol, break through Donbas defense lines.
    • 16 sabotage groups caught in Kyiv in past two days.
    • Luhansk Oblast governor: No hospital survived in the region.
    • After regrouping troops, Russia may attempt to capture Kyiv again.
    • Dnipro mayor: Residents not involved in critical infrastructure should evacuate.

    EUROMAIDAN PRESS

    • As Russia is expelled from the UN Human Rights Council, it announces it has withdrawn.
    • Russian troops get orders from their commanders to shoot civilians.
    • Occupied Kherson had flour left for one week; Russian troops do not allow humanitarian convoys in.
    • The US Senate has passed a bill to ban imports of oil and gas from Russia. 

  • UKRAINE UPDATE:

    On Twitter: @cjjohns1951

    MONDAY 4 APRIL 2022, 9:30 PM

    KYIV INDEPENDENT

    • Germany has admitted that the policy of establishing Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was a mistake.
    • The bodies of men who appear to have been tortured were discovered in the basement of a children’s health resort in Bucha.
    • Pro-Russian party stages fake mayor elections in partly occupied Mariupol.
    • The Russian military controls part of Mariupol.
    • 355 dogs died in animal shelters because food and water couldn’t be brought to them.
    • Kuleba: “This is a plea of the victims of rape, torture, murder, their relatives, and the entire Ukrainian nation.” The plea is for the strictest sanctions.
    • Germany expels 40 Russian diplomats in response to Bucha.
    • The Ukrainian General Staff says that Russians use civilians’ labor to build fortifications in Kherson.
    • US to ask UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

    MSNBC: Joy Reid

    • Velshi:
    • Russia and the America right are claiming that the dead and tortured bodies in Bucha are fake.  Then, when satellite images showed up to prove that the bodies were there when the Russians occupied the region, they started saying that the people who did the satellite images were faking them.
    • France has expelled Russian diplomats.
    • Bucha has changed the tone.  People were talking about talks and diplomacy, but this has changed the tone for Ukrainians.  What will the west do?
    • Member of Ukrainian Parliament, Inna Sovsun: Whether Russians are made to pay the price for the killing depends on the courts.  Those proceedings take time and cooperation from the Russian side.  I hope Putin will not be there forever.  We will seek for justice.  Bucha is close to Kyiv.  She would go for a walk to Bucha for a walk. 
    • Note: Joy Reid asked Sovsun what it was like to see people who had been killed and who were “just like you.” 
    • Sovsun: “This is random.  It could have been any of us.”  It is happening in other cities.  We are just asking for investigation.  “please help us stop the crimes…”  We need more weapons, not sanctions.
    • Reid: Red Cross prevented getting into Mariupol.  What can be done?
    • Amna Nawaz, PBS: Sources are sending images that are just too horrifying and even describing them is inhumane.  (Note: Why?)  Senior officials say they will be rolling out more sanctions.  Humanitarian aid if they can get it in.  Those sanctions will take time.  How much time?  Jake Sullivan said, it would be “protracted” and we could be talking about months.  “That changes the conversation.” 
    • The International Criminal Court is conducting an investigation of crimes in Ukraine. 

    UKRAINE WORLD

    • “Will Mariupol and Bucha become a point of no return for the world? After which it sill stop thinking about endless “compromises” with the killers? Or will they be just another “shocking content” to be blocked on social networks before a regular delicious dinner?”
    • “We need more weapons to continue our fight and hold accountable those responsible for Bucha.”
    • “Russians want to conquer Kharkiv to prepare a large-scale assault in the EasternUkraine.”
    • Russian soldiers sent home things they looted in Ukraine.  Some sent over 400 KG each, including equipment, tables, tents, TVs, etc.
    • Velika Dymerka liberated from Russians.  They killed the dogs.  The dogs are lined up on the street as if they were called or offered food and then killed.

  • UKRAINE UPDATE

    MONDAY 4 APRIL 2022, 8:30

    MSNBC: Chris Hayes

    • Vindman:  Three should have been a greater press to avoid this war because we knew the kind of barbarism that we would see.  We must help Ukraine end this war.  These types of incidents are going to increase as Russia gets frustrated.  We need to give them everything they need. 
    • Hayes, quoting NYT: Men’s hands have been tied and they have been shot at close range.  They were civilians. 
    • Michael Newton: Vanderbilt Law School:  If Putin launched this to aggrandize Russia power and prestige there’s nothing more corrosive.  Has the opportunity to galvanize the entire world.  Russians have been violating laws during the occupation of Crimea. 
    • Hayes: Russian left these bodies to be found and then immediately denied it. 
    • Vindman: Demonstrates a callousness for human life.  Increasing repression has bred this in the population. 
    • Hayes: Orban of Hungry has been “reelected.”  He as been congratulated by MTG, and Gosar.  He has eliminated independent media, taken control of the court system and gerrymandered to make Hungary’s Fidesz party hard to dislodge (Note: Shades of what we are facing here).  This is a one-party state.
    • “Strong Men” book by Ruth Ben-Ghiat.  Hayes interviews Ben-Ghiat.  Six opposition parties united against him.  One of the far-right parties joined this opposition, but many of their members defected to Orban as a response.  Orban has been “very smart” by pretending to be neutral in the Russian war.  Orban has built a system that almost guarantees him electoral success.  After Crimea, Orban was against EU sanctions.  Hungary is dependent on Russian oil and gas.  He played this to his supporters saying that if they didn’t elect him, oil and gas prices would go up.
    • Hayes plays American Right: Bannon, huge admirer or Orban.  Trump is as well.  Tucker Carlson.  “Orban has been vilified.”  The right is celebrating this authoritarian leader. 
    • Ben-Ghiat: This is what the Republicans want, this kind of authoritarianism. 

    EUROMAIDAN PRESS

    • After a call for assistance, 1500 volunteers called to help pick up debris in Irpin.
    • In Izyum, Kharkiv, Russian forces are carrying out filtration measures and forcible deportations of local residents to Russia.
    • “West is still reluctant to commit itself to the safety of Ukraine and doesn’t foresee the far-reaching implications of Russia’s war and Black Sea blockade.  Ukraine urgently needs presence of NATO fleet in Black Sea, and there is not so much left before it might be too late.”
    • In the village of Oleksandrivka, Kherson the Russian military destroyed a library of more than 16,000 books.
    • Russian invaders tortured a local leader in Chernihiv and staged mock executions “for entertainment.”
    • Satellite images show bodies lay in Bucha for weeks, despite Russian claims.
    • 130,000 people are still trapped in Mariupol.
    • Russian forces are preparing to attack and capture Kharkiv.
    • Overnight, Kharkiv was hit more than 50 times by rocket and artillery strikes.  This is day 40 of the Russian war against Ukraine.
    • Lithuanian Ambassador to Russia will return.  Lithuania expelled the Russian ambassador.  Closes consulate.
    • Anonymous claimed responsibility for releasing personal identifying information on 120,000 Russian soldiers allegedly fighting in Ukraine.

    MSNBC: Ali Velshi

    •          Bucha was one of the first cities in Ukraine to fall.  It had been under Russian control for a month.  It was thought this was good news, but after they saw what was left, this changed.  410 civilians dead at least.

    The bodies laying in the streets.  When they arrived, Russians began indiscriminately attacking people for no reason.  “they shot off his leg completely” one resident described a shooting

    DOMESTIC POLITICS: Chris Hayes MSNBC

    • Will there be a criminal referral for Trump?  Unlikely. 
    • Rep. Elaine Luria: D -Va.  (Jan. 6 Committee)  It’s more important not to worry about political implications.  The Committee will lay out the facts and if crimes occurred, we have to put that in our report and refer it to the DOJ.
    • There is fear that it will look political if there is a criminal referral for Trump.
    • Lindsay Graham: “If we were in charge, she would not have been before this committee.” Talking about Jackson.  Hayes is talking about Republican “stunt politics.”  Sarah Palin is back running for office.  (Note Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace helped Sarah Palin campaign for office). 
    • Insurgency by Jeremy Peters, interviewed by Hayes: Palin clicks with voters because she is seen as one of them.  She’s a mom, talked like them, didn’t have elitist airs.  She needs to be taken seriously.
    • Hayes:  She wasn’t faking it.  Donald Trump is faking it, faking being one “of the people.”  Her rallies were characterized by “vitriol.” 
    • Peters: Her appeal in Alaska was started because somebody called her and people like her “trash.”  They appropriated that and ran on it.  It worked for them.  That’s what Trumpism is – making people believe that others look down on them. 
    • Peters: This is a powerful seat she’s running for.  Trump sought her out in 2016 and got her support. 

  • UKRAINE UPDATE

    SUNDAY 3 APRIL 2022, 7 PM

    CNN

    • Jim Sciutto wins the prize of the day journalistically.  He told an interviewee that they would watch a piece of video and talk about it “after it was over” rather than “on the other side.”  Thanks God.
    • Fareed Zakaria:  saying that we must escalate in response to the Russian war crimes.  This is “rage” or it is under instructions.  A lot of women and children have fled otherwise a lot more of these dead bodies would be women and children.  The sanctions are having an effect, havoc in Russia, are they affecting Putin and his inner circle, no.  Numbers may go up to 2 or 3 million Russians trying to leave. 
    • Orban won reelection.  Orban is close to Putin.  Zakaria: “You can lose your democracy forever.”  They have elections but they are fixed and the courts are fixed, no free press.
    • Zakaria:  “It’s very disappointing.”  He has “fixed Hungarian democracy.”  They have bought it all up.  It’s right wing authoritarian populism. 
    • Panic buying in Russia, trying to get sugar and other items.
    • CNN showing a mass grave in Bucha.  They believe over 100 people buried there. 
    • Zelensky: Civilians have been decapitated and children tortured.  “This is genocide.”
    • Air strikes again in Odessa tonight.    

    FOX

    • Good God, Lara Trump, is a regular on Fox News.  (Note: Jesus)

    TWITTER:

    • Anastasila Lapatina: “Russians broke into my family’s house.  Went through all our stuff.  Took mom’s computer, all her shoes, her camera….Imagine a place where you grew up and lived your best moments violated in this manner. 
    • Garry Kasparov: “The latest horrors out of Putin’s war on Ukraine put the remaining Western holdouts against stronger action in an unbearable position.  Excuses are now complicity, not prudence, not just cowardice.”
    • Occupy Democrats: Heineken announces it will exit Russia.
    • Kyle Griffin: Reuters: Ukraine has taken all areas around the capital, reclaiming complete control of the region for the first time since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.
    • Anders Aslund: 1. Ukraine should not give up anything when it is on the offensive…
    • Olga Lautman: Kick Russia out of UN Security Council. 

    Ukraine Government

    • Kuleba: “Bucha massacre proves tat Russian hatred towards Ukrainians is beyond anything Europe has seen since WWII.  The only way to stop this: help Ukraine kick Russians out as soon as possible.  Partners know our needs.  Tanks, combat aircraft, heavy air defense systems.  Provide them NOW.”
    • Kuleba: “Bucha massacre was deliberate.  Russians aim to eliminate as many Ukrainians as they can. We must stop them and kick them out. I demand new devastating G7 sanctions NOW.”

    UKRAINE WORLD

    • “This is true genocide.”
    • “What if many Russians WANT atrocities like in Bucha or Mariupol?  What if they do believe that Ukrainians are “nazis” and therefore should be wiped off the face of the earth?”
    • Motyzhyn, near Kyiv.  Collective grave where the village head and her family were buried by Russians, after having been tortured and killed.

  • UKRAINE UPDATE

    11:30 PM On Twitter @cjjohns1951

    SUNDAY 3 APRIL 2022

    MSNBC

    • Mass civilian casualties reported in Ukraine.  Toomas Ilves, former president of the Republic of Estonia.  This is the first time anyone has used the threat of nuclear weapons for conquest.  It is an excuse to say we can’t intervene without courting nuclear war.  The Russians won’t stop in Ukraine.  We must put a stop to this now.  “If you don’t respond now, you will have to respond when they attack NATO.”
    • Belchi asks what do you say to people who say that this will cost American lives?  (Note: What an extraordinarily strange question.)
    • Ilves: What does “never again” mean if you aren’t willing to cut off gas?  “You’re trading gas for human lives.”  “Nervous nelly anxiety” about giving MIGS that many have.  “They should be given the tools to fight back.”  Not helmets.  There is so much that they need and they aren’t getting it yet.  “I am flabbergasted by this.” 
    • Smoke rising from Odesa.  First major strike by the Russians on the Black Sea port. 
    • Khurshudyan (Reporter): Odesa has been one of the safest cities in Ukraine.  Nowhere is safe in terms of air attacks.  There are ships off the coast of Odesa which have been there for weeks.  The strike on Mykoliav (east of Odesa) were from these ships.  They have been planning a landing in Odesa.  But there’s no ground support because it is held up in Mykolaiv.     
    • Abramovich is participating in talks between Russia and Ukraine.  He was one of the ones who showed symptoms of poisoning in March after negotiations. 

    UKRAINE WORLD

    • Not only people, but animals are suffering from the Russian attack on Ukraine.
    • In 2008, Putin commented that “Ukraine is not a state.”  But Ukraine and Georgia didn’t even receive NATO membership action plans.  This could have been stopped.
    • Statement Russian Defense Ministry: “During the entire time of Bucha being under RU control, no local residents suffered from any violent actions.”
    • Vasylkiv, a city near Kyiv, was hit by several missiles.
    • A mass grave was found in Bucha containing 280 people.
    • At least 5,000 civilians have been killed in Mariupol. 

    THE KYIV INDEPENDENT

    • Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba demands new “devastating” sanctions from G7 countries over the Bucha massacre.
    • Finland should decide whether to join Nato this spring.

  • UKRAINE UPDATE: 3:30 AM

    On Twitter @cjjohns1951

    SUNDAY 3 APRIL 2022

    CNN

    • Zelensky is criticizing Hungry for not doing enough for Ukraine.
    • Kira Rudik, interviewed: We plan to hold accountable anyone giving the orders in this war. 
    • CNN is reporting that Putin wants Donbas under control by early May.
    • Zelensky: They want Donbas and the South of Ukraine. 

    UKRAINE WORLD

    • The suffering of humans in Ukraine is immense, but also the suffering of defenseless animals breaks your heart.  There are brave, valiant people trying to save the animals captive in zoos from the horror of this attack.
    • War criminal Ramzan Kadyrov published a video of Russian soldiers distributing humanitarian assistance.  Closer examination revealed that the goods are marked in Ukrainian, therefore are either taken from stores in Ukraine or stolen from humanitarian goods being brought there by Ukraine.
    • Russian propaganda is writing that Great Britain is freezing and starving already.

    EUROMAIDAN PRESS

    • Odesa hit by a Russian airstrike.  Ukrainian air defense shot down a part of the missiles. 
    • Near Kyiv, roads closed because of fighting.  Russians shot at cars and executed civilians at point blank then attempted to burn their bodies.
    • Ukraine Ministry of Defense reports that Russians set up a market in Belarus to sell goods looted in Ukraine.  Belarus city became the collection point for Russian military trucks with the loot from Ukraine which is then sent to Russia by express delivery.   
    • In Donetsk direction, the main efforts of Russian occupiers are focused o capturing the settlements of Rubizhne and Popasna, preparing for the attack on Severodonetsk, trying to gain full control of Mariupol as well as access to Vugledar and Marinka.   

  • UKRAINE UPDATE

    FRIDAY 1 APRIL 2022

    KYIV INDEPENDENT

    • Foreign volunteers fight Russia in Irpin.
    • Zelensky created the International Legion in late February as a way to organize the influx of foreign volunteers.
    • The mayor of Kyiv advised residents not to return for now.
    • Ukraine is having to cut government programs to cover military expenses.
    • Russian aircraft have increased activity in Donbas.
    • European Parliament President: “Ukraine is Europe.”
    • Russia wants to create a global food crisis.  They are deliberately destroying Ukrainian granaries.
    • According to Ukrainska Pravda news outlet, almost $5 million was confiscated from a former minister under Yanukovych, who is currently wanted in Ukraine.  The sum was transferred to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
    • 86 Ukrainian soldiers were released from Russian captivity during a second prisoner swap on April 1.
    • The Ukrainian Parliament passed a law which allows seizures of property of Russian war supporters.  The law allows confiscating property that belongs not only to the Russian state or its residents, but also to non-residents who are connected to the Russian government, deny or support Russia’s war.
    • At least $10 billion needed to restore Mariupol’s infrastructure.
    • Russian media accuses Ukraine of attacking Belgorod again.
    • Putin is surrounded by doctors including a tyroid cancer specialist.  Putin “traveled with five doctors on average in 2016-2017, according to an investigation by Project, a Russian media outlet.”
    • Georgia to implement economic sanctions against Russia.

    BNO NEWS

    • Ukraine says that all Russian soldiers have left Chornobyl nuclear power plant.
    • Germany rejects Putin’s demand to pay for gas in rubles.
    • Latvia bans publicly displaying the letters “Z” and “V” in support of Russia’s invasion.
    • Putin tells foreign buyers to use rubles from tomorrow or be cut off from Russian gas.
    • A separatist leader has said that Donetsk People’s Republic will consider becoming part of Russia.

    EUROMAIDAN PRESS

    • Zoos are evacuating animals in Ukraine.
    • Air strikes from occupied Crimea targeted critical infrastructure in Odesa.  They did not reach their goals thanks to reaction of Ukrainian air defense.
    • Russian “military police” destroy books on Ukraine history and culture in occupied territories in NE Ukraine.  There are also cases of damage to Ukrainian archives with documents about Soviet repressions and attempts to introduce Russian ed-educational programs in Melitopol.
    • Another journalist disappears while his family is “terrorized.”
    • Ukraine’s Air Forces: “Javelins are not enough to counter the dominating Russian air force, until Ukraine receives weapons to protect its sky, Russian bombs and cruise missiles will continue to destroy Ukrainian cities and kill civilians.”

  • UKRAINE

    THURSDAY 31 MARCH 2022, 5:30 PM

    Unfortunately, I am one of the people whose Twitter account is displaying “an error has occurred” and “Tweets aren’t loading now.”  This is evidently happening all over the world.

    TWITTER

    • Anders Aslund: Putin has signed a decree ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the army as part of Russia’s annual spring draft.

    UKRAINE WORLD

    • Madrid has sent 10 planes with military offensive equipment to Ukraine.

    THE TIMES

    • Britain is concerned that the US, France and Germany will push Ukraine to “settle” and make significant concessions in peace talks.
    • Zelensky was said to have told Britain’s Johnson that he was concerned that Moscow was exploiting talks to reposition and strengthen its forces.

  • UKRAINE UPDATE

    WEDNESDAY 30 MARCH 2022

    KYIV INDEPENDENT

    • Russia and Ukraine talks will resume on April 1.
    • The Russians are announcing a ceasefire to evacuate residents of Mariupol.
    • A special UN mission is needed to eliminate the risk of nuclear accident at Chornobyl. 
    • Germany has signaled a “general willingness” to provide security guarantees to Ukraine but did not specify whether that would include guarantees of military assistance.

    TWITTER

    • Victor Kovalenko: Seven busses of Russian soldiers suffering from Acute Radiation Syndrome arrived in Belarus from Chornobyl exclusion zone.
    • Journalist Iryna Dubchenko and transported her to occupied Donetsk for trial.
    • Petri Makela: The Ukrainian army has counterattacked and taken the town of Sloboda in the Chernihiv region.
    • Alex Kokcharov: in Mariupol, 95% of the buildings have een destroyed.
    • Andrew A. Michta: “As I watch Russian deployments in Belarus and Donbas, I’m increasingly convinced that another major RUS offensive is about to begin.

    NEW YORK TIMES

    • Major news sources are reporting that Putin is not being given correct information about the invasion of Ukraine

  • TUESDAY: UKRAINE

    TUESDAY 29 MARCH 2022

    Another day of horror in Ukraine. 

    The Mayor of Mariupol: “The task was to wipe the city off the face of the earth along with its inhabitants.”

    MSNBC

    • Ukraine wants an agreement that NATO countries will agree to defend Ukraine in the event of other aggressions.
    • There has been no agreement on territory.
    • Alcindor: Biden wants to defend Ukraine without getting into a military confrontation with Russia.  HOW?  (Note: Why doesn’t anybody question this absurd notion? Yamiche Alcindor never says anything but simply repeats the Biden press release.  She first got noticed by asking Bernie Sanders if he didn’t think it was sexist to run against Hilary Clinton.)
    • (Note: There have been reports of other Ukrainian negotiators being poisoned.)
    • “Neutrality” seems to imply that Ukraine won’t seek to join NATO.  (Note: I find this shameful.)
    • “How can security be guaranteed?” MSNBC anchor.  (Note: How, indeed.)  Reporter doesn’t answer question, but launches into a prepared discourse, walking toward the camera, playing a clip of a man saying he’s going to stay in Kyiv.  This sort of coverage, repeating over and over individual stories is useless.
    • Former adviser to Zelensky in Kyiv: Russia is trying to buy some time, pretending to negotiate.  “I don’t think we are near the end of this conflict.”  What is being talked about is something like NATO’s article 5.  The war could be over in two weeks if they are given all the weapons they need.  (Note: Why, why in hell are the not being given the weapons they need?).
    • There is some Russian troop movement away from Kyiv. 

    TWITTER

    • 5,000 people have died in Mariupol, at least 210 children.  170,000 still remain in the besieged city.  An estimated 30,000 were deported to Russia or Russian-occupied parts of Donbas.
    • Kyiv Post: Russian assault on Ukraine is similar to its actions in the Syrian war, says Amnesty International. These are “deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure,” a representative of AI says, turning humanitarian corridors into “death traps.”
    • Hanna Notte: Russia also declared a new phase in the Syrian war, establishing de-escalation zones in Western parts which freed up regime resources to take more territory in the east.
    • Dominic Dyer: Thousands are dying in Ukraine and western media leads with Will Smith.
    • HuffPost: Zelensky accuses the west of cowardice as his country fights to stave off the Russians.  The West is engaging in “ping-pong about who and how should hand over jets.”  “If only those who have been thinking for 31 days on how to hand over dozens of jets and tanks had 1% of their courage (the residents of Mariupol).

    EUROMAIDAN PRESS

    • Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia just finished in Istanbul.

    NEW YORK TIMES

    • The Mayor of Mariupol: “The task was to wipe the city off the face of the earth along with its inhabitants.”

  • MONDAY UKRAINE

    MONDAY 28 MARCH 2022

    Day 28

    CNN

    • CNN anchor said this morning that the Ukrainian people “think” that the war has been going on for eight years.  He said this more than once.  I don’t understand why this fact was portrayed as a supposition.
    •  

    UKRAINE WORLD

    • Ukraine’s largest pro=Russian party suspended its operation.  This is after two draft laws were introduced in Ukraine’s Parliament proposing to amend legal procedures on banning political parties.
    • Kharkiv has come under shelling more than 200 times in the past 24 hours. 
    • Zelensky gave a 90-minute Zoom interview with Russian journalists.
    • In Mariupol there is no electricity, no water, no light, no heat, no communication.
    • Ukrainian negotiations with Russia will begin in Turkey tomorrow.
    • Zelensky: “I am sure that if tougher sanctions had been levied earlier, a full-scale Russian attack would not have occurred.”
    • Zelensky: The Russians are doing the same thing in cities as they did in Donbas in 2014.

    EUROMAIDAN PRESS

    • Ukrainian security services says they have eliminated 5 enemy bot farms.
    • The bot farms were distributing fake narratives about Russia’s war in Ukraine.  Russian aggression and ideology were justified.
    • Russia has persecuted 36 local government officials, journalists, religious leaders, volunteers, civic activists.
    • The loses to Ukraine from the Russian invasion are estimated to be $564.9 billion.
    • The Armenian Embassy in Ukraine has denied the Armenia handed over aircraft to Russia to be used against Ukraine.

  • UKRAINE UPDATE: SUNDAY

    SUNDAY 27 MARCH 2022

    It’s day 32.

    CNN

    • Maj. Gen. Dana Pittard: Is advocating for a humanitarian no-fly zone over western Ukraine.  Ideally it would be done by the UN, but if not, by NATO and the US, carving out western Ukraine down to Odesa. There would have to be troops with a peace enforcement mission, and prepared for combat.  “If we are really serious about taking care of refugees…” this is what we have to do. “If we’re really serious…”
    • Susan Glasser: Why hasn’t Putin done some of the things he has the capability to do with the internet and taking control of the sky?
    • It’s day 32. 

    MSNBC

    • Zelensky is again asking for arms and weapons.
    • Evidently, we now know that the comment about Putin staying in power was an ad lib.  (Note: This statement has been widely used by the anti-war “left” as evidence of all sorts of nefarious things – that the US wanted this war, that they refused to negotiate and scuttled negotiations to prevent the war from happening, that Ukraine was purposefully used as proxy war, on and on…). 
    • Ukrainian Foreign Minister interview: It is a war against every core principle.  The way we shape the future now will determine what kind of new era we will enter. 

    UKRAINE WORLD (@ukraine_world)

    • This is one of the very best sources of information about Ukraine in English.  They have a podcast and also a website.
    • More than 10,000 hectares of forest are burning in the area of the Chornobyl plant. 
    • Melitopol, recently occupied by Russians, has been disconnected from Ukrainian mobile communications. 

    THE KYIV INDEPENDENT

    • Turkey says the world cannot “burn bridges” with Russia.
    • Macron warns against calling Putin a “butcher.”
    • Military intelligence reports are that Russia wants to split Ukraine in two.
    • UK defense ministry says the Russian forces are trying to encircle Ukraine’s troops in Donbas.
    • Ukraine Armed Forces figures say: 16,600 Russian troops killed.
    • Zelensky: “Who is leading the Euro-Atlantic community? Is it still Moscow through intimidation?”
    •  

    OTHER STORIES

    THOMAS: Jane Meyer, the New Yorker

    • Thomas was pushing the Trump White House to overthrow the election and stop Biden from accepting the presidency. 
    • There was a lot of secrecy surrounding Thomas’ stay in the hospital.
    • He will sit on key cases that involve the protection of our democracy and his wife is actively working to overthrow democracy. 
    • Oliver Darcy, CNN: Either Thomas believes these lies or Thomas can’t get through to his wife to tell her that these are lies. 
    • SE Cupp: Bringing up the Hunter Biden laptop story and saying that the story was ignored.  Tons of people are contacting her “believing that there is some tie between Ginni and Clarence.”  (Note: THEY ARE MARRIED, SOME TIE?)
    • Meyer: There has been such sensitivity about investigating the wife of a Supreme Court judge.
    • (Note: Why does CNN employ SE Cupp?)
    • (Note: It’s been a month now, we don’t need reporters repeatedly asking interviewees what it feels like to be where they are.  Enough.  It surprises even me how little the corporate media actually says about Ukraine in a 24-hours of coverage.  Mostly they all repeat one of several paragraphs.  There is so much to be learned about this situation and how we got here, but the media just, for example, repeats the words of Biden’s speech a billion times.  Point: It’s all superficial drivel designed to create the impression that they are “covering” the story.)

    ACCOUNTABILITY If wrongdoers are not held accountable, there is a general erosion to the moral fabric of the society.  If those wrongdoers are the powerful and rich, I creates a cynicism about the central tenets of the legal system, such as equality before the law.  That situation has existed in this country for a long time, but before, people felt that the lack of accountability was sporadic,

  • UKRAINE UPDATE: SATURDAY AFTERNOON

    SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2022

    CNN

    • Biden has made a statement, the last sentence of his speech in Poland, where he said that Putin should not be allowed to stay in power.
    • We haven’t (as far as I know) established whether this was part of the written notes for the speech or an ad lib.
    • The Russians struck Lviv again just before Biden’s speech.
    • (Note: It would make me furious were I Ukrainian for Biden to swear to defend every inch of NATO nations).

    THE KYIV INDEPENDENT

    • Zelensky: It is impossible to save Mariupol without additional tanks and planes.
    • Zelensky added that they had waited too long for the weapons.  (Note: I wholeheartedly agree).
    • Zelensky said that without more weapons, Russia could threaten Ukraine’s neighbors.  
    • After Biden’s speech, the White House tried to downplay Biden’s comment about Putin.  They said that Biden wasn’t calling for “regime change.”  (Note: I can’t imagine what he was calling for if he wasn’t).
    • The Russians have shelled an oil depot near Lviv.
    • A nuclear research reactor was hit in Kharkiv.
    • The Ukrainians are saying it’s too early to say that Russia has declined to storm Kyiv.
    • The Mariupol City Council is reporting that Russian forces deported hospital employees.

    EUROMAIDAN PRESS

    • Russian invaders intensify abduction and terror against Ukrainian civic activists.
    • Protestors brought buckets of blood to the Russian Embassy in Prague today.  They threw the fake blood at the gates of the embassy.
    • Another general was killed in Ukraine, Russian general Yakov Rezantsev.

    UKRAINE WORLD (@ukraine_world)

    • (Note: This is the best source of information about Ukraine in English.  They also have a podcast and a website).
    • Today’s podcast is “Can we negotiate with Russia?”:
    • Ukrainian philosopher Oleksiy Panych, sent an open letter to Biden.  He asks Biden to avoid illusions about the Russian people.  They are “imperial subjects” who support the actions of the Russian empire. 
    • Panych calls it a “fatal weakness” to believe that the Russian people do not support the  killing of children and the elderly.
    • “The one who refuses to believe the truth cannot win the war.”
    • Panych warns that this flawed reasoning can not only affect the outcome of the war, but also policy after the war.
    • Russians tried to pay residents of Melitopol to hold a rally today.  It was not successful.
    • Russians opened fire on peaceful protestors in Slavutych. 

    ANTI-WAR “LEFT”

    • Caitlin Johnstone (Australian) retweeted a tweet saying that in Biden’s speech, he is “admitting” that the “US has used Ukraine to foment regime change in Russia, and no amount of desperate spin can hide it.  This also explains why his admin sabotaged diplomacy pre-invasion and since.”
    • Johnstons tweeted: “…this is a proxy war deliberately instigated and perpetuated by the US empire with the goal of ousting Putin…this war is just more US regime change interventionism.”

  • UKRAINE UPDATE: SATURDAY MORNING

    SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2022

    UKRAINE WORLD

    • Rallies against Russian occupation in Ukraine.
    • Kidnappings of town mayors and artistic figures.

    THE GUARDIAN: “Ukraine Will Not…” Maria Zolkina (3/25/22)

    • “The only scenario that is not discussed is the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.”
    • The talk everywhere is that something needs to be sacrificed to appease Russia.
    • “It is impossible for Ukraine to accept any of Russia’s ultimatums.  Not the recognition of the so-called “republics” within the borders of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, not the annexation of Crimea,  and not the demilitarization of Ukraine.”
    • “…these concessions will not bring any security and in no way will they guarantee the withdrawal of Russian Troops.”
    • “…they can only provoke a new Russian offensive against Ukraine.”
    • The military support guaranteed in any treaty must include concrete forms of collective response, including using troops.
    • “A ceasefire is not enough.”
    • “Russia would use a ceasefire to strengthen and rearm its troops while demanding the west reduce military assistance to Ukraine.”
    • “We urgently need weapons, including air defense systems and antimissile systems.  We need sanctions, especially the refusal of EU states to purchase Russian gas and oil, and the disconnection of all Russia banks from Swift. We need western support for the independence of all Ukraine.”