“A Coup to the National Will”: Arrests and Mass Protests in Turkey After Arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu | Democracy Now!
— Read on www.democracynow.org/2025/3/21/headlines/a_coup_to_the_national_will_arrests_and_mass_protests_in_turkey_after_arrest_of_ekrem_imamoglu
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A gunman shot and killed the son of Esther Salas, a New Jersey federal judge while also wounding her husband at their home July 19th.
— Read on www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/judge-esther-salas-new-jersey-husband-son-shooting-1031146/salas was hearing a case against Epstein connected to Deutsch bank
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Monday 17 March, Tuesday 18 March 2025
LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS ELDERLY CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN A SUBBASEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK
Quote of the Day: “He’s trying to destroy you. He’s trying to destroy the nation.” Keith Olbermann talking about Donald Trump
Quote of the Day: “Yes, it’s time to fight. It’s past time to fight.” Sarah Longwell.
Ukraine
It appears that Ukraine has moved troops back from territory formerly taken in the Kursk region of Russia. There were fears that Russian troops were going to encircle Ukrainian forces. Saving some of their best troops may have been considered more important than maintaining control of the territory.
KIEV, UKRAINE – OCTOBER 01: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media on October 1, 2019 in Kiev, Ukraine. Ukraine has been at the core of a political storm in U.S. politics since the release of a whistleblower’s complaint suggesting U.S. President Donald Trump, at the expense of U.S. foreign policy, pressured Ukraine to investigate Trump’s rival, Joe Biden, and Biden’s son, Hunter. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Ukraine:
The U.S. Media
It just amazes me still that this collection of fascist men have changed the world in a few years.
David Ignatius is on Morning Joe asking whether Donald Trump considers various policies as in “America’s interests.” Donald Trump doesn’t give a rat’s ass what is and is not in America’s interests. He is part of what Sarah Kenzior calls a “transnational crime syndicate. Commentators like David Ignatius (who have been living off their position in the legacy journalism world for years are part of what continues to normalize Trump and what he is doing. To sit there on the Morning Joe set and pontificate about what Trump considers in “America’s interests,” supposes a normal president, a normal presidency. Until these people stop acting like Trump is a rational actor, presiding over a rational administration, we will continue to be swept under the tidal wave of authoritarianism.
(Note: David Ignatius, incidentally, was one of the journalists who loudly supported the Iraq war. He, like many others, later apologized for it.)
They just cannot, will not let go of the delusion that Trump is an independent actor, laying awake at night, mulling over what is in America’s interest. Trump is a Putin puppet. If you want to read a detailed account of how Trump wormed his way into money laundering for the Russians and then failure (and perfect asset) that he is, depended more and more on Russian crime and largess, read Craig Unger’s “American Kompromat.”
No one narrative has the explanatory power of “Trump as a Putin asset.” Just look at anything Trump is doing and it is obvious.
Trump presented Putin a gift yesterday. He eliminated Voice of America with the announcement coming from the Stooge Marci Rubio announcing the end of the Cuban version. What an utterly soulless man Rubio is.
New York Times: Ukraine (3/17/25)
• Putin and Trump will talk on Tuesday.
• Trump (greedy sob that he is) has been talking about power plants and “dividing up” Ukrainian assets.
• Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day cease-fire. The Russians (greedy Sobs that they are) have not.
• The remarks about the “power plants” is thought to refer to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which Russia has controlled since its capture. Ukraine has demanded that the Russians leave, but it is unlikely Putin will agree. The plant is in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region which Rusia has officially annexed despite controlling only part of its territory.
New York Times: Ukraine (3/17/25)
• Putin and Trump will talk on Tuesday.
• Trump (greedy sob that he is) has been talking about power plants and “dividing up” Ukrainian assets.
• Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day cease-fire. The Russians (greedy Sobs that they are) have not.
• The remarks about the “power plants” is thought to refer to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which Russia has controlled since its capture. Ukraine has demanded that the Russians leave, but it is unlikely Putin will agree. The plant is in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region which Rusia has officially annexed despite controlling only part of its territory.im
New York Times: Ukraine (3/18/25)
- The agreement that resulted from the call between Trump and Putin appears to benefit Russia more than Ukraine (Surprise, surprise).
- Putin agreed to a pause in strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure for 30 days. This is short of the unconditional cease fire Ukraine agreed to.
- The attacks on civilians, cities and ports will continue.
- The pause benefits Russia because “Ukraine has conducted extensive strikes on oil and gas facilities deep into the Russian heartland, jeopardizing Moscow’s most crucial stream of state revenue.”
- Putin is making a set of impossible demands – “an end to all of the military support for Ukraine….pause personnel mobilization and rearmament….accept Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territory, agree to neutral status, or agree to reduce the size of its armed forces….” They also refuse to agree to any peacekeeping troops.
Ukraine: MSNBC Nicolle Wallace
- There were no concessions from Russia or discussions of punishment for starting the war.
- Alexander Vindman called it a “terrible deal.” “Trump moves to normalize relations with Russia for trinkets.” “No one has been played as hard as Donald Trump.”
- Michael Crowley: Putin is playing along and “playing for headlines.” Putin is making “extravagant demands.” Putin is looking for huge concessions by Ukraine.
- Russia has also been employing a covert campaign – targeting undersea cables, warehouses, and railways. (Note: Ship detained for dragging and attempting to sabotage an underwater cable.)
- Mitch McConnell says we want to prevent a headline that says “Russia wins. America loses.) that is the extent of feeling that McConnell has for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
- Putin wants to topple the Zelensky government.
Yemen
The U.S. is bombing Yemen. Trump sold himself as a president who would stop war. He is now bombing Yemen. The Houthi minister now says they are at war with the U.S. Iran will pay the consequences for further attacks(Reuters, 3/18/25).
U.S.
Trump sent Venezuelans to El Salvador despite a judicial order.
New York Times: Detention Facilities:
(Note: Trump’s detention plans are going to leave private prison companies awash in money. Cultural Note: If you haven’t watched “Orange is the new black” do so. The later seasons depict some of the problems of private detention facilities.)
• “The two family detention centers in Texas are being run by private prison companies….The site in Killey, which is operated by CoreCivic, can hold up to 2,400 people. The other, a 1300 bed facility in Karnes is managed by GEO group.”
New York Times: Immigration (3/18/25)
Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement to rebuke Trump for calling for the impeachment of the federal judge hearing a deportation case involving Venezuelans. (Note: If you have not see the celebratory video put out by the El Salvadorean president of buses transporting the Venezuelans to a massive concentration camp in El Salvador. Just the image of the camp is terrifying.)
Cyber World
Moscow Times: Feoktistov, Dmitry/Tass (3/17/25)
• The Russian Central Bank has proposed restricting cryptocurrency transactions to the wealthiest individuals, preventing most citizens from trading digital assets unless they meet stringent financial criteria.
• The proposal suggests allowing companies already qualified to participate. These include professional financial market participants such as banks, insurance companies, brokers, brust managers, no-state pension funds and asset management companies for mutual investment funds.
• Russia is introducing measures to regulate digital assets which have become more important since financial restrictions after the invasion of Ukraine.
• In 2024, the country legalized “cryptocurrency mining, while a new tax regime for digital assets took effect in 2025.
Trump: CNN: Over the weekend, Trump has
• Defied court orders on deportations
• Attacked the legitimacy of court orders
• Targeted third law firm tied to his self-perceived enemies
• Made demands on Columbia University
• Tightened grip on Kennedy Center
• Shut down Voice of America
• Accused news media of “illegal” activity
Podcasts:
The Daily Beans (3/18/25)
- Ninth Circuit rejects Trump bid to stay firing of federal workers. Last week’s ruling from Senior U.S. District Judge Wiliam Alsup requires “six agencies to offer reinstatement to thousands of terminated employees….Alsup blocked the Trump administration from firing thousands of federal employees, and ordered the immediate reinstatement of probationary workers…fired from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Pentagon and many other government agencies..” At a hearing, Alsup was “visibly frustrated” because “the government is obfuscating the truth because it has refused to make Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel management available to testify about his role in ordering the firings… The letter firing the employees claimed that it was for performance reasons (Courthouse News Service, 3/17/25).
- Tricare (medical insurance for military) rescinded approvals for over $100,000 in health care claims paid years ago to a Navy veteran and his wife (NBC News, 3/13/25) The Daily Beans hosts speculate that because of the massive firings, insurance companies are double dipping and this is not being caught by the government. Tricare has various subcontractors. (Note: This is the beginning of what we are going to experience with Medicare.)
Good Sources of Information
- Courthouse News
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Monday 17 March 2025
LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ELDERLY CHILDLESS CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN THE SUB-BASEMENT OF THE MIINISTRY OF SNARK
Quote of the Day: “Yes, it’s time to fight. It’s past time to fight.” Sarah Longwell.
Ukraine
It appears that Ukraine has moved back from territory formerly taken in Russia. There were fears earlier that Russian troops were moving to encircle Ukrainian forces which may have provoked the withdrawal.
It just amazes me that this collection of men have changed the world. David Ignatius is on Morning Joe asking whether various policies are in “America’s interests.” Donald Trump doesn’t give a fuck what is and is not in America’s interests. They just cannot get rid of the delusion that Trump is an independent actor. He is a Putin puppet. He destroyed Voice of America yesterday with the announcement coming from the Puppet Rubio announcing the end of the Cuban version. What a soulless man.
Yemen
U.S. is bombing Yemen.
U.S.
Trump sent Venezuelans to El Salvador despite a judicial order.
New York Times: Detention Facilities:
(Note: Trump’s detention plans are going to leave private prison companies awash in money. Cultural Note: If you haven’t watched “Orange is the new black” do so. The later seasons depict some of the problems of private detention facilities.)
- “The two family detention centers in Texas are being run by private prison companies….The site in Killey, which is operated by CoreCivic, can hold up to 2,400 people. The other, a 1300 bed facility in Karnes is managed by GEO group.”
New York Times: Ukraine
- Putin and Trump will talk on Tuesday.
- Trump (greedy sob that he is) has been talking about power plants and “dividing up” Ukrainian assets.
- Ukraine has agreed to a 30-day cease-fire. The Russians (greedy Sobs that they are) have not.
- The remarks about the “power plants” is thought to refer to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which Russia has controlled since its capture. Ukraine has demanded that the Russians leave, but it is unlikely Putin will agree. The plant is in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region which Rusia has officially annexed despite controlling only part of its territory.
Moscow Times: Feoktistov, Dmitry/Tass
- The Russian Central Bank has proposed restricting cryptocurrency transactions to the wealthiest individuals, preventing most citizens from trading digital assets unless they meet stringent financial criteria.
- The proposal suggests allowing companies already qualified to participate. These include professional financial market participants such as banks, insurance companies, brokers, brust managers, no-state pension funds and asset management companies for mutual investment funds.
- Russia is introducing measures to regulate digital assets which have become more important since financial restrictions after the invasion of Ukraine.
- In 2024, the country legalized “cryptocurrency mining, while a new tax regime for digital assets took effect in 2025.
CNN: Over the weekend, Trump has
- Defied court orders on deportations
- Attacked the legitimacy of court orders
- Targeted third law firm tied to his self-perceived enemies
- Made demands on Columbia University
- Tightened grip on Kennedy Center
- Shut down Voice of America
- Accused news media of “illegal” activity.
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State and local election officials are already feeling the impact of CISA cuts.
— Read on www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/cybersecurity-agency-ends-support-to-election-security-program/ -
Monday 10 March 2025
NOTES ON LIFE AND THE NEWS BY AN ELDERLY CHILDLESS CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN THE SUB-BASEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK
X is out all over the country. I couldn’t be happier.
MSNBC: 12:00 Noon
- Trump’s policies toward Ukraine are sending a very clear message to Putin.
Too bad, X came back online.
In an interview on CNN, the former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau former head detailed how data giants like Musk could amass so much personal data they could tag prices for products to the individual consumer and even what they were displaying about their mood online at the time they were buying. For example, if there had been traffic about a particular person being a participant of Fantasy Baseball and there was a conference in Law Vegas, the person might be charged a higher price for a plane ticket to Las Vegas because the algorithm would know the person was likely to attend. Prices set to desperation and desire. What a world.
Later: 4:00 PM
MSNBC
- The stock market fell to almost -1000 today. If Trump is not denying a recession, we are probably headed for a depression.
- There is a vet with stage 4 cancer on Nicolle Wallace. He has been denied his experimental treatment because of Trump’s cuts.
- Amy McGrath: A lot of these people wanted to privatize the VA. Privatization is the word underneath all of this.
- Veterans get universal life time health care. Republicans hate that.
- They are willing to kill some 10,000 veterans who are in experimental treatment for cancer to make money.
BBC News America
- Zelensky is in Saudia Arabia. (Why? Why Saudia Arabia?)
- Rubio is calling it a “temporary pause” in military assistance to Ukraine. (Note: Right.)
- Without any security guarantee? There is still no security guarantee.
- Zelensky is not formally meeting the Americans. What?
- Ukrainians want a limited truce in the sea and the air.
- (Note: Why is this minerals deal so important to Trump?)
- “Economic guarantees” are not sufficient. There have been American business interests in Ukraine before and it did not deter Russia.
- Ukraine is not ready for a permanent cessation of the territories to Russia.
Guardian: Asset Seizure
- According to a US district judge, a former chief of the Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft does not have a plausible claim to own a $330m superyacht seized by US authorities in 2022. The Justice Department (note: at the moment) is supporting prosecutors’ bid for the forfeiture of the yacht which could be sold at auction. Last year, Congress passed a law authorizing the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine. Eduard Khudainatov, who led Rosneft from 2010 to 2013, sought to block the forfeiture by claiming he owned the yacht. Prosecutors claim that Khudiainatov is a “straw owner” for Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, who is under US sanctions.
- Trump’s AG, Pam Bondi, disbanded Task Force KleptocCapture, whose many actions targeting Russian oligarchs included the yacht’s seizure.
- Kerimov was sanctioned for actions in Ukraine and Syria.
- The US Government is paying about $600,000 a month to maintain the yacht.
- (Note: One of the big problems with the asset seizure of property such as this yacht is that the government must pay to maintain the property in case they lose the seizure case in court.)
Guardian: Ukraine
- Russian forces are trying to eliminate the last Ukrainian position in the Russian Kursk region. “the Russian efforts indicate that Moscow does not want to halt its counteroffensive at the national border…”
- “…one expert noted” Russia’s rate of success had “dramatically improved in the past few days.” (Note: This corresponds with the US cutting off military aid and intelligence.)
- Russia has warned the Australian government that deploying troops to Ukraine as part of an international peace keeping operation would lead to “grave consequences.” The Russians stipulated that the communication was not a “threat,” but a “warning.”
- Foreign minister of Australia responded: “…end your illegal invasion of Ukraine. We won’t be intimidated from working towards a just peace…”
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www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/10/rosneft-chief-yacht-russia
A US judge on Monday ruled that a former chief of the Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft does not have a plausible claim to own a $300m superyacht that US authorities seized in 2022, in a win for the US Department of Justice.
US district judge Dale Ho’s decision boosts federal prosecutors’ bid for a forfeiture of the 348ft (106-meter) Amadea, which could be sold at auction.
Congress last year passed a law authorizing the transfer of seized Russian assets to Ukraine to bolster its military defenses. Eduard Khudainatov, who led Rosneft from 2010 to 2013, sought to block a forfeiture by claiming ownership of the yacht in late 2023.
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LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ELDERLY CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN A SUBBASEMENT OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK
Sunday 9 March 2025
Mike just came upstairs, and I asked him what Trump had done this morning. It was a mistake. “This is not my country.” He said. “We don’t treat people like this.” He was referring to the “blood on his hands” of Trump and the deaths in Ukraine. I am wearing a glasses rope made by hand in Ukraine by my friend Olga. She lives south of Kyiv and is being bombed almost every day. Trump has cup off even the option of asking her if she wants to come and stay with us until Ukraine wins this war. It makes me ashamed.
I am a woman. I have no country, but I share Mike’s disgust, personal disgust, to live in a country that would betray Ukraine, actively, with blood thirst betray Ukraine. Trump is a Russian asset.
If you have any doubts about this, read Craig Unger’s books. I set myself a goal of reading 50 books this year. I am on my second of Craig Unger’s books “American Kompromat.” It is a must read. The amount of evidence that Trump actively colluded with the Russians is overwhelming and could have been reported in 2015. It wasn’t and what was was not believed.
I wrote years ago in a book about the invasion of Panama (which the government termed “Operation Just Cause.”: This is the most propagandized country in the world. Now this sentence would be: This is the most delusional country in the world. Evidence on top of evidence on top of evidence is there that Trump colluded with the Russians in any number of money-making schemes. Trump Tower was built on money laundering. But, people just refuse to believe it, refuse to believe that a class corrupted justice system has allowed the Russians to put their asset in the White House.
Read, bubalas, just read.
Craig Unger (paraphrased because to quote I have to leave my warm bed and get the book on the table) The answer is simple: They own him.
As my friend down the street writes, we are “uninterested in our own destruction.”
Ukraine: Financial Times (3/9/25)
- Russian troops are gaining ground around the Russian town of Sudzha in the Kursk region where Ukraine seized Russian territory last year.
- This is just ahead of crucial talks in Saudi Arabia (I know) this week.
- Roads allowing Ukraine to supply its forces in the Kursk region are not under constant barrage.
- Captured Ukrainian soldiers forced to kneel and shot in the back. (Note: Their lives lay at the feet of Donald Trump, et. al.) The Financial Times shows videos of executions. “They normalize evil.” Some of the video is shot by Russians themselves. Drones capture some of the evidence. Some of the Russians filmed the executions.
MSNBC: Alex Whitt
Ukraine:
- Trump is going into next week’s “negotiations” with Ukraine demanding even more than he has in the past. MSNBC is reporting that he wants a new negotiating style or manner or something, a willingness of Ukraine to cede land to Russia, Zelensky stepping down from power and new elections.
- Marc Polymeropoulos, Former CIA, says: “What in the world are we doing in Saudi Arabia? The venue is suspect.” Trump policies have led to deaths of Ukrainians. “There are no security guarantees.”
- Musk if threatening to remove Starlink from Ukraine’s use.
- Polymeropoulos: The Ukrainian military would be “blind.”rop The Europeans are trying to replace it. “This was an ally of ours….we’re switching sides….It’s morally and ethically pretty horrible.” The Iranians feel that the only way to deal with Iran’s nuclear power is a military strike.
Selma:
Sixty years ago, I was fourteen years old. It was early evening when I walked into our house some forty miles from Selma. I came in the rear door and walked through to the television room at the back of the house. My mother was sitting on the sofa crying. My mother never cried, never. In fact, I think this was the only time in my entire life I ever saw her cry. The television was on and there were images being shown of people, mostly black people, being beaten and pummeled and tear gassed. I sat down and put my arm around my mother. “I should have been there.” She said. “I should have been there.” That was Bloody Sunday.
